He was All Might, but even he couldn't bring life to the dreary atmosphere to be had in th building; a stifling stillness broken only by the thump of heavyset footsteps coming from his own two feet as he continued unabated down the hall.

Even now after all these years, he could hear his teacher's voice echoing in the hallways; the words punctuated with sharp, crisp ridicule. "Toshinori, tardy! Again! This is ridiculous! Hurry up and get in the damn classroom." That, and the sound of his own feet shuffling along behind his teacher, like a lost puppy following its master to heel; scathing reprimands and sometimes cruel rhetorical mutterings directed at him on their way to the door. "Hurry up! Why won't that stupid brat ever listen?" or "what's wrong with this kid? Can't even keep track of time. I don't know what Nana saw in him…" and other equally bitter remarks.

It wasn't all bad though. In fact, when his teacher wasn't berating him for some perceived slight, he was almost pleasant to be around.

"Great work, kid! I knew you had it in you." The feel of his mentor's warm palm clapped firmly on his shoulder, a kind praise hard not to take pride in; especially from a man who'd always been fair in his criticisms. "Keep this up and well put to rights that bastard any day now. For Nana, and the whole damn world."

He allowed himself a brief moment to reminiscence on the worn memories. Those were all words that he would never get to hear again, and that knowledge made Yagi's heart ache greater than all of the pain in his body.

All Might stopped outside of one room and raised his fist to knock, but he hesitated. He knew why he wanted to do this: the safety of his successor was paramount. It mattered greatly to himself and everyone else who lived in Japan, even if they weren't truly aware as to the why of it.

There was something else as well, hidden deep in the recesses of his mind, buried beneath layers of pain and trauma. He tried hard not to think about it too much. It wasn't worth thinking about anymore. Everything was okay now, or at least as okay as they could possibly be.

His hand dropped to his side and he leaned back against the wall, letting out a rough, wheezing sigh.

It was difficult to be here, on this campus. It reminded him too much of how things used to be. How they once were before his debilitating injuries, before his forays into parenthood, and before Sorahiko… passed away. It had been years since the battle at the Kamino Reclamation Ward and yet, in some ways it seemed as though that night had only just ended.

The memory of seeing Sorahiko's broken body spattered across the concrete pavement in pieces haunted Toshinori to this very day. Every time he closed his eyes to sleep he could feel the cold wind whipping around him, smell that horrid stench of slick oil and chemicals burning as the district went to hell, and taste the sharp tang of copper in his mouth as he received blow after blow from All for One; saved from the worst of it only by Sorahiko's timely intervention. It was the sole reason All Might had been able to strike back—what had allowed him to defeat All for One and deal with the bitter aftermath.

Sorahiko's sacrifice was everything to him. Everything. Nothing could take that from him.

And yet, it was here at Yūei that Yagi Toshinori stood five years later ensuring that it hadn't been utterly meaningless.

All for One might have been dead, killed by All Might's own two very hands, but an ideology doesn't die with a single man. No, it lived on in the media it was recorded; in the progeny who carried it to adulthood; in each and every individual left marked by the bloodstained legacy the Symbol of Evil left on this word.

There was always going to be someone who held a grudge, always one who would look at All Might with hatred and loathing, a reminder of what he had done to them while they were helpless to stop him. As much rankled him down to the core to admit it, he and All for One were but two sides of the same coin in that regard: both were men who stood above everyone and everything.

It was no surprise then that the vultures were already circling. Upon his death, there would be nothing to stop them from swooping down to snatch away his—Yagi Toshinori 's—legacy before All Might's corpse had even grown cold. It haunted every waking moment of his short remaining life.

What would happen next?

The thought was almost enough to make All Might wish he hadn't attacked All for One that day. Not because he felt any guilt over taking his revenge, although the consequences of it certainly didn't go ignored, but because Toshinori was one person. Just one. A fallible mortal. If he died now, the smoldering ember of a bright future he had nurtured for half a decade would be dragged down with him.

All Might clenched his fist, and the Symbol of Peace vowed not to let such an injustice come to pass, in any form. And perhaps that was what kept Yagi Toshinori from falling apart. It gave him purpose; a direction.

They needed to keep moving forward.

Steeling his mind, he raised his fist to the door once more—only to find it open just as his knuckles were mere inches from lightly rapping the wooden surface.

"Come in, come in!"

It didn't matter how many times he's heard that greeting over the years, Toshinori would never grow used to the face behind it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mead to interrupt your work."

"Oh, no, not at all! You're always welcome here."

An animal sat at the desk at the end of the room, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of paper seemingly haphazardly arranged; further scattered amongst the surface were a plethora of textbooks and journals, some open, but most were closed. It looked up from whatever it was doing as Toshinori entered the room, and its face lit up in a inhuman smile; surely what it thought might have been comforting or warm. "Would you like some tea?" It propositioned, "freshly brewed, mind you. I find that drinking some helps when heavy thoughts weigh on my mind."

"No thank you," he gave an absent shake of his head. "There's no need to trouble yourself, Nezu. I know you're a busy individual and I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Nonsense!" Nezu waved his paw dismissively. "You're always welcome here." A small, knowing chuckle passed through his mouth. "Besides, I've been waiting for years to have this talk with you All Might." Black, beady eyes bored into Toshinori's own. "It can wait a few moments more."

‹ x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

‹ x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

It had been a little over ten or so minutes since he'd left Nezu's office, and since then, Yagi Toshinori found himself shifting from foot to foot in an anxious manner and situation eerily reminiscent of earlier; hands, folded nervously behind his back. He stood just beyond the room to the teacher's lounge, a closed door barring his way.

He glanced back at the empty hallway behind him once more before steeling his nerves and knocking politely on the imposing double-doors. Hardly a moment passed before he heard the rapid sound of footsteps approaching from behind the doorway, followed by a hoarse "enter!" before Toshinori gently pushed them aside and ushered himself into the room.

His gaze darted around the space, unable to focus on any particular piece of furniture or other decor for long. A sudden rustle caught his attention and he nearly jumped in surprise as Aizawa Shouta stepped forward from just behind the recently opened door. A yellow sleeping bag was clutched under one arm, and the exhausted looking man annoyed stared at him; it seemed to be Aizawa's default expression.

"Yagi," Aizawa nodded in recognition. "I didn't know you'd be here today."

"Ah, yes." Toshinori Yagi struggled to find his words for a moment. "I… it was uh, a bit last minute," he offered, hiding his nerves behind a polite smile. "I had needed to go over some paperwork with Nezu before I'm to be brought on board for the next semester. Once that was all done and taken care of, the principal suggested that I could join my future colleagues with the going over the examinations as a… learning experience." Underground heroes were something of a different beast than he normally had to deal with; unscrupulous some would say, and villains, others. They as a whole certainly tended to toe the line wherever it came to the law more often than not, Yagi was aware. And they seemed to have a certain predilection for sniffing out things that people would rather be left buried.

Thankfully, Toshinori had been in the business of hiding things for most of his life, from individuals far more discerning than Eraserhead. He'd become rather keep at keeping secrets out of necessity. That All for One was the first to be put in a grave, rather than Toshinori himself, was proof enough of that fact. Ah. The incidents with Midoriya not withstanding.

Aizawa grunted noncommittally before turning on his heel and walking straight for the nearest sofa. "Make yourself comfortable while you're here then, but don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary. I'll be taking a nap." A mere scant few seconds later he flopped down, resting against a pillow he'd pulled from somewhere, and his eyes slid shut almost immediately.

Yagi Toshinori watched him for several more seconds before turning away. He'd been expecting far less pleasant than that short encounter. Perhaps in this case, it was a good thing to be disappointed. As he made his way further in to the room, he was greeted by the sight of another two dozen individuals already seated at the long table centered in the room or elsewhere, doing one thing or another; all of them hard at work.

It was interesting to note that some of them wore casual clothing as opposed to their hero costumes and seemed to gravitate around each other, while others appeared to be dressed in their full getup and set themselves up in groups just the same. None of them turned to look up when Toshinori closed the distance, instead continuing to silently sip at their drinks and turn over paper after paper or type away at a small personal computers and tablets, very rarely did he see anyone on a phone or with their head in a book; of those latter few, counted only three.

"Ahem." Toshinori cleared his throat as loud as he dared, moving toward an empty seat opposite of the doors he'd come through. "Excuse me, is anyone seated here?"

For th first time since he'd entered the room, heads lifted up from their work, and everyone seemed to glance toward him simultaneously. There was a brief pause where only the quiet murmurings of conversation could be heard. Then a woman next to the seat he pointed out set down her thermos upon the table and turned her head slowly to face him. Her eyes trailed languidly over his form, settling on his face before long.

"Well, hello there!" Her expression broke out into a lazy grin as she called out cheerfully. "You're a new face."

"Oh. Uh, er... hello."

"You must be the infamous Toshinori Yagi that Nezu keeps bringing up,"she commented casually, leaning an elbow atop the table and resting her chin upon the palm of her hand. She eyed him curiously. "Am I right?"

Toshinori shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "Yes, I suppose you are." The infamous Yagi Toshinori? Just what exactly had Nezu been saying about him, and why?

"What brings you here today then?" she asked, but continued without waiting for an answer. She gestured to the vacant chair. "Have a seat! Don't mind the mess. We're all about to head out for the practical exams, so you came at a bit of an awkward time y'know. Hizashi should be finishing up with the theatrics sometime soon."

"That's… I see. I apologize," Toshinori began as he took the proffered seat, hiding the wince of pain the action caused with practiced ease. "I was actually supposed to be assisting you all with the examination grading today. That is, if you'll have me anyway." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Now, now. Why wouldn't we? We're going to need all the help we can get! So, no weaseling out of it now." She chuckled lightly, smiling in a blatantly lascivious manner. "You're going to love us, Toshi, I promise!"

"Nemuri," Aizawa cut in out of the blue, practically spitting the name. "Please refrain from: one, sexually harassing new faculty members; two, talking so damn loud. Even Hizashi isn't immune to your screeching."

Toshinori noticed her face minutely fall, but apparently It wasn't enough to deter her from giving him a wink. "Oh, Aizawa!" she sang in a sing-song voice. "You're just jealous that Toshi here is hogging all my attention, aren't you?" she teased, wiggling her eyebrows. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you some extra special one-on-on time with me later."

Toshinori could help it. He let out a single rasping, wheezing laugh.

"Mhm," Aizawa deadpanned. "Get back to work already." She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry, to which he did not respond.

And with that, things settled back down. Nemuri turned her attention entirely back to Toshinori once again. "Anyways, what were you saying? Oh! Well, I guess we should start today with a round of introductions, huh?" She put a finger to her bottom lip. "I'm sure I don't need to introduce that guy over there doing his best impression of a caterpillar; he's a grumpy old coot anyway." Nemuri made a show of thinking it over, biting her lips and looking around the room, and up and down the table. "You sort of heard it already, but I'm Kayama Nemuri, otherwise known as Midnight: the R-Rated Hero! Wait a second, ehe—that was backward." She shook her head. "Anyway! That over there is Vlad. He teaches the heroics class 1-B, and that one over there is—"

The next half an hour was spent in this matter, with Toshinori listening to Nemuri's lively speech as she listed off the names of each and every person currently in the lounge. From there on afterward, she dragged him into the fray, asking him a battery of various questions: "how was your holiday;" "what's your favorite type of cereal;" "do you have any pets?" and more. He managed to turn the table on her once, asking her what swayed her of all people to become a teacher.

She'd looked strangely at him for a moment before breaking into laughter and nearly spilling her drink—coffee, he'd found out—across the table. "What, you mean other than the stable pay or the fact that it gives people ideas?" Another fit of giggles and she continued, answering with a wide smile. "I like kids. It's great! Kids always think of me as an authority figure and I never really understand how they do it, but they seem to think I'm someone worth listening to! So, I figured I might as well try and help stop them from making the same mistakes I did, and all that other cheesy stuff y'know. They gave me a chance—it's more than most did."

All in all, meeting his colleagues went rather smoothly. By the time he'd just truly started getting comfortable and began trading words and questions alike with more than just Nemuri, however, the set of double-doors had opened once more and a short, fuzzy creature stepped on through.

"Excuse me everyone, but I do believe it's time for us all to play our parts today, no?" Nezu's voice came out a bizarre mixture of gleeful and stern. As though on cue, the entire room began immediately began moving, everyone stood up and filed their way out of the door.

"Right away, Principal Nezu."

"I'll go check on the robots one last time."

"Me too!"

"See you guys later."

"Fifteen-hundred yen on Aizawa expelling his class again!"

Toshinori raised a brow at the last comment and then rose from his seat. He glanced about the room once final time before following everyone else out the doors. Then, Nezu motioned toward him specifically, and Toshinori started making his way up front as they walked down the hallway, people splitting off at junctions and staircases or elevators.

His legs, heart, and single lung burned from the exertion.

"Thank you for joining us today, Yagi. I hope that it has been a pleasant experience thus far."

I—yes, it uh… has been… enjoyable," Toshinori stumbled over his words, caught on the backfoot at the question thrown at him as soon as he joined the forepart of the throng. "Thank you for allowing me to participate in the exam as well, Principal Nezu. My sincere apologies if my presence causes any inconvenience to your students or your staff during the assessment or afterward, though I'll be doing my best to stay out of the way."

"Good! I'm glad yo hear it. And nonsense, nonsense," the principle waved off dismissively. "If anything, I think we've gotten lucky with these exams in regards to your attendance! Today is a passing on of the torches in a way, yes? And the more hands the better for all involved." His beady eyes sparkled almost merrily as he turned his head to glance at Toshinori. "Although some torches I find, don't burn as… bright… as others," he appeared to muse thoughtfully, and then smiled broadly at him. "I would think that with your time amongst the brightest of them all, as one of All Might's closest confidants and associates after Sir Nighteye, that you could be utilized to discern the most promising among them from the… not so promising!" He laughed good-naturedly while waving his arm back and forth, as if swatting away something pesky. "Wouldn't you agree?"

In that moment, he was more All Might, the Symbol of Peace, than he was Yagi Tonshinori, and a look crossed his face that he hoped Nezu could see. Every conversation with this creature was an exercise in patience and restraint; one where each word and action had to be deliberate and calculated, lest he slip up and be played for the fool, if not worse. It was maddening how Nezu could tell when it struck a sensitive spot with its words, when it was pushing his buttons right, and when it was trying to make him uncomfortable by using his past against him.

"Certainly," he began, "some torches do burn brighter than others, even without any assistance on our part. But if I may, Principal Nezu…" he paused, taking a breath, choosing his next words carefully. ""There is at least one torch who burns with even greater fervor than you seem to believe in. I am afraid I must disagree with the notion that we can simply disregard individuals as unworthy candidates before they've even ever had the opportunity to prove themselves to us and the world at large. There is simply no way such practice could possibly be considered good in the long run." His gaze trailed off slightly, his thoughts traveling along with it.

One for All.

If it was a torch, it was currently a very weak one in the hands of Midoriya indeed; a sharp contrast to the roaring inferno All Might had been in his own youth. But perhaps it didn't matter—the Symbol of Peace had already chosen to pass on his quirk. Or, was it the quirk that chose the boy? Either way. It was impossible to reverse that decision.

It took him a second longer before he continued, heedless of the stares of those around him.

"Is it not this fine institution's responsibility to nurture those would-be heroes where the world would sooner snuff out their flames? To encourage and support them, provide for and protect them, give them the chance to shine and to make sure that they can grow as far as humanly possible—and go beyond plus ultra?"

He could feel Nezu's stare boring through the side of his face, and so he turned back to look at him as they walked. "A school founded primarily for the Quirked youth when they were still being persecuted and press-ganged into conscription certainly does have a duty in at least helping educate those same young people even centuries later, doesn't it? It would be the height of irony otherwise if you were to ignore that obligation now," Toshinori concluded quietly.

"Of course," Nezu nodded slowly, mulling over his words before speaking again. "That is precisely the purpose of Yūei: teaching young minds to reach even greater heights." He let out another chuckle."You know what they say," Nezu started, "If you play with fire, you're going to get burned. Or was it something else?" he shrugged. "You humans and your silly idioms; all the same, and a source of amusement regardless! But in this case it might stand true if only because there are times, perhaps, where the brighter the torch, the greater the risk of setting oneself ablaze."

In the end, Toshinori was left bewildered and unsure if the principal and he had really disagreed at all. But before he could ask, Nezu spoke, bringing everything back around to where it should have been: the examination.

"Now, let's move on to the practical portion of the test."

They took at turn down the hallway and passed through a large set of double-doors, leading straight into another corridor.

"You will find that most of you have already received dossiers on the notable candidates participating today, however, a full list remains accessible in the school's database for your perusal once we arrive to the observation deck. Oh! Yagi, you've been granted provisional access as well for the time being. I trust that is agreeable?"

"I—"

Nezu shamelessly clapped his paws together, not allowing him the dignity of a response. "Splendid! Now, the robots. This year, they will be the first hurdle for any potential candidate. They divided into tiers, with each tier being worth progressively more, pending the either the destruction or incapacitation of the unit. Please take a look at the papers in your hands for further details. Onto the second hurdle then! Rescue points—"

The principal of Yūei proceeded to lead them along, chatting amicably amongst everyone still present. It didn't take Nezu long to concisely explain every aspect of the examination, and by the end of it Toshinori was convinced that it had been primarily for his benefit rather than anyone else given the disinterest of the people around them; he made note to thank him for that in private later.

The talkative creature paused briefly at one of the glass panes that made up the walls of the outer hallways, peering carefully out at whatever lay beyond before turning and continuing on.

"Yagi," the quirked animal spoke quietly. "I believe you may have misplaced something important of yours."

"Huh?"

Toshinori stopped in place as he stared dumbfounded at Nezu. He was pretty sure that he had everything important with him at the moment, but how would the principal know otherwise anyway? Still, he quickly scanned his surroundings; quick glance to the floor ensured he hadn't dropped anything in the immediate vicinity. He checked his pockets next: wallet; keys; phone. They were all right where they should have been.

Then what was…?

Before he could continue any further with that line of thought, a furry paw tapped against the glass thrice in quick succession. Pointing toward something. Something… outside!

Toshinori moved to the pane of glass and looked down, following Nezu's pointed index (or whatever amounted to one for him) and saw a flash of—viridian—lightning streaking through the sky. He blinked; his heart skipped a beat, what little remained of his stomach did flips, and the remaining, crippled lung he had constricted painfully. It left nothing but a dry heave to follow instead of the words he wanted to say as he watched the familiar, small figure descend onto the outer walls of the campus.

His breath eased as he saw it land safely on ledge, not that there was any doubt of course, but he couldn't help it when it came to his protege! Then his heart skipped one painful beat after the next as the figure blurred into the air again, leaping beyond the campus walls and out of his sight. "Izuku!" Toshinori couldn't help but hoarsely exclaim, no more than the vaguest of whispers. "Where—"

"Okay everyone, let's keep moving, shall we? I believe the first two groups have just made it to the examination site. For shame, we're running behind!"

Toshinori couldn't care less than he did about any of that in this moment, and instead pulled out his phone. He glanced up at his fellows as they passed him by, following along behind Nezu as he lead them away. "Please, excuse me everyone. I'll only be a moment," he murmured hurriedly, stepping apart from the group; watched only by one of them: Aizawa. Toshinori looked hesitantly at Aizawa, who merely raised an unamused eyebrow before skulking along with everyone else. Now far off into the distance.

He took the chance to further move away then, rounding a corner and then another after that. He found a staircase and began traveling down it, dialing Izuku's number repeatedly all the while.

It rung once, twice, three times. It rung some more, and then it stopped. There was no answer. He tried again, and received the same outcome. Again, again, and again.

Yagi Toshinori groaned. Nobody told him that raising a teenager would be so—so difficult!

The familiar old feeling of drawing from a well deep within him swept across his body, only the well had run dry years ago; now all that was left were the dregs, and it was painful beyond words to bring it to the surface, but Toshinori persevered. He felt the indescribable burning as his body was forced to take a shape no longer his, growing heavier and his muscles tensing up, bulging. His mind became clearer, the world grew into focus and became so much more alive.

The pain receded gradually. And then, it didn't even hurt anymore. Nothing hurt anymore.

He took a breath a fresh air, and it felt great. Addictive even. He felt so much more confident than he had remembered feeling in the hours since he'd last done this. Like there was a part of him that he had forgotten about every time he let this power go, and now it was reawakened.

He stretched his limbs like as if minutes ago, he hadn't been limping along trying to even keep pace with the stubby little manipulative creature parading itself as a principal. He laughed aloud, a low bellow unlike that pathetic thing he had produced in the lounge earlier; it rang out like a cry of triumph, loud and clear and echoing throughout the empty halls.

With renewed vigor he lifted a hand and clenched it into a fist, watching the muscles contract and flex under his skin.

He stood straight, and he smiled.

Yagi Toshinori was All Might, and he took a bounding step down the remaining stairs, then another, and before he knew it he was outside of the building moving in the last known direction of his wayward successor; the one thing which would always come first before all else.

It was all he could do to make the best of a horrible situation.

He was All Might, the Symbol of Peace, and if he came across as being too pushy when he brought back the unruly Ninth, well…

… there were worse things than being called overbearing, weren't there?

And

out

of

sight

what

remained

of

Yagi Toshinori

bled

just

a

little

more

into

the

Eighth Vestige