I don't own One Punch Man, nor do I own My Hero Academia. Each Franchise i owned by their respective owner..
ENJOY!
...
Izuku can feel the throb in his ankle as he brought himself across the school hall, heading into the infirmary room. As he reached the destination, he knocked on the door, "Umm, Recovery Girl-san?"
The door was opened, revealing an old, yet petite woman greeting him from the other side of the door, "Young Midoriya?"
"Um, I had a.."
"Faulty training?" Recovery Girl shook her head, "Figured as much."
"Yeah, I- I think I dislocated my ankle when I ran across the Gym Gamma."
"Come on in then." Recovery Girl gestured for the boy to sit at the provided bed near the corner. As Izuku sat there, Recovery Girl asked, "It's unusual for you to get injured like this. You don't even come here as often as the others."
"Well..." Izuku rubbed his head sheepishly, "I must've gotten rusty."
Recovery Girl clicked her tongue, "Possibly." She said as she handed him over a small packaging of a gum, "Here. It's for your stamina."
Izuku took a bite from the gum, as he said, "Thanks, ma'am, you're..a life saver."
"Don't mention it. Now hold still." Recovery Girl leaned forward and planted a kiss on Midoriya's forehead, and his dislocated ankle sprung forward, emitting a rattling noise, before returning to it's default state, "There you go."
Izuku bowed his head, "Thank you very much, Recovery Girl-san."
Recovery Girl nodded, "Don't sweat it." She said. Izuku smiled, as he stood up to go to the exit door, but she halted him from doing so, "Wait. Just a moment. I need to ask you..something."
Izuku raised his brow, but complied anyway. He sat back on the bed, and she went and sat besides the boy, "You know, I haven't seen that mentor of yours recently."
"Hm?"
"I mean, I don't mean to pry, of course," Recovery Girl shook her head as she continued, "He's usually active at this hour."
"Ah. That." Izuku said as his expression shifted into something unrecognisable.
"Oh. You know something, do you?"
"Sensei..has been acting weird lately." Izuku simply said as he began to tell her.
Izuku strolled through the Dormitory's living room, and as he did so, he saw his Sensei staring at the window on the corner, seemingly submerged in his own trail of thoughts.
He decided to take the initiative to speak to him, "Sensei?"
"Ah!" Yagi quickly whipped his head to Izuku, "You. Err.. how's things, with, the daily exams?"
"I aced it, Sensei." Izuku simply replied, "The test was nothing short of a piece of cake."
Yagi's lips quirked, "Heh. What a confidence. You know, back then, I couldn't ace exams as much as you do."
"Not everyone is well versed in the academic field, Sensei." Izuku said.
Yagi turned back to the window, "I guess so."
...
Izuku then took the silence as an opportunity to ask, "Sensei, is there something wrong?"
"Nah, why would there be?"
"I don't know, you haven't been in class for a few days, you don't speak a lot like you used to, and.." Izuku decided to stop, "I don't mean to pry, but that isn't like you at all, Sensei."
"Nothing to worry about," Yagi lifted a thumbs up, "Sometimes, people gotta reflect on themselves, and when they do, they don't usually talk a lot."
"Talking is the least of the problems, Sensei." Izuku affirmed.
Yagi sighed, "Don't worry about it, Izuku. I'm fine. Really."
"So that's how it feels like." Izuku remarked, leading Yagi to raise his brow. The boy waved a dismissive hand gesture, "Well, if you insist, Sensei. Just remember though, if you really need to get something off your chest, I'll be there."
"Y- yeah," Yagi stuttered a bit, but Izuku didn't bother to ask why, "Sure. Thanks, kiddo."
...
"I see." Recovery Girl took note of the things that Izuku just told her, "I'll see if I can confront him about whatever issue he's having right now."
Izuku replied, "Could be something that has to do with Aizawa's absence."
"Hm?"
"Sensei has a suspicion regarding Aizawa, who, supposedly, was on a 'vacation'. But he doesn't seem like the type of person who would go to a vacation at the expense of his obligation as a teacher." Izuku replied.
Recovery Girl nodded, "You're right. That doesn't sound like him at all."
She stood up, "Welp. That concludes my question. Thanks a heap, kid. Your teacher must've been waiting for you, so get on it." She waved him away.
"Right away!" Izuku said as he head towards the exit door. As he closed it, he took a stroll across the hallway, and all that's on his mind,
Sensei, what happened to you?
Then, he remembered the emergence of his apparent future-self's heart, and all the memories that it supposedly given him.
Oh well.
...
Kishimoto clasped his hands together, looking at his co-workers in utter disdain, "Well, well, well, look at what's out of the bag."
A man with a refined blond hair and a pair of glass leaned forward, "Do you have any objection concerning our decision to get Sitch off of our organisation?"
"Yes, for one," Kishimoto then continued with a hand gesture, "Sitch is the only person with the counteract measure to repel the 'Divine Level Threat' prophecy."
"That fallible prophecy?" He laughed, "Nothing has happened for the past ten months. It's obsolete. Could be the work of a faulty quirk, which, as we can guess, bears no gratifying result."
"You don't understand, Mccoy. The prophecy explicitly mentioned that whatever disaster is to come, it will happen within a year."
"Two months left then," Mccoy smirked, "It's not of our concern for the time being."
"Not our- Do you even know the severety of your decision?!"
"I'm well aware," Mccoy said, "However, the principle that we live by in the first place isn't to ensure the welfare of the general populace, isn't it? It's always been about the methods that we use to fill our vacant pockets with any means necessary. Preventing something as obsolete as a ten month old prophecy with no further clarity from the clairvoyant user herself, who is, mind you, dead, isn't something that would benefit us, or the heroes in general."
"Then, what do you plan to do?!"
Mccoy's lips bent upwards in a mischievous fashion, "I'm stepping up as a director to fill in Sitch's shoes."
Kishimoto clenched his teeth, "Y- you..you fucking-"
"Careful there. I don't think profanities is well suited for a professional such as yourself." Mccoy said in a taunting manner, "You've got a lot to work on with that attitude of yours."
"You little.." He was about to move, however, two securities supervising the meeting came to his side, holding him by his forearms, "Let go!"
"You know, I've been thinking," Mccoy's eyes squinted, "What if I force you to resign as well?"
"You wouldn't dare!" Kishimoto bared his teeth, "I've nurtured this industry alongside the boss for decades! I-"
"You've nurtured jackshit lately." Mccoy interjected, "Metal Knight was the only pillar that you kept clutching to, and now that he's gone, you, and your incompetent, pathetic excuse for a boss scrambled for any means necessary to maintain the stability of this industry, including involving a villain into the play and, quite possibly, put our organisation in jeopardy. And don't get me started on the embarrassing growth rate of aspiring pro-heroes every year. Just look at the statistics. New heroes aren't as rampant like it used to before Metal Knight vanished without a trace. They plummet, just like your credibility and competency."
Kishimoto was about to say something against his accusations, however, he couldn't muster to express his thoughts.
Unfortunately.
"You don't have anything to say. How dazzling." Mccoy waved them away, "Escort him. He and Sitch are legally blacklisted from The Hero Public Safety Commission."
"B- Blacklisted?!" Kishimoto yelled, as he was forcefully taken away from the meeting table, "Hey! T- take that back! You won't get away with this! You hear me?! I'll -"
However, the door was shut before he could finish the rest of his sentence.
"Babbling apes will always be babbling apes." Mccoy said as he rested his chin on his knuckle, "Now, may I appoint for us a new vice director?"
...
King wasn't the type to be out-going, unlike many other heroes. He was the type of guy to keep himself behind closed walls, far from the reach of conferences, masses, and fans alike. He didn't have the means to keep up this facade if he remained social and exposed. A solitary lifestyle is what he chose to abide by. Not that it's doing him any favours right now.
'The Strongman King', 'The Hero of Heroes', 'The Impenetrable Barrier Between The Good-Willed And The Villains', heh, what a bunch of made-up titles deriving from his non-existent achievements. His quirk didn't do shit to his career as a hero. He could say that he was still a coward like he was back in his highschool days.
'A Guy With A Truckload of Shitty Lucks' is the best way to describe him.
Fuck.
As he pressed the pause button, he looked to his behind, trying to reach for the cup of tea that he just made...
Only to see someone sitting behind him, wearing a sweater with red around his shoulder parts and white below it as it's colour scheme, the words 'Oppai' plastered all over his abdominal area.
"W- what the-?!" King fell on his buttocks, his eyes widen at the sight of the man in front of him, "W- who-?!"
"Yo, King." The man said in a tone of acknowledgement, "Been a while, isn't it."
Wait.
"Yagi?" King uttered the name like he was calling out to a ghost, "Y- you're back in town?"
Yagi scratched his head, "You didn't know?"
"Of course I didn't!"
"What is it with everyone and their obliviousness to my presence in this city?" Yagi's eyes twitched comically, "Though, it's kinda my bad. I didn't reach out to you guy the first time I got here."
King, now relaxing, said, "You could've just knocked. Could've sworn you were a ghost. Glad to see you here, though.."
"Heh, maybe. Glad to see you too, Tsuyoi." Yagi then shifted to his side, "Mind if I sit here?"
"Err, sure."
"What games are you playing?" Yagi asked.
"Dunno, just your ordinary dating sim. Don't as-"
"Dating sim?" Yagi raised his brow.
"-sk why." King finished at the same time, then, silence reigned them both for a few good moments.
"Oh, no, if you thought I was going to belittle you over something as trivial as this," Yagi waved dismissively, "Nah. Everyone has their own ideal pastimes. I water cactus for a living, so."
King shrugged, "Eh, not really a pastime. At least, not in the sense that it's enjoyable. Might've been one of my favourite genre of games back then, but nowadays? I find them tedious."
"So why are you playing it then?"
"Distractions." King said.
Yagi's snorted as he leaned backwards, both his hands acting as a support, "Hoo, is that what this is about then?"
"Huh?"
"You got lonely."
"More than that."
"I know." Yagi said, "Something to do with hero work, right?"
King sighed, "Yeah."
"And the fact that you mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the raid." Yagi concluded.
"Ye- wait, what?" King raised his brow.
Yagi laughed, "I might be dense, but I know more than enough to conclude that something shady is happening with you."
"Shady?"
"Yeah, I mean, 'The Strongest Man In The World'?" Yagi grinned.
"Not the best title that they came up with, trust me, there's more that sounds even more ridiculous." King threw his hands in the air, "Some even said that I went to the moon and used it as a punching bag."
Yagi pointed at him, "Now that sounds ludicrous."
"Far-fetched, even." King said, "I tried my best to tell them that whatever they're saying is not true, but they just wouldn't listen. They keep me high on a pedestal without taking into account the burden that comes with it."
"I get it." Yagi kept his eyes peeled on the game's paused screen.
...
"Yagi, I don't mean to sound rude," King then asked, "But why are you here now? Kinda unethical to come here unannounced, especially when we aren't in contact anymore."
"Well," Yagi picked his ear, "You have the most experience with dating and stuff, so."
"'Dating and stuff'? And what experience? You're talking about the whole thing with me and 'dating sims'?"
"I mean, it's better than nothing, right?"
King looked at him suspiciously, "... It's deeper than that, isn't it?"
Yagi raised his brow, but then, his expression dropped, "Just looking for old contacts, to rekindle some things."
"..I understand." King then returned his gaze on the screen, "A lot has happened to you, huh?"
Yagi snorted, "That's an understatement."
"Did you meet..eerr, I don't mean to sound insensitive, but, did you meet T.. em, you know who?" King asked.
Yagi visibly flinched, but responded regardless, "Briefly."
"Oh." King muttered. He won't ask what happened, though. That just sounds plain nosy.
After another long moment of silence, Yagi broke it, "Sorry, y'know, for leaving you all back then."
King's eyes widened slightly, though he didn't seem to be bothered that much.
"I was kinda bummed when you said you were moving cities, even more-so when you changed your number," King shrugged, "But the past is the past. It's cool."
"No, really, sorry," Yagi said.
"It's cool."
"It really isn't."
"Oh, for Christ's sakes," King tilted his head to Yagi, "Something is definitely bothering you."
"I was just apologising."
"Twice in a row?" King chuckled, "You're not really good at being covert. Go on."
"Go on what?"
"Talk."
"About?"
King sighed in an exasperating manner, "You know what about, don't act dumb."
Yagi raised his brow, although, King seemed to see through his charade, "No, really, King, I'm fine. I was just, you know, settling the issue with whatever pain I might've inflicted on you-"
"Look, I was bummed, but nowhere did I say I was 'hurt'." King scoffed, "Why would I? It's your choice."
"And something about 'dating and stuff'? I can already see the issue coming from a mile." King gestured for him to talk, "So go ahead. Get it off your chest. I might not be the best of listeners, but we'll make do."
"It's not something that you should trouble yourself over," Yagi said, "I'm here for a social visit, nothing else."
"Social visit or not, doesn't explain your whole gloomy demeanour the moment you appeared right behind me." King said.
Yagi considered for a moment, looking at the ground.
Was it really wise and ethical for him to confide in the person that he just abandoned for, give or take, twenty years?
"I'm not pushing you of course," King said, "Just saying, better let it off to someone you trust rather than bottling it all up over virtually nothing."
Yagi pats him on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."
King looked at him for a moment, before returning his gaze to the television, "It's up to you."
Yagi looked back and forth, switching gaze from between King and the window, overlooking the city ahead. Then, he saw a silhouette of a creature, the picture of it was unclear, yet he could see that it was headed straight to-
The creature rammed itself through the apartment's windows, it's sharpened beak directed towards the meek, scarred hero sitting besides Yagi.
Before King could react, however, all went black in an instant.
...
"Yo, King, you alright?"
King slowly regained his composure, his eyes opening as he could see the light tunneling through his vision. The creature from before was subdued by a mere, half-effort grip of Yagi's fingers.
"Y- yes," King responded, wiping the dust off his cheeks, "W- what just happened?!"
"Dunno," Yagi shrugged as he looked back to the anomaly creature posing as an enormous bird, "Seems like it decided to attack us out of nowhere. For sports, I assume."
The bird wrestled to break free from the hero's grip, jerking it's beak left and right in order for Yagi to loosen his grip.
However, Yagi's stance was sturdy and strong.
Yagi then turned his head over to King, "You should probably get out of here and let me handle the rest. Seems like this monster won't give in without a fight."
"Don't you think..I should help?"
Yagi chuckled, "I mean, if you really want to."
Before they could utter another words to one another, the creature's eyes beamed with green radiance, as a foreign voice spoke from it as if it was it's vessel, "Greetings."
"And it speaks." Yagi remarked, "Another one of the Monster Association's leftovers?"
"Ah, as I have precisely expected," The monster said, "This is where you live, isn't it, All Might?"
"Uh," Yagi awkwardly stared at the monster, "That's a new one. Where'd you get that idea from?"
"The strongest man in the world, isn't it!? My master has told me lots about you!"
"So, you just did a quick surf on the internet and," Yagi raised his brow, "I don't know if you're daft, or if you've been living under a rock, but aren't we past the sentiment of me being 'the strongest man in the world'?"
"What do you mean you aren't?!" The monster screamed, "I've heard tales, legends from you among the monster folks!"
Yagi tapped the floor with his foot, "So you don't know?"
"Know what?!"
Yagi pointed at him, "I don't know if you've realised, but you got the wrong house dude."
"But how?!" The monster screamed, "My folks told me that you ARE the strongest man-"
"In your perspective-"
"But that doesn't make sense! The world should recognise you by now-"
Yagi quickly clamped the beak together to prevent the monster from rambling even further, before turning his head towards King, "I'm assuming this is a regular occurrence for you?"
King nodded, "I guess. Reputation kinda drags you down at times."
"Nah, reputation's got nothing to do with it." Yagi turned his attention back to the monster, "At least, not to the monsters."
"What do you mean?"
"Just that you're not the target of their malice," Yagi replied, "They're only mixing you for someone else."
"In other words.."
"You got it." Yagi nodded.
King placed his hand on his forehead, "Man, I really have a streak of bad luck, don't I?"
Yagi looked at King for a moment, before returning his gaze on the monster, loosening his grip, "Alright, you can speak now, mister loud-mouth."
"You dare silence me as if you have any say?! I'll have you castrated as I broad your body parts into the corners of the world, as I watch everyone around me parade-"
"Alright, on second thought," Yagi clamped it's beak back together again, "This is going nowhere."
"I think you should let him speak," King suggested.
Yagi scoffed, "Yeah right. I'm just gonna knock this jerk out cold and send it to the incarceration center for monsters."
"No, I mean like, about his master. He said something about a 'master'."
"A master..?" Yagi raised his brow, before coming to a sudden realisation.
Oh right.
Yagi opened it's beak once again to let it speak, "Okay, too many afterthoughts all at once, I don't give a fuck, speak."
"You silenced me, TWICE, and you expect me to speak, much less about our honoured and reverent master-"
"Do you prefer winding up in a frying pan instead?" Yagi twisted the monster's beak into the side, bending it slightly, "Come on, you don't wanna lose your beak, don't you?"
"S- STWOP! I- I IMPLORE YWOU-!" The monster's plea was cut off short when he was rammed straight through the concrete.
Yagi's grip tightened, as blood seeped out of the gap, "I don't have all day. Unless you want to spend the rest of your pathetic life as a mute farm animal, you might as well spill the beans."
"F- Fine! Just..LET GO OF MY BEAK!" The monster begged.
Yagi considered it for a second, before loosening his grip by a little, "Go on. Start with a name. Give me a name."
"It goes by many aliases, but the most notable one is...'The Namelesss One'!"
"What kind of half-assed alias is that?" King raised his brow.
Yagi's brow furrowed, his body leaning forward, "Are you fucking with me right now?"
"No! It is aught but the truth!"
Yagi's mind stirred, trying to process the information. The Nameless One, huh? Wait.
It does ring a bell, but somehow, I can't wrap my mind around the exact details.
"Tell me about his whereabouts." Yagi demanded once again. However, the monster looked petrified at the request, and he could discern it right off the bat.
"I don't know! Nobody knows-!"
Yagi squeezed his neck even further, "Look, I'm not in a good spot right now, so don't blame me if you end up as a pancake smeering all over the fucking sidewalk the next time you say 'I don't know'."
The monster widened it's eyes, "B- but you don't kill!"
"I might as well do." Yagi replied plainly.
"Mount Fuji! At the peak of Mount Fuji!"
Yagi paused for a brief moment, before lamenting, "Haaaaa, Mount Fuji?! That's a long way from here. This is a pain!"
King tilted his head towards Yagi, "You want to immediately go there?"
"Why not?" Yagi shrugged, "I got a score to settle with whoever that 'master' was. He sounds awfully familiar."
"Ah." King nodded, "Well, I mean, if you're resistant to something like hypothermia."
Yagi waved at him dismissively, "Eh, I'll manage."
"Am I free to go now?" The monster asked.
Yagi's sharpened gaze pierced through the monster's, as he replied with a simple, "Consider this as a professional courtesy."
With a light swipe of his wrist, the monster was sent catapulting across the sky, before turning into a tiny dot that subsequently vanished from sight.
Yagi walked to the gaping hole at the side of the charred apartment, "I'll come back here later and help you out with the renovation of your room."
"You don't have to do that, really," King's expression softened, "It's not your fault."
Yagi looked at him for a moment, as his lips curled in a melancholic fashion, before jumping straight to the turquoise sky above, a gust of wind travelling backwards at his departure.