"Can you believe it?"
"Hero-in-Training Deku defeated Vaccine Man!"
"–just shot lasers out of his eyes out of fucking nowhere!"
"He broke the crystal! All Might didn't even make a dent but he broke it! Twice!"
"–so cool!"
"Deku backhanded the villain and they exploded!"
"–saved Endervor!"
"–saved All Might!"
"–saved Japan!"
"I get the super-everything right? But how does it relate to eyebeams, freeze breath, tentacles, and healing? It's like he has five Quirks?!"
"You could grate cheese on those abs! Hmgh!"
"– And they were everywhere!"
"–Naked! He was naked and he didn't even care! Like if that was me I would not have the bandwidth to keep fighting."
"Did you see how broken Deku's finger was? And then it just healed?!"
"–All Might and Deku–"
"–Deku and All Might–
"Deku–"
"Deku–"
"DEKU–"
"Deku," Miru Yukari, a news anchor and Journalist for NHK-WORLD-JAPAN, a well known and trusted international news outlet in Japan, sat across from Midoriya Izuku with a truly earnest smile, "How does it feel to have saved Japan?"
She's a young woman, mid twenties at most, with a compact build hovering at five feet, shoulder length peach blonde hair styled in a middle part high bun, a sand complexion, and chocolate brown eyes.
The preteen returns the smile with one of his own, not too small and not too wide, the perfect parting of lips, "It feels fulfilling. To be of use to others is the highest calling one can ever ask for."
Both of them wore professional clothing, Yukari an elegant soft beige overlap V-neck cap sleeve midi dress and Izuku a slim fitting royal blue blazer/pants set with a long sleeved black shirt underneath.
The interviewer gives a small chime-like laugh, "A truly heroic answer for such a heroic boy but I have to ask, weren't you afraid? I mean the Shizuoka Desolation was the largest attack on Japan soil ever recorded and Vaccine Man had bested All Might. It seemed like all hope was lost, there had to be a moment where you considered just running away?"
The Hero-in-Training shakes his head, "No, of course not. I chose this life. It's full of dangers and unfairness but it's a hero's job to deal with it and make the best out of a bad situation. I was there, I couldn't wait for someone with more experience or with a better Quirk, it was just me and if I had left then there would be no one."
"Even if that meant you would die?"
"Yes." He replies immediately and without hesitation, "A hero's job is to give everything, even their life, for the slimmest chance of doing good."
"Many would disagree with you." The newspaper woman responds back, "Some liken heroes to the police or firefighters, that while yes it is their job to protect others they also have a duty to themselves. After all, a dead hero can't help anyone."
"No, they can't." The ninth bearer gives a conceding nod, "I understand the viewpoint just can't stand behind it but at the end of the day my view of Heroics is one of a billion."
"I suppose so but it's a viewpoint that matters, especially in light of recent events. People are calling you the next Symbol of Peace, there's a petition going around demanding you be granted your Hero License despite your young age. What is that like, to have such high expectations thrust upon you?"
Izuku takes a moment to respond, "Humbling. Flattering. But more than that, it's reassuring."
"Reassuring? In what way?"
"It's reassuring in a way that it reaffirms my ideals. When I was younger I used to watch All Might's Japan debut on repeat. I used to imagine myself in his place saving people with a smile on my face knowing they felt safe because I was there." His smile becomes gentler, kinder, full of wonder, "My epithet is the limitless hero, I chose it as a reminder of the kind of hero I needed to be; someone able to do anything, be anywhere, and save everyone."
"A noble goal but an impossible one." She adds with a hint of hesitation and worry, "After all you're only human."
"Maybe but a hero's job is to turn the impossible into reality." Izuku jabs back with a hint of humor, making her laugh.
"You got me there. On the topic of your name, why Deku? Were you referring to the word Dekiru? As in, you can do it?"
The hero hopeful chokes, his eyes widened, "I… no. I never realized how close they sounded but no, Deku is short for Dekunobou, the featureless wooden doll like the vintage Kokeshi."
She perks in interest, "Oh!" Her face falls in realization. "Isn't that an insult?"
The bubbling symbol just smiles, "I suppose, from a certain point of view. I see it more as a compliment because the dekunobou is featureless, it can be made into anything, some might say it has infinite potential."
"A beautiful sentiment and I suppose an apt one considering your Quirk; Mind Might, a psionic power in nature, right?"
Izuku hums positively, "Yes, using psionic energy I can enhance my physical stats to superhuman levels."
"But not only that, after all that doesn't explain Surge Vision, freeze breath, super healing or those tendril constructs?"
The preteen gives a small laugh, "Well it kinda has too, it's not like I have more than one Quirk, no one does." He clears his throat before explaining. "The Psionic energy is much more malleable than I initially gave it credit for. Surge Vision, enhanced healing, and the tendrils is the energy that I usually use to enhance myself given release, direction, and a form."
"And the freezing breath?"
"To explain that I would have to give a somewhat in depth explanation of Physics and Quirk Theory, is that all right?" He warns.
The woman looks dubious but nods.
"Alright." The Hero-in-Training gives a thankful nod, "When large amounts of air is compressed and then squeezed through a small opening, like when I inhaled as much as I possibly could before blewing it out between my pursed lips, it creates extreme cooling from the rapid expansion of gas in lower pressure called the Joule-Thomson effect." The explanation starts. "Of course as you saw my first attempt, while it produced some results, it failed for a few reasons, one being my lungs simply do not have the sheer volume needed for it to be successful. Which is where Quirk Theory comes in."
Izuku leans in, resting his elbows on the table with an excited look.
"Now as generations pass Quirks evolves more and more. First generation Quirks were simple in nature but extremely dangerous to not only others but themselves because they lacked Secondary Quirk Characteristics. Third generation and beyond developed these characteristics which support their Quirks, acting as safety precautions but they also developed Vestige Quirk Mutations."
Yukari gives a confused hum, "Those are superficial Quirk Traits inherited from our parents, grandparents, and such right?"
His eyes light up, "Yes!" He practically hops in place. "But recent research suggests that these Vestige Quirk Mutations in the recent generation, the fifth, aren't as superficial as they were in previously which adds to the complexity of how Quirks can function. My father's Quirk, Dragon's Breath, altered his entire respiratory system and I inherited a key aspect which facilitated my freeze breath."
"And what aspect would that be?"
"My Lung Gas Exchange is extraordinarily efficient, basically amounting to breathing out much more than I take in. Now that usually wouldn't amount to anything since I failed to inherit my father's collapsible lungs nor the phosphate waste produced by his cells but it does mean that, when done properly, I can exhale an absurd amount of carbon dioxide and while using the Joule-Thomson effect create what amounts to freeze breath."
"But you couldn't use freeze breath the first time or couldn't use it to any effect, so why did it work the second?"
"Because, like a muscle never used, that particular trait needed to be stretched first before being utilized successfully."
The interviewer gives an understanding and amazed nod, "Truly an in-depth answer, if I may ask how far along are you in your education? All Might mentioned his student would receive the best tutors he could afford and it seems like he made good on that promise."
The hero hopeful gives a small laugh, "I've completed lower and upper secondary education and now I'm working on my bachelor's degrees."
"Degrees?" She utters in surprise, "As in multiple?"
"That's right, I'm double majoring in Quirk Studies and Quirk Biology."
"That's…" She can't seem to find the words, "That's amazing! Where do you find the time?"
"Well that's a secret." He waves the question off before moving on, "I just have to say how blessed I am to have All Might in my corner, it's because of him that I can live out my dreams and even pursue higher education with no cost to myself."
"Well we all know how generous our symbol can be." She readily agrees before moving on, "So Deku, what's next?"
"Training." He immediately responds, "I still have a long way to go before I can proudly say; I Am Here."
~Paragon~
Todoroki Enji, the Flame Hero: Endeavor and number two hero in Japan, is a forty-three year old man with an ivory coloring, six foot-three thickest build, short spiky crimson hair, and turquoise eyes. He lays in his private hospital bed beaten but healing with the help of four casts around his limbs and a rigid medical device fixed by a metal ring pinned to his skull, connected by rods to a vest called a halo brace.
He stares blankly at the wall mount TV fixed above a built-in deep chocolate brown desk as his chest labors while Deku's interview plays. His mind playing back his confrontation with Vaccine Man; the rage of their sheer arrogance, the mounting horror of the destruction they had caused mixed with an overwhelming glee of arriving before All Might and being the one who will save Japan.
… the embarrassment of his sidekicks being taken down in less than a second, the shame of only lasting a moment longer, and… and the fear of dying.
Enji had been a hero for over twenty years and he had never been closer to death than at that moment. He can still feel the cracking of his bones as he skipped across the ground like a pebble being tossed against a lake.
If not for All Might…
If not for Deku, a child who isn't even a teenager yet, he'd be dead.
'How I scoffed at All Might.' He listlessly thinks, 'What a ridiculous idea, I thought. Taking in some nameless wretch who would drain you of your resources and time.' The man clenches his eyes tightly. 'Not only that but a prepubescent boy with no achievement to his name but a cleaned beach? Ridiculous! Idiotic! Further proof that you didn't know what you were doing and that I deserved to be the number one hero!'
His body shakes minusculely.
Surrounding Enji are his three children; Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shoto but only his eldest at nineteen sits by his side while the other two sit on the far side of the room opposite of their sister and facing the door, uncaring of the state of their father as they watch the interview.
"Daddy?" Fuyumi calls out in worry, her soft and unblemished hands cupping his calloused ones. She shares very little with him being over a foot shorter than him with a slender yet barrel-chested frame, a porcelain complexion, and snow white shoulder length hair with only small flecks of his coloring through her locks.
But her eyes, she has his eyes placed behind red upside down half rim rectangular glasses.
"I don't know what to do next?" His voice is scratchy and painful to listen to, "I faced a being as strong as All Might, stronger, and I was nothing but an ant." Eyes crack open, watering slightly as he stares at his only daughter.
Her eyes widen and her grip on his hand tightens, "Oh, daddy."
"I finally realize Fuyumi that I've wasted our lives on a pointless goal. I thought that if I trained enough, if I put in enough effort, if I gave it everything and then some I could surpass All Might but then I realized no amount of effort would help. Not because he was too strong but because my Quirk was too weak. If I just had a better, stronger Quirk, one with no weakness then I could finally beat him but Deku is stronger than All Might and he's not even a teenager yet." His breath comes out choppy and short, "I can't imagine Shoto ever reaching that level of power, not even if he trained for a hundred years. He's just a boy."
Shoto looks at the scene with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and anger while Natsuo glares out in disgust.
Shoto is the youngest at twelve and stands only an inch shorter than his eldest sibling at five-foot two with a lithe frame thanks to years of intense training under his father, a warm ivory coloring, and short hair that doesn't pass his neck.
Unlike his siblings who lean towards their mother in the genetic lottery he inherited equally from both of his parents; His hair is split with white on the right and crimson on the left while his right eye is dark gray and his left is turquoise, even his Quirk is separated with his right side able to produce ice and his left making fire.
Perfect in all the ways Enji always imagined with the only blemish being a frostbite-burn scar over the left side of his face which reaches from his highline to halfway down his cheek.
Natsuo, the middle child of the Todoroki family and the tallest of his children with a respectable five foot-six frame, is fifteen. The teenager shared his sister's porcelain complexion, short spiky bright white hair, and dark gray eyes.
The flame hero slumps back and stares at the ceiling, tears falling from the side of his eyes, "He's just a boy and I'm just a man but them? All Might and Deku? Their gods. You can't out-power a god and it was a fool's errand to try."
"Unbelievable." His older son calls out, "Are you actually crying?"
Enji ignores him.
"I've never seen you cry a day in my damn life and this does it?!" He questions, his voice getting progressively more aggressive as he stands up from his, "You sent mom to a mental home! You abused Shoto! You ignored me and Fuyumi! You killed–"
"Natsuo, please!" His oldest daughter stands, tears staining her cheeks that she desperately tries to wipe away with her forearms, "He almost died! Just give dad a break!"
"A break? A break?!" The taller boy snaps back, "He doesn't deserve a fucking break!"
"He's still our father!"
Natsuo scoffs, "He's never been ou–"
Enji interrupts, "He's right."
The room freezes at his words.
Wiping away his own tears he forces himself in an upright position, "I haven't been much of a father, if one at all, but that changes. It's clear now that it's time to move on."
His children all stare at him incomprehensibly for a moment before they all react; Fuyumi smiles brightly as if the sun had finally shined after a long and terrible winter, Natsuo shakes his head with a scoff before leaving the room, and Shoto?
Shoto simply turns back to the t.v as if he heard nothing.
~Paragon~
Bakugo Katsuki sits between his parents in their living room grinding his teeth with venom oozing from his very being as he watches De– that dead-end lap it up for all the world to see, 'How dare he?! How fucking dare he?!' An unbearable rage burns at his core, sparks bursting from his clenched hands. 'He got lucky! That's all this is! He got fucking lucky!'
"I'm just so goddamn proud of Zuku! He's gotten so strong and charming!" Bakugo Mitsuki gushes with a bright smile.
Bakugo Masaru hums as he crosses his legs and adjusts his glasses, "I just don't know about all this, I mean he's only twelve and they're talking about him as the next coming of All Might! He's just a boy! Not even a teenager! He shouldn't have been anywhere near that battle!"
His mom reaches over him to lightly slap his dad on the shoulder, "Don't be such a worry wart, hon! He survived! Hell, he thrived! I always knew he had it in him and now so do the rest of the world." She endlessly praises.
The boy clenches his eyes shut and tries to take a deep breath, "I'll be number 'one'." He mutters intensely.
"What was that, brat?" The mother's attention is pulled away from his dad towards him.
"I said I'll be fucking number one!" He screams, "Me! Not Dek– that dead-end!"
Masaru's eyes narrow while Mitsuki flinches back as she'd been slapped, "What did you just say?" He asks dangerously low.
Katsuki scoffs and stands up, ready to leave but as he's walking away his wrist is grabbed tightly.
"Katsuki." The mother whispers out, "Don't you dare pretend you didn't hear him."
"Tsk! What, you old ha–"
"Enough!" The father yells, getting wide eyed looks from both blondes, "Enough with the disrespect, Katsuki. Apparently taking away your phone, laptop, and restricting your time outside wasn't enough!"
"Shut u–"
"Be 'quiet'." He grits up through clenched teeth, the boy scowls and looks down, the man sighs as he removes his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose, "I don't know where you think it's okay to use that word or how you got so comfortable throwing it around but that ends today. Do you understand me?"
The explosive teenager remains silent.
"Katsuki! Answer when I'm speaking to you."
"Yeah, whatever." He mumbles out.
Rolling his eyes Masaru looks to his wife as he puts his glasses back on, she gives a listless shrug as her hand falls from her son's wrist.
"I don't know what I thought before when you shattered our t.v a few months ago but it's clear now that it had something to do with Izuku, the fact that you referred to him by that vile word makes me think you've haven't been very kind to him, I'm I right?"
"It's just a word!" The child exclaims with a pinched expression.
Mitsuki stands up practically towering over her son, "It's not just a word! It's a disgusting derogatory term used by equally disgusting people to make an already highly discriminated part of the population feel even smaller." She trembles for a moment before shaking her head. "Isn't your dream to be a hero?"
"I will be a hero!" He screams out, "The strongest! Stronger than even All Might!"
"Do you think All Might would ever say that word?"
"No but–"
"But what?" The man continues where his wife left off, "But what, Katsuki? What could you possibly say to justify yourself?" Disappoint drips from his tone.
"He needed to learn his place!" The teen barks out, "Always talking about being a hero when he was so fucking useless! When he couldn't even defend himself! When he was just another statistic wait–!"
"SLaP!~"
Katsuki's head swerves to the side, his right cheek stings as it turns red. Slowly he turns his head back towards his mom with shock, her eyes watering as she messages her left hand, "How did I end up with a kid just like the ones who used to bully me?"
"Wha–"
"What's my Quirk, Katsuki?"
"Gl..glycerin." He stutters out.
"What does it do?"
"It makes your skin clearer."
"Yeah, it makes my skin clearer." The woman snorts with derision while wiping away her eyes, "That's it, that's all it does. It's barely a Quirk, in fact it took years to even realize it was one."
"I don't… I don't understand?" The explosive blonde stumbles back.
"What don't you understand?" His father falls back onto the couch with clenched fists, "Your mom was misdiagnosed like Izuku and kids-" He glares at the boy who flinches back at the ugly look. "-are cruel."
"They called me all these horrible nicknames." She whispers out, "Said so many terrible things." Her whole body shakes as she turns away from her son. "Like you."
"No!" The combustible hero hopeful desperately denies, "I'm not like–"
"Aren't you?" Masaru questions, "After all, you tormented Izuku. Right?" The words hang for a moment. "Get out of our sight. We'll… deal with you later."
The teen blinks as his own tears begin to form, he opens his mouth several times but no words come out. Eventually he turns away from the two and goes towards the staircase.
As he walks up he hears his mom whimper, "How did he turn out to be such a monster?"
~Paragon~
``So by constantly using your full power and then reducing it you created a feedback loop of muscle repair and bone remodeling!`` Melissa Shield exclaims with wonder.
Izuku gives a hum of confirmation, ``That's right! My baseline is right on the brink of passing peak human conditioning. I've tried replicating the process since the Shizuoka Desolation but my body seems to have hit a plateau.`` His body is coated with seafoam lightning, his output remaining steadily at twenty-eight percent.
He dances across Might Tower's Training Room wearing only a pair of skin tight black exercise tights while he juggles seven eggs as high-speed paintball bullets are launched at him from retractable cannons across the chamber.
``Makes sense, you can only push the body so far before it starts breaking down.`` She reasons before her tone drops a little, ``I'm actually a little worried Izu‐ Deku. I mean you tore your body apart and went through a pretty violent Quirk Awakening just two days ago! It… it looked so painful.``
The boy smiles, ``I'm fine Melissa. Better than fine.``
``I just… you really should take it easy.``
``I can't.`` He gives a shake of his head, as he leaps in the air and twists his body, dodging the projectiles by a hair's breath, the eggs still perfectly intact when he lands, ``I need to get the Quirk back in control before I go back into the field.``
``The Quirk? You mean Mind Might?``
Izuku stumbles at the correction and winces as a paintball hits his shoulder. An egg slips through his fingers, he rolls forward and grabs it before it can hit the floor, ``Yeah, Mind Might. I, anyway, I need perfect control, like All Might.``
``I… you're only twelve. You have time, Deku.`` His friend gives a nervous laugh.
``Yeah, time.`` He mumbles out.
An uncomfortable silence fills the air between them, the only sound being the pellets hitting the surroundings.
``Deku?``
``Yeah?``
``Your as strong as Uncle Might, right?``
The hero hopeful holds in a ugly snort, ``Only briefly.`` The preteen moves like a hurricane, continually twisting back and forth with tight footwork, hating the taste of the lie on his tongue. ``By increasing my output to my zenith and then containing the overflow before releasing it the strength of the strike increases several times over but the build up is a problem and the strain is extremely painful. I don't think I can use it reliably or repeatedly without a cool down period.``
``Still.`` She reasons, ``Not only that but those tendrils–``
``Green Mass, I'm thinking of calling it Green Mass.``
She giggles, ``Good name. With Green Mass, Surge Vision, and…`` The teenager leads.
He gives a laugh of his own, ``White out.``
``Why not just call it freeze breath?`` Melissa snorts good naturely, ``Not-`` She lets out a small amused huff. ``-cool enough?``
Groaning, he leans away from a slug aimed at the side of his head, ``You're as bad as Toshinori.``
``Haha. I'll take that as a compliment.`` The support engineer clears her throat, ``Anyway, with all that you can be a lot more flexible than Uncle ever could be, I mean you have optic beams! Optic beams, Deku! That's so cool.``
``I know right!`` The preteen can't help the excited glee leaking from his tone.
``You're going to be amazing, Deku. You are amazing! I just… I don't know, I just wish you could see it, like I do.`` The older girl lamely finishes before she blubbering out, ``Like everyone does! I mean you've gotten have seen what everyone is saying about you.``
Izuku groans, ``Please don't get me started on that. I'm not sure what I should be more embarrassed about reading; how a good majority of people would like to lick the sweat off my abs or that my face is plainer than the bark on a tree but at least I have my abs to distract them.``
``Wha…what?! You're not plain!`` She denies, ``Your the furthest thing from plain!``
The ninth bearer gives a disbelieving hum, ``You don't have to lie, I know I'm not the best looking guy ar–``
``No! You're hot! Like… like…`` The other's voice dies out before a loud whine of embarrassment echoes.
The budding symbol's face burns red, ``I'm hot?`` He stumbles to a stop before he suddenly gets pounded from all sides by the paintballs, the sudden assault makes him drop all the eggs, "Oh damn it! M.T.T.R: End evasive exercise twelve!"
[Evasive Exercise twelve: Ended. Score: two thousand and thirteen. Max score: thirteen thousand, two hundred and one. Personal Max Score: five hundred and seventy. Performance increased by Two hundred and ninety seven point zero forty-one percent.] The robotic Artificial Intelligence voice of the training room echoes.
``Impressive.`` Melissa mutters out.
``Still a long way to go.`` Letting out a sigh, he lowers One For All to one percent and sits down, ``Back to what we were talking about–``
[Uncle Masaru calling, would you like to answer?]
Izuku blinks as he sits up, ``Sorry, do you mind? Uncle Masaru never calls out of the blue like this?``
``Of course, I'll just–``
``No, no!`` He waves his hands before stopping, realizing she can't see the gesture, ``We never talk long, M.T.T.R will just put you on hold or something.``
``...Sure.``
Sighing in relief, "M.T.T.R: Answer, the call."
"Izuku?"
"Hey, Uncle Masaru!" The boy greets enthusiastically, "You never call this late, everything all right?"
"...I don't know? Is it?" The man asks.
Raising a brow, "I… think so." He hears a sigh before his pseudo uncle continues.
"Zuku, I… Katsuki called you a d-e."
The preteen blinks, "Oh?"
A brief silence before, a tearful sob echoes, "You don't care? You know what a d.e is right?"
Blinking again his eyes blow up, quickly standing his words stutter over each other, "Uncle, i..it's fine. I swear! Kacchan is just–"
"Don't!" He yells, "Don't make excuses for my son. Please." The father ends the demand with a plea. "I… how bad was it? I need to know."
The Hero-in-Training licks his bottom lip, "I… I don't want to tal–"
"Izuku, please! He's my son, my little boy and something's wrong with him and if he's ever going to get better than I need to know how bad the rot is!"
Clenching his eyes shut, an uncomfortable tightness wraps itself around his neck, "I..it never got too bad, I swear. Just some light teasing, some rough housing."
"... Did he use his Quirk on you?"
He lets out a stuttering breath, "It… he was just practicing his Quirk, that's it. I don't even have any scars." He defends.
"Why are you defending–" His uncle begins yelling before he suddenly stops and takes an audible breath, "This isn't your fault. I'm sorry for raising my voice."
Izuku shakes his head before stopping, "You don't have to apologize, i–"
"Yes, I do." He says resolutely, "If not for raising my voice then for… what I'm assuming is years of my son terrorizing you."
Rubbing his face roughing he begins pacing, "I… Kacchan didn't… I…" The right words are lost to him. "You shouldn't apologize for that either."
"Oh, Zuku." The other mutters, "I do. I need you to know that what he put you through wasn't right, you didn't deserve it."
"I know that. Of course I know that." The first flickers of anger start forming.
"And not just because you have a Quirk now. Even if you never developed Mind Might, even if you remained Quirkless–"
"I'm not though!" Izuku barks out as wisps seafoam threads of energy wiggle from his shoulders, "I'm not Quirkless anymore, I'm not useless, okay? I don't need your coddling, alright. I'm Deku. I'm… I'm… Deku." The boy repeats with a shaky breath. "I'm Deku and that means I'm limitless."
"But it didn't always mean that, did it?"
More treads appear across his body as they thicken into tree branches, "Stop." His voice wobbles.
"Dekubobou, right? That's what you said in your interview. I must have heard him call you Deku a million times, I… called you Deku a few times myself, didn't I? I think even your mom–"
"It means something different alright!" The preteen bites out, his tendrils straighten out into arm sized spikes, "It means something better! All Might made it better! I made it better! So just drop it!" His chest heaves with the scream as the appendages stretch to the farthest parts of the room.
"I'm so..rr..y." His uncle sobs out, "I'm so..o sor..ry!"
[Call has ended.]
The symbol's successor stares blankly out, his whole body trembling with held back emotions, "How much did you hear?" He suddenly asks, the Green Mass constructs sagging before slowly retreating back into his body.
A large door sized panel juts inwards and slides to the side revealing a deflated Toshinori wearing a form fitting black three piece suit with a white dress shirt underneath giving a small sad smile, "I got here right about when Melissa called you hot."
The boy groans loudly as he palms his face, "What is wrong with me? Fuck!"
"Oh!" His mentor blinks as he walks into the white room, "I don't think I've ever heard you curse before."
The symbol's protégé falls to his ass and lies down staring at the ceiling, Toshinori stands above him before following his lead, laying down.
"You know sometimes I catch myself, inside my head, calling myself All Might."
"Yeah?"
"Hmhm!" The usually larger than life hero gives a confirming nod, "Even my closest friends rarely call me Toshinori, Hell even Melissa calls me Uncle Might. I think you're the first person to regularly call me my given name."
"Its the person I met you as, your old man Toshinori." A small wet laugh leaves his lips which the other happily returns.
"Right but All Might is as much my name as Toshinori is, maybe more. Do you know why I chose All Might?"
Izuku turns his head to look at his teacher who meets his stare, "Can't say."
"Hina, Melissa's mom, she inspired me. I needed a new hero name when I hid in the states, couldn't exactly go by Mr. Incredible anymore considering All For One."
"Right."
"I hated that I had to change it, I was already going under a fake alias but that felt less important than changing a silly made up name." He gives a scoffing laugh, "Except it wasn't silly, I chose that name in honor of Nana. The woman who believed in me when no one else did, who listened to my insane dream of becoming a Symbol and decided; him, I'll give my Quirk to him."
The ninth bearer didn't say anything, just simply listened.
"It felt like a slap to the face changing it but I had to, I couldn't risk it and then I met Hina-" The man smiles goffily, "-and David. They were taking this class; Hero Relations, where they had to learn how to interact and work together with heroes, for their semester project they were teamed up with a prospective hero and tasked with helping them build a hero persona."
"And you were the hero they were assigned." The guess receives a nod.
"I was. David as a budding Support Engineer was supposed to craft my costume and gear while Hina as an aspiring Hero Public Relations Manager was meant to facilitate a mock debut." The man gives a reminiscing sigh, "I was a complete and total ass."
"What?" The protégé blinks.
The Symbol of Peace nods, "As you can probably imagine I was completely out of sorts. My mo-" The man closes his eyes for a moment as if suddenly racked with pain. "The woman I considered a mother had died, been murdered and without even a chance to grieve Gran Torino strong-armed me into hiding." Taking a deep breath he continues. "I no longer cared about being a symbol, about easing the pain of the blighted, all that mattered was getting stronger so I could return to Japan and kill All For One."
"Oh."
"David had given up on me pretty much immediately, which was rightfully deserved but Hina." A wide loving smile blossoms across his lips. "Hina refused to leave me alone. For weeks she would practically stalk me desperately trying to break through my walls and slowly she did. I remember this one time she talked about her faith, how she believed there was an all loving, all forgiving, almighty being who cared so deeply for us despite our shortcomings."
The boy suddenly sits up, "I thought that was just a crazy conspiracy theory! You actually named yourself after God?!"
"HAHA! I did!" Toshinori lifts himself up by his elbows, "I didn't believe in a higher power at the time but the concept of an entity with all the power in the universe who uses that power not in subjugation but in guidance spoke to me. I wanted to be like that and so I chose it as my name."
"Wow." The limitless hero looks in shock, "And what did Hi– Mrs. Shield, think of that?"
"She smacked me upside the head before kissing me." The symbol gives his successor a sly smirk, "Eventually David and I reconciled our differences which lead to other things."
"That's really sweet… and a little gross."
The ultimate hero sighs deeply, "All Might is deeply intertwined with my very soul. It speaks to me, gives me strength, and reminds me what I'm fighting for. I don't think Deku does that for you, no matter what you try to pretend otherwise."
Izuku looks away, "You gave it a new meaning." He tries to argue but even to him it falls flat.
"I tried to but if one good conversation could erase over half a decade of trauma then the world would be a much better place."
The preteen sniffs, "It's too late anyway, everybody already associates me with Deku." He rubs his nose and shakes his head. "I just need a little more time, that's all."
The emaciated man gives a silent conceding nod, "Be that as it may as Deku or whatever name you may choose know that I believe in that hero, in that future your accession to the title of Symbol of Peace will bring." The hero stands and extends his hand out. "Which is coming faster than either of us expected."
The boy grabs it, hauling himself up with a concerned look, "What do you mean, sensei?"
A sigh is let loose, "The fight with Vaccine Man took a lot out of me, my time limit has shortened by an hour. Frankly, it was lucky that he had trapped me when he did because I was moments away from detransforming. "
The hero hopeful's face falls, "What does this mean for the plan? The timeline was already pretty accelerated to begin with."
"That's partly why I come down here." The mentor reveals, "As you know I've spent the last couple days in meetings with the Head HPSC along with the Prime Minister. Given the fact that I'm weakening coupled with the massive public support you've garnered I decided to reveal my plan to them and they've agreed that while I've made some questionable decisions ultimately it has merit which is why you're being issued a Provisional Hero License which will be presented at a Recognition Ceremony."
"What?" The ancient Quirk bearer breaths out, "But… what…" Shaking his head, he calms himself. "First off; do you mean to tell me that two of the most politically powerful people in Japan know that you concocted a plan to slowly bamboozle the world into passing your title over to a then Quirkless eleven year old in the next three to four years after gifting him a close to two century old Quirk? And they were just fine with that?"
"Give me some credit, my boy. I told them because of my undisclosed Quirk I could sense the untapped potential of your Quirk… which was proven right during the Shizuoka Desolation." Toshinori explains. "But the rest basically."
Izuku blinks in astonishment before forcing himself to move on, "Speaking of Vaccine Man, he seemed to have multiple Quirks, do you think that–"
"No." The man gives a firm shake of his head, "I splattered All For One's head across the pavement and then had his remains cremated. He may have been absurdly powerful but even that monster had limits." He licks his lips and looks to the ceiling for a moment, thinking. "Vaccine Man is a Mysterious Being."
"A what?"
"A being whose origins aren't rooted in humanity."
Izuku stares, "Your… not kidding, are you?"
The other shakes his head, "I wish I was. Back in my time they were a much more serious threat with many being able to destroy cities without much effort, it took droves of heroes or heavy military intervention to defeat them but then, well, I'm sure you can guess."
"You happened." The preteen gives an open hand gesture.
"Yes, much like with regular villains they grew fearful of me and slowly their presence diminished but now they've smelt blood in the water. They'll be embolden by my obvious loss of power which is where–"
"I come in." A shaky breath is released, "That's why I'm being granted a Provisional License without even taking the exam, I'm back up in case you're indisposed."
The man snapped his fingers, "Exactly, you can't be held back by bureaucratic nonsense."
The future symbol clenches his eyes, "I'm not ready. I only won that battle because One For All freaked out on me, not because of skill."
"Then we must make you ready." He states resolutely, "This is what you signed up for."
Izuku opens his eyes and gives a single determined nod, "I know."
"Speaking about One For All, what have you learned about its new… abilities?" The deflated symbol asks with a serious frown.
The younger of the duo lets out an exhausted huff, "I had a few theories; the first is that they were genuine new ways I've found to express the Quirk but… when I used those tendrils and the freeze breath it felt as if I used two different Quirks. "
"Never discount intuition."
"Right." He nods, "My second theory was that One For All didn't simply stockpile the meta energy we use to enhance ourselves but also the Quirk Factors of its previous users."
The ultimate hero's eyes widen before they narrow, "That makes sense, I remember once in my younger days seeing over half a dozen silhouettes in the corner of my eye, I knew down to my bones they were the past users."
Izuku shivers at the thought, "Which could mean that the Quirk doesn't simply stockpile energy but the essence of the user." Shaking his head he continues. "I then tried using your or Nana's Quirk but found no luck after which I spent most of yesterday researching deceased heroes that match the abilities I used. I did find possible candidates but nothing concrete."
A nod is seen before it pauses, "My Quirk? You tried using my Quirk?"
The boy nods, "Yeah but like I said no luck."
Toshinori shakes his head, "My boy, I was born Quirkless like you."
Doing a double take, "Wha- no. You buff up." He reminds the man.
"That's just a body technique, it's like when those guys at the pool suck in their gut trying to look muscular." The mentor says with a straight face.
The Hero-in-Training stares for a long moment, "Are you telling me you think that your ability to, quite literally, inflate like a balloon gaining muscles the size of boulders is because you're… flexing?"
The silence between the two stretches for a long moment, "When you say it like that." The other scratches the back of his head in embarrassment before it hangs. "Please don't think less of me."
Izuku rubs his face, "What even is this Quirk?" He mumbles in disbelief. "So either you managed to unlock a previous user's power or…" He takes a moment to think, "How long have you been able to transform?"
"When my natural physique began to deteriorate, one day I activated One For All and suddenly poof! I was back to normal." The symbol explains, "Good thing too because I don't want to think how the general public would respond to, well this." He gestures to all of himself.
The preteen taps his chin, "So it could also be One For All responding to your will, adapting to your worry and granting you a second form in response which makes my first theory all the more viable."
Toshinori sighs and rubs his eyes tiredly, "Let's think about this more in the morning, I'm beat. Let me say hi to Melissa before I retire for the night."
The budding symbol jumps in surprise before smiling, "Sure! M.T.T.R: continue call."
[No call waiting.]
"Ugh, she must have gotten bored waiting." Izuku groans.
The man's shoulders slump, "That's too bad but it's probably for the best, I don't think either of us can hold a proper conversation."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
The two walk towards where the exit is and wait for it to open, when it does they take their leave.
As the door closes neither of them hear M.T.T.R's voice.
[Call has ended.]