My Hero Academia: From The Ground Up

Chapter 20: Eat This!

"Midoriya! Run!" All Might roared at the boy.

He didn't have to tell Izuku twice. He had already bolted the other direction across the beach. But too late. He could feel the ground beneath him shake. The sands around him and under his feet shifted around. The snake villain was burrowing towards him faster than he could run and before he could reach the edge of the sand, the said villain burst from the ground a meter from him.

"Wheeeeere doo you ttttthhhhink you're going?" Naga hissed.

"AUGH!" Izuku yelped and fell back in surprise.

Naga swung his massive arm down at the boy who quickly bounced back, his legs avoiding the claws that slammed into the sand.

The villain quickly rose from the ground much taller now and lunged down.

Izuku leapt up on instinct, avoiding the tackle and landing on Naga's back.

The villain thrashed around angrily, quickly knocking the green-haired boy off and to the side. "Stand still, you fidgety little mouse!"

Izuku quickly got to his feet and dashed back toward All Might and the other villain Densist. He watched as they were in a fight of their own: All Might avoiding the enlarging debris that Densist threw at him while laughing loudly.

Densist grabbed an old tire and swung it around, letting it go and throwing it towards the hero. As it flew toward him in the air, it grew in size until it landed perfectly over his head and tightened around All Might's chest and arms.

Densist laughed, holding his arms out controlling the size of the tire around him, tightening it further.

All Might stumbled closer to the villain but began to lose the ability to breathe.

Izuku ran faster, hearing the snake villain slithering after him. He made his next step big and kicked some sand up behind himself, surely hitting Naga in the eyes.

"AH YOU STUPID MOUSE!" He roared and rubbed his face with his scaly palms.

"ALL MIGHT!" Izuku ran and screamed.

The mighty hero, suffocating from the tire, turned to watch the boy. He had no powers, no plan, no reasonable way of winning this fight on his own. Yet he saw Izuku Midoriya running to save him. Foolish. But truly heroic.

Densist was too distracted with his victorious attack, squeezing the tire tighter and tighter. He didn't see the boy coming quick enough.

Izuku, as fast and as hard as he could, slammed his fist into Densist's jaw.

All Might smiled and coughed up some blood.

Densist stumbled back and rubbed his aching jaw. "Awwhhh." He groaned.

All Might felt a burst of energy, feeling the tire loosen up again. He stood upright and snapped the tire off his body like a rubberband.

Naga charged the two from behind, but the hero turned at the right moment with his fist out, slamming it into the snake villain's gut and throwing him back.

"You two are under hero's arrest!" All Might proclaimed.

Densist looked over at Naga knocked on the ground. "Not today, old man." He hissed and lunged at his companion.

He clung on to Naga who immediately burrowed into the ground.

Izuku soon felt the rumbling of the earth stop. They were gone.

All Might sighed.

"Villains Densist and Naga..." Izuku said. "They're famous for working together a lot. B-but why were they just here to attack you?"

All Might may have thought the reason why. Mariko didn't show up and she was practically the one who organized this. And at the same time, two villains showed up. "Dammit..." He said to himself.

"What is it?" Izuku asked.

The tall hero took a step toward the crashing waves, watching them for a moment. "...Do you remember what I told you that night years ago? About being a hero?"

Izuku nodded. He wasn't sure where this was going. Maybe the start of that training they talked about. "It was vague... You weren't very specific because I'm quirkless..."

"Right right." He sighed. "You know how this is not my true form, correct?"

Izuku gulped, recollecting the trauma he experienced the day before.

"My quirk is called One For All. And it's not like other quirks. I wasn't born with it." He explained and turned to Izuku. "One For All is a mantle of supreme power passed down from generation to generation, to ensure that each generation of this world has a Symbol of Peace."

Izuku listened intently. It seemed to make sense so far, but a quirk you weren't born with?

"The bearer of One For All must prove they can be not the greatest hero, but one willing to lay down their very life for the greater good. I've seen it in you in bits and pieces but I didn't think you were ready at age 12. But today, you've really shown me that you're willing to protect others even though you may not be the strongest or most powerful on the battlefield. You saved my life, young Midoriya." All Might said.

He got down on one knee in front of the teen. "Izuku Midoriya! Will you take on the responsibility of One For All, to one day become a symbol of peace and hope for the world, and to be the example for everyone of what it takes to be a hero?!"

The hero stopped the dramatic moment to notice Izuku was busy panicking. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he was babbling all sorts of thoughts in his head out loud. All Might sighed.

Izuku quickly regained some sanity and calmed himself down, resting his hands on his knees. "I-I-I...."

All Might slapped him across the face.

"I will, All Might-sensei! If you truly think I'm the one worthy of it...." He bowed himself humbly before his childhood hero.

"I most certainly do. Just...cool it down, will ya?" The hero put his hand on the back of his head.

"Yes yes, sensei!" Izuku cleared his throat and stood up straight.

"I can see it now." All Might smiled wide and put his fingers up forming a box frame around Izuku's face. "The next greatest hero! Now all that's left is for me to transfer the power to you." He pinched a single strand of his brightly yellow blonde hair and held it out in front of the boy. "Eat this!"

"....What?!"

~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, hiding just off the beach in the distance, Densist and Naga watched and listened before running away.