A BNHA fanfic.

My Hero Academia/BNHA is owned by Sama and all affiliated Media. I make no profit from playing in their universe.

Usually updates on Wednesdays. Sorry for the late update. I had internet issues.

Constructive Reviews welcome. Flames will be flushed.

)_O_(

CHAPTER 4

-Six months later…Boston, Massachusetts

"Call me boy, it's important." The familiar voice had Toshinori trembling in his shoes as he listened to the message. He'd just returned from a special mission in Russia and found the old voicemail on his personal cell phone which had somehow gotten lost in the lining of his suitcase and was currently relaxing in a hot tub in his Hotel room at the Hilton, listening to all the voicemails he'd missed.

Tomorrow he would fly out to I-Island to meet with his former sidekick, David Shield who was working on another top-secret project. He sighed and relaxed back in the water, sloshing some over the side of the oversized tub. He deleted three voicemails from Night-eye begging him to return, and another one telling him to get in touch with Tsukauchi; Night-eye didn't explain why. There was another from Torino threatening to hunt him down if he didn't call him back. The man was such a drama king. Toshinori turned the phone off, reaching for the box of Pizza beside the tub and pulling out an extra-large slice. He would call Sorahiko-sensei back when he returned from the trip…maybe. Just remembering his former mentor still gave him the shakes. He would call Night-eye from I-Island; they'd argued before he left Japan. Perhaps the man was calling to apologize… or to demand an Apology. He was looking forward to seeing his niece Melissa again. He had deliberately timed his visit to coincide with her tenth birthday. He made a mental note to pick out a gift for her. The heat of the water combined with his full stomach lulled him into a relaxed state.

The phone tumbled from his fingers as Toshinori fell asleep…

He stood at the door of a small apartment; a bouquet of pink roses clutched in sweaty hands. One breath, two breaths. He reached out and rang the doorbell. Dainty footsteps approached and a smiling face appeared, surrounded by bright emerald curls. His gaze roamed over his girlfriend as he stood on her stoop. Inko was wearing a calf-length white dress that hugged her curves and swished enticingly around her legs. The color brought out the brilliance of her hair and eyes. He'd never met anyone with eyes that shade of green before; he'd been instantly floored the first time he saw her. His former secretary had hired her to replace him on his intern's recommendation. Mirai's cousin was stunning, dedicated and hardworking. She had a tinkling laugh and a sense of humor to rival his young sidekick.

He'd contrived to run into her less than a week later at a nearby teahouse several of the interns frequented. He'd come as himself, as Yagi Toshinori, not as the great All Might. A single conversation over Jasmine Tea had led to six weeks of bliss.

He offered the roses to Inko, who invited him inside while she searched the small kitchen for a vase to put them in. He was glad the dating book he'd picked up before their first date had recommended them. She always seemed to appreciate the gesture, a small smile gracing her full lips every time she sniffed the delicate blooms.

She finished arranging the flowers in the vase and turned to him, hands gripping his lapel as she pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his…

Toshinori jolted awake to loud knocking on his door, fond memories warring with lingering regret from the often-recurring dream. He rose swiftly from the hot tub, wrapping a towel around his waist as he moved to the door, wondering what Inko was doing at that moment and if she ever thought of him. He buffed up into his All Might form and reached for the knob.

The concierge stood on the other side wringing his hands nervously. "I-I'm sorry to disturb you, Mister All Might, sir, but there is a hostage situation at the Bank of New York. The police are in a stand-off. They tried to reach you but apparently your phone is off. I have been asked to find out if you can help." An experienced hotel manager of twenty years, he didn't bat an eye at All Might's state of undress.

"HAVE NO FEAR," All Might flashed his trademark smile. "I AM HERE. JUST GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES." He closed the door in the man's face and hurried over to his phone, turning it on. There were six more calls; five from the police and one more from his former teacher. He hurried into his uniform and threw open the window leaping to the building across the way, phone lying forgotten on the edge of the tub.

-Four days later…I-Island

Ten-year-old Melissa Shield squealed with delight as she opened the package containing a state-of-the-art Microscope and portable lab kit. Toshinori shared a smile with David as they stood side-by-side near the foot of the table observing the three girls oohing and aweing over the expensive gift. A large white cake decorated with pink and blue flowers sat in the center of the table, momentarily forgotten in their excitement. Several other gifts from friends and family sat on a nearby table. David's wife Rachel emerged from the kitchen carrying a twentieth-century Polaroid camera.

"I finally found the cartridges. I knew Pops hadn't used all of them." She snapped a picture of the two friends posing together and several more of Melissa, Angela and Yuki who were still cooing over the science equipment. After several minutes, she laid the camera on a side table and approached the table, addressing her daughter. "Melissa, you can finish opening your gifts later, your ice-cream cake is going to melt if we don't eat it soon."

She lit the candles, and everyone gathered around the table to watch as Melissa blew out the candles. There were quite a few giggles as the candles immediately re-lit as soon as she stopped blowing. Pouting, she tried again, and again they re-lit. A huge grin was slowing emerging on Rachel's face. Melissa caught on and whined at her.

"Mo-om! That's not fair! How am I supposed to make a wish if you keep re-lighting the candles?" A foot stomp accompanied the exclamation. The adults laughed, and Rachel took pity on her. This time, when she blew on the candles, they stayed out.

"What did you wish for?" Yuki asked, black and pink locks falling over one eye as she leaned toward Melissa.

"I wished for a little sister. Your little sister is so adorable. I just love her to death," Melissa responded sending a hopeful look toward her parents. Rachel and David shared a look, one that had Toshinori concerned.

"We'll discuss it later," David replied, pulling out a knife and dividing the cake into equal portions.

The party continued for several hours. Even though he was off-duty, Toshinori refrained from having more than one beer, and made a note of the fact that Rachel had none. He wondered if Melissa was going to get her wish.

After Melissa had opened her remaining presents and the girls had retreated to her room for videogames and a sleep-over, Toshinori addressed the elephant in the room.

"Rachel, I noticed that you didn't have a beer like you usually do. Is little Melissa going to get her wish?" He asked hopefully. It would be great to have another niece or nephew to indulge. His joy faded at the serious looks on the faces of his two friends.

"I'm afraid not my friend." David's response was spoken in a pain-filled whisper. "Rachel's got stage four brain cancer; we've tried everything. The doctor says she has about three months left to live." He grasped his wife's hand as she pulled off her wig, exposing a head devoid of hair save for a few wispy white strands.

"We haven't been able to bring ourselves to tell Melissa yet; she's going to be devastated." Rachel was openly crying now, and Dave wrapped his arms around her. "We were hoping to have longer to tell her, but the pain gets worse every day. Promise me you will be here for David and Melissa when I'm gone," she begged.

"I'll be here as often as I can. You've really tried everything?" Toshinori could feel a lump forming in his throat. "Have you told Aunt Diane?" He rasped out, referring to their mutual relation on his mother's side.

David shook his head. "We are getting the family together in two weeks to break the news. Are you still going to be here? Diane hasn't seen you for several years."

"Yeah – "Toshinori's reply was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. "Hold on, I think I'd better take this," he said as he checked the Caller ID. Might Tower. What did Night-eye want now.

"Moshi?" He answered, wandering slightly away from his friends.

"All Might, you need to get back to Japan. Something urgent has come up. Detective Tsukauchi has been trying to reach you as has Professor Nezu, and some strange old guy in yellow spandex and a cape is camping out in our lobby and says he won't budge until he's spoken with you in person and he won't tell me what this is about. His hero license says Gran Torino on it. It's old, but it checks out." To anyone who didn't know him as well as Toshinori did, Mirai would have seemed calm and collected as he relayed the information, but Toshinori could hear the whine of panic radiating through his voice. Things had to be serious if his old sensei had left his comfortable home to camp out in Might Tower.

"He wouldn't tell you what this was about? What about the detective? Did he give you any information?"

"No. He says it's classified. I don't know what's going on. Maybe they found out some information on the person you've been tracking," Night-eye suggested, referring to All Might's search for clues as to where All for One had gone to ground. He'd already tracked traces of him across eight different countries over the last six years. "Please come back as soon as possible." The line disconnected and Toshinori sighed.

He walked back over to Dave and Rachel. "I hate to cut the visit short, but it appears I am urgently needed back in Japan. I will try to make space in my schedule to return for the family visit, but I am not certain yet if it will be possible. Please send me the date and location. I will be back as soon as I am able to support you through this." He spoke in his professional voice as a way of hiding how much Rachel's news was affecting him.

Dave gave a resigned sigh and hugged his friend. "Duty calls my friend. I will see you once all of this is resolved."

Toshinori hugged his cousin, pecking her on the cheek. "Try to hold on if you can. I want a chance to say goodbye. I will watch over them for you, I swear." He dashed off to gather his belongings and call the Airport.