Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. Also, I'm only 3.25 seasons into the anime and three issues into the manga. This means that I probably shouldn't be writing fic yet, because I don't know all of the details. I am making assumptions about Toshi's past, Nezu's age, etc. which may be addressed later in the manga. If so... sorry. I just really want to write the fic. If there are errors, please be kind and consider this a semi-AU. Thanks:D

Learning to Trust

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too"
—Rudyard Kipling, "If—"

Prologue

Principal Nezu studied the powerful hero over the rim of his steaming tea bowl as they sat in the peaceful quiet of his office at UA. It was after hours and most of the faculty had left the building to head home to their families or to prepare dinner. Nezu's office faced west, allowing natural light at this time of the day. Generally his blinds would have been wide open, but his window was quite large, and there were people with quirks that allowed them to see from a great distance. Because of this, and at the request of his guest, the blinds were part way shut to obscure any view from the ground.

Even so, the sun streamed through the windows in a glory of yellow-orange late afternoon light. Contrasted with the dark horizontal shadows cast by his bamboo blinds, the effect on their profiles was a jarring tiger stripe-even odder on the white fur of the principal.

He quietly sipped his tea, calmly inhaling the steam. Finally he spoke. "You know, All Might," he commented mildly. "You really should drink some of that before it gets cold."

The giant of a hero sitting across from him had been absently staring off into space, but this gentle prodding snapped him back to attention. He merely nodded and took an obedient sip. The large man in his striped yellow suit looked comically out of place on the small chair across the table from the hyper-intelligent rodent sitting on his large sofa. "Of course, sir," All Might politely rumbled, taking a second sip for good measure.

The principal's placid expression remained unchanged, as always, but he seemed pleased. "There's nothing like tea between friends, is there? It's been a long time since you've visited. I can't help but wonder if this trip is about business or pleasure." His words were friendly enough, but his light voice carried an odd weight, and his companion's shadowed blue eyes glanced up from the contents of his cup in surprise. Usually over tea, Nezu was a bit slower to get the point.

"Sir?"

Nezu was unfazed, sipping again at his tea. "As I've said, it's been quite a long time since we last saw each other, All Might. I've invited you a number of times, but you've always politely declined. Now you surprise me out of the blue." He cocked his head to the side, his beady black eyes studying him critically. "You're looking well, by the way. Really, how long has it been? It seems you weren't well the last time we spoke…"

All Might's perpetual smile seemed a bit strained at that. He knew what point Nezu was making. "Five years, sir," he responded in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. A hint of exhaustion was creeping in. He coughed awkwardly.

Nezu's ears twitched. "Yes. Of course. I had visited you that time… at the hospital." His sharp eyes didn't miss the larger man's flinch, but he didn't comment on that. "Well, you seem to be in much better health than I would have expected, all things considered." He allowed a touch of warmth to creep into his voice. "I really am glad to see that. I was worried you know." He truly had been, and it was a relief to see that the man had changed so little. Still… he could sense that something was off, and it still worried him. What are you hiding, Toshinori…? Gently he added, "It would seem that Sir Nighteye was mistaken after all."

There was a long, heavy silence.

Nighteye, of course, was never wrong. They both knew that. Which meant that regardless of All Might's miraculous recovery of his near-fatal injuries, there was still a crazed villain and a horrific death in his future.

All Might seemed to be at a loss for words, running his hand nervously through his blond hair and coughing again.

At the man's silence, Nezu poured more tea and prompted, "So tell me, All Might, to what do I owe this surprise visit? You still haven't told me."

"You can call me Toshinori, sir," the man replied slowly in a voice very different from his usual cheerful boom. It was almost as though the great hero had been fading away with the setting sun. He finally looked up, making direct eye contact with the principal. "Continuing to call me All Might is just going to make this more awkward." His blue eyes burned. "We both know this form is a sham. I had no way of recovering from my wound, and Nighteye has never been wrong."

Nezu nodded, sighing lightly. Of course not… but I had hoped… "Then tell me, Toshinori," he asked, gently, "how are you really doing, from one friend to another?"

Yagi Tonshinori, All Might, squirmed uncomfortably in his seat and, after appearing almost ready to finally open up, he sidestepped the question again, instead answering a previous one. "I need to find a successor for One for All." There was an urgency in his voice, certainly. But at the moment Nezu was more concerned about the fact that his old pupil had changed the subject. He only does that when he's afraid of the response to what he has to say.

"Toshinori…"

"You mentioned before that if I retired, I could work here… and look for a suitable replacement. Does that offer still stand?"

"You haven't answered my question, Toshinori. How are you?"

At the realization that he couldn't delay his answer any more, Toshinori's entire demeanor changed. The answer was clipped and abrupt. His voice was heavy with exhaustion, and his smile had dropped completely. "I'm dying, sir." He coughed.

Nezu stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he detected… was it a trick of the light or was there a light layer of smoke coming from the man's body. "Sir Nighteye's prediction, then? Do you know who it is?"

Toshinori coughed again. This time it sounded wet. "No. But I don't know if I'll make it that long anyway. My body's failing. I can only manage hero work for a few hours per day now. The rest of the time, I can barely even function as an ordinary citizen." This time when he coughed, he had a harder time stopping, and Nezu finally realized that the man had been working to control his coughing. He pulled a handkerchief from his suit coat pocket and held it to his mouth. When he pulled it away, it was stained with blood.

There was more smoke now-definitely not a trick of the light. The smoke puffed off the man, a swirl of it obscuring the principal's view of his friend. From the midst of the smoke came a voice that was clearly still All Might's, but… faded. Thin and worn out. "This is what I am now, sir."

The smoke cleared, and even though he'd thought he'd been prepared to see what damage the man had been hiding, Nezu hadn't been ready for this.

He set his tea bowl down... hard.

Perched atop the wooden stool in clothes now far too large, sat the frail shell of a man, almost unrecognizable as his friend in any form. The bony hands holding his cup were almost comically large on his skeletal body. He sat slumped as though sitting up were too much work for his tired frame. A shock of ragged, messy blond hair framed his too narrow face. His cheekbones stood in stark relief against gaunt cheeks, giving his face a sharp, angular look, and making him look far older than his fifty years. His eyes were sunken so deeply in shadow that they seemed almost black. He coughed once more, this time harsh and painful sounding as it shook his weak frame. Toshinori wiped at his mouth again with his handkerchief, and tucked it back into his pocket.

"Toshinori…" the principal whispered. He had expected that the man would have lost muscle. That he would have begun struggling with little things as diminished lung capacity and the limited nutrients now available to him took their toll. Still… he'd never dreamed that in five short years the Number One Hero—his friend and former student—would have wasted away like this. There was nothing of All Might left. Even his ever-present smile was gone. He just looked old and faded and sick.

And for some reason seeing him like this made Nezu remember the nervous quirkless young man who had first come to them in their general studies program all those years ago. He ached for that boy. Could he even teach like this?

As though reading Nezu's mind, Toshinori spoke again in that exhausted voice, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "I know I don't look like much, sir. And I know I can't teach in this form. But if I'm careful, I can give you about three hours per day at full strength. It isn't much, but it's all I can offer. Is that enough?" His eyes finally flashed open then, locking with the principal's. As the fading light caught his eyes, they gleamed bright blue and surprisingly fierce, burning with a fire that belied his wasted body.

Nezu straightened at that, relief flooding through him. All Might was still alive in that shell. His body may have grown weak, but his spirit clearly burned as strong as ever, even trapped as it was inside that damaged prison. Hope for his friend was rekindled.

The principal nodded encouragingly. "What you are able to still provide will be more than enough, All Might," Nezu replied gently, choosing to respectfully use his hero name. "You don't need to prove yourself to me. We both know that you've already given far more to your country than was ever required of you. And I can clearly see that you're still as strong as ever… in your own way."

Toshinori's eyes widened a hair at those words and his face finally seemed to relax in the relief of acceptance. There was a flash of teeth as a small, genuine smile crept across his sharp features. "Thank you, sir," he replied. "I'm not even sure if this is something I can do… teaching, I mean. But if you would let me get a feel for things before the semester begins, I could tell you with plenty of time before you needed to announce anything."

"Of course," Nezu replied, observing what was left of the Number One Hero sadly. He was a powerful man now trapped in a rapidly deteriorating body. That internal strength would serve him well, but Toshinori was right. Even that probably wouldn't hold him much longer at this rate. "Let's draw up some reasonable plans, shall we?"

Toshinori nodded, sipping absently at the rest of his now lukewarm tea.

Nezu suspected that Toshinori had enjoyed none of it. He tsk-tsked softly. Such a waste…

He didn't only mean the tea.

Author's Note: A big thanks to lolo popoki and sueb262 for betaing this work. Also a great big thanks to you for reading. Please consider dropping a thoughtful review, so I know what works and what doesn't. If you see errors in the story, please check out the note with the disclaimer at the start of the story, before becoming frustrated with my lack of knowledge/ research! Thanks again:D

Dewa mata!
Sirius