Chapter 37: (Episode 33: Listen Up!! A Tale from the Past)
After a long week away from school, it was time for their classes to start up again, as Midoriya stood outside of Gran Torino's home, bidding his mentor goodbye, and thanking him for the lessons he'll never forget.
"It was only for a short time, but thank you for taking care of me…!"
'Gosh, he sounds so happy…' Ochaco missed that in her own friend, almost wishing the episode hadn't revealed Tsubasa's tragic end, even if she knew deep down that Izuku deserved to know.
Letting out a deep yawn, Gran Torino sighed, as he admitted honestly, "I don't feel like I did anything I need to be thanked for."
"This guy watched the Sports Festival, right…?"
"Yes."
"So Gran Torino should know that Midoriya has everything to thank him for…!" Hanta exclaimed through gritted teeth, quietly, as he continued to ramble on, "I mean, I'm not saying that All Might's a bad teacher or anything, but Gran Torino definitely had a better strategy or way of helping Midoriya figure it out."
"I think it also has to do with Midoriya basing his usage of One for All on All Might too much, and needing to create his own power outage…" Eijiro knew that was the reason why, although he didn't want to sound too sure in the unlikeliness he was wrong.
"-I guess I should say." Gran Torino quickly quieted his intern about the Hosu City Attack, before changing the subject to his injuries, as the hero began to nag, "But that arm had stress fractures, didn't it…?! At the last minute, you went over the permitted five percent limit- You still strain yourself in your impatience, and when you lose focus, your control wavers…! You must always be alert and calm!"
With his voice falling to deaf ears, Midoriya silently raised his bandaged arm, observing the scar he got from his fight with Todoroki in the Sports Festival.
"Everywhere I go, someone's hand will be tarnished…"
"Todoroki-kun, I beg of you to not start that again." Tenya pleaded when he caught the sound of Ochaco's giggling.
"-then you still have a lot to learn." Gran Torino proclaimed without a doubt, causing Midoriya to straighten his posture, before bowing toward the man that looked after him for the week.
"Yes, sir…!"
"See you around." Gran Torino turned around to head back inside.
"Wait- C-Can I ask you one last thing…?" Midoriya called out, with the older hero pausing where he stood, giving the boy his attention, with him muttering to explain, "I thought it was rude, so I never got a chance to ask… And I could never find a good time for it, uh, but…"
"Hurry up- I wanna eat taiyaki…!" Gran Torino's expression grew in annoyance when the kid wouldn't get to his point.
"Even though you're really strong and even trained All Might, the name 'Gran Torino' is almost un… unknown… Is there a reason for that…?"
"Oh, that's because I was never interested in working as a hero."
"What…? Then why'd he get a license?"
"-a goal in the past that required me to be able to use my quirk freely. That was the only reason I got my license. It'd be better to hear more about this from Toshi… I mean, All Might. Expect more from him."
'Do not put this responsibility on me, Gran Torino…!' Toshinori understood how curious the children were, and their burning questions, so he prepared himself, as he told them in advance, "If any of you young heroes have questions, I will most certainly answer them during the next break…"
"Well, my question was answered, so we're all good for now." Hanta shot a thumbs up toward the Symbol of Peace, which the hero returned with a crooked smile.
Officially completing his first internship, Midoriya bowed one last time to the hero that looked after him for the week, before heading to the train station, where he would be home again. Even though he had food on the table for himself, Gran Torino couldn't stop himself from watching as the boy walked away, noting about the past week, and how much this kid was improving.
'The greatest hero, huh…? You're completely different in appearance and personality, but he certainly is just like you, Toshinori.'
Izuku went to hide his cheeks at the heat rising up in his face, until he felt Toshinori's arm wrap around his shoulder, clutching him tightly. Glancing up toward his idol, his eyes widened slightly when he caught sight of tears perking in the hero's gaze.
"All… Might…?"
"Apologies, Young Midoriya… I'm just… I'm very proud of you…"
Yet, Izuku hadn't done anything to make the man feel this way, much less cry. If anything, Toshinori should be disappointed with him, for he couldn't save one of his old friends.
'-One for All…' Gran Torino thought about his old friend, who had presented All Might with the power when he was quirkless, and then for that same man to bestow that same opportunity to this boy. Smiling to himself, the graying hero tilted his head to one side, as he shouted, "Kid! Who are you?"
"You're asking now…?!" Midoriya gaped, blinking at the randomness of the question, before he stuttered back, "Um, well… I-I'm Midoriya I-"
"That's not it, is it?"
"Oh…!" Ochaco gasped, covering her mouth when she realized what Sorahiko was trying to say. But she couldn't spoil the surprise, though luckily, the Izuku on screen was slowly starting to see what the hero meant.
With determination written on his expression, Midoriya announced with confidence dripping from his voice, "I'm Deku."
Gran Torino accepted that answer with a wave of his hand, retreating back inside his home, while he declared, 'Let's watch over him together, Toshinori. Until the day you pass into history… Until the day the name 'Deku' is celebrated as the Symbol of Peace…'
"Old timer doesn't know what he's talking about…"
'I'm glad my future self is warming up to being called 'Deku', but I don't know if I would want that name to be my permanent hero name…' Izuku's fingers twitched out of nervous habit, hoping he could come up with something else in the future for this timeline.
"You know, even though he could be a little scary at times, I like this Gran Torino. I kind of wish he was here with us, 'cause he seems like a nice dude deep down…"
'Do not be fooled, Young Kaminari… He will tear you apart, physically and mentally.' Toshinori was thrilled to know about Izuku's improvement with their shared quirk thanks to his old mentor. However, he was also extremely grateful that Sorahiko was not a deemed main character in this series.
"I think the most interesting thing about him is that he got a hero license without wanting to be a hero. Like, who does that? I'm really curious to know the reason why."
"I wonder if the reason has to be with this 'old friend' that he keeps mentioning…"
"Oh yeah…!" Hanta gasped, quickly fistbumping his twin brother for reminding him, "And this old friend of Gran Torino's was also All Might's old mentor… The seventh user of One for All."
"I wonder what happened to him…"
"Her." Toshinori corrected, catching the four students on his row by surprise, while he went on to briefly say, "The seventh user of One for All was a woman, and her name was Nana."
"Nana… That's pretty."
"Wait, was…? So she's…" Eijiro furrowed his brow when the hero nodded his head.
"Oh, All Might…" Denki scooted over to sit beside him when he caught the mournful expression on Toshinori's face, wrapping his arms around the man, while he spoke, "I'm so sorry, man…"
"The fault does not lie on you, Young Kaminari, so there is nothing you need to apologize for." Toshinori attempted to smile, but wavered when the other two children came closer, their faces downcasted due to him.
"I know, but losing someone… like that, you know…" Denki's words fell short, however, his message was conveyed, as he reached out to get a hold on Izuku, whose lip began to quiver.
Glancing behind him, Eijiro blinked in surprise upon meeting red eyes, causing the blond to avert his gaze. Observing his behavior, the boy with black hair slowly came to the realization that Katsuki was alone, with no one to help him through his grieving. Even if it looked like he preferred it that way, it didn't feel right.
"We gotta get Bakugo to talk to Midori-kun… I can't stand watching this tension anymore…"
"Who's 'we'? I don't want any part of this."
"I think I might have an idea how." Kyoka, ignoring Hitoshi's whining, whispered back to her pink-skinned friend, eyeing the couch behind her, as she tried to spot Katsuki through the mass of people.
"Really? How…?"
"Well, first, I kind of need to get the lyrics to the ending song…" Kyoka knew this method didn't work out well with Shoto, but maybe it was because she didn't explain herself, so she was going to try something else. Leaning back to spot Hitoshi, she noted about this operation, "And say what you want, but you were in on the conversation, so you're helping us with this. Midoriya's your friend, right?"
Letting out a sigh as his defeat, Hitoshi accepted his fate, as the opening song came to a close.
Title screen 'Listen Up!! A Tale from the Past'
'This is what I feared…' Toshinori didn't know if his successor would be able to listen due to his mourning, but he would need to get him to stay focused somehow soon.
"Right off the bat- Okay, what are we laughing at?" Hanta rubbed his hands together, awaiting to witness the hilarious sight he and Eijiro saw, until the episode revealed Katsuki's unique hairstyle from his internship.
"Oh, come on- Don't give me excuses- Why would you let your hair get used to it, dumbass…?!"
"Bakugo calling himself a dumbass… I love living right now."
"What did that hero do to you, Bakugo…?" Tomura shook his head at the poor unfortunate state his ally was in. All because he let those heroes manipulate him, too.
"-you even got to fight villains? I'm so jealous…!"
"What did I do…?!" Mina straightened up in hopes of her future self retelling what she went through.
"-helped people evacuate and did logistical support, so I didn't do any actual fighting, though." Jiro admitted, while twirling her finger along one of her Earphone Jacks, not matching her friend's enthusiasm.
"It's still amazing, though…!"
"All I did was train and go on patrols, too." Asui joined in on the conversation, her finger to her chin, as she noted about the stowaway situation, "There was just one time when we caught smugglers from a neighboring country."
"That's incredible…!"
"You made it sound like it was almost nothing…?"
"It probably didn't feel like much to me, kero." Tsuyu replied to the invisible girl, before turning her attention back to the screen, until she looked over to the short-haired brunette, "Ochaco-chan, your expression looks the same from the Sports Festival."
"I'm glad Gunhead-san was the right internship for me…!"
"That's a huge change for just one week…" Kaminari noted, staring at the radiating bloodlust from Uraraka.
"Change? That's not it, Kaminari." Mineta scoffed, sitting on his friend's desk, while he began to bite his finger out of fear, beginning to recall the horrors he witnessed at his internship, "Women are all demons. They're just hiding their true personalities."
"What did you see at Mt. Lady's place…?!"
"Hey, not all of us are 'demons', you perv…!"
'Gosh, was vacuuming her floors not even the worst of it…?!' Minoru was definitely choosing a different hero for his first-year internship.
"But the ones who changed the most, or at least went through the most, were you three, right?" Kaminari glanced over to where they stood beside Todoroki's seat, causing the class to gather around him, Iida, and Midoriya.
"Oh, yeah! The Hero Killer…!"
"I'm glad you guys made it out alive- Seriously…!"
"I was worried."
"I heard Endeavor saved you, right?"
"That's amazing…! As expected from the number two hero!"
Enji scoffed at the mention of his name, unapproving of the praise these children rang.
"Future Toru, don't be manipulated so easily…!" she cried out to herself after hearing what she said about the abusive hero.
"Yeah. He saved us." Todoroki simply said in return, remembering what the chief of police told them, with Midoriya smiling down at his friend in relief.
"I saw on the news that the hero killer was connected to the League of Villains."
"Fucking brat- I hate you! The stupid looking, flat-haired, no brain little shit… with the tail- He's that one mutant-quirked fucker with the tail- I loatheyou…!"
Mashirao would have been fine with the villain hating him. However, when Tomura had kept going with his insults, it made the poor boy slip in between the cushions to hide himself. Frankly, he also wanted to cry.
"-see the video, Ojiro?"
"'Ojiro'..." Tomura slurred his name with such malice it had the kid jumping in his seat, wrapping his tail around his torso for comfort.
Feeling sorry for his friend, Denki untangled himself from Toshinori and Izuku, before standing up to sit with Mashirao.
"Yeah. Seeing that, you can see how he's really single-minded and, like, tenacious. Doesn't it almost make you think he's cool?"
"KAMINARI!"
"What- What did I do…?!"
"You didn't hear yourself- You just said you thought the Hero Killer was cool!" Kyoka exclaimed her answer, furious he said that in front of Tenya of all people.
"I hate you too, spark plug!"
"How could you say such a thing…?!"
"You guys are being ov-overdramatic-"
"OVERDRAMATIC?!" his peers screamed in question, their expressions ranging from anger to completely mortified.
"What the hell- Pause, I mean, shit, fucking… Why are you guys yelling at me over something I haven't even said yet…?!"
"Doesn't feel too good, huh…?" Hanta huffed under his breath, but he was loud enough for Denki to catch it, as the vibrant blond blinked in response, taken aback.
"What'd you say, Sero…?"
"Well, it's ah… It's nothing, I didn't say anything."
"No, you said something about how it doesn't feel good… And I want to know what you meant by it."
Letting out a sigh, Hanta pushed himself up, as he needed to stand for this, before locking eyes with his friend, "Kaminari, what I meant by it was for you to quit chastising Endeavor and Bakugo every chance you get- And don't you dare say they deserve it."
Denki hated how predictable he was.
"Look, I get hating them because they aren't the best people, but it's getting annoying. Endeavor, I complet- I hate the guy too, and I also hate admitting that out loud because I don't wanthimtocomeaftermeinmysleep- BUT the point is, Bakugo didn't do shit for you to hate him." Hanta let out a wheeze from speaking too fast, catching his breath, before he went on, "We didn't know each other three days ago. And you're hating things Bakugo's been doing his whole life. I just think you'd be tired of always acting offended toward everything he says."
"So what, I can't stick up for my friends anymore?"
"No no, I get what Sero's trying to say." Mina stepped up, taking a stance in the conversation, as she brought up, "You didn't like us jumping on you for what you said about the hero killer. What if Bakugo feels the same way- Have you ever thought about that?"
"I don't give a shit what Dunce Face-"
"Bakugo, let me finish my point, and then you can say whatever you wanna say." Mina wanted to insult the blond, but that would have canceled out her own point. With her eyes back on Denki, she genuinely asked, "Like Sero said, is it not exhausting every time you go to insult one of them…?"
Before Denki could open his mouth to say anything in response, Tomura's bellowing laughter echoed out, "Like whatever the brat says is a real insult…! Fucking shut up already. You all hate each other, congratulations, nobody cares, and I'm fucking hungry!"
Hanta and Mina didn't really have anything left to say, as they sat back in their seats in order not to be the villain's next target, like Mashirao. Meanwhile, for Denki, who plopped into a seat on the far end of the couch, began to think about the question that was asked, conflicted over how his friends felt and how he personally saw it. Even if he was being annoying to some, he knew he was still a good person for trying to defend the people he cared about. Though, maybe he had gone too far at one point, and he didn't realize it. But that didn't give his friend the right to humiliate him.
"-purging as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong." Iida wasn't offended by his classmate saying Stain was cool. What got to him was the villain's morals, with the newly shaped class rep declaring to his peers, "In order to keep anyone else from turning out like me, I will once again walk on the path to becoming a hero…!"
"Yeah, Iida-kun!"
"Now, it is time to commence class! Everyone, take your seats!"
"He's so loud…"
"It's 'cause you talked about weird stuff, Kaminari…" Jiro huffed after what Tokoyami stated, glaring in the blond's direction.
"Sorry… about that."
'Wait, does Ashido want me to apologize to Bakugo and Endeavor…?' Denki understood his apology on screen, but for him to say those same words to two abusers? He needed another word with the others.
'Until I become a true hero, I think I want to leave my left hand as it is.'
Reminded of his friend's words from then, Midoriya smiled fondly at his classmate, while thinking to himself, 'You're so cool, Iida-kun.'
'And you are as well, Midoriya-kun… I hope I can say those words to you, too, when you are ready to hear them.' Tenya silently took a glance behind him, spotting Izuku ducking his head down. This felt like normal behavior for the greenet, to which he smiled at.
After their normal scheduled core classes, it was now time for Class 1-A to go through their hero training class since their internships. With instructions to head towards Field Gamma, All Might was awaiting them there, causing Midoriya to grin at seeing his idol for the first time in a week.
"I am here…!" All Might quickly proclaimed his signature phrase, before getting back to the lesson of the day, "Anyway, we'll start now. Right, it's hero basic training. Long time no see, boys and girls…! How've you been?"
"I can't help but get the feeling All Might's all over the place because he can't stop thinking about what Gran Torino said last, last episode…" Hitoshi mumbled lowly, with the others around him humming their agreement.
"I hope this truth about One for All will answer a few of our burning questions…"
'If I could prevent you all from listening to this tale, I would…' Toshinori, knowing now he would wait to pass on his quirk to Izuku after he defeated All for One for certain, wanted this story to die in the past.
"-shouldn't we do it at USJ?" Iida shot his hand up in question, even though he wasn't called on, wondering about this rescue race training All Might was telling them.
"That place is for training for disasters." All Might corrected his eager student, explaining further on his instructions, "Do you remember what I said? That's right…! I said 'race'! This is Field Gamma."
"Woah, it's full of pipes and it's like a weird maze…!"
"This race training thing is almost too perfect for what Midoriya just went through. It's like coincidental- You sure the episode didn't skip the part where Gran Torino hints toward All Might about this?" Rikido chuckled under his breath, looking forward to seeing how this went down.
"It's a race to see who will rescue me first. Of course, you'll have to keep damage to buildings to a minimum."
"Don't point at me…" Bakugo scoffed at the hero's eyes on him.
Splitting up the students into four groups of five, All Might announced to the class, "All right, first group, get in place!"
Within the first group, the five teens found different places to stand, with a fair amount of space in between them, giving each student a fair start. Among the group was Midoriya, Ojiro, Iida, Sero, and Ashido, while the rest of the class sat together on a large platform, watching the race from a massive projection.
"Iida hasn't completely recovered yet, right? He should just watch."
"This group has everyone in the class with good mobility."
"Hm, perhaps Midoriya-san is at a slight disadvantage…"
"Right, I forgot we don't know about his development yet…" Kyoka chuckled, knowing that what her friend said was wrong, while her on screen self agreed with Momo.
"I think Midoriya's taking it for the win." Hitoshi softly declared when the future classmates spoke about who they thought would find Toshinori first, even though he didn't know much about the other four.
"I'm surprised no one's made a comment on his new costume… 'Cause we haven't seen it yet either."
"I think it's because there was already a scene with Midoriya putting on his new costume. And also I would assume us guys in the locker room would have made our comments on it." Minoru butted into the conversation, catching Mina's attention, with the girl considering her peer's words.
"My bro- That's right…!" Hanta went in for a high-five with Eijiro after listening to his friend say he would have the win. Which he very much appreciated.
Meanwhile, Mashirao's spirits were raised hearing someone believe in him, catching Denki shooting him a smile.
"Hope the brats get their heads stuck between two pipes and die." Tomura grinned at the imagery, agreeing with Katsuki that the greenet was not finishing first.
"Okay, here we go…! Start!" All Might sounded the alarm for the group to start the race.
With the use of their quirks, all five students had a good headstart for themselves, with one soon coming out on top ahead of the rest.
"See, look!" Kirishima loudly called out, watching Sero make his way to first place, as he continued to praise his friend, "In a place all jumbled together like this, it's standard practice to go up."
"I like to hear it."
"Come on, Ojiro, you got this, man…!" Denki had his heart set on the tail-quirked boy since he had been betrayed by Hanta.
"-isn't this place a little too perfect for me?" Sero boasted, as he continued to scale higher, before he gaped when something blew past him.
Catching the bright green flash of lightning, everyone was in shock at realizing it was Midoriya coming in hot.
"It's too perfect… for the training I did…!"
"Dammit, I got too cocky…!"
"You're also not the main character, Sero-chan."
"-those moves…?!"
Attempting to catch up to reclaim his place, Sero also couldn't help but admire this new transformation in Midoriya, "No way!"
Gaping at the screen, Todoroki slowly came to a realization, 'Yeah, now that I think about it, those moves are…'
"Wow…! He's hopping… like…"
'My moves…?!' Bakugo's eyes flickered in anger at this discovery.
"Oh right, Iida also mentioned that during the Hero Killer fight… I don't think we took that in at the time because something else happened soon after." Rikido wanted to check on the ash blond's expression, and get a read on how he felt about it.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the TV screen, ashamed in both his present and future self. Even if Tsunagu was a top five pro hero in the charts, that didn't make him a great mentor.
While Midoriya continued through the course, carefully choosing his landing, before moving on, the rest of his class couldn't get over his new and improved style.
"Midoriya's jumping?"
"His broken bones are already healed…?"
'That would mean he has two quirks if he could heal his already broken bones…' Mashirao tried not to make fun of himself too much, seeing as he knew something the other him didn't. Which was weird to think, since his future self would usually know more than he does currently, wouldn't he? He wouldn't make a good time traveler.
Sliding across a flat pane, Midoriya tried to keep himself in check, as he pushed forward, 'Calm down. I can do this. Just calm down- Stay at five percent…! Always be alert and calm-'
His thoughts came to a startling halt when his foot slipped a pipe, Midoriya gaping, before he fell straight down.
"FINISH!" All Might cried out, as he handed off a ribbon to the lucky winner, "Thank you, young hero…! And congratulations."
"Thank you!" Sero proclaimed, wearing it as a badge of honor.
"YO- Let's go…! I had that in the bag to begin with… You guys-" Hanta did a quick turn before his peers, then smirked, "-just couldn't see it."
"Good, uh, good job, Sero-"
"Oh, don't get all formal on me, Kirishima…! You helped this dream happen!" Hanta gave his friend a firm pat on the head, sitting back down, before he leaned over to tell Izuku, "Don't beat yourself up about it- That sort of thing comes with experience…! You just gotta make sure you look before you leap, hehe."
"Thanks… for the advice, Sero-kun…" Izuku gave the boy a small smile in return, before slumping back into the cushion, as he stared down at his notebook, tapping his pencil against the material. He knew he needed to write this down for future reference, but for some reason, he wasn't exactly sure what to note down.
"Fucking… Deku…!" Katsuki grated his teeth, infuriated once more that the nerd had lost while trying to copy him, proving again that he himself was inferior. He wouldn't have lost, he never loses.
"Group one, you can leave the field. Next group, get ready…!" All Might called out, signaling the groups to switch, as the first group of students began to leave the platform where he stood. While Midoriya was starting to get up from laying on the ground, his mentor came up behind him to quietly praise, "You surprised me… I couldn't believe my eyes. Come find me after class is over."
"Yes, sir…"
With an unreadable expression, All Might's parting words were ominous, "The time has come when I must tell you about me and One for All."
Leaving All Might to finish up the lesson, the rest of the groups went up to race, and while he dwelled on what his mentor told him, soon enough, class was coming to an end. Heading toward their respective locker rooms to change, Midoriya continued to think about it, while his classmate's chatted.
"That was some hard training."
"Our first class in a while made me sweat…!" Aoyama agreed wholeheartedly with what Sato said, using a glittery purple handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his cheek.
"Oh come on, what about the other races…?!"
"They didn't have Midoriya in them…" Hanta answered, before silently apologizing to Izuku for using his name in vain.
Meanwhile, the six girls covered their eyes or turned their sights away from the screen, not interested in watching the boys change, and also giving them some privacy.
"-information."
"That'll put me a step behind everyone…" Kaminari whined out after listening to Tokoyami say they should work on their own strengths, with him glaring at his friend, as he pouted, "I'm jealous of guys like you and Sero."
"It's only natural to be jealous about something you'll never have…" Hanta chuckled, as he teased the electric blond, with Denki sticking his tongue out in return.
"You both don't have a fucking brain." Katsuki spat out loud enough to be heard by the two, causing Tomura to snort, while Hanta turned around to glare at the blond, before hearing him spit next, "You and Dunce Face are one in the same."
"-discovered something crazy. Come here…!" Mineta waved out for the dark-haired greenet, bringing his attention toward a small hole in the wall, as he explained, "Look at this hole, Shawshank. It is probably thanks to the efforts of those who came before us…! Next door is, you know… the girls' locker room…!"
"Stop this, Mineta-kun! Peeping is definitely a criminal act." Iida immediately yelled out, using his words to end this.
"My Little Mineta is already a criminal act!" Mineta retaliated, before ripping the advertising paper off the wall, revealing the glory hole.
"Ugh- Oh, that's so gross…! TMI- T. M. I!"
"God, why is no one doing anything to stop him…?!"
Minoru may have been a little excited to see what he had found, but hearing his peers' disapproval made him rethink his future actions. If he accidentally finds it in their timeline, he'll ask someone like Hanta or Shoto to cover it up.
She could understand her friends' discomfort, however, Momo was a bit confused about something else, "'My Little Mineta'...? What is he referencing?"
"His penis." Tsuyu responded, causing the braided girl to turn bright red.
After hearing Mineta say provocative things about her friends, having enough, one of Jiro's Earphone Jacks slipped its way through the narrow hole, and jammed it in his eye. And having to listen to their classmate's high-pitched scream, Midoriya shivered at the sneak attack.
"Jiro-san's Earphone Jack! With its brutal combination of precision and surprise attack abilities, it's super strong…!"
"Woo! A win for Jiro Kyoka…!" Mina cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, before grabbing Hitoshi's as well, and swinging them around along with hers.
"Hehe, Deku-kun got so scared he did a little Present Mic-san impression…!"
"I guess that would give me a second quirk introduction…" Kyoka mumbled under her breath, a little flustered by the pink girl's antics, however, she smiled at the appreciation.
The school day came to an end, as the students and staff began to leave the campus. For Midoriya, due to what his mentor told him before, he knocked on the teachers' lounge door, curious to what All Might wanted to share with him.
"Excuse me." Midoriya announced his presence, before sliding open the door, only to faintly jump at the ominous way the hero sat; with his hands folded in front of him, and All Might's head bowed down without a smile.
"Pause, please…" Toshinori sighed, closing his eyes, as he tried to control his breathing, before he went on to say anything else. With how both of their expressions were unreadable, none of the students knew what to expect, until they heard the hero begin, "Young Midoriya, I understand that you are in your time of mourning, and I would hate to interrupt your grieving, but… what is about to be said is important for you to know. As much as I wanted this story to be left in history, at least for your future self, this needs to be said. So, all I ask is for you to pay attention."
"Yes, sir…"
"Is the truth about One for All so… bad…?" Eijiro timidly asked, since they all were under the belief that this power had been for good.
"It is certainly not a pleasant tale, yes…" Toshinori also remembered someone else's curiosity, as he quickly stood up, reaching for Izuku's notebook in silent request, before walking over to the young girl, stating, "Young Yaoyorozu, I understand that you too had questions you wished to have answers to about One for All. So, while Young Midoriya is listening, would you mind noting what is spoken down?"
"Yes, of course, sir." Momo took the pen and paper, skimming through the pages until she found a blank one, as she had the feeling this would fill one up in no time.
"Great, can we get on to it already? I wanna know about this just as much as you all do…!" Tomura spat, as he watched the Symbol of Peace sit back down. If All for One was really connected to One for All, he needed to know why his Sensei didn't tell him about this.
"All right, I believe I'm ready…" Toshinori breathed in once more, before exhaling, wrapping an arm around Izuku to give him a firm squeeze.
His actions only made the teens nervous.
"Have a seat."
'He seems… different…' Midoriya gulped at the lack of joy in his hero's voice.
"You went through a lot, huh? I'm sorry I couldn't be nearby."
"That's… not something you need to apologize for, All Might…" Midoriya tried to defuse the tension, however, it didn't appear to help, so he got into the point of this meeting, "More importantly… Um, what did you mean when you said you wanted to talk about One for All?"
"I heard…" All Might, dodging the question, nicked his finger, before finishing his thought, "...that the hero killer got a lick of your blood."
"Oh, yes… His quirk was one that could keep someone from moving after ingesting their blood… What about it?"
"Wait- Oh, pause- Does the Hero Killer: Stain have One for All because of that?!" Tenya cried out, causing the students who knew about the DNA transfer to start freaking out.
"Is that what you wanted to talk about…?!" Izuku squeaked as well, ashamed that he would forget something so crucial.
"No, I, uh…" Toshinori cleared his throat to let his voice ring out, "The Hero Killer does not have One for All, children, so have no fear. I believe I was simply reminding Young Midoriya of this to get this… discussion started."
"Oh, I see… thank goodness…"
"What's this about the Hero Killer having One for All…?" Hitoshi was beyond confused.
"So, All Might explained to us that in order for One for All to be passed down to the next user, they would need to digest the previous user's DNA."
"Okay… so what did Midoriya do to get it…?"
"Uh…"
"Deku-kun had to eat a piece of All Might's hair…" Ochco informed those nearby, wincing at the disgusted looks on their faces, because yes, it was indeed gross.
"That was one of the better options, is what All Might said." Tenya also provided in hopes of moving on from the question, and to defend his friend.
"-remember what I said when I gave you my power?"
"'Eat this.'" Midoriya repeated, in his best All Might impression, and face, as he smiled like his hero.
Despite the tense music, the surprise of the joke caught everyone off guard, and it lifted a little bit of weight off their shoulders, as a few of the students broke into laughter.
"Gosh, I was not expecting that…!"
"You damn nerd- Finally got the face down, huh…?" Katsuki snorted, remembering the days they would practice their own impressions together. He stopped smiling at the memory of it.
Midoriya jumped out of his chair, startling the man, as his successor began to freak out, "Th-Then don't tell me the Hero Killer has One for All now…?!"
"No, that's not it. I thought you might've been worried about that, but…" All Might reassured the poor kid, sighing, before he mumbled under his breath, "I see… You forgot about it, huh…?"
"That seems like information that's too important to forget…!"
"-to anyone unless the bearer wishes it. It cannot be stolen by force. It can be transferred by force, though." All Might began to explain, using a more visualizing example, as he helped Midoriya to picture it, "Kind of like this:"
With the hero in a school uniform, standing beside another school girl, she shoved a box of chocolates toward All Might, while exclaiming, "This is just out of obligation…! Obligation!"
"Why are you there…?!" Midoriya didn't know what to think of the imagery.
"Oh, that makes a bit more sense…" Mina murmured, hand to her chin, as she hummed further, "A weird explanation, but it works… Like the egg in a microwave…"
Hitoshi couldn't get over that, either.
"One for All was derived from a certain quirk that existed in the past."
"A quirk that existed in the past…?" Midoriya repeated, blinking at his phrasing, as this could mean that this power was possibly from when quirks were first appearing in the world.
And he would be right, as All Might continued to say, "The name of this quirk is 'All for One'."
"The villain-" Momo gasped, covering her mouth, as everyone took this information in.
"Sensei…" Tomura's jaw dropped at this reveal, before snapping his mouth shut, narrowing his eyes in anger at why he didn't hear this from All for One himself.
Yuga was glad to be sitting where he was, in the back of the room. However, he didn't like how close he was to Mezo, and it would look suspicious if he gave a peep of a reaction. He needed to do his best to stay calm, for no one could know. No one could find out what he knew.
"-and one that could give those quirks to others."
"'All'... Everything for one person…?" Midoriya was curious about the opposite meaning.
"This was when superpowers were first showing up, before society had figured out how to deal with the changes."
'So this power is ancient… But the dawn of quirks was only a century ago… And One for All has already been through eight different users, with All Might holding the power for around thirty years…' Momo jotted all this information down to discuss it with Izuku and Toshinori later.
"With the appearance of quirks, suddenly, what made someone a normal human crumbled away. With just that, laws lost their meaning, and the progress of civilization stopped. It was literal decay."
"Hey, that's me…" Tomura chuckled at the hero's word choice.
"'If superpowers had never appeared, then humans would be taking interstellar holidays by now.' Someone important said that in the past." Midoriya brought up this quote, feeling it was important to mention.
"That's right. During that chaotic period, there was someone who was the first to unify all the people. I'm sure you've also heard of him. He stole quirks from people and with his overwhelming power, he spread his influence. He moved people in a calculating way, committing evil acts to his heart's content. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of the evildoers and ruled over Japan."
"Oh my gosh…"
Yuga pulled his legs closer to his chest, before placing a hand over his lips to keep quiet.
"-see rumors about this online, but I thought it was all made up… It's not in textbooks or anything." Midoriya gripped his clothing, as he grew worried for the answer he was seeking.
"The textbooks don't tell about what the yakuza are up to either, do they?" All Might countered, explaining what he was trying to say by noting, "If people get powers, they look for places to use them."
Taking his mentor's words into consideration, Midoriya finally asked, "How does this relate to One for All?"
'All for One helped create One for All… didn't he… It makes sense- A power so powerful that it came from evil, but fell into the right hands, and in turn, he's been looking to get this power back…' Izuku gulped at the thought of a centuries-old villain tracking him down, and stealing back the quirk.
"I said that All for One could give quirks to others, right?" All Might mentioned, before diving back into his explanation, "He made others trust him or surrender to him by giving them quirks. But apparently, there were many given quirks who could not bear the burden and became like living dolls who couldn't speak."
"Nomu…!"
Clutching the belt over his stomach, Yuga could only see himself in those words.
"Just like the Nomus. Meanwhile, there were also quirks that changed or mixed once they were passed on." All Might locked eyes with his chosen successor, the ninth user of One for All, as he began to tell, "All for One had a quirkless younger brother. His brother was small and sickly, but he had a strong sense of justice. It pained him to see his older brother's deeds, so he kept resisting him. All for One forced a quirk that could stock powers onto his younger brother. At this point, it is impossible to know if that was out of kindness or to force him to submission."
"Definitely submission- There's no way that villain is kind…"
"He was thought to be quirkless, but there was something inside him. Something that neither he himself nor those around him noticed. All for One's younger brother had a useless quirk that could pass on quirks…!" All Might, throwing out his arms for dramatic effect, revealed the origin of this great power, "The quirk to stock power mixed with the quirk to pass on quirks. That was the origin of One for All."
Midoriya had no words for everything that was said, and the hero understood why, as All Might sighed, "It's ironic… that justice always comes from evil."
"Hey, wai- I understand how that came about, but why are you bringing up an evildoer from so long ago now…?"
"All for One can steal quirks, you know. Anything goes." All Might stated first and foremost, before going into answering the boy's question, "A quirk to stop aging… He probably stole something like that. The Symbol of Fear was pretty much immortal… With the huge difference in their combat abilities and the state of society at the time, the defeated younger brother decided to entrust his quirk to future generations. He believed that even if he couldn't win then, if he slowly cultivated the power, then one day, it would become strong enough to stop All for One. And it was my generation that finally brought the villain down…!"
"You thought… you did…" Izuku muttered, glancing at his idol, and seeing the man nod, before he went on, "And because… you didn't succeed… I-"
"Young Midoriya, I swear to you, I would have never passed One for All to you if I had known All for One… had managed to escape death…" Toshinori closed his eyes at placing this terrible weight on the young boy's shoulders, exhaling, as he apologized, "I'm sorry, my boy… I truly thought…"
"You could have never known-"
"But I did… His body was cold, and there was no pulse… How he managed to live, I… I'll never know."
"This is harsh on you, but-"
"I'll do my best!" Midoriya cut his mentor off, causing him to look away from the window, as he looked to his successor, who promised, "Whatever you say, All Might… I'll step up to the challenge. As long as you're with me, I can do anything…! That's what it feels like!"
Toshinori should have expected those words to come. However, it only made what Mirai predicted more painful.
'Tell him, All Might… You must… That's not it, Young Midoriya…' he held his hand over his lips, squeezing his eyes shut, which confused Midoriya, until he watched his hero give him a pained smile, "Thank you…"
After that, he sent the kid home, watching him walk down the hall, as All Might thought in agony, 'That's not it, Young Midoriya. Probably, by that time… I won't be here for you anymore.'
"What? What do you mean? Where are you going? You can't… you can't leave me- You- You have so much left to teach me… All Might, you- you can't… No, please, how could yₒᵤ..."
Being unable to bear his pleas, Ochaco walked over to gently reach out and grab the boy's wrist, as she pulled Izuku away from the hero, helping him stand, before he collapsed onto the floor. Not having the strength to look at the boy, Toshinori's lip quivered, as he shut his eyes, a stray tear rolling down his cheek.
The touch of someone's hand caused the hero to look over to Hanta, who furrowed his brow, as he forced out, "All… What… What do you… What's going to happen to you…? What couldn't you tell Midoriya?"
Toshinori didn't look the young man in the eyes after his question, but maybe that made it easier for him to answer, "After my battle with All for One, I was very badly injured. My sidekick at the time, who has the ability to see into one's future, told him that if I continued my hero career, I would meet a terrible fate in the far future…"
"No…" Katsuki's eyes blew open wide, being unable to accept this.
"When will this happen?"
"His quirk cannot pinpoint an exact date and time, especially with his prediction being so far into the future. However, he gave me six or seven years… Which could mean the next year or the one after."
"We can change it…!" Izuku shouted, pushing himself away from the brunette, as he dug his fingers into the leather couch, while deciding, "I won't let this happen to you, All Might! You can't die…! I won't let his prediction come true!"
'Young Midoriya, I'm so sorry, but this is something that can never change… No matter what.' Toshinori understood what he was trying to convey, but even if the timeline completely changed when they got home, it would have no effect on Mirai's Foresight.
"Please don't die, All Might… Please… you can't…"
Looking for a distraction, Momo turned her gaze down to the notes she had written, which took up a few pages in the book. She wasn't sure if she should also jot down this future prediction, so that Izuku could start planning on how to change it, even if they didn't have any details on the when and how. Foolishly, the girl wished she could help, yet was unsure how.
Tomura should be thrilled by this discovery. And he is, but for some reason, he didn't express it. Maybe it's because he needs to know who kills Toshinori, and that he wants it to be himself. Or that he wants to know when this will happen so he can prepare himself to change it in this timeline if he doesn't like the hero's death.
Enji kept his wide, narrowed eyes on the number one hero, while his mind thought about the effect this would have on his career. If Toshinori died before he achieved the number one spot, it wouldn't feel right to take his place, as he wouldn't have earned it. But even when he moved up the charts, what would happen when the Symbol of Peace inevitably passed?
Everyone's thoughts came to a halt at the sound of Shota's voice coming from the TV.
"Well, it's almost time for summer vacation, but of course, it wouldn't make sense for you to rest for the whole month."
"Don't tell me…"
Aizawa allowed his words to affect the students first, before he announced, "During summer vacation, we'll have a training camp in the woods.
"I knew it! YES!"
"Let's test our courage…!"
"Baths!"
"Fireworks, kero…!"
"Open-air baths!"
"Curry."
"Hot springs!"
"All this excitement doesn't feel right…"
"I just wish Mineta would shut up."
"No matter what the environment, we must choose wisely… Interesting."
"Eating and sleeping with everyone…! I'm getting excited!
"However." Aizawa silenced his class with a single glare of his quirk, finishing his statement, as he warned, "Those who do not pass the final exam before that… will be in summer school hell."
"Everyone, let's do our best!"
"This is damn stupid…" Bakugo spat at his classmates' roar, knowing he would have no problem getting the top score.
"Girls, do your best…!" Mineta joined in with their cheers, shaking his seatmate's shoulder, with Midoriya's expression showing visible annoyance toward his peer.
"It's true that what All Might said was mind-blowing, but our daily lives continued like this, and in the end, what I need to do hasn't changed."
"Even if Midoriya-chan hasn't found out about All Might's future, kero, I wouldn't be able to move on from everything else he said." Tsuyu mentioned about herself, a few others that heard her agreeing, while Izuku buried his face in the couch, with Toshinori gently running his hand through the boy's hair.
As dusk fell upon the country of Japan, the sun's rays dyed the city in a dark red color.
"Hero Killer…"
"Sensei…!" Tomura perked up at the comforting familiar voice, while the hero side of the theater froze in fear.
"-think he'd get caught, but everything else pretty much went as expected. With this, those who want to go wild or who sympathize with him will seek out the League of Villains as a place to release their urges. Shigaraki Tomura will be put in a position where he must unify all of them."
'So, Sensei wants the Hero Killer fanatic NPC's to join my League…' Tomura despised the idea very much, however, he let his remaining frustrations out, as he scoffed, before grumbling, "Fine, I'll let them all join- But only because you said so, Sensei…"
"Then hurry up and fix my body, Doctor…" the man bellowed when the other mentioned that this progress would speed up if he went out to help his successor.
"If only we'd gotten our hands on super regeneration five years earlier… After your wounds healed, it was just a useless quirk." the doctor stood up from his chair, hovering over the screen that his master used to watch over Shigaraki, humming, "The leader of the League of Villains, huh? I wonder if that child can really do it…"
"It's fine. I'll have him work hard… in order to have him become the next 'me'."
Toshinori almost choked at the thought of another villain like All for One.
"'Next me'..." Tomura definitely wanted the power his teacher had, but to become just like him wasn't something he desired as much.
When their first look at this heinous villain appeared, the students were rightfully afraid, while Yuga couldn't stop himself from shaking, as his eyes welled up with tears.
'Maman… Papa….'
"-was born with the twisted sense needed for that. Celebrate while you can, All Might… Celebrate this farce of temporary peace."
"Sensei-" Tomura turned to where his door stood, waiting for the moment another would appear beside it. But there it stood, alone. Nothing changed, and his anger rose, "What the hell- All Might gets to fucking be here, so why can't my Sensei show up…?!"
Meanwhile, everyone else in the theater was overly relieved All for One didn't arrive.
"I had no idea what he looked like, but he's so freaking ugly…"
"How… does he see…?"
"You injured him pretty badly, too, huh…?" Hanta muttered up toward their hero, watching Toshinori's expression.
"He should have died that day. Whoever this doctor is saved him, I presume."
With the screen staying black, and the lights growing brighter, they caught sight of the message about their time for lunch. Which they were all glad to see, as they needed a break from the high tension from this episode.