Hello everyone, again I am still amazed at the reception of the readers to this story. As always, I appreciate all those that have taken time out of their day to read Like a Shot Fox. Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Please enjoy chapter three.
G.B.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"All Might Buff form speech"
"All Might Buff form thoughts"
Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or Naruto
Recap:
"Pass it on?" the boy asked incredulously.
"Yes, my power has been passed on for generations, and you, my boy, are fit to be the next inheritor. So, are you willing to be my successor? Can you become the next symbol of peace?"
Looking up at his idol with a Cheshire cat like grin, the boy didn't hesitate.
"Yes sir."
Chapter 3: Heir Apparent
All Might grinned seeing the look of determination on Izuku's face. "A direct answer. That's what I like to hear."
Izuku continued grinning back at the larger man pausing only when he heard the low grumble of his tenant posing a question that hadn't crossed his mind.
"What about me…"
Izuku's smirk turned to a frown as he also began to wonder how this would affect is current, and very sentient, quirk.
"Is something the matter," posed All Might noticing the boys change in expression.
"I'm sorry sir, but I didn't take into account that my body is not entirely my own," the greenette stated, much to the confusion of the older man.
"What do you mean?"
"I share my body with Kurama, she's my quirk, but more importantly she is my partner. She moderates our power and provides council for me."
"Ah, so you have a rare living quirk," the blonde stated understanding the situation now being presented to him.
"Yes, and if accepting your power would forsake her, then I'm sorry but you'll need to find someone else," Izuku finished resolutely.
All might could see the determination on the boy's face to not leave his friend and could only admire him more.
"I see that you've made your mind up Young Man," the number one hero said with a smile.
"Again, I'm sor…"
"There's no need to apologize, all this just proved is that you're truly the right person for my power. You wouldn't forsake your partner, even for something that you wanted. That's the self-sacrifice of a hero, furthermore, there is no need for concern, you would retain your quirk with my power just being added to yours," finished the man.
"Really?" asked the boy not truly believing it.
"Yes Young Man. So, what do you say now, can you accept my power?"
"Kurama?" the green hair boy thought tentatively.
"Ningen if you don't say yes, I'm going to eat you, I can feel your excitement from here," the monster fox replied with a smile. "Oh, and, Thank you, Izuku"
"We're partners, no matter what," the boy replied with a thousand-watt smile at the rare use of his name by the vixen.
"Young Man?" prodded the man, confused by the long pause.
"Sorry, All Might, I was talking to Kurama. To answer your question, we accept," the smile never leaving his face.
"Spectacular Young Man. Now that we've settled that, I want you to meet me at the Seaside Park, three days from now," stated the taller man to his smiling ward.
"Yes Sir," replied the verdette resolutely.
Izuku all but bounced home in excitement. Upon his arrival, his mother wrapped him in a tremendous bear hug, after making sure he wasn't injured. Behind the pair, Izuku could see that his exploits with the slime villain were be shown on the news.
"What were you thinking, running out there like that," questioned the elder Midoriya, her gaze never leaving the teen.
"It was Katsuki, Mom, I couldn't leave him, I just couldn't," replied the freckled quietly.
Inko could only look at the young man she raised. To her, he would always be her baby boy, a being so important to her life, that she would protect him at all costs with no hesitation. However, being there for every twist and turn since her boy got his quirk, she knew the path he wanted to take, and sleepless nights it caused her just thinking he'd be in harm's way. She knew, because a mother always knows, that his heart was too good for this world, he would always put others first.
Sighing, probably knowing the answer to come, Inko could only ask, "did you at least discuss it with Kurama?"
"She said to leave the gnat, and that he deserved it…" replied the younger Midoriya quickly.
Inko could only chuckle, knowing how her son's tenant was with regards to the outside world.
"I take it you ignored her," continued Inko.
"Did you see the news? He obviously ignored me."
Inko laughed even more as Kurama decided to voice her side through Izuku.
"He always thinks second. I swear, if I wasn't around, you'd have had to chain him inside to keep him from just running into every bit of danger," the vixen continued.
"I know Kurama, and I will always be grateful that you're by his side."
"To make up for our impulsive little ningen, I should tell you…"
"Kurama, you wouldn't."
"Tell me what," the elder Midoriya asked with a questioning look on her face.
"Welll…."
"Kurama no…please don't."
"Our little ningen has a crush on a vixen he ran into today," the fox chuckled out switching places with her vessel to watch the scene unfold.
Izuku could only brace himself as his mother latched on for dear life wanting to know information he didn't have.
"Why?" he questioned the fox.
"She was worried, now she will at least focus on something else," replied the vixen in a matter-of-fact tone.
Resigning to his fate, Izuku could only smile watching how animated his mother was talking about future grand babies. That night he silently vowed to get stronger so that he wouldn't be a cause for worry for anyone else.
Three Days Later – Seaside Park
Izuku arrived at the seaside park, if it could even be called that. Looking around, the only thing around were mountains trash littering the shoreline. In the very center of the trash heap stood All Might in his emaciated form.
"So, why did you call me here of all places?", Izuku asked walking up to Japan's number one hero.
"We need to train your body to make it ready to receive One for All, as an improper vessel would not be able to handle the power of One for All, Young Man," All Might began.
"Are you calling my vessel improper, Bunny Man," ground out Kurama, once again taking control from the verdette.
All Might was taken aback by the change in voice and demeanor of the teen in front of him.
"Young man?" he questioned still trying to grasp this change.
"The ningen is on hold right now Bunny Man, I am what you would consider his quirk. I will ask again, are you calling my vessel improper," Kurama once again growled out, eyes slitted dangerously staring at the man in front of her.
"Kurama, that's not what he was saying."
"It seems that way to me, and I will not stand for that slight to my vessel."
"Kur…"
"Silence Ningen!" shouted the vixen.
Izuku had never heard that tone from his tenant in all the time they've been together. He couldn't figure out why there was such a change in her behavior.
"Ah, so you're his quirk, or I guess I should say partner," All Might began slowly.
Kurama nodded, eyes never leaving the hero.
"I would like to apologize for any misunderstanding. I don't believe your vessel is improper, and I will admit that I forgot how that statement could be taken. I meant it only in that inheriting my power comes with a lot of risks if the young man's physical body isn't strengthened," finished the hero.
"What are these risks?" questioned the fox.
"No sense beating around the bush here. If he inherited my power, and used it without proper conditioning, he could die," All Might stated resolutely.
"There is always a price for power. Izuku, the Ningen, never stops to think about himself, or the dangers. I have no doubt that he will use this power to save anyone and everyone in his path. I wanted to make sure you weren't taking advantage of the Ningen as this nature of his can be exploited," began the fox.
"I will switch back with him, but before I go, I want you to understand that he means a lot to people in this world. If you don't make sure to nurture this boy, and he ends up hurt because of it, I will make you wish whoever destroyed your organs finished you off."
"Kurama!" shouted the verdette regaining control of his body.
The fox said nothing and remained lying with her eyes closed not acknowledging the boy. All Might for his part could stare, as he detected no falsehoods from the quirks statement.
"I take it that was your quirk, young man, or should I say Izuku," the gaunt man asked.
"Ah right, we didn't have any formal introductions. Yes, it's Izuku, Izuku Midoriya", Izuku said, scratching the back of his head for forgetting about that.
"I'm sorry about that All Might, she'll never admit it, at least to me, but she's an overprotective fluffball," the viridian haired boy explained ignoring the growling from his tenant.
"No worries Young Midoriya, I'm glad you have a partner that cares about you enough to threaten to go toe to toe with me, not many would ever consider it," the taller man began, "and you can call me Toshinori, Toshinori Yagi, which is better when I am not in my muscle form.
"Okay, Toshinori, sir"
"Good, before we get started, can you explain more about Kurama to me?"
"Sure thing," the boy began, "Kurama is my partner and is a sentient quirk, as you've witnessed with her taking control of by body to speak with you. We call our power "Kyuubi" as Kurama doesn't like to share her name with just anyone. She is a nine-tailed fox that resides inside my body and grants me both passive and active benefits. Passively, I heal faster than the average human, and will have a longer life span. When we activate our powers, I gain a cloak in the shape of a fox, as you saw when I tried to fight the slime villain. The cloak increases my bodies speed, agility, and strength, as well as serving as a slight armor."
"Interesting," replied the blonde man, "your healing factor will help to condition your body faster, as conditioning is just a means to break down and rebuild muscle to be able to maintain longer and more strenuous periods of activity."
"I do have a question, sir, how will I inherit your power, I didn't think quirks worked that way?" questioned the green haired teen.
"You'd be correct in that thought Young Midoriya, however, my quirk isn't what is listed in the quirk registry," began the number one hero, "people believe my quirk is super strength, but that is just one aspect, really my quirk is the ability to stockpile power, cultivated through generations to keep peace in the world."
"Hmmm, that is an interesting power the bunny man has," the vixen voiced to her vessel, "for him to be this strong, I wonder how many came before?"
"How many users were before you Toshinori-san," the teen asked, repeating his tenant's question.
"Seven. There were seven previous users," All Might replied with a sad tone.
"What hap..."
"Read the change in tone Ningen. All seven must have passed, otherwise we wouldn't be here in this moment," the giant fox said cutting off Izuku's half formed question.
All Might noticed that the boy never finished his question and had a look of deep thought on his face.
"He must be speaking with Kurama," thought the older man.
The number one hero continued to look at the boy as his expressions changed. He smiled thinking that this child would be the next symbol of peace, while he could see that the boy was clearly losing whatever conversation he was having with his quirk.
"So Young Midoriya, I believe we should get to business," the number one hero stated, interrupting whatever discussion was taking place in front of him.
"Yes sir," replied the verdette, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Good Young Midoriya, very good," the taller man began, "Take a look around you."
Izuku scanned the shoreline, taking in what could only be described as a mountain of trash as far as the eye could see. He hadn't realized that you couldn't see the actual waterline from where they were standing.
"We'll clean all this trash from this shoreline to train your body. I have some diet plans made for you, so do take care of your diet as well," Toshinori stated while handing the papers to Izuku.
"So, I'll have to drag trash around to train my body?"
"Heroes today are all about the showy stuff. Originally, being a hero meant doing volunteer service. Even if people call those boring now, you can't waver from these roots. You'll clear the horizon for this complete section. That is your first step towards becoming a hero."
"My first step," Izuku whispered as he continued to look around.
Toshinori could only smile at the boy as he began to grasp the reality of this endeavor.
"Young Midoriya, you want to go to UA High, right?" asked the taller man.
"That is the toughest hero course in this country and getting in won't be easy. There are only ten months until the entrance exams. That's why we're going to train for the entrance exams, to prepare your body and make you ready for the UA hero course," finished All Might, raising his fist to the boy as he shifted to his muscle form.
Izuku stared for a moment, before bumping All Might's fist with a grin.
"Yes Sir!"
Ten Months Later – Seaside Park
All Might was surprised when he arrived at the park that morning to see it completely cleaned. He stared at the boy, who was at this time sitting on a large trash pile to the side of the beach meditating.
"Well, I'll be, I had expected him to complete this in the ten-month time frame, but this is unexpected. He even cleaned outside of where I told him to. He went above and beyond," thought the older man while inspecting the work that the teen had done.
Hearing the footsteps Izuku looked down to see his mentor staring at his work with a look of pride.
"Should we show him the fruits of this labor, Kurama," asked the verdette to his tenant.
"Absolutely, Ningen," responded the fox with a grin.
On cue, the duo activated their power; the verdette smirking at his mentor. Toshinori felt a shift and looked again to the teen who had begun to use his quirk. Seeing the boy's smirk, the pro hero answered in kind, shifting into his buff form.
There was no hesitation as the boy launched himself towards his mentor, cocking his arm back in preparation for the blow he intended to land on the larger man. Not to be outdone, All Might prepared a smash of his own to meet force with force. Their fists collided sending a shockwave through the immediate area shifting the sand slightly.
"I'm proud of you young Midoriya, you've completed what I had set for you, and went even further in that service. I see that I've made a proper choice for my successor," the blonde began while finishing his blow pushing the wannabe hero back, "however zygote, I don't think you can take me just yet."
Izuku, recovering from the hero's blow, looked up, smirking once again.
"You might want to increase the power of your next shot All Might, we don't have full control yet."
"Full con-," All Might attempted to state before having to defend against the rocket that was teen. It took only a second to realized what the boy had meant, for behind him were now two tails swishing violently.
"Surprise," said the boy with a distorted voice, and a Cheshire cat like grin.