6. Bringing Up The Rear (Admirals)
"I wish to meet the other three Vice Admiral."
"Alright? But you do realize that there's a more than good chance that they'll almost immediately pick up on your injury with their Observation Haki just like me and mom did right?"
"They would most likely do so the first time they had a class with me at UA anyways, or are you going to tell me that they WON'T be shooting for the Number One Hero School of Japan?"
"Point. Alright, I'll set the meeting up, but what are you going to tell them when they ask about it?"
"The truth, that I got it in the line of duty. I am sure you of all people know how dangerous the job of a Hero is, Vice Admiral, as well the other three."
"Well, there WAS your fight with Toxic Chainsaw around five years ago. Given what his Quirk is, it's not too unbelievable he managed to get a lucky hit in."
"Exactly, so long as I remain in my Hero form around them then that should be all there is to the matter, and even if they DO see me in this form, power amplification quirks are hardly unheard of."
"Fair enough."
Story Start: Chuo Forest Park, Central Picnic Center
Izuku didn't so much as twitch as three figures came out of their Shave techniques right in front of him, having felt them coming with his Observation Haki when they had entered the park. He eagerly accepted the hug and brief kiss from his then wife now fiancé. (They even had promise rings for each other that they kept safe at their homes) When they separated, Kaminari smirked and said "So what's up with calling for a face to face meeting Chief? The next scheduled one isn't for another month and a half."
Izuku turned serious and said "Earlier this week, there was an hostage incident involving a Villain with a quirk that turned their body into a type of sludge. I dealt with the matter due to the onsite Heroes being incapable of thinking outside the box and claiming that they couldn't actually do anything because their Quirks didn't fit with the situation. As I was solving the problem, another Pro Hero arrived just in time to witness my actions and tracked me down the next day and we had a pretty interesting conversation."
None of them being slow, all three Rear Admirals flicked their eyes at the men's restroom where they had been able to sense a presence behind the door with their Observation Haki as they arrived. The trio had ignored the presence then, assuming that if Izuku had something sensitive to say that they would leave the immediate area in order not to be overheard. Now though...
"Wait, wait, wait, I thought we agreed that it wasn't a good idea to let knowledge of what we are spread past our immediate family." Kaminari objected.
"Indeed, was it really wise to inform this Pro Hero of our origins? Kero." Tsuyu asked.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have any reservations about this person knowing when you see who it is." Izuku said with a smirk before he turned to the male restroom and respectively said "You can come out now Sir."
As the door opened, Izuku turned his eyes back to his fellow Marines and enjoyed the look of stunned amazement on their faces as All Might, #1 Pro Hero of Japan (And maybe even the world) stepped out with a boisterous laugh and said "Greetings Rear Admirals! Yes, it is I, All Might, and I Am Here in order to meet those who like the Vice Admiral have already dedicated their lives to the pursuit of Justice and defending those who cannot defend themselves, and have done so again in this life as well!"
"SIR!" All three Rear Admirals said, each snapping into a picture perfect salute. Pro Heroes may not be military, but this was ALL MIGHT standing before them, he not only deserved their respect, the blood sweat and tears he had given over multiple decades to bring the world out of the century plus long chaos caused by the emergence of quirks demandedit from them.
A moment later though, their eyes snapped to the left side of his chest and all three of them let out sharp hisses, Uraraka letting out a soft but extremely horrified "No" immediately after.
Al Might's smile went from boisterous to something that was smaller yet still somehow reassuring even as he turned his gaze to Izuku and said "It appears that you were correct about them immediately detecting my injury."
"Dude, how are you still an active Pro Hero with a wound like that?!" Kaminari asked in horrified amazement. He'd seen Marines die in minutes if not seconds when they took injuries like that and even if they received emergency medical attention immediately after their chances of surviving weren't even remotely close to half.
All Might's smile widened to what he showed those he brought hope to as he said "I am the Symbol of Peace Rear Admiral, I cannot allow a wound such as this keep me from saving those in danger." He then actually frowned and said "At least, that is what I wish I could claim with one hundred percent honesty. However, reality must also be faced. Even as I strive to save as many people as I can, my time as a Pro Hero has drastically shortened. I have been at this job for a long time Marines, and I am far from immortal. Even before I received my injury, I had maybe twenty years left in my career before I would have to retire, and that would have been the most naively optimistic estimate. Now, my retirement will most likely be within the next five years at max, most likely closer to three."
All of the Marines, even Izuku who had already known this before, looked down solemnly. It would truly be the end of an era when All Might finally stepped down, and they all knew that the world would be changed as those who walked the path of Evil did their best to take advantage. The four of them and the rest of the Pro Heroes of their generation would have to really step up to the plate in order to help the older generations keep the peace that the Symbol in front of them had worked so hard to obtain.
"BAH! Enough with this gloomy atmosphere!" All Might said, once more grinning as he forcibly threw off the somber mood and continued "I did not request this meeting to bring doom and gloom to you all. Instead, I wish to see the strength of those that would come after me!"
Izuku raised an eyebrow even as the Rear Admirals gave a collective blink. No, surely not...
Surely Yes. All Might lowered his body into a combat stance and said "Give me everything you have you four, I wish to know what to expect when the four of you become my students at UA in ten months' time."
"Wait, you're going to be teaching at UA?" Kaminari asked with a grin even as he adopted his own starting stance, electricity beginning to spark all around him. On either side the two girls also shifted, Tsuyu's tongue slipping out of her mouth and Uraraka's fingers half clenching. Izuku's bo staff was immediately brought out and assembled though the blades remained sheathed for the moment. And all of their limbs and clothes bled obsidian as they brought their Armament Haki to the max level they were capable of.
"Indeed I shall, but that is still in the future Rear Admiral, for now, SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!" All Might said, his words taking a forceful tone at the end that sent shivers of anticipation down their spines as the air around the group turned heavy with the power that All Might was preparing to release on them.
To the surprise of absolutely no one who had known him for even ten minutes, Kaminari moved first, disappearing with the sharp snap of crackling electricity. Barely half a second later, the other four vanished from the untrained eye as well and small but powerful shockwaves began filling the area around the rest area.
It was a good thing that there was no one else around the area at the time, they likely would have been absolutely terrified as the five veteran fighters went at it with just enough restraint not to destroy the forest around them. As it was, more than one tree would sadly find themselves missing more than a few tree branches after that day.
Time Skip: Sixty Five Minutes Later
"Ugh, man I'm out of shape! I remember when I used to be able to go a whole day fighting nonstop and still be ready to throw down with the Rookies back at whichever base I was stationed at at the time." Kaminari groaned from where he was slouching on the ground with his back against a tree trunk, idly poking at an absolute beauty of a massive bruise on his forearm that had come from All Might flicking him with a single finger. Armament Haki had saved his arm from being pulverized but some of the incredible force had still managed to get through his defenses.
"It is rather frustrating being in such a young body again, Kero." Tsuyu stated in agreement as she idly rubbed at her right foot to relieve the stinging sensation in it.
Uraraka hummed from where she was contently resting between Izuku's legs who in turn had his arms wrapped around her waist as he leaned against another tree trunk and said "I'll admit, I'll be glad when I'm an adult again, I still feel like I'm only at High Captain strength even after how long I've been training."
All Might gave a boisterous laugh and said "My, what scary fighters the four of you are! You managed to keep up with me for just over an hour and yet are complaining about feeling weaker then you should be." All Might gestured at his face that had a couple of bruises on it with his equally bruised hands and continued "Given the marks you four have left on me, I daresay you are more than ready to join the ranks of Pro Heroes as you are, and you shall only grow stronger as you grow older!"
That was certainly high praise from the Number One who hadn't exactly held back as much as one would expect given his super strength and speed, especially when fighting young teenagers who's Quirks weren't either of those themselves. For obvious reasons the four had avoided his upper left torso but everything else had been fair game and the Observation Haki augmented teamwork of the four Marines had really made him work at not being overwhelmed from all sides. Even briefly taking the fight up into the branches of the trees around them hadn't slowed them down at all, the four young in body Defenders of Justice flitting about through the air with their Moonwalk technique as easily as walking upon the ground.
That earned pleased expressions from the four Marines. A few moments later, Izuku turned serious and said "So, any objections to teaching All Might Haki and the Six Powers? I know we are going to wait until after we become Pros before spreading the knowledge of how to use them around but I think we can make an exception for him."
Tsuyu nodded and said "Given the injury he has obtained, it would be prudent to teach him Armament Haki and Iron Body at the very least."
"Yeah, and with how fast he already is Shave will probably make him untouchable!" Kaminari said with a thumbs up.
"And the Paper Arts will help him avoid taking any other debilitating hits as well." Uraraka said with a nod.
"Guess it's decided then." Izuku said and lightly nudged Uraraka to her feet, getting up as well, the other two quickly doing the same. As they moved closer to All Might, Izuku smirked up at him and held out a hand and asked "So All Might, think you can stand becoming a student of ours for a month or two before we flip the roles once we get into UA?"
All Might clasped his hand in Izuku's with his customary large smile and said "I would be honored to."
END
Author's Notes: Well, I MEANT for the next chapter of this story to be the Entrance Exam but then the conversation at the start of this chapter appeared in my head and I just had to put it out of there. (Shakes Fist) Dang it muses, let me actually make progress on a story plot line won't you?!
Also, in case you're wondering, I'm currently working on Momma Midoriya which is a rather long MHA One Shot so if you're wondering about a lack of updates, that's why. At the moment of posting this chapter I'm up to I-Island and my tentative 'stopping point' for the fic is the Kamino Ward fight. (At least for Part One, I'll most likely be going even further as I get more knowledgeable of the later arcs.)