Chapter 3: The Symbol of Peace
After leaving a note on Inko's door, I threw on my 'pants' t-shirt, some shorts, and Izuku's red shoes, then left to meet All Might at Dagoba Beach. Walking through the crisp morning air, I spent most of the trip planning my upcoming discussion with All Might. It was during this brainstorming session that I realized just how much Izuku had supercharged my mental processing. I found myself drifting into streams of thought as my body walked on autopilot, but after setting my phone to record audio during the walk, I discovered that Izuku's tendency to mutter had lost out to my self control.
It's a charming personality feature, but probably better that I don't speak my thoughts out loud. I can still unleash some of Izuku's signature mutter storms, but it will be nice having the ability to choose when to do so.
Breaking myself from my musings, I looked ahead to see that I had arrived. As soon as I registered my surroundings, it hit me like a freight train. The smell.
This beach is effectively a garbage dump, so in hindsight, it should have been obvious that it would smell like one. I guess some things can't really be conveyed through visual media. At least being next to the ocean somewhat mitigates it. I've been to a dump before, and it wasn't too bad. I suppose I'll also have plenty of time to get used to this place over the next ten months.
Making my way towards a dilapidated pier near the edge of the dumping ground, I noticed the slender figure of All Might's skinny form in his usual oversized white t-shirt and cargo pants standing at the end of the ramshackle wooden structure, staring off into the sea.
Cautiously making my way across the rotting planks, I called out as I got close and it became apparent All Might was lost in thought. "Good morning, All Might."
As one would expect from the greatest hero of all time, All Might didn't so much as flinch at the sudden intrusion, instead merely turning to face me with a soft smile that looked out of place on his sharply angled features.
Yeah, the visual appearances of people in this world are going to take some getting used to. Toshinori looks like a cross between a skeleton and the Scream guy's mask.
"Good morning to you as well, young Midoriya." All Might greeted warmly. "I apologize for the locale, but as I'm sure you can imagine, not many people come to this place, so we can be assured our conversation will remain private. I also intend for a portion of your training to take place here, but we'll discuss that in more detail tomorrow."
Just as quickly as his smile had appeared, it faded away into a concerned frown. "Like I told you yesterday, you really should be taking today to rest. Even if you hadn't rushed in to save your friend, you were still attacked by a villain yourself. You must be exhausted."
There was truth in that. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me to sit down. The several kilometer walk from my apartment to the beach hadn't helped that.
"I know, and I had planned on it, but…"
All Might has had very limited interactions with Izuku before this, and all of them definitively painted Izuku as he canonically was at this point in time. Self loathing and entirely lacking in confidence. I have to be very careful, or I could whiplash him and he could grow suspicious. I don't have One for All yet, so if he thinks I'm a lunatic or worse, an agent from some villain group, he could back out.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to commit to the plan I had come up with on the walk over. Steeling myself, I clenched my fists and looked All Might straight in the eye. As expected, Toshinori blinked in surprise at what must have been a total one-eighty from Izuku's demeanor the day before.
"I know, All Might, but I've had time to think. About what happened yesterday, about the offer you made me, and what it means for not only my future, but the future of Japan as a whole." I began.
A slow and steady approach might be less jarring, but it will delay my progress by too much, and I'd almost certainly mess up at some point. If All Might had known me for more than a day, I might have taken a more long term approach, but I should be able to play yesterday's emotional outbursts off as being a result of meeting my hero, and having him both reject, and then accept me, in short order. Time to turn on my acting ability. Sorry to manipulate you like this, Toshi.
"I… didn't have a lot of people that believed in me growing up. In fact, it was the opposite. From the time I was four years old and the doctor told me I was quirkless, everyone in my life told me I couldn't. People I thought were my friends abandoned me, people who were supposed to nurture and guide me told me that not only would I fail if I kept going, but that I had already failed, before I even began. Even my own mother didn't believe in me. The day I found out I was quirkless, I asked her if I could still be a hero. She told me she was sorry. It came from a good place, but for my entire life, I saw it as her apologizing for making me. For giving birth to a failure."
The voice had been right, Izuku's emotions were still there, and his memories belonged to me now. My voice began to choke up and tears began to well in the corners of my eyes as I recounted the events of Izuku's life. Of my life.
I looked away from All Might's horrified expression and took a deep breath before continuing. This part was almost guaranteed to have All Might eating out of the palm of my hand. I felt terrible, but it needed to be done, and to an extent, it was true, and he needed to hear it.
"Even my greatest hero, the one I grew up admiring more than anyone, who always encouraged people, no matter what… Even you, All Might, told me that I needed to let my dream die."
I was a huge fan of All Might, even in my past life. He was everything a hero should be, and ranked only behind Batman and Superman on my list of favorite heroes across all fandoms. So when I looked up, I found the reaction I expected, but it still nearly broke my resolve to see it. All Might was devastated, and took a fumbling half step backward as if I had struck him.
"Young Midoriya, Izuku, I… I never meant to-" All Might began haltingly, despair haunting his sunken eyes.
"It's okay, All Might. You were right." I replied resolutely.
All Might blinked in surprise at my words and stared at me incredulously.
"You were right. I couldn't be a hero, not as I was. Sure, you could definitely have worded it better, or suggested potential alternatives still directly involved in the field of heroics, but seeing as you were in a rush and had just had your, well, second closest secret I suppose, revealed to a total stranger you had no reason to trust, I get it." I continued.
That wasn't true of course. Izuku had managed to become his own hero despite those perceived weaknesses, but for the purposes of this conversation, it was best to focus on the need for me to become stronger, and more importantly, more like All Might. All Might himself looked uncertain, and clearly still regretted his words from the day before, but he no longer appeared as though he would fall to his knees begging for forgiveness.
"That was the realization I came to last night. You asked me to become your successor. To become the world's next Symbol of Peace. No one ever believed in me. No one but you. You didn't have to offer me your quirk. You didn't have to do anything more than thank me for inspiring you to go beyond your limits, but you did. For the first time in my life, someone told me that I could do it. That they believed in me."
I smiled as the tears of sorrow mixed with tears of joy. I wasn't much of a cryer in my previous life, and I didn't plan to make a habit of it in this one, but I had to admit, with all of Izuku's pent up anger, sorrow, and self loathing… It felt good to let it out, even if it wasn't truly my heart that was finally releasing all that pain.
"I know that to be the Symbol of Peace, I will need to go beyond my limits. You aren't just a hero, you are an icon. I can't be the timid little boy I was before. I need to have a smile on my face, no matter the trials and tribulations that life throws at me. I have to be someone the world looks to, and feels hope kindle in their hearts. I have to be a hero."
All Might gaped at me for a moment before replying. "You don't need to change who you are, young Midoriya. You will inherit this great power, yes, but you don't have to be me. You can be a hero while still being yourself."
He really is the greatest isn't he…
I smiled sardonically, briefly looking down at my bright red shoes, shoes specially designed for quirkless feet, before meeting All Might's gaze once more.
"Thank you for that, All Might. It means more to me than you could ever imagine, but no. I can't only be me. Just as you can't only be you. All Might is a symbol, an icon. Toshinori Yagi may be the man that wears that icon, but it transcends you, in a way that no other hero can begin to replicate."
I took another deep breath, my nose wrinkling slightly at the odor of the adjacent dumping ground, and continued.
"You won't be here forever. Whether it be through retirement, or God forbid, something else. When that day comes, I have to be ready to become that icon, to become All Might. I can't just be Izuku Midoriya. I have to become something more, just like you did. When that day comes, the people of Japan, of the entire world, need to welcome your departure with a fond smile, and know in the depths of their hearts that everything will be okay,-" I brought my right hand to my heart, curling it into a fist as I stared resolutely into All Might's eyes. "- because I am here."
A strong breeze blew in from the ocean, rustling All Might's baggy clothes and whipping through his hair. With my fist still held to my chest and All Might straightening his posture as a proud smile crossed his features, it must have looked quite cinematic, akin to the day before when All Might had told Izuku he could be a hero.
"I knew that one day you would show me why I chose you to be my successor, young Midoriya. I just didn't think it would be the day after I met you." All Might said warmly, a chuckle escaping his lips before being cut off by a small cough.
Lowering my hand back to my side, I returned All Might's smile for a moment before continuing with my plan.
His praise gets the fanboy in me going, but we aren't finished yet. I didn't call him out here just to tell him I have to 'kill the boy and let the man be born'.
Noticing my change in demeanor, All Might's smile faded as well. "You had something else you wanted to talk about, my boy?"
"Yes, sir. You gave me an abridged version of One for All's potential and history yesterday, but I need to know everything if I am going to be your successor." I replied.
As expected, All Might's expression became uncomfortable, and he looked out into the ocean warily before giving a hesitant reply. "There will be plenty of time for that. For now we need to focus on strengthening your body enough to wield One for All. Once you've gotten into UA and settled into the day to day life of hero academics, then we can start to tackle the finer details of One for All and its past."
I had to resist rolling my eyes. I had noticed some things were different in this world than they were in canon. No doubt adjustments had to be made for this world to become 'reality', and I had been curious to see if things that the author had very clearly added in later years would be brought up immediately, instead of as some great reveal months down the line that was nonsensical to keep secret in the first place. At least in this case, it appeared that All Might was still set on hiding things from his successor.
I suppose it makes sense to an extent. There is always the chance that something happens and I can't inherit One for All. Or maybe All Might is afraid that if he tells me about All for One so soon I'll chicken out. There are some legitimate reasons for holding back, so I won't push too hard, but I'm definitely going to press to get as much out on the table now as I can. The more All Might knows I know, the more information I can work with, and the less chance there is that I mention information that I shouldn't know about yet.
"I understand if you have reasons for wanting to withhold information, All Might, but as your successor, I need to know everything. It isn't a matter of curiosity, but of necessity. You are the number one hero, and there are countless villains out there who would give anything to take you down. What if you were killed before telling me everything there is to know about One for All? Or if you left out some piece of its origin that ended up being crucial later? I swear that I won't back down, even if you tell me One for All is guaranteed to kill me within the next decade, or that it has some evil twin quirk that will stop at nothing to destroy me." I finished with a short laugh, intentionally baiting out information on All for One.
As anticipated, All Might winced at my final words, looking back out to sea.
"Right... I take it I accidently hit it right on the nose. I won't walk away, even if you don't tell me, but if there is an existential threat related to One for All, I need to know what I'm getting into, All Might. I never thought I'd say this, but I hope it was the evil twin part that was correct, not the 'me dying before I turn thirty' part." I said with a self deprecating chuckle.
All Might turned back to me with a panicked look and frantically waved his hands in front of him. "No! That's not it at all! As you know, I've had One for All since I was your age. It's…"
All Might trailed off before once again brooding towards the horizon. After a few long moments, he finally released a heavy sigh and continued. "You're right, young Midoriya. You need to know everything. About One for All, and about… and about where it came from. Who it came from."
Author's Note:
To be perfectly honest, I never even considered trying to emulate Izuku's personality. He and I are just so intrinsically different in how we interact with people that I realized I would blow my own cover almost immediately. With All Might having only known Izuku for a very brief (very emotionally tumultuous) period of time prior to my arrival, I figured it wouldn't be an issue having a massive swing. As for everyone else, the only one who will seriously notice is Inko. Bakugou will be explained in a couple chapters.
This chapter was mostly just me manipulating the conversation so that All Might would explain everything. That way I wouldn't have to walk on eggshells for every future conversation, trying to remember what he has and has not told me.