The Price Of Peace
The ones who can smile are always the strongest.
It was a concept that ruled Yagi Toshinori's life ever since the fateful day of his master's death. He spent hours rehearsing her signature grin until it had practically etched itself onto his face. It had been up to him to carry on the legacy and duty of One-for-All. And he'd done it. He'd clawed his way into position as the Symbol of Peace- as All Might- and won against the ancient evil that plagued his predecessors. However, he didn't feel like smiling at all.
The buzzing fluorescent lights of Toshinori's hospital room tugged at the corners of his perception, prompting him to open his eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. He studied the room groggily before settling his gaze on the array of bandages wrapping his torso and arms. Beyond the room's closed blinds, a midnight rainstorm could be heard battering the glass that separated the injured man from the outside world. His world. Or, at least, it had been.
All Might had no idea how long he'd been out but judging by the pristine state of his bandages, it couldn't have been shorter than a day or so. He tried to remember the fight that had landed him in his current predicament. All-for-One, wasn't it? Yes, it was All Might's final fight against that tyrant- a Demon King almost as old as Quirks, themselves. At least, he hoped it was their last meeting. A feeling of sick unease bubbled in his stomach at the prospect of his greatest adversary being dead. It wasn't that he wanted the man to live, but something seemed… wrong, though he couldn't place it.
The door to Toshinori's room slid open to reveal 4 figures standing in the darkened hallway. The tallest of them, his sidekick Sir Nighteye, held fast to his stoic facade though All Might had known the boy long enough to see past it with ease.
The next tallest, Detective Tsukauchi, took off his hat and coat, hanging them on the room's coat rack as the group of 4 finally made their entrance.
The final 2 were small of frame, yet big of heart, and wasted no time as they drew close to his bedside. The man, Gran Torino, was in a hospital gown as well. His head was dressed in clean bandages that covered his left eye. The woman, Recovery Girl, was dressed in her hero suit. Knowing her, she'd been tending to various patients throughout the hospital between Toshinori's own healing sessions.
"How're you feeling, Toshinori?" Recovery Girl asked in a quiet, soothing tone. All Might- Yagi Toshinori- moved to answer but his throat, dry from hours- perhaps days- without liquids, pulled him into a coughing fit. Gran Torino fiddled with the bed's buttons as he supplied Toshinori with a glass of water. Now sitting up and properly quenched, the injured hero cleared his throat.
"How long was I out?"
Gran Torino and Recovery Girl shared a look before the latter answered solemnly, "Nearly 3 days."
Toshinori gasped in surprise, eyes going wide at the revelation. It had been 3 days since his confrontation? What had become of the body? Were the civilians safe? Who was on the lookout for All-for-One's supporters? A million and one more questions raced through Toshinori's brain as he struggled to stand, heedless of the shouts of concern from his friends.
He had One-for-All! He, alone, was able to stand against that monster made flesh. And he'd barely made it out alive. Images of the battle flickered through his mind, spurring him onward as if the aching of his injuries was just illusion. He remembered the gray skies and beginnings of rain. The trading of mighty, earth-shattering blows. An attack that tore open his abdominal cavity. The sickening crunch of skull beneath a final, colossal punch.
Toshinori was in the hall, leaning against the wall as he hobbled along, before his senses came back to him. Nighteye and Tsukauchi had been yelling… something, even as Gran Torino and Recovery Girl resigned themselves to saddened silence. They knew it would be fruitless to try and convince Toshinori to rest, though the younger men were more stubborn.
He had to continually bat their hands away as they reached out to take hold of him so he could be led back to his room. By now, the effort had reopened the wound in his gut and with his attention finally drawn to the space, he felt a weird sense of emptiness. Like something important was missing. Toshinori shook his head and continued on. He wanted- no, needed- to get back out there. To continue being the Symbol of Peace. Since he was young- since Nana's death- he'd committed his entire being to the role of a societal pillar. It was the only life he'd known- the only one he'd wanted.
He was close to the elevators now, though Nighteye still hadn't given up. The man had both hands against Toshinori's shoulders but applied as little force as possible. It was as if he was afraid that his idol would break. And how laughable was that? All Might was said to be invincible- that was the image he'd cultivated for the people- yet, here he was being held back by a man without any sort of Strength-Enhancement.
Toshinori was so caught up in the irony of the moment that he failed to notice the flash of purple that signified Nighteye had used his Quirk. What didn't escape him, however, was the man's words.
"If you continue on like this, you'll meet with a grisly demise!" Nighteye yelled, desperation dripping from his voice like venom. "It's time to find a successor to One-for-All! Please!"
Toshinori stopped cold, leaning his full weight into his sidekick's sturdy frame. By this point, Gran Torino and Recovery Girl had caught up to the 3 of them. The full weight of his situation was finally starting to settle in. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, All-for-One had nearly killed him. He hadn't even thought to stop and assess the damage he'd taken. That hollow feeling radiated from Toshinori's torso once more as Recovery Girl placed a gentle hand on his massive forearm. He was afraid to ask, but he needed to know.
"H-how… How b-b-bad is the d-damage?" Toshinori asked haltingly. Nighteye turned away but still stood firm.
"You lost a lung and the majority of your stomach." Recovery Girl's voice was low and full of unshed tears. "It's likely you'll survive but you may never eat solid foods again. And there's no telling how this will affect your hero work."
"Even so," Toshinori began in low tones, "the world can't be- Japan cannot be with its Symbol. I must return to the field."
Nighteye snapped his gaze back towards the wounded hero. The fear that had once been in his eyes was now hidden behind a thin veil of rage. "You'll be accelerating your retirement, at best, and killing yourself, at worst! You should focus on raising a successor!"
"Mirai, you know as well as I that All-for-One could have any number of supporters moving at this very moment!" Toshinori was yelling now, his own anger flaring against his normally impeccable self-control.
"THEN RELY ON US AND THE OTHER HEROES!" Nighteye screamed back in fervor as he gestured between himself, Gran Torino, and the world at large. Then, as suddenly as his rage had come it left him. Nighteye let his shoulders sag as he looked tiredly into the eyes of his hero. "If you're going to insist on getting yourself killed, I can no longer support you. I will not be part and parcel of this."
"Then why not do both?" A new voice joined the group, drawing their attention to the newcomer. Toshinori gasped as he recognized the face of his first sidekick and old friend from his time in America, David Shield. "I think I have an idea."
"D-Dave?!" Toshinori's eyes filled with tears at the sight of his old friend. It felt like decades had passed since they'd last spoken. Oh, he'd visited David and his family on I-Island occasionally but those visits never lasted more than a day or 2.
"Hey, Toshi. You look like shit." Despite the pain in his gut, Toshinori found himself laughing heartily. David had always known how to press just right on his funny bone. He took a second to wipe the tears from his eyes and the blood from his mouth before returning his gaze to the younger man.
David was perhaps a little shorter than Tsukauchi, his brown hair cut short and blue eyes staring at Toshinori from behind a pair of glasses. He remembered his old friend's daughter, Melissa, and her brilliantly blonde hair and shining blue eyes. And his heart fell when he remembered her mother, who had died shortly after a successful and otherwise uncomplicated delivery.
"Where's Melissa?" The words fell from Toshinori's mouth. He hadn't meant to ask but he had to know. She was his honorary niece- his godchild.
"Don't worry, she's staying back on the island with a friend." David gave Toshinori a small, reassuring smile that quelled some of the fear in his heart. Though it was immediately replaced with elation.
"Little Melissa has friends?!"
"Wait, hold on!" Until now, Nighteye had just been staring at David in equal parts admiration and curiosity, though it seemed the latter was currently winning. "You said you had an idea? How do you even know All Might's secret?"
"My apologies. I walked in on your argument." David said with a nervous smile as he scratched at the back of his head nervously. All too quickly, however, he turned a mildly annoyed gaze towards Toshinori. The man in question froze as a bead of cold sweat dripped down the side of his face. "Toshi hadn't told me anything about this."
"I-It was for your s-safety, Dave!" Toshinori waved his hands defensively in front of himself, drawing sharp stabs of pain from his gut. His words seemed to have little effect, however.
"While I appreciate that, this discussion isn't over." David's expression was calm, yet harsh. He wasn't angry, that much was certain, but he was bound to be annoyed; possibly even disappointed. Toshinori sighed and gave his old friend a nod that seemed to satisfy him. "Now, I originally came to see an injured old friend but seeing as I've stumbled upon your… problem, I have a solution both parties could find agreeable."
"Which is?" Being curious, this time Gran Torino spoke. His voice was gruff and gave off the feeling of being perpetually annoyed. Toshinori knew he wasn't, though… sometimes.
"Do both." David said simply. He inwardly sighed when his words were met with confusion and clasped his hands behind his back. The scene in front of David was painfully familiar; it was as if he was giving a presentation to I-Island's Board of Directors regarding a new invention of his. "The world would fall into chaos without the Symbol of Peace."
"At the same time," he continued, "we can't afford to sit on our laurels until the last possible minute."
David had full attention from everyone in the room now; as he normally would if this were any other presentation. He wasn't a conceited man, by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew his words carried weight. Not only was he one of the world's leading Quirk Scientists and Support Item Engineers, he was an old friend to Toshinori.
"Have Nighteye scout for a potential successor while you continue your work. I'm certain there will be plenty of candidates in UA, alone, and even more if you broaden the scope of your search." Now, David moved to place his hands on the shoulders of both his old friend and the man's sidekick. They'd been together for close to a decade, from what David was able to remember. While they certainly weren't as close as he and Toshinori had been, there was still a lot of trust and love between them.
"And, once you're able to travel," David continued, looking his old friend straight in the eyes, "come visit me. Our medical facilities on the island are the best in the world. And I may even have a potential candidate for you."
~ W-o-L ~
With school life came plenty of hardships. No longer was Akemi allowed to sit at home endlessly coloring or watching whatever found its way onto the TV screen. Instead, she was walked to and from the campus of I-Island Educational Institute by her mom. For 7 hours a day, Akemi was thrust into a world of learning she hadn't dreamed of. At first, she had been scared. Before, it was rare for Akemi to be without her mother in at least the same house but now it suddenly became a daily occurrence.
It was fortunate for Akemi that Melissa was attending the institute as well, despite being a grade above her. With her help, Akemi eventually grew comfortable around her classmates and the teaching staff. Hanging out with Melissa didn't come without its caveats, however. More and more, Quirks were running the world. Society shaped itself around them almost to the point of an individual needing one to stay afloat. And Melissa? She was Quirkless. This wasn't exactly rare, yet, but as the days passed people being born Quirkless would steadily grow more uncommon. An unfortunate side effect of all this was a certain cruelty that extended itself out towards this minority.
"Hey, the Quirkless losers are hanging out again!" A boy with water for hair and pitch black eyes pointed Akemi and Melissa out as they sat on a park bench just minding their own business. He looked to be about 10 while the girls were 6 and 7, respectively. Behind him were 4 lackeys of similar age. As the group stomped up to the girls, Akemi tried to quickly shove the magazine she'd been reading into her bag. An unlucky twist of her wrist caused the magazine to miss the opening entirely, leaving the literature in plain view and vulnerable to being snatched by the arriving bullies. Which is exactly what the group's 2nd-in-command did.
"Hey!" Akemi yelped in anger and jumped to her feet as another bully joined in to play a game of Keep Away. The magazine was that month's issue of World Hero Monthly and featured an extensive interview of Japan's #1 Hero, All Might. "That's my dad's, give it back!"
"Akemi isn't Quirkless." Melissa tried to keep her focus on the group's leader but found herself occasionally turning a concerned eye to Akemi as she fought for the magazine. "What do you guys want?"
"You really believe her lies?" The boy growled as he poked a finger hard into Melissa's collarbone. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Little Miss Shield."
"I've seen papa's research!" Melissa barked back, crossing her arms and glaring at the boy.
"So you're both in on it too." He growled at Melissa before reeling a hand back. His fist was closed and a swirl of water extended from his hair to envelop it. Melissa's eyes widened in fear and began to curl in on herself. She was used to the harsh words and the pranks, but this was the first time a bully had turned violent. However, the blow she was preparing for never came. From behind closed eyes, Melissa heard something impact the boy and send him to the ground.
"I don't care what you do to me!" Melissa opened her eyes to see Akemi on top of the bully, raining heavy punches of her own down on him. "But you won't touch Melrose!"