He was scouting places to take his potential successor when he saw him. A kid tirelessly clearing the beach, piling up the trash in one area of the parking lot. Some of the things on the parking lot looked at least three times the kid's weight alone. Nearby a medium to large size black and white dog was sitting with one of the enhanced leashes.
When the kid was finished, the dog got up and the kid took the leash. Oddly enough, it looked like the dog was leading the boy somewhere and the kid was letting the dog dictate where they went.
All Might strained his hearing and caught the kid calling the waste disposal company to come and get the trash off the parking lot. He didn't leave a name or anything, he just walked off without asking for thanks.
Curious, All Might decided to keep an eye on the beach for a bit. Depending on why the kid was doing it, he might have found a successor.
Every few days, the kid would appear with that dog. As his suspicions confirmed, the kid allowed the dog to lead him rather than the other way around.
The boy was hardworking, strong, and dedicated. Already the beach was looking considerably cleaner each time he visited it.
Which was why he went to introduce himself, if only to find out why the boy was doing it at all. It wasn't glamorous work, and he never took credit for it.
The boy paused and looked him directly in the eye. While he was small, there was a sense of sleeping power within him.
Much like how his former teacher once described him at a slightly older age after he inherited One for All.
"Why have you been watching me?" he asked bluntly.
"I was curious as to why someone your age was cleaning up the beach...and how you moved the bigger pieces. They have to be twice your weight at least," said Toshinori.
"I have to maintain a certain level of physical ability, or a small wrinkly old woman will come after me with her stick of doom," said the boy flatly.
Toshinori's mind immediately went to his master's ex-girlfriend and shuddered.
"I believe you," he said. He did his best to repress the trauma he had suffered from that woman.
"Besides, this is a nice quiet beach to practice in peace," said the boy. "It's going to look even better when I'm done."
"I agree, but why aren't you using your quirk? I'm sure it would go much faster," said Toshinori.
"I don't have one. And I don't need one just to prove myself to people who don't bother to train the ones they have. I can be a hero in my own right without having to rely on a quirk, even if it's something as small as getting people out of buildings during a villain fight that's gotten out of hand," he replied. "I mean All Might's original hero work was mostly rescue, until certain villains started challenging him directly to fights."
Toshinori was openly impressed. Most people forgot that he had originally acted as a rescue hero until villains started putting innocent civilians into hostage situations to challenge him.
"So you want to be a hero then?" asked Toshinori casually.
"I just want to see people smile like they do around All Might when he announces his arrival and know everything will be okay," he replied. "I don't really care about money or fame, like some idiots."
This kid was looking better all the time as a potential successor. He was hardworking and he had the right attitude for a hero, if he was telling the truth that is.
The dog suddenly barked.
"Oh, thanks Oreo. Forgot what time it is," said the kid.
"What's your name?"
"Izuku, and this is my partner Oreo," he replied. Oreo barked.
"Well Izuku-kun, I'm sure we'll meet again soon," said Toshinori. He wanted to do a bit more background research on the kid first.
"WHERE AM I?!" came the familiar cry of the Hibiki clan. Izuku looked exasperated, as he found himself in a chilly mountainous region.
He spotted an odd man in monk's robes and was ill-shaven.
"Excuse me sir, where are we?"
The man looked startled to see a kid there.
"Who are you?" the man asked in English.
Izuku switched accordingly and asked again.
"...We're on the south side of Mount Everest. How did you get here?" he asked.
"I'm a Hibiki. Asking how we get anywhere is futile since we don't know how either," said Izuku.
He shivered and looked at the outfit the man was wearing.
"Why are you here? Element resistance training or something?"
"I've been having trouble with my focus, and my...teacher...dumped me here for incentive," he replied.
Izuku winced in sympathy...then the cold wind hit him again and he sneezed.
The man seemed to be spurred on by the boy's presence...likely out of some sense of morality that told him to get the odd kid off the mountain, fast.
So when Izuku ended up in what could only be a temple, the monk who had apparently dumped the man on the mountain took one look at him and openly grimaced.
"Oh no, not one of you lot," she complained in English.
Izuku merely waved at her.
"Who is this child?" asked a darker skinned man in confusion.
"A Hibiki," she replied.
Seeing the look of realization on his face, it was clear that his family had been here before.
Plus side, Izuku got a new toy and a way back home once he figured out the basics of the 'sling ring' the nice woman had given him. Apparently the temple had...visits...from the Hibiki clan before and knew better than to try and restrict their movements.
Izuku wouldn't learn any of the deeper secrets of their order, but at least he had a surefire way back home for important events...like his school tests.
It took him an hour to get the general idea of how to use it, but the look of surprise on his mother's face when he arrived via a glowing spinning portal was totally worth it since he thought he would be gone for a few more days at least.
The blond was back again. He never really talked, just seemed to be enjoying the scenery and watching him clean up the beach. Since he never tried anything, Izuku let him be.
However he never mistook the man as weak. There was a hidden well of power inside him that was unmistakable to those who knew what to look for.
This man...he was strong.
An odd companionship was forged between them, and Izuku would find himself answering honestly to odd questions the man asked while he moved the trash away. He was rather glad the odd man was nice enough to get a large dumpster, since it made cleaning up the place much easier.
Every time he filled it up, he would stop for the day. And it was a big dumpster, one that required special equipment to move.
He wasn't sure what Yagi-san was up to, but it felt distinctly like the man was testing him for something.
And then...it happened.
Running into All Might was a dream come true, but after spending years with his cousin and the others, he found himself silently critiquing the man's technique.
Yes, the hero was good, but he also had a few flaws that could be exploited if someone knew what to look for and had the right skill level.
Izuku knew his cousin and the other probably could exploit it, but since All Might was a hero who protected the weak, it was extremely unlikely it would ever happen.
Oreo was leading Izuku to get some groceries his mother asked for to make dinner that night when they stumbled across a villain attack. It was the victim that had him dropping the leash and bolting.
The heroes certainly weren't going to do anything...it was clear from their behavior that they had given up without even trying to save the person being smothered to death.
The thing was...Izuku knew the victim. And as much of an ass as Bakugo was, there was no way he could let the idiot die like this.
He bolted past the heroes without a second thought, before he lashed out with his leg, slamming into the general area of Bakugo's stomach.
The force behind the blow was enough to push Bakugo completely out of the slime, and as a side effect Bakugo started throwing up once his body registered it was free. All the gunk the slime villain tried to make him swallow came up along with his stomach contents.
"You little brat!" snarled the villain.
Izuku knew there was a time and place for witty banter. This was not one of them, mainly because he didn't have many moves to deal with this sort of quirk and he had no idea when a hero who would actually do something would show up.
Which was why he went with the second option. He ducked past the villain entirely, and with his superior strength grabbed Bakugo and dragged him off.
The Hibiki clan curse was great for making quick exits...even if it took days for them to get anywhere without aid. He yanked open the first door he could find...and disappeared with the explosive blond.
Somewhere in South Korea...
Bakugo coughed, and scowled.
"What the fuck, Deku?" demanded Bakugo. Then he noticed something off. "Where the fuck are we?"
Izuku listened to the local dialect for a moment.
"Korea, I think."
"...How the hell did we end up in Korea, when we were in Japan three seconds ago?" demanded Bakugo, his confusion winning over his anger at being saved by Izuku.
"Hibiki family curse. At least we're still in Asia...I've ended up in Russia a few times before," said Izuku.
"Deku, what the fuck," said Bakugo staring at him.
"So long as you stick with me, we'll end up in Japan sooner or later," said Izuku. "Look at the bright side...we don't have to deal with any police reports and they won't be able to name you as the victim with that villain."
Bakugo glared at him, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with that humiliation. Only a select few would know he was present during the attack, and he could silence the two other witnesses easily enough.
For the next three days, Bakugo witnessed first hand how bad Izuku's sense of direction was. He lost count the number of arguments he got into with the verdant haired teen about which way to go.
"For the last time, shitty Deku, he said take a right! How can you not see we're about to turn left?" shouted Bakugo. "Are you TRYING to piss me off?"
"Bakugo, if I wanted to piss you off, I could do it in five seconds. I learned from the best after all," deadpanned Izuku.
He really had...Ranma was an inspiration when it came to royally pissing people off.
Bakugo growled in frustration, before attempting to drag Izuku the right way. Only for Izuku to accidentally get them lost again.
"ARRRGGHHHH! Now where the fuck are we?!" demanded Bakugo.
Izuku looked around, and brightened. He knew this place. Then he realized where he was and groaned.
"Please for the love of any gods listening don't let her be there..." he said.
Bakugo gave him an odd look, especially when Izuku made a beeline for a Chinese restaurant.
If that was confusing, it was nothing compared to the expression on Bakugo's face when Izuku started swearing profusely in as many languages he knew. All because of a little old hag inside the restaurant who took one look at him and cackled.
"Well Sonny boy, seems you got lost again. And with a rather amusing friend no less!"
"Fuck my life... why do I always end up in the same general area as sensei once a month?" moaned Izuku.
Bakugo stared at him.
"You know this hag, shitty Deku?"
"I'm only going to say this once...if you want to underestimate her, I am not paying the hospital bills," said Izuku, throwing his hands up in the air. "Kon Lon-sensei can I borrow a phone?"
Kon Lon barked in Chinese, and one of the Amazons showed up to lead Izuku to their phone. Now that he was within range of home, it was easier for Inko to come pick them up than rely on Izuku's crappy sense of direction. And they all knew better than to let Izuku go anywhere without an escort.
The sound of Bakugo swearing his head off while Kon Lon put him in his place was music to his ears, especially after having to listen to his bitching for four days straight.
Toshinori looked openly relieved to see him. Izuku didn't really understand why...he sometimes waited five days to come back and clean the beach. It was almost finished anyway.
"Are you alright? You disappeared during the slime villain attack."
Izuku blinked.
"Wait...were you there when I went after Bakugo that day?" he asked surprised.
Toshinori nodded.
"I was hanging back in the crowd. I saw you kick the victim out of the villain and then disappear without a trace. Did you recently awaken a quirk?"
Izuku snorted.
"I'm a Hibiki. The entire family's cursed with a horrible sense of direction. I knew going through an opening would take us far from the scene and get us to safety, so the heroes could properly focus on capturing the villain," said Izuku.
"Wait... You're one of those Hibiki?" said Toshinori in shock. "So that explains how you were able to clean the beach so fast, despite being so skinny."
And why Izuku let Oreo lead him instead of the other way around.
Izuku grinned at that.
"So why have you been hanging around here anyway? I thought a pro hero like you would be too busy dealing with paperwork and villains."
Toshinori raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"How do you know I'm a pro hero?"
"Your Ki is far too strong and defined to be a civilian, and you're too nice to be a villain. Also, you were far too interested in why I was cleaning the beach or the reason I wanted to be a hero in my own right. Some of the questions you asked were rather telling," said Izuku. "I knew you were testing me for something, but I couldn't figure out why."
Toshinori started out chuckling, before it became a full bodied laugh.
"You're right, I was testing you. I'm getting old and my body is slowly beginning to fail me. Soon I won't be able to handle the real villains out there. But if I could train a successor, someone to take my place, I could die without regrets."
"To be fair, I know at least two old geezers who are likely three times older than you are that could still beat the crap out of most villains," said Izuku helpfully.
Toshinori was startled into a laugh at that one.
"I could name an old crone who could do the same," he admitted. And he was heartily glad that old bat was in China, rather than in Japan. She'd kick his ass three ways to Sunday if she heard him call her that.
"So which pro hero are you anyway? You don't fit the profile of any of the more public ones, and I've checked twice in all the databases available to the public."
Izuku would openly admit that he was glad he didn't faint from shock learned the oddly skeletal Toshinori Yagi was in fact the civilian identity of his absolute favorite hero and idol, All Might. At least he retained that much dignity.