Chapter 4: Emerald Trials
Lord of the Rings and My Hero Academia aren't mine, this story is but that's about it. Can't say enough about how great these franchises are, so, if you haven't watched either, do so.
In addition, sorry this chapter has taken longer. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to handle it and also had less time this last week. I promise to get out a longer chapter soon.
"Thank you, citizen. Now I must be off. I need to get this villain to the police and help out where I can after that." responded All Might before turning around to gather the villain into a few spare empty bottle's.
"All Might, please can you sign my notebook." pleaded Midoriya.
"Very well then, I'm happy to delight a fan after all." answered All Might as he turned back around. He walked over as Midoriya withdrew his notebook.
Meanwhile Midoriya was having a mental conversation with himself about whether he should ask All Might what he thought about being a quirkless hero. He took so long deciding that he didn't pay attention to the fact that All Might had signed his notebook and was preparing to leave.
"Now, I must be off to deliver this villain. So long citizen." spoke All Might.
"Wait! I have a question." shouted Midoriya when he heard this.
"I'm sorry, but I really must be off." was All Might's response.
All Might then leaped up into the sky and away. However he was halfway in the sky before he noticed he had an unexpected passenger clinging to his leg.
"There's fanaticism, but this is too much. Please let go." exclaimed a surprised All Might.
"But if I let go now. I'll fall and die." reminded Midoriya.
"All right. Just wait for me to land and then we can go our separate ways." replied All Might, who was now falling towards a high-rise building.
When they landed Midoriya let go and promptly fell to the floor shaking slightly. All Might walked over to a railing looking like he would jump off again.
"Wait, I still have a question. Is it possible to be a hero even without a quirk?" that made All Might pause for a second. All Might turned his head slightly before bending over in pain and steam started pouring off of All Might. Midoriya closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them. All Might was no longer there.
Instead an emaciated man with drooped golden hair stood in his place as the steam cleared. "You're deflating!" was the scream that Midoriya let out. Before beginning to panic thinking that All Might had been a fake or something.
"I am All Might" that sentence was interrupted by blood pouring out of All Might's mouth. "You know how people always flex when working out, it's like that." was the next sentence All Might let out.
All Might sat down on the ground next to the railing before explaining all about how he couldn't keep that form due to an injury from a villain attack. He finished by saying about how he could only keep his hero form for around 3 hours a day.
After this Midoriya thought about his ring given to him by Mairon. Would he be able to make something to help All Might? Midoriya didn't know, but was also unable to tell Mairon due to All Might asking it to be kept secret.
"As for your question. About being a quirkless hero, I'm sorry. But in this world only people with quirks can really do what's needed to help save people. So no." All Might then resumed his hero form and leaped away. Leaving Midoriya alone and having to get down by himself.
After talking with the people of the building he was taken down to the ground floor before being let go. Midoriya wandered the city, slightly lost but in a depressed state. Still hopeful though because he knew Mairon believed in him even if All Might didn't.
It was just hard to take "No" from his idol.
In the distance a large explosion sounded and fire could be seen. Midoriya ran to see what was happening. When he got there he saw a crowd of people and a few hero's sheltering them from a villain.
Not just any villain however. It was the sludge villain from earlier and he had a hostage but he couldn't make out who it was. Midoriya got closer as someone asked why the hero's weren't doing anything. It was then he saw that the hostage was none other than Bakugou.
Before he knew what was going on Midoriya had charged forward straight through the hero's and towards the villain. Utterly shocking everyone. Taking off his backpack he threw it at the villains eyes.
The villain turned away and uncovered Bakugou's face. Midoriya slammed into the villain and tried desperately to claw Bakugou out of the villains hold. It was working slowly. But it wasn't enough as the villain turned back to look. Only for another larger hand to pull Bakugou out and then punch the villain.
"I really am pathetic. A pro's always risk their lives. DETROIT SMASH!" was what the newly arrived All Might said, before yelling out one of his attack names.
Midoriya proceeded to be hounded by the other hero's who berated him for rushing in. Midoriya was then sent on his way.
On the way home he was caught up to by Bakugou who yelled at him about how he didn't need rescuing. Before he left the way he came. It was a somewhat strange encounter all things considered.
Turning back around to continue on his way home, All Might burst out of a side alley saying about how he stands for justice not sound bites. He then poofed in a cloud of steam before his was his skeletal self again.
All Might proceeded to tell Midoriya that he wanted to thank him and then went on to say that he was inspired by his actions. That it was normal for all exceptional hero's, that there bodies acted before they could think. But he finished by saying "You too can become a hero."
That's when it became confusing as All Might said that it was possible for him to pass his quirk down to others. And he had just offered to do that for him, Izuku Midoriya. A quirkless kid. He of course accepted.
"All Might. I, feel like I should tell you but, I have been training to become a hero with my friend and his dad. The pro hero Lighter and his adopted son. He made me this ring using his quirk. It amplifies my natural abilities and even charisma and confidence. He might be able to make you something to help with your injury if you want. Although that would also mean telling him about that battle and most of what you have told me." explained Midoriya.
"Hmm, a quirk like that could certainly be very helpful. But I do not know if I would be willing to trust someone else with that knowledge. I hadn't originally meant for you to find out. So I would rather like it to stay contained to just a few people who know." replied All Might.
"I really do trust him. He has been my only friend for a long time. He made me this and he has helped me however he could. I have no doubt he would find out eventually anyway, he's really perceptive." was what Midoriya came out with next. He did hope he would be allowed to tell Mairon because it couldn't go badly, if anything Mairon would probably take it as proof as him being right that Midoriya was destined for greatness.
"Very well then. We shall meet this friend of yours. If Lighter adopted him then I suppose there isn't much to worry about. Lighter always was a good judge of character and a skilled hero. Bring your friend and meet me on Dagoba municipal beach park. It shall serve as a good training ground. Even if some of the trash has been cleared away." was All Might's response, with a smile once again appearing on his face.
"Dagoba? That's where Lighter and Bounce sensei have been training me and Mairon. He's been making us clear it up for everyone. He has us do these obstacle courses, they are really fun. I've been mainly training to be a smarter fighter using traps and the environment. I have a parkour fighting style in case that changes things." Midoriya spoke slowly getting faster.
"Both Lighter and Bounce have been teaching you. And you have been the ones to clear the beach up. I'm even more confidant I made the right choice. I may get in touch with them to talk about how we can all help to train you. As for using parkour to fight, well, I don't know much about fighting with it so I can't really say. But it should work. Meet me tomorrow morning at 6am."
And that's it for this week. If you are interested about what it is I was struggling to decide upon. I can say it was whether or not Midoriya would get One for All or become closer to the Nazgul. I decided upon a more middling path but with the story still closer to the original. I also decided on whether or not he would be telling Mairon/Sauron but I decided for it. And finally I had to think about how I would implement a few seeds for some later plot development.