Mendax Virtus
A few weeks had passed since I first introduced Midorya to Nighteye and while All Might's old Sidekick was strict, he had slowly taken a shine to the boy.
As he challenged Izuku's sharp mind, I challenged the other potential successor to One-For-All.
I got to know Togata and I enjoyed his company immensely. Yes, the boy was remarkable and someone to respect for how hard he had worked to get this far. I genuinely liked him. And yet…
I knew it was likely Izuku that would inherit. Eventually.
In the last three weeks of my mentorship to the young boy before the exam would begin, I decided to teach him a few crucial skills.
Most notably how to fight. Not as a martial artist, but as a man that used whatever tools at his disposal. It was admittedly a mix of American/English pub-style brawling, Scottish slugfighting, and Western grappling as Izuku didn't need discipline, he needed effective and brutal takedowns that focused on quick disabling.
It was probably why I mixed in some JSDF and USMC CQC.
It would be something he'd need to adapt to himself but… The first step was learning to ebb and flow as well as how to throw out a punch and kick without hurting himself.
...As well as turn whatever he could scrounge up on the battlefield into a weapon but that was a secondary lesson.
After we finished up with his lessons at the Nighteye Agency, I drove us back down to the beach where after parking I turned this ragged form to face Izuku.
"Young Midorya, you've shown incredible growth in the last few weeks again and I know you're exhausted." I let the weathered hand drop onto his head and he smiled up at me shyly.
"It's okay, I'm grateful for you and Sir Nighteye's attention to get me ready." A brief chuckle passed from me and I let an emaciated body tilt its head forward.
"Then, there's one more lesson I think you'll need before you go to the entrance exam. How to brawl." Izuku blinked in confusion at my comment.
"How to… Brawl? I thought you said in a direct fight I'd be outmatched." A single nod confirmed I remembered and it was still true.
"That's right. But fighting isn't all about your quirk and body. Plus, knowing how to throw down," Now wasn't that a dated phrase? "Wouldn't hurt your chances in apprehending a villain. That's why I didn't say martial arts. Those tend to focus on focused and formalized fighting, something that you could learn from but formalized fighting assumes things like that you're on roughly even footing physically. Brawling relies on knowing yourself and your strengths and limitations. Take me for example. I'd be an in your face hit as hard as I can brawler! You can see it in my fights! But for someone like you? You'll need to mix it up. Go for tactically dissecting your foe! But to do that you need to know how to throw a punch and just as importantly, how to ebb and flow. I can take hits head on, you won't be able to, so learning how to part attacks and deflect them is what I'll be teaching on top of how to attack."
Midorya gave a hesitant nod before I forced the weary body I controlled to its feet and took a place on the beach, feet outspread and knees bent.
"Young Midorya, throw a punch!" He jumped over to me and after curling his thumb inside his fist he swung wildly, his legs and upper body stationary.
He was punching like I did for the camera but with his thumb hidden away since in those shots all you could see was those knuckles.
...I had a lot of work to do didn't I?
"I'm glad I had you do that because everything about that punch was off my boy." He looked up at me with wide eyes.
"B-but I tried to copy you."
"A camera punch isn't the same as a real one I'm afraid. The shots are made to be as bold as possible. No, a punch uses your entire body. I'll show that, but first… Next time you throw a punch, keep your thumb outside of your fist. Curl it against the bottom of your fingers… Like this." A hand rose and curled into a fist for him to copy.
"If you have your thumb exposed by having it hang to the side, you'll be begging for someone to catch it, but if you put it in the fist, you'll break your thumb with the impact." He winced.
Yeah, that was always the best way to stop a bad habit. A broken thumb was a good way to get a person to not do that anymore.
"Good, now show me your new fist." He held out his fist and he received a nod of approval.
Excellent, the boy was sharp and adaptable. I once knew a woman that despite years of attempts, I could never teach her how to throw an actual punch safely. The poor woman was just too sweet and gentle and even though it was for self defense purposes, she just couldn't manage it.
At least Midorya could despite his similar kindness.
"That's much better, young Midorya!" I let the hand that had shown him how to form a fist relax and lay on his head, ruffling his hair to his (very soft) complaints.
"Now that you can hold a proper fist, the actual lesson can begin." I returned to the place I had been not long ago, once again forming a relaxed stance where legs were a little more than shoulder width apart, knees bent.
"Stand like this. This is your most basic combat stance!" Midorya copied the stance.
"What does your leg and feet placement have to do with throwing a punch All Might?" He asked softly with wide eyes, to which he received a soft chuckle.
"Everything really! Where do you think a punch starts from? The fist? No, it's the impact site. The arm? A better guess but unless you're incredibly strong your punches won't be terribly tough if that's all you're using. No, a punch comes from your entire body and starting from your feet!" Midorya looked at me in utter confusion so I let the hands that had been resting at him rise and form in a defensive position.
"Keep your non dominant hand in front. Your dominant hand needs to be the back one. If you need to shift your stance for that go ahead. Just remember to keep your knees slightly bent; just like that. Good. Now you're in your most basic fighting stance. Everything starts here. So when you throw a punch, it actually starts here, at your feet. See how my feet are shifting as I start to move my fist? Now how my legs are twisting? And now my hips, then upper body?" I explained as the fist I was using to demonstrate slowly shifted along its path, body adapting to give the punch maximum power along the way.
He nodded thoughtfully as the fist stopped with a corkscrew motion in the arm, arm not fully extended though, having some give in the elbow left.
"All Might, why is your elbow not locked when you threw that punch?"
"You know calling me that on the beach isn't the best idea my boy," I said gently, "You can call me by name here. And that's a good question. You never want to lock your joints up, especially during a fight. Yes, it looks dramatic, but when you lock your joints you reduce your flexibility and mobility. Plus what if I catch your arm while it's locked up? You've got no give left and so risk having them cause you serious injury before you have a chance to stop them. With a little give, it buys you crucial seconds and also means you're far less likely to overcommit to a punch."
Over the next hour I showed him the basics, how to throw a punch, why he needed to keep his non punching arm up, and how to throw a disruption jab from his defensive arm.
Then, I showed him how to use his defensive arm to ebb and flow around attacks.
"Young Midorya, strength quirk users will always be able to overpower you. Like if we fought you wouldn't be able to stand up to my punches. So if you can't take it head on, how do you defend against my attacks?"
He frowned thoughtfully.
"The best way is to not be in the way of your attacks…?"
He received another hair ruffle for that.
"Right in one! But dodging an attack that fast hard. So you won't always have the chance to dodge. Instead, try to redirect the attack. Like throw a slow punch at me so I can show you how. Good. See how as your punch is coming in I'm using my defensive arm to push yours off course? You can't punch me if your fist is pushed to the outside of my body. Now look at your position. Your entire body is exposed to a counter attack. If you get in this situation where you've got them so exposed, you're in a much better position. It may take a thousand punches but if you keep opening them up like this you'll be in a much better spot." As I spoke, our movements echoed what I was saying.
I let an open hand gently tap Midorya's chest before stepping back again.
"It might take a thousand of those but if they never hit you, you'll get that chance." He nodded as he returned to the basic stance.
I then taught him how and why to throw kicks and the rest of our day together was spent on those basic building blocks. As dusk neared, I looked over at Midorya and spoke softly.
"Do you feel up to a meal before heading back to your mother's place?" I asked.
Midorya's eyes widened and he gave a quick nod.
"I'm starving! I'd really appreciate it All… Um…"
"Toshinori or Yagi if you're more comfortable. I'm fine with you calling me either." I reassured him.
"W-what about sensei…?" I mentally winced.
It wasn't like he knew about All-For-One or One-For-All either for that matter.
"You don't need to go that far my boy. I'm a mentor, sure but that doesn't mean you need to be so formal." I let a hand rest on his head and ruffle his hair again.
The way he leaned into the touch… This boy really hadn't had much support outside of his mother. A father that wasn't around was sad, but in a way it was possibly better than him being there.
It was definitely better than a father there but abusive. A worrying thought but thankfully, not a major concern as he wasn't around…
"But…"
I let aged knees bend so I could look at him at eye level.
"My boy, you've seen more of the real Yagi Toshinori than just about anyone else in forty years. You don't need to be so formal with me when I'm like this. When I'm this guy? I'm just a tired old man that's made far too many mistakes."
Midorya shook his head and then surprised me by clinging tightly to me. Even with his emotional state and faint tears rolling down his cheeks he took great care not to touch the wound that made it hard to breathe.
"You're not just a tired old man. You were my hero before I met you. After we met, you helped me realize what I have to do to be a hero, instead of just dreaming about it. You've given so much to me. And now? You're more of a hero to me than before." He cried softly as I let a hand gently pat his back before returning his hug.
"My boy…" Despite my best intentions to not get attached it was happening.
How couldn't it? He was so kind, gentle, and earnest. I felt a bit of moisture form in one eye myself but I simply let a blink take care of it before continuing.
"You really are a remarkable young man, Izuku," My voice was soft as I spoke, "Even when the world kicked you down, even when everyone told you you couldn't, you never gave up. It may sound impossible but you've helped me too. You helped me see that heroes aren't gone. Not yet. Because your heart burns so brightly. You inspired me and relit my passion for being a hero." Weathered hands gently patted his back as he sobbed into a quickly dampening white tee.
I felt a brief pang of a loss of something I had never had, family. Was this somewhat like that? Outside of a mother I'd never really had family and yet… In that brief moment… I let the thought go.
No. It was patently ridiculous.
Was he All Might's possible successor? Absolutely. Was he the boy I was mentoring to be a hero? Yes. Did he need support? Obviously.
But that was all it was… Right?
Eyy. Something is happening there and Yagi is disregarding it. Hope you had fun with this bit. Any ideas at what the mystery bit of this is yet? I feel like I've hinted at it pretty well so far.