AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!
The shared meeting space of Sir Nighteye's agency was filled with silence as All Might's former sidekick watched the crowds filing out of the briefing on the television. He had muted the channel minutes ago, much preferring the silence to the reporters simply repeating the same things over and over again. He heard All Might the first time.
Turning off the television, Nighteye stood up and adjusted his jacket before he left his office. He knew that it would be useless to try contacting Toshinori tonight. But he knew where he would be tomorrow. It was time to break the years of silence between them.
After all, he owed it to Japan to ensure that All Might had a worthy successor.
"Damn it, All Might," Shouta glared at the tv, acting as if the hero himself had personally offended him. With a weary sigh he turned off the device and stood up. Walking over to the small stand by the door of his apartment, he grabbed his cell phone.
Unlocking it, he quickly scrolled through the numbers until the name 'Nemuri' was highlighted, her number printed across the screen. For several weeks his therapist had suggested he talk to his friends about their friend Oboro's death, but he had been putting it off.
He tried to tell himself that he wasn't hiding anything, that he was perfectly fine. However, every time Shouta attended a therapy session he found a new ugly truth rising to the surface, reminding him that he wasn't.
Shouta always made up an excuse for why he held off from this conversation, finding some way to delay it further. Nemuri was even closer to Oboro than he was – if anyone knew what he was going through it would be her. But to call her was acknowledging the problem.
So he kept putting it off.
However, with All Might stepping back, Japan needed heroes more than ever.
And UA needed teachers more than ever.
Closing his eyes, Shouta pressed the button before putting the receiver to his ear. He heard the phone ring twice before somebody picked up.
"Nemuri, it's me. Could I come over tomorrow? I need to talk to you," Shouta paused as he listened to Nemuri's response on the other end before he continued. "Yes. It's about Oboro."
As Izuku finished up his morning jog to the beach, he saw Ochako and Melissa were already there talking to each other. Ochako noticed him as he began approaching and turned to wave at him, before Melissa followed suit.
"Morning, Midoriya!"
"Good morning, Uraraka, Melissa. How are you this morning?"
"I'm doing better," Melissa smiled. "I ended up calling my dad when I got home. I felt bad for waking him up but we had a good talk."
"Oh yeah, didn't you say something about All Might visiting I-Island?"
"Yep!"
"So what did he say?" Ochako asked curiously.
"My dad and All Might had a long talk, and basically decided what we heard on TV – All Might couldn't do both full-time the way he wanted to."
Izuku bobbed his head and opened his mouth to respond, but found his voice drowned out by the familiar sound of an engine as Toshinori arrived in his pickup truck. The three turned to watch as the vehicle turned around and backed up on the sand, stopping several meters away from them. Turning the truck off, the skeletal form of Toshinori emerged from the vehicle and looked at the three in surprise.
"You three are here bright and early!"
"None of us slept well after the news," Ochako admitted.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Toshinori said quietly as he examined the three. "But it's for the best."
"It's just scary!" Ochako said.
"Mhm. All Might's always been there!" Izuku added. "It's just… easy for us to forget he won't always be there."
Toshinori frowned. "I think that's why All Might chose to do this."
"You think so?" Ochako asked.
"I do. Because young Midoriya is right. Someday All Might won't be there. When that happens, it will be up to the heroes of Japan to take his place."
Something about the way he spoke reminded Ochako of All Might's speech last night, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Her eyebrows furrowed and she placed a finger on her lips as she thought about it, before their teacher broke her out of her thoughts.
"But! That just means the three of you need to train even harder to protect Japan!"
All three of the kids groaned as Toshinori stood there with his hands on his hips and a wide smile on his face. "Yes, Sensei!"
As the three moved toward the current spot of the beach they were working on, Izuku's eyes found Melissa's. Ever since last night he'd had a gnawing sense of guilt about keeping Ochako out of the loop with One For All. He knew why they were doing it, but even after these few short months, he found it harder and harder to keep their biggest secret from the cheerful brunette.
Looking into Melissa's eyes, he saw she felt the same way.
Toshinori thought that returning to teaching at UA would finally give him a chance to relax after his announcement. Sure, his students would have lots of questions, but they were much less ruthless than the press was.
What he hadn't counted on was the fact that heroes were allowed to visit the school.
"Toshinori, we need to talk."
Toshinori began coughing, quickly covering his mouth to keep the blood from spraying everywhere. "Mirai, what are you doing here?"
"You weren't answering your phone," Nighteye explained. "I assume you had your hands full after your announcement, so I decided it would be easiest if I came to you directly."
"I see," Toshinori sighed. Looking around, he saw the hallways were thankfully empty, before turning his gaze back to his former sidekick. "Follow me; we shouldn't talk here."
Toshinori led his former sidekick through the empty hallways until they arrived at the teacher's lounge. Once inside he locked the door and activated the security measures of the room, his motions slow and deliberate as he tried to delay this conversation for as long as possible.
He hadn't spoken to Mirai in years - not since that final argument in the hospital. And judging by Nighteye's own body language, this wasn't going to be a particularly pleasant reunion.
When the two finally heard the faint noise in the background of the room, Toshinori knew he couldn't delay further. Crossing the lounge, he sat down with a heavy sigh across from Nighteye.
"I see you finally decided to take my advice. Even if your interpretation of it leaves a lot to be desired."
"You were right," Toshinori looked down at his skeletal hand. "I needed to be careful and not push myself. But Japan needed me." He looked at his former sidekick in the eye. "Japan still needs me."
"Of course it does. Which is why you should have handed off One For All years ago - before you reached this state."
"It's for the best that I didn't," Toshinori looked his former friend in the eye. "I've recently come across some startling news about One For All."
Nighteye's eyes narrowed as he looked at his old mentor and friend. "What kind of news?"
"One For All - by its very nature - is too powerful to be wielded by someone with a quirk. The toll of holding One For All along with their own quirk would greatly shorten their lifespan as their body tore itself apart from the strain."
Nighteye's eyes went uncharacteristically wide. "How did you find this out?"
"I–" Toshinori hesitated. To tell him the truth would reveal Melissa's secret, as well as that of their visitor from the future. He trusted Nighteye, but that wasn't his story to tell. "-can't tell you."
"What?!" Nighteye asked as he started to rise from his seat.
"Someone told me."
"And you just believed them?"
"Yes."
"Toshi–" Nighteye looked exasperated at his mentor. "You didn't think to investigate further?"
"I didn't feel the need to," Toshinori admitted. "I decided it was a better use of my resources to focus on finding a successor instead."
"It's Melissa Shield, isn't it?" Nighteye asked, sitting back down as he regained his composure. "She's quirkless - or rather, she was quirkless. Until she just so happened to arrive at UA at the start of this semester with a quirk."
"It's not her," Toshinori said. "She was a late bloomer – with a very powerful energy manipulation quirk. Her decision to move to Japan to train her quirk was just fortuitous timing along with my decision to settle down and find a successor."
Nighteye examined Toshinori's features. Despite the number one hero being good at deflecting conversation and hiding information, he knew all of the man's tells. It was clear that he wasn't lying about the American girl. Even if he was hiding something about her, she wasn't his successor.
"So who is it then?" Folding his hands, Mirai calmly looked at his former mentor.
"A young quirkless boy here in Mustafu." Toshinori leaned forward as he mirrored the other man's pose.
"How young?" Mirai's eyes narrowed as he examined Toshinori's body language.
"He's just started his second year in middle school."
"Toshi…" Nighteye sighed. "Why?"
"Because of his heroic spirit," A fond smile tugged at Toshinori's lips as he recalled his interview with the boy.
"His heroic spirit?" Nighteye asked coldly. "What kind of training does he have?"
"None."
If Toshinori were a lesser man, Nighteye's stare would have been enough to strike fear into his heart.
"So you plan on trusting Japan's future to an untrained child?" Nighteye leaned forward.
"He is being trained now. When the time comes, he will be ready."
"When the time comes? Toshi - that time was last night. At your press conference!"
"Mirai, I'm not retiring fully," Toshinori sat upright, showing his true height. "Not until he's ready."
"You had that luxury years ago, but you don't have that luxury now. Just look at you - you've pushed yourself just like I saw you would. And if that continues…" Despite the intensity of his gaze, Nighteye's face paled slightly as he recalled All Might's tragic end. "There has to be someone out there more capable. Someone with training."
"But they won't have that spark - that desire to save others that a hero needs!"
"I'm sure we could find someone else with that spark. There's one hundred and twenty such individuals that attend this school, for starters."
"But I told you about the drawback–"
"Which you then admitted to not researching further. I believe it's not as bad as you think it is. Look at Nana - she had One For All for fifteen years and she was still going strong until her death. You could easily give it to someone more qualified until someone who is quirkless is properly trained."
Toshinori's face hardened at the mention of Nana, and it was then that Nighteye realized he had overstepped his bounds. "Mirai, One For All is Nana's legacy - it's now my legacy."
"And I want to make sure your legacy is preserved!"
"It will be preserved - in my successor." Toshinori stood up. "Goodbye, Mirai."
Nighteye watched as Toshinori stood up and disengaged the security features before he left the lounge, sitting in silence as the man he looked up to left him alone in his thoughts. As he sat there, he reviewed what he knew. One For All caused a strain on the user, but most of the previous holders died to All For One before that strain tore them apart.
That meant that one of the past wielders had to have died from the strain in the past.
"Hmph," Nighteye stood up and adjusted his glasses.
If Toshinori wouldn't put in the effort to research this detail about One For All, it would be on him to do it instead. Once he knew the truth about its drawback, he'd be in a better position to argue his case.
Flicking off the lights, Nighteye silently left the lounge and made his way off campus. He had research to conduct.
Shouta Aizawa was filled with an uncharacteristic nervousness as he stood in front of the apartment complex. He had faced down dozens of hardened villains since he was put on his leave of absence, and yet none of them compared to simply visiting Nemuri.
Despite the importance of this conversation, he still felt something he rarely felt since losing Oboro - fear.
Damn All Might for retiring. Aizawa thought with a pained sigh as he stood there on the sidewalk, staring at the building.
"Yo, Sho! What are you waiting out here for?" A particularly loud voice called from behind him. Grimacing, Shouta turned around to see Hizashi Yamada walking toward him, dressed in a casual yellow button-down shirt and a pair of cargo pants, his hand raised in a lazy wave as he approached.
"Of course she invited you," Aizawa let loose another sigh.
"Sho-" Hizashi stopped mere feet from his friend. "Oboro was my friend, too. You weren't the only one who was hurt by his loss."
Aizawa opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. "Hmph, let's get this over with. Nemuri's waiting for us."
The pair entered the complex and made their way to Nemuri's apartment, pressing the buzzer to announce their arrival. Nemuri opened the door, wearing an oversized tee shirt and a pair of black leggings. Her face lit up with a smile when she saw her friends. "Sho! You actually came."
"Of course I did," Shouta said flatly. "I wasn't going to back out on you."
"No, you were just going to stand in the parking lot," Hizashi said from behind him.
Shouta glared at his friend who laughed as he pushed past him to enter the apartment, before following him in. Nemuri led the pair to her dining room table, which had several small plates arranged on it, and Shouta could hear Japanese stringed instruments playing in the background.
The three arranged themselves around the table and sat down, as they have done many times before. But the atmosphere was different this time. Despite the relaxed appearance they presented, they all felt the tension in the air.
"How are you doing, Sho?" Hizashi asked.
"I was feeling better until All Might's announcement yesterday," Shouta closed his eyes. "I can already see the headlines."
"You're really worried about those kids, aren't you?" Nemuri asked.
"Of course I am!" Shouta clenched his fist. "You both know how dangerous it is out there. And now All Might had to go and announce he was stepping back. It's going to be more dangerous than ever out there!"
"Sho. We can't protect them forever."
"No, but we can keep them safe!" Shouta looked at them.
"How? By traumatizing your class? By having a student - a teenager - shatter her arm? For what? How does that help them?"
"If she can't control her quirk, she shouldn't be a hero. Better she finds another career now, while she still can, rather than end up dead under a pile of rubble."
"Do you think you would have expelled Oboro?" Hizashi asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.
"What?"
"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Hizashi leaned forward. "By your own metrics, do you think Oboro would have made it in your class?"
Aizawa glared at his friend, but Hizashi refused to back down. Knowing he wasn't going to win this contest, Aizawa chose to look away first. "Yes, he would have."
"Oboro knew the risks when he became a student, we all did," Nemuri pressed.
"These kids deserve the same chance he did, Sho. They're trusting you to help turn them into heroes."
"But what if it happens again?" Shouta closed his eyes. "What if I let someone stay who isn't ready? What if they die because I was too soft?"
"What if someone dies because you were too harsh?" Hizashi countered.
"What?" Shouta stared at his friend, confusion etched into his features.
"Zashi-"
"I'm serious, Nem," Hizashi glanced at her before turning back to Shouta. "Those kids were talking about it the entire first week. They trusted you to be their homeroom teacher, and you broke that trust."
Aizawa scowled and looked at the table, but didn't say anything.
"I know you're trying to help them, but that's not the help they need. They're still kids - just like we were. Just like Oboro was."
"Hizashi's right," Nemuri added. "It's harsh, but true. Those kids expect you - expect all of us to teach them how to be heroes. So that when the time comes, they're ready."
"What am I supposed to do? Do I just let them move on even if they're not ready?"
"Of course not!" Hizashi looked scandalized. "If someone doesn't deserve to be there then you should expel them. But you shouldn't lie to your kids. And you shouldn't force someone to break their arm to make a point."
Aizawa winced. "How is Shield doing?"
"She's getting better with her quirk every day," Kayama said. "Both with her support gear, and without it."
"The little listener's doing amazing for being a late bloomer. And you were ready to throw her out of the school because you didn't bother to read her file."
"Even if you did expel her, I don't think that would have stopped her. She could have just gone back to I-Island's Academy and picked back up under their heroics department. It's not as renowned as UA, but at least she had that option. Now imagine the trouble she would have had finding a new school if she was a Japanese citizen. Most kids don't have that luxury."
Aizawa closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he processed that information. "What do you suggest I do?"
"Listen to your students," Hizashi said.
"That's rich, coming from you."
"Hey!" Hizashi protested. "The difference between a good DJ and an amazing DJ is their ability to read the room and give the audience what they're looking for."
"He's right," Nemuri looked at Aizawa. "We're training them to be heroes, but those kids have their own struggles and insecurities. It's your job to help them through that. To help them overcome the problems distracting them so the rest of us can teach them to become the best heroes they can possibly be. That's how you protect them."
"It's what he would have wanted, Sho," Hizashi said. "You know how he was."
"He always went out of his way to help others," Nemuri let out a fond sigh. "Isn't that the best way to honor his memory?"
Aizawa tugged at the goggles around his neck, his constant reminder of how their friend has touched his life, before he let out a long weary sigh. "Maybe you're right."
"Hi Risa!" Ochako smiled at the older girl as she opened the door.
"Hey Ochako," Melissa tightened her hand on her bag. "Ready for your lesson?"
"Not really," Ochako's face fell.
Melissa giggled. "I know English can be hard, but we'll get you caught up in no time!"
"I hope so," Ochako sighed wistfully.
The two entered the apartment and sat down on the floor next to a coffee table, Ochako's notes currently spread out across it. Setting her bag on the table, Melissa began pulling out her own notebook. "Have any plans for this weekend?"
"I'm going to the mall tomorrow with a bunch of girls from my class!" Ochako said with a smile on her face. "They apparently know a really cool discount store that sells movies and games, so I was going to see what they had!"
"You don't have any consoles though?" Melissa asked in confusion.
"But you said you're going to bring yours to Midoriya's, right?" Ochako asked. "I was going to look and see if there were party games or something the three of us could play together."
"Oh!" Melissa felt a smile tugging at her lips. "That does sound fun! Just send me pictures of what they have first. You wouldn't want to buy something we can't play, after all"
"Okay!"
"And now, English homework!"
Ochako's smile fell away. "Ugh, do we have to?"
Melissa patted the other girl on the back. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can start watching a movie!"
"At least I have that to look forward to," Ochako let out an exaggerated sigh as she collected her notes. "Here's our lesson for this week…"
It only took an hour for Melissa to help Ochako with her homework. Despite her complaints, Ochako was swiftly catching up thanks to the American girl's help, and every week it was getting a little easier to understand her homework.
As Ochako was packing up, Melissa pulled out her laptop and opened up her library, displaying a long list of movies she had stored on her computer. "Do you mind if I pick the movie?"
"Nope! We didn't really get to see a lot of movies when I was younger," Ochako said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "We only saw what was on television, so I don't really know a lot of movies outside the big ones."
Melissa frowned at the girl. "Well then, let's change that!" With a fierce look, she quickly scrolled through her library as she sought a specific movie. "Got it!"
"What did you decide on?"
"Stars of Destiny!"
"What's that about?" Ochako asked as she leaned over to look at the screen.
"It's the first in a series. It's about two magical swordsmen, gifted weapons from the heavens, who are brought together to fight an ancient demon lord! It was one of my favorites growing up."
"I haven't seen many fantasy movies," Ochako admitted. "I liked the few science fiction movies that we saw, plus my parents loved crime thrillers."
"Oh, I have plenty of sci-fi here too!" Melissa smiled. "We can go through later and see what you've seen!" She let out a happy sigh. "I always liked those genres growing up, back when…"
"When what?"
Melissa felt her face heating up as she realized she almost slipped. "Back when I didn't have my quirk. Because it didn't come in yet. Late bloomer and all!" She laughed a little too loudly.
"Oh, right!"
"Just the idea of going out on these fantastical journeys, no matter who you were or what you were," Melissa let out a fond sigh. "They were a nice escape for me."
Ochako let out a matching sigh. "I felt the same way about watching Space Wars on television. Just some poor farm boy going out on this grand adventure!"
Melissa gave the girl a conspiratorial smile. "I think you'll like my movie collection then." Grabbing her laptop, she stood up. "Shall we get going?"
"Yeah!"
Moving to the privacy of Ochako's room, the two girls arranged themselves on her bed, the girls next to each other with the laptop in front of them. Once everything was set up, the two friends settled in and she pressed play to start the movie.
Melissa couldn't help but smile as the movie began. She felt a familiar wave of nostalgia as she watched a green-and-pink twin-tailed comet fly across the night sky, and was happy that she had friends to share the experience with.
AN: As promised, Risa managed to get a personal explanation from All Might himself! Of course she's going to do her best to protect the world and let him retire peacefully! ~SupportGrrl47