The second we barged into his office, I closed the door lightly and locked it tight, making sure no nosy bastards were skulking around. No fuck-ups allowed.
I spun around to him, dead serious, and spat it out.
"You can...chill out right now, Toshinori-sensei. Keeping it up must be painful given your... condition. I know the price you've paid for peace." I said, strolling over and giving him a stick of foodbar politely.
He froze, gawking at me like I'd just shat on his desk. Shock, doubt, and a flicker of "what the fuck" hit his face all at once, those tired-ass eyes bugging out. "How do you…?"
"I know everything," I responded to him with the utmost respect.. "And of course, I have no intention of repaying the kindness of the person who saved my life with resentment, so feel free to relax, sensei."
He didn't totally buy my shit - I could tell from the way his ugly mug scrunched up - but he kinda seemed to roll with it, too worn out to argue.
"This is really giving me a headache…" He said with a ragged-ass sigh.
Then he peeled off the mask. All Might - or whatever the hell was left of him - shifted back to his true, scrawny self. Still rocking that yellow suit, but now he was a skeleton-sharp edges, stick-thin arms and legs, neck stretched out like a noodle, eyebrows gone, and those sunken eyes screaming "I'm done" with dark circles that'd make a raccoon jealous. He hacked up blood right after, splattering the floor like a crime scene. He barely gave a shit - just smeared it off with his hand like it was Tuesday. Guess after years of this routine, it was old news.
"Who are you…?" he asked, voice low and hard, staring me down like he could carve me open with a look.
I didn't flinch, then gave him a handkerchief to wipe his blood. "You don't need to hide it from me, sensei. I know the fire within you is dying out... and Izuku is the one who rekindled it, right?"
"…" He didn't say anything, just kept eyeballing me, starting to look a bit fucked in the head.
"I can see the future, literally." I said, no screwing around. "I'm here to save everybody's fate, including yours. I will not, and will never, betray what you have built, 'All Might'."
He shot me this freaky-ass look, like he couldn't tell if I was bluffing or onto something real. "I don't know what you're talking about, kid, but…"
"Please save the questions later, sensei. Right now, there's something I gotta run by you, real critical, life-or-death stuff, sensei," I said it calmly. "In a few days later, those League of Villains assholes would crash the U.S.J, tipped off by some sniveling little shit in Class 1-A. with a new bio-weapon - those creepy-ass "Nomu" - that'd near gut Aizawa right then."
By the time I was done, All Might's mug looked like he'd been hit by a truck, shock all over it, but with this nasty undercurrent of dread and "oh shit" he couldn't hide.
"Why are you dumping this on me? How am I supposed to know this isn't your trap?" he growled, voice rough as sandpaper.
"You'll believe me, sensei," I said, shaking my head. "Combat sim's tomorrow, right? One side will attack the other, which is holding a simulated nuclear bomb."
He blinked, caught off guard. "Yeah. How do you even know that? Not a single kid in 1-A's been told yet."
"Well... Let just say I'm the only one on this rock with...two natural Quirks. One's future sight, call it whatever you want. Even if you don't buy it now, in a couple days, that shit's gonna hit exactly like I said." I pointed at my eyes again, doubling down like it was a badge. "And I've got some big, not-so-legal crap to pull off. That's why I'm here, spilling this to you, sensei. It's a trade so I can hash shit out with the principal and the Number Three hero, get 'em ready for the storm."
He wavered, clearly chewing on it like a tough piece of gristle, but finally grunted, "What do you need from me, kid?"
"I'll fill you in later, sensei. For now, please help me pass the word to Nezu-sensei. That's all I need. Or perhaps you could give me a signed copy as a bonus."
...
Next damn day rolled in, and after All Might's loud-ass, awkward-as-fuck intro to the class—big grin, booming voice, the whole overblown circus—we got our hero gear. Each piece was custom-built, some fancy-ass shit to juice up our Quirks and cover our weak spots. Uraraka's getup kept her floating without puking her guts out, Ida's had engines bolted to his legs—practical as hell.
Mine? Looked plain next to the others. Just a black bulletproof tux with a bow tie, matching pants that could take a slug, gloves, shoes, and night-vision specs rigged up like regular glasses. Slapped on a silver half-skull-mask to hide my mug and a slick "office" briefcase packed with papers, a sedative vial, some aphrodisiacs (don't ask me why I'm carrying this), and a bunch of survival and fight-ready junk. I'd only barked some simple orders: "Tough, cut-proof, fireproof, mold-proof, comfy, easy to use, low-maintenance, and don't let it scream 'hero.'" So yeah, it just looked like some slick suit—nothing flashy, nothing begging for attention.
Izuku's, though? A mess of details compared to mine. Bet my ass his mom sewed it up, just like in the original shitshow. Green jumpsuit, red belt, clunky red boots, black knee pads, and a mask that was straight-up All Might fanboy bait - right down to the dumbass grin stitched on. Kid couldn't hide his nerd boner for the guy if he tried. As for the others? Their costumes were... certainly unique and practical for each person's Quirk. Take Yaoyorozu, for example—wearing an outfit with the belly and chest all slashed open just to make it easy to craft items- sure, it's handy, but it's got this serious adult video vibe somehow.
As for Bakugo, those two grenades strapped on the arms like support gear? I swear, they look like a total pain in the ass, not to mention if you're not careful, you might fuck yourself up so bad you can't even clap your hands later...
All Might laid out the rules next. Two teams, picked outta a hat, slugging it out. Team one's the heroes - gotta nab the bad guys or shut down a fake nuke in 15 minutes. Team two's the villains gotta fuck up the heroes or guard the "weapon" for the same stretch. With 21 of us in the class, I'd get paired up later, solo. Perfect, meant I didn't have to cram into a squad and screw the balance. Plus, I wanted to eyeball if Izuku could pull his actions together like in the original without me sticking my nose in.
First up: Team A as heroes, Team D as villains. Heroes were Izuku and Uraraka; villains were Bakugo and Ida. Couldn't have rigged a better kickoff if I'd tried.
I left the staging area with the rest of the class to watch from a distance, keeping my peepers sharp.
"Onodera-san, where are you going? Test ain't even started yet…" Izuku piped up, looking at me like a lost puppy.
"Just learning from the sidelines, bro," I said, flashing a grin under the mask. "Watching from my own angle."
He nodded, still looking like he'd lost the plot, then hauled ass into the building with Uraraka to prep.
...
The combat trial finally wrapped, and all my stressing turned out to be a waste of time. Shit went down exactly like it was supposed to. Bakugo's sloppy-ass explosion tantrum, the clusterfuck that came after all of it lined up with the manga like clockwork. Only difference was watching it live, which kicked way more ass than skimming pages.
When it was done, I swaggered back to the site and slapped Izuku with a hard hit. Kid was out cold on the training ground's busted-ass floor, sprawled like a drunk.
"W-where am I? What's going on?" he mumbled, blinking around like a dazed little shit.
"You passed out from overcooking your Quirk and getting banged up too much, Midoriya," I said, blunt as a hammer.
"Oy, Uraraka-san, can you take him to the medbay? Leaving him here any longer is not a good idea at all."
Without waiting for a word in reply, Ochako immediately approached Izuku, using her Quirk to lift him up and carry him away urgently.
"Thanks, Onodera-san," Izuku said with a wobbly smile before disappearing.
All Might strutted over right after, still puffed up like a damn parade float. "Hey! Good work out there. Smart move, kid. But do you really have to do that?"
"Yep, i do," I said, shrugging it off. "He just needs to quit sucking at looking after himself."
He shot me this weird-ass look, half curious, half something I couldn't pin, then said.
"Onodera, you're up next."
"With who? I'm the odd out, remember…?"
"Nope, one-on-one with me!" he roared, grinning like a psycho. "You're the last, and it's my job to train everyone. Let's do this!"
"For real…? Alright, if that's what you want, sensei," I grumbled, a little pissed.
I tailed him to the building where he'd rigged the fake weapon, slipping in through a busted window while he took the front. The second I stepped inside, All Might - back in his bony-ass true form - swung around, arms crossed.
"So, what do you need from me, kid? You said we had some 'important' things to hash out…"
"Yep," I said, cutting the fluff. "I need you to set some crap up, someone to act as a go-between to snag what I want. Cash ain't a problem." As I talked, I snatched a fist-sized chunk of concrete off the floor, fired up my Quirk, and turned it into a solid gold brick. Held it up and stared him down, daring him to call bullshit.
His face went wild, shock, then more shock, like he couldn't process it. "So that's your other Quirk, huh? But why me? You could hit up any other - why spill your guts to me?"
"I need your connections, sensei. As the Symbol of Peace, you've got ties - heroes, bigwigs, all that stuff."
"I see…" He let out a long, tired-ass breath, scratching his neck. "But what do you need this nonsense for? This doesn't sound legal…"
"You know the Shie Hassaikai, right? They've got a person I want - someone that could flip the whole game."
"And that would be…?"
"Eri. That little girl is the ingredient for making Quirk-Destroying Bullets. I'm gonna save her and take some bullets, figure out how to use 'em for the shitshows coming up."
He damn near choked on that, pushing back hard at first. Took me laying out that I wanted to cook up a vaccine, something to fix anyone who got their powers jacked - before he eased off.
"Actually I know where both the girl and the prototypes are, and I'll get them myself soon right after I have a chance. I just need you not to interfere anything to...you know, help me. In return, I'll save everyone and prevent the collapse of society."
"Stealing from the Yakuza? Using illegal weapons?" All Might frowned, his hollow eyes narrowing. "That's crossing a line, kid. Even if it's for the greater good, a Hero doesn't..."
"A Hero plays by the rules and lets people die because he was too slow," I cut him off coldly. "I'm not asking you to be the thief or a drug dealer. I'm asking you to look the other way so I can save a life you don't even know is in danger yet..."
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Finally, the Symbol of Peace slumped, the weight of the world and my words crushing his shoulders.
"...No way," he whispered. "I cannot allow you to commit illegal acts. I'll stop you, Onodera, even I have to..."
I sighed and shrugged. "I knew you'd say that. Alright, let's pretend I didn't say anything. I was just... hypothesizing."
I gave a wry smile behind my mask. Of course he'd refuse. If he'd agreed, he wouldn't be All Might. But at least, the seed of suspicion had been sown. He'd be keeping an eye on Shie Hassaikai.
He looked at me with a suspicious and stern gaze. "Don't get your hopes up. f you harbor any ill intentions, I'll be the first one to stop you!"
"Fine. Oh yeah, one more thing," I tossed in, turning back. "Don't spill this to Izuku - or why I know you handed him your Quirk - not yet. I'll break it to him when the time's right."
"Got it. My lips are sealed," he said bluntly, with a WAY CONCERN LOOK. "Alright, enough talking. Now then, prove to me you have the power to deliver that twisted 'justice'!"
Then the "test" kicked off. All Might called it a formality, but christ, even that "formality" was a nightmare.
Right after it started, I juiced myself up with Titanium-Tungsten alloy - hard and durable, sprinted towards him at maximum speed, trying to use his kinetic energy and sturdy body to at least land one blow on him.
But this is like trying to fight a rock with an egg.
He still got my jaw smashed by a punch without any pretense, without any effort, and he didn't even show the slightest sign of concern.
My whole body flew backward, crashing through two concrete walls before slamming into a supporting pillar.
"Fuck..."
I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My vision blurred. Pain. It hurt like hell. Even though I had hardened, the shockwave was still too much for my muscles and bones.
He was still standing there, smoke rising from his fist. He hadn't even used 5% of his power.
"Your Quirk is quite interesting," he said, walking slowly like death itself. "It has a tough exterior. But if it's hollow inside, it's just an eggshell."
I struggled to my feet, my limbs trembling. So this is the power of a Top 1? The gap... is immeasurable.
The match ended in less than 30 seconds.
Guess I've still got a long road to haul before I'm ready for this crap.
He definitely went soft on me, though - I could still crawl to the med bay after. Even with my Quirk soaking some damage, I was a mess of cracked bones. If I were some normal dumbass, I'd be toast - or at least fucked up beyond fixing.
...
When I dragged my ass into the med bay, Izuku was already there, zonked out on a bed. All Might was there too, catching hell from Recovery Girl for dumping Izuku in here three damn times since school started, and for punching another student hard enough to dislocate a jaw and break several bone, then whispered about One For All's deal later - shit I already knew, so I let it slide past. No point sweating stuff I'd already clocked.