Yagi barely noticed when the rain stopped. Ever since Midoriya had left his side, all but ordering him not to follow, he had felt utterly numb.
Only now, once everything finally went to hell, did he realize all the things he had done wrong for the boy. His encouragement to become the next Symbol of Peace had only taught him to take all the burdens upon his own shoulders. His inability to give useful instructions when Midoriya first earned One for All and now after it reached its singularity point only showed the boy that the only way he could improve was on his own. And then, when he finally lost the dregs of One for All in his final fight as a hero, he failed once more by telling the boy it was his turn.
Midoriya was much stronger than All Might had ever been. But with hindsight, Yagi finally realized that he didn't want the boy to be stronger than him. He hoped he would be better than him. For the past two years he'd known the boy, he hadn't been able to put his feelings into words.
But now it was too little too late.
Midoriya had left him behind to protect him, as though Yagi hadn't been living on borrowed time for nearly a decade at this point. All he could hope was that the previous users would be able to talk some sense into the boy. But the man was at the end of his rope; he simply couldn't force that kind of optimism anymore. He felt utterly worthless, powerless, useless.
His current condition was a painful reminder of back when he had been just a skinny, quirkless boy chasing after his master in a pitiful attempt to become a martyr to make society better.
Yagi couldn't hold back the self-loathing laughter that escaped his lips, void of any mirth as he thought back on his life.
He had become a martyr, alright. But he set up another boy with the same pains as him to follow in his bloodied footsteps as far as he could. And when his final moment arrived, all he did for Midoriya was to point the way forward, far beyond where even he had trekked, toward places far more dangerous and perilous. The boy had to make his own way through the war-torn streets spread out before them both. After leading the way for so long, it was only fair that Yagi discovered how miserable it was to be left behind.
But not long after the boy had left his side, he had received a call from Endeavor that Midoriya was missing. Missing.
It wasn't like the boy to disappear completely, even if he wanted to keep them all safe. As far as Yagi was aware, the boy had kept the GPS tracker on him so he could at least coordinate with his allies when the time finally came, or at least direct them to pick up the civilians he saved along the way. But vanishing as though hadn't been there at all? Something was wrong.
Yagi prayed that it wasn't another of All for One's tricks, but he wasn't holding his breath.
Instead, he forced himself to go out looking. There wasn't anything useful he could accomplish elsewhere and he had a promise to keep to the boy's mother. He would continue to search for Midoriya for as long as he was able.
He had briefly stopped by the plaza where Midoriya's GPS had last been registered, as that was the most reasonable place to begin his search. He had surveyed the plaza and mapped out the most direct path to the nearest rebellious civilian hub where crime continued to run rampant. But other than running into a few suspicious civilians and criminals that thought him to be easy pickings, no one had reported any sign of the boy. It was silly of him to hope that things would be that simple, but he couldn't ignore the way his heart sank. But all of that had been yesterday, and he'd found no traces of the boy anywhere since, even as he expanded his search and mapped out likely routes or potential locations that would be prime locations for teleportation.
No traces except… that dream.
It had been a surreal experience, one that he hadn't ever expected to witness firsthand. The descriptions that Midoriya had provided simply hadn't done it justice, but Yagi refused to believe that he had dreamed of the previous users.
If that was the case then Midoriya might actually have… no. That simply wasn't possible, he refused to even entertain the thought that his protege had died before him. He had spent hours convincing himself that his sanity was finally slipping, if only so that he wouldn't begin to believe that Midoriya was dead.
Certainly that wasn't how One for All worked. The power should have died with the current user, not transferred back to the previous. That wouldn't make any sense. But he couldn't deny that it was his mentor that had stood in front of him in that endless void, staring at him with such concern, such dread.
Yagi bit his lip.
Despite his best efforts, he honestly couldn't bring himself to believe he hadn't been inside One for All last night. It was far too real to have been anything else. Perhaps it could have been the effect of a quirk, but that would be a bit unreasonable to assume. Too many things that weren't in his memory were too accurate to be the result of a quirk.
And well… he could feel the anxiety and fear from the vestiges so strongly, just as he had in that hospital room waiting for Midoriya to wake up. He could almost feel the gentle way his master rested her hand on his shoulder in comfort. But the support did nothing to relieve his anguish, nor his inexplicable fatigue.
Yagi almost wished he could speak with them, if only to learn what had become of Midoriya. They had to know; they would tell him if they could.
He had to believe that.
Midoriya was alive, even if he wasn't by his side. Perhaps… if he slept tonight, he would be able to speak with the previous users again. Until then, he would continue looking. That was the least he could do to even begin to atone for the burden he'd placed squarely upon Midoriya's shoulders.
He could return to UA to ensure his safety while he rested but the thought of retreating back to safety when Midoriya had been forced to power nap on the streets made him want to vomit. The streets it was, then. He'd probably still spend some time scouting out a good place to rest, he didn't actively want to put himself in danger, but other than that he was disgusted at the mere thought of doing anything else. (He pointedly ignored the wave of sympathetic horror that echoed from the previous users.)
Reluctantly, Yagi wandered to one of the many abandoned alleyways for a quick break. He heaved a weary sigh as he sat on a tipped-over dumpster. He ignored the trash scattered all around him, clearly a result of some looters rummaging through for anything useful. It was crushing to see how society had devolved so far. He had honestly thought that having a person keep society together would be helpful, but all it had done was make it more brittle, more vulnerable. All it took was one failure and everything fell apart.
It had been a good run while it lasted, but Yagi was no longer certain that it had been worth it.
"I am here, and your phone! I am here, and your phone!"
He grimaced at the sound of his own voice in the form of a ringtone. He wasn't in the mood for talking with any of the people that had this number, not to mention a facet of his purposeful bumbling hero persona (in the form of his stupid ringtone) wasn't something he was in the mood to deal with.
Without a second though, he pulled the phone from his pocket and tapped the screen. Whoever had tried to contact him would at least know he was alive, since he declined the call. It wasn't his best idea, since these particular hero-grade phones had neither a voicemail or call tracking system. Since he hadn't picked up, he wouldn't know whatever it was they wanted to inform him of nor have the ability to call them back, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
What could he possibly do to help them?
They were likely only telling him anything as a courtesy, but he felt it was no longer deserved. When he had been watching over Midoriya, he had acted as the mediator between the wild and all-over-the-place boy and the strategic pros, but ever since he'd been abandoned by the boy, he had no role to play, no purpose to serve.
As good as useless.
Yagi sighed, letting the hand that held his phone fall to rest palm-up on the dumpster. He let himself lean back against the brick wall behind him, tilting his chin up to stare at the hazy sky. It was almost as if there was a literal darkness that had accompanied the metaphorical one, but that could just be chalked up to his bleak outlook on the situation. If the weather was as dreary as the circumstances, the misery would be no more palpable to him than it already was. But at least he would feel that the world had paused for at least a moment to share in his misery.
"I am here, and your phone! I am here, and your phone!"
Yagi startled at the sound of his ringtone, his phone jolting out of his grip as he flinched. He scrambled to catch it, fumbling with it as he leaned over to protect it from the unforgiving concrete. After a few breath-stealing seconds, he finally recovered his grip on the object, staring at incredulously. He sighed as he realized he could have just let it fall, since it was sturdy enough not to break from such a small drop.
"I am here, and your phone! I am here, and your phone!"
He closed his eyes, debating the odds that he'd get two calls within a minute of each other.
With one final weary sigh, he reluctantly lifted the device to his ear and accepted the call. At the very least, he could let them know he was alive and that his searches had been entirely fruitless.
"All Might. I'm glad you picked up."
Yagi recoiled at the sound of the principal's voice. Why had he… he hadn't been directly involved in their communications since… since Yagi had told him that Midoriya would be leaving UA.
"I tried calling you once and feared the worst when you didn't pick up! I'm glad that you're alright. I have someone here who would like to speak with you, but I'm afraid you have to come to UA," Nezu said plainly, his chipper voice at odds with the gravity of their situation.
"Principal…" he murmured, "What do you mean?"
"Ah well, given your hesitation in picking up, I'm afraid I would like to confirm your identity. We can never be too careful, you know."
Yagi winced. He hadn't thought of that. Was the principal concerned whether he was being impersonated by Toga Himiko?
It was a valid concern. He was in a position where he wasn't expected to take on much of the burden but was easily granted information about their plans. He would be a prime target if the League of Villains truly wanted to do some reconnaissance. Even so, Yagi had a sneaking suspicion that All for One was far too overconfident in his own plans and the power he and Shigaraki now held. No, Yagi highly doubted that they would make any moves.
But just in case… perhaps… As much as he habitually recoiled at the thought of keeping himself behind the safety of UA, it would be best for everyone else. It was time he stopped being selfish and thought about how he was dragging down everyone around him.
"I see. I'll be there…" he glanced at his surroundings and tried to think back to where he had wandered to, "Sometime tomorrow, most likely."
"That simply won't do!" Nezu chirped, "I'll send someone to pick you up. Everything these days is quite the urgent matter. I'm sure you understand what I mean."
Yagi reluctantly closed his eyes, "Alright. I'll see you later today then."
Nezu ended the call with clarifying details and the usual pleasantries, leaving Yagi with little room to protest or make any additional decisions. Whatever he was being called for, it must have been important. A small part of him immediately came to life at the thought of being useful, of actually having something with which he could assist.
All he had to do was wait for a ride from Best Jeanist. Until then, he would do his best to decipher what the small gestures and feelings he was receiving from the previous users. If he could figure out what was going on with One for All, he might be able to find Midoriya.
Things would work out one way or another; he just had to keep believing in his boy.
At first, Rayleigh hadn't known what to think of Deku.
He was respectful—or as respectful as one could be while avoiding conversation like the plague—and adept at combat. During their little spectacle at Marineford, Deku had effortlessly backed them up, blocking attacks and clearing the path for Luffy with little concentration. The boy had even blocked more than one cannonball with a single kick. That kick had been strong enough to push the cast iron spheres back with a blast of wind from a simple swipe of his leg.
It was far from the most powerful thing Rayleigh had seen in his many years on the seas, but it was still noteworthy, especially from a boy so young.
But on that note, it seemed that nobody truly knew how old the boy was. Whitebeard had told him their best guess had been sixteen, but it wasn't as if the boy was forthcoming about himself. Beyond his name, the boy hadn't admitted to anything. Hell, Luffy had given up more information on the boy than the boy had offered up on his own terms, and from the short time he'd known Luffy, it was obvious how airheaded and blind-to-details he was.
Admittedly, Rayleigh had agreed to take Deku along with them out of sheer curiosity. Whitebeard's purposeful endorsement had helped him decide that the boy might have been worth his time, of course. But it would be dishonest to pretend that the encouragement from the old Yonko hadn't also piqued his interest.
And then the boy had proven to already know Observation Haki, having trained it to not only get a feel for intent but also the potential harm of that intent. He wouldn't go as far as to say the boy had future sight, but he was clearly well on his way there.
Overall, things had been going well, and although Luffy was still struggling with Observation, he was still on track with what Rayleigh had expected.
This wasn't how he had thought he would spend his retirement days, but Rayleigh found himself invested in the boy that little Shanks had lost his arm and hat for. And now, the mystery that was Deku had also caught his interest. These boys would go far one day; he would get to sit back and watch the chaos unfold before his eyes as he laughed his ass off and drank to his heart's content.
Yet, on the third evening, Deku had approached him alone. He had asked about the government, which set off all kinds of red flags. Given all the secrecy, Rayleigh had begun to wonder if Deku was a part of the Revolutionary Army. His interference at Marineford might have been purposeful; it gave the boy a real reason to put his life on the line. If he had heard the broadcast correctly, Luffy was their leader's son after all.
But then the boy had anxiously explained that he had amnesia.
Rayleigh was no expert on memory loss, but that would explain a lot of things. Given the scars, the obvious combat experience, and even the Observation Haki, it had been odd that the boy was so downtrodden and reserved. Hell, the boy had seemed so taken aback by Rayleigh's insistence that he already used Observation Haki without knowing it: memory loss would explain that reaction. It was possible that some Devil Fruit was the cause, but that meant that someone had purposefully dropped the boy off at Marineford without his memory.
Was the boy involved in some greater conspiracy? Was he a spy for the World Government?
Rayleigh had no definite answer, but as he had stared the boy down, it had been clear that the boy had no idea either.
So Rayleigh had simply… let it go. Deku was clearly already stressed out by his lost memories, acting suspicious of him would only make it worse. Besides, Luffy clearly liked the boy and probably had plans to ask him to join his crew. Whatever issues eventually came up, it would be their problem.
After all, Rayleigh was just a retired old man these days.
But the morning after they had their conversation, something was definitely wrong. It was almost as though something in the boy had switched overnight. Gone was the nervous, cautious boy; in his place now stood a determined, focused force to be reckoned with.
Rayleigh liked the change—though he wouldn't admit to any that asked except maybe Shakky—and honestly it suited Deku far more than his previous demeanor. But the old man was left guessing for what had sparked this drastic shift.
Perhaps it had something to do with his memories?
Maybe the boy recalled something significant in his dreams. Rayleigh knew very little about the complicated nature of memory loss, but he did know something for sure: Deku had the potential to shake things up in a big way. It was the same potential that Rayleigh had been hoping to bring out and witness by teaching Luffy.
Rayleigh was the only person aware of the changed atmosphere as two of them had breakfast—sans Luffy, much to the teen's annoyance. But the old man wanted to find out just what Deku was so determined about, so instead of drilling Luffy on Observation Haki again, he instructed the boy to go practice on his own so he could work with Deku.
But just moments after Luffy wandered out of sight, Deku stared him down.
"Fight me," he demanded with steel in his spine and an unreadable glint in his eye.
And well, that wasn't a demand Rayleigh could refuse, now was it?
Rayleigh led the boy to a clearing not far from where they were camping. It was far from the tree that naturally warded off the island's predators, but he had a feeling that this boy didn't truly need that sort of protection anyway.
"I suppose I'll set some ground rules here," he smirked, "I won't Conqueror's or Observation, only Armament. That way it'll give you a fair shot. You won't learn anything if I simply beat you into the dirt over and over again."
Deku looked utterly unimpressed with his suggestion, "But aren't you just beating Luffy up until he finally figures out how to dodge?"
Rayleigh choked on his spit, letting his hearty laughter spill from his lips, "That's different. Besides, do you really want me to do that to you? I have a feeling that's not what you need."
The boy seemed to have no response to that, simply lowering himself into a ready stance, prepared for the fight to start at any moment. Well, at least the boy wasn't so naive as to think this battle would start on a signal or a count.
Rayleigh rushed forward about half as fast as his limit. He hadn't been lying when he said he was going to give the boy a handicap. He wanted to see what Deku could do, but if he beat him before the boy got a chance to fight back, it would be counterproductive.
Much to his surprise, Deku met his punch with one of his own, their knuckles grinding together as they held each other back. Rayleigh grinned, digging his heels into the ground and putting more force into his blow. His eyes widened as he realized that Deku was meeting his strength in equal measure. The boy's expression remained the same, determination and intense focus the likes of which Rayleigh only occasionally got to witness.
He knew this fight would be fun, but he hadn't truly prepared himself for the rush of fighting a rookie growing into their prime years. Damn, he really felt like an old man.
Rayleigh simply matched the boy's force in equal measure, waiting to see what the boy would do instead of making another move of his own. Much to his surprise, the boy let his fist slip under Rayleigh's own. In one fluid motion, Deku ducked down, rotating his body, and gaining a grip on the man's arm. The technique was obviously practiced with how easily the boy pulled it off, but Rayleigh wasn't just going to let the boy flip him over without resistance. Besides, the boy had such a comparatively weak grip that this would be a lesson he would likely remember going forward.
With a grin, Rayleigh jolted his arm out of Deku's grip and twisted himself so that he rolled off of the boy's back. He landed on his feet, allowing the rotational momentum to carry him through a spin so that he was facing the boy once more. He prepared to strike at the boy's vulnerable face, but much to his delight, Deku had dropped onto his knee and brought up his arm to block the blow.
The boy was full of surprises, apparently, because just a moment after the hit connected, Deku let the blow slide up his forearm and rotated his shoulder just enough to grip the underside of Rayleigh's wrist and fling him away.
Rayleigh simply marveled at what appeared to be green lighting surrounding the boy. As he braced himself for landing, he studied the odd energy. It appeared to be sparking at a higher intensity than before, but that got him wondering.
He still had no idea what the boy's Devil Fruit was, though it was clear that he had one. Given that his attacks hadn't been laced with any Haki and the boy hadn't flickered between his elemental form in any way, even when it would have been convenient, Rayleigh figured that he wasn't a logia type.
It was possible that Deku was keeping his body solid on principle, but as far as he was aware, logias switching between their physical form and elemental form tended to be an instinctual affair, especially in fights. So that meant that the electricity wasn't the power, but rather a side effect of some kind.
That throw had been a lot stronger than anything Deku had done before, so Rayleigh concluded that Deku had increased his strength level by using his power. Which meant that he was holding back.
Rayleigh chuckled a bit as he landed on his feet, sliding back a pleasantly surprising distance before finally coming to a halt. If Deku managed to master Armament, he would be one hell of a force to be reckoned with.
Not taking another moment to breathe, Rayleigh launched himself back towards the clearing where they had just clashed. Deku, however, met him halfway, interrupting the man mid-step and slamming a roundhouse kick down towards Rayleigh's neck. For as strong as Deku was, he admittedly didn't match the man in speed nor reaction time.
But the way the boy's eyes widened when he ducked under the attack was amusing. Rayleigh once again made an attempt to counterattack while Deku had to recover from his failed move. Yet, just like the time before it, the boy's whole body jerked the lighting sparking up as he twisted on his one foot. Admittedly, Rayleigh was entirely caught off-guard by how quickly the boy managed to complete another rotation.
Of course, if he had been using Observation instead of suppressing it, he likely would have seen it coming. But given that he had assigned himself a few handicaps, the shoe connected with his ribs with such force that it sent him sprawling to the ground.
He took very little time to recover, but he couldn't deny that he had subconsciously used Armament Haki to mitigate the potential damage of that blunt-force attack. The steel-laced shoes that the boy was wearing contributed to the heaviness of the blow, but the strength behind it was no joke either.
It was as if the boy had a burst of energy at his command, a source that he could modulate depending on the situation. His initial attack had significant force behind it, but the boy had managed his recovery attack by amping up that power. And the boy hadn't even overshot it; he had been in perfect control the entire time.
It was clear that he was comfortable gauging how much he'd need for any given situation, which left Rayleigh wondering. Was this all muscle memory? It was a bit odd, but he supposed that intuitive training could be deeply ingrained in the body rather than the mind, so the absence of how the habits were acquired wouldn't disrupt the habits themselves.
It gave him a little bit of a headache, to be honest. He wasn't a medical expert. Perhaps he could try to get into contact with Crocus? No, the government would interpret their contact as a threat and he would much rather remain in retirement. Maybe he could ask Shakky to contact some other high profile, no-nonsense doctor for questions.
But he couldn't linger on that thought very long before he had to duck out of the way of another punch. The swipe was noticeably slower than before, Rayleigh wondered why that was the case as he aimed a flurry of half-hearted attacks at the boy.
Was he… holding back?
Rayleigh wanted to laugh at the idea, but the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was true.
"Quit holding back!" he barked out, hopping over a low-sweep and blocking another well-timed punch.
The kid grimaced, responding with another low-power attack before using words, "I don't want to hurt you!"
Rayleigh rolled his eyes in amusement. This kid? Hurt him? Sure, he was holding back, but the moment the boy actually posed a threat, he would immediately go on the defensive. He wasn't going to put himself out of commission for something as dumb as rigidly upholding his self-imposed handicap. Besides, that was if the boy could actually hurt him even with his handicap. But just the idea that the boy was worried about hurting him was laughable.
Unless… the boy didn't have any memories, so what were the odds that he didn't know who Rayleigh was? Probably very likely, considering the man hadn't told him directly and Luffy was far too much of an airhead to remember to mention it.
And Deku… well, the boy wouldn't even know to ask.
Rayleigh could tell him who he was, but it was far more amusing for the boy to be kept in the dark. Besides, the less the boy knew about him, the less danger he would be in. Or at least, that's what he would tell Shakky. But honestly he just thought it was funny.
He had to find entertainment in his retirement somehow!
Maybe he would tell the boy once they were done training together. That way, he had something to look forward to.
"Come on, kid, you aren't going to hurt me. Just go for it! You aren't going to get stronger unless you go all out!"
It was as if a switch had been flipped, the boy's expression pinched, the determination etched even deeper into his face than before. Rayleigh only had a brief moment to consider how odd it was that someone without memories or a sense of self could have such determination towards something. Then the onslaught began.
Which was a dramatic way to describe it, but Deku certainly upped the ante just as Rayleigh had asked. He was hardly the fastest or strongest opponent the man had faced, so he hadn't had too hard of a time dodging. The key was to remain on the defensive and only attack when he was forced to block rather than dodge.
But his movements still weren't as fast as that one recovery spin counterattack from before, Rayleigh was certain that the boy was still holding back.
It took several attempts to goad Deku into taking him seriously before the boy increased his strength and speed once more. At the level he was now, he would give most of the Vice Admirals a run for their money, putting aside Haki ability. Rayleigh actually had to put a little bit more effort into keeping up, especially without Haki.
Then Deku seemed to step it up once more and it became much harder to keep his instinctual Haki usage tamped down. The two of them found it incredibly difficult to keep their spar in one spot, especially when each connected hit sent the other flying back great distances. They were making quite the ruckus; honestly Rayleigh was surprised that Luffy hadn't come to see what they were up to.
But then the boy ramped up his power once more and slammed a punch into Rayleigh's gut, causing him to practically fold in half as the force launched him. He had instinctively activated Armament and was infinitely grateful because he had a feeling that, if he hadn't, he would be down a couple ribs. As he finally slowed down, tumbling onto the ground, he couldn't keep the grin off of his face.
This kid was really something.
The man took a few moments to recollect himself before Deku scrambled over to his side babbling concerns.
It took longer than he cared to admit to calm the kid down, reassuring him that he wasn't hurt because he had instinctively used Haki. Once Deku finally accepted that he hadn't injured Rayleigh, the boy pestered him about whether he had actually used Haki during their spar. He figured it would help to admit that he had used a very simple form of it intermittently, which seemed to please the boy.
…and then he began muttering up a storm, his words fast and unintelligible. Rayleigh was content to let him figure things out, assuming that it would assist with his Haki training in some way, but then the boy seemed to continue on for minutes, all without taking a breath. It took several tries until he got the boy's attention, but when he had, Deku looked utterly embarrassed.
"Um, do you think we could," the boy glanced away bashfully, as though he hadn't just dominated their friendly low-stakes spar, "spar again?"
Rayleigh didn't hesitate to agree. Clearly Deku had been using the spar to figure something out and he was going to encourage it. Haki was slightly different for every person, so the more time the boy spent trying to figure it out on his own, the more likely it was that he would reach a useful conclusion.
Deku looked delighted at the agreement, though a bit annoyed when Rayleigh added the condition that they would only spar once a day. The boy's clear disapproval aside, he didn't seem to put up much of a fuss about it once he dismissed him to go check on Luffy.
Rayleigh shook his head fondly at how contradictory this boy was. Determined yet willing to defer to others, amiable but reserved.
Regardless, it was safe to say that, after their little spar, Rayleigh no longer second guessed the decision he'd made on a whim. Deku was far more capable than he'd initially given the kid credit for. Despite his lack of Armament Haki, the kid had easily matched him in brute force and was far more durable than he'd expected.
Rayleigh chuckled to himself as he wandered off to make lunch. Edward Newgate would be beyond furious when he found out the talent they had let loose on the world. The World Government would paint targets the size of a country on these kids' backs one day and yet these kids would probably still thank him for teaching them.
Fighting had become routine over the next two days. Each morning, Rayleigh spent time with Luffy, drilling him for Observation Haki and motivating him with food (or the lack thereof). Each afternoon, Deku would demand to spar with him, each time becoming increasingly more strategic and purposeful with his movements. There had been nothing more thrilling than watching how rapidly Deku improved by fighting the same opponent.
While his maximum strength and speed hadn't increased much, Deku had managed to surprise him not once, not twice, but three times with a rapid acceleration that seemed near impossible. Rayleigh could only assume this was because of the boy's Devil Fruit, but Deku was as tight-lipped as ever.
Beyond Armament Haki, Rayleigh wasn't so sure he had much to teach this boy. Unless he showed the signs of a Conqueror, there was no reason for the boy to remain with them to train. But regardless, he wasn't going to force the boy to leave. So far, he had been a great motivator for Luffy. On more than one occasion, Rayleigh had eavesdropped on the boy trying to give Luffy tips, some of which the man had noticed him attempting during their training sessions.
Then, on the evening of the fifth day after they had arrived at Rusukaina, the weather changed from a gentle spring to a soft winter.
Although Rayleigh had known to expect such weather changes, for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that this change was a bad omen for something that was about to occur.