The cool water laps at his feet, fizzing and bubbling. He hears the waves ahead roar and roll down as they crash onto the shore with a soft hiss.

The sun is just rising, the dark blue sky slowly taking on red hues of light. The sand feels soft and perfectly warm under his skin. Small grains are stuck on his legs, as if he'd dropped a sack of flour on himself.

It's been four months since he started training and the beach is almost fully cleared.

"You're skills are nearly all back Dad!" A tiny voice speaks. Izuku looks down at the phone currently propped up next to him, the camera facing the ocean. "Your sword skills need developing but they're all there! And look! Your speed and strength is already really high!" Excitement can be heard in Yui's tone even through the speakers.

"Yeah... I still can't figure out how. Kayaba was quirkless, how did he manage to transfer my skills into the real world. I've been training for a while and every time I gain even the slight bit of muscle, my strength intensifies ten times. I can't even hear my footsteps anymore."

"That means you have your stealth skills back!" She exclaims happily, although her voice takes a more serious tone afterward. "He was able to replicate the quirk in the game's monsters, it's not an easy feat. It wouldn't be a stretch to think he was able to come up with a way."

"You're right... I just, I need to know how."

He can hear her sigh, they laps into silence after that. Admiring the waves and listening to the water flow around them. He's happy that he's able to share the real world with her.

"I miss Papa." The voice is small, hesitant even. As if she knows the way his heart clench at her words. As if she feels the omnipresent sadness that plagues his entire being and drowns his world.

"I- I miss him too..."

This time the silence is heavy. Suffocating.

His heart aches at the memory. If he just was stronger. If he'd done something different- anything...

"Did you try to find the others?" She tries to lighten the mood. He's surprised sometimes in the level of maturity he finds in his little girl.

"I don't know their real names. The government is taking every measure possible to prevent the survivors from meeting each other. Although, I know who Yashi is. He made it pretty clear." He remembers all those times in the older man's merchant shop.

Yui giggles at the mention of the older man.

"Is he really a hero?" She asks with all the apprehension of a small kid. Talking about heroes for the first time.

"He is! However, he's going to need time to get back into the business after everything."

"Do you want me to help you locate him?"

"You could try but I'd have to go to his agency in order for you to hack their servers. It's not that far from here."

"Oh okay, Promise I'll do my best!"

"Don't worry Yui, I know you got this." He replies easily, fondness radiating in his tone. He wishes he could see her, he wishes they were all back together again.

Sighing softly, he gets up and brushes the sand off of his body.

He takes one last look at the beach before making his way back to the main road.

_______________________________

Aizawa's walking down the street towards the local coffee shop, when he sees it happening.

It's a normal day, he had patrol duty just last night. Given that he hasn't slept in twenty four hours, he figured that a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt.

However, as fate would have it, he got a mini heart attack instead.

The street, is mostly clear of vehicles. Pedestrians cross the road calmly as the light turns green.

His cup of coffee is held cozily in his arms as he waits for the green light.

He hears it before he sees it.

Tires screech against the asphalt as a car speeds right into a red light.

His head shoots up immediately, glaring at the driver. The man looks panicked, screaming incomprehensibly at the people to move. However, right there, a couple of feet ahead of him, stands a small child.

The girl is frozen in fear, hugging a teddy bear close to her chest as she trembles. Her mother calls out to her from the other side desperately.

His hand is instantly on his capture weapon, ready to pull the kid away from the car's path.

He's going to be too late. He feels it. Sees it as the car gets closer at an impossible speed.

He's not going to make it in time.

He doesn't have to though. Another figure appears right behind the girl. In a flash, the person is tackling the girl out of the way, their bodies barely visible as the person moves in an incredible speed.

The car whizzes past them and rams into a pulp. Yet, he sees the man get out, mostly unharmed. If not a little panicked and dizzy.

He then proceeds to look back, checking on the girl and her savior.

He would've spit out his coffee if it wasn't currently in a spilled mess on the concrete right now.

The girl is safe in her mother's arms. They're both crying, a mess of tears and emotions that makes Aizawa think it's too early for this. However, what makes him freeze in place is the girl's savior.

It's just a kid. He doesn't even look older than thirteen.

The boy sits on the floor next to the pair. How could a kid have such speed and reflexes. A speed quirk maybe?

The boy looks calm, if only for the slightly faster rise of his chest. He looks way to calm to have just brushed death like that. His hair is a tussled mess though. Strands of green curly hair escaping what Aizawa assumes was a ponytail.

He watches from a far as the mother bows in thanks and the girl jumps at the boy. Hugging him while muttering an endless spiral of 'thank you's'.

Normally, he would chide the kid for illegal quirk usage. However, in this particular situation, he chooses to turn a blind eye and let it go.

If he's hoping the kid ends up next year in his class at UA, no one needs to know.

_____________________

"Are you sure this is it?" It was a couple of days after the morning at the beach. Izuku was now standing in front of a tall apartment building.

"I hacked their mainframe the last time we were near the agency. That's the address I got."

"Okay,talk to you later Yui" He sighs as he shuts his phone off. "Here goes nothing..." He proceeded to go up the floor Yui had directed him to.

Gathering up his courage and wishing he wasn't making a mistake, he knocked on the door.

After a beat, he could hear a voice grumbling something along 'I'll get it', footsteps padding closer to the door.

His hearing really was improving.

The door opened softly, revealing in its place a tall lanky black haired man. The man's shoulders were slouched, posture relaxed and expression passive as he looked him over. Izuku could've sworn he saw a flash of surprise in those raven black eyes. Although, the stranger was quick to school his expression back to indifference.

"What do you want?" He spoke up, his voice gruff as he ran a hand through his long hair. His tone showed just how tired the man really was. If the eye bags he was sporting were of any indication. Maybe, it was wrong to come by this early. He probably woke him up.

"Ah- sorry, I must have the wrong apartment-"He backed away apologetically, cursing his luck.

"Who are you looking for?" The man drawled slowly.

"I uh, I'm looking for Yash- Yamada?" The man must've caught his slip up, if the way his eyes narrowed were of any indication.

Before the other man could respond, a noise was heard from behind him.

"Hey, zawa who's at the do-"A sputtering sound could be heard from behind the threshold.

"...Hi." Was all Izuku could say at the moment, as his friend finally came into view. The man that previously blocked the doorway, having stepped aside.

He watched as the blonde's eyes widened exponentially, his mouth hanging open as he looked at Izuku as if he was ghost.

"Oh my god..." The man beside him seemed to cover his ears, as if some bomb was about to erupt. However, none of that happened. "K-Kirito?" Yashi's voice was quieter than he ever heard him speak. Even the dark haired man seemed surprised.

A nod was the only thing he could manage. His throat felling too constricted to make out any words.

In a heartbeat, the man was on him. Hugging him like his life depended on it.

"Is that really you?" He could feel the dampness spreading in is shoulder, Yashi always been emotional.

He hugged the man tighter, making sure this was real.

Ever since he got out, ever since he cleared the game, he wanted to see his friends. Speak with them, just talk, hangout. He missed them more than anything.

They stayed that way for who knows how long. However a cough from behind them brought them back to the real world.

"Uh... Is someone going to explain?" The man exclaimed, even more tired than before.

"Oh! Right, right!" Yashi exclaimed as he broke up the hug. He kept a shoulder around him though. Izuku could understand the gesture. They both needed to make sure the other wouldn't just disappear. "Shouta, meet Kirito! The kid I talked to you about!" The voice hero made wide gestures with his arms as he introduced him. "And Kirito, you may be my unofficial little brother but this right here, is my best friend in the whole wide world. Aizawa Shouta!"

"Nice to meet you Aizawa-san. Sorry to intrude unannounced."

"Nonsense! I've been trying to find you for ages! I couldn't though! You never gave me your real name!" A halfhearted glare was aimed his way. The man too excited to be mad right now.

"A-ah yeah... I never told you, did I?" He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, it's nice to officially meet you."

The man shook his hand seriously before ushering him into the living room.

"Well, now that you're here, you have to stay for lunch!" Before he even got the chance to get a word in, he was being shoved into a couch seat in the living. Yamada going into the kitchen, probably to prepare lunch.

The black haired man, now dubbed Aizawa, was staring at him from his seat in the opposite couch. Two years ago, Izuku might've withered under that look. He would've squirmed and retrieved under the intensity of that gaze. However now, he met the man's eyes head on. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't get any weird vibes from the guy. He was Yashi's best friend after all. He must be good.

"So, you and Yash- Hizashi live together? "

"Roommates. Yes." The man sighed and dropped the glare "You can call him Yashi you know... It won't bother him."

"I... yeah, it's a habit..."

"Look, before Hizashi gets back." He braced himself for harsh words. A warning to stay away from his best friend or even to be kicked out. "I wanted to thank you."

Tension slipped from his body as he slumped in relief. That- that wasn't what he was expecting.

"What-" The man interrupted him before he could speak.

"You were there for him when I couldn't be. You saved him from that game. You saved his life. He told me about what you did. What you lost and sacrificed and how you cleared the game." The man was quiet for a while, Izuku didn't dare to speak. "You're the reason I have my best friend back. So, I'm thanking you. Still, if you're anything like he described, don't bother denying it."

For the first time, in who knows how long, Izuku was truly and utterly speechless.

"Okay."

The older man seemed satisfied with his response.

"Now, let's go before that fool sets the kitchen on fire."

____________________________

"So, you're going to be teaching at UA?" Izuku asked as he took another spoonful of the Katsudon Yamada had prepared for them.

His heart warmed at the thought, Yashi remembered his favorite meal.

"That would be right listener! I'm going to need more time if I'm going to get back to the hero business, Nedzu offered me a job there in the meantime."

"Yeah, about that" Aizawa spoke up "I thought I recognized you, you're the kid who saved that girl from being hit by a car, right? How did you move so fast? Yamada can't run properly yet."

"Woah, really! Kirito, you're doing it here too?"

"H-how do you know about that?" Ignoring the voice hero's comment, he thought about Aizawa's question. As far as he knew, no one caught that accident on tape.

"I was there. Although, I thought you were quirkless... Isn't that what you told me Zashi?"

The voice hero nodded in response, his eyes wide as he looked to Izuku for an answer.

"yeah.. uh.. I wanted to talk to you about that..." He sighed heavily. How did he explain this? Hey! So Kayaba gave me powers as a gift! Awesome right? Yeah... no. "A couple of weeks after I woke up, I got this email." He looked up at the two, their eyes were trained on him, their attention solely focused on him. "It was from Heathcliff."

Aizawa's brows furrowed in confusion so Yamada was quick to elaborate.

"Heathcliff was Kayaba Akihiko's avatar in the game. But he died? Didn't he?" worry was evident in the axe wielder's voice.

"Yeah, well I got an automated email from him. It says since I cleared the game, I had earned the powers I had there. So... somehow, in the time between his death and the actual end of the game, he managed to transfer my skills and powers from SAO to the real world."

"Is that even possible?" It was Aizawa who spoke up this time.

"Apparently it is. Because as far as I know, I'm still quirkless."

"Ah so cool! I wish I had my axe skills here!" he stopped for a moment to think about it. "But that's good right? You've always wanted to be a hero before all this. With your level of skills, you could be one of the best!"

At that Aizawa seemed to perk up. Although it was minimal, Yamada caught the reaction and smirked at his best friend.

"Yeah... I did." Izuku sighed.

At his response Yashi seemed to sober up. No longer grinning at the dark haired man next to him.

"Don't you want to anymore?" He asked slowly, not wanting to bother the kid if he didn't want to answer.

"I don't- I mean..." He sucked in a sharp breath. " I don't think I'd make a good hero Yashi." A deep rooted sadness took over his features as he avoided eye contact with the two adults. "I couldn't even save-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." It was the first time he's heard that tone of voice coming from his usually upbeat friend. "Kirito. Izuku. You'd make a great hero." He laid a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look him in the eyes. "You know how I know that?" When Izuku stayed silent, the man continued. "That's because you're a hero already."

"A hero would have to be a good person." The sentence was spoken in a voice barely above a whisper. The phrase wasn't meant to be heard. It was nonetheless.

"What do you mean by that?" Although Aizawa only knew the kid for a couple of hours. He knew without a shred of a doubt that the kid was a good person.

For In those couple of hours only. He already knew of two people that kid saved. This, not counting the countless survivors that got to see their friends and families again because of him. That got to see the world again.

"...Laughing Coffin." Yamada breathed in realization. "Izuku... you don't... blame yourself for that, do you?" The worry and sadness in the blonde's eyes.

"How could I not Yashi. I killed them. Three living, breathing people. I took them away from their families. I killed them. I did that." Anger and sadness overwhelmed him in waves. How could he ever be a Hero? He was a killer. Nothing more than a villain.

"They were all red players Kirito. They were murderers. They were trying to kill us-"

"I had the option to neutralize them without killing." He interrupted the man, frustration welling up inside of him as he tried to make them understand. "But I killed them anyway. Out of rage, hatred and a desire for revenge." They were all quiet. "You know I can't even remember their names and faces..." Darkness could be seen overtaking his features. His hands were clenched tightly, knuckles white as he tried to reign in his emotions. "I'm a person who kills someone and forgets about it."

"Kirito... you did it because you had to. To protect the others." Yashi spoke softly, trying his best to make the kid understand.

"In heroics, there will always come a time when one has to make a choice." It was Aizawa who continued though. "Between saving civilians or taking down a villain. There are times where you must pick who lives and who dies. Of course that doesn't mean it is right to kill but it does mean that you have the right to consider the lives you saved."

"DON'T YOU GET IT? I FORGOT THE PEOPLE I KILLED! I THREW AWAY THAT BURDEN! I DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO CALL MYSELF A HERO! WHAT KIND OF HERO KILLS PEOPLE! "He screamed out, anger and guilt erupting in a burst of shouts to the surface. Finally admitting what has been haunting him ever since he got out of that game. "I- I couldn't even save him. I couldn't even-"

"Kirito" Yamada's voice cracked as he called out to him. "Izuku." Tears spilling down his green radioactive eyes as he looked at the green haired child in front of him. "You didn't forget. If you had forgotten, you wouldn't be suffering so much. You remember them and you live with it every day of your life. We all do." The man got up, crossing the distance between them. "We went through hell but we survived. We got out. That Izuku... That was because of you. So don't you dare say you're not a hero. You did everything you had to do. To help others. You stayed from the start. Without you, we'd probably still be stuck in that hellhole. You're going to be the best hero. So don't you give up on me now lil bro. Okay?"

Tears spilled uselessly down his cheeks as he stared at one of his closest friends. At one of the only people who really knew him. Who understood what it's like to be an SAO survivor.

"I-I'm sorry." So he cried. He cried for who knows how long. Hugging his friend, his brother like his life depended on it.

He needed to atone for his mistakes. He needed to prove to himself that he was good.

So, Izuku set out for his new goal.

"I won't let you down."