Midoriya Izuku stares at his mentor, his confidante, the only person to ever believe in him and his dreams with a determined glint in his eyes and an emerald green elevation training mask hiding his lips.
The two of them stood opposite each other in the boxing ring.
It is now November, months having passed since he began learning boxing and he had to say it was the best experience of his life. He loved learning combinations, analyzing his teacher, predicting his strikes and dishing out his own.
It was like analyzing heroes only times a billion.
Yagi Toshinori raises his hands in a guard and Izuku copies him, without warning the man rushes him and throws a left uppercut aiming for his chin only to miss by half an inch as the boy takes a step back.
The man continues the assault throwing out jabs and crosses at his head forcing him to duck and weave. They circle each other like predator and prey, Izuku struggling to remain a step ahead of the adult.
There wasn't much the preteen could realistically do against his mentor, their reach and stride much longer, their experience greater. His only real advantage was his height and, theoretically, his agility.
He was a long, long way from actually dodging or landing a real punch. No matter how real it felt, this is training.
The hidden symbol takes a large step and throws a left hook, Izuku takes the blow on his arm and steps into the man's guard winding up a uppercut aimed for the other's stomach but they step to his open side before throwing a jab at his chin.
His vision immediately doubles, it becomes a struggle to stay upright but he does, months of intense training and years of bullying have taught him to take a punch.
The boy quickly disengages and tries to keep to Toshinori's side or back. Even while the man is holding back he's no match, he needs to play it safe, smart, otherwise he'll lose the exercise.
The hero fakes a right hook, the arm goes through the motion but Izuku can see the lack of commitment, the lack of any meaningful weight.
The boy gaze switches to the other arm guarding the face but notices the shifting of weight, he immediately drops and the previous hook he dismissed as a feint passes over his head. The hero hopeful throws a jab at the man's stomach, as it connects he can't help the smile spreading across his face.
His mentor drops his arms and laughs, patting Izuku's hair as they stand up, "Nice job, my boy! You're improving so fast, it's kinda scary."
"Thanks, I've been practicing every spare moment." And when he says every spare moment, he means it; shadowboxing on every run and every lunch break, practicing his footwork during his time on the beach as he's disposing of the garbage.
Toshinori sits down on the mat and pats to the spot next to him where the boy plops down taking off the mask to take a deep breath, "When I met you all those months ago I never expected you to be so… intense." He laughs as he wraps an arm around the other's shoulder. "You remind me so much of All Might; the commitment, the passion, the obsession, it's like looking at a younger version of the man." He turns and stares at his protégé, who is a blushing mess. "You're without a doubt what I've been looking for."
Izuku looks confused, "Looking for?"
The hidden symbol sighs, "I haven't told you everything about myself but before I tell you, I need you to do something for me."
"Anything." The boy answers resolutely.
Toshinori stands up and walks over to one of the corners and reaches for a duffle bag hanging off the ring post, grabbing it he drops it in front of him before unzipping it to take out a folder.
Gripping it, he walks back over to his students and hands it over, "In here is the Quirk held by All Might," He pauses at the loud gasp from the preteen before continuing. "Everything in here is the absolute truth, after you analyze this to the full extent of your abilities I want you to dispose of the contents of the folder and anything you wrote about it."
"Why…" Izuku questions as he holds the folder tightly to his chest, "No… no one knows All Might's Quirk, it's practically the eighth wonder in the world? Why trust me with it?"
"Because I trust you with all my heart. When you're done, we'll talk, okay?" The man kneels as he palms his boy's shoulder with a kind smile, "Give me a call when you're ready."
The quirkless hero hopeful hesitantly nods, "Okay."
~The Heavenly Hero:Celestial~
One For All: A Emitter-type Quirk, able to stockpile mass amounts of power to enhance All Might's physical abilities. One For All is originally two Quirks combined into one; a transference Quirk and a stockpiling Quirk conceived during the dawn of Quirks. All Might is the eighth user of the Quirk while his mentor, Ms. Wonder, is the seventh.
While in the possession of Ms. Wonder it didn't simply enhance her body but also her Quirk. Her original power, Float, allowed her to briefly hang in the air before slowly falling back down but with One For All it granted her true levitation.
The energy stockpiled is seemingly endless growing larger with time while the multiplier rises when passed down (it was immediately apparent that All Might was significantly more powerful than Ms. Wonder after transference of the Quirk).
That was it. That's all that was written but even those two paragraphs blew Izuku's mind. It redefined everything he knew about Quirks!
Everything the world knew about Quirks!
A Quirk that could be passed down, not for parent to child but from person to person? Not to mention the insinuation that Quirks could be artificially combined?!
He supposes it's not completely outlandish, there are a lot of strange Quirks out there that, at least on surface, ignored the laws of science.
But a stockpiling Quirk that seemingly never ran out of the energy it stockpiled? That grew significantly stronger from passing it on? That enhanced not only the physical abilities of the user but also their Quirks?
…actually no, that last one makes sense. A Lot of people forget but Quirks are physical abilities, they're not magic.
The energy increase must be exponential; All Might can literally change the weather with a single punch and is faster than a speeding bullet, that must take a gargantuan amount of energy yet he never appears any weaker than before, so the rate of decrease is as close to nonexistent as it can probably get.
'Wait?' Izuku thinks back to everything he knows about the symbol of peace and comes to a sterling realization that the man has never shown anything but his incredible strength, 'Does… does that mean he was bor–' The boy closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
No. No, he probably had a strength or speed Quirk before or… 'Toshinori looks like a skeletal version of All Might.' He freezes at the thought.
No one knows All Might's real name.
No one knows what he does when he's not being a hero which in today's age of technology should be impossible. Every hero has been caught in civies a couple times but not All Might, never All Might.
'No his Quirk is muscle Enhancement!' The boy argues but… Toshinori is old enough to have lived in the Dark Age of Japan, where almost no one registered their Quirk unless they were a pro.
Izuku can see it play out in his mind's eye; A Young Toshinori with a transformation Quirk that no one really knows about inherits One For All and passes it as his original Quirk, he moves to America where, at the time, you could conceal your identity, he earns another Hero License there than an international Hero License before returning to Japan.
He would be under no obligation to reveal his identity.
'But then why…' The preteen almost throws up when he remembers the injury, the grotesque injury that would have killed a lesser man.
All Might gets several injured, he can't operate at a hundred percent anymore, can't be All Might all of the time anymore.
But Toshinori is no slouch, One For All has probably enhanced his body to some degree, molded itself to his body as all Quirks do, so he uses his original Hero license to handle less intense crime until he can be All Might again.
'But,' Izuku clenches his fists as he stares at the typed up single piece of paper in front, 'Why tell me? Why… why train me?' The boy doesn't understand but he looks back at his time together with the man, at the endless encouragement and support, at the loving words.
He thinks back to the interview a couple months back where All Might revealed his plan to take on an apprentice.
'Oh… oh god.' Izuku squeezes his eyes shut as his heart almost leaps from his throat, 'He wants to give me One For All?!'
No! NO!
He isn't worthy of something like that! Of something so awesome! He needs to… to…
The hero hopeful swallows and thinks back to the blood, sweat, and tears he poured into his training for the past five and a half months. The amount of time Toshinori, All Might, sacrificed for him!
He thinks back to his dream. Izuku wants to be a Hero like All Might but he resided himself to becoming a pale imitation, someone who could only smile for one person at a time… but with One For All, with One For All he could smile for the world like Toshinori.
Izuku wants that.
Looking back to the paper with the Quirk description, 'He probably wants me to analyze One For All before inheriting it so I can be as prepared as possible… and also give me some time to fully digest everything. He must have known I would have figured everything out.' He grabs his notebook, turns on his computer and starts analyzing.
By the time he feels done, he missed his designated napping times and the next day has arrived. The boy looks over his final analysis and gives a firm nod.
A stockpiling-transference quirk that has had close to two hundred years to gather energy, the energy in question is able to magnify the body's natural abilities to incredible levels. The Quirk has had eight users, two confirmed.
The rate of growth for the Quirk is exponential and the rate of decrease is seemingly nonexistent. The energy can also enhance a user's Quirk, the seventh user, Ms. Wonder, was originally only able to briefly float upwards could, with One For All, achieve true leavation and mimic flight with her enhanced strength. All Might, the Eighth user, demonstrates unbelievable amounts of strength, speed, agility, and durability.
I, as the possible ninth user of the Quirk, would possess an unimaginable level of strength, something akin to a God. Considering how One For All amplifies all aspects of a user, the energy used to do so is mostly likely a type of metaphysical energy such as the concept of "Power" seeing as no known type of energy could be used to amplify all aspects of a person or grow to such absurd levels when in constant use. I would likely have an extremely difficult time controlling One For All, it would be akin to a glass cup holding an ocean; simply impossible. To keep the analogy going, the glass cup needs to be strengthened, melted down and added too until it's large and strong enough to hold the ocean in its entirety. I'm not sure if I have reached the physicality needed to contain the Quirk, though I'm sure All Might will know when the time is right.
Most stockpiling quirks have a mental/emotional component to them, so strong imagery can allow for better control, the simpler the better. Something like an egg in a microwave or a tachometer used in vehicles, when using One For All I should start with the smallest amount of the Quirk and spread the energy throughout my body as evenly as possible to amplify all aspects at once as pulling the energy from one place to the other would take too much time and slow me down. I should then familiarize myself with my new limits before increasing the output and repeat the process until it is no longer possible.
Nodding at what he wrote he tears the page out of his notebook along with every page he used to write down his research about the possible previous users and his weird theories about One For All that couldn't be proven until it actually happened, he also grabbed All Might's single page description of the Quirk before standing up and heading towards his bedroom door. Opening it, he walks across the hall to the bathroom and enters, closing it behind him, he strolls to the toilet flipping the seat open before he starts tearing the pages into tiny pieces.
As the paper sits in the toilet water, he flushes it and heads back to his room to get ready for the day.
~The Heavenly Hero:Celestial~
Toshinori had assumed it wouldn't take Izuku long to contact him, the boy had probably spent the rest of yesterday analyzing his Quirk before deciding he needed even more information.
Information he would happily provide.
…Okay maybe not happily, he waited on the beach where he first started training the boy wondering how he was going to explain everything; the lies, the half truths, the manipulation, and most importantly his ultimate goal for the boy.
"Toshinori-Sensei!"
Turning around, he sees Izuku speed walk down the stairs onto Takoba Municipal Beach with purposeful steps grasping at the straps of his yellow backpack so tightly his knuckles were white. He walks straight up to the pro, "You're All Might, right?"
Toshinori blinks before huffing in disbelief, "You… of course you would figure it out, my boy. I keep underestimating you." In a breath the emaciated man puffs up, almost like a balloon and in his place is the symbol of peace, the number one hero in the world; All Might.
The preteen takes a step back as awe fills his eyes and a smile stretching across his lips, "Are… Do you want to give me One For All?" He asks hesitantly and hopefully.
"I do, I can't think of anyone more worthy. My time as a hero is diminishing and the world needs a symbol, I believe you're it." Kneeling down, the hero palms the boy's shoulder, "Will you accept this awesome power, Izuku, my boy?"
The boy takes a shuddering breath, "I… yes! Of course! Yes!"
Toshinori smiles in relief, "Good. Now, I have some important questions to ask you, things that will determine how we go about this."
Izuku nods in understanding.
"I'm sure you remember my injury, well it's a lot more debilitating than I let on, currently I can only use One For All for five hours a day. It's been estimated that if things keep going the same direction I'll lose complete access to my Quirk in about five or six years."
"And that's without you transferring it? I assume because of the nature of One For All as a stockpiling Quirk you'll be left with some residual energy, right?" The hero hopeful asks with a bit of excitement, wondering if one of his theories was correct.
The man blinks, "Yes, my mentor called them embers." Shaking his head he continues. "If we wait until the last possible moment to transfer One For All, let's say the month before your Entrance Exam, then I think I could stay on that time table-"
"Which won't give me enough time to take your place. On that time table I would have to immediately become the symbol as soon as I graduate which just isn't feasible which is why you want me to join your Hero Program, right? It would gather me instant support as your chosen protégé, allow the public time to get used to the idea of me being your successor, and get me on the field as soon as possible."
Toshinori stares at the boy and huffs, "You know it took me a couple months to come up with that plan, I was very proud of myself and you just dismantled it in a few seconds." Laughing he stands up. "So what do you think?"
Izuku smiles in pure glee, "All I ever wanted to be is a hero, the fact that I can be that so much sooner than I ever thought possible is… I," He giggles deviously. "I don't think there's a word for what I'm feeling."
The symbol's own smile widens, "Good, good."
"But what about my mom? I don't think she'll let me join your program even if I suddenly manifest the strongest Quirk in the world!"
The man's smile doesn't dim in the slightest, "My boy, I'm All Might. I'm the man who dragged Japan out of the dark age, who stopped natural disasters from decimating cities, who single handedly reduced crime across the globe, she won't say no to me."
The boy nods slowly, "Okay, okay. So, what now?"
"Now, I do this." Toshinori takes Izuku's left hand and presses a nail into the palm before sweeping against it making a diagonal cut.
"Ow!" Izuku pulls away and rubs the wound.
"Sorry, some of my D.N.A needs to mix with yours." He explains as he makes a cut on his own left palm, "Now shake my hand, my boy and continue my legacy."
The preteen clasps the offered hand and pulls a face at the warm wetness spreading across the flesh, his whole body suddenly seizes as something incredibly heavy and vast settles inside of him, "Oh… oh god."
"How do you feel?" Toshinori asks as he pulls away from his student, "Don't be too discourage if you can't use One For All immediately, it'll be like asking someone who grew-"
The boy shivers and closes his eyes, 'Imagine a tachometer, I'm a car and One For All is the engine. The tachometer is telling me how far I'm pushing the engine, right now the engine is too powerful for the car so I can only go one RPM. So lightly, ever so gently, press on the gas pedal.' With the mental image firmly in his head, he spreads the energy across his body.
Every cell in his body burns, overflowing with overwhelming power as if he'd been struck by lightning.
It hurts!
It hurts, so damn much! It's as if his body is being torn apart but… but…
The mentor looks memorized at his protégé, the veins turn bright neon red as arches of seafoam green lightning-like energy bounce off of him and his skin glows. After a moment the neon red fades and the lightning dies down, only briefly showing itself every few seconds in sparks.
Izuku slowly opens his eyes, "I feel good."
The Symbol of Peace laughs and claps, "You're a natural! Just like me!" He wraps his arms around the boy and spins around.
The ninth holder of the ancient awesome power giggles, "I have a Quirk! I have a Quirk! I'm going to be the next Symbol of Peace!"
"Damn right!"