Chapter Six: A Meeting
A Republic cruiser left Coruscant's atmosphere, a ship that contained Izuku Midoriya and Jedi Master Plo Koon, and two pilots. Inside, he still thought about Ahsoka, about what they talked about. In hindsight, he should've embraced the change even more. Now, there was a good chance he wouldn't see her for months, maybe even years. By then, their link could be tarnished forever. But there wasn't much he could do about it now, so he needed to stop thinking about it.
Master Plo approached Izuku from behind. "Is something wrong, little 'Zuku?" his new teacher asked. Izuku nodded. "I know you will miss the friends you made, but remember that you can meet again," Master Plo reassured, sounding as if he were grinning behind the mask he wore.
"But how long will that be from now?" Izuku asked as the Kel Dorian Jedi Master walked up to the viewport.
"That we cannot know. However, what I can say is where we are heading. Your home planet, Earth," Master Plo explained, causing Izuku to completely forget about Ahsoka for the time being.
"Why are we going there?" Izuku questioned, standing up from his chair to join his teacher.
Master Plo frowned. "Since you've left, the Earth has become engulfed in a civil war. Villains have rose up, and the planet radiates the Dark Side," Master Plo stated. "We are going there to quell the flames of war and, with some luck, figure out who is the mastermind behind the uprising."
Izuku nodded. "Surely this will be a dangerous scenario? Won't my presence be more of a hindrance than anything?" Izuku supposed.
"That's why I'm going to teach you a bit of Soresu before we arrive. The defensive nature of the form will aid you against whatever threats may come to assault us," Master Plo said.
Master Plo raised his 'saber and ignited it while Izuku did the same. A mix of blue and yellow light lit up the air as the two Jedi stood across from each other. "Soresu takes a great deal of skill to use effectively," Master Plo explained, beginning to demonstrate some basic movements, "But the basic principles have been instilled in you from the very beginning."
Master Plo executed a few precise slices, which were supposedly meant to deflect blaster fire, then he raised his blade into the air and spun around, stabbing the air. "That is but a basic motion, but it is no less useful in battle. Many of the Earthlings have never seen a Jedi, let alone fought one. They will not be prepared of equipped to defeat either of us."
"But I'm still only as powerful as a Youngling," Izuku pointed out. "Wouldn't that mean anyone would be able to point out potential weaknesses in my attacks?"
Master Plo shook his head. "Remember, little 'Zuku, the Force is your ally, which is more than any regular citizen of the galaxy can say. You are more skilled compared to the average criminal than you think," Master Plo revealed, though Izuku still felt doubt in his heart.
"Come on, try to match what I do," Master Plo instructed as he went through what he had demonstrated earlier. Master Plo was right, it was simple, and Izuku had it down pretty soon.
"You may be able to do it in the safety of this ship, but on the battlefield, you will find it much more difficult. Continue to practice that movement," Master Plo said, no longer walking Izuku through it and now merely supervising.
Izuku continued to go through that one combo, slice, cut, spin, and stab. Repeat, over and over again, for the entire trip.
Toshinori Yagi had seen quite a bit in his time as a pro hero. Being the Symbol of Peace for nearly twenty years would do that, especially if you were the current holder of the debatably most powerful Quirk to have existed, strong enough to defeat the foil to it, but the sudden spike in crime was unlike anything that he had ever seen or heard of. Crime was up to the highest it had been since Toshinori became a hero, and the thugs involved were in possession of multiple Quirks, which could mean only one thing.
The villain who Toshinori thought he had killed four years ago, All for One, was somehow alive, and back to his villainous activities. That was why the Republic was sending two Jedi to help, to begin the process of taking down the reforming criminal empire before they could regain a foothold in the underworld of Japan.
So now Toshinori stood at the embassy the Republic had installed in Japan a couple years back, awaiting the landing of the cruiser containing two valuable allies. He hoped they landed soon or else he would run out of time. Usually, Toshinori would have five hours to do his heroic business, but he had been in his muscular form for nearly an hour.
Toshinori caught people stopping and gawking at him, but none of them came up to bother him out of respect. Toshinori was famous to the point that people across the galaxy had heard of his heroic efforts, even if his reach wasn't nearly that far. He only really had pull on Earth, but his influence was great.
An entire generation of heroes had grown up now, each with the goal of becoming the next All Might. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible, not until he passed on One for All. Toshinori would be patient though, he needed the perfect successor. Ideally, they would have combat experience, would be skilled, and would be young. They would need to be on the younger side because they would need to be flexible with their Quirk usage.
If Quirks could be used by non Earthlings, that would broaden the number of candidates greatly, but Toshinori had never heard of an alien having a Quirk. Earthlings had evolved very differently, and only they had the necessary features to have a Quirk.
Toshinori needed to quit thinking about such things. He still had plenty of strength in him, even after his injury, and his time was still enough that he could remain an effective hero. Just then, Toshinori heard the whirring of a ship descending from the sky. A grin came on his face as a red Republic cruiser gently landed on three legs. The ramp descended and out stepped two robed Jedi.
One was a Kel Dorian who was wearing his rebreather and the other seemed to be an Earthling. But that couldn't be true, there had only been one Jedi from Earth since it had been discovered by the Republic, and that was the original wielder of One for All. The green haired boy must've been from Naboo or Tatooine, two planets that had people that looked similar to Earthlings.
"Greetings, master Jedi," Toshinori said rigidly, his formality unusual for the normally laid back pro hero. The Kel Dorian bowed to Toshinori, and the younger humanoid followed suit. The teenager seemed oddly excited to be here, maybe Toshinori could ask about that later.
"Hello, All Might," the Kel Dorian greeted, "My name is Plo Koon, and this is my Padawan, Izuku Midoriya." Izuku smiled and waved eagerly upon his name being mentioned.
"It's good to meet the both of you," Toshinori nodded as he turned around and began to walk. "Having a Jedi, let alone two, on Earth is a great honor. I know that the Republic is going through rough times at the moment, but the fact that they allocated two of the Order to assist with our efforts against the villains is a great help," Toshinori stated as they exited the embassy.
"A Jedi's duty is to keep the peace," Plo said from behind him. "The peace here has been disrupted, and as Jedi, Izuku and I will do our best to return this planet to business as usual," Plo reassured.
Toshinori decided that he would inquire more about this Izuku fellow. If he was an Earthling, then he just might be the perfect person to recieve One for All. After all, a Jedi was already powerful in ways a regular person couldn't be, even those with Quirks, and adding One for All onto that could create a hero unlike any other.
"Speaking of your student, where are you from, Izuku?" Toshinori asked, cutting any of the fat on the conversation.
"Well, I lived her until I was four," Izuku revealed, causing Toshinori's grin to widen even further. All for One might still be out there, but he would be up against an enemy he had never had to deal with. Assuming, of course, that Izuku would accept his Quirk. That would have to wait until later, though. "But I consider Coruscant to be my home, that's where I was raised and where I made my friends."
"I thought Jedi weren't allowed to have attachments?" Toshinori mentioned, genuinely confused.
Plo chimed in. "Generally speaking, Jedi can have a friendly relationship with anyone. It is only the attachment that ruins their moral compass, causing them to act irrationally. Of course, romantic connections are strictly forbidden, but so long as you do not let attachments cloud your judgement, a Jedi can have as many friends as they want."
Toshinori nodded as he turned around. "Yes, well we'd better get going," he decided, walking out of the hangar. Plo and Izuku followed behind him while Toshinori continued to explain the situation. "Villains have been getting increasingly aggressive for no discernable reason as of late."
"Well, I'd suspect that to happen given the vulnerable position the Republic, and by proxy, this planet is in," Plo stated.
"We wouldn't be that concerned if it wasn't for the fact that the villains seem to have a grand plan," Toshinori explained. "No attack has been random as far as we can tell. They've already taken out nearly all of the top ten here in Japan," Toshinori revealed sadly.
"How?" Plo asked. "I know that your people can have powerful abilities, but aren't the best heroes supposed to have Quirks stronger than the rest?"
Toshinori thought back to All for One. He was supposed to be dead, but certain villains were showing multiple Quirks. Sure, they said it was just a dual Quirk, but not only was that exceedingly rare, the second power people had didn't have any relation to their other. "Usually they do," Toshinori answered vaguely.
"Master, didn't you say something about an old villain from Earth?" Izuku suggested. Was Izuku referring to Toshinori's old nemesis.
"Yes, but he was defeated four years ago by the man in front of you," Plo stated. Okay, that was more than a little weird.
Toshinori turned on the spot. "Okay, how do you know that? Only a small group of people have ever been told about that fight, and they've been sworn to secrecy," Toshinori questioned, scared that the Jedi had somehow read his or one of his allies' mind.
"Hundreds of years ago, I met a man named Yoichi," Plo stated, "Our bond was strong, for the two of us grew up together as members of the Order. However, when he became a Knight, he returned here to face his brother, who he called a monster." Plo looked down at the ground. "He never returned, but he kept in contact with me. He thought he was Quirkless ever since he came to Coruscant, but when his brother forced another Quirk onto him, his original ability showed itself."
Toshinori was worried by the fact he never heard of the first user having a close Jedi friend? Toshinori was a great hero, but Jedi were always considered better than heroes. Two of them should've been able to take down a villain of All for One's strength. Perhaps Plo just never visited Eartg after Yoichi returned. "He eventually met a group of freedom fighters, and he died soon after, sacrificing himself to let the resistance fight another day," Plo said, ending his tale.
"But that doesn't explain how you knew about All for One's defeat," Toshinori pointed out in a hushed voice.
Plo seemed to have a sense of joy in him as he answered, "After getting his second Quirk, Yoichi managed to survive after his death in the essence of his Quirk. Through the Force, he managed to still communicate with me through our strong bond."
It was at this moment that Toshinori realized Plo probably had more knowledge about One for All than he did.
Ahsoka sat in the Archives, genuinely bored for the first time since she had joined the Order. Vesuvus, as much as she had hated him after he abandoned her, had begun to grow on her again, but he was gone now. Even if Guldo was here, he wasn't exactly the kind of person she wanted to hang out with, and now Izuku, the person she had just confessed to, was off on some far away world doing who-knows-what with Master Plo? He was probably having the time of his life and she was stuck here with nothing to do!
Why did Master Yoda want her to wait before she got selected? Did he think she wasn't ready? No, that couldn't be it, she was just as good at Izuku when it came to all Force related things! Sure, Izuku might outclass her in the dueling sense, but that didn't mean she wasn't ready to become a Padawan! What Jedi was she meant for that wasn't already ready to take on an apprentice?
Ahsoka knew being in the Archives right now wasn't the best decision, it made her think of Izuku when he was always reading. Ahsoka decided to leave at that moment, not sure of what she would do. Now was the time she wished there was some excitement in her life.