Chapter Text
“On your mark…”
Izuku dug his feet into the sand hard enough that the ball of his back foot created a dip in the grains beneath him. He kept himself propped up by his fingers, which were slowly sinking as well.
“Get set…”
It was surprisingly difficult to stop himself from activating One for All. He had grown so used to the quirk, it felt like second nature to go Full Cowling these days. But that wasn’t the point of this training. This was physical training.
“Go!”
And this was to beat his personal best.
Izuku pressed off against the sand into a sprint. He knew he needed to pace himself for the solo race, which consisted of a run, a swim, and then another run. But it had been a while since he and All Might had been able to make it back to the beach, especially for this particular training program. He had missed it. And he was determined to win, even if it was just against his own time.
Soon enough, he settled onto the shifting sand and fell into a stride, allowing him to comfortably reduce his pace and go for the necessary endurance instead. Each time his feet landed on the sand, it felt like sinking and bouncing at the same time. Now that he had a better sense of how One for All worked, he was surprised he didn’t make the connection between sensations earlier, that he hadn’t realized how much the quirk was just an extension of himself.
At the same time, it made sense. Before One for All, before All Might, he had pretty much only run on concrete and rarely for his own personal fulfillment. Sometimes he ran to see hero fights. Mostly he ran to get away from bullies. Once he ran to save one, a moment Izuku considered the most important run of his life.
It could be said, Izuku supposed, that he had a complicated history with running.
But he didn’t think he had ever run on sand before, and even if he had, he certainly hadn’t had a reason to consider how running quirkless compared to running with a quirk. Not in his own body anyway. So he supposed his inability to make the connection between running on the sand and running with One for All could easily be forgiven. He had gotten there eventually, and he continued to improve in his training with each passing day. All Might seemed to think so, at least, and that said a great deal to Izuku.
So, Izuku let himself simply enjoy the run. The wind whipped in his hair, against his tee and his swim trunks, and in some ways, this run was better than a quirk-activated one.
Izuku didn’t keep his watch or phone on him as he did this training, so he never had a great sense of how long it took him in the moment. Still, it felt as if he had reached the halfway point of the first run in a good amount of time, which sent a new jolt of motivation through him. He made the turn to circle back, beelining for the dock where he’d start the swimming portion, feeling confident he’d make record time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw All Might in the distance sitting at the stairs. He seemed to be shouting something, although Izuku couldn’t quite make it out what it was with the wind whipping in his ears. Soon enough, though, he got close enough to see All Might’s big grin and thumbs up in front of him, and Izuku couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“You’re doing great, my boy!” he finally heard All Might shout right as he passed him. With that, Izuku darted to his left, slowing only to slip off his shoes and yank his tee off in a swift motion and throw both behind him. Running to the end of the dock, the clank of each plank of wood ringing in his ears with his quick thudding, he dove off the far end in a smooth motion, quickly turning to the right for the second part of the race.
Swimming had been incredibly difficult at first. Sure, Izuku learned how to swim as a child like all children in Japan did, but he hadn’t had many opportunities to swim beyond that. All Might would constantly critique his form until Izuku got it just right, until Izuku no longer sputtered up saltwater or got it into his nose. It took a while, but soon enough, he got the hang of it.
Now, he might actually prefer swimming to running. The water was refreshing after kicking up thousands of grains of sand. There was also something about the buoyancy of it that helped Izuku relax. The actual exercise of swimming was tough, but water had always soothed Izuku, too.
Within what felt like both an eternity and no time to Izuku, he reached the buoy that marked the halfway point of the swim, which prompted him to flip under the water and dart back in the direction of the dock. He wished he had something to push himself off with to speed him up. Yet again, he wasn’t trying to beat anyone else, just his personal best.
Somehow, that only made him more competitive.
Izuku saw All Might standing close to the shore, watching vigilantly as he always did during swim training. Izuku swam towards him and trudged out of the water as quickly as he could. Once he hit dry land again, he stepped back into his shoes as fast as he could, which All Might had neatly arranged for easy access as he always did for this part of the race. All Might cheered him on again as Izuku darted in the opposite direction for the final portion of the race. He was starting to feel the strain of it in his muscles, but he was also sure that this would be his best time. He just had to keep going. Just a little bit farther.
After he reached the halfway mark of the final run, he turned back towards the steps for the final time. This time, he saw All Might standing before him. Hands on his hips in his true form, he gave Izuku a wide smile as Izuku sprinted towards him.
Izuku couldn’t help but always run a bit faster at the sight of him. It wasn’t just that he marked the finish line. All Might was a reminder to Izuku. A reminder that he was running towards something, a reminder of how far he had come.
A reminder that he was safe. That he was cared for.
As Izuku got within meters of him, All Might lifted up the stopwatch in his hand, his thumb ready to press the button once Izuku crossed the finish line. Once he got there, Izuku leapt forward, diving into the sand beside All Might as his mentor shouted, “Time!” Izuku heard the beep of the stopwatch, indicating that All Might had locked in Izuku’s time for this race.
Taking deep breaths to will his heart to slow down, Izuku rolled over from his stomach to his back in the sand. With one leg outstretched, the other knee bent, Izuku placed one hand on his stomach and the other hand above his eyes. He looked up at All Might, who stepped before him, helping to block the sun. He offered a hand to Izuku, which Izuku took readily.
“So? How’d I do?” Izuku asked as he got up and started dusting sand off of himself.
“You tied for your best time!” All Might said with a big grin. Izuku’s smile fell in contrast, incredulous at the news.
“Tied? I was sure I would beat it this time!”
All Might offered Izuku the stopwatch, which Izuku grabbed from his mentor’s hand. As Izuku stared at it with a frown, All Might grabbed a towel and began drying off Izuku’s hair vigorously.
“Kiddo, that’s a great time. It’s been a while since we’ve been out here, too. You should be very proud.” All Might paused his rough handling of Izuku’s hair to bend forward and look Izuku in the eye. “I’m proud of you, at least.”
Izuku couldn’t help but give a small smile to All Might at that, taking the towel from him to finish drying off. “Thanks, All Might,” Izuku muttered.
Once Izuku finished drying himself off and dusting all the sand off of him, All Might brought him his tee back, which he put on. Then, they laid the blanket All Might brought out onto the sand to sit and have their post-workout meal. Izuku placed his shoes beside him to let them dry off, then collapsed on the blanket as All Might pulled two bento boxes and water bottles out of his bag.
“That seemed to really tire you out,” All Might said with a small frown. Izuku took a deep breath through his nose, then sat back up.
“I’m okay, All Might. I swear.” Izuku watched with his own small frown as All Might opened one of his bottles of medication, took out a pill, then swallowed it quickly. “Are you okay?”
They hadn’t talked about it much, but not a day went by where Izuku didn’t think about what All Might had told him about Nighteye’s prediction. Ever since, he had become much more vigilant in watching All Might’s health. He had gotten somewhat familiar with his medications and even gone as far as to ask Recovery Girl how he could help. She didn’t offer much beyond making sure All Might ate regular meals, but it was better than nothing. And fortunately, All Might seemed to be taking better care of himself, too. Still, it didn’t stop Izuku from worrying.
All Might seemed to understand, bringing a hand to give Izuku’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I’m fine, young Midoriya,” he answered. “It’s just time for this particular medication is all.”
Izuku nodded in understanding, taking note of that information, then accepted the neatly-wrapped bento from All Might. He couldn’t help but smile every time All Might offered him one. They were always wrapped in a cute bunny cloth, and the food inside was always delicious and meticulously prepared.
Taking a moment to really look at the cloth, Izuku couldn’t help but wonder why All Might chose bunnies. Growing up, Izuku’s bento wraps at home had images of All Might on them, and his mom still had many of them. Although he enjoyed them just as much as all his other All Might merchandise, the bentos were a bit of a sore spot for him at times. Unlike his other merchandise, the wraps didn’t stay at home. Instead, the kids at school would see them, too, and occasionally make fun of him for them, even though they often had their own All Might merchandise. Sometimes, they’d even go as far as to take his bento altogether, leaving Izuku’s stomach rumbling for the rest of the day. His stomach rumbled now, as if it remembered it.
Before Izuku could get more wrapped up in his own thoughts, All Might nudged his arm, prompting Izuku to look up at him. There was an unspoken question in his mentor’s eyes, a look of worry.
Izuku opened his mouth as if to explain himself, then closed it again. He had never really told All Might about being bullied, or anyone for that matter. He suspected his mom knew at least and was just as powerless over it as he himself had been. But still, he had never said anything. And even as comfortable as he was with All Might these days, there were some things he just wasn’t ready to talk to him about.
All Might, fortunately, seemed to understand this, too. He nudged Izuku’s arm again. Instead of saying anything when Izuku looked up, he leaned forward to bring his forehead to Izuku’s. It was a calming gesture, one All Might had tried out for the first time a few weeks ago when Izuku’s thoughts had spun out of control. The contact brought Izuku out of his head every time, as if the connection alone helped to ease the burden of Izuku’s own mind.
He hadn’t said so, but he greatly appreciated it.
So, Izuku let himself be calmed for another moment. Then, once the memory had passed, Izuku sat up straight again with a small smile and dug into his bento.
They sat in silence for a while as they ate and watched the sun set. Izuku loved to simply look out at this beach from time to time and marvel over all the work he had done to clean it up. It felt good. Not at the time, of course. At the time, it was hell. But it was amazing now to look back and realize he had done something good for the community, even before he had a quirk.
“What are you thinking about, my boy?” All Might eventually asked, breaking Izuku from his thoughts.
“Oh, nothing in particular. I was just remembering what a dump this place was before.” All Might chuckled.
“It sure was. It’s amazing what you did here.” Izuku looked up at All Might, who smiled down at him. Then, he went back to picking at the final grains of rice in his bento.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, you know.”
All Might only responded with a hum, his smile remaining. He took Izuku’s empty bento along with his own and put them back in his bag. Izuku pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, a slight chill overcoming him as the sun set. All Might seemed to notice and placed an arm around Izuku, rubbing his hand along Izuku’s arm as if to warm him up.
Izuku knew that All Might would say they needed to head back to UA soon, but Izuku didn’t want to. He and his mentor hadn’t had much time together like this recently, and Izuku wanted to enjoy it. So, he did his best to will his body not to shiver so that All Might wouldn’t worry.
He never wanted All Might to worry.
It wasn’t All Might who broke the peaceful moment, though. Instead, Izuku’s phone began to ring. Furrowing his eyebrows, Izuku reached over to All Might’s bag where he had kept his phone for safekeeping during the race. Pulling it out, he sat back on the blanket again, then looked at the caller.
A strange feeling settled in Izuku’s stomach at the name, the same feeling he got every time he saw that particular name on his phone. It only happened on rare occasions, maybe every two years, and it always meant the same thing. It was a difficult feeling to describe, and not one he would readily own up to.
Mostly, it was dread.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Izuku answered with a frown. “I have to take this.”
Standing up, Izuku stepped away from the blanket, away from All Might. He didn’t want to look at his mentor as he took this call. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Izuku answered the phone after the third ring.
“Hi, Dad.”