Chapter 3 - It's Not Stalking–It's Fieldwork

Notes: Sorry it took me so long, real life was a bitch and it took longer than I expected. So I went in for a cleaning and instead had to have a root canal and a crown with another scheduled for later which hurt like hell. Also as someone who isn't from the US the US healthcare system is both confusing and rage inducing.

An hour later, he finally allowed himself a much-needed break. His movements had been purposefully sporadic to throw off both Eraserhead and the police. However, the risk of getting caught was still looming if he continued to tail All Might. Yet, he had no other choice. If he wanted to gather more valuable information, he needed to stick close to All Might's patrol route. His main goal now was to follow the legendary superhero without attracting any unnecessary attention. The stakes were high, but his determination to uncover the truth outweighed everything else. Without warning a high piercing scream rang through the night, shattering the silence and sending a shiver down Izuku's spine. For a moment, the world stood still, and held its breath, before the darkness swallowed the scream and the city's normal nocturnal noises returned.

His legs moved instinctively, driven by a mix of fear and adrenaline. His mind raced, torn between conflicting thoughts. "What if All Might doesn't arrive in time? What if she's injured or worse? If I don't go now, it could be too late," he thought, the urgency pumping through his veins.

But another voice whispered in his mind, reminding him of his own limitations. "You're just a fifteen-year-old quirkless boy, you just barely survived a fight with a supervillain. Going there could put you in danger," it cautioned. Yet a tiny part of him, almost guiltily, recognized the opportunity to gather more data on All Might, using her pain for his own selfish purposes. "But it's for a good cause," he justified to himself, trying to silence any lingering guilt.

Driven by both concern and curiosity, Izuku raced to the street with a determination that defied his limitations. The mystery of the scream beckoned him, pulling him deeper into the shadows

Izuku made his way forward toward where he thought the scream had come from. After a while, he turned into the right alley and saw the silhouettes of two people illuminated by the street lights. One figure was unmistakably that of All Might. Izuku stared in awe as All Might launched himself toward the villain, his trademark laugh ringing through the air as he prepared to attack the woman. The villain, a tall woman with long black hair, stepped back and raised her hands, and he saw the glint of metal that began at her fingertips and stretched until her whole body was covered in a silver metal material.

She moved with an unnatural swiftness, her limbs morphing into sharp blades as she lunged at All Might. He dug his heels into the ground and braced himself, taking the brunt of the attack as sparks flew from the point of impact. All Might retaliated with a powerful punch, sending her flying across the street.

All Might flew up to meet her, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks that dented her form. But she kept coming, spinning and rolling her way closer and closer.

At first, it seemed that the fight would be a short one and All Might would easily take away the victory when in the blink of an eye, when the air suddenly crackled, and before All Might could react her two arms multiplied into eight, leaving the hero temporarily stunned. All Might's confident smile faltered, realizing that this fight was not going to be as straightforward as he had initially thought.

Still, they traded blow for blow until the villain found an opening in his unwavering defense and struck him with a fortunate blow to the left side of his body. The resounding impact sent All Might staggering backward.

Izuku's heart pounded as he watched All Might crumble in pain, his iconic smile replaced by a grimace. The sight sent a chill down Izuku's spine, a familiar sensation from days spent on the receiving end of a bully's fists. Time seemed to stand still as Izuku held his breath, desperately hoping that his hero would recover. And then, almost miraculously, All Might rose back up, his form once again towering and powerful, ready to continue the fight.

The vantage point from the alley was not good, it would have been easier if he could observe the fight from higher ground, but after what happened earlier today, he felt it was better to be cautious and to stay in the shadows to avoid detection.

Once again, she stormed towards him, her quirk charged and ready for action. He braced himself for the incoming attack. This time, however, he managed to evade her grasping hands with a swift attack of his own. A flicker of concern crossed Izuku's gaze as he noticed the strain in All Might's stance. Each punch and kick that landed felt weaker, as if the hero was running on his last reserves, fighting against his ever-growing exhaustion. Sensing this vulnerability, she readied herself for yet another assault, clearly attempting to prolong the fight in hopes of tiring him out. Fighting through his exhaustion he readied himself for one final attack.

Izuku watched in disbelief as All Might stretched his arms out, grabbing the metal arms and lifting up in the air, hurling her away and sending her crashing to the ground. The supervillain lay motionless, defeated at last.

At the sound of sirens, he quickly ducked into another ally and made his way home. Part of him really wanted to stay and help the young woman who had been the victim of the villain attack, but his rational mind reminded him that there was no need to get himself involved in the situation with All Might around, after all, he was trying to avoid the police after the earlier incident. Still, he felt a small tinge of guilt; those thoughts were not very heroic though, however, they were soon drowned out by the excitement of what he had seen. He needed to get home to write everything down so he would not forget any details.

He spent the next few hours transcribing his notes and looking through the collection of pictures he had taken. While the angels were terrible, at least some of them would provide useful information. All in all, it had been a very productive night, still there was this nagging thought in his head that wouldn't leave him alone. Something was wrong; Those blows had been powerful, sure, but they should not have been enough to elicit such a reaction in All Might and afterward, he had clearly been weaker trying to compensate for the pain. He had been good at hiding it, but to Izuku it had been clear as day; A severe possibly chronic injury would explain everything—the fluctuating power output, the altered Quirk, the peculiar movements during battles. All Might had been shielding his injured left side and torso, fighting through the pain to keep protecting people. It all made sense now. The poor man, Izuku couldn't help but wince at the thought of fighting with an injury like that. Most other heroes would have retired after that, but not All Might.

The question now was how old the wound was and who had inflicted it. Combing through his notes he found 2221 references to injuries All Might had incurred during his times as a limelight hero, ranging from major injuries like broken ribs and legs to minor injuries such as a light concussion, but none of the entries could explain what he had seen earlier. The last major fight that Izuku could fight was his fight against Toxic Chainsaw, but it was highly illogical that a small-time crook could have harmed All Might so severely. He needed to organize his thoughts. He took out a new notebook and began a new entry.

…

Hero Notes #27

Hero: All Might

Quirk: Super Strength (Details unknown)

Weaknesses:

- gained massive injury during an unknown fight (NOT Toxic Chainsaw

- displays signs of organ damage (torso - possibly lung and stomach, - left side damaged - likely chronic pain - not seem to be urgent but impacts his fighting style - (shielding torso, left side periodically), displays signs of decreased quirk functionality (general hours as hero gone down, strength going down approximately 0.17% per month)

…

Satisfied he closed his notebook, returned everything to its rightful place and climbed into bed. It had been an eventful day and he had learned a lot, but he had no idea what to do with the information he had gathered. Who in All Might's circle knew about this? It must be a secret because he had never even seen a glimpse of it on any of the hero forums, it made sense if something like that got out to the villains not just his reputation, but also his life would be in danger. Should he just confront All Might with what he had learned or would it be better to go to Sir Nighteye, would he even believe him? So many questions. He tried to stay awake but soon drifted off into a fitful sleep.