Mirai loosened the tie around his neck, before returning his hand to the wheel.
A sigh escaped from his lips, his eyes focusing on the road in front of him.
"Damn it." Mirai flicked his indicator. "I need a drink."
Thirty-three years he'd had this quirk, an infallible vision of the future. Then in a single afternoon his faith in that unshakeable fact had been shattered.
Izuku Midoriya, a plain, forgettable boy with the power of a god. And the ability to defy my visions.
Or was it just a fluke?
Using his indicator again, Mirai pulled into a car park, stopping his vehicle and cutting the engine.
Learning back in his seat Mirai released another sigh, a far greater one than before, rubbing his face.
For six years I've lived in fear of his vision of All Might's death. And now my confidence in my quirk is dead.
Izuku Midoriya was destined to die today, and yet he lived. I saw him crumble to dust, pleading and apologising to Toshinori.
Mirai had seen All Might attending the young boy's funeral, looking broken in a way he'd never seen before.
He'd seen beyond that too, All Might continuing to weaken, with no successor to One For All to take his place.
He'd seen All Might abandoning his position at U.A. to hunt Shigaraki down, killing him in rage after the young man had been left to die by All For One.
He'd seen All Might lying broken at the feet of Overhaul. Mirio desperately trying to protect the No.1 Hero and another, smaller figure.
Removing the key from the ignition, Mirai exited his vehicle, walking towards a discreet bar, lacking any identifying marks.
Pressing his hero licence to a panel beside the door, Mirai watched as it lit up green.
"Welcome, Sir Nighteye."
The metal door slid open, revealing a set of stairs heading down. Mirai followed them, entering a bar, its cleanliness and style a far cry from the rundown nature of the area it was in.
'The Bar'.
That was what Pro Heroes called it, it had no official name in any case. A place for Pro Heroes to be able to drink and relax without the fear of the paparazzi getting a compromising picture and a deliberately misinterpreted headline.
It was the first time Mirai had been to this iteration of the The Bar, it tended to move location every six months or so.
Turning the corner of the bar, Mirai took in the sight in front of him. All the heroes drinking at the The Bar were crammed in booths, clearly avoiding a miserable-looking Endeavor, who sat alone at the bar, already well on his way to drunk.
Mirai rolled his eyes at the sentient bag of rage and poor choices, before sitting at a stool further down the bar, half-raising his hand to get the bartender's attention.
The young woman approached, most likely a local student as was the usually the case at The Bar, they were in plentiful supply and would be more easily convinced not to spill any hero secrets by a wage triple the national average the job would normally have.
"Evening, my name's Sakura, what would you like to drink?" The bartender gave a polite, distinctly service industry smile.
It was the same one Mirai used when morons told him they could do his job better than he did.
"A beer, please." Mirai answered, handing over the required yen, along with a tip.
The poor girl deserved it for putting up with Endeavor for a patron.
Sakura smiled again, before serving him his drink in a glass tankard, the froth rippling as it touched down on the bartop in front of him.
Mirai took a sip, savouring the taste and the coolness, dulling the horror and anxiety the day had brought.
The beard of flames that wreathed Endeavor's face flared as he chucked more yen down on the counter, forgoing the use of the spoken word.
Probably for the better, considering this was Endeavor, the same hero who despised All Might, taking any opportunity to give him a backhanded comment or glare at him.
A whiskey was set down in front of Endeavor, the yen taken in payment.
The No.2 Hero grunted in thanks, picking his drink up and nursing it, his eyes boring down into the amber liquid.
Mirai returned his tankard to the bartop, empty save for a few scraps of foam.
"Another?"
"If you would." Mirai watched the bartender take the tankard, walking away.
Leaning back slightly, Mirai looked across at Endeavor, his whiskey still untouched.
"I don't think the bottom of that drink is going to give you the answers you want."
Endeavor grunted, lowering his glass. "And you can? With that quirk of yours?"
Mirai shrugged. "I would have thought so yesterday, but today."
The No.2 Hero didn't reply.
"Your son?"
"Doesn't want to see me, none of them do." Endeavor lowered his head. "You can stop pretending you don't know about him ."
Mirai quirked an eyebrow. "You mean your eldest son?"
"That was not Toya." Endeavor's grip around his glass tightened. "Toya is dead, we buried him, that wasn't him."
"Calling your other son a liar or an idiot then?"
Endeavor glared at the green and yellow-haired man. "Shoto was young, he doesn't remember how badly Toya was burnt, even if he had survived, the scarring would have been massive, irreversible."
"So someone really wants everyone to think your son is alive and a villian." Mirai mused as a fresh beer was placed down in front of him. "The attack today was two-fold, to kill the No.1 Hero and implicate the No.2 Hero's son as an accessory to it."
Endeavor grunted.
Mirai frowned. "You would have been forced to step back or retire completely, leaving the No.1 spot open for-"
"Hawks, a pawn of the Hero Commission." Endeavor interrupted. "That's no coincidence."
"You do know today's attack was orchestrated by All For One?" Mirai questioned.
Endeavor looked away from the bartop for the first time, directly at Mirai. "And you don't think All For One has a hand in the Hero Commission?"
Mirai paused, ruminating on the Flame Hero's words.
"When I was a kid the No.1 spot was an ever changing position, it held heroes to a standard of constantly improving and bettering their skills." Endeavor paused. "Now All Might is the untouchable No.1, a living god to the masses, that's what the position means now."
"But he isn't under the Commission's control." Mirai sighed. "So they want to replace him with Hawks, a hero they've raised from childhood, with complete control over him."
Mirai frowned again, Endeavor was right, the Commission were a bunch of power-hungry bastards, always had been.
"This doesn't change the plan, Sasaki." Endeavor glanced at Mirai. "Keep All Might alive, that's what you came and begged me to help you do six years ago."
Mirai didn't reply.
"I know I'm not powerful enough to surpass All Might, that much has been made clear to me." Endeavor downed his drink. "We have to keep him alive until Shoto or that protégé of yours are qualified heroes, they're the only ones with potential to be strong enough."
"No, there's another."
Endeavor gave a disbelieving look.
"Izuku Midoriya, in 1-A like your son."
"You mean All Might's secret love child?"
Mirai had chosen a poor time to take a sip of his drink.
"What?"
"It's what Shoto is convinced of." Endeavor shrugged. "Personally, I don't see any resemblance to the smiling bastard, but to you, that's another story."
Mirai had just taken another sip to clear his throat.
"I swear you're doing this on purpose." Mirai coughed, his lungs filled with foam.
Endeavor shrugged, but he couldn't hide the faint smirk on his lips from Mirai's sharp eyes.
"So, why do you think this kid, Midoriha, has the potential to surpass All Might?" Endeavor questioned.
Mirai paused, unsure of how much of the truth he should tell the No.2 Hero. Not of One For All of course, Endeavor only knew of All For One through his family history, the Todoroki heroes had passed the knowledge on from parent-to-child.
"He has All Might's quirk." Mirai spoke.
It was Endeavor's turn to choke, this time on air, before attempting to cover it up with a small cough.
"His own quirk, Quirksmith, allows him to permanently copy other quirks, All Might's amongst the ones he already has." Mirai sighed. "I saw his death today, Izuku Midoriya should have died nine hours ago, but he didn't, he defied my vision."
Endeavor didn't speak for a few seconds, before standing. "It suits our plans, Midoriha will make a worthy rival to my Shoto."
The No.2 Hero went to leave, but Mirai could see now the man was drunker than his conversational skill had indicated.
Endeavor stumbled, Mirai reached hold and grabbed his shoulder, stabilising the larger man.
Normally, Mirai chose to drink at home, alcohol had an annoying habit of making his quirk somewhat, excitable. He had really considered that an non-issue this evening as he'd already had his single use of his quirk for the day.
Except, he hadn't noticed the time, later than he'd thought, just a few minutes past midnight.
Mirai's quirk activated.
" You can't refuse my gift forever, Shoto."
Mirai watched Shoto glare at his father, without saying a word.
" Welcome to the first day of the 2179 U.A. Sports Festival, my personal favourite, the First-Year Stage, all these hotshots ready to make their rocking debut, doesn't it just wanted to make you yell-"
"Hisashi, no!"
"YAAAAHHHOOOOOOOO!"
"With a shocking last-second advance to First Place, it's Midoriya, what a nail-biting conclusion!"~
Izuku lost his footing as he slowed, rolling across the grass as he came to a halt, looking up at the cloudless sky above.
"Mikumo!"
Mirai turned his gaze to see a dark-haired boy get hit in the chest by a slab of concrete with a sickening crack.
"After the regrettable incident in the second round a reduced third round will be held, aggregating the results of the first and second events to select eight competitors."
"It's your power, Todoroki! Not his!"
"Izuku Midoriya is out of bounds, Shoto Todoroki advances to the finals!"
Mirai stood in the rubble of the platform, turning to see Midoriya unconscious, one of his arms mangled, bent and broken, the skin purple and bleeding.
"Midoriya?"
"Also in third place is Izuku Midoriya, the winner of the first event, who's explosive battle with Todoroki caused the most amount of damage ever recorded at the first-year stage, he's a powerhouse on the rise! Watch out!"
Mirai's view was over Endeavor's shoulder, the No.2 Hero stood in the stands, watching as All Might placed the bronze around the green-haired boy's neck, before hugging him as he had done with Tokoyami.
The world blurred again, Mirai's view was in Todoroki ancestral house, a traditional japanese style design.
Endeavor was standing in the center of the room, the youngest son, Shoto, and the daughter, Fuyumi, sat on the sofa, all of them staring at the television screen.
"The Mustafu Police Department have confirmed the body that washed up on Dagobah Beach last night is that of Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. student who captivated the nation in the Sports Festival only a few days ago. The wounds on his body had been confirmed to be consistent with those seen in the victims of the Hero Killer, Stain."
"There have been no further leads on the whereabouts of his mother, Inko Midoriya, who is believed to have been kidnapped at the same time as her son."
"We at MNS would like to offer our condolences to those who were close to the Midoriya family. U.A. will be holding a vigil for Izuku Midoriya, and he will be buried with full honours granted to pro heroes who have fallen in battle."
The screen changed, showing a picture of Midoriya on the podium, blushing as All Might hugged him, text written along the bottom.
Izuku Midoriya
15.07.2163 - 05.05.2179
Mirai gasped as he was returned to awareness, lying on the floor of The Bar.
"Midoriya changed the future, he denied Time his death." Mirai sat up. "But Time is going to take it no matter the cost."
Endeavor frowned, picking up Mirai's half-drunk beer and sniffing it.
It was normal beer.
Mirai looked up at the No.2 Hero. "But the future isn't set in stone yet, I know that now."
"What has yet to be done, can be undone."