Power Without a Quirk

16.I-Island Hero Pt.1

Izuku stood in ripped clothes, facing his opponent while panting heavily as blood flowed down from his forehead. "Well this certainly isn't how I thought the start of my summer would go," he thought. He looked around himself at his surroundings. Wind whipped at his hair, beyond the roof he was on was the night skyline of the city. " technically I would probably still be here anyways, but if this is what happens when I accept such a simple offer from All Might, how bad would things have been if I accepted one for all? I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up breaking my bones all the time."

How did he end up like this? Simple really. It all started at the end of the semester, and as Izuku has pointed out already, with an offer from All Might. Izuku was leaving the school building, ready to enjoy his summer break as much as possible before whatever hellish training awaited everyone at the camp. "Young Midoriya, I would like to talk to you for a moment." Izuku looked down the hall to see All Might in his muscular form, leaning around the corner. "You don't have to, but I would appreciate it if you heard me out."

Izuku sighed. "Yeah sure, I guess it wouldn't hurt to at least hear you out." He followed his former idol, passing Bakugou in the hallway and receiving a weird look from him. Izuku ignored it and continued walking. "So what did you want to talk about." All Might stopped in front of the teachers lounge and opened the door for Izuku, the students walking in with the hero behind him. As he entered, Izuku noticed that there was a third person there. Another student who looked older than him, with blonde hair and a muscular build. "And who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Mirio Togata, a third year. And I'm the one who inherited All Might's quirk, One for All."

Izuku turned around to a shrunken All Might, cocking an eyebrow. "Ok, what is going on? Why did you bring me here?"

"I wanted to talk with you about something, and so did young Togata, so I brought him as well."

Izuku turned back around and faced Mirio who had a sincere look on his face. Still facing him, he sat in a chair and stares intently at him as All Might sat next to his successor. "So what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"

All Might looked down as Mirio began to answer. "I've heard about how you were offered this quirk, but refused it. I had already been curious about ever since I heard you were quirkless, and even more so since I've heard that you refused this quirk. You have done incredible things, truly. For instance, winning the sports festival, and beating three of the four recommended first years in process. I wish I could have seen it in person instead of from a recording."

"Let me guess, there's a but."

Mirio gave him a small, sad smile. "You have amazing drive and determination, are very talented, mastering such skills so quickly. And from what I've seen and heard, you have the makings of a true hero, wishing to do what you can to help everyone. But." Izuku rolled his eyes. "I don't mean any offense or to come off as looking down on you, but there will surely come a day when that won't be enough. Are you sure you don't want to accept this power? I already have a quirk, and I also want to become a hero to help people, so I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you when I could have stopped it."

Izuku stood up, an annoyed look on his face. "Like I already told your predecessor, I'm not going to accept this quirk. And I'm not only trying to save people, even I know that there are times when not even the best heroes can't do everything. I also want to inspire people, prove to the world that strong quirks aren't everything and help inspire people. Besides, who doesn't like a good underdog story? Now, if you're done, sit back and watch this story unfold and I prove people wrong."

Izuku turned around and was about to walk away when All Might spoke up. "Wait please, don't leave yet. There was another reason why I wanted to talk to you." Izuku looked balck, and was surprised to see the hero and his successor on the ground, bowing in hands and knees to him. "It's about that day we met. You were right, even after seeing what you were capable of, in the end it came back to whether or not you had a quirk. I am deeply sorry for that and the words I had said that day. I see now how horribly wrong I was, and I know you're going to go far. What I should have said to you that day, was that you too can become a hero."