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The price of power was always the knowledge that it could go as easily as it came. Toshinori knew that One For All would leave him one day, move onto another host body and leave him quirkless once more. He just didn’t know that day would be today.
Startled awake at three am, there was a clawing emptiness that had taken over the spot where One For All had dwelt for most of his life. Toshinori curled in on himself in despair as if that would turn back time and bring his quirk back. Nana never could say what caused the quirk to come and go. Her master, the sixth holder, had speculated that the quirk would leave when the current user had outlived their usefulness and find a better host. Nana had brushed it off as being pessimistic, saying that change and transitions were simply a part of life. But holding his broken body, Toshinori couldn’t blame One For All for abandoning him.
Toshinori needed to get up and start making some calls in order to find his new successor. He needed to plan a training regimen, talk to Nedzu about changes to his upcoming year as a new teacher and prepare for All Might’s eventual retirement. All that needed to happen, the sooner the better. But, for now, he needed just a few more minutes to mourn the loss of the quirk which had given his life meaning.
Across town, a quirkless boy was sleeping in his bed with a notebook curled in one hand and an All Might figure in the other. He was deeply asleep, exhausted after spending the afternoon running first from bullies and later after heroes. Still, Midoriya Izuku twitched in his sleep as One For All made its home in his soul. He rolled over, clutching his figurine closer to his chest. The quirk settled in, binding itself to the boy and preparing for a glorious and groundbreaking career. But that was a long ways off, for now, Izuku slept and in his dreams, he dreamt of heroes.
Toshinori finally found the strength to drag his aching bones and broken heart out of bed a little over an hour later. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon while he dressed himself and prepared some coffee. He was going to need it for this call.
“Who in the hell is calling at five in the goddamn morning,” Gran Torino hissed after the phone rang for an age.
“It’s me, Torino,” Toshinori said solemnly, cutting right to the point. “One For All is gone.”
“Shit, what?” Gran slurred a bit, still trying to wake himself up. “Gone? Hmm, well I can’t say I’m surprised, it’s amazing you kept it as long as you did.” Toshinori clutched his All Might mug until his knuckles hurt. “Well don’t worry, we’ll find the new one. You might have been living in denial but some of us have been preparing for this.”
“It’s just not fair,” Toshinori said, unable to hold back the whine in voice.
“Kid, you knew this was coming,” Torino sighed like he was still some wet behind the ears high schooler.
“I worked hard all my life, built One For All up, defeated All For One only for it to leave in the middle of the night like a jilted lover. I don’t even know who has it now, it - it could be some up and coming villain for all I know!”
“I know it ain’t fair, Toshinori,” and Toshi could hear the frown in his voice. “It wasn’t fair when Nana lost it in the middle of a robbery or I’m sure for any of the other One For All users, but that’s how the damn quirk works. And don’t get your panties in a knot, from what we can tell One For All only goes to those with heroic hearts. Just sit down, Toshi and take a few deep breaths; we’ll get through this. I’m on my way over now and I’m bringing breakfast. It’ll take me almost an hour to get there. So do whatever you need to do to accept this: shower, sleep, pray - I don’t care what. But when I walk in that door, we’re going to move forward, alright?”
Deep breath in…. And out.
“Alright,” Toshinori said, feeling a bit less anxious. “I’ll be ready.”
“Ya better be,” his old teacher grumbled, “because we got a new One For All running around out there, powered up by the strength of eight previous users. They’ll blow themselves sky high if we don’t get to them soon.”
By the time Gran Torino arrived with breakfast, Toshinori had had a minor nervous breakdown and Midoriya Izuku’s alarm clock was going off.
The boy groaned, not happy to be pulled from such a good dream much less get ready for another miserable day of school. He ignored the cheerful sound of All Might announcing ‘I am here!’ over and over until finally he reached over to hit the snooze button. At least that’s what he had intended to do.
The alarm clock crushed easily underneath his fist, All Might’s powerful voice screeching into silence. Izuku sat up to find his clock and a good portion of his bedside table completely destroyed and his hand bruised and broken. He took a few seconds to stare in utter disbelief between the ruined table and his hand, distantly wondering if he was still dreaming. It was only when the pain finally kicked in that he realized he’d woken up in a completely different world then he’d gone to sleep in.
“Mom! My quirk came in!” He shouted with extreme delight before wincing, “also I think I need to go to the hospital!”
“Alright, so first thing’s first,” Gran announced, laying out a map of the greater Tokyo region. “We have to find the kid. It took Nana and me a month to find Toshi so we need to be quicker than that. Yuuei’s hero exam is only a week away and All Might is already signed on as a teacher. It would be most efficient to get them in the hero course.”
“How do you know they’re a child?” Nighteye asked over speakerphone. Toshinori and Gran had debated on whether or not to call him in but ultimately decided having the psychic who worked as an investigator would be an asset.
“It was a punk kid last time,” Gran said with a wry smirk. “Records are spotty the further back we go but we’re fairly sure it’s going to be someone on the younger side, no older than twenty.”
“And as the principal of a premier hero school I can easily access records of children around the nation!” Nedzu chirped in from the conference call. “One For All has always passed to those in Japan, correct?”
“Yeah,” Toshinori said quietly, looking into the third cup of coffee he’d made and not dranken.
“Luckily our little island nation isn’t as large as say America or China so we’re fortunate in that regard,” Nedzu said via phone, “but it’s still a lot of ground to cover. One For All is rather distinct; a child suddenly developing All Might-level strength should attract attention.”
“But One For All also acts as a sort of quirk amplifier,” Nighteye added. “We may mistake it for a normal quirk being enhanced.”
“It could go to another quirkless kid,” Torino said thoughtfully.
“In this day and age?” Nedzu said incredulously. “The number of people being born without a quirk has gone down astronomically in the last few decades. The odds of One For All passing onto two quirkless children in a row is approximately 8,945 to 1.”
“Can’t we put out ads in the paper?” Toshi suggested.
“What? Lost Quirk, Looking For Kid Who Developed Stupidly Ridiculous Strength Overnight. See All Might For Details ?” Gran scoffed. “We have to be smart about this. Nedzu is going to comb through any new flags in kids’ records. Detective Tsukauchi, when he gets off work, is going to listen for any accidental quirk use charges. Nighteye, you and I are gonna head to Might Tower and start getting everything ready for All Might’s retirement.”
“And me?” Toshinori asked, exhausted.
“You, my soon to be employee, have a lot of reading to do!” Nedzu exclaimed gleefully. “Raising a successor with a volatile quirk is no easy task! I’m sending over, oh, about three dozen books on teaching, quirk theory and child psychology as well as thoughts on how to manage One For All. You’ve put a lot of power into the quirk over the years; I would suggest you reach out to your old friend, David Shield. I believe we may be needing some quirk dampeners while we’re starting out.”
“Jeez,” Gran chuckled looking at Toshinori’s wide-eyed expression of horror. “This kid ain’t gonna know what’s coming. Alright people let’s move, daylight’s burning and who knows what that punk is up to.”
Izuku was vibrating from his stretcher in the ER, shaking with so much excitement that the nurse who was healing his hand had to remind him, again, to sit still. But he couldn’t help it, he felt like his face was about to split in two from the force of his grin. He had a quirk!
“No, listen to me,” Mom said with frustration and complete bafflement in her tone. “My son is quirkless, this… he’s fourteen! He can’t develop a quirk now! Look at his records, he’s got the toe joint! This is - I don’t even know what to say! You need to fix this!”
“I understand your concern, Midoriya-san,” the attending doctor sighed, rubbing all three of his eyes with his fingers. “But the fact is quirks, even delayed ones, never develop this late nor this powerful. Are you sure he didn’t have this quirk before and you simply didn’t notice?”
“Are you implying that I missed a quirk that destroys my son’s bones for over a decade?” Mom shouted so loudly, the doctor winced and took a step back.
“Ma’am,” he tried again, holding his hands up passively. “It’s a standard question.”
“Can I be a hero with this quirk?” Izuku asked, interrupting their stare down. “It’s been my dream forever but I couldn’t before but now I have a chance right?” He asked with desperation, looking between the doctor and his mother. His mom’s eyes were shiny with fear and stress and the same guilt she’d been dragging around for years.
“Well, regardless of when it activated, we will need to do some more tests in order to properly define it,” the doctor explained. “This is an extremely dangerous quirk you have, young man. It completely shattered every bone in your hand without even intending to use it. But if the hero with the Intestinal Lasso quirk could make a living then I suppose…”
“Please don’t encourage him,” Mom half pleaded but it was already too late. Izuku had stars in his eyes and dreams in his head and an unholy determination to see them through. He’d been training on his own for a few months but that was nothing compared to having an actual quirk! He could already see his Yuuei acceptance letter, signed by All Might himself who then requested to adopt him for his incredible potential… okay, maybe he was getting a bit ahead of himself there.
“I’ll change your registration to an unspecified bone quirk for now but we still need to uncover the details. I’m sending you to the Quirk Testing Department for more information on how your quirk works and don’t worry, they have healers on staff.” Izuku’s grin widened as Mom’s face fell even more.
They spent the rest of the day at the hospital and Izuku had the dubious honor of breaking eight more bones before Mom rushed him out of there, saying they’d finish up the tests the next day. Izuku was glad for the reprieve as he bounced in his seat on the ride home, sipping on the milk Mom had insisted on buying.
Kacchan was going to be so happy when he found out about Izuku’s new quirk!
“Any luck?” Toshinori asked, looking for any distraction from the large and ever increasing pile of books and articles Nedzu had given him. If the pile fell over onto him, he’d be dead before he even got to meet his successor, buried by bureaucracy.
“Nothing yet,” Nighteye said diplomatically as he texted something to his agency. He’d dropped everything he was currently working on to help with the search. It warmed Toshinori’s heart, but at the same time he wondered how many of his friends would stay when the last embers of One For All had faded for good? “I did warn you that this could take some time. There’s a lot of factors to consider and it hasn’t even been a day.”
“We have to consider the personality of the kid too, some might not be so blatant. This idiot,” Gran said, nodding over at Toshinori. “Got a strength quirk out of nowhere and decided to toe the line with vigilantism by using his new quirk to do good Samaritan deeds. Nana found him in jail for stopping a car jacking by picking up the car and shaking out the criminals.”
“We’re not talking about me here,” Toshi balked as he held up one of his many books so he didn’t have to see Nighteye’s stunned expression. “And I have the utmost faith in my successor to be using his newfound quirk sensibly and responsibly.”
“Kacchan! Kacchan! Kacchan! Kacchan! Kacchan!” Izuku shouted from outside his friend’s house, alternating between pounding on the door and ringing the bell. He’d run straight here once he’d gotten home from the hospital and his excitement could no longer be contained. School had let out over an hour ago so he should be home by now. “Open up! My quirk came in last night!”
“Go away, Deku!” He heard Kacchan shout back from inside his bedroom but he didn’t appear at the window. Izuku was probably interrupting his afternoon nap but this was important! He frowned and stepped back, fishing in his pocket for some of the pocket change he had. He pulled back his arm with a 10 yen coin intended to gently knock on Kacchan’s window.
His new, ridiculous quirk apparently had other other ideas.
The coin flew with horrifying speed at the window causing the glass and part of the frame to explode inward. He winced, partially at the sound of the window shattering and partially because he’d just broken every finger on his left hand. Why couldn’t he just have inherited telekinesis from his mom?
“Deku, what the fuck! Do you have a fucking gun? Are you here to kill me?” Kacchan raged, appearing at the destroyed window with a feral snarl.
“No no no!” Izuku keened, waving his hands in panic. “I told you, it’s my quirk!”
“I’m calling the police to come take away your dead body because I’m going to come down there to fucking kill you!” Kacchan shouted before jumping out of his second story window, cushioning his fall with some explosions. “Fucking pathetic, you know you can’t make it into Yuuei so you came to take me out instead.” He lunged at Izuku who jumped away.
“There is no gun, Kacchan!” Izuku wailed, holding up his hands in surrender as he dodged a series of explosions. “I’m sorry about the window, it was an accident. M-my quirk, it’s real and-and I was in the hospital the last few days and I don’t understand it entirely but it broke my alarm clock and a lot of bones and your window and-”
“Shut the fuck up, you damned nerd,” Kacchan hissed, cracking Izuku across the jaw which sent him staggering back. “You think I haven’t noticed your stupid notes? All the running and weight lifting you’ve been doing? Yuuei doesn’t take quirkless losers no matter what they do so stop fucking lying!”
“I’m not lying!” His friend wretched him around and they wrestled for a bit before hitting the ground, eventually devolving into slapping each other like they used to as little kids. “Ow, I promise - I promise on All Might’s name, Kacchan!”
“On All Might, huh?” Kacchan sneered, pulling back and glaring suspiciously at Izuku. “Fine, you have exactly ten seconds to show me this quirk or I’m going to explode your face into the next prefecture.”
“R-right!” Izuku jolted, thinking about what bones he was willing to sacrifice. Well his left hand was completely useless so he could maybe use his recently healed right hand. He also had legs too, but then he wouldn’t be able to get home. Surely there were other bones he could live without?
He could see Kacchan getting angry so he curled his pinky into his right thumb and concentrated. It was easy to tap into the power that burned bright as a sun in his chest where previously it had been barren. He focused on the energy, tunneling all of it into his pinky finger. It crackled with green electricity and Kacchan stopped moving, staring with wide eyes. If Izuku didn’t know better, he’d almost say his friend looked afraid.
“What the fuck!” Kacchan screeched. He slapped Izuku’s hand away which caused Izuku to break his concentration and release the energy, sending both him and Kacchan flying. Izuku skidded a few meters back into the street, nursing the now rebroken fingers while Kacchan slammed forcefully back into his front door.
The world was quiet, just for a moment, before Kacchan sped forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “What the fuck was that, Deku? How long have you been hiding that?”
“Ouch, I’m telling you it just came in, Kacchan, why,” he coughed as he tried to pull away. “Why would I lie about being quirkless my entire life?” Frustrated tears gathered in his tears, “you know how badly I wanted this.”
“Fuck,” Kacchan huffed, pushing Izuku away. “What the fuck?” He screamed at the sky, hunching over in barely restrained anger before turning on Izuku with a predatory gaze. “Well it doesn’t fucking matter, only one of us is getting into Yuuei and it’s damn well gonna be me!”
“I don’t see why we both can’t-”
“Fight me, right now, Deku,” Kacchan demanded, half crazed. “Show me your full power and we’ll see who’s best, once and for all!”
“Kacchan, come on, I’m down to like three fingers,” he whined even as his friend launched himself at Izuku. However, an arm separated them, grabbing Kacchan by the chest before he could make contact.
“Hello boys, I’m officer Tsukauchi, what seems to be the problem here?” A police officer with a plain but friendly face asked.
“Nothing,” Kacchan spat, pulling out of his grasp. “Deku and I were fooling around with our quirks and the window got broken. It’s not illegal since we’re on private property so fuck off.” Izuku wanted to cry right then and there and it had nothing to do with the pain. Our quirks, our quirks.
“Right,” Officer Tsukauchi said with a disbelieving frown. “I understand it’s tempting to use your quirks with your friends but please be responsible and limit the damage to yourselves and property.” He eyed Izuku’s broken fingers. “Do you need a ride to the hospital, young man?”
“Yes please, thank you, sir,” Izuku mumbled. “And sorry for the trouble, it won’t happen again, Officer! I’m going to master this quirk and become a hero just like All Might!” The man smiled more genuinely this time as he patted Izuku’s shoulder.
“I’m sure All Might can’t wait to call you his peer. Now then, do you want to accompany your friend to the hospital?” He asked Kacchan.
“We’re not friends, I don’t care where the hell you take him as long as it’s away from me,” Kacchan snapped, stomping back into his house and slamming the door. Izuku heard the lock click a moment later. The rejection was disappointing but understandable as there was still so much unknown about his new quirk. For someone who valued precision and practicality as much as Kacchan, this uncontrolled, bone breaking quirk probably seemed quite useless.
“Well then, let’s get those hands looked at. You can call your guardians on the way,” Officer Tsukauchi said as he led Izuku to his squad car. After struggling to text his mom about where he was going with broken fingers, Izuku found himself staring out the window. The sunset had bathed the streets in a warm orange-washed light, painting the landscape in a kaleidoscope of colors.
“I need a teacher,” Izuku said suddenly in a moment of revelation. It made sense, people didn’t get better on their own without any help. If he got a teacher to show him what he was doing, he could make Kacchan see that he really could be a hero.
“I think that’s a good idea,” the policeman said from the driver’s seat making Izuku realize he’d been mumbling out loud. “You know it’s funny, my friend is looking for a student too, though I don’t think he’d be much help with your, uh, ‘bone breaking' quirk, was it?”
“Well I hope he finds them,” Izuku found himself saying before going back to staring out the window. Yeah, once he found someone to help him understand his quirk, then, and only then, would Izuku be at his starting line.
“Good evening, my name is Nedzu and I’m the principal of Yuuei high- yes the hero school. I’m called about your son, Osamu-kun. I see he has a documented mild memory quirk but it seems he took some school tests this morning that were noted to be of extraordinary quality- yes, yes, he achieved an unprecedented 96% on average for all sections.” Toshinori rocked back and forth as he listened to Nedzu on the phone.
“Indeed you should be proud, sir. Tell me, have you noticed any change in Osamu-kun’s behavior or quirk this morning? An increase in his quirk or perhaps some unusual strength? No? Ah I see. Yes it seems like all that aggressive studying really paid off.” Toshinori slumped as his friend grimly shook his head while he wrapped up the call. “I know it’s a bit early to be scouting since your son is still in elementary school but Yuuei only takes the best! Please keep us in mind six years from now when you’re looking at high schools. Yes, you too, have a good night, Kudo-san.”
Toshinori put his head into his hands, thirty-eight phone calls later and they were no closer to finding the child who had One For All than he was to getting through all these childcare books.
“Don’t lose heart, Toshinori,” Nedzu said with a chipper tone as he dialed a new number. “I only have ninety-seven more numbers on the list. While I keep calling, why don’t you get back to your reading. I believe you were on Your Baby’s New Quirk And You .” Toshinori just moaned loudly into his hands.
“Izuku,” Inko sighed forcefully. “This is the second time today we’re at the hospital because of your quirk. Is it possible for you to go a full day without breaking something?”
“I’ll try,” her son mumbled back as they fixed up his fingers, but the gleam in his eyes said that they’d be back sooner rather than later. She knew her son’s heart and she knew that Yuuei’s hero exam was just around the corner. Once, Inko had prayed for Izuku’s quirk to develop; now she’d be fine if this bone breaking quirk went away forever.
(Sure enough, she was woken just before midnight by the window shattering and Izuku’s cry as he broke the bones in his entire right arm. Luckily, they had saved a bunk in the ER just for him.)
All Might smiled and posed before cameras after stopping a rampaging villain, three days after waking up without his quirk. His hold on One For All was much more tenuous than it had been before, like trying to hold onto mist. Even as he stood here, he could almost feel his time limit going down like sands in an hourglass. And soon, there would be nothing left and where would he be then?
“All Might! What brings you to Musutafu?” One reporter asked.
“Why it’s a lovely city, why wouldn’t I want to stop by?” He flattered with ease. “But my Alma Mater is hosting their exams early next week and I was asked to help proctor and offer my thoughts as an experienced hero. After that, who knows? I might like it enough to stay.” It gets the expected reaction of excited scribbling and shouting. It had been Nedzu’s idea to announce he’d be at the exams in order to entice his successor to apply while also hinting at his upcoming teaching position, killing two birds with one stone. It was a gamble but Toshi was willing to give it a go.
“All Might! How much longer do you plan on working as a hero? Your career is already triple that of most pros,” another asked, shoving the microphone closer.
“I plan on working as a hero for as long as I am able!” He grinned, giving a cheery thumbs up. Toshi didn’t bring up his injury or his quirk or the fact that retirement was soon going to be a requirement and not an option.
His gut twisted in a certain way and he knew he had to leave. “Alright, duty calls so I must be off! Don’t forget to wash your hands!” He leapt up into the air, landing on the tallest building he could find where he immediately sank to his knees and vomited blood. He groaned as he laid his head against the cool concrete.
“I wonder what you’re doing now, kid,” he mumbled to himself. It was only ten o’clock, so his successor was probably in school right now. Toshi vaguely remembered what it was like to sit through class with the thrum of One For All running through his veins, begging to be used. He closed his eyes. It had only been a few days and he was already forgetting what it felt like. “I hope I find you soon.”
At Aldera Middle School, Izuku was indeed feeling anxious, his exuberance over his quirk fueling One For All to the point his bones began to creak. He’d already missed first period, having broken his arm, collarbone and shoulder trying to practice his punches last night. Mom had wanted to keep him home another day but two days had passed and Izuku was anxious to tell his classmates the news.
“Deku,” he looked over at Akatani who sat two desks over. “Are you telling people you got a quirk?”
“I did,” he protested for the hundredth time, gesturing to the sling on his arm. “I can’t control it yet but it sort of breaks my bones, a little?”
“Quirks don’t come in this late,” Oshiro huffed. “I bet he’s faking it in the hopes Yuuei will accept him.”
“I’m not,” Izuku explained with desperation. He looked over at Kacchan, hoping his friend would back him up but Kacchan just sat slouched in his chair, quiet but with a pinched look on his face. Izuku was just about to pull off his sling and give a demonstration when his teacher walked in.
“Everyone, quiet down,” Sensei said. “I don’t care what rumors are going around, they won’t interfere with my class. Now then, let’s begin with attendance.”
“After school,” Shuntaro hissed from behind Izuku, flicking his ear. “You’re gonna end up with broken bones and it won’t be because of your made up quirk.”
Over at Might Tower, Toshinori landed on the balcony outside of his office following his brief patrol. He was annoyed but not surprised to find Nighteye and Gran were already sorting through his papers and personal information regarding his retirement. It reminded Toshi of the grim but practical planning they’d had to do for Nana’s small funeral. He sat down heavily in his chair, careful not to trip on his too big costume.
“Sure, come in, make yourself at home,” he bit out in frustration.
“Oh don’t be like that, you’re lucky we’re here to help out at all,” Gran waved off. “You haven’t done jack to prepare for this. You want hero society to crumble in the time between you retiring and your kid taking over?”
“They’re not my kid,” Toshi defended weakly. “I’d just be helping them with their quirk.”
“Heh,” his old teacher huffed, “that’s what I said too.”
“Anyway,” Nighteye said, interrupting. “We’ve compiled the paperwork that should help you start pulling back from active duty, which you’ll need now with your quirk going and a student to train. You can announce your intention to retire as early as next week if you want to better prepare Japan for the inevitable.”
“Thanks,” Toshinori sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes.
“This isn’t a bad thing,” Nighteye said shyly. “It’s the natural progression of things, All Might wouldn’t have existed had the quirk not been given to you and now it’s in someone else’s hands.”
“Nana was great but she didn’t have the impact you did, Toshi,” Gran admitted, looking up at the ceiling with faraway eyes. “Just imagine what the kid who’s gonna succeed you will accomplish. Now that’s gonna be something to see.”
“If we can find them,” Toshinori grumbled, pulling out his latest childcare book, So Your Kid Developed a Destructive Quirk.
Civilian Name: Midoriya Izuku
Hero Name: Bone Breaker? Explodobone? Calcium Deficiency???
Quirk: Bone Breaker - releases a concussive force created by the breaking of the host’s bones
Strengths: Wind force, strength enhancement, lightning???
Weakness: host only has so many bones before becoming useless in battle
Izuku frowned, looking over the notes he’d been working on the last few days. He was normally pretty good with quirks but his own was giving him some trouble. There was something about it he couldn’t put his finger on. Even as he wrote his notes, he just knew there was some element he was missing, something he wasn’t getting quite right.
Well, he needed to figure it out fast. The exam was only two days away and no way would the country’s best hero program accept him if he was a broken pile of flesh.
All Might himself would be watching - he had to be ready in time.
“Hey Quirkless,” Izuku looked up at the nickname to see a couple of his more frequent bullies had surrounded him. It was always crowded on the sidewalk around the school following class letting out but the rest of the students kept a wide distance between their group. “Hear you’re pretending to have a quirk now. Can’t let them think you actually have value, now can we?”
“I do have a quirk,” Izuku murmured, hunching in on himself as he held his notebook close. “I’m, uh, not supposed to use it right now cause it injures me bu-but once I have a better hold on it I’ll-”
“What a stupid Deku,” Oshiro said, poking Izuku harshly in the side with one of his long fingers. “Can’t even make up a good quirk even with all his stalker notes.” He grabbed the notebook out of Izuku’s hands, holding it high above his head.
“Hey!” Izuku shouted, “give that back!” Akatani pushed him into Shuntaro who bulged out his neck like a bullfrog causing Izuku to tumble to the ground. His palms stung from scraping along the sidewalk and his still sore arms and legs jolted from the impact. Around them, students and teachers walked past without even looking his way.
“Come on, Deku,” Shuntaro mocked, “you keep saying you’re gonna be a hero. Heroes don’t cry and sniffle like babies and they certainly aren’t quirkless losers.” The other guys laughed as Izuku staggered back to his feet; he even saw some of the students passing by snicker into their palms. Always a good laugh, beating up the quirkless kid, telling him he was worthless.
Only Izuku wasn’t quirkless anymore and he was tired of being pushed around.
“Give me back my notebook and leave me alone,” Izuku said between gritted teeth, allowing his anger to make up for his lack of confidence. He let Bone Breaker run through him, energy visibly crackling through his entire body and causing the bullies to jump back in alarm.
He couldn’t move but apparently this was enough as everyone stopped to stare as power radiated off of him. At that moment, he felt as strong as All Might himself. Izuku resisted the pull to let loose more of his quirk. He wasn’t practicing alone in his room or with Kacchan, there were people around him who could be hurt by the force. “Give it back, now .”
“Y-yeah, okay, sure,” Oshiro said, dropping the notebook on the ground. At first, Izuku was annoyed by the rough treatment of his belongings but realized by the drawn look on everyone’s face that they didn’t want to get close enough to hand it to him. They were afraid of him. His hold on the quirk faded at the revelation as he reached down and snatched back his notebook.
“Ha, you uh really weren’t kidding about the whole quirk thing, Midoriya,” Shuntaro laughed awkwardly. Midoriya, not Deku. Izuku felt like he’d been dumped into some upside down world. “Might make it into Yuuei after all.”
There wasn’t much Izuku could say to that as the world slowly started moving around them again. Students passed but their eyes lingered on him. His bullies pulled back but they made sure to keep their distance from him. Uncomfortable, Izuku walked away and ducked into one of the side alleys near the school. Away from the prying eyes, he took a deep breath only to find Kacchan already there.
He was leaning up against the side of a building. Hunched over but with a predatory look on his face. Kacchan had been waiting for him, waiting until they were alone and out of sight. Oh boy.
“You and me, Deku,” he growled, calling explosions to his palms. “Your quirk might be good for a light show but I’m gonna show you that you’re still useless.”
“Kac- ah!” Izuku squeaked as Kacchan began to volley some small explosions at him. He hissed in pain as he avoided most but not all of them. Why was Kacchan always picking on him like this? Oh, that’s right, because Izuku was quirkless and no one cared. Well he wasn’t putting up with it anymore.
He turned away from Kacchan and started to run, tightening the straps on his bag. Izuku tuned out Kacchan’s screaming and the rest of the world to focus on Bone Breaker. He’d managed to hold onto the quirk earlier to feel it without injuring himself so maybe he could do it again. The fear of injuring others had allowed him to lower the output or, rather, to spread that low level power throughout his whole body instead of one part, like spreading jam on toast.
“Stop running away you shitty Deku!” Kacchan yelled, close behind. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, jam on toast, jam on toast, jam on toast . The crackle of the strange green electricity was around him again and when he took a step forward, he was suddenly halfway down the alley. A few more and he couldn’t even see the school anymore. At this rate, he’d be home in the time it normally took him to walk to the station.
Izuku breathed in the feel of the quirk coursing through him, so bright he could hardly even touch it. He’d never felt so alive in his entire life, no wonder Kacchan loved to use his. “Yeah!” He hollered out of sheer joy as he took the long way around to his apartment. Feeling emboldened, he jumped on top of a dumpster and pushed off.
Big mistake.
His excitement caused him to put way too much energy into the jump so he had A. Broken his right leg and B. Was suddenly high above the city with no safe way down. He made brief eye contact with a very confused bird before he started to plummet back to the ground. Scanning his surroundings in desperation, he found his salvation in an unoccupied outdoor pool on top of a high rise.
But he was falling too fast and water acted as a solid if he hit it the wrong way. Angling himself, he powered up his quirk in his unbroken leg just before impact. It blew up half of the water in the pool and his other leg but he was down and mostly unharmed.
“Ouch,” he squeaked, sucking back tears from the pain of two broken legs as he awkwardly swam to the sides. His phone was a goner after his impromptu swim and he couldn’t exactly leave the pool with broken legs. Hopefully someone would come up for a swim soon. In the meantime, he practiced his speech and heartfelt apology to his mother.
“Hi Mom. So the good news is that I’m getting a better handle on my quirk. The bad news is that I might have possibly had another little incident on my way back from school. Do you still have the hospital on speed dial?” He moaned and flopped his head against the side of the pool. “She’s going to murder me before this quirk ever gets the chance to.”
“How many more of these are there,” Gran Torino yawned as they flipped through file after file. Apparently, a great number of children across Japan had some manner of quirk related incidents earlier this week which meant they needed to go through them all. Nighteye wasn’t sure how the principal got these slightly illegal records but he wasn’t going to complain. All Might had gone home an hour ago to prepare for Yuuei’s exam the day after tomorrow, leaving just him and Torino to finish up.
He lamented not for the first time how annoying and ridiculous the One For All quirk was for choosing hosts seemingly at random. It had gotten lucky last time with All Might but it was always a gamble that the most powerful quirk would end up in the wrong hands.
“Let’s finish off this box and then we’ll call it a night,” Nighteye said, flipping open another file. A seventeen year old girl with the ability to turn into a motorcycle had been unable to stop during her ride to school and had crashed. The doctors on staff had attributed it to too many energy drinks and late nights for college entrance exams. Pretty open and shut case and most likely not One For All. He dropped the file into the reject pile and grabbed another.
“You know you can’t disappear again after this,” Gran said suddenly from his end of the room. He didn’t look up from the file in front of him. “You and I both were hurt by Toshinori’s stubbornness and self-isolation after his injury but with this new kid and his upcoming retirement… we can’t leave him all alone.”
“I never wanted to leave,” Nighteye defended harshly. “He wouldn’t listen to reason, he pushed us away, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have tried harder,” the older man sighed before flinging his file into the pile of rejects. “Whatever, what’s done is done and the lumbering idiot can’t raise a successor without us. He can barely make himself a sandwich on bad days. I’ve worked with two One For All holders and you’ve got experience mentoring young hero students; he’s gonna need us.”
“I suppose,” Nighteye hummed. He’d taken on a few interns over the years and had just this year accepted a full-time hero student. Togata was a good kid, energetic and hardworking and overflowing with potential. If only One For All were more direct, he’d be a worthy candidate.
“Nana, the previous holder, died not long after he got the stupid quirk. All Might may be the Number One Hero but I wasn’t able to properly raise Toshi up the way she’d have wanted. This new kid, they’re going to need more than an old, broken down Number One to succeed, not just to be a hero but as a functioning person. Especially since your prediction is coming up soon.”
Right, All Might’s death was just a few years off. Even if they found this kid tomorrow, they’d only have so much time before… “I’ll think about it,” Nighteye whispered as he opened up the next file. He glanced down at it, still distracted by his own grief.
Midoriya Izuku, fourteen years old and currently living in Mustuafu. This boy had a quirk which apparently shattered his bones upon use, he’d had multiple trips to the Emergency Room in the past week due to lack of quirk control. Nighteye looked at the boy’s picture with disapproval: messy, fly away green curls, tear filled eyes and a wobbly, awkward smile.
This isn’t All Might , Nighteye thought with annoyance, he’s not even close . Torino and Nedzu seemed certain that the quirk would go to someone who truly deserved the quirk, who would be a champion for peace and justice. But All Might would be gone soon and this boy’s shoulders were far too weak to hold up the weight of the world. Without another thought, he threw the folder into the pile and moved on.
“Any luck over there?” Torino asked.
“Not even close,” Nighteye sighed, “I don’t know if we’ll ever find this child.”
“Izuku,” Inko moaned into her hands as they sat in the back of the Emergency Department, waiting for the healing nurse to make her rounds. “I can’t keep doing this, it’s not even been a week and I’m at my wits end.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” her son slurred from his bunk, head full of medicine to keep away the pain from all his broken bones. “I’m getting better, I just need more time and then-”
“And then what, Izuku?” She snapped. “You go take that test and break yourself all over again? And what if they let you in? Am I going to have to see you broken and in pain every single day? I can’t do that, Izuku, I’m not strong enough.”
“Mom, I have to,” Izuku whined, grabbing onto her sweater with bandaged fingers.
“Why?” She demanded, “why is this so important to you?”
“Because I’ll die if I don’t become a hero,” he said quietly, clutching onto her harder. “Maybe not really but a part of me will. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Mom. To help people and make them feel safe like I never was. I have that chance now and I have to try. Please .”
Inko squeezed her eyes shut and then brought her face down to kiss her boy’s temple, brushing back his fluffy hair. God, if only she could keep him safe and happy forever. But if she could only choose one then…
“I’ll let you take the exam,” she said with a shaking, unsure voice. “You give it your best and you try for the hero course b-but if it doesn’t work out then you find a new way to help people. You can’t keep hurting yourself for others; you can’t be a hero if you’re dead.”
“Okay,” Izuku mumbled. “I’ll do better, Mom, I promise. I’ll pass the exam and I’ll become a hero who doesn’t let anyone get hurt, not even me.”
“I know, baby,” Inko said, stroking her son’s hair as they waited. She’d made a deal and, one way or another, she’d have to honor it. The hospital was strangely serene at this hour, busy but in a steady sort of way. They sat there in silence, waiting for what the future would bring.
Toshinori woke up the morning of the Yuuei entrance exam feeling tired and frustrated. He’d been dreaming of something, something happy and green but the image escaped him once his alarm went off.
Why did he even bother getting out of bed anymore? His quirk was getting weaker by the day, they still hadn’t had any luck finding the new holder and who knew how long the search would take. He was supposed to be a teacher now, on top of training a successor and continuing his hero work. The prospect exhausted him and he hadn’t even moved yet.
“Come on, Toshi,” he said to himself as he curled his gnarled and aching hands into the covers. “Just get up, you only have a couple of years left to deal with this.” It was comforting, in a twisted kind of way but it got Toshinori up and reaching for his costume.
By the time Toshinori had pulled himself reluctantly out of bed, Midoriya Izuku had been up for almost an hour. He’d been unable to sleep well, too filled with nerves and excitement to properly settle down.
All day yesterday was spent just experimenting with his quirk, turning it on and off, letting it boost him just enough to increase his speed and strength without injury. Okay, well , he did fracture his spine and pelvis a little bit when he’d slammed into the wall but it had been a quick trip! He was getting better and that was the important thing. Izuku was starting to think there was more to his quirk than breaking bones, but that was something to explore after he passed the exam.
Izuku kissed his mother goodbye while Toshinori was leaving his sparse, lonely apartment. As Toshinori flew through the skies as All Might, taking a bit of comfort from the early morning sun on his skin, Izuku was bouncing in his seat on the train. Two souls, bound to each other and hurtling ever closer to their destiny. Or some other cheesy phrase you’d find inside of a fortune cookie.
Toshinori frowned as he stood in the staff room, watching as almost a thousand hero hopefuls lined up and prepared for the physical portion of the exam. He scanned over the many screens, trying to see any individual faces instead of a conglomeration of people. Was his successor here? Would he even recognize them if they were?
“Gotta say, I never really pegged you for the teacher type,” Aizawa said, slouching forward with his coffee. “I don’t know what possessed you to take the job.”
“I lost my quirk,” Toshinori said before he could really stop himself. The two men stared at each other for a moment before he decided, why the hell not? “My quirk is an odd one, it jumps from host to host with no indication on where or when it goes. One For All disappeared five days ago and went to someone else. We know they’re Japanese, probably about this age group so I’m hoping they’ll be in this crowd so I can train them to replace me once my dregs are all used up. It’s not like it matters, I killed the immortal man the quirk was created to stop about six years ago.”
“What the fuck,” Aizawa said flatly. “I didn’t ask for your entire backstory.”
“You wanted an answer,” Toshinori grouched as the clock was started and the exam officially began. He sighed, rubbing at his face. “Sorry, that was uncalled for and also very sensitive information that you shouldn’t repeat. I apologize, Eraserhead, I haven’t been sleeping well since this all began.”
“I know the feeling,” Aizawa said, surprisingly gentle. “Don’t worry, I have no interest in spilling the Number One’s secrets. I’ll look on the monitors on the left side and you take the right. We should be able to cover all the arenas that way. This One For All is a strength enhancer, right?”
“It’s an overall enhancer, boosting everything from the host’s body to their original quirk,” Toshi said, his chest feeling just a little bit less tight. Maybe there was something to this whole, ‘talking about your troubles’ thing. “Thank you, Aizawa.” The other man just hummed in acknowledgement, tired eyes already scanning the screens intently as the exam started.
Toshinori found it hard to keep his eyes on any of the students for more than a moment, each feeling just as wrong as the last. Dread curled in what remained of his gut. If One For All wasn’t here, he had no idea where else to start looking. Would they ever find it or would Toshi die knowing he had failed both his master and his supposed successor?
“Alright, two minute countdown, time for the Zero Pointer,” Nedzu exclaimed with unholy glee and he pushed a big red button with his cute, little paw. On all the monitors, a giant robot began rampaging in the fake cities. Most students ran, some froze in place or hid or tried to catch some extra points. A few, but not many, stopped to help the other students.
“This seems excessive,” Toshinori found himself muttering, taking note of Aizawa’s frustrated sigh of agreement.
“Camera 157, zoom in,” Nedzu said suddenly as the screen was focused on a girl trapped under the rubble and no way to escape the robot. Toshi wanted to move, to jump in and save her but someone beat him to the punch.
A green haired kid he’d only caught a few glances of during the test ran towards the Zero Pointer with lightning sparking across his skin. There was nothing particularly special about this kid but looking at him, at the raw determination on his face, it was like coming home. Just seeing his face filled up all the empty places that had been carved into Toshi’s soul following the departure of his quirk.
“There you are,” he found himself whispering in awe.
His heart clenched as the boy used a very familiar strength to launch himself into the air before throwing a punch that was so powerful, the Zero Pointer was immediately blown back and broken. The rest of the faculty was gasping and screaming but Toshinori could only laugh. He laughed so hard that tears started running down his cheeks and he could barely breathe.
“All Might?” He heard Nedzu ask in concern.
“He’s crazy, Nedzu,” he said through his tears of laughter. When was the last time he had laughed so much that he cried? When did he last feel this light? “He jumped at that robot with a quirk he’s had for less than a week. He’s reckless and determined and has a heroic heart and, my god, he’s perfect. I was- I was worrying all this time over nothing.”
“He scored a decent amount of villain points and with that rescue, he’s secured a spot for sure,” Aizawa noted as the kid was dragged off to Recovery Girl. “But he’s still a liability, using his quirk like that. You better not put him in my class, Rat.”
“Oh, but your Erasure will be invaluable for a student with such a volatile power,” Nedzu said with a smile that showed off his teeth. “And I don’t think Toshi will be willing to tell Blood King about One For All.”
“Goddammit,” Aizawa cursed, turning back to the screens with a grumble. Toshi just patted his coworker’s shoulder, suddenly feeling alive and buzzing with energy.
“Tell Recovery Girl to put him in a private room, I need to see him. I’ll text others but I’m heading over now,” he said, already halfway out the door. God, he was practically running, so filled was he with hope and joy. He had felt as though last week was the end but it wasn’t an end at all, it was a beginning. A beautiful beginning full of broken bones and manic energy; Toshi wouldn’t have it any other way.
Izuku woke up to a white room. He groaned. Was he back in the hospital again? Mom was going to kill him and he probably didn’t even pass the test. The thought of failing in front of everyone, in front of All Might hurt more than the perpetual ache of his bones.
“Welcome back young man, you’ve been asleep for a good while. I had to heal your arms and legs in segments since you were suffering from a good bit of quirk exhaustion. You should be used to it by now since, according to your records, you’ve broken almost every bone in your body in the last week. Anything to say for yourself?” An older woman, Recovery Girl, he realized was amazement, appeared in his vision with a clinical frown and everything came back to Izuku.
“Is she okay?” Izuku asked, trying to sit up but he felt too weak. “The robot was coming and I think I passed out before I could see if the girl got away.” There was a deep chuckle and Izuku turned to find a skeletal, worn down looking man sitting in the chair next to him. He’d never seen the man before but Izuku just knew that he was safe, a friend.
“Of course that’s the first thing you’d ask,” the man said, coughing lightly into his first. “The young lady is fine, thanks to you, Young…”
“Midoriya, Midoriya Izuku,” he supplied.
“Young Midoriya,” the man said slowly, as if testing it out, “it suits you. My name is Yagi Toshinori, I work here at Yuuei. Now about your quirk. Let me guess, it came in just last week, completely out of the blue and is unlike anything in your family.”
“Yeah, I woke up one day with it. I’m, uh, not very good with it yet and it injures me pretty badly when I try to use it. I’ve gotten a little better with it and I’m hoping with some training, maybe some arm braces or uh calcium supplements I could become like a support hero or someone who uses concussive blasts to push back-”
“Woah, woah,” the blond man laughed, dropping a large hand on top of Izuku’s hair, just setting it there gently. It felt right and he was a bit disappointed when Yagi took his hand back. “We’ll have time for all that later. Did you have a quirk before?”
“Before?” Izuku blinked, “no, I was, um, quirkless.”
“Huh,” the man huffed in amusement but it wasn’t mean like some of the others, in fact, he looked almost pleased. “I’ll have to ask Nedzu again about what those odds were. And what name did you give your quirk?”
“Bone Breaker because it uh, you know...” Izuku trailed off as the man started laughing again. It was raspy and interrupted by painful sounding coughs but it felt warm. Soon Izuku was laughing right alongside him because, really, the whole thing was a bit crazy.
A quirkless kid developing a quirk that breaks his bones out of nowhere a week before exams. It was like something out of a shounen manga. Yagi reached out and grabbed his hand, looking happy and relieved and so familiar that it tugged on his heart.
“I think I’m going to be laughing a lot around you, my boy,” Yagi said warmly. “There’s so much to tell you, I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose the beginning will suffice - your quirk was once my quirk. It’s a special power that travels from person to person as it’s needed, I’ve spent all week trying to find you so I could help you master it. It’s proper name is One For All and you’re the ninth person to hold it...”