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sunshine-heroes · 6 years

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Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Bakugou Katsuki Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Angst, But with a hopeful ending, All Might is best dad, Wonder Duo

Summary: At the end of third year, the final battle against the villains is over at last, and All Might stands victorious but drained to the last of his energy. He makes a final wish to Izuku.

Read on AO3 or below:

The music roared in his ears like a symphony, taking over every inch of Izuku’s body. It was a melody which had weaved itself into his soul many times before. The sight, so incredible, so breath-taking that he could only stand there in awe. All Might stood there with his back turned, the expanse of muscle like a mountain in front of him, his hand raised in victory. And his neck drooping ever so slightly with the weight of the fate he held in that fist.

The fist was shaking, and no one was beside him.

Izuku felt it before he saw it. A black tendril, seeping with dark goo just like the skin of the morphic villain who he had just defeated, reared up and ready to sink in its teeth. Lethal poison. All Might had avoided a million such attacks during the fight, but now he was helpless, completely lost of energy.

He leapt before he knew it, Kacchan’s battered body falling out of his lap. The motions came like clockwork, threaded deep into his trained body, and he delivered the final blow and cried as his arm cracked. It had been broken so many times that he’d lost count.

The screech as the tendril was blasted apart echoed through the debris, and then it was gone. The last remnant of the villain’s scattered body had blown into the wind. It was over.

They’d all fought hard and long, and in the end, Izuku and Katsuki had not been enough. No, that wasn’t it. It wasn’t that they weren’t strong enough. It was that they knew All Might was there, that he would always be there to win no matter how hopeless the situation.

And now…

All Might turned in one swift movement, then the strength seemed to dissipate from his body like sand, as he crumbled more than transformed into his human form.

His body fell forwards, and Izuku caught it in waiting arms, as if he’d been expecting it. He hadn’t expected it, hadn’t thought it, but deep down there had been that lingering feeling that something would happen. That one day, this would have to end.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t defeat it…properly,” All Might said, a grimace forming on his lips. He coughed, a drip of blood running down from his lip onto Izuku’s lap.

“All Might…”

No, that’s not what he wanted to hear. Not from the All Might who had fallen like this, whose body was now just a wreck in his arms, his outfit torn and streaked with blood, his eyes wide but with only the barest hints of life shining in them. It wasn’t his fault at all.

No, the words he wanted to hear were…

“You’ve become the greatest hero,” All Might said, and that grimace became like a caress, gentle and embracing. His arms came around Izuku like a shield, as if he could hold inside all the pain was he feeling for him.

He was smiling even till the end, trying to comfort Izuku even as he took rasping breaths, each one shallow enough to seem like it could be his last.

“Don’t talk too much,” he said. “Please All Might, I need you to stay…” Tears mixed with blood, and he didn’t bother to wipe them. Kacchan was still lying there, motionless but for the smallest movement of his chest. “I can’t lose you too…”

“It’s over,” All Might said, with a bittersweet finality. “We’ve won.”

That wasn’t right. It couldn’t be that All Might’s purpose was to defeat All for One and everything he had unleashed on the world, just to disappear without being able to live in the peace he’d created.

Was this really a victory?

All Might was looking at him, like he was reading his expression and seeing himself in it. “Midoriya…”

“No,” he said, shaking his head furiously. “Not without you! We can’t win without you!” His thoughts were screaming like they were trying to overpower the truth, like he could deny everything if he just blocked it out. “You have to stay! For Kacchan! For all of us who look up to you! For…for me.”

“Midoriya…listen to me,” he said, his voice so shaky that Izuku had to fall silent. “I have a request.”

“What?”

“It’s time for the world to enter a new era.” All Might’s face flickered, becoming wider and muscular for a second, then back to his fragile-skinned appearance, and back again as if he was trying to keep up the illusion, but just couldn’t. “Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki…you two will be the heroes who will take up my title. As the duo who can save and win, you represent everything that a hero is. That is my final wish.”

“No…”

“Without the damage Katsuki managed to pull off at the start, we would all be dead by now. It was his courage that pulled us through,” he said. “But Izuku, in the end it was you who saved us all.”

Izuku was shaking. His limbs were numb. He couldn’t feel the pain at all. The adrenaline was fire. He could still hear the sounds of battle, of screeching metal and explosive blasts that rattled the air, but it was dead silent.

Nothing made sense. What was happening? What was All Might saying? He was meant to stay with him much longer, for years and years until he truly became a top hero and made him proud.

“I’m sorry that this had to happen while you were so young,” he said. “But there is no one more worthy. I once said you could be a hero…I think I can say these words without hesitation now. You are a hero.” His arms tightened around Izuku with the last of his strength, and Izuku went still. The words from his hero. Through his childhood, he had always followed behind his shadow like he was chasing something distant that couldn’t be seen.

And now here he was, with that very All Might, holding him with arms that shook from the effort of it, telling him that he was worthy.

He couldn’t deny it, if he did, then he was just denying him what he deserved. All Might deserved everything, he deserved to know how wonderful he had been, guiding him, comforting him, giving him this incredible power. Izuku was sure he knew, he was sure, but, just in case…

“Thank you,” he said. His voice cracked. “Thank you, All Might.” Tears flowed, mixing with grit on his face. “Thank you for guiding me through these three years, I really couldn’t have…if you hadn’t saved me back then…thank you for giving me this power.” The words were tumbling out, like everything he had wanted to say was pouring out all at once and he couldn’t stop it.

“It’s your power. It’s always been your power.”

He shook his head and laughed, god, All Might’s voice was so quiet, and he just couldn’t think straight, but the words kept flowing, he still had things to say.

“You’re my idol, All Might.” He breathed in. “You were…you were like a dad to me. Did I ever tell you that?” Izuku looked up, teary eyed, waiting for an answer.

All Might smiled. Not the bright 100 watt smile he showed to the masses when he arrived at a scene. Not the awkward cheeky smile he wore when he made a bad joke he knew was bad. It was a soft, gentle smile, like a carer, like a parent. All proud and tender and teary, like it couldn’t decide which one to be.

“I’m glad…”

Izuku’s fingernails dug into All Might’s back, clawing into the cape that he had once stared at in awe. He bit his lip so hard it bled, and it hurt, it hurt, but he needed to keep clinging on, or else All Might would be gone. Because that arms that gripped him had become weaker, and they were slowly, slowly falling from his sides…

“…I met you.”

Izuku looked up, but he couldn’t see All Might’s face properly, it was blurred. His body felt like it was barely holding itself together, and he was drifting away, dreamlike, and All Might was the only thing grounding him here.

Like the final bullet in the hole, a weight landed on his shoulder.

“All Might?”

A wind crashed through the battlefield like an omen, scattering his weakened body. The warmth had disappeared from around him. The arms which had protected him were now lying still by their owner’s side. He felt cold.

“All Might…”

He blinked, and the world was suddenly both in focus and so distant. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real.

Gone. The lips who had smiled at him like that were now motionless.

Gone. All Might’s head, limp on his shoulder, eyes closed.

The scream that left his body was inhuman.

Time had stopped. The world was like an incessant buzzing, the harsh wind nothing but a dull whisper in the distance, the rain that had started to pour nothing but the tears streaming down his cheeks. His body was being pulled apart, stretched from all sides, but he didn’t feel the burning agony anymore. He was just numb.

He stayed there on the now soaked battlefield in the rubble, unaware of anything. It might have been seconds, or minutes before he moved again.

He had to get back. Kacchan was still alive. It was the only thought that made him move, his body protesting like a rusted engine as he got to his feet. He felt like he was moving through sludge. Each movement was slow and mechanical, his muscles jerking and flailing with the effort. But he got there.

There was still something he had to do, the task All Might had left him and Kacchan with.

The energy of Full Cowl enveloped his legs and arms, and he dragged them, All Might and Kacchan, one on each shoulder. Their bodies scraped along the ground lifelessly like dolls. There was nothing around to help him drag them.

Everything ached. It was only the thought of Kacchan’s still beating heart that kept him going. All Might had said they had to become the hero pair that could take his place, so he had to do it. That was his final wish. His only wish.

Maybe not his only wish. He didn’t know that. What did All Might wish for? What had he been like before he’d taken on the heavy responsibility of being a hero? He only realized now how little he knew about All Might, and now he’d never know. He could list off all his greatest deeds as a hero, his favourite foods, the songs he liked to sing at karaoke, but none of them seemed to matter much now.

Surely he’d had hopes for the future, selfish desires too. Everyone was human, even the greatest hero.

But in the end he’d sacrificed himself for the world, anything he may have wanted didn’t matter. He’d given it all away. His health, his freedom, his time. He couldn’t fall in love, couldn’t run away to travel the world, couldn’t ever stop or crack under the pressure because the eyes of the world were on him. Even as he sacrificed his life to become a hero, he lost his ability to be a hero at all. That relentless drive had doomed him to a life of solitude.

But he’d gained so much too, Izuku knew that now. He hadn’t been a hero for long, but he’d saved enough people now to know what it meant when you saw the moment the person you saved was reunited with a loved one, with family, friends, and the intensity of the relief and joy in their eyes. Even if you could never have a family yourself, never put yourself before others, those grateful smiles on the verge of tears were worth everything. Thank you. Those words were the fuel that could keep you sane even in the weight of pressure and loneliness. He had to believe that, because they were similar, him and All Might.

To be despairing about his fate would be to despair about his own future.

The city was within sight now, darkened and destroyed as it had been, but still standing. Rather like them, really. There were still lights flickering on and off in many of the buildings, like beacons reaching out to them.

Izuku reached out, his hand moving on its own.

They were nearly back.

But nothing would be the same ever again. The last semester of UA would likely be repeated, considering all the chaos that had ensued. But All Might wouldn’t be there to teach them.

He realized, his classmates had been there in the city. How many of them lay dead or injured beyond repair? How many of the places holding his most treasured memories had been destroyed? The park where he had once kicked a ball around with Kacchan, before it had become more complicated. The beach which he had kept spotless up even up until this day. The quiet road home where he had met All Might, when he had told him the words that had freed his. All of it would be covered in ash and rubble.

Maybe he sensed how close they were, felt something in the air that said their long journey was over, because at that moment, Kacchan’s hand twitched in his and his eyes fluttered open.

Izuku knelt down so they were beside each other without letting go of his hand, and searched his face desperately. He was awake, he was…

“Kacchan! Are you-”

“Save the small talk,” he said, his voice barely a rasp. “I’m not fucking fine, obviously.”

“Ah…” Even when he was barely able to breath, Kacchan was still as abrasive as ever. Izuku wanted to laugh, but it stuck in his throat. Kacchan was talking. It was going to be okay. “I suppose so.”

“Hey, Deku.” Kacchan took a ragged breath, and grabbed Izuku’s shirt, pulling his face in so they were eye to eye. “Did we…win?”

His voice was oddly quiet, almost soft enough to be carried away by the wind.

“Yeah.”

“And All Might…he beat them up real good, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“Good…” he said, as if nothing else really mattered. He didn’t say anything, but it felt as though he was staring straight through him, sensing all his sadness. “Let me guess, you saved me in some idiotic way, and that’s why you look so messed up right now.”

“Kacchan…” He felt his lips turning up despite everything. Somehow, Kacchan had this weird way of drawing smiles out of him. “Well, yeah.” He couldn’t lie to Kacchan, he’d see through him right away.

“Idiot.” He sighed. “So All Might’s gone.”

“It’s my fault,” he said. “If I’d been there sooner, he wouldn’t have had to fight so hard and overexerted himself…”

“Stupid nerd, blaming yourself till the end.” He scoffed, and choked, coughing out flecks of blood in his spit. “You’re just trying to find something to blame. Just look at yourself. You look like shit.”

Thanks, Kacchan.

“There’s no way you’d let All Might die without doing everything you could to stop it.”

No, you’ve got it wrong.

He hadn’t been able to save him because it was taking everything to protect Kacchan.

He could make the excuse that All Might had told him to do that, but he knew in the end that suspects that he would have chosen Kacchan anyway.

“He’s gone,” Izuku said. “No matter what excuses I make-”

“So what if he’s gone?” “We’re going to surpass him, aren’t we?”

“Kacchan…” He was trying to be so tough, but the news wasn’t any easier to take for Kacchan than it was for him. Izuku shook his head, making a watery smile despite all that had happened. “You’re crying.”

“Shut up, you’re crying too,” he said. He was deliberately avoiding looking at the body still clenched in Izuku’s other hand.

“That’s not the point…”

They stared at each other, and laughed.

It was so strange, but after all they’d been through, all those layers of frustration and resentment and longing in their relationship felt insignificant. All Might had been the one constant binding their fates together, the one thread that connected them to each other.

Izuku smiled brightly despite himself, and the smile he got in return was enough to make him glow even through all the pain he’d been through.

“I didn’t know you could smile,” Izuku said.

“Learned from the best,” Kacchan said, wiping his face on his sleeve.

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” Izuku said.

“It will be.”

Kacchan’s eyes were glowing with the unmistakable fire of determination, the quality that had drawn Izuku to him in the first place.

As long as he saw those eyes, he thought he could keep running.

“Kacch-”

“Let’s go,” Kacchan said. “They’ll be needing our help for the clean-up. The sooner we find Recovery Girl, the sooner we can get started. Just the kind of job for a joint Symbol of Peace, isn’t it?”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“It’s not hard to figure out,” he said as if annoyed at his question. His cheeks tinted ever so slightly crimson, so subtle it could have been the light of the setting sun. “Also, we had a talk. Before the battle.”

“Oh…” So Kacchan had talked privately with All Might about this. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, it wasn’t like Izuku was the only one All Might had provided guidance to.

“I don’t know if it means anything to you,” Kacchan said. “But back in first year, he told me something no one knows about.”

“Really?”

“He used to be friends with Endeavor,” he said.

“No way…but they’re…”

“They hate each other, right? You’d think that, with the way Endeavor acts.” He sighed. “All Might said Endeavor changed, and then…it was too late.”

“Oh no…”

“I think something happened when they both got into UA, and the battle for the top tore them apart. He got what he wanted, and became the ultimate hero, but…he said it was a lonely place, the top.”

Then, it wasn’t just his imagination. How lonely that pose of victory looked. His back turned, his face hidden, but when he turned around there was always a smile there.

“Kacchan? Why are you telling me this now?” It wasn’t as if they could do anything for All Might now.

“He said…he was lonely. So he said that I should never let you become like that.”

He’d been thinking about All Might’s final wish wrong.

It wasn’t just that he complimented Kacchan like they had been born as two halves of a whole, or that their fates were so entwined it was impossible to separate them by now. They weren’t just a pair because they were strong together.

Maybe part of it was that left alone, they were both the type of people who would naturally and willingly take on everything alone and rely on no one. It was lonely, so…he was making sure they would never stand alone.

Izuku wiped his face on his elbow, streaking his face with the dust and grime on it. Now wasn’t the time for crying. They had to make it back. Someone had to tell the story.

The story of the greatest hero who had sacrificed himself for the world. The hero who had given up every breath of his life so that he could save others, and who had worn a smile to inspire others. It was a smile who had touched countless lives, but most of all, it was a smile that shared a dream that he could make the world a better place.

It was the dream that he now carried with Kacchan, a weight he had chosen to bear. The solitude, the joy and hope, and the never ending battle against evil, now All Might could let go of it all.

The torch had been passed, and it was time.

He held Kacchan’s hand in his left, and All Might in his right, and they set off towards the sunset, the top of the hill where the city awaited, together.

#mine #my fic #bakudeku #yeah it's not really a secret this is all might dying angst #but also wonder duo help each other through it?#i cried #and i will cry when it happens in the show #dekuuuuuuu #my writing

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