It was late, the sun was already going down and Izumi felt the rush of the day just buzz on her skin. Her ears still rang from the lectures she'd received from the surrounding heroes. They were right of course, it would have been dangerous for anyone, let alone someone without a quirk. Still...

She heard the rushing steps behind her and turned around just in time to squeal as Bakugo grabbed her by the shoulders and shake her.

"BAKA USAGI! I never asked for your help! I didn't need it! Don't you ever try and do something that stupid again!" He shoved her back breathing heavily and shaking. His fists were clenched and his head bowed as he tried desperately to hold in his temper. 

"K-K-Kacchan..." Izumi blinked and went pale. She'd expected his anger but had done little to prepare for it. "I'm sorry." 

"Kuso!" His grip on her tightened. It had been to close. If All Might hadn't shown up when he did, she would have died. She would have died trying to save him. That fact, that knowledge both made him happy, and pissed him off all at the same time. "You're a quirkless failure playing at hero! If you've got death wish, I'd be more than happy to kill you myself!" He shoved her back and she stumbled a little but stayed on her feet. "Think about that next time! BAKA!" 

He turned around and stalked off. All these new emotions that were swelling inside him. He'd have to do something quickly to kill them before they messed him up royally.

Izumi in the meantime stood there stunned by the sudden rush and outburst. She blinked and couldn't help but let out a little laugh watching him stamp off irritably. Ah well, that was Kacchan for yah. He says what he wants the way he wants to. Anyway he was right, they had all been right. She'd been in the heat of battle, and all she'd managed to do was get in the way. She couldn't be a hero. It was time to face reality and think of what to do next.

She turned around to keep walking and got the second jolt of surprise as All Might zoomed right into view. She landed on her rump her bag in her lap her eyes blinking in wide eyed surprise.

"All Might?! What? Huh? Weren't you being interviewed?"

"Hahahahaha!" All Might laughed as he boasted. "Getting away from them was a cinch. Why do you ask? Because I am All Mi-" he coughed up blood as his body shrunk back to his true form: Skin and bones and fatigue lining his face. It was a form that still made her jolt. Her perfect image of the World's greatest hero was morphing into something she wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"Young Lady... I've come with words of thanks, a correction, and a solution."

"Eh?" Confusion lined her face as she got to her feet and dusted off her skirt.

"If it hadn't been for you, if you hadn't told me about your life, and risked your own to save your friend... I would have become a boasting fool in a uniform. So thank you." He watched her eyes go bright and her cheeks flush.

"What? No that's not right. It was my fault to begin with that the villain escaped and put Kacchan and everyone in danger. I got in the way of your work, and I asked you impertinent questions even though I'm quirkless. I'm sorry."

"That's exactly right. It was because of you; young, timid, and quirkless you, that I was able to act. Top Heroes all have stories from their school days... but one thing has always stood out among them. Their bodies reacted before they had a chance to think."

When he saw that look of surprise and pure joy on her face, All Might knew he'd made the right decision. 

"That was true for you too, wasn't it?"

Tears sprang from those big green orbs and she held her chest and mouth trying to contain the tears of joy. She nodded and collapsed to her knees as her idol, the man she'd looked up to for so many years said the words she'd always hoped to hear from others.

"You can become a hero."

The tears just kept coming. She sobbed and cried her hair curtaining around her face and sticking to her tear stained cheeks. The pleasure and happiness was so great it overwhelmed her. Thank you... she wanted to say... thank you for believing in me when no one else has.

"You are more than worthy to inherit my power."

Izumi tried to quiet the tears and process what he'd said. She sniffled and sat up wiping her nose with her handkerchief.

"Inherit?"

~Some Time Later~

One For All... of all the ways she'd imagined getting her quirk, no where had she believed that All Might himself would pass down his powers to her. His quirk was power that was collected, and grown inside the various wielders over a period of time. It was a quirk that enhanced the user's natural abilities then passed on to a successor , generation to generation. In her case, the natural ability would be a physical one. Since she had no quirk to enhance, all her training would rest on her gaining strength and endurance in order to properly handle the power that would be stored inside.

"You have to become a proper vessel in order to inherit this power. If I give it to you now in your weakened state, instead of enhancing you, it would be just as likely for your limbs to explode."

The image of that had her shaking. She'd agreed to take it on before she'd realized what she'd gotten herself into... but since she had there was no stopping it. She panted as she tried to drag the debris across the sandy beach. It was only the second day of her training and already her arms ached from shoving and pulling large amounts of garbage. On top of the trash she was also to run everyday, change her diet, and follow the master plan that All Might had lined up.

All of this was planned so she could fully prepared to inherit the power and use it to make it into U.A in ten months. She'd train with All Might early in the morning, eat well balanced meals, walk back and forth from school rather than take a bus, lift weights three times a week, do calisthenics the other four days a week, and get eight hours of sleep every night before waking up to do it all over again. On Sunday when there was no school she and All Might would train nearly all day, testing her weekly progress. He had her drag trash, jog, calisthenics, swimming, and the procedures were never the same.

As difficult and as productive as the training was, Izumi wondered if it was enough. She felt her body slowly changing, the tightness in her muscles, the fat around her stomach and thighs thinning and tightening to muscle. Still as someone who was quirkless shouldn't she do more? She had to do more in order to catch up to those ahead of her. Kacchan in particular was physically, and mentally prepared for his testing, but more his quirk had him standing out, calling out to greatness.

The thought of Kacchan had her pausing on the beach. She'd barely spoken to him since that day in the alley. He'd done his best to avoid her, and had even stopped razzing her after class. She wondered if he was still worked up over it, was he embarrassed? Ashamed? Or just annoyed that she'd interfere?

Though All Might eyed her with annoyance that she'd suddenly halted, he saw the look of deep thought on her face.

"What's the matter?"

"Hmmm? Oh Sorry! It's nothing, just lost my train of thought." She hefted up the shelf gritting her teeth as she trudged through the sand with it hoisted above her head. Months ago she could barely do chin ups in PE but now look at her. She didn't have time to think about Kacchan and his moods. She had a goal in mind and that took precedence.

On top of the training she also had exams to study for. She'd aced the midterm but with the training regimen eating up most of her time she was struggling to remember what all she'd learned in class. She went over notes and winced at the shaky handwriting. She set down her pencil and looked down at the hands in question. They were getting stronger, but endurance was something she was struggling with. She had to keep her energy up and wondered if All Might had any recommendations.

"Time for a change of scenery." She stood up and grabbed her jacket. She walked outside and lightly jogged to the beach. The debris was breaking up and there was a clean line of beach stretched out. She toed off her shoes and removed her jacket. The cool breeze felt good on her skin and she stepped up to the waves breathing in the night air.

She recalled her brief time in Martial arts and let her body smoothly position into Tai Chi poses. It was all a matter of controlling your energy, finding balance and maintaining a peaceful mindset. She knew more Karate than the Tai Chi, counter attacks and defense was something she'd studied ferociously. Tai Chi however was a great way for her to relax her mind, like meditation in motion. It was the perfect way to relax and just what she had needed. Perhaps she should pick up some tidbits from the internet and continue the Tai Chi as another addition to her workout regimen.

She let the smile form even as her arms and legs pushed and stretched and flexed out. It was a dance, smooth and fluid and graceful. Like Ballet it required a lot of balance and concentration as well as emotion. So she let the sound of the waves, the feel of the water on her feet, and the scent of the sea keep her at peace.

Bakugo wasn't entirely sure why he had followed her. He'd seen her jog out of her house on his way to the convenience store and just couldn't stop himself. He watched her move and wondered why she looked so different than the girl he'd known most of his life. Her hair was loose and flowing in the breeze, her face peaceful and long limbs gracefully dancing. It was a side of her he'd never seen, and it shook him to the core.

Gritting his teeth he stomped down the steps.  He  curled up his fingers forming a small ball of nitroglycerin into his palm and igniting it. The explosion rippled and the waves at Izumi's feet splashed up. Hearing her squeal and watching her fall back on her ass made him want to laugh. Now THAT was the Usagi he knew. Clumsy, frightened, and flushed.

"Stop spacing out, baka Usagi. You're leaving yourself wide open for attack." He put his hands on his hips smirking down at her. She was wet and dazed, and something inside him tightened.

"K-Kacchan!? What are you doing here?" She got up shivering some as the water soaked through her clothes.

"I could ask you the same thing, it's freaking January, it's too cold to be taking a swim."

"You're the one who made me fall over, you jerk." she muttered that last part and hugged herself. Her breasts squeezed between her hugged arms and had the hairs on the back of his neck go prickly. He jerked off his jacket and tossed it over her head.

"You're the one coming to the beach at night. Do yourself a favor and get home before you catch a cold, you stupid rabbit." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. He started to walk away then turned his head back to see her staring blankly and holding his jacket to her chest. " You coming or not? Don't blame me if you get robbed or raped or something."

"Huh? Oh... right I'm coming!" She pulled his jacket over her wet clothes. She quickly grabbed her shoes and jogged after him. They walked home in the quiet night. He didn't say a word to her but merely slowed his pace to match hers. When they reached her house he pulled his jacket off and shoved her in the direction of the door. 

"Next time you want to take a walk at night alone, don't. It'll be annoying if something happens to you and your mom comes crying to mine."

"Okay... thanks Kacchan."

"Don't thank me, you're just lucky I was already outside. I'm still annoyed with you and you better keep your distance from me at school!" He hissed between his teeth and walked off swinging his coat over his shoulder. Izumi watched him till he disappeared down the street and found herself smiling after him. He had a funny way of showing his concern... but at least he talked to her.

What he had said struck a chord though. The image that he had of her was one of a weak and pathetic little girl crying her eyes out. It was an image she was bound and determined to change. She had less than a month to finish the beach, to reach her goal. She knew she had power, knew she could take it... but she couldn't stop there. She wanted to go the extra mile, she wanted to show All Might that he was right in his gamble to take her as a successor. More she wanted to show Bakugo and all the others who doubted her that she was no longer the quirkless little girl. She was a hero!

Everyday she pushed more and more, taking on the items she told herself were too big to move. She removed her shirt, standing out in a bra and jog shorts and pushed and pulled each of the heavy items off the beach. Sweat lined her skin, fatigue dusted her eyes but she wouldn't quit. She jogged down the steps on the morning of the test, looked out at the beach to grab another item, and found there was nothing to grab. She panted and obsessed, looking something, anything to pull up, instead all she found was clean white sand. She knelt onto it, dug her hands into it and laughed hysterically.

The laughs turned to a roar, she screamed in triumph pumping her fists. She ran back up the steps and on top of the pile of garbage she'd hefted up. Standing atop the mountain she screamed again, and out into the sun. Take that! TAKE THAT YOU HATERS!

She pressed her hands to her face and let herself fall forward. She felt arms clutched around her and smiled up at All Might's brilliant face. 

"I did it."

"Indeed you did, Young Midoriya." He slowly set her down and took a long calculating glance. With a nod of approval he pulled out his phone and compared the photo of her from ten months ago. The one from before was of a crying child who lay on the beach whining and complaining... but the young woman who stood in front of him now was like a young amazon princess, athletic, tough, and full of pride.

"I feel as though I'm cheating. You've done all this for me... made my dreams become a reality." Tears filled her eyes and slipped down. She smiled brilliantly up at him. "I'm so blessed."

"Hahaha, we'll have to fix those leaky eyes of yours." He gently brushed the tears away and pat her head. "Now then... time for your award ceremony. Izumi Midoriya." He plucked a piece of hair from his head. Izumi wiped her eyes and stood tall again nodding.

"Yessir!"

"I'll tell you something my predecessor once told me. Something you receive because you're lucky, and something you are gifted with from being realized are different in essence. Take those words to heart, young lady." He held out the strand of hair to her. She looked at it with wide blinking eyes and reached out to take it.

"Eat this."

Her hand halted and jerked back.

"What!?"

"You need to ingest some of my DNA in order to inherit. So..." He held it out to her again, grunting as she stepped back.

"Are you serious? That's way different then what I imagined... EH! EEK!" She struggled a bit as he held her nose and lifted it up to pop the piece of hair into her mouth. Her face tinged green as she swallowed it and made a small 'eeeyuck' sound.

"Okay... I swallowed it, but... I don't feel any different."

"Of course not, what do you think the stomach does? You'll feel it in a couple of hours... unfortunately that means we don't have any time to test it out." He glanced up at the clock with a sigh. "Ah well, the best test is on the battle field. Are you ready?"

"Mmm, yes," She looked up and pumped her fists. "I'll do my best, All Might. That I can promise you. I just hope it'll be enough."

"Keep that hope alive, kid. Now I'll tell you how to tap into that power, so listen up."

~U.A. High School 8:40am~

Nerves prickled along her skin. Izumi stared up at the large intimidating campus with her heart pounding and frogs jumping in her belly making her want to throw up her breakfast. She clutched the straps of her bag and bit her lip. Alright, Izumi, this is it. No turning back. She took three steps forward.

"Oi Usagi!" Bakugo's voice had her jolting and she whirled around.

"Oh! Good Morning Kacchan."

"You're in my way, you stupid rabbit. I thought I told you not to come here." He glared at her as he approached. "You're supposed to keep your distance."

"I know, but I'd already signed up... and since we're both here let's just do our b... oi Kacchan!" She turned around watching him walk past without another glance at her. She pouted at him and sighed. She just couldn't keep up with his change of temper and mood.

"Probably for the best, I don't need any distractions." She took a deep breath and turned back around. She tripped and squeaked waiting for the impact of the ground. When it didn't come she opened her eyes again and blinked. She was floating and she freaked out a little holding down her skirts and looking around. The girl beside her had her by the backpack and smiled sweetly.

"My quirk, sorry for using it without asking, but it would have been bad luck if you'd fallen am I right?" The sweet round face and straight brown hair reminded Izumi of the porcelain dolls she'd seen in toy stores. When she righted herself she quickly bowed.

"Th-Thank you!"

"You're nervous I can tell. So am I! Let's both do our best, okay?" She said giddily and waved while walking away.

"Y-Yes! Good Luck!" Someone talked to her! Aside from Kacchan she had never really had friends before. Most of the girls kept their distance and preferred to poke fun, whereas the guys just liked to tease and poke at her shortcomings. Suddenly filled with joy and delight at meeting a new friend she silently hoped the girl would make it into U.A. as well.

She took her happy mood into the test arena. She found her card and followed it to her assigned seat. When she saw Bakugo her mood soured again as nerves prickled. She sat down beside him, already sensing the heavy tension between them.

"Hi again."

"Shut up, or I'll kill you."

Izumi hung her head with a heavy sigh. If this was how the test was gonna go, she had a bad feeling about it.