Chapter 7

.:. Izuku's Best Day Ever .:.

Toshinori was internally screaming.

Only decades of experience keeping his trademark smile even under the grimmest of circumstances kept him from visibly showing his panic as he leapt across the rooftops. He felt far too conscious about the weight against his back and the thin arms wrapped around his neck for support. Even if Midoriya hadn't been actively shouting with each jump, a mixture of delight and adrenaline, he'd have been conscious of it. This was far from the first time he'd carried someone, and it would be far from the last, but never had it filled him with so much anxiety.

From the moment the boy had first started rambling about his newfound Quirk, Toshinori had been filled with an inexplicable dread. Even as part of him immediately made note of the similarities he'd desperately tried to ignore it, to convince himself he was overreacting. Even when the boy mentioned "holes" he tried to persuade himself it meant nothing.

But when the boy's body transformed and his hands became normal—as the villain turned into the sludge form he'd been chasing—Toshinori knew. He couldn't lie to himself anymore. The sight of those holes on his palms vanquished any doubts he might have:

This boy, Midoriya Izuku, possessed All For One.

Being in such close contact with someone possessing that Quirk made every nerve stand on edge. Even if Midoriya wasn't All For One, he couldn't shake the image of his foe with those very hands. He'd never actually seen All For One use his true Quirk in person, only those that he'd accumulated with it, but seeing Midoriya return the villain's Quirk gave his imagination plenty of fodder to imagine how it might have looked when used by his old foe.

Letting Midoriya off his back while he entered the police station to drop off the sludge villain with promises to file a report later had been a relief. The second he had the kid climb onto him again that anxiety and unease had returned. Even if he knew that All For One couldn't take One For All, he now had three other Quirks, also ironically from his nemesis.

Toshinori suspected the only reason he hadn't broken down was because this wasn't All For One, but a boy. A boy with green hair and eyes and a bright smile, far brighter than anything he'd ever seen on his nemesis. Despite all his instinctive fear, the boy lacked the malice All For One possessed.

...Maybe.

Hopefully.

The truth was, Toshinori didn't know what to think. He couldn't think clearly. Every instinct was screaming to get away from this child, to defeat him before he could do any more damage despite not having done anything yet. It was irrational and Toshinori knew it, he couldn't look at this kid and think clearly when he had All For One's Quirk.

All For One was dead. His Quirk was supposed to be gone with him. Yet Midoriya showed up with his Quirk now. The Quirks weren't just similar, it was the same Quirk. And while the fact that his Quirk had only awakened now made it clear he'd been one of the many impacted by the Second Quirk Boom, Toshinori had never imagined that that Quirk itself would be passed on.

Thank goodness they couldn't really talk while he was jumping around like this. If Midoriya were to speak to him, he wasn't sure he could answer. He landed on the roof of his agency with no small amount of relief, letting the boy down a final time. "We are here!" he announced grandly, but paused when he saw the boy's wide-eyed look and pale face.

His heroic instincts overcame his irrational anxiety and unease, feeling a pinch of concern. Had jumping around like that been too much for the boy? "Er, Midoriya, my boy? Is everything okay?"

"...I am on top of Might Tower," Midoriya whispered. "This is amazing." That... was not the reaction he expected. The boy's mouth slowly curved into a smile, a high-pitched squeak not unlike a dying animal slipping out as he looked around. "I'm on top of Might Tower! I never even thought I'd see the lobby in person, let alone stand on the roof!"

Toshinori couldn't help it. The boy's overwhelming enthusiasm made him smile brightly and give a hearty laugh. He just hoped that it didn't sound as high-strung as it felt. "Well, you're not just going to be on the roof, my boy! We still need to go inside!" Wide green eyes snapped to him, the boy's jaw dropping again. The look of sheer awe and amazement made him question how he'd ever felt so nervous around the boy, even if he had All For One.

Ah, right. All For One.

His smile became just ever so slightly strained.

"Come along now!" he said, gesturing for Midoriya to follow him to the large glass doors that opened to the floor with his office. None of his staff came up here while he was out, guaranteeing plenty of privacy. "I need to speak to someone real quick, so I'll call my secretary to stay with you." Yowai-san was a very nice woman, and she was also Quirkless. That would make it safe enough to leave her with Midoriya, no chances of accidentally stealing her Quirk. Or intentionally stealing it, either.

Fortunately, Yowai was actually already waiting right inside the door, a faint frown on her face. "All Might," she started, and paused when she saw Midoriya trailing behind him with wide, sparkly eyes as he stared around in wonder. She faltered, staring at him blankly before turning to Toshinori. "...Um, sir? Did you kidnap a child?"

"What?" he yelped, startled by the accusation. "Why would you think that?" Yowai gave a feeble shrug. Luckily Midoriya seemed to have missed the exchange, staring at a poster with a hanging jaw.

"This is a framed limited edition poster of your Silver Age team-up with Endeavor," he whispered, voice closer to a wheeze than actually speaking. "I never thought I'd see one in person, most of them were said to be lost in a mysterious fire..."

Toshinori coughed to hide his laugh. "Er, y-yes, they were." Amusingly enough, that had been only the latest in a long line of mishaps regarding attempts to produce that poster. Only one batch had ever been produced properly. The second attempt had been derailed by broken equipment, a third by corrupt image files leading to a rather... abstract-looking product that would haunt his nightmares. In the end when a villain attacked the factory and burnt it down, everyone agreed the poster had been cursed and just gave up on it.

"It's even more amazing than I ever dreamed," Midoriya whispered, and then paused. "Wait, did she say something about kidnapping?"

"Not at all!" Toshinori laughed. "Midoriya, this is Yowai Kimiko, my secretary. Yowai, this is Midoriya Izuku. I found him being accosted by a villain, and I thought it would be more comfortable to work on his report here than the station!"

"Oh, I see." She nodded in understanding, though she still looked a bit suspicious. It wasn't every day Toshinori brought in a random stranger after all. "By the way, you have a, ah... guest, in your office."

Oh thank goodness, Mirai was here. Toshinori didn't let his relief show. "Thank you! I was hoping he'd be here! Can you please get Midoriya some snacks and refreshments while I speak to him? Perhaps give him a tour!"

"A tour!?" Midoriya squeaked, his eyes bulging so far they looked ready to pop out of his head. The awe and admiration was stronger than anything he'd ever seen from any other fan.

"Of course, sir," Yowai agreed, with that undertone of, 'You owe me an explanation later.' She turned to Midoriya with a smile. "Come along, Midoriya-kun. I'm sure you've had a busy day, so let's start in the kitchen and raid All Might's snack stash."

"All Might's snacks," Midoriya whispered, practically vibrating as he followed her. Toshinori waved them off with a smile as he headed to his office, only letting it fade to a grimace when their voices disappeared. Dear Nana, the boy with All For One's power was going to his kitchen to raid his snacks. This had to be the most surreal day of his life.

Twenty-seven minutes. Twenty-seven minutes since Mirai had gotten that text from Toshinori. Sixteen since he'd arrived at Might Tower.

Mirai paced around the office anxiously, waiting for his former partner to make his grand entrance and explain what in the world was going on. The trip to Might Tower had been incredibly quick, even if he had to run one stop light on the way, and he hadn't wasted a moment going to Toshinori's office to wait. Yowai, his secretary, had been a bit confused by him showing up out of the blue but she didn't question it.

The sound of the doorknob turning made him stop, spinning to see his old friend slip inside. Immediately Mirai knew something was horribly wrong. Toshinori's face looked grimmer than he'd ever seen, eyes haunted and the corners of his mouth downturned in the faintest grimace. The only good news was that he didn't seem hurt, but he knew that there were many things that could harm the man much more than physical injuries.

"Toshinori," he greeted sharply. "What happened? What's going on?" Toshinori didn't reply right away, locking the door and walking to his desk. He swayed ever so slightly as he moved, like a man walking to his death and only making Mirai's stomach sink further. His stomach then outright flipped when he saw Toshinori reach under the desk.

Not many people knew, but Toshinori had a secret button built into the desk. One perk of being the Number One Hero was access to incredible technology not generally available to the public, including ways to instantly soundproof a room. Though nothing visibly or audibly happened to indicate the change, Mirai knew no one would hear them anymore. This was serious, this was very serious.

Toshinori collapsed into the chair, leaning forward with his fingers steepled against his chin. A deep, shuddering breath slipped out, shoulders tense as he closed his eyes. "All For One is back."

Those words made Mirai's mind go momentarily blank, taking a few seconds to process it. "WHAT!?" he blurted, physically recoiling. All For One was back? But he was dead! They saw his body—they cremated it!

"A kid this time," Toshinori confirmed gravely, and Mirai felt like he'd been punched. "Green hair, freckles. Still in middle school."

"A... child?" Mirai whispered. All For One killed a child? His expression schooled itself immediately into something more professional and serious, forcing that instinctive fear down. This was serious, he could panic later. "Do you know the child's name?" He didn't expect him to, or rather he hoped not, but—

"Midoriya Izuku," Toshinori groaned, and shit. Mirai hadn't heard that name in any cold cases or on the police bands lately, so the murder must be fresh. Tsukauchi would have called Mirai up the second he suspected Toshinori or All For One had any knowledge or involvement with it, so he doubted Toshinori had stumbled across it in police records. With the haunted expression on his face, Mirai suspected he'd either seen the murder firsthand, or found the body with some taunting note listing his name.

"Do... do his parents know?" he asked, and Toshinori grimaced.

"No, not yet. It... It just happened, right before I texted you." This was just confirming all of Mirai's worst fears and making him wince. Damn, he really did see it himself then.

"Did you tell Tsukauchi? Or any other police?"

"Not yet," and dammit Toshinori, "I wanted to speak to you first."

Mirai took a deep breath to compose himself. "Okay. I understand. Yes, that's rational I suppose," he murmured to himself, and hesitated. "And... did you see him yourself? Are you absolutely sure it's All For One?" Could it be a mistake? Could it be an imposter claiming his name? Please be an imposter.

"He stole and returned the Quirk of a villain I was chasing," Toshinori confirmed miserably, dashing what little hope Mirai had left. He pulled his hands away from his face to stare at his palms, eyes narrowing as he hissed, "He had those holes in his palms, Mirai. Those exact same holes..."

Mirai was silent, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose as he silently counted to ten. There was absolutely no denying it: All For One was back. "We can't waste a moment," he declared. "We should call Gran Torino and Tsukauchi immediately to arrange a meeting."

"Yes, I suppose we should," Toshinori agreed, sounding reluctant. Even now he still had a slight fear of his old mentor, but Mirai couldn't spare any sympathy. He couldn't even offer to call them himself, he had another more important task.

"I'll... look into contacting Midoriya's family," he murmured, looking at his feet with a tight frown. "I'll figure out how to tell them the news with Tsukauchi later, so you just focus on gathering the others." He saw Toshinori raise his head at that, looking faintly confused.

"What? Mirai, hold on, isn't that a bit hasty to decide that right now? Shouldn't we wait until we know more?" The genuine confusion in his tone startled Mirai, looking at the blond incredulously.

"Wait?" he repeated. "Toshinori, their child is dead! Don't you think they should know?"

"Dea—" Toshinori stopped and blinked, staring at him blankly. "...Er, Mirai, I think there has been a grave miscommunication."

Now it was Mirai's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't you just say All For One is back?"

"I—yes, I did, but—"

"A phone call is here!" They startled as Toshinori's voice suddenly boomed through the room, both instinctively checking their phones. Mirai found his dim, just as Toshinori answered his.

"Yowai-san?"

"Uh, All Might?" Yowai's voice came over speaker. "Uh, I think I might have broken the kid...?" Toshinori blinked at that while Mirai looked on in confusion.

"I... What?"

"I don't know. One second we were in the kitchen raiding snacks, then he saw that framed picture you have with Lunch Rush, Thirteen, the Wild, Wild Pussycats and all those other rescue heroes from that one earthquake a few years back, and then he just started mumbling! Listen!" She went silent, and Mirai realized he could hear a very faint mumbling in the background. After a few seconds she added, "Also, he's writing in a notebook."

"...Er, I think that's normal for him," Toshinori said sheepishly. "Midoriya-kun rambled quite a bit when we first met." Mirai nearly jumped at the name, focusing on Toshinori with renewed laser-pointed sharpness as he continued, "I'm guessing he's talking about Quirks?"

"Yes, yes he is. And from what I've heard him say, I am now terrified of Tiger's Quirk. Please make him stop."

Toshinori coughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Yowai, but you'll need to endure this a bit longer. I still need to talk to Mirai. I'm sure you can find something to snap him out of it."

"...Yeah, know what? You're right." There was an eerie calmness to her tone that made them both tense. Mirai had gotten to know Yowai well enough before leaving to start his own agency to recognize the distinct prelude to mischief. Sure enough, "Hey Midoriya-kun, do you want to see the room with All Might's reject merchandise?"

"All Might's reject merchandise!?" came a very high-pitched yelp. "You keep some here!?"

"Only the stuff that turns out so bad it's good! We've got a whole room we like to call the 'Hall of Shame.' I think you'll get a kick out of it!" Toshinori winced, eyes going wide with horror, but before he could say anything and try to stop her the phone hung up. For a moment they just stood in silence, staring at the phone.

Then, Mirai took the opportunity to speak. "...By any chance, is the 'Midoriya' you just mentioned Midoriya Izuku?"

"...He is," Toshinori confirmed after a few moments, and Mirai nodded.

"So when you said All For One is back, you meant..."

"The Quirk." Toshinori hunched over the desk, pressing his hands to his head. "His Quirk is back, and manifested in young Midoriya just today."

"I see." This was marginally better than his initial assumption, but still serious. "Perhaps you should start from the beginning."

Izuku was having the best day of his entire life. He got a Quirk, he met All Might, and he was now walking through Might Tower. He got to see All Might's fridge (and he had a full page in his notebook dedicated to its contents), and see all sorts of photos and pictures from various events he'd never released to the public! Private photos of him helping with relief aid and meeting with other heroes, clearly treasured memories that weren't just for publicity!

And now he was seeing a bunch of merchandise no one even knew existed.

"And this here is a plushie from a proposed line of costume swaps!" Yowai declared, lifting up a doll of All Might dressed like Midnight. "No, we have no idea who the heck suggested adding Midnight to the mix, but it looks beautiful, don't you think?"

Izuku could only manage a broken squeak, too excited to form proper words. He'd heard rumors of the costume swap line, and had been so disappointed it hadn't come to fruition. But now he knew it was real! He had the proof in the form of this felt doll with All Might wearing Midnight's dominatrix outfit, complete with a removable red mask and a little whip! He could only imagine how the Midnight one would look like in his costume.

"Why Midnight?" he asked, unable to help himself. "Their builds are so different, even in plushie form, it's a really odd choice."

"I think they chose pairs randomly. I hear there was one of Endeavor dressed as Gang Orca," Yowai added with a smirk and conspiratorial wink.

"How does that even work? Gang Orca has a mutation Quirk."

"Two words," Yowai replied solemnly. "Orca hat." Izuku burst out laughing at the mental image, unable to help himself. The idea of an Endeavor plushie wearing a hat shaped like Gang Orca's head felt surreal. Almost as surreal as those sticky-hand toys based on All Might's head, with his famous spiky bangs being the sticky part. Izuku had seen many unforgettable things today.

Really, despite how horrible it had been to almost drown in sludge, this past hour had more than made up for it. First he got to ride on All Might, and now he got to tour his agency? Yowai even let him wear a reject hat that had All Might's famous hair spikes but twice as big and orange, with printed arms flexing on either side above the ears. And a super-fluffy scarf that turned out kinda creepy when they tried to pattern it after his sleeves of his Golden Age costume, complete with his fists at each end.

Izuku quickly understood why the scarf had been rejected, because when they heard a door open he jumped and those fabric fists bounced up into his face. "Yowai? Young Midoriya—oh." Izuku spun to see All Might had entered the room, standing a bit rigid as he stared at him with a rigid smile. "Er..."

"Midoriya was just trying out some of your reject merch!" Yowai supplied smoothly, patting Izuku's shoulder. "Right, Midoriya?" He nodded, the scarf's fists bouncing against his chest with the motion.

"Yeah! I can see why it's all rejected, I mean the fists have hit me in the face like three times so far, and the hair on the hat feels really heavy. I feel like I'm going to tip over half the time. N-not that that makes it bad or anything!" he added hastily. "It's still your merchandise, so it's really incredible, all of it! Even the body pillow!"

All Might winced at that, and Izuku heard a muffled snort. "Ah, yes, the body pillow where you were printed so wide it wrapped around the entire case," a dry voice remarked, and Izuku snapped even further to attention, jaw dropping.

"Wait, Sir Nighteye!?" he blurted, eyes bulging as he stepped to the side. Sure enough he saw All Might's former sidekick standing behind the hero, formerly hidden by his bulky figure. The green-haired man examined the body pillow in question with a critical frown on his face, clearly displeased.

"I never liked the idea of making body pillows in the first place," he remarked disdainfully. "And the quality of this sample is quite shoddy even beyond the print."

All Might coughed into his fist. "Er, enough about that. Thank you for showing him around Yowai, you can get back to work now."

"My pleasure!" Yowai replied sweetly, and turned to Izuku who had already begun unwinding the scarf. "And remember, I'm giving you full permission to tell everyone you know about the Hall of Shame!"

"Thank you!" Izuku said with a beaming smile, and Yowai smiled before taking the scarf and hat. She gingerly set them on their pedestals with a reverence fitting for any All Might merchandise, and then gave her employer a salute before heading off. (Was it Izuku, or did All Might's smile look weirdly strained?)

"Anyways!" All Might said, snapping his attention back. "Midoriya, this is my former sidekick, Sir Nighteye! As you, ah, already seem to know," he added lamely. Izuku didn't respond, just staring in awe at Nighteye.

Sir Nighteye looked even more incredible in person. The man had always been one who preferred the background, so not much official merchandise existed of him prior to striking out on his own. However, his business suit looked even more sharp and crisp than Izuku imagined, and the glint in those golden eyes just spoke of endless intelligence.

"Hello, Midoriya," he greeted with a nod. "All Might told me about your situation. You just activated your Quirk today, corre—is that a plushie appendix?" He faltered mid-sentence, and Izuku blinked before looking down at his hand.

"Oh, y-yeah, it is," he said with a sheepish laugh. "I forgot I picked it up..." The toy appendix had to be the most ridiculous piece of reject merchandise of all. It was colored with All Might's famous red, blue and yellow color scheme, and had his famous trademark bangs.

"...Right, because of the... appendicitis," Sir Nighteye murmured after a few seconds. "I completely forgot that existed. May I see it for a moment?"

"S-sure, it's not mine anyway, so..." Izuku held it out obligingly, and the sidekick-turned-pro took it silently, their hands brushing briefly as he did. As they did Izuku felt a small tingle run up his spine, surprising him. What was that?

"The material is incredibly soft," he murmured appraisingly. "If not for the design, this could have been good to sell for charity purposes. The color scheme is a bit much, though—" He paused then, seeming to think for a moment. "Midoriya. Does your mother have green hair?"

"Huh?" Izuku blinked. "Uh, y-yeah, but why—wait! Is it your foresight?" He lit up with a gasp, eyes sparkling. "I've heard rumors you can see the future, but no one knows how your Quirk works! If you used it just now, then maybe that's the weird tingling I felt when our hands touched? Is it contact-based then? Can it see far in the future? If you saw my mom, then it must be at least a while because we live in Musutafu. Unless she's going to show up here, but that's unlikely unless you called her..."

He fell into a trance-like state while mumbling to himself, oblivious to the shocked stares he was getting. "Your foresight must be at least somewhat long-range then... Unless it's not actually foresight like the rumors say, but a form of telepathy or psychometry, and you read people's thoughts enough to predict their moves and seem like it's foresight. Either way, it's at least not a physical Quirk, which is rare among Pro Heroes who head their own agencies, so it must be at least a little strong. Unless it's based purely on your own skills—"

"That is very perceptive." Izuku jolted at Nighteye's voice, abruptly remembering he wasn't alone. His face immediately flared bright red with embarrassment, flinching as he glanced at the former sidekick.

"I'm so sorry, I guess my mumbling is really creepy, huh?" he muttered, shoulders hunching uneasily as he grimaced. "Really, I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to apologize at all," Nighteye assured him. "That was quite astute of you. However, you said something about... tingling?"

"O-oh, right. When our hands brushed against each other, I felt this weird... jolt, I guess?" Izuku frowned as he glanced at his hand. "I guessed that was your Quirk, but was I wrong?"

"People don't usually feel it when I use my Quirk," Nighteye responded with a frown. "I did, however, use it on you briefly to check something." Izuku perked up at that.

"Wait, you did? What did you see? Did you see my future? How far did you see? Or is it actually telepathy—" He stopped when Nighteye held up a hand to signal for silence.

"It's hard to answer your questions when you don't give me a chance," he commented with a wry half-smile, making Izuku shrink guiltily. Oops. "To begin, my Quirk is indeed foresight. I'd rather keep all the details and conditions private for now, as it is crucial that no one knows, but you are correct that it involves contact. Which makes the fact you noticed somewhat concerning. I can only assume it's related to your Quirk."

"My... My Quirk." Those words had Izuku standing a bit straighter, his eyes growing wide as he looked down at his palm. "That's right, I have a Quirk now!" In his excitement over coming to Might Tower, he'd almost forgotten. "I can't believe I finally have one of my own! It's still so new though. Wait, All Might said he knew someone who might be able to help," he realized abruptly, snapping wide eyes back to the pair. "Was he talking about you?"

"Among other people," Nighteye confirmed, and Izuku felt like he'd be perfectly fine if he died right there and then—actually, no, strike that. If he died now, he wouldn't be able to learn more about his Quirk! His life was only just beginning!

"Young Midoriya," All Might said, and Izuku spun to face him with wide, sparkling eyes, ready to absorb every word his idol had to say. "Your Quirk is very unique and has a lot of power, as I'm sure you've realized. In fact—"

"A CALL IS HERE!"

Izuku jumped as All Might's voice boomed into the silence, startling all three of them. On reflex all of them reached to their pockets to check their phones, but only Izuku's screen was lit up. And when he saw the name his stomach sank. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Sir Nighteye asked, and Izuku looked up sheepishly.

"I, uh, kinda forgot to call my mom and tell her I'd be late...?" There was a brief silence, and then Nighteye just hung his head with a sigh.

"Midoriya, please answer your phone," he said, turning to leave. "Toshinori, please go change out of your costume. I'll go prepare the car."

"The car?" All Might repeated while Izuku slid his finger across "accept" on the screen.

"Yes. We'll be dining with the Midoriya family tonight."

And that was how Midoriya Inko called her son in a panic only to be greeted by a high-pitched screech.

Now accepting reject All Might merchandise ideas!