Chapter 16 - The Legend

After the bomb exercise had ended, the forty-six students and their teachers were standing in the streets of Ground Beta, in the same place that they were before they began. Aizawa and Vlad King stepped forward to address the crowd of students, while All Might hung back.

"You all did well today." said Aizawa. "Both classes have shown excellent teamwork, adaption, and skill. Even the only team that failed this exercise did well, as you have Bakugo and Monoma to blame for that failure."

As soon as he said that about Bakugo and Monoma, both exchanged angry glares at each other. If it hadn't been for the fact that they were on opposite sides of the crowd, they probably would've been attacking each other at that point.

"I agree that you all did well today." Vlad King spoke up. "I know our two classes have many differences, but you were able to put those differences aside and work together. That's one of the key attributes that a hero has; able to put aside rivalry in order for succession."

Aizawa then said, "Now then, it's only fair that Class 1-B gets to leave first, considering that Class 1-A was the first to arrive. So, say your goodbyes for now. After they leave, we'll be able to go next."

After he said that, Aizawa and Vlad King turned to speak with All Might about something. Class 1-A and Class 1-B converged, saying things like 'good job' and 'it was nice working with you' to one another. After saying their goodbyes and see you arounds, Class 1-B left to board their bus, leaving Class 1-A to themselves.

After saying goodbye to Shiozaki, Matthew began focusing on Midoriya, who had just said goodbye to the Class 1-B students he was working with. He was about to walk up to Midoriya to speak with him, but Uraraka came up to Midoriya and began chatting with him. Matthew wanted to speak with him alone, but he couldn't do that, not when Uraraka was there. So, Matthew decided to wait until they were in the locker rooms to speak with him.

Having boarded their own bus and driven away from Ground Beta, Class 1-A were now in the locker rooms of U.A, where they began changing out of their hero costumes and back into their school uniforms.

As Midoriya was changing out of his hero costume, Matthew came up to him, already dressed in his school uniform. To his surprise, Matthew leaned close to say something in his ear.

"I want to speak with you, alone and in private." Matthew said quietly. "Go a few seconds after me, so that the guys don't get suspicious."

Matthew began walking out of the locker room, while Midoriya was left wondering what Matthew wanted to talk about. He then quickly got out of his hero costume and started putting on his school uniform. After he was finished, he walked out of the locker room. He then turned the empty hallway and saw Matthew waiting down by the edge of another empty hallway. Midoriya jogged up to him so he could speak with him, but he gained an uneasy feeling when they were alone; it was like when he talked with Todoroki during the U.A Sports Festival.

"You wanted to talk?" Midoriya asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Yes, I do." Matthew replied, his tone unmoving. "At lunch today, you told me you were quirkless when you were a kid, and that you didn't have a quirk until high school started. That's awfully convenient, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"I've lived my whole life without a quirk, Midoriya, and I never heard of a quirkless gaining a quirk later on in their life. So, from what you told me about yourself, and from what I know from having lived my life, I have this theory. I believe that somebody gave you a quirk, though I don't know how. And, considering the state that All Might is in, and how you guys are so close with each other, I believe that he has given you whatever quirk he's carrying."

The expression on Midoriya's face turned to shock, and Matthew knew at that moment he had struck a nerve.

Matthew then asked, "Would I be correct in this assumption?"

Midoriya didn't know how to respond; he was able to dodge the question most of the time, but that was because it wasn't a direct approach! He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to tell Matthew about 'One For All' and the secret he was ordered to keep! What could he say at that moment?

"Hey, Deku!" Bakugo spoke, suddenly appearing from out of nowhere. "Uraraka and four-eyes wanted to speak with you, so you better stop your hiding and get over to them! And what are you doing here, quirkless?!"

"Just shooting the breeze with Midoriya, Kacchan." Matthew replied, trying to sound innocent.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Bakugo roared angrily, to which Matthew didn't flinch.

Bakugo then grabbed Midoriya's shoulder somewhat roughly and began dragging him away, much to his surprise. As for Matthew, he was just left there standing in the hallway, with the feeling that Bakugo had just rescued Midoriya from answering the question. Well, no matter; if Midoriya couldn't tell, he was just going to have to speak with All Might about this particular matter.

"Kacchan, what are you-" Midoriya asked, as he was being dragged away by Bakugo.

"Did you tell him?" Bakugo growled, cutting him off.

"What?" Midoriya asked.

"Did you tell him, you nerd?!" Bakugo asked, as he stopped dragging him. "Did you tell him about what happened to All Might?!"

"No, I didn't!" Midoriya replied quickly. "He wanted to talk with me about that, but I didn't know how to respond!"

Bakugo let out a 'hmph' and said, "That quirkless has more brains than I thought. I saw him coming up to you and then leaving, and then you followed a few seconds after. I had a feeling that he wanted to talk with you, so I decided to follow. When he mentioned All Might and was getting close to the topic of your quirk, I knew I had to step in and stop him!"

"Kacchan…" Midoriya spoke, his tone soft. "You saved me. That's really-"

"Don't get any ideas, Deku!" Bakugo yelled, causing Midoriya to flinch. "I'm not your guardian angel, so don't get yourself into a situation you can't get out of, got that?!"

"Yeah, I got that!" Midoriya replied, his tone panicked sounding.

Bakugo then let out another 'hmph' and began stalking off down the halls. Midoriya waited for a few seconds, just so that there was some distance between him and Bakugo, and then he began walking back to the Class 1-A classroom as well.

Matthew walked up to the door that had the words 'TEACHER'S LOUNGE' printed on it in bold letters, and knocked. The door was answered by Present Mic, the language arts teacher, who Matthew found to be similar to that of a DJ.

"Well well well, look who we have here, boys and girls!" Present Mic yelled, just like how a DJ on the radio would. "How can I help you out, my main man from the U.S of A?"

"Uh…" said Matthew, kind of put off by how energetic Present Mic was. "Can I speak with All Might, please? There's something important I have to discuss with him."

"Sorry pal, only teachers allowed in the teacher's lounge!" Present Mic replied. "But, if you wait now, I'll bring you All Might, absolutely free!"

"Okay, thanks…"

Present Mic disappeared back into the teacher's lounge, shutting the door behind him. Matthew waited half a minute, humming a tune to himself, when the door opened up again. All Might, in his shrunken form and wearing yellow formal clothing and black shoes, came out and closed the door behind him.

"Matthew." said All Might. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes sir." Matthew replied. "Is there anywhere we could speak in private?"

"There is; follow me."

All Might began walking down the hall with Matthew following. They walked through the halls for a few seconds before they came to a door. All Might opened the door and both he and Matthew went in. The room they entered was a small lounge room, with a table, a couch, a couple of chairs, and a window that overlooked the city of Musutafu. It was afternoon, and the sky was turning a bright, yellowish color that signified that the day was ending.

"What did you want to see me about?" All Might asked, as he closed the door behind the two of them.

"It's about Midoriya." Matthew replied, taking a chair and sitting down in it.

"What about Midoriya?" asked All Might, sitting on the couch.

"There's something that doesn't add up about him. You see, Midoriya, myself, and a couple of other students were talking about our hero names. Midoriya told me his hero name, and told that when he was younger, he didn't have a quirk. But when he reached high school age, his quirk manifested. Now, that seems very convenient to me that it happened like that. However, I've never heard of a quirkless gaining their quirk when they got older; besides, it never happened to me, or any other quirkless people that I talked with online."

"Your point?"

"My point is, I have a theory about how Midoriya got his quirk. I believe that somebody gave him a quirk. And, considering the condition you are in right now, and that the two of you seem to be close with each other, I believe that you are the one who passed it down to him."

All Might's reaction was just like Midoriya's, and Matthew once again knew he had struck a nerve.

"Would I be correct in that assumption?" asked Matthew. "I tried asking Midoriya, but Bakugo came and took him away before he could answer."

All Might was quiet for a few seconds, and got up from the couch to look out the window. He sighed, and then said, "I have to admit, young man, you have quite the deductive reasoning. Nobody has really noticed it that way, so I have to give you points for finding it out yourself."

"But am I right? Or am I wrong?"

All Might walked back to the couch and sat down, saying, "Because you have found this out yourself, I guess I have no choice but to tell you. However, if I tell you, you must promise me that you will not reveal this anyone, not even your fellow Americans. Promise?"

"Yes, I promise." Matthew replied, holding up one hand and placing the other over his heart. "On my honor."

After he did that, All Might took a breath and said, "I will tell you a story, a legend of sorts. Long ago, there was a man, born with the power to steal quirks and give them to others. He had a younger brother, who was seemingly quirkless, just like you. It is unknown why, but he forcibly gave his younger brother a quirk that allowed him to stockpile power within his body. However, what both of them didn't know was that the younger brother wasn't quirkless; he had a quirk that gave him no power, but it could be transferred to another person. The two quirks merged, and became the very quirk that Midoriya now possesses. The younger brother discovered this and, because of his strong sense of justice, tried to defeat his old brother, who was a villain. The younger brother failed, and decided to entrust his quirk to future generations of heroes, hoping that this quirk would become so powerful, that it would be able to defeat his brother. Very few know this truth about this particular quirk, out of fear for what the villains would do if they found out that this quirk could be transferred."

"Yeah, now I can see why you want to keep it a secret." said Matthew. "If word got out about that, everybody would be after it."

All Might nodded, and continued, "The quirk, and Midoriya's source of power, is called 'One for All'. As it is passed down from generation to generation, it becomes more and more powerful. I was the eighth holder of it, and I became the Symbol of Peace by using it to help others. However, I was injured in a battle against a villain, and it cost me greatly, as you can see by my current form. I could no longer be the Symbol of Peace for more than three hours at a time, and so I needed to find a successor, someone willing to carry the torch when my time as a hero was up. And I came here to Musutafu, where I found Midoriya, who proved to have the heart of a hero, despite being quirkless. I vowed to train him to become the next Symbol of Peace, and I passed on One for All to him."

"I knew it!" said Matthew. "I knew there was something going on between the two of you."

"Yes, and now you know." All Might replied. "You seem like a trustworthy individual, Matthew, so I will have no worries when it comes to you keeping a secret. Anyway, school's probably out by now; you can leave. Here, give this to Aizawa before you go; it will explain your absenteeism."

As he was saying that, All Might reached into his pants pocket and handed Matthew a slip of paper. It was a tardy pass, and all he needed to do was just give it to Aizawa before he left.

"Thank you." Matthew replied, putting the slip of paper into his pocket. Before he was about to open the door and leave, he asked, "That villain you fought, the one who injured you… it's the older brother, isn't it? The one who gave the younger brother a part of One For All?"

All Might nodded solemnly and replied, "Yes. His name is All For One, and just as I am the Symbol of Peace, he is the Symbol of Chaos. And, just like how I am raising a successor, he is raising a successor himself. After we are both gone, Midoriya will have to battle against that successor, just as have battled against All For One."

"I understand, and thank you for telling me…" Matthew replied, opening the door and walking out.

Matthew closed the door behind him, and began walking down the hallways of U.A, thinking about all that he had just been told. It must be a great burden to carry the knowledge of that quirk, and now Matthew was going to have to share that burden with All Might, Midoriya, and anyone else who knew about it. But, at least they wouldn't be alone; they would have each other to depend on. If it ever came down to it, Matthew would be willing to fight alongside Midoriya and his fellow students…

However, that was all well and good, but Matthew still needed to give the tardy slip to Aizawa. He then began rushing down the halls, hoping to catch up to the class before they left for the day.