It has been a year and a half since she moved in with All Might. For the past few weeks she had been debating on telling him about her past, who she actually was, but fear stopped her each time. She feared his rejection the most. How do you even attempt to approach the situation?
It didn't help that he had been smelling anxious the past week as well and she couldn't figure out why. She finally got fed up with it one night during dinner when he kept fidgeting in his seat, glancing at her and then back at his food and nervous look on his face.
"Toshinori, are you alright? You've been anxious all week."
He stuttered through his words before sighing and a look of fierce determination on his face as he got up out of his seat to retrieve a stack of papers and placed them on the table. "Miwako, this past year has been the best year of my life so far. I never thought I would get a chance to have a family, but here you are. I never imagined I would ever have anyone waiting on me at home because of my profession being too risky to have anyone close, but it makes me so happy to always hear a welcome home after a long day. It makes me happy to see this house get turned into a home after only using it as a place to rest for so long."
He finally slid the papers across the table and that was when she was able to read what was on it. Her throat felt tight as she looked back up at him. "It would make me extremely happy if you would give me the honor of officially becoming my daughter. You don't have to change your name, I would never force you to do that, but I want to make your place in the family official."
He wrung his hands on the table writing for her response. "What do you think?"
She shot out of her seat to throw her arms around him. "No one wanted to adopt me before."
"Well they were all fools." He said softly. "You are a joy to be around."
She slowly unwrapped her arms around him, remembering that he really didn't know her. All her therapy sessions with Hound Dog and everything she said to him about her past was true, but it was barely skirting the realm of truth. She couldn't accept the adoption if he was in the dark like this. "There's something I have to tell you first before I give you my answer."
"What is it? You can tell me anything." He said earnestly.
"Don't be scared."
He was confused and was about to question her, but when he blinked the scene around them completely changed. They were no longer in the dining room, he was no longer sitting in a chair, instead, they were standing in the middle of a large forest.
"What is this place?" He asked. He traveled with her quirk before, he knew she didn't just take them to a forest, besides, there was no forest in the world with trees as large as the ones surrounding them. He turned when he heard a snap behind him and saw the largest fox in his life glaring down at him.
He lifted his hands up making sure to put Miwako behind him and readied himself for a fight. "Miwako stay behind me!"
"No wait wait! That's my friend, Kurama, stop glaring!"
The large beast scoffed before laying down on his hunches as Miwako darted around All Might's form to rub the creature's snout. He stood there dumbstruck, hands still raised.
She turned around to look at him after giving the fox a light scolding. "I'm sorry about him, you're the first that's been in my mind for quite some time."
"You're head? How is that possible?"
She frowned, averting her eyes from his as she answered. "I…don't really have a quirk."
His brain was short circuiting. "Then what is all of this?"
She took a large breath in and spoke quickly. "My full name is Miwako Uzumak-Namikaze. I was born on October 10th along with my twin brother Naruto in Konohagakure. My mother, who was the nine-tailed jinchuuriki at the time, was attacked as she gave birth to us. A man ripped the nine-tails out of her, severely weakening her in the process as my Father, the fourth Hokage, rushed to protect the village. That night both of them died, sealing the nine-tails named Kurama into their twin infants. I trained to be a kunoichi-murdering, lying, stealing, my entire life-until one day, I woke up in Kanagawa Prefecture as my 8 year old self after having been killed in the 4th great ninja war at the age of 16."
All Might was stunned speechless, trying to process everything she said. They stood there in absolute silence as Miwako avoided his gaze. When the silence got too much for her she spoke again. "I understand if you no longer wish to be near me. I will vacate the house as soon as I let us out and never bother you again. I apologize for not telling you the truth sooner."
That snapped All Might out of his stupor. "Wait, you don't have to leave! It's just-this is- I can't wrap my head around it."
"Aren't you angry with me?" The worry all over her face made All Might walk closer to her, despite the concerns he had with her 'friend'.
"I'm not mad, I just want to understand. This is a lot to take in. How did you end up here?"
"I don't know how I got here either, I just woke up" She shrugged helplessly. She was as curious as he was, but even she couldn't figure it out. "If you want I could show you my life if that would help."
"You can do that?" he asked in wonder.
She nodded as she waited for his answer. It took him only a few seconds to agree. He's been wanting to know her this entire time and wouldn't pass up the opportunity.
"Before I start, I should give you a proper introduction." She looked back at the fox with the fondest smile he had ever seen on her face. "This is the only family I have left. His name is Kurama."
All Might gave an awkward hello, not really knowing how to address the large animal. Kurama huffed before sitting up straight again, showing off his impressive height. Eyes narrowed he spoke, "It's Kurama-sama to you, human."
All Might's jaws fell. "You can speak!"
"OF COURSE I CAN! I can do anything." Kurama's loud voice practically shook the air around them.
Miwako scowled at him. "Kurama, don't be a jerk!"
"Hmph" He turned his head to the side in arrogance, but All Might could tell he was feeling chastised since his ears laid flat on his head.
Miwako chuckled next to him as she rolled her eyes at Kurama's attitude. "Don't worry, he's a softy on the inside."
"AM NOT!"
" Are too!"
"STOP TELLING FOUL LIES BRAT!"
"Admit it! You're just a tsundere." She teased.
All Might had a small smile on his face watching their interaction. He didn't want to interrupt them, content with just observing Miwako's interaction with Kurama and seeing how she smiled differently toward him, how her eyes shined brighter than ever before.
She ended the spat with Kurama after he growled at her one final time to sulk somewhere else in the forest while she spoke to All Might. "Sorry for getting so off track like that." She said sheepishly.
"It's alright, I've never seen you argue with someone like that before."
"Kurama knows everything about me, he sees what I see so we are even closer than Naruto and I."
That brought him back to the painful conversation they had about her parents and brother over a year ago. "Is that how you knew Naruto was gone?"
Sorrow flickered in her eyes before it faded. "Yeah, Naruto had Kurama's other half, no matter how far away he was, we could always speak to each other through our seals." She lifted her shirt up to expose her stomach and there it was. Ink marks started appearing on her abdomen. "But let's not ask too many questions just yet, most will be explained once I show you everything."
She let go of her shirt as the scene around them shifted and they were on top of a very large cliff. All Might took in the sight of a large village surrounded by an endless forest. "This is Konoha, my birthplace. We are currently standing on the Hokage monument. Each of the Hokage's faces are carved into the cliff. The last time I was here, we had 5 faces."
He turned to her, pointing at the edge. "Can I get closer?"
"Yeah, it's just my memories so you can't get hurt here don't worry."
He stepped closer to the edge taking in everything he saw. She pointed out each of the buildings for him as they had the bird's eye view. "We'll go to the academy next. I'm going to put us in a third person view and supplement so it's a little easier to understand."
The scene shifted again and he found himself in front of a building full of students. "The academy is where children go to learn the basics of being a ninja. If you are able to graduate, you get the rank of a Genin, the lowest of the ranks. From lowest to highest is civilian, Genin, Chunin, Tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, Jonin commander, and finally Hokage. There are also specialities you can go into like an iryo-nin who specializes in the healing arts or Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai also known as ANBU which is an elite group of ninjas that keep their identities hidden to do the more unsavory missions."
"How long are you in school for, and what rank were you?"
"Naruto and I entered when we were around 6 years old. I was a Chunin when I died."
"What! How were you a Chunin? From what I saw of your skill, surely you were a higher rank." All Might was thinking about how crazy people have to be in this world if she of all people was only a Chunin.
"Well you have to take tests to advance in ranks, but during wartime there are a few that get field promotions."
All Might was about to ask another question when the noise died down around him. He surveyed the area and saw parents pulling their children closer to them, ranges of fearful looks and disgusted faces were scattered among the crowd. He could pick out a few words, but none of it made sense.
"There I am." Miwako pointed at where the crowd dispersed to let three figures pass.
He saw an elderly man holding the hands of two children who he could immediately tell who it was. Miwako was so so small. He saw the excited looks on the twins faces as the man bent down to say his goodbyes.
"That's Jiji, the third Hokage, the strongest man in the village."
All Might looked up and saw four faces on the cliff they were previously standing on. He stared at the fourth one longer than necessary. So that's her father. He snapped his attention back when he felt a tugging on his arm.
Miwako tried to get him to follow her past self into the school. Now that he was closer to other people he could hear what they were saying clearly. He frowned at how the twins were looked at, but didn't say anything yet, wanting to listen in more until they made it inside the building.
Miwako let go of his hand in favor of kneeling in front of the desk that Naruto sat at, a wistful smile on her face. "Hello Nii-chan."
He held his tongue, not wanting to ruin this moment, but Miwako already knew what he wanted to ask and answered without looking away from her brother. "Jinchuuriki are not welcome anywhere. It was supposed to be an S class secret, but it was purposefully leaked and we were hated."
She sat up as the scene changed again, this time, she spotted an even younger Miwako and Naruto being kicked out of an orphanage.
"Get out! No one wants you here! All you demons bring is bad luck!" The elderly lady screamed at two scared children.
The scene shifted again and he saw slightly older Naruto and Miwako in a market trying to buy food, but was turned away at every stall and even spat on.
They followed Miwako's past self home to a old rundown apartment with only a single bed, barely any furniture.
"How did you live like this?" He whispered. He was so angry, but couldn't bring himself to yell. She didn't deserve it.
"I hated them all. I wanted to destroy the whole village, but Naruto loved it too much and so I learned to forgive for his sake and my own. I had Naruto to keep me strong, I had Jiji, and I had an eternal companion in Kurama who would always be with me."
The next memory was harder for her to show him, but she knew it was necessary. It was a dark night, far from the village. "This is the day of my first mission, and also the day I had my first kill."
"What?" he asked breathlessly.
His attention was quickly taken by the sounds of hurried footsteps and a slightly older Miwako broke free of the bushes, clothes rumpled, a look of pure fear on her face as a second pair of footsteps rushed to catch up to her.
He watched in stunned horror as she struggled to survive. He said nothing as he watched her breakdown, as her team finally came to save her, as they stumbled onto the bloody wet grass.
Miwako brought them back to the original forest they stood in when they first entered her mind to give him a break. "I'm going to warn you, that would not be the last time I kill someone. In my home, we kill to survive, as children we are psychologically conditioned to accept murder. It was our job, the title of a ninja was just a fancy way of saying assassin. It really only gets worse from here. The world I come from isn't pretty. Do you want to continue?"
While he was a seasoned hero, while he had seen atrocities he wouldn't wish on his worst memory, seeing just her childhood, and only bits of it at that, left his heart broken. He knew no matter how much training he had to keep his emotions in check in his line of work, he needed a breather.
So he declined. "No, I think that was all I could handle for now."
"Does it change who I am to you?"
"No, I still want you in my family, but now I just understand you a little better." He hesitated before continuing. "I want to share my own secret now too. Can you bring us back to the real world?"
Suddenly he was sitting again, back in their home, the sun had long since set. He was bone tired, but he needed to get this off his chest. She shared a large secret and it was only fair that he shared his own.
He took a deep breath and let his muscular form go for the first time in front of her. After the puff of smoke cleared a very emaciated man stood before her. It was her turn to be stunned. All Might lifted his shirt to reveal a very large scar covering the majority of his abdomen. "The day you rescued me, was the beginning of the end of my career and possibly my life. Since then, I have been trying to find a successor to pass my power onto, but no one has shown enough potential besides you, but you never really showed major interest in becoming a hero, let alone the symbol of peace. Everytime I risk my life to fight, I lose more and more time in my muscular form and become sicker in this form."
Tears started falling from Miwako's eyes. "You're going to die?" She whispered.
He didn't want to lie and answered truthfully. "I very much might."
"Don't die, I don't want you to leave me too Dad." She wrapped her arms tight around him. His heart burst at the title she called him. For the first time in his life, he regretted becoming a hero. If he was never a hero, there wouldn't be such a high chance he could die. That he could've had a normal family, be able to go out in public with her more often. Be able to take her to the park, to show her how normal kids should live.
"I'm going to try my absolute hardest to stay for a very long time, Miwako, but you know being a hero is dangerous."
She did know, she knew his profession was dangerous, just as hers was. She was no novice to loss, but after so long, it terrified her. "Who else knows? Are you getting the proper treatment? Is there anything I can do?"
"My old sidekick Nighteye, a few trusted doctors including Recovery Girl, and my detective friend you already met. Ah, my old homeroom teacher and Nezu know as well."
"What did you mean by passing your power along? From what I know, quirks don't work like that."
He sat them down for a long talk about how his powers worked, who All For One was to him, and what he needed to do. She took it all in and said "Alright, then I can take him out. We can take him down together, you don't have to do this alone."
All Might shot that idea down quickly. "Absolutely not, I don't want you anywhere near that man."
Miwako was agitated that he didn't even take time to consider it. "But Dad, I can help! You said Nighteye gave you 5-6 years and 2 have already passed! If you just view more of my memories you'll see that-"
"It's not about if you're capable or not Miwako!" He roared. "That man took my mentor away from me, how could I possibly watch you fight him and risk your life after that?
"I just want you to stay alive…" She clenched her fists wanting to argue more, but let it go for now. "What about the other teachers? They need to know so they can prepare the next generations."
"No they don't know."
"You can't keep it a secret from them! They need to know so they can prepare for the power vacuum you're going to leave. You can't keep this up forever, and you know it. Dad, you have to tell them."
"I can't, it would jeopardize everything."
"Like what? You keep telling me not to do everything by myself, and look at what you're doing now, acting like a hypocrite."
"It could leak."
"You trust them so little?" She questioned. He hesitated, he wanted to say yes so she would let it go, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. The teachers at UA were trustworthy, he knew it for a fact. He just couldn't bear to show his weakness to more people than necessary. To bring more people into unnecessary danger.
He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "This was not how I wanted it to go when I asked to adopt you." He let out a self deprecating chuckle.
"It doesn't change anything for me, unless it does for you. This is my home now."
He lifted his head and opened his arms for a much needed hug for both of them. "Never, nothing could change how much I want you to be my daughter. What kind of father would I be if I didn't stick by my own child."
They stayed in that position basking in each other's steady presence. They eventually had to pull away to get ready for bed, each wiping away tears that escaped without their notice. "Dad, I'll share my secret if you share yours. It would be good for us."
"I'll think about it, Miwako."