Shouta and Hizashi were out grabbing him food when the door was thrown wide and Kacchan rushed in.

"Toshi!"

The force of his arms wrapping around him as he dived onto the bed nearly knocked him over, his cousin's eyes wet as he held on tight.

Hitoshi smiled as he returned the hug, resting his chin on Kacchan's shoulder.

"You… you shouldn't…"

"I'm sorry for using my quirk on you, but I won't apologise for why I did it. You were kidnapped, held captive, starved, hurt, and in that fight in the first place because of me, because of my connection to the League, I wanted to do one thing right, just once." He admitted.

"You're an idiot."

"I know."

Kacchan's breath was shaking as he looked up at his face.

"Can you?"

Hitoshi shook his head.

"No."

"Grrrrrr, GODDAMMIT!" He roared before it broke off. "Goddammit…"

"It's okay."

"It's pretty fucking far from okay. None of this was okay. None of this has ever been okay. No one is getting their hands on you again, do you hear me? Not the League, not the police, not any fucker at school, no one." Kacchan stated, pouring his heart and soul into every words. "No one gets to hurt you or treat you like garbage anymore, it ends now. You had nothing to prove in the first place, but you've certainly proved yourself now."

His cousin took out his phone.

"Look."

He tapped something into the search engine and clicked on an article.

It was a photo of All Might with him unconscious and cradled in his arm, the angle of the photo meant the damage to his eye couldn't be seen. The number one had his fist raised in the air in his trademark pose, a dust cloud around them.

"People are saying this is probably going to become one of the most influential photos ever taken and according to Shouta you had a part in making it happen. All Might won. He beat All For One!"

Hitoshi hadn't really been listening when Shouta had told him about All Might earlier, but hearing now what had happened was almost unbelievable. Surely they had it wrong, his words meant nothing, he was just…

No, he refused to use that word anymore.

He took the phone and scrolled down a little to see the title of the photo.

'I Am Here One Last Time'

One last time.

No… All Might.

Hitoshi's hands shook as he dropped the phone, it bouncing slightly as it hit the mattress. He turned to Kacchan, his eyes blown wide.

"I… Did I destroy All Might?!"

"Young Bakugou, may I be alone with Master Shinsou?" Came a voice at the door.

Despite clearly not wanting to leave his cousin alone in this state, Kacchan nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The All Might that was walking across to him didn't look like All Might. No, it was the version he'd seen before they'd talked back in Kamino Ward; the one who'd been drowning in an oversized All Might costume.

Hitoshi looked distraught as his breathing increased in pace.

All Might took a seat on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"Master Shinsou, what happened back there was only an accelerated result of what would have come to pass eventually. My power has been slowly draining for the past five years, there was always going to be a time when I was no longer able to use it and I have no regrets for how I spent the last of my quirk."

No, he had to be lying, didn't he? He couldn't mean that? He wasted the last of his power, his quirk, on saving him. He fought defensively to keep him out of harm's way, if he hadn't have been there then maybe he could've took down All For One much easier, and without draining himself completely to empty.

"No…" Hitoshi shook his head. "You…" He fought back the muteness. "You can't actually mean that. I'm worthless, I'm nothing, I'm not worth any of this."

His words seem to deeply affect the number one.

"Master Shinsou… you can't mean that."

Hitoshi's lip wobbled as he looked down.

"Every ranked hero in this country came out to help in the search for you and young Bakugou, I know there were people in your life who have instilled in you that way of looking at yourself, but I don't see it and neither do they. Sometimes I forget that you're just children after all that you and your classmates have gone through and I apologise for that." He paused. "Back there you found a way to remove your cousin from the battle without any concern for yourself. When I saw you lying there so vulnerable but yet so resilient it lit a fire within me, one which at that point in the fight I thought had already been long extinguished. Your words helped me to find the last sparks of my power and defeat the man who has long terrorised this country and its people. The victory was as much yours as it was my own and you should be proud of that, Master Shinsou."

All Might offered a smile.

"After being a hero for so many years you learn a few things. Striving to be the best, caring deeply about people, and rescuing those in trouble; all of those feelings are necessary in a hero, otherwise they'll never truly be able to represent justice. I see those qualities in you."

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

"You're going to be an amazing hero one day, Master Shinsou."

"Thank you… All Might."


Author's Note: Be sure to check out this amazing tie-in fic by Hawks54thleftfeather which is about Hitoshi talking to his birth parents between this chapter and chapter 34. It's beautiful and I'm very thankful to them for creating such a beautiful piece.

Go read it!

/works/25954399