A/N: 150 Followers! 100 Favorites! You guys rock, just so you know it!
This is Beta-ed by RottedKarma, whose patience and accuracy smooths out this a lot.
5 April, 20XX
A few minutes earlier, at the top of a nearby building
The Number One Hero, All Might, stood at the edge of an apartment tower with a bag of groceries in his hand and a slightly confused grin. Somehow that sludge villain had escaped through the sewers and had actually managed to throw him, All Might, off his trail. On top of that, he barely had any spare time from the three hours he'd left for active duty.
The Hero sighed. If the villain didn't show up in a few moments, he'd have to leave him to his colleagues.
When he noticed an explosion a few blocks away, he instantly knew where it originated from.
All Might prepared himself and leapt over the streets, the grocery bag still firmly in his hand. This evildoer would not taint the town much longer, for he was here… having finally reached his time limit.
Shit.
All Might landed on the roof of a nearby building, changing into his true form. This was bad timing on a whole new level. He muttered a few distinguished American expletives before rushing down the stairs. Part of his brain registered the exhaustion the short sprint had caused him and responded with resignation, but his main focus was on the scene that unfolded before him when he opened the door.
Chaos. That simply was the best way to describe it. The Sludge Villain had apparently taken a boy with an explosion Quirk hostage, and the desperate lad fought him tooth and nail, turning the street into a minefield.
All Might – no, now he was just Yagi Toshinori – looked around. Backdraft and Kamui Woods were busy with evacuation, and Death Arms and Mt. Lady hadn't been able to do anything against the rampaging villain due to their Quirk disadvantage.
And All Might couldn't do jack shit.
That was when he spotted him. A youngster with unruly green hair and selectively hideous red shoes, who was in the villain's dead angle, struggling to his feet. It seemed that he had been hurled against a lamp post, so the fact that he was able to stand at all was astounding in itself.
Then Toshinori saw his eyes.
And the boy rushed in.
The heroes watched in helpless horror as he ran towards the villain with fierce determination, sticking his suddenly dark grey arm into the sludge and screaming something Toshinori couldn't understand. But the effect on the other boy was unmissable; all at once, his arms were stretched in front of him and he roared-
"REPULSION OUTBURST!"
The explosion that followed was enormous. Toshinori's lanky form was barely able to withstand the torrid shockwave that made the windows burst and the tarmac fracture, that took the villain by surprise and blinded everyone.
Everyone, except the green-haired boy who had somehow managed to yank the blonde out of the mud and dragged him away, his expression contorted in decision.
The villain roared with fury and took up pursuit, but enough was enough.
"DETROIT… SMASH!"
His forceful blow crashed in the unsuspecting villain, sending him splattering in an omnidirectional wave. The one and only All Might laughed his signature booming laugh, hiding the thin trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth while announcing: "FEAR NOT, CITIZENS, FOR I AM HERE!"
A few moments of silence, and then cheering.
"It's All Might!"
"The No. 1 Hero has come to rescue us!"
"We're saved!"
"Did it start raining? It really started raining! All Might changed the weather with a single punch!"
"That's the power of the Symbol of Peace!"
"HA-HA!" All Might laughed more boisterously than he felt. "Thank you all for your support! Now let us collect this scoundrel's residues for that he does not endanger anyone again!"
As the heroes followed his advice, All Might turned his attention to the two boys, of which the blonde one was currently chewing out his green-haired… friend?
"Have you lost your marbles, Deku? That was fucking reckless! What the hell were you thinking? We didn't practice the Repulsion Outburst at all! So why for fuck's sake didn't you at least try and think of a strategy before rushing in like an imbecile? That-"
"I DON'T KNOW, KACCHAN!" the green-haired boy exclaimed. "I don't know why I did that! I saw you were in danger, right in front of me, and my legs all moved by themselves!"
That piqued All Might's interest.
"You're an absolute fuckwad, you know that? How the hell were you even able to stand up after being thrown against a fucking lamp post?"
"Ahem."
"I changed the back of my head into fabric. That cushioned the impact," the other boy said defensively. "And apart from that…"
"Ahem!"
Both boys turned around, and suddenly…
"It's ALL MIGHT!"
The blonde closed his eyes. "Aaaand there the fanboying goes."
"All Might? The real All Might? In front of me? Oh, an autograph!" The boy scrambled for his school bag and took out a well-thumbed but obviously cared for notebook.
Hero Analysis for the future… No. 13? All Might took the book and swiftly scrawled a bold autograph across two pages – nothing he hadn't done countless times already. Still, one simply couldn't fail to note the richness of detail in which the notes were compiled. Incredible. Truly incredible. How does he know this about Nighteye? I didn't know this about Nighteye, and he's been my sidekick for years!
Maybe… he is the right one.
"Forgive me," he said to the boys. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I have a proposal for you. Would you mind to meet me at 5 p.m. at Dagobah Municipal Beach?" After that, the hero was surrounded by fans and reporters, laughing ostentatiously and dropping catchphrases.
Meanwhile, Katsuki tried to prevent Izuku's brain from shutting down… by yelling at him.
"DEKU! GET A FUCKING HOLD OF YOURSELF, YOU HEAR ME?"
"B-b-but A-All M-Might just a-asked us t-to m-m-m-m-meet him!"
"I heard what he said! Now pull yourself together, let's deal with the Heroes and the police and the other shit and… fuck!" Katsuki's fist hit the ground, once, twice, his eyes full of angry fire, roaring behind his pupils. "I… I was… I was a drag! AGAIN! I couldn't do shit!"
"That's not true, Kacchan!" Izuku responded, appalled. Suddenly All Might's words seemed a lot less important, and that meant something coming from him. Really, how could Katsuki say something like this? "There were no serious injuries and the villain is captured, because you withstood him for such a long time! Besides, it was your Repulsion Outburst that vaulted you out of the sludge, wasn't it?"
"He is right." The boys looked in surprise at the two Pro Heroes who had come over, Death Arms and Kamui Woods. "You displayed great willpower, young man," the former stated. "So don't sell yourself short. What do you think would have happened if the villain had been able to use your Quirk against the citizens? You prevented a disaster."
"Additionally," Kamui Woods stated, looking at Izuku, "that… that was what I'd call quick thinking. Reckless, granted, but quick thinking nonetheless." He nodded in approval. "Of course you didn't use your Quirk against a citizen, right? So it was quite impressive what you were able to do just by analyzing him." The hero winked.
"Actually…" Izuku started when Katsuki jabbed him in the ribs.
"Yeah, exactly," Katsuki answered with affected vexation. "I did tell him that he was a fucking idiot for jumping into battle like that, too, but I guess everything's all right now, huh?"
The heroes nodded, Death Arms smiling somewhat mischievously, before letting the two boys go.
"Really, Deku", Katsuki sighed when they were a fair way off from the commotion. "They cut you a break, and you nearly manage to ruin it! You'd have gotten deeper in the shit for using your Quirk without permission!"
"I'm sorry, Kacchan… but… well…" Izuku faltered.
"What?"
"C-can… can we PLEASE FREAK OUT NOW THAT ALL MIGHT WANTS TO MEET US?"
The same day
04:58 p.m. at Dagobah Municipal Beach
Izuku was on edge, subconsciously adapting the rubber of his shoe soles.
"AllMightwantstomeetusAllmightwantstomeetuswhatshouldIdoAllMightwantstomeetusImsonervousohnowhatifwedidsomethingwrongoritwasjustajokenoAllMightdoesntmakejokesaboutthingslikethisbutwhatdoeshewantfrom…"
"CUT IT, DEKU! I'M TIRED OF YOUR RAMBLING SO SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Izuku did slap his mouth shut, but emitted such a fierce worry-aura that Katsuki could nearly see the mutter symbols swirling around him. He sighed in annoyance.
"I am here… ready to talk to you two!"
Izuku yelped, and Katsuki already had an explosion prepared before his senses told him that…
"IT'S ALL MIGHT! IT'S ALL MIGHT! IT'S…"
Katsuki gave Deku a flick on the forehead that likely prevented him from dying of multiple organ failure. He hoped the idiot wouldn't make a habit out of that, but knew it was probably in vain.
"It indeed is me! Now then…"
All Might vanished in a puff of smoke and was replaced by a gaunt man with skeleton-like features.
"AAH! It's a fake!"
"Who the hell are you? If you're an impostor, I'll…"
Toshinori sighed in exasperation. He should have anticipated something like this to happen. "No, I really am All Might. This is what you could call my 'true form'."
"NO WAY! You totally deflated!"
"Yeah, looks kinda pathetic…"
Toshinori gave them the look. The one he'd practiced countless times in the mirror, the intense gaze that instilled fear in the hearts of villains and hope in the hearts of citizens in an instant, the one that proclaimed "I am here!" to everyone who looked at him. It was a reduced version, but it was still enough to prove his point.
"So now that you know about this, I must ask you not to tell a word to anyone. Especially not on social media. Understood?"
"'Course we do," Katsuki scoffed, but was obviously shaken. "So what the fuck does this have to do with…"
"Patience, please." Toshinori braced himself for what he was going to do. It had to be immaculate. "Young Deku, young Kacchan, you see, five years ago, a villain…"
"A-actually my name isn't Deku."
"And I'm not 'Kacchan', damn it! That's your fault, Deku!"
"Seriously, Kacchan?"
Toshinori watched the two of them in confusion. So much for immaculate. "Well, then… would you mind to tell me your names?"
"O-of course! I'm Midoriya Izuku!"
"Bakugo Katsuki."
After this gaffe, Toshinori had lost some of his confidence, but nevertheless, he'd made his choice. So he lifted up his shirt and watched the boys' expressions shift from confusion to horror.
"This is an injury I got from an enemy's attack five years ago. It cost me half my respiratory organs and my whole stomach. What you see in front of you is the aftermath that came with the repeated surgeries. Right now, I can only work as a hero for about three hours a day."
"Th-three hours?" Katsuki whispered, unbelieving, not wanting to hear this. He felt like breaking something, or blowing something up, right now, because that couldn't be true, there was just no way, no way that couldn't be true. "B-but… you… you are the Number One Hero! You emerge victorious from every battle! You are the fucking perma-smile Symbol of Peace! Is… is that all just a charade?"
Toshinori sighed. "No. This injury is something special. It…"
"Wait, five years? So… was that in your fight against Toxic Chainsaw?"
Toshinori arched his eyebrows. "You are well informed. But no, a punk like that could never defeat me. The fight was never made public, I asked for that. For the Symbol of Peace cannot be daunted by evil. For the citizens can view up to someone like young Bakugo."
"So…" Bakugo said falteringly "So… so you aren't… what… what we believed? You aren't the glorious victor? You aren't the aim one can set oneself to surpass?"
Toshinori felt like the discussion was not going in the direction he'd planned. "Don't get me wrong, young Bakugo. I am the Symbol of Peace. I am the strongest hero." He looked him straight in the eyes, young Bakugo's expression telling him that he had his full attention. "But I am not invincible; no one is. And the villain I fought five years ago was the strongest opponent I've ever encountered. Even so, in the end, I did defeat him. That villain is gone for good."
Bakugo seemed wary and obviously didn't want to allow the topic to rest, but he didn't probe further.
"Well," Toshinori said, trying to adopt a more cheerful tone. "I did not come here to bother you with my past. I came to ask you a question, and to offer you something."
Midoriya looked at him in surprise. "Offer?"
"Firstly, the question. Do you two want to become heroes?"
"Yes!"
"You bet!"
Toshinori smiled. Firmly, and without hesitation. He was back on track. "Why?"
"I want to become the strongest hero!" In Bakugo's eyes lied justified self-confidence. In his years as a pro, All Might had learned to tell apart if it was based on blustering or on skill. This boy knew about both his strength and his limits. You hardly found that in someone that young. "I'll climb the top and surpass anyone else! Even you, All Might!"
Toshinori looked at him in approval. He couldn't say he was surprised; he had the fighter attitude that was necessary for such an ambition. It would take much out of him, but if he stuck to it, it wouldn't be impossible.
"And you, young Midoriya?"
"I…" Izuku cast down his eyes, looking a tad embarrassed. "I want to become someone… who people look up to. A fearless hero, one who saves everyone with a smile… just like you!"
Toshinori smiled. Now he knew it for sure. He was the right one.
"Then I have one more question for you, young Midoriya."
The boy gazed at him expectantly.
"Would you like to become my successor?"
A/N: Well, here we go! Usually I wouldn't have posted so soon, but then I thought "Stuff it! I just got two milestones!". Yeah. That was about my thought process.
Reviews: I absolutely love your encouragement, telling my poor soul with way too much time at its hands that there are people who read this and like this, and I will respond to everyone via PM. Except guests, because sadly, that doesn't work.
If you didn't know already: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't.
Remember to go beyond ...
PLUS ULTRA!
Ramses, over and out