Chapter 004 Part 1:
Burrito predicts the future, All Might dies as a result
(or Dreams Manifest)
Unnamed girl observed how the detective rubbed his temples. He was no longer unnamed policeman himself because he had the decency of being ashamed he forgot to introduce himself and promptly told her his name, Tsukauchi Naomasa, alongside the name of the expert he brought with him, Yagi Toshinori. He also had the decency of offering her a cute dwarf-sized high school girl outfit from lost and found, but she was quite comfy in her blanket prison and decided to continue being a Burrito Woman.
"Can you repeat again why you caused enough damage to the city that the department is still calculating how much to pay in repairs and who destroyed what?" he asked, done with everything.
"I wanted to see if setting my feet on fire would make me faster, and then if I could fly." D thought about the answers. "It didn't, and technically I could, I just didn't know how to stop flying without going splat."
Naomasa groaned as he detected her statement as true, and the girl was aware that was what happened thanks to Toshinori accidentally revealing Naomasa could detect lies with his ability. He was called a True Man, so he probably ate the Truth-Truth Fruit. She had then discreetly touched him and became a True Woman, and immediately was discovered when asked if she did such a thing and shamelessly lied about it, giving herself a migraine. True Humans had a hard time lying, apparently.
"Well, her quirk only recently developed, so she's still protected by the law and can't be held accountable for accidently overdoing it. She's still at the stage where she instinctively wants to experiment with it." Toshinori defended her, that emancipated stick of a man being a godsend because otherwise she would be having her ear shouted off.
"She should know better," the detective muttered while cradling his head in his hands.
"…You literally told me on the phone that she was a crazy kid that escaped from a backwards cult that knew nothing yet everything at the same time." the blonde chided the True Man, and how curious was his view on her. Either that was his true view, or he suffered a migraine saying that. She wasn't sure what was the best prospect.
"I don't think I was in a cult." she added, then actually thought about what she said. "Of course, maybe the point of the cult was me not realizing I was part of it, so me saying I wasn't in a cult could still be wrong even if I think I'm telling the truth."
Naomasa didn't know what to make of that answer, so he simply waved in her general direction while looking at Toshinori, who looked confused at the action. His suffering, unfortunately, wasn't so easily understood, so he explained.
"That's the problem with everything she says, actually. I literally don't know if everything she says is true, is biased but true, is wrong but similar to the truth, is straight up wrong and a misdirection, or she's just insane. It could even be all of the above at different points of the conversation, and I don't know how to tell."
Toshinori looked quite concerned, and was probably about to ask the detective to take a rest and please leave this poor little girl alone, but Naomasa knew what the blonde was about to do and reacted instantly.
"Look, just… listen to her for a minute." he looked at her. "This was a question that I forgot to ask but wrote down. What is Haki?"
D thought about it, and realized that it was a really loaded question.
"Okay, so I think Haki was similar to willpower made manifest through training and refinement. It was never clear exactly what it was, and people complained it wasn't actually willpower, but I will call it that. There is Armament Haki, which increases the strength and endurance of what it coats, be it your body or your weapons; Observation Haki, which can range from increased eyesight to predicting the future based on what you're seeing; and Conqueror Haki, which is your will imposed unto others and forcing them to submit, causing from hesitation to fight to outright being knocked out cold. Oh, and everyone can learn the first two, but you have to be born with the last one."
Naomasa stared. Toshinori stared at her, then at the detective and alternated between the two of them.
"Everything she said is true," that surprised skinny, who finally decided who to keep staring at. "She's not spouting nonsense she just invented, or something she read in a fictional book and is pretending is real. This girl, 100%, believes everything she says to be true without a shadow of doubt, and most of what she said was also believed to be true by people around her, who were adults. She genuinely believes you can just learn a Reinforcement quirk, that training your eyesight is an actual thing instead of glasses, and that Sir Nighteye's quirk, one of the rarest quirks that the police highly value for its usefulness, is a skill that you can get if you train really hard. But an intimidating aura can't be learnt when compared to the previous two, for some reason."
"Yeah, I thought I unlocked Armament Haki because my arm turned black once and that is how you tell it's being used, but it turned out I was just transformed into an orca for a bit." she added to illustrate his point.
"That is also true, she did turn into an orca for a bit," Naomasa confirmed when Toshinori raised a finger to ask a question, already predicting what it would be. When the finger continued to rise, the detective continued. "Yes, you're that predictable. No, it's not only me being perceptive, you're just that obvious. Yes, even D predicted it despite knowing you for only ten minutes." The finger went down.
"I was already predicting what you were about to say when Naomasa interrupted you the first time!" The whole hand went down.
"Thank you, D. What did you think he was about to say the first time?"
"That you needed to take a rest and to leave poor little old me alone, can't you see I'm just a kid, you're just stressed and are spinning a yarn in your head, let another officer take your place and let them deal with the girl. If it truly bothers you I will help you, but that is after a night's sleep and with a clear head. I'm your friend, I'm here for you, and I'm concerned. This is not you, I know it deep in my heart, so let me help you. I will ask all the questions, I will personally be there while you are away so you know your worries are addressed. And if it turns out you were right all along, you will be the first to know, but I don't personally believe it will come to that."
She smiled a toothy grin at Toshinori, who was alternating between being deeply unsettled at being read so easily by a four-year-old and impressed at the earnest emotion of her performance.
"If it makes you feel better, I just imagined what kindness personified would do, and then assumed that was what you were about to do." D offered while beaming at him.
"…That does make me feel better." he managed to get out.
"Which I predicted, because you also seem to have some deep issue that's making you doubt about that kindness, so I wanted to reassure you of being positive so you don't fall into cynicism."
He coughed out blood, and Naomasa was already offering him a handkerchief while keeping his notepad far away from the blast radius.
"Yes, you're that obvious Toshinori." Naomasa added between the man's coughs. "She probably doesn't know what the specific issue is, but it's really obvious you have one."
"HOW?!" he shouted while splattering blood everywhere, so D answered.
"Sometimes when you smile, it's this really sad smile, like you're surprised of someone expressing genuine positivity but smile while telling yourself you should be happy you are not the only one, that you're not wrong for thinking like that, but are sad that you doubted yourself and were surprised in the first place, before reaffirming your beliefs and truly smiling with a bitter edge, though sometimes it is truly genuine. You had a hint of bitterness after I told you what you were going to say even after I said that I supported that kinda thing, because you didn't expect little old me to say something like that. But you were completely genuine when Naomasa brought you a coffee and said he remembered how you liked it from earlier today. Both times you were surprised and that smile started as a lonely sad one, and I guess you were genuine with the second because you were already aware of Naomasa being like you, while I was a surprise you assumed incorrectly."
Toshinori had stopped coughing at around the first third of her explanation, and was gawking at her by the end of it, uncaring at how the blood continued to drip from his mouth. Naomasa nodded confidently the entire time, and slapped his hands together when she finished.
"Great description! First of all, Toshinori, all of that was true, she fully believed what she said and didn't doubt it for a second." He ignored the incredulous stare of his friend. "Second, I need a camera to film a video of you doing that smile, because you did it when I offered to be your friend and help you with your paperwork earlier today. And when I did that, you even said something as depressing as 'I have so few friends with whom I can exchange my personal contact information, so I can't help but be a little excited.' while giving me your number. I think if I filmed you doing that smile, I could win a silent filming contest through the sheer emotion conveyed in your smile."
"Third!" D interrupted, before doing her most gentle and soothing voice. "We are not saying this because we want to be mean or belittle you for wearing your heart out. In fact, I'm impressed at how easily I can read your emotions, you're an open book who isn't afraid to show how you're feeling and that is commendable. We're just concerned about how little it takes to make you happy, but how that happiness is laced with sadness. We want you to be genuinely and completely happy, and every time you smile meaningfully there's sadness in it. And we know that the perpetual smile you wear is simply your service smile, you're a positive person and you smile easily for a lot of small things and to reassure others, like when you wanted to defend my actions, but when you smile just to be smiling instead of letting your face rest it's quite noticeable. I won't tell you to stop smiling just because, but don't exaggerate, you're so easy to read you don't have to, a little grin is enough. I want to be your friend and want to see you happy, if you will allow me to help."
D considered the frozen expressions of Toshinori and Naomasa, then decided to add something.
"I also didn't predict what Naomasa was about to say, but what you would say in our place, which he was probably about to do."
Naomasa unfroze at that and managed to cover his mouth before a snort, then an unstoppable barrage of sniggers erupted from his mouth. She smiled at him as he then giggled like a schoolgirl and couldn't make himself stop. Yagi robotically turned his head and looked at the man, and the True Man began to have trouble breathing from how much harder he was laughing.
"Oh my god!" he managed between laborious breaths and laughter. "Even when she predicts me she's predicting you!" He chortled. "I didn't even realize I was about to channel my inner Toshinori until she pointed it out!"
The statue managed to at least express confusion at that comment, though words failed him.
"Tell me why you do your job, then tell me I'm wrong." he said with complete confidence in being correct, which managed to make Toshinori blush a little.
"You can't." D supported without question. "I have absolutely no idea what your job is, but I wholeheartedly agree with that statement." Yagi blushed some more.
"She's telling the truth." Naomasa confirmed after a chuckle. "Because even if she doesn't know the specifics, she already knows what your job is."
"Helping people." the girl stated. "You totally work because you want to help make the world a better place. I don't know how you do so, but I know that's what your job is for you and I utterly support you in that endeavor." The Symbol of Peace covered his face so they couldn't see his embarrassment at being put in the spot like that.
"She wholly believes everything she said." Naomasa added, as if her honesty was ever in question. "As so do I." He took his hat off and looked into the hands of the man, mostly because they were in the way of his face. "You were my role model when I was little, I do the things I do because you planted that seed in me. The man that sits in front of you is only here today because you spread that ideal positivity, so please stop doubting its worth. I will be here all the times you need to be reminded of that fact, that the world can truly become a better place. If not by your hand alone, then by the hands of everyone you touched and changed to your vision of heroism."
"I still want to be a pirate, not a hero!" D commented. "But that's because my hero is a pirate that doesn't believe he is a hero himself! He's kinda positive like you, so I wouldn't mind being a hero if piracy turns out to not be so great! And I'm little, so you're being my role model when I was little in the present! Ever thought about that?!"
The Number 1 Hero retreated into a small ball while on his chair, head against his knees and hands over his ears, overloaded with too much positivity directed at his person.
"Should we stop?" Naomasa asked, torn between amusement at his reaction and wishing to avoid accidentally upsetting his friend.
"No way!" D protested, getting off her chair and making her way towards Toshinori's face. He didn't even put up any resistance to her moving his limbs around or grabbing his face. "Listen to me! You are always smiling and being positive, so you don't get to be shy when the rest of us do it back! Imagine how the world would be like if we all did what you are doing right now at any hint of a genuine compliment!"
The True Man chuckled behind her. "That is true, it's quite hypocritical of you."
"So instead of always making yourself smile for others, make others smile Toshinori! Like this!" D said while trying to make him smile with her hands, and suddenly, she knew the exact words to say.
She had no idea why she had to say this, but she knew it needed to be said. She somehow knew that Yagi Toshinori didn't know he wanted to hear these words, but someone that knew him wanted to say them to him. She did not question where the knowledge came from, she simply followed her instincts and simply uttered the words… And if her feet left the ground a little when she leaned too far and they did not come down for a moment too long, then nobody noticed.
"I know that you think that no matter how scary it gets, you must always wear a smile that says 'I'm fine' because the ones who are smiling are the strongest in this world. But if the ones who smile are the strongest, then stop hogging all that damn sunshine and share it around you stupid, lovable oaf! If everybody smiles, then we are all the strongest together or something like that! Don't make me give you a Fist of Love, because you know I will if you keep this up!"
D took Toshinori's hands and brought them to her face, making him give her a smile.
"See, it's that easy! Now find yourself someone who will do that when your hands are too busy to turn that frown upside down! I know you are no young man, but some women dig that!"
She smiled and put her hands on his face and made him smile again.
"…Live your life Toshi, if not for you, then for everyone who wants you to be happy."
She teared up a little and felt suddenly empty yet full, knowing what she wanted to say to the man with absolute certainty and clarity that she didn't have before.
"You are my first true Nakama. I just decided that you are one right now, and being one means that I will force you to be happy even if it is against your will, because you're being stubborn, but I'm more stubborn than you could ever think possible. So I will beat that stubbornness out of you and make you smile, because that's what friends are for."
Toshi finally managed a simple smile, one without a lingering sadness, or a polite one, or one laced with bitterness. It wasn't big and boisterous, but it wasn't small and amused either. Out of all the emotions she had seen in him through that smile, this was a new one. And after she thought for a second, she managed to recognize it.
It was a smile showing love and friendship with a hint of nostalgia, so she decided to match it with one of her own.
She maintained it for a while, refusing to be the first to drop it, and then Toshi's eyes began to moisten. He still had that same smile though, no hint of sadness in it. Still, that was no good, you couldn't ruin that beautiful smile with those few ugly tears. Especially because now she was crying too, and couldn't stop herself.
She broke her smile to sob and cry her heart out, being entirely a mess unlike her new Nakama who maintained that cool worriless smile despite his small tears. He even had the nerve to laugh at her bawling for him! She gave him a Fist of Love for being so rude, but he only laughed harder. She forgave him though, it was a good laugh from the belly, honest and free. She liked finally hearing it.
In that moment, One for All simply enjoyed living free, forgetting for a moment that All for One existed. And that brief moment motivated him even further to achieve such a world once he remembered.
Chapter 004 Part 2:
The Number 1's happy-happy day.
(or everything goes both wrong and right at the same time)
Yagi Toshinori, otherwise known as All Might, the Number 1 Pro Hero, was content.
His secret identity had been unearthed, something he had feared since his fight with All for One, but Naomasa had turned out to be a good man, offering his help and even becoming a fast friend.
And apparently, the child clinging to him who couldn't stop crying was one of his friends now, one of Toshinori's friends, and will probably continue to be one even if it's against his will. It was… nice, her words so much like the ones of his predecessor, not believing in All Might but believing in Yagi Toshinori. He felt quite like a fool for how he had lived his life since that battle and apologized to Nana in silence, bowing to be happy for once just like she most likely wanted, even if the threat of All for One wasn't gone as he initially believed.
"There, there, it's all right," he said while patting the girl's back.
"No it's not!" she answered, "Now I don't know if I want to travel 800 years into the future or not!"
Toshinori processed what she said, and decided he would rather not deal with whatever that meant.
"There, there, it's all right," he repeated, hoping the problem would just solve itself with enough words of reassurance.
She bawled in his t-shirt for some while, but eventually managed to calm down and some steel returned to her gaze.
"Asshole!" she said before punching him right in the missing organs, which elicited a spurt of blood from his mouth. "Not only do I have to find a way forward in time, but now I also gotta find a way back and get the two of them just to see you again! Bastard!"
She was about to punch him again, but Naomasa thankfully managed to separate her from him.
"Now now D, don't worry, Mr. Yagi will certainly help you find a Quirk that will allow that," he said in a sweet voice, trying to calm the goblin down, "Won't you, Mr. Yagi?" he asked while sending him a look that his answer better be yes, or else.
"Uuhhhh," he uttered instead, confused at the string of events.
"How is he even supposed to do that?!" D asked, trying to claw her way towards him and unfortunately succeeding bit by bit. "The Time-Time Fruit is supposed to only send people forwards, not backwards!"
"Well, he's All Might's personal secretary, so he certainly has the connections to look for a Quirk like that." the True Man offered, which seemed to calm down D enough.
She looked at who said that statement, then nodded to herself as she accepted it as true.
"I have no idea who All Might is, but I guess it must be true." she commented while she continued nodding, ignoring his sputters of surprise.
The detective sighed but took it in stride, leaving Toshinori to recover from the shock on his own. The man took his phone out from his overcoat and showed it to the girl.
"All Might is the Number 1 Pro Hero and the Symbol of Peace, the most famous person in all of Japan, maybe even the world." he said while showing off a photo of him.
D squinted at the picture, burned every detail deep into her brain and looked up to him. She looked at the picture, then at him, and alternated between the two some more. Finally, when she found what she was looking for, she nodded to herself with absolute confidence on whatever she had decided and pointed a finger at him.
"You are All Might," she stated, without a hint of doubt. "But I guess if you hire yourself, then you can also be your own personal secretary."
Yagi stared at her. She stared back. Naomasa stared at the two of them and just threw up his hands in the air. After he got over the surprise, he began to deny it but was interrupted again.
"Well, if you think you're not All Might, then you saying you're his secretary makes sense," she allowed, "Do you find yourself with blank spots in your memory where you can't remember what you did? Perhaps your All Might persona takes over those periods and you are left with no recollections of what happened. Some abilities have a sentience of their own, or you're a sleepwalker, or have multiple personalities, or are possessed by someone else who uses your body to be All Might, there are a lot of possibilities really."
D looked at him, expecting him to answer why he didn't remember being All Might as if both of them being the same person was an obvious fact and not a well-guarded secret while the detective laughed in the background.
"I'm not-" he tried, wishing to somehow keep the lid on and prevent this mess from happening, but the girl was too smart for her own good.
"We just gotta film you all day, and eventually you will become All Might. Or maybe if we ask you if you're All Might with the help of the Truth-Truth Fruit, it will subconsciously register as a lie and we will get confirmation." She looked at Naomasa who was hysterically laughing while shaking his head, refusing to believe this was happening. "Do you want to be the True Man or do you want me to do it for you?"
Toshinori considered his options, realized that the True Man would wince when he lied to protect his secret and how D would probably notice, thought about simply shutting up and how the girl would probably simply ask everyone else, and promptly gave up.
"…Just, how?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.
"Mmh? How what?" she fired back, sincerely not understanding the question.
"How did you make the connection between me and All Might?"
"What do you mean? It's obvious!" she shouted while pointing at the picture in the phone. "You are practically twins!"
Toshinori stared at the picture of him in his hero persona, a towering wall of muscles with a chiseled square chin and exuberant energy with a giant winning smile in a colorful costume that fit tightly. He then looked at himself, a short boney guy with a triangular face and constantly tired with small smiles in baggy muted colors.
"…We're both blond," he managed to get out. "And have blue eyes… That's literally it."
D looked at him weird, like she was the one making sense in this scenario.
"Well, of course those two are also a thing, but I was talking about the bunny ears." she pointed at his V of victory hairstyle in the photo, then at his two bangs. "Honestly, it's like you never saw a person power up and have his hairstyle change, or gain muscles. Luffy had two forms, in one he gained even more muscles than you do but kept the hairstyle, while in another he kept the noodle body but had wavy hair, so it was quite simple to guess that your muscle form could simply do both!"
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I guess that most people associate transformations with animals due to Zoan Fruits, but there are Human-Human Fruits of different models that could change your appearance while still looking 100% human. I wouldn't know, the only person I know who can transform into a sort of human is a reindeer, so I can see how others couldn't make the connection, those Human Fruits are rare."
Naomasa wheezed in the background, but managed to compose himself to dig his grave deeper.
"That's with Zoans, but with Quirks, Transformation Quirks that simply make you buffer are quite common." he chortled. "In fact, All Might refuses to answer what his Quirk even is, so some people have theorized he transforms and doesn't want the public to know his true identity!"
"Yes, but most people think it's a simple Enhancement Quirk and All Might wants to make a mystery out of it for publicity, while also preventing people from idolatrizing anyone with a similar type of Quirk." he felt the need to defend himself. "And D, did you think that, as his secretary, I could possibly be a fan and styled my hair after his but have it down from not applying gel today? That's quite more probable than me being All Might powered down."
The girl visibly considered the possibility, obviously never having thought of that before. She leveled him with a thoughtful gaze, which quickly shifted to the still giggling Naomasa and back.
"Are you sure you are not All Might?" she asked, just to confirm. "Because currently I'm a Truth Woman, I copied the ability when Naomasa tore me off you before, so I will know if you're lying."
All Might visibly sweated and tried to think of a way to word it while still being true, but a quick hand sign from the detective let him know that what she had just said was a lie and suddenly he was filled with relief.
"Yes, I'm sure. I am not All Might."
He breathed a sigh inside, thanking his luck that it was finally over, only for the rascal to look at the True Man.
"Is what he said true? He's not All Might, even unaware?"
Before he could have a heart attack because his friend would certainly wince when telling the lie, he managed to effortlessly lie through omission.
"He's not unaware of being All Might." he said, having prepared his answer beforehand.
"But is he aware of being All Might then?" she asked, seeing the omission effortlessly.
"Is no Yagi he's not All Might unaware Toshinori aware of it not yes."
D looked at the True Man spouting nonsense in disbelief. Then, she snorted while he looked at his friend in confusion and growing worry that he just broke from trying to tell a lie for him. He didn't want to be the reason his friend had an aneurysm, his secret wasn't worth it.
"If you just say buzz words without meaning or structure, then it can't be a lie!" she deduced and Toshinori felt relief and embarrassment from that discovery. "So he is All Might!"
The detective sagged in exaggerated defeat while shaking his fist in mock rage, but he couldn't hold himself back anymore and began laughing again, which was quickly matched by D's own.
The Number 1 Hero awkwardly twiddled his thumbs and waited for an explanation, because he felt he was irradiating confusion and one of them would probably pick it up and explain. Or just before he asked they would predict the question, so he didn't really need to vocalize it. Still, after a minute of non-stop laughing, he felt he needed to summarize what he was feeling.
"What." he said in a flat tone, not even as a question, just a statement of bafflement.
D looked at him like she couldn't understand what he meant and Naomasa was amused at his words (or single one), so the man decided to explain.
"Toshinori… The second she said you were All Might, no matter what excuses we brought up, she would find out the truth because of my Quirk, through sheer bullheadedness or in a complete accident later on… So I just gave up and enjoyed you fumbling your way through denials." he giggled some more, "It was also as a test for you to see how good your cover story was, so I could later help you patch it up and make it more believable. But I must say, it's quite the solid one. I would personally add that you dye your hair blonde to look like All Might, and if someone copies your Quirk and buffs up, explain it's harmful while showing your wound so they don't use it and let them think you don't either."
All Might raised a hand to protest and say he could totally keep it a secret from D, but quickly realized that he would have to watch his words at all times around her because she could have a Truth Quirk at any moment without him knowing, so he lowered it, chastised.
"We could have tried a little harder," he added under his breath, feeling that his friend gave up too quickly. "And it's a stockpile quirk so people copying it doesn't do anything. I just say I'm quirkless or have a useless one when asked."
Naomasa nodded at that, giving his approval, while D made a noise of disappointment.
"Oh, I wanted to try it out for myself…"
"I don't think the city would survive your rampage." the True Man happily informed her.
"But I would have looked so cooool while doing it!" she whined.
All Might wisely decided that D would NOT be, under any circumstances, the ninth holder of One for All. The world just couldn't handle it.
(I feel like not being scared of crying is, ironically, a sign of emotional maturity, despite how people will call those who cry childlike, so a lot of characters will cry in this story.
Also, that All Might moment of incredulity followed by a smile happens more often than you think. Also, Izuku is still the ninth holder, because even I'm scared of what any D would do with supercharged Armament Haki in a world where no one has it. They are just that chaotic, and being in the body of a four-year-old isn't helping this particular D's case.)