27/08/2024
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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 46 - In Loco Parentis
Inasa wasn't sure why he'd been asked to come to the Principal's office after their assigned classes but he was a good student and he went. He was surprised to see Koi waiting in the corridor for him.
"Ma'am," he greeted the Shiketsu teacher.
She gave him a sharp look, assessing the way he was dressed, the way he stood, everything. He knew better than to hide anything from her but he was wearing his uniform and he had his hat in place, so there should be nothing to complain about.
"Principal Nezu has asked me here in my in loco parentis capacity," Koi told him.
Inasa frowned and then the words became clear. Because so many students had been invited to UA, and because they were boarding here, the teachers were responsible for them. But that didn't tell him why she'd been asked here in that capacity. "I don't know why," he said forthrightly.
Koi examined him for another moment before she nodded. "Nezu does like his secrets," she muttered before gesturing towards the Principal's door.
Inasa knocked, and was not surprised when there was an immediate response.
He opened the door and let Koi go through first. He was taller so could see over her, into the office. UA's Principal was there, as expected and so was All Might, which was not expected.
There wasn't anyone else present.
The Principal directed them to sit and Inasa did after making sure Koi was comfortable. Nezu was behind his desk. All Might was sitting on a chair next to them but he scooted it around slightly so that he was sitting parallel to the desk. Inasa didn't know what that meant.
"What did you want, Nezu?" Koi asked, sounding waspish.
When Inasa had first enrolled in Shiketsu he'd been surprised at Koi's demeanour. She was rough and almost brutally direct. He'd learned that it was simply intelligence. Koi did not suffer fools tolerantly and she was to the point because she saw little benefit in dancing around subjects.
UA's Principal shook his head. "It's what I want," All Might said.
"So what do you want, Toshinori?" Koi shifted her question, still waspish.
The Number One Hero looked at her. "I wish to ask Inasa a-" he paused.
This was a perfect opportunity for Koi to harp but she remained silent. She was probably as surprised as he was. What could the Number One Hero have to ask him?
"Well?" Koi eventually said.
All Might closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It didn't change how uncomfortable he felt and Inasa felt himself getting nervous, just from seeing the hero like this. "Do you remember the day you came here, when young Tokoyami was present?" he asked.
Inasa frowned but nodded. "I told you I knew Izuku," he said.
"You did," All Might confirmed. "And you've since provided the details of your encounters with him," he added. "This is somewhat related to that," he said.
"You found something in the information?" Inasa asked. He didn't think there was anything to find. The interactions he'd had with Izuku were social. They were fun and that actually made them seem all the more surreal to think that he'd actually had fun with a teen who could do what Izuku had done.
The Number One Hero shook his head before he sighed. "Izuku is the son of the man I fought at Kamino," he said.
"And?" Koi asked, sounding impatient.
"That man's quirk is known as All For One," the hero told them. Inasa had no idea what the connection was. "It is approximately the opposite of my quirk, One For All," he concluded.
It took Inasa a moment to realise that All Might had actually revealed his quirk's name. There was a little gasp from Koi when she realised the same but she was faster to recover. "He could take quirks," Koi said. "You can what? Give quirks?" she asked pointedly.
All Might shook his head. "Not quite in the way you are thinking. I can give my quirk away," he announced.
It was safe to say that no one was expecting that answer.
"You can-" Koi didn't finish the sentence. From the corner of his eye Inasa saw her expression change as she thought.
"You can give your quirk, One For All away?" Inasa wanted confirmation.
It kind of made sense. If there were people who could take quirks away, like Izuku or his Father, then didn't it make sense that there were others who could give their quirks away? Almost every quirk had some kind of opposite, it was just that you didn't hear about them much.
"I can," All Might confirmed. "At the root of One For All, is a quirk that, ironically enough, comes from All For One's brother," he explained. "I, like those who have held One For All before me, have taken stewardship of it. We have cultivated it, grown it. We have used it to fight All For One."
There was silence in the office.
"I would like to ask you, Inasa Yaorashi, if you would take up the burden that is One For All," All Might asked solemnly.
The silence stretched even more. Inasa was aware of his breathing. He was aware of the way the seat was digging into his leg, just a little bit. He was aware of the way that Koi's hair trembled. "You want him to what?" she yelled the demand.
"I would like to ask Inasa to be the next holder of One For All," All Might repeated.
In front of Koi, he actually sounded calm. It was disconcerting to see her riled up like this.
"I am the eighth holder of One For All, he will be the ninth, if he agrees," the Number One Hero explained.
Belatedly, Inasa realised this is why Koi had been asked to come in her capacity as in loco parentis. He could make the choice but he was only sixteen and for such a choice, a parent should be there to at least offer guidance. The realisation didn't make the situation seem any more real.
"If I accept, what happens to you?" Inasa heard himself ask. If he accepted All Might's quirk, what would happen to the Number One Hero.
The man gave him a smile. He might be in his small form but the smile was every bit as reassuring as it was when he was in his hero form. "I become quirkless," he replied, matter of factly.
"What?"
"If I give you One For All, then it will become your quirk, and I will no longer have it. Oh, I'll have some remnant of power for a little while but I will no longer have the quirk."
"Won't you have your original quirk?" Inasa asked, almost desperate to hear that the answer would be yes. How could he make All Might quirkless?
The Number One Hero shook his head slightly. "I was born quirkless," he said gently.
Nezu obviously knew this already and UA's Principal simply watched their reactions. Koi just stared and Inasa didn't know what to say. What did you say when you learned that the man who had been the Number One Hero for so long, for decades was born quirkless? What did you- He didn't even know what to think.
"I'm not going to be reckless," All Might continued. "I intend to retire from Heroics and focus on teaching," he told them. "I wanted to retire after Kamino but-" he gave an inelegant shrug. It was that gesture that seemed to break Koi from her shock.
"Old Sozo wouldn't let you?" she snarked.
All Might's lips twitched in a half smile that quickly faded. It was answer enough for Shiketsu's teacher, who obviously knew more about hero politics than he did.
No one said anything for a few minutes. Inasa wasn't sure what to say. What did you say when you were offered something like this except… "If I accept this, I'll have to fight Izuku, won't I?"
For a moment, All Might looked stricken and then he nodded. "I am sorry," he said. "I had hoped the conflict with All For One would be over but-" he didn't need to say anything further. All For One was imprisoned but Izuku was still active. And Tomura Shigaraki. There were two of them now, probably working together.
Inasa could tell that All Might was genuinely regretful but he was curious about something. "Have you spoken to him?" he asked.
"To whom?"
"To All For One?" Inasa clarified. "Have you asked him if there's any way of stopping his sons?"
The Hero looked startled for a moment before he shook his head. "I haven't and I should," he admitted, though Inasa could tell he wasn't happy with the suggestion. A moment of thought revealed why. Everyone had seen the injuries under All Might's clothing and while he'd never admitted it, consensus was that the villain was responsible for them. The man had aimed for the damage before it became clear. With a villain like that… Inasa could understand why All Might didn't want to go near him.
"He's slippery," All Might said. "When he speaks, there is always truth in what he says, but it is always designed to hurt, and there is never enough of it to-" he shook his head.
"So take someone with a truth detector quirk," Koi growled. She'd apparently gotten over her shock. Inasa could see that her eyes were sharp. "So you want Inasa to be the next holder of your quirk?" she asked sharply.
"I would," All Might replied.
"And he'd then have to fight Izuku and that other one."
The Number One Hero recognised a trick question when he heard it. "He is going to be part of the generation who will fight them anyway," All Might commented reasonably.
Koi nodded to acknowledge that point. "Your quirk will make him a target though, more so than normal," she pressed.
"My quirk will allow him to fight but will require him to be central to the battle."
What did that mean? Inasa wasn't sure and Koi was there to demand additional information.
"Explain."
For a moment, All Might hung his head like a scolded school boy. "All For One, the quirk, has the ability to take other quirks. Izuku has the same ability."
"This is known," Koi pointed out.
The hero nodded. "One For All cannot be taken," he announced.
A number of small things became clear with that statement. It explained why whoever had One For All had to be central to the battle. It explained why All Might, injured though he was, went to face All For One again.
All Might sighed and then bowed. "I had hoped that when I fought All For One, many years ago, that it was over. The events at Kamino showed the world that it wasn't. And I have left the job half done. I am sorry to ask this, knowing that I have not finished it."
Having the Number One Hero apologise to him was not something Inasa had ever thought would occur. He had no idea what to say.
Koi wasn't as impressed. "So your plan then is for Inasa to take your quirk, a sixteen year old, and then what? Go into combat against Izuku and that other one - what's his name again?"
"Tomura Shigaraki," Nezu supplied helpfully. UA's Principal had been so quiet it was easy to forget he was there.
"That one," Koi said. "And during this time, you are doing what?"
"I said I would retire to focus on teaching," All Might repeated his answer of earlier and before Koi could say that wasn't good enough. "The teaching would be focused on ensuring that Inasa can effectively use One For All."
It was a rebuke without being a rebuke to the implication that he would be off in a happy retirement, no longer involved in the battle.
"And in providing whatever humble advice I may."
Koi's lips pursed as she thought about the response. "Why Inasa? He's only 16, not legally allowed to hold a hero licence yet. Why not someone older, who will be in industry soon?"
That was something he wanted to know too. Why had All Might picked him?
The hero looked up, and it was startling to see his blue eyes. In this form, they seemed bluer than they had been, even if the rest of his eye was miscoloured. "I have been searching for someone to take One For All for the past few years. I have a very specific list of qualities the next holder must have and there are many people who have some of those qualities but there are not many people who carry them in their heart," he explained earnestly.
"The most superficial requirement was that they were to be a hero," All Might said. "But the most important quality they had to have was the desire to help people."
"That's a hero's job," Koi didn't sound impressed.
"It is their job," All Might agreed, "which is why I wanted something more." He took a deep breath. "Some heroes, when asked why they did it, say that their feet moved before they thought."
Koi nodded at that statement. She no doubt knew a few who were like that. Inasa felt… He couldn't say that his feet moved before he thought about it but whenever he saw injustice he wanted to make it better. It was just… He'd never really thought about it much. It was the right thing to do, but he wanted to do it. He couldn't not do it.
It appeared the explanation made other things clear for Koi. She gave a snort, raising one eyebrow as she looked to Nezu. UA's Principal returned her gaze with a calm one but he did seem to acknowledge Koi's unspoken point.
"If Inasa takes this opportunity, where will he study? You can't expect him to pull out of High School," Koi pointed out.
He hadn't thought of that but noticed that neither Nezu or All Might appeared concerned. "We believe the joint program has a great deal of merit and would be hoping to continue that, with other schools taking hosting opportunities, or even expanding it," Nezu said with a rodent smile. "It was our hope that Inasa would remain in that program, through High School and would alternate between Shiketsu and UA."
Shiketsu's teacher nodded at that and seemed satisfied though Inasa knew she'd want to argue the point but now wasn't the time to do that. "The contacts would be invaluable," she allowed.
"Yes," All Might agreed. "Though candour does compel the admission that High School may not be the safest place. Tomura Shigaraki has shown a lamentable tendency to attack."
"Wasn't he going after you?" Koi pointed out rather brutally.
"The first time, yes," All Might admitted. "The second, no, he was deliberately targeting young Bakugou and Todoroki."
And they all knew where that had ended up.
Koi sniffed and was silent. Inasa sat for a while. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think.
"It's up to you," Koi said into the silence, turning to face him. "As your parental figure, if you weren't already in heroics, I would be advising you not to take this offer. Since you are, Shiketsu believes you are going to be a great hero in the future. All Might obviously believes the same. And you were recommended, you have never shown any regret or doubt about being a hero. I say now though, if there is the slightest doubt, you should not accept this."
Her eyes were intent and Inasa well understood what she was saying. If he accepted All Might's quirk then he was in this for the long run.
"I would hope, that if you take my quirk, you will become a symbol of peace for the world."
"And take down Izuku?" Inasa couldn't help the question.
"If he does not change his path, then yes," All Might said solemnly.
Inasa nodded and closed his eyes. Shadowcrawler said he could be impulsive, but that was simply because he knew what he wanted. Now… he wanted to be a hero. He knew that but this offer… this would make him a target as well but it would practically guarantee him a position in hero rankings once he debuted. Except would he have earned it? How could he ever know if it was his power or All Might's that took him there?
He could say no. He could say no and walk out and he'd still be a hero but… He would always know that he'd turned down the offer. He would always know that he could be better if he had that power. He would always know that he could do more.
But it would be with All Might's power. It would be with his legacy, his ability, his strength. It wouldn't be his.
"If you accept, it will be your power," All Might said, as if reading his thoughts. "When I pass One For All on, it will then belong to the new holder, to use as they see fit. I will teach them, I will advise them but in the end, it will be their choice as to what happens. I've-" he sighed. "I've had my chance."
Inasa gulped.
It would be his power. It would be his strength and… All Might had said there were others who had held the quirk, One For All previously… He would just be the current holder. He'd be one in a chain. "Were the others who had One For All heroes?" Inasa asked.
"They were, and I will tell you about them if you wish," All Might said with a sad smile.
Inasa nodded, and worried at his bottom lip for a moment but there was really only one answer he was ever going to give.
"I'll take it."
-ted-
I promise, eventually the heroes will find out that Tomura is dead. Just not yet.
And there we go though, Inasa will officially take up the mantle of One For All - with more warning than was given to Izuku in canon! I know manga has to show the teenagers as independent. I know social norms in Japan are for independence as well but they are still dependents. They do not technically have the right to chose for themselves.
Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.
-ted-
Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!
