"How is she?" asked Toshinori with open concern.
"She had a nasty gash and a bad concussion, but she'll be back in class in a day or two. I'm more interested in why her body appears to have some sort of low-level regeneration going on before I used my quirk on her," said Recovery Girl flatly.
Bakugo's attack did not go unpunished. Considering he had attacked after the exercise was over for his team and had shown his ego was out of control, he had been forcibly demoted to general studies until the psychologist he was forced to see to avoid expulsion said that his behavior was better. He might be able to return to the hero course, but the principal had made it clear that he wasn't going to be in the same class as Midoriya Hikari again.
Especially when the psychological exam revealed that Bakugo had a strong hatred for her because she was "quirkless" and therefor "inferior" to him, yet she had the power and skill to humiliate him easily.
Considering the background check Eraserhead did after the fact, most of this mess could be attributed to the fact that the adults who had the most influence on the teen had heaped unnecessary amounts of praise on him for his quirk and the fact he had a strong chance to enter UA while openly disparaging or mocking Midoriya because she was quirkless and still dared to dream of being a hero. That she still managed to make it in without a quirk was a testiment to her will and dedication.
The school was promptly blacklisted for the next decade at least.
"Is there anything else?"
"I have a question. Is she physically capable of handling One for All as she is now, or would she need additional training?" asked Toshinori seriously.
Recovery Girl stared at him in surprise. She knew Toshinori had found a potential candidate he was partial to as his successor, but she had no idea it this girl.
"Physically she might need a bit of training in order to draw it out and use correctly. But why her?" she asked.
"She showed zero hesitation in saving others, even when it means putting herself in harms way. And when given the chance to get revenge on someone she has a legitimate grievance with, she chose only inflict minor humiliation and minimal damage while holding back the majority of her strength. She hasn't allowed her status as 'quirkless' to keep her from being a hero, which is more dedication than most of the heroes I've seen in recent years," said Toshinori simply. "Mostly it was the fact she was openly offended about the idea of not at least trying to save a hostage who was in life-threatening danger simply because she didn't have the proper quirk to deal wit the villain."
That particular moment was the deciding factor. The fact she made it into UA with her own merits rather than with a quirk and had held back on a little payback against someone she disliked had only cemented it.
He genuinely believed Midoriya Hikari was the best candidate for One for All.
Besides...he was really curious if Hikari genuinely had found the way to use magic.
A few days later...
Hikari couldn't help but stare when she heard what All Might was offering.
"You want me to become your successor?" she said stunned.
"As you know, I took a major hit five years ago against a rather dangerous villain. As such I've been looking for someone to pass the torch of the next Symbol of Peace to...and I've had no luck until I stumbled upon you," he said.
"Why me?"
"You're dedicated, you have the right mind set and when you had the chance to do some real damage to someone you had a grievance with you chose to hold back and only inflict minor humilation. Mostly it was the way you were so openly offended by the idea of not at least trying to save a hostage dying in front of you, despite the fact you didn't have a quirk that could openly affect the villain," said Toshinori. "I asked Recovery Girl and she said physically you might be able to handle my quirk. The trouble will be training you in how to use it."
"Is it even possible to transfer quirks?" she wondered.
"Considering I was quirkless until the previous user chose me to act as her successor, yes. One for All is unique in that it can be transferred and the power base grows with each user," said Toshinori. "There is one thing I am curious about though... during the fight with young Bakugo, you were chanting something before throwing ice arrows at him."
"I was using Freeze Arrow. It made more sense than using Flare Arrow considering the heat would have made it easier for him. And some of my spells aren't a good idea to use in confined spaces," she said absently, before flinching.
"So you do know magic," said Toshinori. "I had a feeling."
"Wait, you know about magic?"
"I've heard stories about it, and I might have seen a spell being used once...but nowhere near on the level of what you used earlier," he said.
"Not surprising... most of the spell books were ruined by religious persecution and people opted for technological advancement over sorcery," said Hikari. "I was lucky that I accidentally found a way to a place where I can learn how to use magic and fight with a sword when I was seven. My teacher was really enthusiastic about having a minion learn after her."
Her teacher's friends were happier that she wanted to be a hero (which Amelia heartily approved of) rather than the next coming of Lina Inverse.
That being said, Lina definitely had a strong impact on Hikari's personality. She was just better at hiding it.
"What other spells can you do?" he asked.
Hikari thought of what the best one to use was, before she remembered his condition.
She brightened, before she started chanting it. Toshinori blinked when he felt the spell hit him, before a strange sensation bloomed in his stomach. It felt really weird, but not in a bad way.
Hikari let go of the spell a few minutes later, but she looked exhausted.
"Wow... I did not know the damage done to you was that extensive," she said.
She would need to hit an all-you-can-eat buffet after this, she just knew it.
(Lina had cried tears of blood upon learning that Hikari's world had places where you could pay a small fee and eat all you want. Without having to actually order anything, just walk up and pick what you wanted.)
Toshinori had to sweat drop when, as he was discreetly following his new student he heard the restaurant owner cry out in horror that "she" had returned.
Seeing Hikari devour several massive plates of food at an all-you-can-eat buffet was shocking, but not as much as the fact that she was still so tiny. Then again it made sense that magic would require a lot of energy from those using it.
Out of everything she could have expected, being told to eat one of All Might's hairs in order to 'awaken' One for All inside her was not what she thought would happen. Then again, she had done stranger things to learn new magic, but still.
"Now what?"
"Now we have to wait for the...hair...to properly unfold. It's going to take a few hours for it to kick in, and then we can start working on training you," said All Might.
"Sounds reasonable," said Hikari.
The next morning...
She could feel it. There was a change in her energy and it seemed like it would take a while to settle in naturally with her magical power.
She had the feeling it would take something to jumpstart it before she could even use it though. Since today was the weekend and there weren't any classes, she was to head to UA before they went to an off-site training area so the staff could see exactly how much "magic" she actually knew. If only so they could adjust their potential training schedule for her.
Considering the healing spell she used on him recently, and her immediate trip to the buffet once she left campus, All Might made sure the principal knew to have plenty of food ready so she could recharge.
Recovery Girl was rather eager to get her hands on the white magic Hikari knew, since a mild one actually managed to regrow parts of Toshinori's liver.
"So what are we going to do anyway?"
"Sparring against heroes, mostly. Since you have a rescue mission on Monday we want to at least get it up and working first so you have a chance to use it during class," said All Might. "We have to push you to the utmost limit in order to wake it up."
"I have to wonder who's going to be more surprised by the end of this..." said Hikari.
Seven hours later...
"How is she still going?!" said Present Mic in disbelief.
"I don't know, but she's going to give any villain hell," said Eraserhead, exhausted.
"Man are you guys out of shape," said Hikari.
"How are you still fighting?" asked Present Mic.
"Practice?" said Hikari.
Honestly, she forgot she tended to cast long-term recovery spells on herself before any fight as a matter of habit.
But really, she should probably end this soon otherwise she could start eating into her body's natural fat stores and do some serious damage.
There was a reason why Lina only cast spells like the Ragna Blade and the Giga Slave as an absolute last resort measure. It tended to cause a lot of internal damage on top of utterly draining the magical power in your body.
"But seriously, you're a harder opponent than half the villains we've faced in a long while," said Present Mic, respect clear in his voice.
"You do realize our main goal is to kickstart your new quirk so that we can train it later, right?" said Eraserhead.
Hikari tapped her head with her fist.
"I might have forgot what the original goal was," she said, laughing lightly.
"You're a battle junkie, aren't you?" said Present Mic sweatdropping.
"Nah, it's just that I was having too much fun. It's hard to find decent opponents when your teacher keeps jumping in first for first dibs on the treasure," said Hikari.
"You know what? I'm out. Call in the next victim," said Eraserhead.
"Ditto."
It was a mark against their pride a fifteen-year-old was able to outlast them in a hero-versus-villain battle. If she was this strong now, the villains were going to be screwed.
"I suppose that means I'm up!" said the principal cheerfully. From what he saw, Miss Midoriya wouldn't take his true nature personally and would likely have a lot of fun trying to outwit him.
Even if he found some amusement that her first reaction to meeting him was to stare for a full five seconds before squealing and hugging him. Apparently she had a thing for small and furry things, who knew?
After about thirty minutes 'playing' with the principal, it finally happened. He managed to push her into a pinch big enough that One for All finally kicked in, allowing her to punch the machine using her enhanced strength.
All Might was pouting slightly though.
"Why did you call out 'Pacifist Punch' rather than one of my moves?" he asked.
"Thought it would be funnier. I just know you'd become instant best friends with Prince Phil and his daughter Amelia."
She just knew the second Phil and Amelia meet All Might, they'd love him immediately. Just like All Might would love their sense of justice and honor.
Besides, big sis Amelia was better at white magic than she was. If anyone could heal All Might, it was her or Sylphiel. She was good at white magic, but the bigger stuff like Ressurection was still beyond her level.
"Frankly I'm amazed you're still mobile. From what young Toshinori told me, activating One for All for the first time should have left you unable to move," said Recovery Girl.
"I tend to cast a long-lasting recovery spell on myself before any major fight. I knew there was a high chance the pro heroes wouldn't take it easy on me, and fighting an experienced opponent like Vlad King and Power Loader means I should take them seriously from the get-go otherwise it'd be an insult. That and I've been in way worse pain before...not enough to actually move, but enough that I can at least hobble around a bit."
"Oh no you don't young lady!" scolded Recovery Girl. "All Might, if you would?"
"Hup!"
Hikari blushed like mad as All Might picked her up in a princess carry and deposited her at a large table. The pro hero Lunch-Rush was already waiting for them.
"I've been monitoring your body's stats during the fights, and I noticed you were eating through an insane amount of calories. Frankly I'm surprised you're in such good shape," said Recovery Girl. "Which would explain the rather healthy appetite All Might observed."
Any quirk that ate through that many calories meant that the user would need to eat an insane amount of food to provide an energy source. Otherwise it would eat into their body and cause them to become even more emaciated than Toshinori was outside of his hero form.
Lunch-Rush didn't mind...if anything he was happy there was a student who fully appreciated his abilities as a cook and could give an honest criticism.
Present Mic and Eraserhead weren't the only ones staring at the sheer speed Hikari was going through food.
"Holy...how is she eating that much?!" said Present Mic baffled.
"At this point I'm astounded she's still showing decent table manners with how fast she's going," said Eraserhead just as dumbfounded.
"That's what I like to see in a growing child, a proper appetite," said Lunch-Rush pleased.
Fortunately the spread he put out was big enough that he had the ability to feed the other hungry heroes before finishing up the order for Hikari.
By the time she finally finished, there was a veritable mountain of plates swaying a tad dangerously on the table.
"I haven't eaten that well since the last time I visited Seyruun!" said Hikari happily.
"How many plates did she eat exactly?" said Midnight in shock.
"I honestly lost count after fifty-three," said Power Loader, just as dumbfounded.
"You do realize you can make a betting pool to see what the final count is, right?" said Hikari.
"Now there's an idea," said Nezu with amusement.
(The final count was sixty-seven, with All Might having won the betting pool as he had been secretly keeping count.)