Authors Note: Thank you to Arrixam and Manatris for reviewing the travesty known as my rough draft. To all who were kind enough to review, follow and favorite, thank you as well. I will attempt to upload bi-weekly.
Yuji stared at All Might as the hero stood before him; his arms spread wide and eyes closed with a massive grin on his face. "What do you mean, inherit your quirk? Is my quirk like yours or something?" Yuji's eyebrows drew together as All Might laughed, his deep voice echoing in the night. He opened his eyes, the deep shadows causing his azure eyes to shine.
"Not at all young Itadori. I have deemed you worthy, and I'll let you in on a secret. My quirk is the result of generations of work. A-shit." All Might paused after suddenly breaking off mid-sentence. He coughed twice, and when his hand came away from his mouth, Yuji could see deep crimson of blood at the corner of All Might's mouth.
"Hey are you okay?" Yuji moved closer to All Might, concern on his face, before leaping back as All Might exploded into a cloud of steam. The vapor covered the hero's forms completely, but Yuji could hear coughing within it. The haze quickly dispersed and Yuji could see a new form emerge. Where once a titan had stood, a scarecrow was now propped up.
The man was equally tall to All Might, but looked sickly with how thin he was, and his bright blonde hair fell on each side of his face. Where All Might had a strong jawline, chiseled muscles, and a thick brow; this man had an angular face, his white t-shirt hung so loosely on his body it was impossible to determine his physique, and his piercing blue eyes now seemed sunken into his skull. "Well, it would have been nice to have a couple more minutes before that happened." His baritone voice lacked the sheer power All Might's had.
"What the hell?" Yuji yelled, a good four meters away from the figure after his leap, "Some kind of imposter?" He took a stance that felt natural, unsure of what he should do if this man were to attack him. Yuji knew his strength was absurd even in the age of quirks, and a person ill equipped could still be injured by a punch from him.
"No, I assure you young Itadori, I am All Might. If you know those guys who suck in their gut at the beach to look buff? That's essentially what I do, nowadays at least." All Might, and now that it was stated Yuji could see it was All Might, answered.
"Wait, your quirk just requires you to suck in your gut to be super strong?" Yuji's voice reverberated off the buildings as he pointed at All Might. In response, All Might crossed the distance and slapped a skeletal hand over Yuji's mouth, looming over the boy that was nearly fifty centimeters shorter.
"Let's not go shouting about this to the moon, alright?" All Might left his hand on Yuji's mouth, his eyes boring into Yuji's until the young man nodded. Heaving a sigh, All Might removed his hand and stepped back, no longer imposing. He took a deep breath, and nodded to himself before beginning to speak quietly.
"First off, no. My quirk isn't what you described," at this he lifted the left side of his shirt, revealing an ugly and twisted circular scar, "Five years ago, I went toe to toe with one of the worst villains this world has ever spawned, and this was a parting gift from him. A good portion of my respiratory organs were permanently damaged, and my stomach was destroyed. As a result, I can't do hero work for more than three hours per day." All Might let his shirt fall back down, hiding the wound from sight.
"Wait, I don't remember you getting seriously injured in a fight several years ago." Yuji had his hand to his chin as he stared at the ground trying to remember anything from five years ago about All Might. He wasn't a super fan by any stretch of the imagination, but he was certain All Might had at least one big fight or rescue that made international news every year.
"I'd be surprised if you had. This fight was as far from any cameras as I could make it, and I only barely won. I couldn't let the public know that someone that strong was out there and had nearly done me in. I'm the Symbol of Peace, for better or worse." All Might sighed as he said his title, almost like he couldn't stand the idea that he was a pillar upholding the prosperity of the current age. "Anyway, the wound he gave me limits my hero work every day, so I've had to push myself to stay at the top. I was already pushing my limit when I saved you the first time under the bridge, and saving you the second time pushed me well over my limit."
"Sorry." Yuji muttered, rubbing the back of his head as a worried smile forced itself onto his face. "I didn't mean to do that, I just couldn't let it go on, you know?"
All Might set his hand on Yuji's shoulder, a broad smile on his face, voice filled with a quiet strength. "Don't apologize. You reminded me what it means to be a hero. In all my worrying about my secret, I forgot what was truly important, saving innocent people. You made me realize just how much of a hypocrite I was being, especially after I just told you that a hero threw themselves in the way of danger." A nervous laugh escaped the blonde hero. "Young man, you have the makings of a hero, a true hero. I want you to inherit my power."
All Might stepped back, and spread his arms wide, and declared, "My quirk is a sacred torch, passed down to me by my master, as her master before did. It's been cultivated since the dawn of quirks, a constantly growing power, one to secure the future peace of the world. I want you to become the ninth wielder of One for All."
All Might brought his hands together, and Yuji could see a faint, iridescent light, scintillating in All Might's hands. Gray, blue, red, orange, green, pink, purple and yellow danced in his palms until he clenched his fists. "Well young man, will you accept my offer and become a hero?"
Yuji looked at All Might, stunned by this sudden turn of events. He drew in a shaky breath, and closed his eyes. Could he do this? Could he accept this and become a hero on All Might's level? He opened his eyes and took in the full moon once again, his own promise ringing in his ears. He let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding and locked onto All Might.
"I'll do it!" He declared, matching All Might's face splitting smile. 'Grandpa, no matter what happens, I'll save everyone I can. I know you had regrets, and I will do my best to make sure I meet you with as few as possible. This is gonna be one helluva ride!'
The next morning Yuji was at Dagobah Beach, wearing his favorite Crimson Riot hoodie, and staring at what he could only assume was a landfill. Beside him, All Might was in his skinny form, hands on hips and his chest thrust out.
"Okay, so why did you ask me to meet you at trash mountain?" Yuji turned to the hero; his brows knit together in confusion.
"It's not as much of a focus anymore, but when heroes were first coming onto the world stage, they were people who wanted to take back their communities. Villains were a dime a dozen, and the world lived in fear as people abused their new found powers. The first heroes were vigilantes, outlaws, those who said 'to hell with the rules; this is my home, and I will not let you hurt anyone any longer!'"
As he spoke All Might walked forward, facing the garbage covered shore as the sun broke over the horizon. Yuji stared intently, captivated by the surprisingly gentle voice from a man famous for his booming announcements. All Might turned and continued his speech, spreading his arms wide.
"This trash shall be the start of your hero journey, Yuji Itadori. We only have seven months to turn you into a vessel capable of withstanding One for All, and this is the start of how we will do it." He dug in his pockets, and withdrew a massive stack of papers. "This is my All-American Might and Meal Plan, tailor made with you in mind. It's going to guide your life for the next seven months as we train you. Your sleep, your study time, even the time it takes you to brush your teeth is accounted for. Get ready young man, starting tomorrow, your life will be hell." All Might's savage grin would have looked right at home on a villain.
Yuji met his grin with a fist held to the air, excitement dancing in his eyes. "Bring it on!" He declared.
Yuji jogged home, vowing to enjoy his day of rest, and give the meal plans over to Ms. Yoshino. He wouldn't ask her to cook for him, but he would need some help getting the ingredients. When he arrived, he found the Yoshinos finishing up breakfast, and were waiting for him. He was a bit surprised they didn't seem angrier considering he had essentially snuck out.
"Burning off some early morning energy?" Ms. Yoshino asked, smiling, but her face betrayed that she was worried about him already.
"Kind of?" Yuji sheepishly replied, "I had a lot on my mind, and I needed the time to think some stuff over. A morning jog seemed a pretty good way to just sort everything out and not be a nuisance." The lie was lame and obvious to everyone at the table. Junpei raised a single eyebrow at his best friend as he drank his milk. Ms. Yoshino was far more tactful than her son however.
"You're not a nuisance Yuji, just let me know if you ever have something you want to talk about. I'll always make time to listen." She stood up and wrapped Yuji in a hug, squeezing him for a moment before letting go and grabbing the plates off the table. "You hungry? There's still some ready."
"No thanks, I ate before I left." Yuji quickly shut her down on the offer of food, steadfastly ignoring his best friend's twitching eyebrows and glaring eyes. While Ms. Yoshino was a kind woman who cared deeply for her son and Yuji, it was well known to the two boys that her attempts at cooking could be classified as "alternative methods of torture" on her best days. Her worst days were allegedly associated with an elaborate scheme to get the food off the boys' plates, and the disappearance of a neighborhood racoon the next day.
"Hey Yuji, since we both got the day off, you want to come to that meet and greet with me?" Junpei's question drew Yuji's attention.
After a moment of thought he nodded. "Sure, I think I'm going to be really busy soon, so this might be one of the last chances we get to really let loose and hang out for a while."
"Alright!" Junpei jumped up, pumping his fist in the air. His excitement was contagious and the boys quickly made for the door. "See you later Mom!" Junpei yelled as they raced outside. Nagi just smiled as she watched them from the kitchen window. Her mind drifted for a bit as she saw them talking excitedly, Yuji making a face while Junpei laughed.
Junpei had always been a loner, and despite her best efforts, he never really connected with anyone or became friendly with others. His quirk was too dangerous to really let him play unsupervised as a child, and that had disastrous consequences later in life. That had all changed when he had come home from school one day, talking quickly and excitedly about a boy who had joined his club with good tastes in movies. It wasn't long before Yuji had become a regular at her table, or Junpei at Wasuke's before he had taken ill.
"I hope you two are friends for a long time." She mused, before getting into a routine of scrubbing dishes while humming along to a song.
"So, what was so important that you had to get up before dawn, sneak outside, and go jogging for two hours?" Junpei's patience had finally lost the battle against his curiosity as they stood in line at the event. His brows drew down, concern evident on his face. "If this is about the attack, or your grandpa…"
Yuji quickly held up a hand, "No, it's not like that. Well, kind of," Yuji thought for a moment before deciding that ripping the bandage off was likely the best approach. "I figured out what I want to be. I'm going to get into UA and I'm going to be a hero." Yuji declared quickly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the other people in the line. Not waiting for a reaction, he continued.
"Grandpa said I was strong and that I should help others. I've always done that, but never on that big a scale. When he died, it felt like I hadn't helped him at all. I tried to show him he shouldn't be worried about me, that I could take care of myself, but he was still worried at the end. I was in a bit of a funk, but I snapped out of it quickly."
Yuji paused as he realized they were near the front of the line. He moved off to the side as he didn't have a ticket, making way for a large man with a stylized bun in his hair, and waited for Junpei to come out after shaking hands with the idol. He watched as Junpei stuttered something, scratching the back of his head as he held out one of his glove covered hands. The idol looked at it for a second before asking a question, her twintails shifting as her head tilted.
He knew she was asking about the gloves, and why he wore them and if it was safe. He watched Junpei's head fall a bit, the standard "it's ok. You don't have to" on his lips. Yuji watched with wide eyes when the idol took Junpei's hand in both of hers and shook it enthusiastically up and down, beaming at him. Junpei's shocked expression did not fade until he found Yuji, struggling to breathe with laughter on the ground.
"Okay, it's not that funny Mr. Pants'd a guy and ran away." Junpei muttered, cradling his hand in front of him.
"Says you, your eyes were about to pop out of your head. Besides, that guy was being rude to you." Yuji breathed as he struggled to his feet, "but it wasn't solely your reaction that made me laugh that hard." Yuji said, pulling out his phone and showing the pictures he had taken. Junpei paled, his mind screeching to a halt.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Oh, I would, I very much would." Yuji teased back, his finger hovering over the share button, before locking the phone and shoving it in his pocket. "I'll save the embarrassing photos for another time though. How about we go over there and grab a burger?" Yuji grinned at his friend until Junpei sighed and shook his head, a fond smile on his face as well.
A little later, the two were sitting inside a diner, a tray of food before each of them. "So, what got you out of the funk that you were talking about?" Junpei asked, reigniting the conversation from earlier as he munched on french fries.
"You did. I was in the crowd and I heard you scream. I saw how you looked and my body just moved. I couldn't let your mom die, and I couldn't let that monster hurt either of you, so I just moved. When All Might saved us though, I realized what I had to do, what I had to be. He might be the number one, but I'm going to be the one to take his spot!" Yuji's voice had grown from quiet and reserved to loud and unashamed. He made his declaration, imitating All Might's stance from yesterday, his eyes burning with passion as he stood beside the table.
The click of a camera brought him out of his reverie, and he saw Junpei with his phone out, a smug look on his face. Junpei slid his phone into a pocket, and smiled at his best friend. "Guess that means you want to go to UA, right?"
"Yeah, I've got seven months until the hero course entrance exams." Yuji sat back down, taking a drink from his glass of water.
"Guess we better get to work then." Junpei sighed. Yuji stared bewildered at the other teen, until Junpei said, "If you're going to be a hero, then that means you'll need some help running your own agency, and someone to direct the documentary of your rise to the top." Junpei met Yuji's stare with one of equal determination. If his friend was going to become the greatest hero, then he would support him.
"Excellent, such grand words and burning passion. You two might just be exciting enough." A deep voice interrupted them, and they turned to see a rather large man sitting next to Yuji. He towered over them both, and his physique could be a match for All Might's. He wore loose pants, with a black jacket over the top of a purple shirt. His obsidian eyes bore into their own "Now then, what type of women are you into?" he asked suddenly, his arms crossing as he stared at the two.
"Um, who are you?" Yuji asked lamely.
"And why would we tell you that?" Junpei followed up quickly.
"Come on, there's no need to be shy. My name is Aoi Todo, a second year at Shiketsu High and you can learn a lot about a man from his answer to that question. Boring men have boring answers and boring men won't make it far in hero work. Now what's your type?" His voice was smooth, but his smile had turned from easy into a wolf's grin.
Yuji thought for a second before acquiescing, "I like tall girls with a big ass." He admitted.
Junpei followed up with a sigh, "Short girls with big boobs."
They looked at each other curiously before shrugging, and taking another bite of food. To each, his own was the unspoken agreement.
They heard a sniffle and turned back to the newcomer to see him staring up at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face. "I've finally found them, my brothers-in-arms, I knew they wouldn't be boring." Todo wiped his eyes, before wrapping one arm around Yuji and pulling him in tight. "My new best friends, tell me your names."
"I'm Junpei Yoshino, and the guy you're crushing with your bicep is Yuji Itadori." Junpei deadpanned. Todo looked down and realized that Yuji was struggling against his arm. He relaxed his grip and Yuji pulled away with a gasp.
"Alright then, let's discuss next moves. I will guide you to beating the entrance exams, and becoming a hero and a hero agency manager! My brothers, I will not allow you to fail!" The large teen declared with a clap of his massive hands.
Two hours later, Yuji and Junpei left the diner, bewildered at the turn of events. Todo had proven to be a massive help, and had looked over Yuji's training plan giving some tips on the meals and how to prepare his body and mindset. He had even given Junpei a list of topics to study so that he could ace the exam for the business course. They exchanged numbers and planned on talking to their newfound senior and ally often.
"We can both agree that was the strangest turn of events possible, correct?" Junpei asked curiously as they walked home. Yuji nodded in agreement, before turning to regard his friend.
"Short women?" he asked curiously.
"I will take off my gloves." Junpei replied, his tone even as he raised his hand threateningly.
"I rescind my question."
The next few months passed by in a whirlwind for the two. Yuji followed his plan to the letter, diligently working out, eating, and studying. Junpei joined his workouts, deciding exercise wouldn't kill him and his friend could use the encouragement, but his work at the beach was completed solo.
At Dagobah Beach, he would move every piece of trash by hand. While not all were a problem, All Might would devise new challenges. He would have to drag larger items through the sand with a rope, while smaller and medium sized items would sometimes be tossed to a different location. If he missed, he would have to run over, retrieve it, and run back to his starting point, repeating the exercise until completion.
He would study with Junpei as much as possible, forgoing movies to increase their chances of getting into the top hero school in the country. His diet changed as well, his meals helping him to refine and rebuild his muscles. Occasionally, Ms. Yoshino would cook them dinner, and stare at them until they finished their plates. This became known as poison training to the teens, and it occurred whenever they got home too late from a workout or studied too late.
Todo would occasionally drop by and spar with Yuji half seriously, never quite beating him to the point of hopelessness, but showcasing the definite difference in their skill. When quizzed Todo revealed he had never used his quirk in their spars, and only used it for serious fights. He wouldn't reveal what it did. He did initiate a number of conversations on women with the two, and Junpei and he had bonded and argued over idols.
Before he knew it, seven months had passed, and Yuji was walking past the gates of UA high school, along with a crowd of other students. He looked around, everyone here was ready to chase their dream of becoming a hero. 'Alright Grandpa, I finally made it to the starting line.' Yuji smiled as he walked down the path, passing busts of heroes from the past, who had studied at UA.
He followed the signs and found himself in a large auditorium. He was given a card when he signed in and was directed to a seat. After a few minutes the auditorium was filled and the lights darkened.
"All right listeners! Welcome to the show! Are you ready?!" a lanky man stood on the stage in the spotlight, his blonde hair styled up into a sweeping spike behind his head. He wore black a leather biker jacket with armored shoulders, and black jeans with combat boots. Around his neck was a device that was shaped like speakers. Yuji realized that despite the fact he could hear him perfectly, the man wasn't holding a microphone.
"Don't be shy! ARE! YOU! READY!" the man howled his voice increasing in volume enough that several people in the lower rows were holding their ears. A half-hearted cheer rose from the crowd of students. "Geez, tough crowd." The man muttered.
"For those of you who don't know, I'm Present Mic, one of the teachers here at UA and a Pro Hero. With that out of the way, let's get to the reason you're all here. The practical exam! You'll all be assigned to one of UA's urban training environments, as noted on your testing card. These urban environments are basically mini cities, and for today's test, they're going to be overrun by our simulated villains!"
Present Mic lifted his hand and a massive screen appeared behind him, showing an outline of a small city, with four shadows next to it. Each figure had a point value between zero and four. "You kids will be scored on how well you do at taking these villains out in the span of ten minutes. Each one is assigned a value based on their difficulty, but obviously there will be less of the high value ones than the lower value ones. How you take them out is up to you, but remember, attacking other heroes won't be tolerated at UA, even in a mock battle exam. Go after any other examinees and you won't be stepping foot on UA as a hero."
As he finished a voice called out from the stands. "Excuse me, but I have a question!" a boy stood up from the crowd about halfway up. "There are clearly four figures shown in that image. If this is a mistake it is an insult to all of us! We came here hoping to attend the best hero academy in all of Japan!"
Present Mic rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Chill out listener, I was getting to that. The zero pointer is the last one, and it's my recommendation to avoid them. It's not so much that they can't be beaten, but there's just not really a point. They won't advance your score. Now anybody else?" He scanned the crowd for a second before hollering, "All right, then examinees, get to your training grounds!"
As he stood and moved to go to his testing ground, Yuji thought back to that morning.
All Might pulled up to Dagobah Beach, the sun just rising over the sea, glistening on the waves. Yuji had been scheduled to finish his clean up that morning, and receive All Might's power. As he walked forward, he saw Yuji climbing up the stairs, a massive fridge filled with other trash on his bare shoulders. The training had refined Yuji over the seven months. His muscles were now defined, and a focus on stretching and working his whole body had kept him lean, his muscles built not for show, but for a combination of staying moving for hours and intense bursts of motion.
All Might strode forward, surveying the boy's work on the beach. Not one spec of trash remained, the sand looked soft, and it had been scoured for anything lurking beneath the surface. He smiled, instinctively transforming as he heard Yuji deposit the last of the trash on the bed of the truck. He walked back to Yuji, "Well done young Itadori! You surpassed my expectations. Not only did you clean outside the area I expected, you made sure to take any incoming trash as well. You've done a favor for this community, worthy of a hero, and now I will reward you!"
He reached up and plucked a single blonde hair from his head, and repeated the words his own master had said to him four decades prior. "Eat this!"
Yuji stared at him, before shaking his head, taking the hair, and swallowing it. He made a gagging sound before grabbing a bottle of water. "Okay, why did I have to swallow a piece of your hair?"
"In order for the power to pass to you, you needed to take in some of my DNA, and this was the least gross and painful method of getting it to you." All Might declared with a booming chuckle. "Give it a few hours for your body to process the hair. Should be just in time for the exam. Remember though, One for All is a mighty power, and your body was made into a vessel in a hurry. The physical backlash of this power will be no joke. Be prepared young Itadori." All Might's voice turned serious as he told Yuji this, his eyes dark.
Yuji nodded, then asked "So how do I use your power?"
"Clench your butt cheeks super hard, pull back your fist, and from the bottom of your heart shout smash!" All Might roared out. Yuji stared at him, curious how such a description could be the tutorial for a sacred power passed from hero to hero.
Yuji stood in a crowd of hero hopefuls, putting himself through some basic stretches. He had changed into a dark blue tracksuit, the familiar weight of his workout clothes putting him at ease. He could see several powerful looking people in his group. The boy who had shouted his question in the middle of the auditorium was also there, his legs exposed revealing the pipes coming out of his calves. A girl with short brown hair stood near the front, hands tented like she was praying. One blonde kid had a belt with a large glass lens in the center.
He shook his head and decided to focus on the task ahead. Slapping himself on the cheeks, he took a deep breath. "Let's do this Yuji." He muttered.
"Alright, the exam starts now!" Present Mic shouted from a tower above the examinees. They all looked up. "What are you waiting for greenhorns? There's no countdown in a real battle!"
Yuji wasted no more time, turning and sprinting, quickly finding himself at the head of the pack alongside the boy with engines for legs. Seeing movement on his left, he broke away and sprinted down an alley, finding a pack of robots. He accelerated before jumping, planting his foot into the head of the largest one in the center, snapping it off and sending the head rocketing into a building. He rode the machine down, leaping off it and grabbing two smaller ones and smashing their heads together. They ceased moving as their heads came apart. He turned and smashed the final one in what would be its chest area, blowing it away.
He took a quick glance around to confirm he had dealt with them all, and then raced off, intent on finding more. 'That was all just me, All Might's power didn't activate during that at all.' He thought dejectedly as he encountered his next group of enemies. All around him destruction occurred and several times, a few other hopefuls would take out his target before he could, forcing him to adjust quickly.
With four minutes left on the clock, a loud explosion was heard in the center of the testing ground. Turning, Yuji found himself staring at the largest robot he had ever seen. It had six red eyes, and it towered over the buildings. Yuji watched as it moved forward, treads reducing the concrete to rubble, its hands destroying buildings, and a massive red zero painted on its torso. 'That's more like a natural disaster than an enemy.' Yuji thought as he turned to get away from the robot, pausing when he heard a scream of pain.
Whipping back around, he saw the girl from earlier, her leg trapped under a piece of rubble. She was struggling to get it out, but the real danger was the massive tread rapidly approaching, threatening to crush her. Yuji felt his legs tense and he heard a whisper in his mind, 'She's most likely going to die, can you accept that Yuji Itadori?'
Tenya Ida was racing away from the zero pointer, intent on finding some last minute points when he heard a scream of pain. He skidded to a halt, turning to see a girl stuck in rubble. "What a shame, but UA wouldn't allow her to be grievously injured during the exam." He muttered, turning away once again, his engines revving up until a gale of wind nearly blew him off his feet.
He turned around and could see the pink haired boy from earlier had launched himself into the sky, his jacket shredded, black tribal markings appearing on his body. He approached the head of the android, and his fist reared back. "SMASH!" he roared, launching his fist into the robot's head.
Tenya's eyes widened in shock as the robot was blasted back, its head cratered, the rest of its body following as it toppled over. "What power?" Tenya marveled as the boy began his descent to earth, bracing his legs for a second before impact, cratering the ground slightly. 'Wait, what if that was a part of the test?' Tenya wondered.
Yuji stood slowly, his arm and legs on fire with pain. Looking down, he could see black rings and lines on his darkening skin. 'All Might never had these marks, is this my quirk or his?' he wondered, before a realization hit. "Oh crap, I've only got like twenty points, I better put a move on." He took a step forward, only for his leg to give out. A hand touched his face before he hit the ground, and he found himself floating.
The girl from earlier smiled as she helped right him, and then brought his feet to the ground. She touched her fingers together, and muttered something under her breath. Yuji suddenly found that all his weight was back on his legs.
"Um thanks for that" he said sheepishly, only for the girl to smile and turn suddenly, puking her guts out. Yuji stared in shock, thinking over exactly what he had done wrong.
"Sorry," the girl muttered after a few seconds, "My quirk gives me an upset stomach if I use it too much, and I was on the verge before I caught you." She smiled weakly.
As Yuji started to respond, they heard a voice shout out "That's time dear listeners! If you're injured please wait and our school nurse will find you shortly!"
Yuji collapsed, staring into the distance, his gray eyes focused on the sky above. "All that work, and I only got twenty points. I screwed up so hard." He went to put his head in his hands, only to hiss in pain. His right arm was hard to move, and was swelling horribly. "Oh, that's also not good." He said lamely. The girl sat down next to him, nursing her leg.
"That was some punch." She began, "Thank you for that. I'm Ochako Uraraka. Sorry if I cost you the exam." She finished sheepishly.
"Yuji Itadori, and don't worry about it. What happens, happens. At least I got to make sure you're okay." He smiled at her then, his eyes closing as he focused on not showing pain. He breathed deep for a moment before opening his eyes at the sound of footsteps. A short old woman came into view, a walking stick helping her along.
"Well, you two look a little worse for wear. Show me where it hurts dearie." She said kindly, her voice showing her age, but allowing for no argument. Yuji indicated his arm, and the woman moved closer, picking up the limb, and prodding a few times as Yuji hissed. "You strained every muscle in your forearm and nearly dislocated your shoulder." She shook her head in wonder and her lips stretched out before planting a kiss on his arm. Within moments the pain had faded, and his arm looked good as new, even his legs felt better. He looked curiously as the markings faded, testing his arm.
The old woman moved to inspect Ochako's leg, before replicating the procedure. She handed each of them a juice box and a cookie before moving on. "You should rest for five minutes. My quirk uses up some of your body's energy to heal you." She called over her shoulder.
Yuji turned to Uraraka, his brow raising in a silent question. She shook her head, then ripped open the straw for her juice box. They ate in silence before getting up and walking to the gates together.
