"What? How much yen?"

With a click of her tongue, Bokuzou Shuuko put the overpriced bouquet back in its place, the shopping basket hanging from her arm suddenly feeling just a bit heavier. "At this rate, I'll have nothing for me, let alone the boss." she hissed to herself.

She knew that the world of journalism was a cutthroat field, especially for a new graduate. However, this was just ridiculous, working for more hours than sleeping for just enough money to scrape by. If she didn't love this field with her whole heart, she would have quit by now, but at this rate, she just might have to, anyway.

And now, on top of everything, her boss was hurt and workplace damaged because some psycho U.A. kid was careless fighting villains with his friends.

Bokuzou huffed, grabbing the cheapest flowers on the rack and gently placing them in her basket. It was a miracle that the boy hadn't been expelled yet, considering his violent tendencies and the display he made of himself at the Sports Festival. It amazed her, how he could still be so reckless with people's lives after what happened to...

To...to All Might.

Perhaps she was bitter. He was her hero, after all.

With a heavy heart, she browsed through the produce, looking over an apple for bruises in hopes of finding something edible with her measly salary.

"Excuse me, ma'am,"

She jumped, spinning around to find a tall man standing over her. Shaggy blonde waves cascaded from his hat, hiding his scrawny face covered by sunglasses and a mask. Bokuzou's hackles were up, not out of fear, but because of the man's hidden identity. As a reporter, those sorts of things always jumped out at her.

"Which brand of apples would you say is the best? I happened upon a lovely apple pie recipe that I've been meaning to try. Lots of free time these days."

Bokuzou chuckled nervously. "Um, I'm not the right person to ask. I think they're all good."

The man hummed, slowly looking over his options with a plastic bag already in hand. Bokuzou quickly slid closer to him. "Any reasons for this 'more time on your hands'? Forgive me for prying."

"Oh, not at all!" the man laughed. "I'm recently retired, you see. A work injury of sorts."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that, Mr..., um,"

"Yagi." he said, a smile in his voice.

"Mr. Yagi. I'm Bokuzou Shuuko."

"A pleasure to meet you, young lady."

Mr. Yagi hummed in contemplation, looking over her basket. "Is the bouquet for someone special?"

"What? Oh, no." she waved off. "It's for my boss. He was injured in the last villain attack."

Mr. Yagi was quiet for a moment. "The one with the students."

"That's the one." she huffed. "That U.A. Psycho Kid managed to blow a hole in our station and nearly crushed him. Honestly, how is someone like that in the hero course in the first place?"

Mr. Yagi stiffened sharply at that, shoulders rigid and hands balled into fists. "Have you met the boy?"

His tone threw her off more than anything, even with his guarded posture, and Bokuzou couldn't help but wonder if she'd struck a sore spot.

Or, she'd discovered a new scoop.

"Have you?" she asked curiously. "I've only heard stories, but they sure aren't good."

Mr. Yagi chuckled. "I see. Well, I have met that young man, and let me tell you. He is one of the most dedicated heroes-in-training that I've ever seen."

"Really?" she snorted. "Because even All Might made an example out of him at the sports festival. He looked like a rabid animal."

Mr. Yagi went...unbelievably still, his outstretched hand shaking at her words, but it went unnoticed. "And sure enough, villains one after another come crawling after him! They see it! All Might saw it! Other heroes have seen it! How have U.A. and his homeroom teacher not seen it!?"

There was something building in her chest, a frustration and terror that she'd buried deep inside ever since she'd watched the fall of All Might on live TV. Her two-year-old nephew had been on her living room carpet, playing with his blocks as if everything was right with the world and the man that had saved his dear aunt and her family wasn't a shriveled remnant of what he once was.

"He saved me, All Might did." she choked. "When I was little, my family and I were almost burned alive, but All Might saved us. He's my hero, always will be, and to see him-... To see him reduced to that!"

All for...

"All for one boy!" she cried, only then realizing that tears were flooding down her cheeks. "All for a brat that didn't deserve it! All for nothing!"

"For a child."

Bokuzou startled, suddenly far too self-conscious of her state and the people around her. Staring up at Mr. Yagi with wide, watery eyes, she was stunned to find warm, familiar blue eyes staring back at her in sympathy.

"He did it for a child who needed his help. You must understand."

Bokuzou's lips wobbled, blinking up at the eyes that had given her hope all those years ago. "All Might?" her quiet voice warbled.

He opened his arms, and Bokuzou was seven years old again, throwing herself into her hero's arms with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry." she whimpered. "You didn't deserve any of this."

"I made my choice." he said simply.

The two stood in silence, Bokuzou hugging her hero while he rubbed circles in her back. She ignored the people around them, passing by the odd pair and their sentimental moment in front of an apple stand in a random grocery store in the middle of Musutafu.

"Do you think it was worth it?"

All Might startled. Bokuzou swallowed thickly. "Saving him, in exchange for your power. Do you think it was worth it?"

There was barely any hesitation in his voice as they parted. "For the future?" he inquired, a soft, yet dazzling smile on his face. "Yes, I think it was."

His smile was bright, like the sun itself as he looked off at an unknown horizon. "I made a gamble on society's future, two gambles, actually, and I think they're paying off as we speak. That boy will be one of the greatest heroes of his generation, if not of all time."

Bokuzou sniffled. "I don't see it, but..."

"Not yet." he assured her. "You will someday, and I will look forward to it."

She nodded.

She trusted her hero, after all.

"A child."

With a heavy sigh, Yagi Toshinori pushed his way into the near-empty gym. Explosions rang through the room like loud, chiming bells announcing the entrance of a king. Yagi didn't know whether to laugh or cry as the boy of the hour landed in front of him with a scowl.

"What do you want?" he spat.

Yagi smiled sadly. "I was hoping we could train."

Young Bakugou peered behind Yagi with a raised eyebrow. "The nerd's not here, and we don't normally train today, anyway."

Something in Yagi's heart cracked, but he pushed down the guilt for the time being. "No, young Bakugou. I was hoping to train with just you."

The ash blonde's brows shot up in surprise, his silence deafening in a room once filled with noise just a moment ago. Young Bakugou tched, turning on his heel and stomping back towards the training area. "Fine, whatever."

Yagi followed, a sad smile on his face as images of chains and jeering crowds flashed before his eyes. "Oh, and young Bakugou."

The boy turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a deep frown, and Yagi, for a moment, already felt a little lighter. "There's something I've been meaning to say to you."