Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Vlad King's Green Bean

Chapter twenty-one: Cleaning up

At the order of Toshinori who was know known to be the true identity of All Might, the remains of All For One were gathered up and taken to a morgue to immediately be incinerated, burnt away until they were nothing but ash. Even the blood that was left on the ground from where the Symbol of Peace had slain his greatest nemesis was burnt away, courtesy of Endeavor whose quirk was working again. All that remained of All For One was, under Toshinori's vigilant eye, so thoroughly burned that there was no way the vilest of villains would ever come back again. Toshinori wanted to be absolutely sure that All For One was dead and gone for good; he had used up the last of his residual One For All embers, so he won't be able to do hero work anymore.

Another reason why Toshinori didn't want All For One coming back now that he had to retire; although the dark man himself was now gone, he had left behind a dark legacy that still had to be dealt with. Indeed, in the form of the League of Villains that's now headed by the villain Dabi, All For One's will lives on. Japan as a whole now had to be on the lookout for that villain of blue flames, as well as his brood of villainous allies and, perhaps most of all, Dabi's monster of a bodyguard who single-handedly was able to turn the virtually absolute victory that the heroes saw at the Battle of Kamino Ward into a one-sided slaughter where many of the biggest names in Japanese pro heroism had all lost their lives in the line of duty.

Society in Japan learned, the day after the Battle of Kamino Ward, that Toshinori is the true form of All Might and, as a reult of all the effort he gave in his fights against All For One and then Felgrand, he's no longer able to fight and thus is going to be retiring from being a pro hero. The news that All Might, Japan's beloved number one pro hero and Symbol of Peace, was no longer able to fight villains and was retiring sent shock waves throughout the country. Uncertainty already began growing when it was announced that Toshinori was going to soon officially retire from his pro hero career, as it was believed that villains in society will grow more bold now that All Might was bowing out of the world of pro heroism. The action couldn't of had worse timing, especially since Dabi and his fellows were all still at large.

...

Toshinori wasn't too damaged during the Battle of Kamino Ward; a slight fracture in his left shin aside, there was virtually nothing wrong with him aside from exhaustion. He laid in his hospital bed as Naomasa sat by his bedside on the left. Gran Torino sat on Toshinori's right. "...Yeah, I can't keep my strong form active for more than a few seconds," Toshinori said ruefully as he looked up at his right hand as he held it up. The now former Symbol of Peace lowered his right arm back down. "It looks like my time as a pro hero truly has come to an end."

"You've had a long run, Toshi," Gran Torino said, "Longer than most heroes in modern Japanese pro hero history. Nana Shimura would be proud of you."

Naomasa looked a bit surprised by the name Gran Torino said, but quickly regained his composure. "...That name you mentioned, Torino," Naomasa said, getting both Gran Torino and Toshinori to turn to look at him, "It came up in a personal journal that was recovered from the remains of the factory at the sight of Toshinori's final battle."

"...The vile warehouse where all For One was keeping some of those nomu monsters," Toshinori said.

Naomasa nodded in the affirmative. "The journal, according to a note written on the back of the front cover, was dictated by All For One but written out by that Kurogiri fellow. It contained a lot of All For One's personal musings, including something about how a Nana Shimura was connected to the hand villains who led the attack on the USJ. According to All For One's word, that hand villain was apparently the grandson of Nana Shimura."

Both Toshinori and Gran Torino went wide eyed from shock. "...No..." Toshinori said, "...That has to be a lie..."

"All For One in the journal said he was considering telling that info to you if he ever ran into you," Naomasa said to the shocked Toshinori, "Purely to spite you. But then considered the idea redundant since the hand villain was vanquished in the attack on the USJ."

Toshinori and Gran Torino reeled in shock as they absorbed the knowledge that Nana's own grandson had apparently been the leader of the attack that killed five UA students and a UA teacher slash pro hero. "...Nana had a husband who was killed," Gran Torino said grimly, "She then placed her young son into foster care to keep him out of the messy business she was in due to the fight against All For One. To think that all of that business would lead to Nana having a grandson who would end up going down the path of villainy..."

"...A path that led to his end when Aizawa's late student Monoma sacrificed himself to end him," Toshinori added; although heartbroken that his mentor's grandson had become a villain, there was some small odd feeling of comfort that said fall into villainy was stopped before even more damage could have been done. Toshinori and Gran Torino were going to have to be happy with that.

Gran Torino turned to look at Toshinori. "...You did good, Toshi," Gran Torino said, "You've not only vanquished All For One once and for all, but this time you made damn sure the slippery bastard isn't going to be coming back. You've been able to accomplish what all of the previous One For All holders, even Nana, wasn't able to pull off. Just leave cleaning up the tainted legacy All For One left behind to the other pro heroes. You, meanwhile, ought to focus on continuing to watch over your successor, to monitor and nourish his growth as a budding pro hero."

Toshinori nodded in agreement. A small smile formed on his thin, bony face; Gran Torino had a point, there was still some good that the former Symbol of Peace had to do, a thought that gave him some measure of comfort. There was still Izuku Midoriya, his successor, to train. The green haired boy was still going to have to train hard to master One For All, because although All For One is gone for good, there's still the dark legacy of evil the powerful villain had left behind. So long as an evil legacy was around, there would be need for a good legacy to counter it. So long as evil remained, there would still be the need for good.

A never-ending clash.

After everyone in 1-A and 1-B was recovered enough, they were able to leave the hospital and go home. This saw Izuku head to the apartment where he and his mom Inko lived. The green haired boy collapsed onto his bed, tired from the events of the last few days. He was still thinking about the news that he saw with his friends back at the hospital, of All Might killing that scary and dangerous villain, then the appearance of that gargantuan dragon villain who clearly had multiple quirks who killed many of the pro heroes present at Kamino Ward before he was called off by that Dabi villain so they and the rest of the League of Villains could fall back.

So many heroes had died that night, and the villains all got away in the end. Izuku knew full well that Japan was in its toughest spot yet, meaning that he and all of his classmates and schoolmates had to train harder than ever if they were to stand any manner of chance against the villains. Izuku could feel One For All within him vibrate with feelings of agreement with him in that regard; even his quirk knew that there was a greater need now more than ever to fight against the power that the villains were trying to field. Power that One For All was wanting to take a crack at fighting off against.

As Izuku began to drift off to sleep, he jolted awake when he heard his phone go off. Picking it up off of his nightstand, Izuku saw that he was getting a message from Toshinori, telling him to meet at Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Revitalized by the alert that his idol All Might wanted to meet with him, the green haired boy got right back up and was out the door, before Inko was able to tell what was going on. Izuku made a beeline for the beach that, when he trained under All Might to hone his body to be ready to receive One For All, he took from its prior dumpsite state to a clean and pristine location that was now a popular site for dates.

...

When Izuku met Toshinori at Takoba, he noticed that the former Symbol of Peace was using a cane to support himself. "It's just for while the fracture in one of my shins heals, my boy," Toshinori said when Izuku asked about it, "No need to worry."

"Are you alright, All Might?" Izuku asked, worry for his mentor slash idol clear in his tone and expression.

The skinny blonde man let out a resigned sigh. "...I would be lying if I said yes. My slight physical injury aside, I used up most of what power I have left. I can barely maintain my strong form for a couple of seconds a day at best. I have to retire as a pro hero."

Izuku looked like he might cry at any moment. "...All Might..."

"To make matters worse," Toshinori went on, "I got some troubling personal news, but that's nothing compared to the mess that the heroes in Japan now have to deal with. The League of Villains, now headed by that Dabi fellow who's guarded by that monster Felgrand. I have the feeling that all of those in Japan with heroism in their hearts will have to come together as a united force for good to have a chance at defeating the legacy of evil that All For One had left behind."

Toshinori turned to look at Izuku, whose head was now hanging as he sobbed gently. Smiling gently, the skinny blonde man walked towards his successor, limping a bit as he did so, before reaching the green haired boy. Toshinori put a hand on Izuku's right shoulder to get him to look up. "...Sure, my time as All Might has come to an end," Toshinori said, "But my retirement will give me time to focus on something that's even more important. At least to me."

"What?" Izuku asked.

Toshinori's gentle smile grew slightly larger, radiated kind, fatherly warmth. "You, my boy," Toshinori said, "I can now focus more on mentoring you, helping you grow into the fine hero that I know you're going to be in the future." Izuku, touched by the words his mentor and idol was saying, then started to cry in full, falling into Toshinori's chest as he cried into it. For his part, Toshinori gently patted Izuku on the back, allowed him to cry himself out if need be. There was good reason for Izuku to cry; after all, the age of All Might had come to an end.

An ending that, unbeknownst to Izuku and Toshinori, a hidden Aizawa was seeing from a hiding spot he took up as he watched what was going on down on the beach. The underground hero was seeing more proof of favoritism being shown to someone who, by all appearances, was a lost cause when it came to hero training. Was being the key word here, because even Aizawa had to admit that Izuku could now stand with the rest of UA's first year hero course. He still wanted to know why Izuku didn't show such potential during the UA entrance exams, but figured as he turned to leave that he now had time to find that out at his leisure.

...And by 'Aizawa finding that out at his liesure', I mean 'get cracking on it as soon as possible'.

The Hero Billboard Chart JP, which keeps track of pro hero rankings in Japan and posts official ranking lists twice a year, made a flurry of announcements. The biggest one being that All Might, or as Japan now knows as Toshinori Yagi, had officially announced his retirement which went into effect immediately. This, as expected, threw Japan into something of a tizzy, and even the Hero Headquarters over in the USA was reeling a bit as many of the USA's own pro heroes were inspired by the Symbol of Peace. Most especially the still missing Cathleen Bates, who the USA was still hounding Japan about.

The announcements also said that Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, who were reported both heavily injured and their quirks not working when they were recovered following the Battle of Kamino Ward, have both not only made full recoveries but their quirks were functioning again. Unbeknownst to Japan at large, this was due in thanks to a certain little girl whose identity was being kept out of public knowledge by UA. Despite the recovery of Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob, they as well as their teammate Mandalay were still reeling from the death of their teammate Tiger, who was slain by the hero-turned-villain Lady Nagant during the League of Villain's attack on the summer training camp that the Pussycats were running. The road to recovery was still set to be a long one for the remaining Pussycats.

The announcements also went into detail about how so many great heroes were slain in the Battle of Kamino Ward; Kamui Woods, Gang Orca, Best Jeanist, Hawks, Crust, Yoroi Musha, and Wash. A large number of top names, many of which were in the Top Ten at the time. That, combined with the retirement of All Might, saw Japan down many of its best heroes. The remaining top names in Japanese pro hero society, as well as all Japanese pro heroes as a whole, had quite the task that they all had to step up to. But it was a task that all of them were going to be tackling with gusto.

An especially large amount of eyes were on the high ranking heroes who survived past the point of the Battle of Kamino Ward; Endeavor and Mirko who were both there, and Edgeshot and Ryukyu who were helping with evacuation duty elsewhere. Other pro heroes of notable rank, including Shishido and Majestic, were also given attention as there was now cleared space for others to quickly rise to a position in the Top Ten on the Hero Billboard Chart JP. Being ranked in the Top Ten would give a hero a very notable boost to renown, giving them a hell of a lot more influence in hero society as a whole.

Of course, that's nothing compared to the pro heroes not only there already, but have been there for quite some time. None more so than Endeavor who, due to the retirement of All Might, was the de facto number one hero in Japan. Given it was a guarantee that he was officially going to be named the next number one hero when the actual ranking charts came out, Endeavor was expected to be a leading figure in Japan's pro hero society against the rising threat of Dabi and his League of Villains. In the public eye, Endeavor did what he could to assure the citizenry that they had nothing to worry while he was still active.

...

...But that was only in the public eye. At home in private, Endeavor was sitting cross-legged on the floor in his at-home gym, workout gear scattered all around as even a few small fires had lit up here and there. The Flame Hero by no means was in a good mood. "...I'm finally being the number one..." Enji Todoroki growled to himself, "...But only because All Might's retiring..."

Enji's children, daughter Fuyumi and sons Natsuo and Shoto, saw their father steaming and decided to walk away. "Dad's obviously stressed that he's now got a lot on his shoulders," Fuyumi said to her brothers, "He needs time to relax."

Nastsuo scoffed. "Sis, it's clear that dad's throwing a tantrum because he got what he wanted but not the way that he wanted to get it," Natsuo replied, his tone making it clear that he had no sympathy to offer his old man.

Shoto had a contemplative look on his face. "...Do either of you think that he might also be scared?"

Both Fuyumi and Natsuo turned to look at their little brother, both of them wearing surprised looks on their faces, Natsuo especially so. "Dad? Scared?" Natsuo said, sounding like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "What are you on about, Shoto? There's no way that a man too full of piss and vinegar like dad is capable of ever being scared. His pride won't allow it."

"Actually, Shoto may have a point," Fuyumi pointed out, "I mean, dad is more or less set to become Japan's next number one hero. He'll have more eyes on him, more expected of him, than ever before. It can very well make anyone, even someone like dad, at least a little scared."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Fuyumi," Shoto replied, gently shaking his head. With both of his older siblings focusing on him, Shoto said, "I meant that dad might be scared of that dragon villain that works for that Dabi guy who's leading the League of Villains. You guys saw the news reports about that dragon villain, what he did at the Battle of Kamino Ward, who all he killed in that battle. The dragon villain could very easily have also killed dad that night, not doing so because apparently his boss Dabi wants to do so, although the dragon villain did do... something... that shut dad's quirk down to make toying around with him easy for Dabi."

Fuyumi and Natsuo both understood where their younger brother was coming from. Indeed, all of Japan was wary of Dabi and his League of Villains now, especially since Dabi has the dragon villain Felgrand at his beck and call. Many people were familiar with old fairy tales and stories involving dragons as antagonists, and those mythical creatures were able to prove time and again that their ilk were more than capable of making for some of the most powerful and terrifying of villains. It made examples of good dragons, proving that their ilk can also make for some of the most fantastic heroes, stand out all the more.

But Felgrand was by no means a hero. He, as well as Dabi and the rest of the League of Villains, had the whole of Japan on edge. Endeavor and the other pro heroes that Japan had were going to be needed now more than ever.

Sometime very shortly after the flurry of announcements from the Hero Billboard Chart JP, the staff of UA High School went into implementing its dorm system, turning into a boarding school in the process. Given the sheer number of families that had to be visited and informed on the matter, it was decided that the classes would be handled by their individual homeroom teachers. The hero course classes would see their respective homeroom teacher backed by another staff member of their choice if said staff member was free to do so and willingly volunteered; as an example, Aizawa who headed 1-A asked Hizashi to help him, with the loud pro hero agreeing to help before Aizawa technically was able to finish asking the question.

As for Sekijiro, who headed Class 1-B, he asked Ryo Inui to help him, to which the Hunting Dog Hero agreed. They visited the families of the 1-B students one by one to inform said families about UA switching to the boarding school system and that the students would be moving onto campus, stating that this was to help increase and ensure the security for said students. The parents were all generally agreeing with the idea, with the only bothers that popped up coming from the personality quirks of some of the family members, like how visiting Yosetsu's family they saw that Yosetsu's mom was casually reading an... adult content magazine... right in front of them, or how Ibara's parents were just as devoutly religious as she was.

As Sekijiro and Ryo were about halfway through seeing the families of the 1-B students, they were met up and joined by Toshinori. "I take it you want to come with us when we go see Midoriya?" Sekijiro asked.

"I owe it to Young Midoriya to assure his family that I will do what I can to keep any and all harm from coming to him ever again," replied Toshinori, "Even if I must stake my life on it."

Ryo offered the former Symbol of Peace an understanding look. "...Let's just hope there will be no need to go that far." Coincidentally, Izuku was the next student on Sekijiro's list to go see, so Toshinori went along with Sekijiro and Ryo to go visit the Midoriya household, where they would be greeted by the sight of Izuku and his mom Inko. Toshinori worried that Inko may be a hard woman to convince, but he was sure he could convince her, even if he had to prostate himself before her.

...

"As... dangerous as things are seeming right now, I nonetheless will consent to Izuku continuing to go to UA."

Toshinori, as well as Sekijiro and Ryo to a lesser extent, were surprised that Inko agreed to let Izuku move into the now-finished on-site dorms at UA, as well as continue to go to UA as a whole. The short, mildly plump woman let out a mildly troubled sigh. "I know things are more dangerous than ever," Inko said, "Especially since so many villains got away from All Might's final battle and are still on the run. But becoming a pro hero is something that Izuku has always wanted. I know full well that I can't stop him from chasing after that dream, so at the very least I can at least have him chase after said dream while going to Japan's top hero academy, especially since he's moving into the dorms and the campus as a whole has increased security."

Ryo nodded in agreement. "Yes. I assure you, Mrs. Midoriya, that we of UA will not allow any harm to come to your son. Not while he's under our watch."

Inko nodded in thanks. "I certainly hope so. Especially since I'm going to be kind of busy with the social circle Mitsuki dragged me into joining."

"Kacchan's mom dragged you into joining a social circle, mom?" Izuku asked, sounding mildly curious.

"Oh yes, sweetie," Inko replied, a small smile on her face, "It's nice given that beforehand Mitsuki's been the only friend I've regularly seen. She even apologized to me for not introducing me to Rei, Mika, and Beru earlier."

Sekijiro held a hand to his chin as he wore a contemplative look on his face. "...Yes, I got some of the names of parents that Aizawa has to visit. I know that Mitsuki is the mother of the Bakugo boy, also Izuku explained to me that 'Kacchan' is his nickname for Bakugo as he's known him since childhood. I also know that Rei is the name of the Todoroki boy's mother, making Rei the wife of Endeavor as well. Mika, I believe, is the name of the Jiro girl's mother. The Beru lady you mention, however, is lost on me I'm afraid." The Blood Hero let out a troubled sigh. "Aizawa's got his hands full, I can tell."

"Well," Inko began, a hint of mild displeasure forming in her tone, "At least I know that my baby is in the hands of a firm but fair man like you, Vlad King. Izuku told me about what he got on how Eraserhead runs his class, and let me say that I believe that Eraserhead by no means is fit to be an instructor of any kind."

"You know, funny story," Ryo began, "Originally, Izuku was set to be put into Class 1-A under Aizawa. However, Aizawa was against it, citing how your son had virtually zero control over his quirk during the entrance exams as a reason. Aizawa had dismissed Izuku as a lost cause because of something that, due to how quirk laws in our country works, isn't Izuku's fault. For a man who prides himself on being logical and rational, he was certainly being the opposite of that when he was trying to reject your son as a potential student in his homeroom."

Inko, where she was sitting, was slowly clenching and un-clenching her hands, a clear sign that she wasn't entirely happy with what she was hearing. As for Izuku, although he already knew he was originally set to be in Class 1-A but got switched to 1-B instead, it kind of stung him to hear that Aizawa had been so dismissive of him. It was making the underground hero come off as virtually more or less the same as the teachers in Izuku's previous schools who treated him as less of a person because he had been born quirkless.

Sure, being put into Class 1-B resulted in Izuku making friends, with three stalwart friends in the form of Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki being the most prominent examples. But if Aizawa had been judging him fairly like Sekijiro had, then Izuku could have ended up in 1-A as originally intended; he could have reunited with that cute Uraraka girl (who Izuku has a crush on by the way) a lot earlier, befriended Iida and might have even been there to pick up on the hints that Iida was going to do something drastic during the internships, thus saving Iida's life. Izuku might have even been able to think of something to save the lives that had been lost at the USJ if he was present during the attack.

Who knows what could have happened if Izuku was put into 1-A as what was originally intended? Well, no one will ever be able to know that because Aizawa apparently had been expecting good results out of all of the students instantly during the entrance exams and, upon seeing Izuku break his arm in his first ever use of One For All (which by the way he did in a successful bid to save Uraraka's life), deemed Izuku as a lost cause and wanted nothing to do with him. Did he not even read necessary files, only saw him break his arm and go 'eeyup he can't use his quirk well so forget him' before trying to shirk him off?

Aizawa really had proven to be no better than the teachers at Izuku's previous schools that the green haired boy toiled under. Making matters worse was that Izuku had learned, thanks to Gran Torino picking up on it, that Aizawa for un-explainable reasons was suspicious of him. Why did the underground hero seemingly have it out for him? What did Izuku do to warrant such suspicion? It made Izuku feel a sense of bitterness that he hadn't truly felt since before he first stepped foot onto UA grounds as a new student in the hero course. A bitterness that welled up because of how the high and mighty Eraserhead didn't approve of him.

...Only difference between the teachers at Izuku's old schools and Aizawa was that, unlike back then when they were around, Izuku while Aizawa was around actually had a quirk. A quirk he now had respectable control over thanks to teachers and mentors who actually cared enough to do right by Izuku, to go the extra mile for him to help him become the pro hero they believed he could be. Izuku was going to forever be grateful to Toshinori, Sekijiro, Gran Torino, and even Ryo to and extent. And he figured that the best way he could show them his thanks towards them would be to work hard to prove them right which, in turn, would also have the added benefit of proving Aizawa wrong. And Izuku was getting vibes that the underground hero wouldn't appreciate being proven wrong at all.

Which made the idea all the more appealing.

END, CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Author's notes;

This chapter sees clean-up following the Battle of Kamino Ward, as the beginning of Japan adjusting to how things will be in the aftermath. The Todoroki siblings discuss Enji's rise to de facto number one, with Shoto voicing how the Flame Hero might also be, among other feelings, scared. The UA teachers also go about informing families of UA students about the switch to the boarding school system, with Toshinori, Sekijiro, and Ryo finding Inko far more agreeable to let Izuku continue than what they were expecting. Izuku also begins to develop more apparent resentment towards Aizawa, but it'll be a while before Izuku will get the chance to act on it.

But when he does, it'll put a serious bee in Aizawa's bonnet. The students of 1-A may or may not get caught up in the crossfire of Izuku's now developing grudge against Aizawa, but finding out if that will occur will be something that'll have to wait until the deciding moment comes. Anyway, the next chapter will see the UA students move into the on-campus dorms, as well as some prep for the provisional licencing exams. The provisional licencing exams will be a far different beast here than what would normally be, especially considering there's going to be someone at the provisional licencing exams who Nagant wants to take a shot at. Stay tuned for more to come.