Chapter Text
“Save to win.”
“Win to save.”
.
.
.
“Deku!”
“Kacchan!”
.
.
.
“...Izuku.”
“...Don’t die on me now, Kacchan.”
“Only if you stay and fight with us.”
“You know I can’t.”
At 5 years old, Izuku liked to think he knew the difference between good and evil.
From the time he could understand, he had been taught what was heroic.
His friend, Kacchan, was heroic.
Kacchan got a quirk that would be effective with taking villains down. He had the prowess. He had the battle integrity, the foresight to see what needed to be done and he had the heart.
He knew what made a person a hero. He saw what was categorized as a villain.
There were a few people who would use their quirks for bad things. They did their best to use a gift given to them for no one other than themselves. They had no sense of community and preferred to hide from what was right.
Villains like Shigaraki, for example.
A man who claimed to hate All Might and yet he continued to pull class 1-A into a war they were ill prepared for.
Izuku pulled his mask over his head, sighing to himself.
As much as it weighed on him, he needed to keep moving.
He really didn’t want to leave UA or anyone there, but he had no choice. All for One would continue to hunt him, hunt his friends and family. He would continue to hurt the school and endanger the students and civilians staying there.
All for One’s malevolence knew no bounds. He craved violence and destruction and the very collapsing of society itself. He’s proved that Izuku’s friends being so young never deterred the man from trying to kill them. He’s proved he’ll do anything to win this war he’s created.
And Izuku needs to be ready to prevent everything he’s planned.
He knew he couldn’t hide his friends and family from the incoming threats, no matter how much he’d like to. Even worse, he’s positive they would fight against him if he ever tried to lock them away.
He supposed this was the consequences of his own actions, finally slapping him in the face and forcing him to accept them.
No, of course he doesn’t blame his mentor for allowing him to go down this road; for letting him take on the daunting mantle of One for All and rising to the challenge of becoming his successor. He wouldn’t dream of placing the blame on him when all he had ever done was support Izuku.
Izuku owed him his quirk, his greatest achievements, his life.
This war wasn’t anything All Might could have foreseen, so Izuku will only allow himself to blame the guilty parties; the villains that were currently destroying people’s homes and livelihoods. The villains that were traipsing around the burning cities, forcing people to bend to their will or break. The ones who were causing mindless destruction.
Izuku huffed to himself, shaking it all off as he jumped up and activated Float.
He couldn’t spend all of his time thinking and day-dreaming. It wouldn’t do him well out here without backup.
He floated over parts of the city, making sure to stay low enough to rooftops to avoid drawing any attention to himself as he scouted the streets. He was still in a relatively safe area, so he didn’t expect to run into anything major just yet.
He looked around, annoyed at what the city had become, angry at what Shigaraki had done.
Buildings that once stood proud laid in pieces on the ground below. Dust had long since settled over the roads and pathways.
It was truly a war zone.
Izuku still couldn’t believe All Might even trusted him after everything that had happened. After Kamino, after the Raid that went terribly wrong, after Dabi’s fight and announcement about Endeavor. He couldn’t believe All Might actually cared about Izuku enough to still be on his side.
Granted, he still had a legacy sitting on his back, trying to push him down each and every time he attempted to stand on his own two feet. One for All certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart and Izuku knew intimately how tough it was to deal with the quirk.
He’s just happy All Might was still planning on mentoring him, even though he decided to…take a break from UA.
The ground rumbled in front of him and Izuku narrowed his eyes, using Black Whip to propel himself further.
He shot forward, towards the noise of fighting and readied himself. Izuku flipped over a building, narrowing his eyes when he saw some hero going up against-
“Come on! Fight me!”
…Muscular. Great.
The man swung with a laugh, muscles snapping apart and rolling over his arm as he aimed towards the small boy in front of him. Izuku dashed over, using One for All and punching Muscular away, into a collapsing building as he stood in front of the hero.
“Ninth…”
Izuku huffed, murmuring to himself. “I went too far, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Ninth. You did.” First exasperatedly explained. “Be careful.”
The boy behind Izuku coughed. “Deku?”
He turned around, looking at the guy in front of him. He was smaller than Izuku, wearing green chest plates and headgear. His eyes were sharp and his hair was wild, but Izuku swore he knew who this was.
Izuku tilted his head, trying to place the guy, ignoring the way the smaller man’s jaw was open and eyes were wide.
Odd.
“Ha! Ha-ha-haaa!” Muscular screamed, laughing hysterically as he pushed himself out of the rubble. “I knew it! Deku! I’ve been thinking about our last fight since it happened.”
Izuku grit his teeth, annoyed he couldn’t afford to have a proper conversation, but bent low to the ground and called for the Sixth user. “Smokescreen, 100%.”
Purple smoke filled the area before turning into dark fog, making it impossible for anyone to see through.
“Let’s go.” Izuku said, turning around and gently grabbing the guy, picking him up from the ground he was laying on and carrying him towards the other girl he had seen. He walked closer, listening for the girl and jumping towards her when he heard her call.
“Grand! Yo!”
Izuku landed in front of her, recognizing her as Camie from the license exam they had taken together. “Here. He was hurt, but I’m not sure how badly.”
She blinked a few times before nodding, crouching down to check his pulse. “Umm- are you…?”
“I’ll be fine. You should get out of here.” Izuku warned. “It’s dangerous.”
“Ohh Deku~!”
Izuku sighed, turning around to see Muscular breaking completely out of the rubble, jumping into the middle of Smokescreen and dispersing it all except for the edges, allowing his fellow heroes-in-training escape.
He hadn’t realized they stayed, in awe of who’d he become.
“Deku! I’ve dreamt of this re-match for ages!” Muscular shouted out, grinning and flexing his ever-growing muscles. “Come and fight me!”
Izuku sighed, but shot forward and kicked Muscular further away, towards a river. Muscular laughed maniacally, grinning as Izuku used Blackwhip and wrapped him up, using Float to get over to him and lower himself in front of the villain.
“Where is All for One?” Izuku asked, tightening his hold on the villain.
Muscular rolled his good eye. “Fuck if I care. Let’s fight! I’ve been waiting for far too long to fight with someone as strong as you, Deku! No one has challenged me since you!”
“You don’t know where All for One or Shigaraki are?” Izuku clarified.
Muscular shook his head. “They don’t matter to me! They just opened my jail cell, nothing more. I came back to the mainland in hope of finding you. And I did!”
Izuku frowned, but didn’t say anything as he turned, releasing Blackwhip from the man. He already spent too much of his energy fighting against Muscular without gaining anything useful from the man. He needed to find All for One and stop him and Shigaraki as fast as he possibly could.
That was his sole mission as he ran around playing vigilante. To find All for One and Shigaraki and save Japan from the two of them.
Danger Sense spiked and Izuku turned, catching the punch Muscular had thrown his way.
“Fight me, Deku!”
Izuku charged up One for All, dropping Float and punching Muscular back, watching as the water turned with the force of his punch, Muscular flying back and hitting his head against the accompanying wall, knocking out.
He tapped on his comm, turning it on. “Muscular was defeated.”
“I’ve pinned your coordinates. Thank you, Deku.” Endeavor answered him back quickly.
He sighed as he turned it off, wishing for a few seconds that he was still at the dorms, getting things to celebrate Katsuki’s birthday and picking out a movie with Iida for the class.
Izuku rolled his shoulders, doing his best to ignore that thought. It wouldn’t do well for him to think about that any longer.
He needed to keep going.
He had no choice.
. . .
“What the hell is that doing out here?!”
“I don’t know! Get rid of it!”
Izuku raced towards the altercation, inserting himself and grabbing the net the group of three civilians had just shot at a lady.
“Hey!” Izuku dropped the net, turning around to look at the three men. “What are you doing?”
“Hey, man, we didn’t know. We thought she was one of them.” One of the men sneered, gesturing towards her with his net.
Izuku held his hands out, trying to stop whatever this was.
“She’s a civilian! She’s just like you!”
One of the men frowned. “That might not be a villain, but she’ll never be like us.”
They turned away from him then, glancing back as they did so.
“He doesn’t even look like a hero.” He heard one of them mutter as they walked away.
Izuku ignored them as he watched the woman rocking back and forth in front of him, huddled up with her face hurried in her knees. He flinched when rain fell and landed on his mouth respirator. He had actually forgotten about the rain for the most part.
Glancing over, he looked at the umbrella she had dropped and walked over towards it, grabbing it and activating float to hold it above her head while she cried, sniffling and crouched in the alleyway.
“Are you alright?” Izuku asked softly.
She cried louder, shaking her head.
“Why are you out here tonight? It’s raining hard.”
She sniffed, wiping at her eyes and calming down. “I didn’t make it to the shelter in time.” She looked at him, tears still in the corners of her eyes. “I thought I could wait it out while hiding in my house.”
She sighed, wiping at her eyes again. “And…I had heard that people in the area had been hurt so I got scared. I just wanted to run to the shelter.” She sniffed again, tilting her head down. “Sorry. I was…I just got so scared.”
“I believe that everyone is just as scared as you are.” Izuku said, trying to comfort her.
She smiled at him painfully. “Will everything go back to normal after this?”
Izuku stared at her for a moment. “It will.”
She looked at him and Izuku refused to look away, wanting her to understand he truly intended to get all of their lives back on track. He wanted to give her that hope that life will go on and that she won’t be forced to live in a warzone for much longer.
A small smile graced her lips as she looked at him, nodding a bit to show she believed in him and his words.
“Deku?” Izuku turned, watching as All Might walked up to them.
He turned back to the civilian, letting her stand and grab her umbrella from him. “Sorry, but I need to get going.”
She nodded and Izuku turned towards All Might again. “Can you please take her to a nearby shelter?”
“Yes. I can do that.” All Might agreed.
Izuku walked closer to him, pulling his mask back and rubbing his face. “What are you doing here?” Izuku asked, pulling his mask back on and looking at his mentor.
“You were in the same spot for a while now,” All Might explained, holding out a bento box. “Besides, you need to eat something before you go out again.”
“...I’ll be fine.” Izuku spoke, averting his eyes away from his mentor.
“You’re sure you don’t want any food right now?”
“I need to go.” Izuku insisted, turning around.
All Might sighed. “Alright, my boy. Be careful.”
Izuku nodded, not saying anything as he used Float and One for All to speed away, ready to fight more villains. He flew to the southside of the city, landing on the roof to catch his breath for a few seconds.
Danger Sense flared and Izuku leapt into the air, flipping around. He frowned as he saw two burly men in masks, one grinning with a gun pointed at him.
Oh great.
“You’re Deku, aren’t you?” The guy said, keeping the gun aimed at his head. “The one our Demon King is looking for.”
Izuku’s eyes hardened. “You know where All for One is.”
The other guy shrugged. “Eh. He knows where we are.”
Izuku struck, shooting up with the help of Float and using Air Force against them, gritting his teeth when the other villain laughed, waving his hand and dispersing the wind.
“The hero All for One searches for is a coward? Running from us?” One man mocked, grinning up at Izuku.
He barely refrained from rolling his eyes at the man and looked towards him instead. He couldn’t figure out their quirks from this high up, but he knew their quirks couldn’t affect him from up here, so that eliminated a few possibilities. Thankfully.
He squinted, looking down at them, spotting an oddly-shaped belt wrapped around one villain’s waist.
Izuku knew he needed to find someone who would be able to tell him where All for One was hiding at the moment and right now, the two men in front of him looked…breakable, to say the least. He’s nearly positive he could rip the truth from them, though he wasn’t sure if he should talk to his mentor first or later.
But…the problem was Izuku not being able to figure out what he needed to do in order to beat both of them. He knew one had the ability to control the wind around them, but since Izuku experienced no issues in the air, perhaps the man was only about to control a small amount.
The other villain had that odd belt around him, his fingers picking at the blue sewing work done on it. He wondered what he needed the belt for and if the man had a weaker quirk than the other. He wouldn’t be surprised.
“Come back down, little Deku!” The wind villain grinned. “We need you to come with us--!”
Izuku glared down at them, knowing he had no choice but to do this. As he lowered himself, he watched with undivided attention as the other man opened a pocket on his belt, stuck his entire arm inside of it, and pulled something out of it, groaning as he stopped and took a closer look at what he was holding.
Izuku nearly sighed to himself again as he figured out what was in their hands.
A bomb. How original.
How…boring.
Izuku released Smokescreen at the same time as the villains pulled the pin. He dropped from the sky, letting One for All take him over and smashed into the ground, covering his head with one arm when the bomb detonated above them. He sighed in relief after a few seconds, happy that no shrapnel was shooting into him.
That had been unpleasant the first few times.
He waved a hand in front of him, trying to move the dust away from his face. Izuku squinted his eyes, glaring at the pile those two villains had ended up in, making sure they weren’t moving.
Izuku coughed, bringing a hand up to his comm and turning it on, still glaring at the knocked-out villains in front of him. “Two unknown villains are down.”
“Well done, Deku.” Hawks praised, seemingly impressed with how quickly the goons were taken out.
Izuku nodded. “Thank you.”
He turned off his comm and bent over, his hands on his knees as he blinked black and white dots out of his vision, forcing himself not to stagger as a wave of dizziness hit him. He was beginning to feel the effects of not sleeping and he was not a fan.
“Hey, don’t be afraid to sit down if you start flagging.” Endeavor advised him through the open line.
Izuku grit his teeth but nodded as an answer while he forced himself to keep moving. He couldn’t afford to do anything else. Not when he was so close.
He refused.
. . .
“Black Whip.” Izuku whispered to himself, forcing himself to focus.
He wrapped the two villains in front of him, swinging them around and knocking them into each other. Izuku smiled to himself, hopeful for the day that he could finally show Aizawa that move.
Izuku gently dropped the villains to the ground, making sure they didn’t hurt themselves even more than they had already suffered.
“I took out two men that were following me.” Izuku said as soon as he clicked on his comm.
“Great.” Hawks responded. “Your location has been pinned. And, hey, make sure to sit still long enough for us to talk to ya after your next fight, alright?”
Izuku hummed his agreement, turning his comm off and leaping away, darting through the ruined city.
He landed in a relatively quiet area, a few buildings still standing here while the rubble had taken over everything else. Izuku stopped, sitting on the side of fallen concrete and sighed to himself, taking off his mask for a moment.
Izuku let himself breath, calming down from the fight as he sat and stared at yet another ruined city.
He needed to keep going, keep running and fighting for the good of the country, but right then, all Izuku wanted to do was rest. Simply calm down for a few moments before he went and fought against the next villain terrorizing Japan.
“You know,” Izuku startled, whipping around and falling into a lazy stance as Shigaraki casually walked up to him. “I find it interesting that there’s always been two sides.”
“Wha- what?” Izuku breathed out. He couldn’t believe what was happening to him right now. He couldn’t believe that Shigaraki was here right now.
Shigaraki grinned. “There is always a ‘good’ side and a ‘bad’ side to every war. I wonder which side you’re on.”
Izuku grit his teeth, forcing himself to focus. “The good side-”
“See,” Shigaraki clicked his teeth, shaking his head. “How are you supposed to know that? The victors of war are the ones who write the storyline, so who’s to say the people you’re following into battle aren’t the ones who have wronged everyone else?”
“Heroes are-”
“You’re no hero.” Shigaraki chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re but a mere foot soldier.”
Izuku scowled. “So are you.”
“No.” Shigaraki breathed, eyes lighting up as he stretched his arms wide. “With Sensei’s help, I’ve been able to find enlightenment. Something you’ll never have the privilege of experiencing. Soldiers don’t understand the true value of what they’re fighting for. I do.”
Izuku called upon One for All, firming up his stance and glaring at his foe. “I know who I’m fighting for.”
“Oh, really?” Shigaraki laughed. “Who?”
“Japan.” Izuku shot forward, darting under Shigaraki’s hands and flipping around, kicking him into the dirt, scowling when the man pressed his hands into the ground and watched as decay traveled through the remaining rubble.
Izuku used Blackwhip, wrapping Shigaraki up and flipping him over before darting back down, landing his kick into his chest, flipping over and away as Shigaraki used decay against Blackwhip.
“You know nothing of the world you truly fight for!” Shigaraki screamed, smiling wide as his eyes flickered from red to blue quickly. Ah. So the transfer wasn’t complete yet. Izuku might have a better shot at this than he hoped.
Izuku jumped back up, twirling around, feeling the air hum around him and the sweat dripping down his temple as he did so. He glared, landing his shot, cursing to himself when Shigaraki used an air dispersing quirk to move out of the way just in time.
“You’re world…the people you fight so desperately for…it makes no sense, hero!” Shigaraki called out, standing tall in front of Izuku. “They’ve done nothing for you! Without One for All, the people of this country hated your very existence, and now they rely on you to end a war that they began.”
“You began this war, Shigaraki!”
He shook his head, eyes gleaming. “But who pushed us this far? Who made war the only option? It was either this or continue to experience the dretches of what society had to offer! At least here, on this battlefield, I am respected. The League is respected.”
“You are feared, not respected.” Izuku corrected.
“In a war such as this one: what’s the difference?” Shigaraki grinned. “Fear. Respect. They mean the same thing right now. You respect me enough to allow me to speak. The people fear you enough to let you fight me.”
Izuku grit his teeth. “That’s not how this works and you know it.” He whispered to himself. “Smokescreen. 100%.”
Shigaraki cackled as the area was taken over with smoke, unable to see each other.
“I almost commend you for being able to have so much determination and hope in the face of danger.” With a stomp, Shigaraki dispersed the smoke in between them, an outer ring around them, “But, then I remember that madmen have done more than you with less.”
“What will you do?” Izuku suddenly asked. “If you somehow get your way: what will you do? I already know you want to get rid of hero society. So, what else is there to your plan? Have you even thought this far ahead?”
“Our society has forced us on opposing sides this whole time. We plan to tear that down and start anew.” Shigaraki answered. “We will become equal. It is the plan.”
Izuku shook his head. “All for One wants to eradicate everyone who opposes him. The line between a war and a genocide is thin in his mind. That much is obvious. I have full confidence that he does not think about the future of Japan while he fashions his throne out of our bones.”
Shigaraki snarled, his nose flaring and eyes narrowing. “Sensei is-”
“A madman.” Izuku smirked, using Shigaraki’s words against him. “He’s a madman who’s been dreaming about and preparing for this war for nearly a century. Perhaps he’s not as almighty as you believe.”
“He’s a leader and an adversary not even you could defeat--”
Izuku shrugged. “True, but what does it say about a man who is hundreds of years old when he considers me a threat?”
Shigaraki slammed his hand into the ground, decay crumpling the foundation and the area surrounding them. Izuku jumped up, using Air Force to knock Shigaraki away from the ground and flew after him, grabbing his wrists and knocking his forehead against his own, their sweat mingling.
“I think it means your sensei isn’t as strong as he says.” Izuku whispered, watching Shigaraki’s face contrast with rage.
“You know nothing, little soldier.” Shigaraki growled, kicking Izuku away. He flipped over, using Blackwhip to wrap around the man and fling him into the ground.
“Nothing?” Izuku called out, slowly lowering himself. “I’ve learned everything I needed to for this war over the past year.”
“And yet you still fall short, Deku.” Shigaraki growled, pushing himself out of his crater, the ground decaying once again as Shigaraki’s veins lit up red. Oh god.
Shigaraki activated his other quirk and Izuku jumped up, smashing and kicking through the rough needle-like things coming after him as he got in close.
“You’re trying too hard to be evil, Shigaraki.” Izuku panted, rolling over in the air, landing into a roundhouse kick on Shigaraki’s head. “We don’t need to fight. Let me help you instead.”
“Help me?” Shigaraki cackled a bit, reorienting himself. “You’re incapable of helping me, soldier. You do not understand why war is even necessary, let alone know how to help those who fight against you.”
“This war doesn’t need to happen--”
“This war is as necessary as breathing! You and the idiots you defend will never understand!” Shigaraki screamed, glaring at him. “War is an inevitable part of life.”
“It doesn’t need to be!”
Shigaraki gave him a look. “Would you prefer to live in a utopia, child? So long as we’re on Earth, that little fantasy of yours will never happen. War prompts change and our society needs changing.”
“We can change it some other way, though!” Izuku protested.
Shigaraki looked him up and down, rolling his eyes. “Now you’re just acting like a child. Do you truly think there is another way to fight for what we believe in without a war breaking out? Fighting against hero society is basically a declaration of war anyway! This…was always going to happen.”
“But…I can help you, Shigaraki.” Izuku pleaded, looking at the boy intently. “We can figure this out without all the bloodshed!”
Shigaraki grit his teeth, shaking his head, his eyes flickering back and forth between red and blue. “No. No, no, no, no, noooo--”
“Shigaraki!” Izuku called out, reaching out his hand.
Shigaraki screamed, his own hands clutching his head tightly. “Do not call me that!”
Izuku’s eyes widened and he used Float, shooting up quickly as Shigaraki unlocked another quick, fire firing out of him on all sides, a ring of red fire surrounding him, slowly fizzling out.
He watched as Shigaraki tried to get his bearings, obviously confused about what had just happened. He looked at his hands as if they were foreign to him.
“What should I call you then?” Izuku asked.
Shigaraki snapped his head up, one eye glowing blue and the other a dull red. “We are All for One.” He whipped his head to the side. “No. No. This is my body. Give it back.”
“...Shigaraki?”
His eyes met Izuku’s own, both glowing now. One red. One blue. Shigaraki groaned. “...No.”
Izuku looked down as the ground started to rumble, wondering what was happening. He dropped out of the sky, looking around and trying to figure it out when Shigaraki gasped, snapping his head over to the side, his eyes glazed over as he smiled.
Izuku fought back a shiver.
The air changed into something dangerous. The charge was electric with the storm clouds rolling in, the darkness of the evening settling in and the area turning into different shades of gray. There was no life around them, no birds, no gross, no trees to be seen.
Izuku heard the sound of something heavy and almost liquid-like moving around and looked around, stopping in his tracks when he saw black sludge building up and up and up beside him. A leg stepped out, followed by the man’s torso and finally the black ventilator situated on his head.
He brushed off his suit, pretending to look around at the scenery.
“Fuck.” Izuku whispered.
Shigaraki grinned, breathing out his words like a prayer. “Sensei, you came.”
“Young Ninth,” All for One spread his arms wide. “What a surprise.”
Izuku growled. “All for One.”
“I can’t believe I haven’t earned a warmer welcome than that.” All for One pretended to be taken back by Izuku’s lack of manners.
Izuku scoffed.
“So disrespectful.” All for One muttered.
“Sensei.” Shigaraki breathed out once again, a smile cracking his lips as he looked at the man in wonder.
“Hello my young successor.” All for One turned his full attention to Shigaraki who was still looking at him in broken awe.
Izuku internally winced. He was sincerely hoping that he had never looked at All Might the same way. It was too creepy.
“Have you found the enlightenment you were looking for, young one?” All for One asked.
Shigaraki minutely frowned before nodding slowly, taking his time to look over in Izuku’s direction. “I’m…satisfied with what I know now.”
“Excellent.” All for One’s hand swelled red, clenching into a fist and punching at Izuku.
He gasped, jumping up and feeling his heart stutter. Izuku grit his teeth as he felt One for All hum around him, a silent support coming from all of the vestiges. He whipped around, letting Blackwhip flip around him as sparks flew off him.
Let it go, Ninth.
All for One laughed, a blue light blasting out before knocking into him.
Izuku groaned as he was blasted back into the sky, the blue light burning him as used Blackwhip to grab onto the rubble below and shoot himself down towards the ground.
“Ha-ha! Look at him!” Shigaraki cackled from above, dropping onto Izuku’s back and pushing him towards the ground.
Izuku cried out when they landed, with Shigaraki’s foot pushing his head into the crater further. He bucked up, biting his scream back as All for One used his quirk to push him down again.
Izuku felt One for All hum angrily.
Ninth. Let it go.
Use your full power, Ninth.
Izuku groaned, trying to force himself up, coughing up blood as he did so.
Fight, Ninth.
Izuku felt sweat and blood mingle together, screaming as his arms broke and he was forced back into the wet dirt.
Use all of us, Ninth.
All for One scoffed. “Look at you. The weakest of them all. A true disappointment to the legend of One for All.”
“One for All,” Izuku gasped quietly, eyes wide at the sky as he felt power pour out of him, the foot on his head lessening. Something on his face crumbled and he wondered if it was his face.
“Fucking brat,” All for One growled.
Izuku gasped a breath, heaving. “Again.”
The sky lit up green as lightning rained down, power seeping out of every pore in Izuku’s body. He felt his quirk strike All for One and Shigaraki, over and over.
Shigaraki growled.
All for One waltzed up to him then, his shoulders set proudly as Izuku lay on the ground coughing up more blood. He groaned.
“The quirk, Ninth. Hand over my rightful quirk.”
Izuku shook his head. “N-No. Never.”
Get up, Ninth.
All for One clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers, a red trail of lightning dancing between his two fingers. He crouched in front of Izuku and casually placed his hand on Izuku’s foot, the lightning shooting through his body.
Izuku gasped, eyes blowing wide as the shock traveled through him, his mind rattling. All for One took his hand off his foot and Izuku fell to the side, hands twitching and blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.
“Fine. Since you’re so stubborn, I’ll allow One for All to die with you, Ninth.” All for One said from far-off, standing up. “We’ll miss you in the future.”
Ninth.
Izuku blinked, startled when he realized they had left him. His eyes unfocused, staring at nothing more than the blurred image of the clear blue sky. It felt fitting that his death would happen on a welcoming day, a clear one that called for nothing but calmness and peace.
Perhaps this was always how it was destined to go. Perhaps he was destined to wind up here, lying on the broken concrete, bleeding out, looking up at a sky that did not care he was dying. Maybe Izuku was always meant to leave little impact on this Earth. He was meant to be a buffer; something that called for change but never got to survive long enough to see it in action.
As soon as his destiny had met One for All’s fate, Izuku had been doomed to live a tragedy. He was always meant to die as a hero, except he had managed to die as less than that.
Izuku was dying as a vigilante, born from the inherent need to protect as many people from the consequences of One for All and All for One and refused to rely on anyone else to eliminate the threat. He was dying as a selfish kid who wanted to play hero and ended up on the front-lines of a war he was woefully unprepared for.
He wasn’t dying the hero’s death.
Izuku was dying the death he deserved. He was dying a death of the forgotten. He was breathing only to motivate someone else into action against the opposition. He was the one who no one knew about; the one people didn’t realize belonged in the history books.
He was dying the death of a soldier.
Izuku breathed in, shuddering as he did so. A tear fell, sliding through the dirt on his cheeks, mingling in with the blood and sweat below him.
He was dying.
Izuku was sixteen. He was planning out what his future hero agency would’ve looked like. He was still filling in his last hero analysis notebook. He still had friends and a family and high school to worry about.
At the ripe age of sixteen, dying all by himself, worrying about the rest of the war and how it will end, Izuku had so many regrets.
He regretted not giving Eri and Kota proper goodbyes. He regretted not leaving letters for each of his wonderful teachers. He regretted not spending more time doing study sessions with the rest of the class. He wished he could’ve had time to get to know more students at UA. He regretted not speaking with more people, gaining more perspectives, figuring how others saw the world.
He wished he could’ve had enough time to finish his English essay due next week. He regretted not being able to hear Iida scold Kaminari and him for forgetting their Art History essay for Midnight’s class and racing back to the dorms for the last time. He wished he could’ve debated with Yamomo once more.
He wished he could’ve had enough time to give Kacchan his birthday present that was still hiding under his bed.
He wished he had the opportunity to tell his mother he still loved her.
He wished for so many things. Izuku wondered if it was fair for a dying man to make a final wish. He didn’t think it would be in his case.
“Midoriya?”
He coughed, groaning when he turned his head and spit out some blood. How gross.
“Midoriya!”
Izuku blinked his eyes open, squinting to figure out who the blurry blobs were. They ran closer, one man with flames surrounding him, the other with a black mask on and the last with two long tufts of blonde hair. Izuku smiled.
These were heroes. They could continue to help Japan.
“All Might.” Izuku spoke cheerily, though he’s sure the effect was lost when he rolled to the side, coughing uncontrollably.
“Oh my dear boy, what happened to you?” All Might whispered, horrified and broken.
Izuku turned over, wheezing. “All…for One. He joined the fight.”
“Oh no.” All Might choked on a sob, cradling Izuku’s head in his arms, his tears falling down and streaking down Izuku’s own cheeks.
Izuku took a deep breath, wincing as he lifted an arm and plucked out his hair, lifting it up as high as he could, towards Hawks and looked at the man intently.
“What are you-”
“Eat it, Hawks.” Izuku pleaded. “Now.”
With Izuku’s gaze and All Might’s nod of approval, Hawks took the hair gingerly from his fingers and ate it, obviously trying not to grimace.
NINTH.
Izuku smiled, letting out a broken sigh as he relaxed into the ground further. “You- you’ll take care of him, right?”
All Might sniffed, smiling down at him as a tear fell down his cheek. “Of course I will, young Midoriya.”
“Izuku.” He smiled. “Call me Izuku, please.”
All Might swallowed, closing his eyes as a few tears fell. “Izuku.” He whispered, his voice cracking. “Call me Toshi, please.”
Izuku coughed, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. “Toshi. It's- nice to…call you that.”
Izuku’s breathing turned ragged and his eyes unfocused for a second, forgetting about the worries he was carrying on his small shoulders for the moment. He looked upwards, watching as the clouds drifted by, the sky as vast as ever.
Izuku wheezed, a tear streaking down his cheek, through the dirt and blood. “Be careful…Toshi. It’s- a dangerous world out…there.”
Endeavor turned away from the intimate moment, clenching his fists as they listened to All Might’s sobs.
“I’ll avenge you, my beautiful boy.” All Might cried, stroking his thumb across Izuku’s cheek. “I promise, we’ll win this war for you.”
Izuku smiled up at his mentor. “I love you too.”
Izuku closed his eyes, finally accepting the clear sky into his heart, taking one last breath before fading away completely.