Toshinori stared at the woman in his hotel room's doorway, and it took him a moment to register her actual words.
She brushed past him and started pacing back and forth in his room, agitatedly wringing her hands, and chewing her bottom lip. Before he could even find his voice to ask what was wrong, she was already talking. Words tumbled from her mouth quickly, and he would have normally been much faster to reply (and also mildly annoyed by her rambling) if he wasn't so damn distracted by how Mei looked right now.
Fuck, I'm not at all ready to deal with this, he groaned inwardly.
She was gorgeous - and while he always thought she was beautiful of course, the long silver gown hugged her waist and hips, and the way the neckline of the gown dipped to show the hint of cleavage was almost enough to give this old man a heart attack. As she paced, the slit that ran up the side of the gown to just below her hip showed flashes of thigh that somehow were even worse. Lord help him, it ought to be illegal to look as unbelievable as she did right now.
Focus, Toshinori, he tried to snap himself out of it.
"Midoriya just texted me, and apparently almost everyone from class 1A is here. Everyone! And to top it off they're all going to the party together. Dammit, you know how excited I was to just get to be me for a bit? To not have to play pretend? Well, at least not as much anyway. And of course, I'd just finished getting ready for this reception thing and now I probably shouldn't even go! And -"
"Hara, breathe," Yagi interrupted the woman, finally finding his voice. Placing a hand on each shoulder, he stopped her from pacing and turned her to look at him. "Slow down, you're rambling," he told her.
Mei groaned again, and he tried not to be distracted by the way her eyes had turned grey and matched the dress she wore. "I'm at a loss, Yagi. It's not worth the risk of the kids recognizing me, but at the same time..." she sighed and chewed her lip again, and it took all his will power not to let the look on her face break his focus again. "I was actually looking forward to the party."
Toshinori smiled, causing the woman's brow to furrow when she saw his expression. "You're thinking about it too hard. The kids won't recognize you, don't worry," he tried to reassure her. "Besides, there will be plenty of heroes at this party. You could wear a mask if you wanted and completely get away with it - no one would think twice."
"That's a thought at least. I did bring my suit like you suggested, but it kinda sucks that I spent so long on my make up just to cover half my face," she sighed.
"It is a shame," he agreed without thinking. "But it's the easiest solution."
"A shame, huh?" she repeated, smirking suddenly. "That was almost a compliment."
Toshinori rolled his eyes and dropped his hands from her shoulders. "It's uncouth to fish for praises, you know," he chuckled, but looked her in the eye with a smile all the same. "You look beautiful tonight, Miss Hara."
She blushed and looked away. "Thanks. Anyway, you're wearing your hero suit, it looks like. I guess that's not surprising."
He shrugged, for a moment feeling quite underdressed in the loose-fitting costume compared to her elegant evening gown. "Most of the heroes will be suited up."
Nodding she picked up the heels that she'd unceremoniously dumped by the door upon entering his room and sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled them on. Toshinori tried not to stare too long at the way the dress's slit showed even more of her leg with her sitting like that. "What time are you heading over? Can I walk with you?" she asked.
"Of course! I was going to head that way in about five minutes actually."
"That works. I'll go grab my mask and I'll see you in five then," she said, standing up. It amused him that even with the heels she didn't reach his shoulder.
Half an hour later found them walking into the event room, and while part of Toshinori worried about anyone making assumptions about them arriving together, at the same time he wanted to loop her arm through his and display her proudly. The latter thought likely would have only earned him a punch in the arm and a stern look, however.
As usual, there were several calls of, "It's All Might!" and, "Wow, is it really the number one hero?!" as he entered the reception, and with dismay he realized the woman by his side was already starting to shrink away from him.
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked quickly, trying to stop the flight risk. It might have been irresponsible, but regardless he wanted to spend at least some of the party with this beautiful woman.
The black mask covered the upper half of her face, leaving only her mouth and the tip of her nose exposed and making it difficult to read her expression. Her smile was easy enough to see though, and the red lipstick she wore made her smile seem even brighter. "Sure."
"Wait here," he said and made his way to the refreshment table, briefly greeting other guests and waving away fanatic exclamations along the way. Ahead of him already grabbing a glass of wine was a familiar brunette scientist.
"Ah, Dave!" All Might called happily.
"Hey! Look at you - you actually showed up on time," David replied with a grin.
"I know. I've come a long way since our college days, haven't I?" he laughed, before grabbing a glass for himself and one for Mei.
David eyed the double glasses and chuckled. "Apparently not if we're drinking like that tonight," he teased.
Toshinori shook his head. "Oh, no, one of these is for Miss Hara. Trust me, if I ever tried to drink like I did back in the day I'd literally die," he replied.
"Miss Hara, hm?" Dave repeated, and Toshinori knew that look in his eye. "You two came together then?" he inquired.
"Well, not together, but we did get here at the same time. I mean we arrived together, but she's not - we're not-" he stumbled on his words and had to force himself to stop talking before he dug his hole any deeper.
David was openly laughing by now. "Alright, alright, you two aren't together then," he said, waving his hand in front of him. "Where is Miss Hara, then? I didn't get a chance to really talk with her at all earlier. Is she a hero?"
"Not exactly," All Might replied hesitantly, leading his friend back towards where he'd left the young woman. "But we've been working a very confidential case together lately. The less you know about her, the better."
"Man, super top secret then," the professor said, nodding.
"Hello again, Professor Shield," Mei greeted as they approached and Toshinori handed one of the wine glasses to the woman.
"Nice to see you again, Miss Hara. And just David is fine," he told her easily.
"Then you can call me Mei," she replied cheerfully, obviously remembering how Americans preferred to use given names.
"So how are you enjoying I-island so far?" he asked.
"This island is incredible. The free use of quirks here is inspiring in a way - it must be a wonderful place to live and work," she said, taking a small sip of the wine and smiling.
David chuckled. "It has its pros and cons just like anything else."
Just then the master of ceremonies came over the mic, calling an official start to the reception. "Now I wonder if we can get All Might, the number one hero, up here?" he asked, and Toshinori wasn't really surprised. "He's visiting from Japan. Wouldn't you like to hear him say a few words?" the MC asked, inciting cheers from the people in attendance.
"Really, Dave? Could have warned me," All Might chuckled.
"This was bound to happen once they found out you were in town," the professor said without an ounce of regret.
"You owe me one," he shot over his shoulder as he made his way towards the stage.
Toshinori was no stranger to being on stage or to public speaking, but speeches had never been his favorite part of the job. He's barely even said a handful of words, however, when suddenly an alarm bell cut him off.
What's going on? he thought, instantly on alert. As the security system explained the bomb threat protocol had been activated, a bad feeling grew in his gut. Something wasn't right here.
Suddenly the doors burst open, and a squad of armed men rushed the room. Through another door stormed a second squad, and then a third entered through the final door led by a man who Toshinori instantly flagged as the leader.
"In case you hadn't caught on, the security system is under our control," the red-haired lead villain explained leisurely as his eyes swept the room, landing finally on All Might. "Now, I know we've got a lot of heroes in here, but if you decide to make a scene, I'll make sure security sentries think the good people they've got in their sights are dangerous criminals." All Might clenched his fists, shattering the wine glass he'd been holding, and the villain grinned as he held his arms wide tauntingly. "So, I'd play nice because everyone on this island is my hostage."
Dammit, he's got us in quite a spot, he thought angrily, quickly running through as many possible scenarios as he could to try and come up with the best way to bring the villain down without endangering the rest of the island. Before he could even come up with a plan, however, there was a sudden flash of bright blue at his feet, and restraints wrapped around his body. Around the room, the same thing was happening to everyone else in a hero costume. His eyes darted to Mei, and miraculously she seemed to have had the forethought to remove her mask. She stood unbound beside David, eyes narrowed as she stared down the villains.
All Might flexed his muscles, testing the tensile strength of the bindings. He could probably break through, but even as he had that thought the lead villain approached him, shaking his head. "Don't move," he ordered sharply. "If you take so much as a step, I'll kill everyone in this room," he threatened.
"Villain," All Might growled, but before he could say more the red-haired man reared back and kicked him in the chest, sending him toppling to the floor with a thud.
"There's a good boy," he said mockingly before turning to address the room again. "You're all going to follow All Might's lead and do exactly what I say! Right?!"
From the floor, he jerked his head, meeting David's eyes first. His oldest friend shook his head, and he knew exactly what the man was trying to tell him. Don't risk it. Do what he says.
Next, he looked to Mei, and the woman's eyes were bright blue and livid. Her fists were balled at her side while a faint sparkle of purple glittered around her hands (most likely involuntarily). She glared daggers at the villain on stage, and in that moment a thought occurred to Toshinori that really, he probably knew already based on her past, but hadn't actually considered until now. She's killed people before, hasn't she? She looks ready to kill right now.
The villains began rounding everyone in the room up, forcing them to their knees. All Might screamed internally as he watched helplessly, enraged that he'd been captured so easily. A few minutes went by when he heard a whisper form just out of sight. From under the edge of the stage came a quiet, "All Might, are you okay?"
"Hara?" he whispered, wondering how the hell she'd managed to make it over.
"You have no idea how hard it was to crawl across the floor in this dress without them seeing me. The only reason I got away with it is because they were focused on the other hero who mouthed off to them. Now answer the question - are you okay?" she replied tersely.
"I'm fine. But this is quite the pickle we're in. I can't think of a way to break free without the villains noticing and triggering the sentries' attack mode," he gritted out.
"There's too many of them to take on by myself. I'm not tied up, but I don't think I could do anything in here without the same effect. Maybe if I managed to break out of the room somehow," she started, but Toshinori quickly cut her off.
"No. It's too much of a risk. If they caught you, it would be over."
"But I can't just sit here doing nothing!" she argued, anger coloring her voice. Even though he couldn't see her, he could imagine the dark look on her face.
He opened his mouth to reply when the lead villain's words caught his attention again. He stood over David's assistant Sam and leered down at him. "Hey tubby, you a researcher here?"
"Yes," the man said hesitantly.
The villain nodded and gestured to his comrades. "Take this one up."
"No, please!" Sam begged, sounding panicked.
"Stop it!" David's voice yelled, and All Might's heart sank.
Dave, no.
"That man is my assistant. What do you plan on doing to him?" David demanded, approaching the villain.
The lead criminal smirked. "Ah, the famous David Shield. Bring him too," he ordered his men.
"What if I refuse?" David asked in a tight voice.
"Then somewhere on this island you'll hear a pretty little blonde girl scream," he sneered.
"Melissa," Toshinori gasped, his anger raging even further at the threat made against the young girl.
"She's not here," he heard Mei mutter. "None of the Yūei students are either. You don't think...?" she trailed off, sounding horrified.
"No," he replied firmly. He had to believe his students were safe. Worrying about them when he didn't even have the facts wouldn't help matters any.
"Alright, lead the way," David surrendered, and All Might felt more helpless than ever as his friend was escorted out.
Dammit, dammit DAMMIT!
To make matters worse, he could feel the deep, aching pain that came from holding his hero form for too long start to set in. It spread like a fire along each of his nerve endings and as time went on it only became more and more excruciating. I must find a way to stop them and get the security system back online. I have to - because I am here. But how much power do I even have left?
A flash of light from the glass ceiling caught his eye, and he rolled over just enough to look up. A familiar bit of green was leaning over the balcony flashing his phone light at him, and in that instant all he could feel was overwhelming relief.
Thank god, he's okay, the thought, and then felt even more relief at the sight of Melissa and a handful of other 1A students. "It's the kids. They're alright," he whispered to Mei.
"Where?" she asked, relief evident in her voice as well.
"Don't look - I don't want the villains to notice - but they're on the balcony above us."
Midoriya gestured at his ears while making a talking motion with his hand before pointing at young Jiro as she knelt. Toshinori assumed that meant they were using the girl's quirk to listen in.
"Hope you can hear me," he muttered. "Some villains have taken the tower. They have control of the security system and now everyone on this island is being held as a hostage. That includes the heroes who are at this party. It's dangerous, get away from here as soon as you can!" he instructed. The green hair disappeared over the side of the balcony again, and Toshinori could only hope that he would actually listen. Midoriya had a hard time following instructions at the worst of times, however, so he wasn't exactly holding his breath though.
He really is too much like me, he sighed inwardly.
A couple minutes passed before his successor peaked over the railing again, and instantly Toshinori recognized the look in the teen's eye. No, please. Run away! he wanted to yell. As the boy turned and ran off, the hero closed his eyes and grit his teeth. Surprisingly, he was less furious than he really ought to be. His famous smile stretched across his face as he opened his eyes again, and he knew really the main thing he felt was pride. Midoriya and his other students were just kids, true, but they were capable and already well on their way to becoming heroes in their own rights. Now, he just had to keep his muscle form up and have faith that they would be able to save the day. Surely if they could fight this battle, then he could do that much, right?
"They're going to try and take this situation on, aren't they?" Mei's disembodied voice whispered.
"Yes."
"Alright. So, what do we do then?"
"We just have to have faith in them now."
For half an hour it was agonizingly quiet. The room was silent but for an occasional whimper from one of the party guests or the radio static buzz of information being called over the villain's communicators. All Might knew something was wrong when the lead villain sent a couple of his men out of the room, and he hoped wherever his students were, they were okay.
Another fifteen minutes and it was clear the villain was becoming agitated. He paced as he barked orders into his radio, not bothering to keep his voice lowered now, and it was apparent his students were giving these criminals hell. Finally, the red-haired man seemed to lose his last bit of patience and stormed out of the room, barking orders to his comrades as he made his exit. It was becoming harder and harder to keep his hero form up, and the pain radiating head to toe was truly torturous. Small tendrils of steam he couldn't control rolled off his body, and he could only pray that at this point no one was paying attention to him anymore.
"How are you holding up, All Might?" Mei whispered.
It took him several seconds to unclench his teeth and reply, "I've been better."
"The students will prevail. This will all be over soon, I just know it. You can do it too - I'm right here for you," she tried to comfort him, and while he appreciated the effort, it was hard to take comfort in mere words when his entire body felt like he was lying on a bed of live coals.
He lost count of how much time was passing after that, putting all his effort into maintaining his quirk. Suddenly, the alert system echoed over the intercom and the bindings on the heroes in the room disintegrated.
"They did it!" Mei cheered, standing up and finally he could see her as he rose to his feet as well. The other heroes in the room began taking out the armed guards and All Might rushed out of the room. He wasn't at all surprised to see Mei running behind him when he glanced back. She'd abandoned her heels, but even barefoot the dress hampered her movements. "I'll catch up! Just go!" she yelled, and she didn't have to tell him twice.
By the time I caught up with Yagi, the fight was in full swing. I vaulted to the roof, gripping onto the electrical fields pulsing through the tower, and when I reached the top was horrified by the sight before me. A mass of twisting metal formed a protective suit of sorts around the villain, and fires were breaking out all along the rooftop as more pieces and wires were ripped up to join the tangled mess.
Even more horrifying was the way the villain was actually holding his own and then some against the number one hero. All Might charged the villain, yelling out a smash that barely even made a dent in the metal framework before a beam shot out, striking the hero and sending him flying back. He rocketed in again, and this time he held the beam back, but the cough that ripped from his lungs as he pushed through made me worry even more. Blood splattered the ground at his feet, and I knew he was at his limit already. If he kept this up, he was going to get himself killed.
I started to run forward when Midoriya landed beside me, holding Melissa in his arms. "Hara!" he yelled out, eyes wild. I could see it in his expression - the kid knew exactly how dire this was too.
"I'm going in there," I said, ripping the hem of my dress so that the length wouldn't get in my way and igniting my hands. There was plenty of metal and electricity here to use to my advantage, but this was still greater than anything I'd ever faced before. Despite that, I was willing to die here tonight if it meant Yagi wouldn't meet the same fate. Just as I was about to launch into the fight, a pillar of ice shot out to stop another barrage of metal battering rams.
"Todoroki?" I said in shock.
"Go to hell!" a familiar voice screamed, followed by a set of explosions as Bakugo vaulted onto the scene.
The students of class 1A had arrived, and I hoped that with the darkness they wouldn't notice anything different about me. Regardless, my priorities were out of order at the moment, and blowing my cover was the least of my worries. First and foremost, we had to take this guy down before he could hurt anyone else. As the students dispersed to aid the situation in whatever ways they could, I could only watch in awe as Yagi broke through the barricade holding him back and unleashed a Carolina Smash that lit up the sky with its power. For a moment, it almost seemed like the hero had caught a second wind.
"You can do it, All Might!" I yelled out my encouragement.
He had almost made it to the villain, fist extended for impact, when a tangle of wires like a spiderweb shot out and ensnared the hero.
"Nice trick," Yagi gritted out, "but I-" his voice was suddenly cut off as the villain reached out and wrapped a hand around the Symbol of Peace's throat.
"You've underestimated me," the villain said gleefully, and in a show of strength that simply didn't match his quirk, he clenched his hand holding Yagi's throat. Blood spewed from his mouth as the villain's other hand came up and aimed for the exact spot on the hero's side where his injury lay.
No! How can he possibly know?! I thought in terror, helpless to do anything as the villain blasted Yagi directly in his most vulnerable spot.
The scream that left Yagi's mouth was a sound I never, ever thought I would hear. It tore at my heart and soul completely, ripping through me with the sheer agony in his voice.
"All Might!" I screamed, tears springing from my eyes. It can't end like this!
The villain seemed to be saying something to the hero in his grasp, but from here I was able to make out the words. Whatever it was must have been terrible though, as Yagi screamed again, "No!" and the word was drawn out and full of a different kind of pain.
Metal came flying, encasing the hero in an iron tomb. I could hear the students screaming, could hear the screeching of the building as it was torn further apart, but the loudest sound by far was my own heartbeat in my ears. I was deaf and blind to all else around me except the horror that was taking place before me.
And I. Couldn't. Do. Anything.
My quirk was totally unsuited for this - I couldn't hope to win against this sort of power. The only thing I could do is watch helplessly as the man I loved died.
Midoriya didn't accept defeat as quickly as I did. As I sank to my knees, tears streaming down my face, he shot forward and unleashed a punch more powerful than anything I'd ever seen from him. The metal casing was blown apart, and Yagi tumbled free - battered, but alive.
My terror turned to amazement as the two holders of One for All stood and faced the villain together. I watched awestruck as mentor and student fought in synchrony, finally gaining ground against the villain. The ground shook and gave, sending several of the students tumbling, and I shot forward as one particular blast sent Melissa flying. I grabbed her and pulled her away from the edge, ignoring the nearby students' calls as they finally started to notice I was there too.
"Stay focused!" I yelled back at them.
The sheer speed and power of the two now facing the villain was truly something to behold, and as I dodged debris and did my best to manipulate magnetic fields to keep the worst of it off Melissa and the other teens, I felt hope resurface in my chest at every glance of the pair I got.
Thank you, Izuku, I thought what I couldn't say out loud. You saved his life again. I'll never forget that.
"Double Detroit Smash!" two voices yelled in unison, unleashing a powerful blow that demolished the villain's attack and broke through to shatter his twisted suit of metal. A shockwave reverberated like a pyroclastic cloud, shaking the entire tower and sending everyone tumbling. Again, I held tight to Melissa, shielding her as best I could and praying the other students were okay.
As soon as the shaking stopped, Melissa jumped up. "This way!" she directed me and took off running towards where we'd last seen All Might and Midoriya. A head of green hair emerged from the ashes, and we ran to him. I stopped just long enough to make sure the boy was okay before running on, leaving him with Melissa. I knew Yagi had to be somewhere up ahead.
I thought my heart might burst with relief when I scaled the top of a debris pile and saw him at the bottom, talking to David Shield as he bandaged up a nasty looking wound on the professor's shoulder.
"Yagi!" I cried out, forgetting that I wasn't supposed to use his name in front of others as I jumped down the mountain of metal. He'd reverted to his skinny form and definitely looked worse for the wear, but that all could be taken care of later. Right now, I was just glad he was alive.
I threw my arms around his neck as soon as I reached them, tears falling freely without my permission. "Ah- Hara?" he choked out, startled. "Are you hurt?!"
I pulled back, sniffling and probably looking horrible with my make up running and face smeared with dirt and ash. "No, I'm fine. Oh my god, I'm just so glad you're alive. I was so scared," I cried, pressing my face into his chest as I hugged him again.
Yagi chuckled, bringing his arms up to hold me back. "It will take more than that to do me in, don't you worry about that," he said softly.
I nodded into the loose fabric of his hero suit and dropped my arms, not really ready to let go of him yet, but also still aware of the fact we weren't alone. "David, are you okay? That looks pretty bad," I said. Now that I was closer, it almost looked like a bullet wound.
"Yes, I'm alright. Toshi saved the day, as always," he said in a grateful tone full of admiration. For a moment I was surprised he called the hero by his given name, but really, considering it was apparent by now I knew more than the average person did about All Might, it did make sense to drop the pretense.
"Really you should be thanking Midoriya and Melissa," Yagi said, looking up as the two in question reached the top of the debris pile. After yelling down to us that they were okay and ascertaining that David and All Might were as well, they turned back to rejoin the others.
"Toshi... it's all my fault," David said, sounding heartbroken.
Yagi turned back to him, eyes sad. "I heard most of what happened from Melissa."
"It's all true," the professor said, looking down in shame. "I was so scared that you'd lose your light - scared that the peace you built would fade away with you. But in trying to help all I did was try to maintain the status quo. My ideas would only ensure that nothing would ever change... even though the future was standing right there in front of me the whole time." David paused as he struggled to his feet, and Yagi gently supported him until the professor was standing on his own. "Melissa wants to follow in my footsteps, you know? And Midoriya... he'll replace you one day too, won't he?" David asked, staring in the direction the two teens had disappeared in a few moments ago.
"He still has a long way to go," Yagi said quietly. "But in him shines the greatest potential I've ever seen."
"I can see it too. He has a light like yours," David said, eyes shining. He smiled as he turned to me then. "You take good care of them, Mei. Toshi and Midoriya both."
"I will," I promised, bowing my head.
I'd die for either one of them, I wanted to tell him, and I honestly would have meant it. I held my tongue though, but hoped he could see it in my eyes.
"You've got a good friend there, Toshi," he said, smiling up at All Might.
"I've got two of them," he replied, gently placing a hand on the shorter man's uninjured shoulder.
I didn't understand all of the conversation the two had just had, especially the parts where David took the blame for the entire evening, but even if he was at fault here, I knew the brunette before me was still a good man. Whatever happened next, I was glad these two had each other.