Mirai eyed the stack of empty coffee cups on his desk as he gulped down the powdery dregs of his latest caffeine fix. He threw them away every time he got up to use the restroom, but Centipeder made a point of putting them back on his desk whenever he brought up another stack of papers. With a tired sigh, Mirai neatly slotted the empty paper cup in with the others and rose to throw them away once more.

Despite himself, he let out a jaw-popping yawn. Rationally, he knew that he needed sleep. He would be less effective once All for One showed himself for every hour he stayed alert. Yet, every time he tried, he was haunted by the visage of lightning incarnate sweeping across the planet, striking down everyone in its path.

Mirai wondered if he could have stopped it. If he had warned All Might, he might have kept his successor closer. He idly shook the thought away. He had no precedent to assume it was the Quirk's future he saw, and not Izuku's. He would have been ignored, just as he had been all those years ago.

And now, it looked as though both calamitous prophecies were about to unfold. The only thing he could do about it was paperwork. Requisitions to foreign countries for specific heroes, military assets, and funding, coordinating the local heroes, identifying and opening bunkers and safehouses, anything that could avert the twin tragedies that would destroy the world. He could do nothing else, in the face of the apocalypse.

On his way out the door, Centipeder walked past him with yet another stack of papers, snatching the empty cups from his hand as he went.

"They're taking up valuable space on my desk," Mirai groused.

"They're staying there as a monument to your stubbornness and inability to delegate until you take a nap, sir."

Mirai pinched his brow. "There's no time. If you had any idea what was at stake-"

"But we don't!" Centipeder snapped. "You aren't telling us anything. One day, everything's normal, and the next, you're acting as though the world's ending."

Mirai didn't quite hide his flinch at that one. Anyone else might have missed it, but Centipeder was too familiar with him, and had too sharp an eye. The insectoid hero gave a fair impression of blanching in horror through their chitinous exoskeleton. "The world's not really going to end, is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Mirai said, "I saw it."

"How soon?"

And that made Mirai pause. "I thought we had more time. A year at least. With the other one, I'm not so sure, but this, with how recent it was, I couldn't have been off by that much, could I? Maybe we find a way to delay it somehow, injure him again, but he escapes and gets even stronger."

Centipeder eyed the stack in his hands, then the dimly lit, disheveled office. He closed the door with a firm thud. "Definitely time for a nap, sir."

Mirai gave him an affronted look. "You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I do, sir. But whoever said that you can sleep when you're dead is a liar and a villain. Go home. Sleep. Eat something. Talk to someone. Maybe touch some grass."

"There's too much to do. I can't just relax and do nothing while the world's ending."

"It's not ending right now, is it?" Centipeder checked out a window. "Nope, still there. And when it does, we'll need you at your best. There's no one I trust more to find a better future than you, sir. Not even All Might."

Nighteye felt his heart sink. He had never been able to find a better future. He thought he had given up trying long ago, but faced with the end of mankind, he couldn't help but try. Lacking the heart to tell his sidekick that his faith was definitely misplaced, Mirai gave him a tired smile and said, "Thank you, Juzo. Are you sure you're up to the paperwork?"

Centipeder brandished one of Sir Nighteye's seals. "If there's one thing you taught me how to do, it's fill out forms."

Mirai rolled his eyes. "Clearly I didn't teach you my sense of humor."

"And thank goodness for that. Now go home, sir. We got this."

Mirai truly wanted to believe that. It was too easy imagining them all struck by lightning.

Home was a studio apartment two blocks away from the agency. A handful of dried seaweed, soaked in water and drizzled with sesame oil and chili garlic paste made for a passable salad that only served to awaken the ravenous appetite he had so ruthlessly shoved aside in the name of productivity. Making a mental note to buy more, Mirai fished out a nicer brand of cup ramen. With a pinch of seaweed salad and some dried mushrooms, it almost tasted like something to Nighteye's sleep-deprived palate.

Mirai set himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Sleep eluded him. His brain replayed the destruction of humanity and All Might's death on a loop, superimposing the two, shoving all his fears and despair in his face. With a groan, Mirai sat up and put his glasses back on. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until he did something, and deep down, he knew that endless piles of paperwork wouldn't grant him the solace he sought.

And yet, what else could he do? Track down All for One himself? He'd have to find someone who knew where All for One had gone to ground, and with how the villain had fled his hideout upon the League's capture, he sincerely doubted even they knew where he went. Without someone actively with the villain on hand, the best Nighteye could do is try to pin down a time and place. And realistically, the only person who he knew for certain would be involved with fighting the villain would be All Might. He knew all too well how he would take being asked to let Nighteye use his Quirk on him again.

Yet, that last thought would not leave him, no matter how hard he tried. He had vowed to do everything in his power to stop the future he had beheld. Examining All Might's future one last time was the simplest and most effective method. If he knew the stakes, surely he would agree to meet one last time.

With a grimace, Mirai took out his phone. After all these years, he still had him on speed dial. As the ring tone echoed distantly in his ear, Mirai wondered what he could even say over voicemail. Come right out and say the world's ending? He had ignored one prophecy, why not a second? Beg for forgiveness? For being right? Even if he thought it might work, which it absolutely wouldn't, Mirai couldn't stomach the idea.

"Sasaki-san?"

Mirai flinched. "Toshinori. Apologies, I didn't expect you to pick up. You should be resting."

"I could say the same to you. I suspect we both have the same problem."

All for One. It went without saying. Mirai's problem, however, felt a tiny bit bigger than that.

"I had a new vision, Yagi-san."

"I hope you aren't going to try to talk me out of fighting him."

Mirai's grip tightened on his phone. "I wish I was. I'm almost certain what I saw five years ago is about to come to pass. Yet, recently, I saw the world end."

All Might listened attentively, not even pausing to cough, as Mirai explained the vision he had when he used his Quirk on Izuku.

"You shouldn't have done that," All Might chided. "Using your Quirk on him without permission like that is pushing the right a hero has too far."

"The HPSC asked me to do it. They had concerns. Concerns that I thought they were right to have, until recently."

"So, you think All for One will lose control of his Quirk and kill everyone on the planet."

"It lines up with what I saw."

"Then it changes nothing. All for One needs to die. And if it comes to losing my life, so be it."

"At least transfer the Quirk first. I know it will weaken you, but it's not as though the Quirk will fade immediately. If you don't, and something goes wrong, there won't be another All Might."

"Don't be so sure about that." A wet cough came over the speaker. Mirai felt his chest tighten hearing it. "There's plenty of other great heroes out there to take up my mantle. Endeavor. Hawks. Best Jeanist. Mirko and Ryukyu."

"None of them come anywhere close to your strength, and you know it."

"Perhaps not. But they are ready. Japan can stand on one pillar no longer. It is up to everyone else to safeguard the people." Trailing off, All Might said, "And if it comes to it, Midoriya has the strength to stand alone as I did."

Mirai snapped, "Did you give it to him?"

"I offered. He refused." Sheepishly, All Might said, "And he uppercut me into the ceiling."

Mirai had no idea what to do with that revelation, so he did what he did with just about everything else in his life he had no idea what to do with. He neatly set it aside and turned his attention to more manageable matters.

"That doesn't change the fact that One for All will die if you don't pass it on. Are you really willing to let that legacy disappear? What would Nana think?"

"Leave her out of this," All Might snapped. "I'm not happy about it either, but I haven't met anyone that felt right for the Quirk. And yes, Mirai, that includes Lemillion."

"Even if you don't think he's right for the Quirk, you could at least give it to him for safekeeping."

Mirai waited with bated breath while All Might pondered his words in silence. Another hacking cough wracked the older hero's body. Mirai closed his eyes and begged the universe to let All Might listen to him just once.

"I think," All Might said, "One for All has a will of its own. And I think it is trying to tell me that passing it to him, even temporarily, is a bad idea."

Mirai gritted his teeth. "Is that the Quirk talking, or your own personal feelings? Are you really going to let our dispute get in the way of securing this country's future, for everyone to come after us?"

"If I made decisions based on our dispute, I would have quit being a hero five years ago. It's been hard, Mirai. I can feel my body breaking down as I push myself further and further. I know I don't have much time left. There are days there's nothing I want more than to lie on the couch and let someone else deal with the world's problems."

Mirai felt a pang of grief, hearing his own worries spelled out so plainly to him. For All Might to acknowledge the toll heroism took on his own body, yet insist on pushing through the pain, made Mirai fight back frustrated tears.

"And more than that," All Might continued, "It's been painful, not having you by my side. In some ways, it hurts worse than having lost Nana. At least with her, I know there isn't anything I could possibly do to bring her back. There were days where I picked up the phone, tempted to call and say that I'm done, that I'm ready to pass it on."

"But you didn't."

"I couldn't," All Might said. "If I gave up, when I still had an ounce of strength in my body, and I heard that someone died that I could have saved, how could I have forgiven myself? I would have spent the rest of my days agonizing over all the people I didn't even try to help."

"You can't save everyone. You couldn't even when you were at your full strength."

"I know. But at least, I know I saved as many as I possibly could."

"And how many more could you have saved by training a successor? They would have been ready, Toshi."

From the wounded rasp that All Might let out, Mirai knew the verbal barb struck true, and he felt a twinge of regret.

"Perhaps you're right. But I don't get to make my decisions with the benefit of foresight like yours. I have to do what I feel is right in a given moment. And right now, I think it best that One for All stays with me. It's a burden I can't carelessly impart upon someone else, nor can I risk being any less ready to fight All for One."

"But All Might, the risks-"

"There are times I wonder if Nana would have lived, if she never gave it to me. If she still had all the Quirk's strength, would she have won?"

"If she never gave it up, you would've never had it."

"But she would be alive. I would trade the Quirk away just for that."

Mirai set the phone down and took a deep, frustrated breath. He needed to get through his old mentor, somehow, but he could sense the opportunity passing. He had no other cards to play, no logical arguments to bring forth, no other heartstrings to tug on. With a heavy heart, Mirai picked the phone back up and asked, "Could you at least let me check your future again? I could try to narrow down the timeframe, for… you know."

After a moment of stony silence, All Might said, "I'm not sure I want to know."

"If nothing else, I think I'll be able to sleep knowing I won't miss it."

Mirai held his breath while he waited for the answer. All Might awkwardly cleared his throat. "How about eleven? Back at the old coffeeshop?"

Mirai winced. "They closed two years ago."

"Oh. Uh, I haven't exactly been going places, or drinking coffee, since, you know…"

"There's one right across the street from my agency. They also do tea, which is easier on your stomach if I remember correctly."

"You do. I guess I'll see you there."

"You should get some sleep."

"Same to you, Mirai. And, um, thanks for calling."

With that awkward goodbye, All Might hung up. Mirai flopped back onto his mattress, letting the phone tumble to the floor, and he wondered if those were the last words he would ever hear from him.

Sir Nighteye never got any sleep that night.

Toshinori watched as Might Tower, the building whose foundations he had laid with his own hands, the monument to his legacy and those that came before him, flew apart in a shower of broken glass and molten metal. The building had been empty, the staff either on leave or working within the HPSC's confines, forewarned by Sir Nighteye's delving into his future, but Toshinori still felt the sting of his prized building going up in flames.

All Might pulled on the dwindling embers of his Quirk and tensed his muscles. "It's time."

Hawks gave a genial smile. "And we have everything ready on our end. Nice of him to announce himself and wait in the open like that."

Standing atop the wreckage of All Might's agency, All for One waited, arms crossed, faceless mask flickering with sparks in a rough facsimile of a grinning face. It felt utterly unlike the villain, to so boldly stand in the open in an obvious challenge. The unusual behavior made All Might's hackles rise.

"This feels like a trap."

"At your own building?" Hawks retorted. "More likely, the villain thinks himself invincible with that Quirk. And today, we get to prove him wrong."

All Might slipped on a pair of rubber knuckledusters and flexed his fingers. The springy material cracked slightly under his immense strength, but he judged they would hold out long enough to pound the rest of All for One's brain into jelly. David hadn't had time to make a fully insulated costume that would hold up to his Quirk, but his Silver Age costume was built to resist electrical shocks.

"How is the evacuation going?"

"More slowly now that people are panicking," Hawks said wryly, "But you should be good for at least twenty blocks."

"The HPSC knows how much damage the last fight caused."

"We are aware. But quite frankly, neither of you are at your prime."

All Might let out a slow breath. "For their sake, I hope you're right about that. I'll see you over there."

All Might leapt, bounding from rooftop to rooftop in a red and blue blur. He kept an eye out for civilians lingering behind as he entered the evacuation zone, but once he entered All for One's sight, his attention turned solely onto the villain. Still bulked out, All Might calmly strode up to the wreckage of his agency.

"You're getting slow in your old age," All for One said. "You could've made the trip from the HPSC in a quarter of the time in your youth."

"And you're getting senile. You've never been one for frivolous displays like this."

All for One grinned and raised his arms. Lightning flickered through the air, drawing in clouds like a magnet. The sunlight disappeared, ominous rumbling filled the air, and the humidity hung over the city like a pall.

"I scurried about in the shadows out of necessity. I was powerful, but even with all my Quirks, I would die surely as anyone else if the collective nations of the world dropped their nuclear arsenals on my welcome mat. But now?" All for One flicked a hand. Lightning slammed into the ground at All for One's feet, blasting a hole through the concrete. "I have become something more than a man. I am a god! Invincible! Omniscient! I have dominion over the greatest fundamental force, the backbone of human industry, the wind-up key of all the clockwork people shuffling to their menial jobs. No one on this entire planet can now harm me in any way that matters."

All Might thought wryly that Midoriya was very much on the mark about how his Quirk would affect the villain. Delusions of grandeur and megalomania were underselling it quite a bit. All Might raised his fists, crowned with rubber, and said, "Bold words for someone whose weakness is rubber."

All for One snorted. "That child didn't grasp a fraction of what his power is capable of. Allow me to demonstrate."

In a literal flash of lightning, All for One sprang forward. All Might, anticipating the move, was already swinging his fist when All for One neatly parted around his knuckles and reformed around his arm.

"Complete control over an amorphous body," All for One crooned. "If I didn't have experience with similar Quirks, I wouldn't have nearly this much control. See, I can even turn my limbs into blades."

All for One swung two jagged blades, shaped like forked lightning, at All Might's extended arm. All Might tried pulling back his arm, but All for One's torso tightened its grip on his limb. Realizing he had a split second to stop the blades, All Might gripped his upper arm with his left hand. The knuckleduster blocked the first sword. The second bit deep into his shoulder. All Might gritted his teeth at the simultaneous shock and blunt force, but with his suit taking the literal edge off the attack and without the second blade pressing from the opposite side, the lightning edge failed to bite into skin.

All Might flung a foot up, splitting All for One in half and freeing his arm. He threw punch after punch into the nebulous cloud of electricity, but the villain wove around his attacks like mist.

"How long can you even keep it up these days?" All for One asked. "Five hours? Four? It's a bit hard to tell given how much of it you spend hamming it up for the cameras. Compensating for something much?"

"I'm impressed you're still keeping up with the news. Did you have to steal a Quirk for that, or do you have your butler tell you what's on the screen?"

"Now now, Toshinori, it's not very nice making fun of the differently abled. What will your loyal fans think?"

All Might threw a stronger punch. The shockwave shook the glass around him, but even the blast of air didn't touch the villain. Conversely, each thunderbolt All for One hurled fell like a sledgehammer upon All Might's costume. He felt himself bruising across his arms, and the fast-paced fight ate up more of his stamina than he usually used.

Hoping that the evacuation had progressed enough, All Might threw a punch into the ground. A crater opened up beneath the both of them, rapidly filling with water from busted pipes.

"Really, All Might?" All for One sneered. He spread his arms wide, posing dramatically above the gaping hole in the street. "I really hope you weren't expecting a pitfall trap to work on someone who can fly."

"I wasn't," All Might replied, "But I imagine a net would work just fine."

With All for One looking down, he never noticed the rubber sheet crashing down on him. The rubber shoved the villain into the hole with All Might, and he gladly took advantage of the villain's surprise by planting a fist directly into his face.

All Might relished the feeling of finally connecting with a solid punch a hair too long. The haymaker left his injured side exposed, and even in the dark, pinned between the trap and All Might's fist, All for One twisted and flung a solid kick into All Might's old injury. All Might choked on a spurt of blood and stumbled back.

As his vision swam, he wondered if this was how Mirai had seen it end. The jaws of the trap snapped shut, rubber falling down the sides and covering the top, water rising from the bottom. All they'd have to do is add more water and wait for the villain to drown. And if All Might never lived to see it happen, he would at least die knowing the villain's death was inevitable.

"Now this simply won't do," All for One said, tutting loudly, floating just above the rising water. "How are the cameras supposed to get a good shot of me butchering their precious number one hero like a pig?"

All Might wiped blood off his chin. "Sorry to disappoint, but this is how it ends for you. Trapped, like a rat in a cage, undone by the very Quirk you stole. There's no escape for you."

"Oh really? Tell me, Toshinori, did you ever pay attention in chemistry class?"

At that non-sequitur, All Might frantically looked around the dimly lit space. All for One crackled with energy, casting a flickering glow across the water, and beneath his shadow, bubbles rose like a frothing cauldron.

All Might hastily covered his mouth, but All for One simply laughed and said, "Oh, you definitely haven't. Some teacher you are." Clearing his throat and assuming his best professor voice, All for One said, "Water is made of two elements. Normally quite stable, it is possible to split water molecules by running an electrical current through them. When you do that, you get two gasses. Oxygen. And hydrogen."

All for One grinned maniacally as he held a single spark between his fingers. All Might raced forward. A tiny flame burst around the spark. All Might hastily threw his arms together. The hole erupted in a deafening pop, ripping a hole through the rubber and spurting a flicker of fire high into the sky.

All Might, thrown from the pit, clambered to his feet. His limbs, shrunken to his civilian state, trembled like leaves in a gale. Burns across his hands and face racked him with stinging pain, and his ears buzzed like a broken radio.

All for One said something as he sauntered forward, untouched by the confined explosion, but All Might couldn't hear him. He raised a fist, only to see the rubber knuckledusters got blown off his fingers. He threw a punch anyways. All for One didn't even bother dodging. Instead, he formed a lightning bolt in his hand and held it like an executioner's axe over All Might.

The instant before it fell, a green blur clotheslined All for One into a building.

A/N: I have tomatoes! I never planted them (they grew on their own, probably from fallen tomatoes from last year), I watered them a couple of times when the rain took a short break, and spent fifteen minutes picking enough to fill a quart-sized container. And that's just the first harvest. I'm anticipating getting at least two more harvests like it.

In other news, I got an edge trimmer for my birthday and found out that there's another foot of sidewalk buried under my lawn. I'll be spending a few days excavating that. I also have to plan replacing the fence (it's literally tied down to my garden beds in some places), get curtains for my living room, and look into patching up the brick tile in the kitchen. Ah, the joys of home ownership.