One day earlier
"Captain! We have an unidentified object off the port bow! It's coming for us!"
Captain Edwards turned to his sonar operator, Jones. "Any idea what it is?"
"No sir, I've never heard this thing before. My best guess would be an animal of some kind? I don't know."
Edwards' brow furrowed. He'd been warned of a massive creature prowling the waters near Japan. The warning stated that attacking said creature was futile, and any sub encountering it was to flee at full speed.
"The target is approaching rapidly, ETA 3 minutes!" said Jones.
Edwards hoped that warning was wrong. Because fleeing may not be an option.
"Full right rudder! All ahead full!" said Edwards. "Ready torpedoes for launch!
As their ship started to turn, Edwards ran through his options. They were attempting to flee, but what if the target was too fast? Could they fight? What if attacking was futile?
Edwards already knew the answer. Futile or not, he was not going to let his sub sink with torpedo tubes full!
"Captain!" said Jones. "The target's picking up speed! ETA one minute!"
And that decided it. "Fire torpedoes!"
"Torpedo one, peered and left the tube!"
He heard the distinct sound of a torpedo launching.
The die has been cast.
Everything seemed to stop as the crew anxiously waited to see the result. Edwards leaned forward in his chair. Would it hit or would it miss?
"Direct hit!" said Jones.
The crew relaxed. Edwards didn't. Come on…
Jones' expression turned to horror. "It's still coming for us! It hasn't even slowed down!"
"Fire again!" said Edwards.
"Torpedo two, peered and left the tube!"
"Another direct hit! No effect!"
That was it.
Edwards took a deep breath, and stood up straight. There was nothing to be done now but wait for the end.
"Impact in ten seconds! Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three!"
"Brace for impact!" said Edwards.
Jones put his hands to his headphones. "Jesus. Big heartbeats…"
The room lurched as something slammed into the sub, sending crewmembers careening from their seats. Edwards frantically tried to hold on to whatever he could as the entire sub seemed to tilt.
The hull creaked and groaned as if any moment it would come apart.
"Sir!" one of his subordinates screamed. "Radiation spiking!"
Radiation?! Has the reactor been compromised?!
The only answer Edwards received was a massive fireball that tore through the inside of the submarine, killing all onboard.
As the sub sank to the bottom, a massive form clung to it. The spines on its back started to glow…
The morning sun was already high, bathing the island with its warmth.
Toru and Mina stepped from their hotel and basked in its rays. "What a beautiful day!" said Toru.
"Yeah..." said Mina, stretching her arms as she walked. She glanced at Toru friend and stifled a laugh.
"What?" said Toru.
"I can see you right now. Kinda," Mina said pointing.
"You can? How-" Toru noticed the streaks of white sunscreen on her arms that she'd failed to rub it in. She got out her phone, turned it to selfie mode and saw the splotches of white outlining her face her face.
"Ugh! Why didn't anyone tell me?" Toru began rubbing it in. Mashirao had some explaining to do!
"Can't you just use your quirk to refract the light around it?" said Mina.
"That takes effort, I'm here to relax!"
"Fair enough," said Mina.
"Sorry I'm late," said Mashirao walking up behind them. "What are we doing today?"
"Why didn't you tell me my sunscreen wasn't rubbed in?" Toru said.
"I…didn't realize you hadn't noticed," Mashirao said, scratching his nose. "I thought you just didn't mind it or something…"
Toru made her posture as sarcastic as possible said, "Really? That's the best excuse you have? You thought I wanted to look like the Ghost of Vacation's past?"
He shrugged, evidently believing shutting up was his best option. As it happened, he was right.
"We are going into town today," said Toru. "You will come with us. Feel free to find me an apology gift if you see one."
He chuckled. "I'll keep my eyes open," he said with a fond smile.
Toru kissed his cheek. "I know you will."
"C'mon then, let's go!" said Mina.
"Hey! Wait for us!"
On the other side of the lobby Kaminari hurried over to them, Jiro walking behind him.
"Kaminari!" Toru said. "I'm surprised you're even up. Didn't you say you wanted to sleep until noon?"
"That was the plan," said Kaminari. "Then Kyoka banged on my door and ordered me to get my lazy ass up so we could enjoy the day."
Jiro shrugged, a smile on her lips and pink on her cheeks.
"Hey, where's Bakugo?" Mina said. "I thought you said Ejiro browbeat him into coming?"
"Unfortunately, an old case came up at Nejire's agency," said Kaminari. "He and Kirishima had to stay behind to deal with it.
Mina looked crestfallen. "Aw man. I was looking forward to spending time with them…"
"Don't worry, Ejiro promised me they'd be here in a couple days, so you can hang out with him, while I can pester Bakugo!"
"Why do you keep doing that?" said Jiro. "Was skydiving without a parachute too easy a way to die?"
"Yes. Besides if I did that, I wouldn't get to see how many years I could keep it up and still be alive!" said Kaminari.
Jiro punched him in the arm. "Idiot."
"What? His rage is funny!"
He had a point. Unless you were a villain, Bakugo was more ridiculous than scary. Even in High School he was clearly all bark.
"Enough chit chat," said Mina. "Let's go!
It was a great day. They wandered around town, checking out shops, spying on knick knacks and even running into Kendo, Setsuna and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. While chatting with them, Mina and Setsuna took a selfie in front of a really cool mural.
The mural was of a mythical sea monster said to have once lived near this island, back when it had been called "Odo Island". Said monster almost looked like a dinosaur (hence Setsuna's interest).
After that they hiked to a waterfall (it was beautiful), then went back and hung out at the beach.
By the time the group was making their way back to the hotel, the sun was already setting.
"What a day!" said Mina.
"I just wish that bird hadn't stolen my churro…" said Kaminari.
"You do realize you could have given it a light zap right?" said Jiro.
Kaminari looked straight onward as it dawned on him that yes, he could have done that. "Goddammit!"
Jiro chuckled. "Guess they know to go for the dumb ones huh?"
"Not funny Kyoka!"
"It kind of is. Besides, what are you whining about? I gave you half of mine."
"Quarter! You'd already eaten half."
"Close enough."
Mina slid up close to Toru and, in a low voice, said, "When do you think Kaminari's going to man up and…you know." She flicked her head at the two behind them acting out the same old married couple dynamic they'd had since UA.
"I don't know," Toru whispered. "I hope its soon! What do you think Mashirao?"
"I don't know. I haven't kept up on that sort of topic, sorry," he said.
Rats. Mina would just have to find gossip elsewhere.
The setting sun turned the sky into a rich orange, while the clouds glowed pink. They passed a dock where two figures were fishing. One had a hairstyle they'd recognize anywhere.
"All Might!" said Mina waving.
At his name their former Heroics teacher turned and gave them a warm smile. "Oh hello there Young Ashido, Jiro, Kaminari, Ojiro, it's been a while."
"Good to see you," said Ojiro. "How've you been holding up?"
All Might set down his fishing pole and slowly turned himself around,a cane supporting his frail fraim. "Alright. Old injuries are disagreeing with age, but I'm pushing on."
Despite his reassurances, Mina could see that the years of Hero work were catching up to him. His blond hair had now gone fully gray, his skin sagged off his face forming deep wrinkles, and every move seemed to take deliberate effort. He looked to be a man in his nineties, not his sixties.
The figure next to him, an old man with a fishing hat, turned to them with a smile. "Are these your students Mr. Yagi?"
All Might nodded. "Yes, they were the first class I taught at UA! "
"I see," the old man said looking them over, "I've seen some of them on the news. I'm pretty sure my eleven-year-old grandson has a crush on that one." He pointed at Mina.
Mina giggled. "Awww, that's cute!"
"Thank you. His eight-year-old sister likes that one," he pointed at Kaminari. "Thinks he's funny."
"Congrats Denki," said Jiro. "You finally found someone who laughs at your jokes. They just needed to be eight."
"I'll take it!" said Kaminari. "Good to meetcha Mr…?"
"Fujimoto. I've lived on this island for my entire life. Fish here almost every day."
"Any bites?" said Kaminari.
"Of course! If I spent sixty years without a single bite I would've quit!"
"That's not…never mind."
"None today," said All Might, "but here's hoping that changes!"
"We'll leave you to it," said Jiro.
"Good luck," said Ojiro.
"Yeah," said Mina before remembering. "Oh wait! All Might!"
All Might raised an eyebrow.
"Can I get an autograph for my roommate? She's a Hero, the Zero Gravity Hero Uravity, and she's a fan of yours."
"Uravity?" said All Might. "That name sounds vaguely familiar..."
"She works with Nejire," said Mina. "Got her license after school. She's a great person, you'd love her!"
"How lovely," said All Might. "Reminds me of my former sidekick. He was a salaryman before getting his license." He held out a piece of paper. "Here."
Mina took it and find an autograph already written on it. She stared at All Might incredulously.
He smirked. "Rule to the wise, if you expect to meet a lot of people who want your signature, have some already written."
"Ooh," said Mina. "I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks All Might!" She turned to follow her friends.
"You're welcome Young Ashido. Tell your friend I said hi."
"Will do!"
All Might watched his students walk away. So carefree.
He was glad they took moments for themselves like this, instead of constantly working like he had. It was good the next generation found a greater balance between their personal and professional lives than he had. When Toshinori first retired, his workaholism had made it agony to stay in the classroom while his students went out into the world.
But over time he adjusted and now was content to do his best helping the next generation prosper.
Whenever a Hero told him he'd inspired them, he felt a warmth in his chest. To him it meant that in a way he was still helping make the world better, even after his time as All Might was long past.
A boy with desperate green eyes stared at the ground, too scared to look into Toshinori's eyes as he heard the sad answer his desperate question.
Toshinori's smile faded.
Why…do I still think of that day?
In most respects, it had been like any other day. It began like any other and it ended like any other. But that part in the mid afternoon…
The memory would ebb and flow, but it would always be there, never letting him forget what he'd said. Particularly, how he'd said it.
The boy had asked if he could be a Hero without a quirk. All Might wished the answer could have been yes. But…sadly, it wasn't. Even in this world of wonder, they still had to face reality. He'd have learned that too if his master hadn't chosen him.
But that didn't excuse Toshinori's delivery.
In his bitterness, his pain, his…self-pity, he'd given no comfort and no hope. He simply crushed the boy's dreams and walked away with barely another word. Even his suggestion to become a police officer had been delivered less like the worthy alternative it was, and more like a consolation prize.
Days later Toshinori realized what a boy his age might do when left alone on a rooftop in that state. In a panic, he checked the news. Fortunately, nothing had happened.
Yet still the day haunted him. Was it their shared quirklessness? Toshinori's failure to reassure someone in need, to give hope?
In the end it didn't matter. He never saw that boy again.
All he could do now was hope that that boy had moved on to a fulfilling life, safe from the dangers of being a Pro Hero.
A bead of sweat slid down Izuku's forehead.
He was in a precarious place. One wrong move and it would be disaster. Zeni looked to him for guidance. This was a tipping point…
Yashiro looked at her cards, shrugged, and said, "All in." She pushed all of her chips into the middle of the bed.
Izuku looked at his hand. It was good, but not great. He looked at the size of the stack and at the size of his own pile.
The risk was too great.
"I fold," he said.
"Me too," said Zeni.
They threw down their cards. Zeni had had a good hand too. Not quite as good as Izuku's but still pretty good.
Yashiro pulled the winnings toward herself, then grinned. She laid down her cards.
"No way!" said Zeni. Izuku gaped.
Her hand…sucked! No running numbers, barely two of a kind, and no face cards.
"Good game," she said, looking far smugger than usual. "Thanks for the money."
Off to the side, Kisaragi, Akiba, and Hayama all lauged at Izuku and Zeni's misfortune, conveniently ignoring that they had lost too.
"Up for another hand?" asked Yashiro.
It was a risk, but would Ota Murakami back down? Izuku smiled. "Deal me in."
Scaris
Yata and his brother, Ryota lazily steered their fishing boat around the island, heading home after a long day of fishing.
It was dark, but the moon gave them a good view of the island where tall cliffs lined the shore. This stretch had some nice beaches that were unfortunately off limits due to ice cold waters and giant cuttlefish attacks.
They made their way further around, passing some safer beaches that didn't have giant cuttlefish eating people. Ryota and Yata had spent many a summer day either swimming there or jumping off a rock near the top of the cliffs. Yata could even do flips.
Yata was torn from his thoughts when he heard Ryota gasp.
Before Yata could react, Ryota ran over and grabbed his arm. "Yata! We have to leave now!"
Yata opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but then, he saw it.
A large glowing yellow eye, followed by an ear-splitting screech.
Yata and his brother dove overboard just as a giant claw smashed their fishing boat to pieces.
Somebody got hungry...
I was undecided on whether to change the Island's name to Odo in previous chapters, so I decided to split the difference and say it renamed itself some time between 1954 and now.
Fun fact, that bit at the submarine was conceived for last chapter, then I decided not to do it, then I wrote it into this chapter as a later edition.
(By the way, I have no idea how to play poker, please correct me if that description of a bad hand is wrong)
Hope you enjoyed!
