When Ocelot stepped through the door, Bakugo knew something was off. Normally All Might would rush in to get the heroics lesson started. He'd have some big cheesy speech, boisterously open the wall's compartments, and then charge out with the class in tow. So to have Ocelot instead, told him all he needed to know.
"Alright, All Might's in a meeting right now, so today's lesson is going to be a bit different. There's no need for your costumes, but if you want them you can wear them," Ocelot quickly told them, one of his hands spinning a revolver. When the walls opened up, Bakugo decided against wearing his costume, even though a part of him wanted to desperately. Then as Ocelot left the classroom, he and the rest of the extras followed him.
For a while, Bakugo was confused as to where they were going. At first, he assumed they were heading for one of the training grounds. But he shot that idea down when he remembered Ocelot saying costumes wouldn't be needed. They walked on though, leaving the main building and heading towards somewhere. Slowly Bakugo got his answer, as Ocelot led them to the MSF's command center.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see several of his classmates go pale white, the most prominent being the midget. Bakugo scoffed at their reactions. To think they were afraid of these extras, he could beat them all by himself.
"W-we're going in there!?" the midget exclaimed, bringing his hands to his head, "Oh they're going to kill us!"
It brought the attention of a pair of soldiers walking nearby.
"[The fucks he on about?]" one of them asked in English, Bakugo's eyes following the voice.
"[I dunno, maybe he's failing classes or something. Anyway, how's your sister?]" the other replied, the two ignoring the class as they walked by.
"[Ah, better than last time. She's got another round of chemo though,]" the first guy replied. Bakugo didn't understand either man's words, but he didn't care. I mean villains like them were always up to something. He entered the facility quickly though, following Ocelot inside. Winding through a few corridors, the class found themselves in a wide open room, surrounded by screens and a dozen futuristic-looking tables. The best way Bakugo could describe it would be a command room, as a bunch of soldiers sat around going over… something.
He could have sworn one of the screens displayed battle reports, possibly for some contract they were on. However, he also spotted two other people. The first was Snake, as forgetting the villain on campus was somewhat impossible. The second was… some blond guy with aviators. Whoever he was, he wasn't important. If he wasn't the boss of the MSF then he was just an extra.
"[I still don't understand why you agreed to this,]" the blond man muttered, the two slowly noticing Ocelot and 1A arriving.
"[Nezu was asking for a favor,]" Snake replied quietly, with the blond bringing a hand to his face. It lifted his glasses slightly as he tiredly rubbed his eyes.
"[I get that, but he couldn't have asked for something else? I mean these tables are a thousand dollars each Boss,]" the blond told Snake.
"[Well, then I'm sure the students will be extra careful with them then. If not, Nezu's permitted us to have them foot the bill,]" Snake replied, though from what Bakugo could tell, his reply did little to stem the blond's annoyance.
"[Duly noted,]" the blond muttered, while now turning to address 1A. It was no surprise to Bakugo that when the villains looked at them, all of 1A somehow paled further. Well, not all. Icy-hot looked at the two men uncaringly, ponytail only looked nervous with a hint of curiosity, and well… Bakugo was Bakugo.
"For those of you who haven't seen the news, this is Snake and Commander Kazuhira Miller," Ocelot said, while spinning one of his revolvers, "Thanks to a deal with the Principal they have agreed to help us in today's lesson. So, I'll let them take it away."
"Thank you, Ocelot. Now, before we get started I have one rule. No quirk use in the command center," Snake stated, looking over the class slowly. Bakugo merely scoffed at the notion but didn't argue.
"This room is filled with expensive equipment. This table alone is over a thousand dollars," Snake told them, placing his hand on one of the futuristic-looking tables. It lit up the second he touched it, creating a large holographic map of UA. It brought a few looks of surprise from everyone, including Bakugo, though he would never admit it.
"And thanks to our deal with Nezu, if you break it you pay for it," Snake warned, earning a quiet eep from someone in the class. With a flick of Snake's wrist, the table turned off.
"That brings us to your lesson. Many of you will come into situations where you will have to organize and lead other heroes. So for today, you will be going through simulated war game scenarios to gauge your tactical and strategic prowess," Snake explained, before snapping his fingers. Very quickly Akatani walked over to one of the tables and plugged in that odd rectangular device he always carried. Seconds later that avatar girl Bakugo saw before was standing on the table.
"This is Victoria. She is going to monitor your progress through the simulations and compile it. For these simulations you will be up against myself, Commander Miller, Akatani, and a few of my officers. Any questions?" Snake asked. No one moved as he asked, instead staying nervously still for a few seconds. Slowly though, Bakugo noticed Ponytail hesitantly raise her hand.
"S-Snake, sir, what are the scenarios?"
"For right now we have three. The first is the aftermath of a large earthquake. Most of the surrounding area is heavily damaged and has been ravaged by… villains… [It sounds stupid to say, Kaz,]" Snake then muttered, turning to Commander… something. Bakugo couldn't remember his name.
"[It's the terminology they work with. Everything's classified as a villain for them,]" the commander replied, with Snake giving him an annoyed groan.
"[Doesn't make it any less dumb. It puts a petty thief on the same level as Adolf Hitler,]" Snake again muttered before turning to address the class again, "Back on topic most forms of transportation are cut off, as are electricity and running water. For this scenario, your goal is to defeat the villains present, while protecting humanitarian aid packages."
"A-am I to assume we lose if the villains capture the packages?" ponytail nervously asked, and Snake nodded in response.
"Correct. You also lose if the enemy overwhelms the heroes present. While a victory would be the total elimination of the villains or crippling their capabilities," Snake replied, "Now scenario two involves a large-scale villain attack. Your goal is to evacuate any civilian presence in the area and hold the line until backup can arrive. You fail if civilian casualties exceed a certain percentage or if the villains overwhelm you."
Snake then paused for a moment to rummage through his pockets and pull out a cigar. He was about to light it, only for the commander to snatch it away from him. It was oddly casual to everyone as if this was a normal occurrence.
"Finally, consider scenario three a follow-up to scenario two, where heroes counterattack the villains' forces. Eliminate any villains present and secure the area. However, it must be done within a time limit. Fail to do so and whatever villains you haven't defeated have now escaped. Any other questions?" Snake asked, again looking over the class.
"...How many villains are there?" four eyes asked slowly, a few others working up the courage to ask a question.
"Unknown. No one on the ground can give an accurate estimate, so you're going in blind," Snake replied.
"Is Victoria an AI or a sentient quirk?" Bird Brain asked.
"She is an AI, but that's not important for the lesson," Snake answered.
"Who is being paired up with whom?" ponytail asked.
"To keep things fair Victoria will randomize the scenarios and the people participating in them," Snake responded.
"Do we have controllers for the tables?" Pikachu asked.
"Ask Mikumo, I think he has a few,"
"What heroes are present in the simulations?" the midget asked.
"UA staff. These tables usually display military units instead of sole heroes, so some adjustments needed to be made. As such we didn't have time to add other heroes except for UA's." Snake told him. Though the wording immediately made a few of them pause, Bakugo included.
"Wait, does that include All Might?" round cheeks asked nervously.
"It does," Snake confirmed, slowly glaring at the brief excitement they all held.
"Sweet! This is going to be easy!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"I thought this was going to be a challenge," the midget muttered.
"Easy grade, here we come!" raccoon eyes exclaimed.
"Ahem," Snake quickly interjected, regaining everyone's attention, "We're burning daylight here, so let's get started. Victoria."
The AI walked around the table for a few seconds, as holograms lit up around it. The topographical map of a destroyed city quickly formed, as well as a large partition in the middle of the table.
"Alright, the first table is Akatani and Bakugo, with scenario one," the AI told them, causing Bakugo to smirk sadistically. This time the nerd was going down. He didn't listen as the rest of the groups were listed off, instead walking over to his side of the table. It took a few seconds of flicking his hand around, but he figured out how it worked. Once he got the gist of it he looked through the map.
There were only two roads the aid could drive through, and a large central area marking the refugee camp. At his disposal was most of UA's staff. Present Mic, Eraserhead, Thirteen, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, Power Loader, and of course All Might, were all present. Again, Bakugo couldn't help but smirk. This was going to be far too easy. Even without All Might this was too easy.
Then the simulation started, as did his plan. It was simple, he would overwhelm Akatani with the heavy hitters, while the weaker heroes guarded the humanitarian aid. Very quickly he sent All Might, Present Mic, Cementoss, and Thirteen out to patrol the surrounding area. For a few seconds, no villain was spotted, which Bakugo snorted at. Even in a simulation that coward hid away. Eventually, All Might found a small group of villains in a destroyed park, and most were quickly eliminated.
Then another group showed up, which All Might again eliminated. Then a third and a fourth. A dozen started rushing at All Might through the ruins. Bingo, Bakugo realized. With all the villains present this had to be the bulwark of Akatani's force. Quickly he rushed the other heroes into that area. It was all too easy. With All Might and Cementoss, he constantly out-maneuvered Akatani's villains.
Present Mic and Thirteen then removed any rubble or cover they could hide behind, ensuring the coward couldn't sneak away. Bakugo had the heroes continually flank and surround the villains. Every few seconds another dozen were eliminated. Soon enough Akatani would run out of men. Yet something seemed off, which struck Bakugo as odd. He was winning, almost flawlessly. Just like he expected.
But then again, Akatani was a tricky bastard. He said it himself, he will never fight fair. So what was he up to? Cautiously Bakugo decided to check back with the heroes guarding the humanitarian aid. Nothing was happening, and the trucks were moving forward carefully. But then it happened, a dozen new villains crawled out of the surrounding ruins. They caught Ectoplasm off guard, while overwhelming Eraserhead and Power Loader.
Which caught Bakugo by surprise. Eraserhead was a capable hero, nothing compared to All Might, but he could put up a fight. But he was dealt with so quickly here. Either the simulation was wrong, or… Bakugo's eyes widened in shock and the teen couldn't help but grind his teeth angrily. The villains he had been eliminating were cannon fodder, a distraction to keep the heavy hitters bogged down!
He tried to get All Might to leave the fight, to rush over and protect the convoy. But every few seconds some minor villain would attack him. They would freeze him, gas him, grab him, claw at him, anything! Anything to slow him down even slightly. And with how many villains were present it was working. Bakugo could only watch helplessly as Akatani's elite villains stole the trucks and drove off.
The trucks quickly disappeared into the fog of war. When all of Akatani's cannon fodder was finally eliminated, Bakugo sent All Might to search the area. He scoured over it, but the trucks were gone. His hands clenched to fists, Bakugo's fury rising. The teen remained quiet though, as Victoria called the end of the match. He lost- He didn't lose! That simulation was inaccurate! A fraud! Fake! All Might doesn't lose! He doesn't lose! It was either the simulation or that damn nerd cheating!
Kaminari was not stupid… well that wasn't entirely the truth. It was more, he wasn't stupid when it came to specific things. Literature? He could give you a full breakdown of Dante's Inferno, or explain every detail in George Orwell's 1984. History? Believe it or not, he could teach someone about every major event in the Sengoku Period. But science? Math? Well, then he was practically screwed.
Sure he knew the basics enough to get into UA, but numbers just never clicked with him, except for when it came to video games. And right now, this lesson seemed like a giant RTS. So he borrowed a controller from Midoriya and hooked it up to the table. The holograms lit up, displaying the scenario he got, scenario two. It was a dense city filled with civilians and dead bodies.
It was shocking how realistic it all looked, to the point Kaminari had to remind himself it wasn't real. Regaining focus he found a train station, which was the chosen evacuation point. With his lineup of heroes, he had Midnight, Snipe, Eraserhead, Cementoss, and of course All Might. Quickly the simulation started, and Kaminari moved to send All Might forward. But then he stopped for a second. He couldn't tell if he was being dumb, but part of his brain told him not to.
For now, he held All Might back, instead sending in Cementoss and Snipe. Scouting the area they ran into several fleeing civilians. Quickly he had Midnight and Eraserhead move in to evacuate them, while Cementoss and Snipe continued to move forward. Kaminari continued to find more civilians, but not a single villain yet. That was until he had Cementoss walk into an abandoned mall.
Again, Kaminari reminded himself it was a simulation as his eyes traced over the hundreds of dead bodies. Spikes then jutted out of the floor towards Cementoss, the hero jumping back quickly. A large swarm of villains littered the mall, and Kaminari had Cementoss fall back. But it was like he kicked a hornet's nest, with villains swarming from everywhere. He was forced to have Cementoss barricade a street with a thick wall, while still falling back. If he was right, then most of the civilians should have reached the evacuation point by now. And sure enough, Kaminari was right.
By now he was tempted to send in All Might to try and sweep through all the villains. But again, Kaminari hesitated. His mind went back to every video game he ever played. You don't waste high-value items, on unimportant enemies. You don't use a super move on a street thug. He was sure someone would call him an idiot for this logic because this was All Might he was talking about. But instead, he kept All Might near the evacuation point, just to keep it secure.
Meanwhile, he had the other heroes gradually fall back to the train station, the mass of villains getting ever closer to them. When they made it back, Kaminari slowly saw an opportunity. There were only a few ways into the train station, one of which was the main entrance, and dozens of smaller ones. So he quickly had Cementoss barricade them with concrete, leaving only one viable entrance. Seeing he fashioned a neat little zone, he had Midnight move in closer, while Cementoss, Snipe, and Eraserhead remained at the rear.
Slowly the villains arrived, with all being forced into the small chokepoint he created. Immediately Midnight would use her quirk, covering the chokepoint in gas. It worked fast, creating a small pile of unconscious villains. Any who were immune to the gas were either shot by Snipe or had their quirk erased, while Cementoss maintained the barricades. It was all going well for Kaminari. But for the life of him, the idea of needing All Might for something never went away.
It was too tempting not to just send All Might in to crush this crowd of villains. But Kaminari stopped himself, over and over again. Some part of him knew something was going to happen. Either that or the officer he was up against had something planned. Maybe he should have All Might scout the area. But what if he needed him at the evacuation point? Then again, the other heroes were handling all the other villains easily. In fact, they all seemed like poorly trained mooks…
Wait a minute, Kaminari realized. Poorly trained villains would not cause this much damage in a real situation. And this simulation was supposed to be realistic. He suddenly felt very grateful he kept All Might in reserve, as Kaminari began to search the train station for anything odd. Everything seemed normal, but then he spotted it. One of the barricades was broken down.
He had All Might rush over to it, coming face-to-face with the elite villains. They fought ferociously but were dealt with quickly, which was to be expected. No one could beat All Might. With the elite villains gone, and all the others still bogged down in his chokepoint, Kaminari found his lesson coming to an end. The last of the simulated civilians evacuated the area, and more heroes arrived at the area. Though those heroes were just a dozen or so copies of All Might in different colors.
It was surprisingly easy though, with Kaminari finding it odd. He was normally a capable student, but not overly so. It made him wonder how his classmates were doing if he of all people did so well.
When Yaoyorozu had begun the lesson, she had crafted a perfect plan. Her scenario was scenario three, launching a counterattack on the assembled villains. The heroes she was given, were All Might, Ectoplasm, Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Snipe. It was perfect, every hero playing perfectly into her hand. At the beginning of the simulation, her plan went as follows: Ectoplasm would create as many clones as possible to scout the area. Once they found the main group of villains, she would rush in with All Might to act as a distraction.
The villains all too focused on the Symbol of Peace, would overlook the other heroes slowly surrounding them. It would then end with the villains surrounded, and being overwhelmed. With All Might at her disposal, Yaoyorozu couldn't find a flaw in the plan. And at first, that's how it went. Ectoplasm's clones found the villains concentrated on a wide open street, tearing apart everything in their path.
She sent in All Might as the distraction and watched as the villains began to swarm him. They remained unaware of Ectoplasm, his clones, Present Mic, Snipe, and Eraserhead snuck up behind them. Finding that the group was now trapped, Yaoyorozu held confidence that the simulation would end. However, to her confusion, that didn't happen.
Instead of the villains being whittled down quickly, it became a long slow close-quarters brawl. Each villain seeing they were trapped began to fight tooth and nail for any kind of escape. Slowly the villains were defeated one by one, but it was at a great cost. Present Mic's quirk was overused and became far weaker as his voice died out. Eraserhead could barely keep his eyes open and as a result, one villain broke his arm. Snipe's gun ran out of ammunition, and Ectoplasm's prosthetic legs were snapped in half.
As the fight went on though, the villains' numbers slowly dwindled in a bloody brawl. Bones were constantly shattered, bits of blood covering the pavement. Chunks of concrete and nearby cars were broken and beaten from the force of All Might's or the villain's punches. And on the fight went. But Yaoyorozu slowly noticed something was off. The crowd of villains was getting smaller, but not because they were being defeated. There just seemed to be fewer of them somehow.
She couldn't put her finger on why. Her plan was practically flawless. The villains were surrounded, with the heroes whittling down their ranks. Yet the crowd seemed smaller than before. There… she hadn't made a mistake… she had planned for everything. Yaoyorozu was confident her eyes were just playing a trick on her. But then she spotted something in the crowd, a slowly forming gap.
It surprised Yaoyorozu, confusing her briefly as she tried to investigate. There in the center of the crowd was an open manhole, leading directly into the sewer. Panic slowly began to take hold of her, and Yaoyorozu's mind began to race. How could she have missed this? Something so simple! No, no, no, it was fine. She could work with this, Yaoyorozu told herself. But then she spotted the timer, ticking down quickly.
It caught her off guard with how little time she had, the panic she held getting even worse. But it was fine. She could have All Might… no, no, she would send in Ectoplam's clones who were currently bogged down in a fight… Wait! A single shout from Present Mic would clear out the crowd in an instant! Then she could… remember Present Mic's voice was dying from constant use. Plan after plan died as panic took hold.
What could she do? There was nothing she could do! Crippled with indecision Yaoyorozu panicked. Maybe she could… no that wouldn't work! Plan after plan was shot down. By the time the final villain on the surface was defeated, Yaoyorozu had Ectoplam's clones swarm the sewers. But it was too late. Time was up, and the villains had escaped.
The results of the exercise, were unexpected, to say the least. When the last of the students completed the simulation and Victoria handed Ocelot the report, he was not expecting Kaminari of all people to be the top scorer.
"Seems you've got a strategic mind," Snake commented as he looked over the report as well. Kaminari, who was not expecting the compliment from Snake of all people, simply nervously smiled.
"U-uh thanks?" he replied, not meaning to make it sound like a question.
"Now then, class has five minutes left so consider this a brief run down for all of you," Ocelot stated, getting the class's full attention.
"Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki. All of you had ample opportunity to win your scenarios, and you all got close to doing so. However, no plan, no matter how well thought out, survives contact with the enemy," Ocelot began, looking over the three students he called out. Yaoyorozu simply looked at the ground ashamed.
"There will be things you will miss, do not account for, or cannot account for, no matter how simple they are. For example, in Yaoyorozu, you missed the possibility of villains escaping through the sewer," Ocelot said, noticing the girl flinch back slightly for being called out abruptly.
"Now this isn't to shame you, but to reinforce the point. Even the smartest among you can miss the smallest details. Which is why you need to be adaptable," Ocelot explained, "In this kind of situation, step back, calm down, and think out all your options. This wasn't available for the exercise, but in the real-world situation consult other heroes on the scene as well. They'll likely point out something you miss, or have ideas to contribute. Got that?"
"Yes sir," Yaoyorozu replied, with Iida's reply being a bit more eccentric.
"I understand sir! We will all strive to do better in the future!" Iida practically exclaimed, while also bowing to show respect. Todoroki, simply nodded quietly, still annoyed he had lost. If he was in the field, then it would be different, Todoroki thought.
"Next up, Uraraka, Tokoyami, Mina, Sato- you know what this is going to take too long. All of you who barely passed, you used All Might too much. You became so reliant on him that you left yourselves open on other fronts. While he is powerful he cannot be everywhere at once," Ocelot told them sternly, his hand grabbing one of his revolvers.
"If your entire strategy relies on All Might winning every fight, then you're destined to lose the fights All Might isn't in. You have other assets available. Save the biggest gun for when you need it. At the same time, the enemy knows how important All Might is. He is a massive target as much as he is a heavy hitter. So the officers took advantage of that and swarmed him with disposable cannon fodder, while the real villains dealt with other real heroes," Ocelot continued, his hand now spinning his revolver. His comment though, caused Bakugo to loudly grumble annoyed.
"That's cause you had the simulation holding him back," Bakugo muttered, bringing over Ocelot and Snake's attention.
"No, we didn't. The system was designed to be as realistic as possible," Snake countered, Bakugo quickly waving him off.
"Sure, like I'd ever believe that from the mouth of a villain," Bakugo retorted, causing his classmates to quickly go pale. He was threatening said villain while surrounded by his soldiers. Ocelot luckily stepped in though, while tossing his revolver into the air.
"Do you want another week of cleaning duty?" Ocelot asked, the threatening question making Bakugo close his mouth.
"That's what I thought. The point is, you need to be more creative. Think outside the box in these kinds of situations. There will be times when All Might is unavailable, and you will have to make do with what you have… that gives me a small practice idea," Ocelot then muttered to himself.
"If you ever have the free time, write down a dozen random hero names and put them in a bowl. Do the same thing with a dozen different scenarios. It could be fighting a forest fire stopping a bank robbery, anything. I want you to take three hero names and a scenario from the bowls and think up a way to solve the issue with whatever combination you have. Consider it practice for thinking outside the box," Ocelot told them, before looking down at his arm.
"And that's all for today," Ocelot then stated, noticing the clock passed the five-minute mark. Very quickly the class filtered out of the MSF's command center. They did it oh so carefully, nervously passing soldiers as they left.
All Might couldn't help but pace around his office, thinking about what he was going to say. Then again, he was now getting second thoughts. Should he even tell Melissa? One for All wasn't a burden just anyone could bear, was it right to put that on her? All Might didn't know. He was confident All for One was dead, but that Nomu, it was too much of a possibility to risk. Finally, though All Might heard the door's handle turn slightly with a slight squeak.
Quickly All Might switched to his buff form, grateful he hadn't wasted much time. When the door fully opened, he couldn't help but smile as Melissa walked in.
"Uncle Might!" she excitedly greeted, racing over to hug him. All Might simply chuckled at the action, returning the hug when she reached him.
"It's good to see you again Melissa. It has been far too long. You almost seem different somehow. Say, have you gotten taller? You seem taller." All Might told her, as the two continued to hug.
"Well, I am seventeen," Melissa replied, the two soon letting each other go.
"Seventeen!" All Might called out in mock surprise, "Oh, where have the years gone?"
Melissa simply laughed in response, while slowly looking around All Might's office. He never bothered to decorate with anything, just a single fern he thought would look nice. Other than that the room was practically empty, save for the essentials and two couches with a table sitting in the middle of the room. Very quickly Melissa sat on one of these couches, All Might sitting down on the one across from her.
The sight causes Melissa to laugh again, as All Might is far larger than the couch itself. She even heard the sound of wood stretching and buckling. It didn't break luckily.
"So how's school? Still top of your class I assume?" All Might inquired, trying to stall slightly to think up a plan.
"I am and It's been good, kinda too good actually. I've already completed most of my assignments for the year, so things have been getting a bit boring lately. I just don't know what to do with all this free time," Melissa replied calmly, her hand tapping lightly on her thigh.
"What makes it worse is I've got… mechanist block? Whatever writer's block is for inventors," Melissa added before grumbling annoyed, "I had the idea for a new arm brace to support heroes with strength quirks, but I'm stuck on how it would work."
"I'm sure you'll think of something. Maybe a hobby will help," All Might told her thinking back to some similar cases he had. Not inventing of course, but instead long nights he and Tsukauchi spent pouring over case files. They could never find the answer sometimes, so they normally stepped back, and came back to the problem after a break.
"I guess. I'm just hoping it can be ready for the I-Expo," Melissa replied, with All Might loudly snapping his fingers.
"I almost forgot about that! How's it coming along? I know Dave tends to overwork himself when it comes to these events," All Might responded, remembering the many times his friend had pulled all-nighters.
"It's coming along nicely. It is a few months away though, so most of the preparations are just construction work," Melissa answered, "Though, I do remember spotting a few support companies scouting out booths early. Some Russian company, Ural something, was looking for a spot for some kind of exoskeleton. Now that I think about it, the design kind of resembled the ones the soldiers here have."
That caught All Might's attention, answering a question he had for a while now. He knew the MSF's odd robotic braces served some kind of purpose, but he never had a complete answer.
"So that's what they were. I hoped they were some kind of posture corrector," All Might muttered, "How similar were the designs?"
"Well… similar in the vaguest sense. Like they're both exoskeletons, but the Russian one seemed bulkier. Oh, and it had more joints than the exoskeletons here," Melissa answered, "They're a far cry from I-Island's designs though."
Well, that was comforting to hear, All Might thought. With all of this mysterious equipment the MSF had, the heroes were still on top. Now All Might had hoped to keep the discussion going for a bit longer, just to think out the last of his plan. But of course, at this moment Melissa was too smart for his liking.
"So Uncle Might… what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Melissa asked, her hand tapping on her thigh ever faster. It was matched with a look of worry slowly taking hold of her. And All Might could do nothing but mentally swear at himself.
"Well… This is going to sound hard to believe but uh… it's best I just show you," All Might hesitantly replied, bringing ever more worry to Melissa.
"Show me?" she asked, with All Might slowly rubbing the back of his neck.
"You'll see," he replied before steam began to fill the air. He felt himself debuffed, knowing his true form was now present. It became slowly visible when the steam died away. There Melissa looked over at him shocked. Yet not a word was said. The room was left in a long silence, as the two registered everything. It took a lot of courage for Melissa to say something, and All Might knew it was difficult.
He looked like a corpse for crying out loud, and it didn't help when he eventually coughed, spraying blood into a small handkerchief.
"W-what… what happened?" Melissa warily asked.
"I… got into a rather nasty fight. I won, but…" All Might paused in his answer, bringing his hand to his shirt. He lifted it slightly, displaying the litany of scars present on his stomach. It forced Melissa to look at the wound in shock, and she slowly cupped a hand over her mouth.
"I lost most of my digestive tract, and one of my lungs was horribly damaged. I'm not dying, thankfully… but… I am growing weaker," All Might explained, dropping his shirt back down, "I can only hold my muscle form for three hours. As much as I hate to say it, my time as the Symbol of Peace is coming to an end."
"N-no, we could find a solution. Does Papa know about this? Maybe he could help," Melissa told him desperately.
"He knows, and he's already tried," All Might replied sadly, "I'm happy you're worried about me, but I'm fine. Breathing may be difficult, and I can only eat soup, but I'm alive."
Quickly All Might took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the next step. It was all coming to this one moment.
"However, like I said before, I am getting weaker. I'll have to retire eventually. So before that time comes I was looking for a successor, and… I was hoping it would be you," All Might told her slowly. The room again went quiet, as Melissa thought over the words she heard.
"M-me? I'm quirkless. Wouldn't someone here at UA be more qualified for the role?" Melissa quickly pointed out, and All Might nodded understandingly.
"That's what I thought as well. Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone worthy of inheriting my power," All Might replied, with Melissa quickly noticing the word choice.
"Wait, inheriting your power?" Melissa inquired confused.
"Yes. See… hold on," All Might said, stopping fast. Very briefly he looked around his office carefully for any kind of microphone. Call it paranoia but he didn't want anyone to hear the rest of this conversation… wait… damn it! He should have done this before Melissa arrived. No matter. If the… mercenaries who shall not be named, heard anything before, then it was stuff they already knew. Better to be careful though.
"See… my quirk can be transferred to others," All Might answered, somehow surprising Melissa even more.
"That shouldn't be possible. No transferable quirk has ever been registered before," Melissa stated shocked.
"That's because this is a secret, only known by me and a select few," All Might replied.
"So… you want me to be your successor, with your power," Melissa said in slow disbelief.
"I do. I believe you have all the markings of a great hero. All the great markings, worthy to make you the next Symbol of Peace. But, the decision is up to you. So only one question remains, do you want to become my successor?" All Might carefully asked. For the third time now, the room went quiet, making All Might wish he had some kind of background noise. He could still see the look of shock on Melissa's face, even as she thought about the offer. It was a lot to think over, so All Might couldn't blame her as ten minutes passed.
Then another ten minutes of pure silence. It was soon ended by the rapid tapping of Melissa's foot. All Might hoped she would accept the offer, but also knew to be realistic. The burden of One for All was not something everyone could bear. Soon All Might believed Melissa had an answer, as she looked over at him nervously.
"I'm sorry, but no," Melissa said, briefly shocking All Might, "I am… I'm grateful you thought I was worthy of your power, Uncle Might, but I have to decline."
"Why? Is it Dave? I'm sure we could talk to him about it," All Might told her, but Melissa shook her head no.
"It isn't Papa, it's me," Melissa told him, "I spent so many years working up to the inventor I am today. Thousands of hours of my life have been spent inventing, or sitting in on lectures, or tinkering support gears in class. If I became your successor, I would be throwing all that time, all the progress I've made, away."
All Might was about to argue that it wouldn't be true. That she could still be a great inventor and his successor at the same time. But he quickly stopped, the words dying in his mouth. She couldn't be both. Mastering One for All would take years to accomplish. Melissa would have to master entirely new skills, which would take so much time. To become the next Symbol of Peace, she would have to abandon the accomplishments she already made.
"I'm really sorry Uncle Might, but I just can't," Melissa told him, an apologetic look on her face, with the faint glint of forming tears.
"No, no, it's fine. I get it," All Might replied, waving her off. He knew this was a possibility, and to be fair, he should have expected it now that he thought it over. If Nana had approached him with the offer of One for All, right when he was achieving a different dream, he might have declined as well… maybe. To be fair, his dream was always to be a hero of some kind, so he wasn't entirely sure.
"Ah, sorry for springing that on you by the way. But since you're here we might as well enjoy it. You going to stay for the Festival?" All Might asked, hoping to end the dreary mood that was taking hold.
"I don't see why not. I am still curious about the support gear the soldiers on campus have. You think I could see one up close?" Melissa replied, wiping away her watery eyes. All Might couldn't help but worry at the comment.
"Well, their boss's son is a teacher's assistant for UA. I'm sure we could work something out with him," All Might answered, thinking it over. Still though, what now? He was running out of options for a successor, and All Might knew his time was running out. But he just couldn't find the right person. This couldn't be how it ends, the world needs a symbol. All Might could only hope he would find a successor soon.
"They left!?" Madam President yelled angrily over the phone.
"That's what the reports say. None of Razak's or Luan's forces have been spotted in the area," Techno replied, the man coughing between words. He was still in the hospital after his brief emergency, with none of the doctors figuring out what was wrong with him. But the HPSC's most vital technopath remaining out of action was unacceptable. So Madam President sent over a dozen different computers for the intelligence officer to manage.
"Damn it! Alright, I want them both dead by tomorrow," she ordered annoyed, her hand rubbing her brow carefully. To think this is what her organization was coming to. At least she forced some small concessions out of Nezu. Still, it wasn't by much. All she needed was a single over-eager reporter deciding to interview the MSF's personnel during the Festival. But there could be workarounds. A little bit of censorship could work wonders after all.
Better to be cautious though, Madam President thought, while thinking up another series of hit pieces. Speaking of the MSF though…
"What about Snake, do we have anything we can use yet?" Madam President asked.
"Unfortunately no. As far as I can tell he's stayed on campus. The only people of his who leave campus are soldiers going out for lunch," Techno replied, again coughing intermittently. Madam President mentally swore at the information, her hand slowly tapping on her desk. The longer the MSF stayed in Japan, the more comfortable people were going to get with them. And that couldn't happen.
"Seems they're on their best behavior then," Madam President muttered to herself, "See if we can raise Big Boss's bounty again. And call up whatever villains are nearby. Attacking UA is a suicide mission, but have them cause chaos outside the school."
It was almost foolproof. Lay out a bit of bait to cause some chaos. If the MSF ever intervened, then that counted as vigilantism. And considering some of their ranks were made up of traitors, well they wouldn't just stand by as it happened. In the small chance it doesn't happen, well improving the publicity of some nearby heroes wouldn't hurt. With that matter concluded, Madam President hung up her phone and turned on her computer. Quickly she went to the first news station she could find.
It was nothing special at first, just the weather for the week. But then the caster changed stories.
"-another break-in last night, this time at the Musutafu Pediatric Hospital. Authorities have confirmed the villains responsible are the same group in the previous forty-three break-ins. Their identity as a group is still unknown, however, media analysts have deemed them the Skull and Bone bandits-"
Madam President couldn't help but look at the computer annoyed. The news brought up a photo of one of the perpetrators, and she recognized the color scheme. The same set of purples, whites, blacks, and silvers, that every member of the Ninth Circle wore. Seems they were being an annoyance again. It might be smart to have Ocelot go out and deal with them, just to remind them who was in charge.
Then again, it could wait. A couple of break-ins were nothing to worry about. Besides, the most recent report she got on the Ninth Circle, told her they only had fifteen members. The most minor of heroes could handle that husk of a villain group. Not to mention it was only break-ins. Not a single high-profile crime had occurred yet. Unless they killed someone off in broad daylight, then the public wouldn't care. It would be annoying for them, but nothing would happen.
So with that thought, Madam President flipped over to the next channel, determined to drown out her growing annoyance.