Shame was burning hot in his chest. He had been determined to at least speak civilly to the boy, to give him a chance with Tsukauchi to prove himself. And he had. There had been no denying he was honest when his old friend declared him so.
But each word had sunk under his skin, itching at him. Every time the child defended his father, sparks of indignation and scorn swelled in him. And when All for One's son broke down in tears in front of the line of heroes, needing comfort because of his ordeal, it had only reminded him of the beach. The tearful face that he had been so sure was a mask had been genuine … and he had attacked him.
Yagi leaned over the edge of the roof and dug his phone from his pocket. It had become a habit when thinking of the boy to look at the picture Bakugo had sent the day before. His enemy might have changed his hair colour, but it was still him. The cruel glint in the eye, the perfect posture no matter what he was doing. Seeing that face sparked rage in his heart.
But it wasn't All for One who he was fixated on. It was the green-haired child his enemy was wrapping an arm around possessively. A boy that was curling in on himself and making himself as small as possible.
"You love All Might."
"Yes."
The child loved him. The child who loved All for One. The child All for One loved in return. Nothing could explain the complex emotions that ran through him at that. Could a body run hot and cold at the same time? His made a definitive case in the affirmative.
"You're an idiot."
Of course Aizawa would be the one to find him first, All Might thought dourly as the nimble underground hero swung onto the roof. Of course it would be the man who hates him on principle. He closed his phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"If this is some sort of guilt-trip, don't bother," All Might said with his back to the man. "He made himself perfectly clear."
"I don't think he did, and you're certainly too thick to read between the lines," Aizawa said with all the empathy of the cats he so loved. "The kid has been abused, All Might. And what you did in there was the worst thing you could have done."
"He said it himself, he wasn't—"
"He said he was forced to use his quirk until he dropped from exhaustion just because his father was unhappy," Aizawa countered, his calm tone contradicted by the heat of his gaze. "He said he was forced to choose between someone's life and his own mental health, and both were destroyed. He said he is being isolated from his only friend and society. He said he was cared for well enough by a villain father to still love him, and yet hurt enough by his actions to go to the heroes to get away from him. Whether or not All for One raised a hand to Midoriya is irrelevant. That is abuse."
"He's fine." The words felt hollow. The picture of the lifeless child burned a hole in his pocket. The sobs and the pleas rang in his ear. "Fine."
"Really?" Aizawa showed up in his periphery, staring at him with a hateful gaze. "That kid, the kid that cried in front of the only other father-figure he's known, you, and offered to do anything you ordered him to as a way to earn your forgiveness, that's the paragon of emotional health? That kid, the one who told us he feels guilt for every. single. thing his father does even though he also said he can't stop him, that is an example of a well-functioning fourteen-year-old?"
"I get it!" Yagi snapped. "Fine, he's abused, so what?! You do something about it! What am I supposed to do? He's the son of All for One!"
"How about you say his name."
Yagi fell back a step at the ferocity in Eraserhead's gaze.
"Go on," Eraserhead prompted murderously. "Say his name. Not 'the son of,' not 'him,' call him Midoriya Izuku."
Yagi's tongue felt tied in his throat, dry and heavy and useless and he swallowed around it, staring into the eyes of this man. Eraserhead scowled back deeply.
"You can't, can you?" he stated, judgement lacing every word. "I noticed that in the meeting. The rare times you did speak to him, you never used a name. A name humanizes him too much, doesn't it? A name has feelings attached. No need for a name if he's just his father to you." His silence was taken as confirmation. "Great. So much for the Symbol of Peace."
Yagi slumped against the concrete walls. Had he? Had he stopped seeing the boy and started seeing the father? No, he hadn't seen the father. He had just . . . thought seeing him that way hurt too much to be anything else. He couldn't bring himself to say his name because … because … was it because he couldn't bear the feelings that welled up in him at the mention of his successor—no former successor candidate. He wasn't his successor any longer.
"Anything to say?"
Toshinori shook his head somberly.
"What we had in that room was a child," Aizawa informed him, "who has risked everything to defy his father. To help you fight him. Midoriya knew that his future looked bleak if he spoke, but he did. He knew that people would look at him like a monster, and he still did. And he knew that you had already rejected him, but he still showed up today prepared to give himself up if it meant saving your life. And you basically spat in his face for the effort."
"It wasn't about me," he protested weakly.
"No?" Aizawa didn't look as amused as his tone implied. "I thought everything was about you."
That made Toshinori sag. Yes, the hero sphere was quite unfair to other heroes' efforts. Still, Aizawa didn't have to put it like that.
"For once, you did influence this," he told the number one hero. "He said it himself, didn't he? He wants his father stopped, but he loves you for some reason, and he didn't want to take the chance that you'd die facing his father alone. Even though, according to him, you hate him now. That kid showed up and begged for us to let him throw himself in the middle of a fight between you two super-beings. That was for you as much as it was for him or his father. Ask Tsukauchi again if you don't believe me."
Toshinori sighed and sank against the edge of the roof, powerless to stand. He had been horrified at the thought that Midoriya, the sweet boy who was so similar to himself, could be the son of the man he hated. The only man he hated. Seeing himself in a boy so close to the enemy was like looking in the mirror of the abyss himself. Was he so similar to his enemy that the child he considered a son was shared with All for One? Anything shared with that monster—
"He is not your enemy, All Might." He flinched at the judgement in Eraserhead's tone. "As far as the kid's concerned, he wants is to drink yogurt with you on a beach. Oddly specific, and why he would want that with the man who brushed him aside the second things got a little too uncomfortable is incomprehensible, but if you don't do right by that kid you've added a whole other trauma to his history."
"I'm. . .not. . ."
When the hero didn't continue, Aizawa sighed but still sat next to the conflicted hero. "I knew you'd bring trouble the second Nezu hired you. The year hasn't even started."
"Heh, like being a hero is ever anything but trouble," Toshinori tried to laugh, but it felt flat.
"Midoriya will be a good hero, then," Aizawa deadpanned. Toshinori wheezed out a chuckle. "No one wanted to ask during the meeting, not with the kid as emotional as he was, but he never mentioned his mother until he spoke to you."
Toshinori's chuckle died. That day he had never mentioned Nana by name, but his story had reminded him of her. Again, he and the boy were so similar. And that thought left a pit in his stomach. How could anything shared with All for One be good? Any similarity between him and anything connected to that man, shouldn't it be abhorred? Why would he care for someone All for One loved too?
"What happened to his mother?"
That was the question. And the story that had brought them closer together than anything else.
"He doesn't know," Toshinori admitted to the man, leaning his head back against the wall. "She tried to take him away, and all he remembers is his father coming for them. He has asked after her, but his father won't tell him anything. Whether or not his mother lives, she is out of his reach and has been for many years."
Aizawa hissed. "That's a hell of a thing to have held over your head. No wonder the kid waited. If seeing his mother is something only his father can give him, that's practically extortion even without the explicit threat. He told you that?"
He grimaced in shame. "And so much more."
The silence, even with the occasional cricket, was far too loud.
"He must have trusted you. Or wanted to."
Toshinori swallowed thickly. Midoriya had told him as much prior to revealing himself. "Nothing will change?"
He had said nothing would. He hadn't pictured anything Midoriya would say having any impact on his decision.
He had failed him.
Aizawa sighed and leaned back against the wall next to him. "You're going to have to fix this, you know."
"What?" yelped Toshinori.
"Fix. It." The teacher shot remanding look over at him. "You didn't think you could run from Midoriya forever, did you? He's an ally and future student. You will need to be able to be in the same room as him without those cowardly insults or stomping out like a child."
If that wasn't a savage reminder of his behaviour in the meeting room, nothing was. Toshinori turned away from him. "I couldn't stand to hear Midoriya defend that demon."
"Or throw you in the same role as him," Aizawa added pointedly. Their eyes met in a certain understanding. "You are insecure for a hero. It's illogical. Have you thought that your biggest similarity is how you treat that boy? You've both traumatized him."
"I have not traumatized Midoriya!" Toshinori exclaimed, then clapped a hand over his mouth at Aizawa's satisfied look. "I haven't."
"That is the first time I've heard his name from you today," Aizawa pointed out with a self-satisfied smirk. "Good to know you still think he's human enough to warrant one."
He glowered at his future colleague. "It's not that I don't find his position pitiable, I do, but what should I do about it? How am I supposed to talk to him knowing who his father is? Knowing that he knew who I was to him and hid it from me deliberately?"
"Yes, not telling you his father's villain name is a capital offense," Aizawa shot back sarcastically, not pulling punches. "He trusted you enough to tell you in the end, didn't he? That's the important part, idiot. Don't you understand what it means when a child like that trusts someone? Anyone? His life has been a lie, you dimwit. He's been lying to everyone about everything—his quirk, his father, his happiness—because whenever he tells the truth either he gets hurt or someone else does. He told you the truth—guess who got hurt? It wasn't you."
All Might could see it. The hope that had been lighting Izuku's eyes as he asked, one last time, if he would still want him after knowing about his life. The hope when he had held Izuku's shoulders and promised that nothing would change. And then he could see the moment those hopes had been crushed, how instead of light there were tears filling the kindest green eyes he had ever seen.
Midoriya had needed me, had needed saving . . . and I refused. All Might's non-existent stomach turned in anguish.
But he wasn't the only one Izuku had told before, right? He had told young Bakugou… who was now in danger from his father. But he had also told someone else, right? …. His mother. The thought made Toshinori sick. The last time he'd told someone, even though they hadn't rejected him, it had ended in them being all-but-killed. Now Bakugou was being put in the same situation. And Yagi, the only one who wouldn't be in that danger for knowing, had rejected him. Midoriya had needed much more than he had given him yesterday.
"When you stop seeing villains as people that's when you stop seeing the villain in yourself." Aizawa huddled deeper into his scarves as the evening breeze crossed the roof. "Villains are people and that means we will always have something in common, whether good or bad. It's idiocy to delude yourself into thinking any different. So, yeah, you and All for One share some traits; the kid loves the both of you and you've both hurt that kid in return. The question you have to answer now is whether or not you want to do better than his real father and fix things with Midoriya."
"How?"
Toshinori wanted to, he wanted to reassure Midoriya that he did not despise him, that it wasn't his fault that seeing him made his skin crawl, but . . . he could no longer choose the boy as his successor. Giving the quirk that could defeat All for One to the man's son seemed so outlandish, so unreasonable, especially when they had the same quirk. But . . . it also felt like he was punishing Midoriya for something beyond his control. When he had first chosen Midoriya he had never stopped casting his eyes about, wondering if he was deciding too soon, if someone else might be better. He had met with Mirio as well, had not seen in him nor in anyone else the same things he'd seen in Midoriya.
The option of his quirk was no longer something he was sure of, so how would he go to Midoriya saying he was still a liar, that it did matter because he no longer was sure he'd be the right successor? How do you return to a dynamic with a key piece still missing?
"This may be difficult for the top hero to understand, but here, you know, on earth, sometimes we fix things by talking," Aizawa sniped at him. "Talk. To. Him. Tell him the truth. Tell him that you're a prideful idiot who refused to see past the end of your nose when a child needed his help. Tell him that—if he's equally idiotic—he can still rely on you. Tell him you don't hate him for existing. Be the hero you are and admit that you were wrong."
Under the stern man's gaze, Toshinori sagged. "He's gone already."
There was something to be said for making the strongest man in the world back down, but Shouta wasn't going to gloat. Instead he picked himself up and looked down at the hero.
"Then do it next time," Aizawa sighed. "Idiot. We're getting the kid back here for few days before the operation. Tell him then."
Toshinori rose as well then, daring to hope then that, maybe, he would see Midoriya again as the pair of heroes looked out over the city, the enormity of the task weighing on the pair of them.
Aizawa turned away first with a tired sigh. "The others are looking for you. They'll likely wring your neck, so apologize before saying anything else or you won't be able to speak."
"I'll do that," Toshinori agreed, albeit haltingly. "Erm, thank you. For your advice."
Aizawa gave him an assessing look. "That wasn't advice. I'm telling you to fix it with Midoriya. He's a good kid under a lot of pressure but already more of a hero than some I know. Did you even notice that we all knew him? That we called him Deku?"
He did recall a strange familiarity between Eraserhead, Nezu, and Midoriya, although it hadn't registered quite enough at the time for another thought to be spared for that puzzle. When he looked to Aizawa for an explanation, the man shuffled away and started for the door.
"You should come to the staff rooms once Nezu is finished with you," the scarfed man lowly intoned. "There's someone you should meet."
It was slow-going, but Toshinori eventually left the roof and made his way to Nezu's office. Every now and again he would catch sight of one of his future colleagues, but they all simply pointed in the direction of Nezu's office and walked off without another word. The lead in his stomach gained weight with every new encounter.
When he finally reached the principal's office, he was greeted by an exiting Chief of Police with Tsukauchi on his right. They both stopped as he approached, watching him carefully.
"All Might," Tsuragamae greeted cordially. "Good to see you returned."
After you stormed out like a child from an important meeting, was the indirect and condescending implied finish to that statement. The tone was warranted, Toshinori would admit.
"Yes, well, I wouldn't let a personal disagreement keep me from doing my job," he said with false cheer.
The Chief gave him an assessing look. "Good. I expect professionalism in this operation from this point on, All Might. That young man will be fighting alongside you all and I expect you to come to his aid if needed."
Another lead weight was added to the pile in his stomach. "Yes, of course."
While the Chief started to walk away, Tsukauchi delayed for a second and stepped a little closer. Oh, the look in his old friend's face was more hurtful than anything. It wasn't a condemnation, but it was something close to pity and disbelief.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"…I don't know." It was the only answer he could give, and even then it was hesitant. "It's simply too much."
"That's a feeling I'm familiar with," Tsukauchi said with a comforting smile. "Seeing you fight has always been a lot for a regular guy like me to take in. But we pull through and do our jobs no matter how overwhelmed we are."
Toshinori could only look at his friend, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, his friend placed a firm hand on his shoulder and smile.
"I'm sure Nezu is going to say enough about Midoriya that I don't have to say anything," the detective said surely, "but I understand where you're coming from. I was skeptical too. But that kid didn't lie. I get it; it's hard not to be disturbed by what he said, about his home life especially, but just because I don't like what he said doesn't mean any of it is untrue. Just remember that."
He bowed his head. "I know. I am shamed by my treatment of Midoriya. Aizawa has already counseled me to speak with the boy and apologize. I intend to the next time we meet."
But what good will apologizing do when I can't tell call him my successor?
"Good." Tsukauchi clapped his hand once before pulling away. His friend's eyes were kind and empathetic, crinkled at the corners like looking at him in his shrivelled form was still pleasant. "You'll be happier if you don't let yourself stay bitter, you know. Don't let All for One take something else from you."
From the door, a high-pitched voice agreed, "Well said, detective. Absolutely right."
The mouse principal appeared in the doorway. Toshinori had expected him to look angrier, but the mouse simply looked … tired, although the tiredness only barely broke through his classic grin. The mouse motioned for him to enter.
"Come, come, Yagi, you missed some of the meeting," Nezu told him. "You should watch what you missed, then we can talk about what comes next."
He and Tsukauchi shared a glance of concern, but his friend patted him on the back and sent him through the principal's door. The door shutting behind him revealed just how much tension was between him and the rodent principal.
"Here," Nezu pushed a tablet towards him with video cued, "catch up on the end of the meeting. I need to look over the data he's given us."
The hurried treatment left Toshinori feeling swept aside. "Nezu, I—"
"No." One paw raised right in his face. "None of that. You will watch the video and then you will say what you like, but I am greatly in need of a moment of relative quiet before speaking with you."
Nezu left him and jumped up to his desk, immediately turning away from the hero and scrolling through various documents on his computer. Receiving a cold shoulder from the normally friendly principal was as ill and omen as any portending what was to come, so much so that, as much as he may loathe the silence, he obeyed the principal's wishes and sat down with the screen in his lap and pressed PLAY.
He was unsurprised to see that the video had been cued for the moment he left the room. He was surprised to see Midoriya melt down into an insubstantial mess right before him, as if there was nothing holding him together. Nezu's words didn't faze him since he truly did not hate the boy, but Midoriya's words …
"I shouldn't have trained with him. All it did was hurt people and make things worse. I should have just said no. I had to take hundreds of quirks just to keep my father happy, and it doesn't matter anymore because All Might hates me and dad is furious. It was all for nothing."
All for nothing. Perhaps that was what Toshinori was feeling as well. That all that time with Midoriya was now for naught, that it had all amounted to nothing but heartbreak. If Midoriya had only told him earlier … no, he would have reacted just as poorly. However he may wish to defend his actions, there was no justifying his response.
Then Midoriya spoke about the quirkless.
More than that … he had once again proved his similarity to All for One. "It's not seen as malicious when they say that certain jobs are dangerous, like being a hero, and so the quirkless shouldn't try for those. If they want to save lives, they should be a doctor instead."
Those were his words. He remembered them from all those months ago when he had first met the boy, telling him he shouldn't be a hero. His views, his desire to protect those who were quirkless, might very well have been feeding directly into All for One's power base.
"Society doesn't make room for people without quirks, or people with weak quirks, or even people with quirks not suited to their chosen profession, so their only choice is to either give up or fight back. My father's the only one that will give them a chance."
To hear Midoriya defend his father so easily curdled his stomach, but with time and a screen between them again the feeling was ignored in favour of his self-hatred. This ideology of All for One, the value of quirks above people, this was something he'd unknowingly been empowering. That was why Midoriya had been so adamant all those months ago that he not discourage the quirkless from heroism—it was too similar to his father.
Midoriya was an inspiration, then, speaking of the quirkless. How he'd done the exam for them, to show them their own power to do good, to stand tall as an example instead of a protector. He did not phrase it that way, no, Midoriya phrased it simply as doing some good, 'somehow.' As if his actions weren't inspiring, weren't special. As if having all the power in the world and choosing not to use it was a meagre feat.
Self-hatred and pride warred in his troubled heart.
He had to admit that the boy was not his father and never would be. But he just couldn't choose Midoriya as a successor, it wasn't possible. There was no way a user of All for One could wield One for All. There was no way he could risk having his quirk so close to that evil man.
He paused once Bakugo revealed All for One's plans for him, stopping on the blond's angry face. He sighed. There was another relationship he had mucked up. And another was seated in front of him, stoically ignoring him in favour of his computer screen.
"Principal Nezu, sir, I'm … sorry."
With a small smile and a grateful gaze, Nezu looked over. "I'm glad. I trust you have been reassured of Midoriya's intentions? It was, after all, your idea to have the detective confirm his words."
Toshinori rubbed the back on his neck, still conflicted. "I, well, I no longer think he means any harm."
Nezu peered up at him, though his paws were still typing at his computer. "But?"
"But … I still do not think I should make him my successor," he admitted.
In his mind, it was the right choice. So why did the words seem so difficult to say? Nezu shook his head and turned back to his computer, done with him.
"I'm not being unreasonable," he asserted. "My power would do far better in the hands of someone quirkless or with someone more normal. You heard how many quirks he had. He doesn't need another."
To consider Midoriya for his quirk now, knowing just how powerful the boy truly was, that he had so many quirks within his slight frame, it seemed like giving a bomb a nuclear upgrade. And to pass it down to All for One's son just seemed despicable, like spitting in Nana's face.
"Yours would be the first willingly given to him," Nezu tutted, "but if that is what you think is best, Yagi, the choice is yours. Who else would you consider?"
That was where he was stumped. Perhaps he should give Mirio another chance? His eyes lowered thoughtfully … and once again fell upon young Bakugo's angry face, paused on the tiny screen. A sudden image of the future opened up, one where he could give his power to another but still re-establish contact with Midoriya, where All for One and One for All would exist harmoniously in two separate users. Even if he couldn't pick Midoriya, this was the next best thing.
Could he do it? Would Bakugo agree?
Nezu's typing stopped and when he looked up the principal was already on the desk, standing in front of him with gentle reproach in his face.
"Yagi-san, you do not want to do this," Nezu promised, so gently it was practically a plea. "Do not do further harm to this relationship."
"Harm it? This is the answer!" Toshinori enthused, tapping the screen. "This, this is the path forward. You don't know the relationship these two have, the bond of brotherhood between them. Midoriya will understand."
"Yagi, this is not wise," the principal cautioned. "You should take time to consider this."
"No, Nezu, I need a successor," he persevered. "You know as well as I how short my time is now. I must pass One for All on before I face All for One. This is the my best chance."
Nezu sat delicately at the edge of the desk, eyes earnest. "Yagi, it would not be fair to Bakugo. Whether or not you choose Midoriya is up to you, but to do this, to choose his best friend in his stead is not the answer."
"He's a good boy with a hero's ambition," defended the aged hero, motioning to the screen. "A little rough around the edges, but he has impressed me time and time again. I've gotten to know him better this last month; he's driven, determined, stalwart! With his passion, I am sure One for All will be in capable hands!"
He was sure this was the right course, but Nezu just kept shaking his head. "You should wait until you've spoken to Midoriya. At least think of how the child will react."
"I'm sure this is right," Toshinori announced, although nerves bundled in his stomach at the declaration. "If this isn't right, then nothing is."
Nezu could see that there was no chance to talk the aging hero out of his decision. It was the way with All Might—unless he himself decided to change his mind, there was no chance to convince him. Many had tried, like Mirai and Gran Torino, and none could get through to the hero. Stubbornness was practically an ingrained quality of All Might.
All that he could do was soften the blow.
"It is, as always, your choice," he said pleasantly, although without his usual smile. He wanted All Might to be sure this wasn't something he approved of. "If this is what you want then I cannot order you not to. However, if I may advise you, take the night to consider just how you want to ask Bakugo. Consider how he will react to your offer. After all, if he is to be your successor, this will be an important moment for him. Consider your words very carefully."
Chapter 23: He Knew
He knew there was a path, somewhere, but to where and why it was there he didn't know. Try as he did to find that path, all he found was grainy black smoke billowing around him like a vicious wind. Bits of yellow mixed with the black, the tiniest sparks of light, but only when they touched him. He looked at his hands and saw that they were incandescent, bright as a star and sparking just the same. Where was he? And where is the path he knew he was following?
The dark sand parted around him as he walked, showing only what was right in front of him. He was lost, he knew it, but he didn't know how to change it. His legs moved faster and faster until he was running through the mist trying to find anything he could touch.
His ears were filled with his own heartbeat, his breathing getting shallower and shallower, panic speeding his effort until he couldn't move any faster. In the moment he thought that he might never escape the black, he broke through the igneous storm and into its eye where eight figures stood in a line.
They were familiar, a set of silhouettes he had only glimpsed as a young hero. They were vague and undefined—except for three.
All for One was there, a figure of power even in this desolate landscape. Five figures stood watching as the monster put his hand on another man, making him scream.
He wouldn't stand back! If he could reach him in time—
A familiar gloved hand rested on his shoulder, stopping him. Looking back he found a set of familiar grey eyes looking unhappily up at him.
"You needed to see this," she told him, turning to the scene unfolding in front of them. "This was the beginning, you know. The moment that started it all."
"Nana…"
It was a strange dream, one he could barely remember now that he was awake. All he remembered was Nana and All for One. He had woken up with a start, feeling as if something important had happened, but not remembering what it was. It set a feeling of discomfort right below his ribs where his stomach used to be. Sleep eluded him after that.
Tired as he was, All Might was determined. After his talk with Nezu the day before, Yagi had excused himself from visiting the staff rooms, promising to return another day, and went home. He thought long and hard about how to offer his quirk to Bakugo, thinking carefully about just what he would say and how he would convince the angry boy to accept, but had come up with no good answer.
During each envisioned scenario, he invariable ended up considering just how he had offered it to Midoriya—the tears, the heart wrenching fall to his knees—thinking that that was exactly how it should be, and was left wondering just how Bakugo would react. It would probably not be as positive as that. Their brief exchange after he had tried to capture Midoriya was enough to know that. "You're no hero!"
It was that thought that had him so nervous. He had thought this over the whole night before and this was the only logical solution to his problem, but this offer would go very differently from his offer to Midoriya. Nezu was right to recommend taking the night to think it over. He had needed it to plan his words. That is, if he could only get up the courage to do it.
Yagi was a nervous wreck. His feet wouldn't move more than a shuffle, his knees were shaking, his stomach felt sick and he had to wipe his sweaty hands on his pants more than once.
So he only hesitated for a few moment (or, perhaps, a minute) in front of the suburban door before ringing the bell.
He could feel his heart rate elevate as loud footsteps sounded beyond the door. But his resolve was firm, as he was quick to remind himself. Firm, and unshakeable—
The door swung open and there was young Bakugo. He was exactly as he remembered, all angry eyes and explosive hair, except his usual sneer was replaced with a look of absolute loathing. Yagi had to repress a flinch.
"What do you want, scumbag?" he snapped, taking a bite out of Yagi's resolve. "Nothing to say? Then get out. I don't want to talk to you."
"Wait! Erm, I mean, can we speak privately?" he asked deferentially. Before Bakugo could cuss him out, he gave a small bow. "Please, young Bakugo, this is of utmost importance."
Bakugo was simmering in the doorway, a wayward pop or two escaping his hands before he clenched them angrily and stuffed them in his pockets. "Fine. Get in before I change my mind."
The small trust of the boy made his heart warm. "Of course."
That's how they came to be sat inside the Bakugo residence, uncomfortably standing in the doorway. Bakugou stood directly in his path to make sure he didn't enter the home any further than he already had. Little pops were constantly going off in Bakugo's hands and Yagi was a nervous wreck himself, constantly holding back little coughs of blood that tried to bubble up inside of him.
"Well?" Bakugo snapped, leaning against the wall as if he couldn't care less that All Might was there. He probably didn't. "The folks are out, so get to the point: what do you want, toothpick?"
Yagi resisted the urge to fidget in front of him. This was the path he had chosen, so he would approach it with confidence that belied the gnawing in his stomach. The young man in front of him deserved that much.
"Young Bakugo, I came to tell you a story. The story of Midoriya's father and of my quirk."
So he did. He wove the same tale he had with Midoriya, a story of All for One's cruelty, his brother's sacrifice, and the long lineage of heroes who strove to stop him. He told him of his mentor and how she had entrusted him with the sacred torch he now bore inside himself.
"Before I face All for One, I know that I must choose someone to carry the torch forward, as my mentor chose me," Yagi said, although there was a pit in his stomach telling him he was wrong, that the wrong boy stood in front of him. "You have impressed me these past months, Bakugo. I can tell there's nothing you want more than to be a great hero. Please accept my quirk."
He hadn't expected overwhelming joy from the boy, but he definitely hadn't expected an explosion aimed right at the center of his chest. It didn't register in time for him to dodge; Yagi had blood forcibly expelled from his mouth as he was blown back into the door behind him, leaving him prone as Bakugo towered over him, fists and teeth clenched in anger.
"Go to hell."
Red eyes glared down at him with all the ferocity of a dragon.
"Bakugo—"
"Is that what you wanted from Deku?" he hissed down at him. "That's why you started training the nerd, isn't it? You wanted a successor, you promised him something that big? And, now, what, you're giving up on him? You want to find someone else? Go to hell."
Yagi cradled his injured chest where he felt the bones grinding together—fractured, most likely—as he focused on the second boy he'd trained. "Bakugo, ungh, it's true, I may have wanted it to be Midoriya, but that's not true any longer. It would be inappropriate to give my power to—"
"Inappropriate my ass!" he snapped. "Deku is too weak to fight his old man himself! You'd be giving him a fighting chance, you selfish idiot!"
What? Yagi had not considered what Bakugo was now saying with conviction. Midoriya had hundreds of quirks, it was one of the reasons it felt so wrong to pass on his power to him. But Bakugo had a point—even his quirk, One for All, hadn't been enough to take down All for One. Neither could Midoriya on his own. Is that was Nezu meant by him being the perfect vessel?
Yagi shook his head, trying to clear it of those troubling thoughts. "It's not just about his father."
Bakugo's vicious eyes glared down at him with a simple loathing. "Bullshit. You promised the nerd that power and now you're running scared because Deku told you the truth. You're a coward. I bet you're only asking me because you think Deku won't be so hurt if it's me, because he 'loves his Kacchan,' isn't that right?"
Guilt panged deep in his bones. Perhaps that had been one of the reasons for it. He had certainly considered that this choice might be the least cruel to Midoriya. But he did think the young man would make a wonderful hero, and he would be by his friend's side irregardless of obstacles. It would be the next best thing to Midoriya not having a quirk to begin with—
"You bastard!" Bakugo cocked his arm as if he wanted to blow him right out to the street, absolutely shaking with his restraint. "Were you even going to tell me, huh?! Were you just going to let me find out that this was never meant to be me, that it was meant to be Deku?! Go to hell and stay there, you bastard!"
Guilt kept him silent. He … didn't know if he was planning one way or another. There had been no thought about sharing that information with Bakugo, but he had also not intended on deceiving him. He had assumed it would come about naturally.
The ball of rage in front of him was not finished. Explosions crackled like warning shots in Bakugo's hands as he snarled at the hero. "I hate you! You just want to throw me under the bus because you're too much of a coward to do right by him! I'm not doing it! Do you think I want him to look at me with that fakeass smile knowing you trusted me instead of him?! That you've given up on him?! You think I want the nerd to look at me like I've taken something away from him?!"
"No, no!" Yagi waved his hands earnestly. "That was not my intention! I'm offering it to you, you're not taking it away from him. I'm choosing you."
"I'm nobody's second choice," spat Bakugo with every ounce of vitriol in his trembling body. "You picked Deku, you picked him and I'm not gonna let you screw him like that. You either give it to Deku or you find some other extra you can hurt because you're not using me to hurt him! I'm never hurting the nerd again!"
"Bakugo, I understand but you should consider your future, the hero you could be—" Yagi started, but the boy let off a small explosion to silence him.
"I said NO!" he roared. "YOU DEAF?! I'm not gonna do it! If I ever took it from you, it'd be to give it to Deku myself. I don't need your quirk to be the number one hero, I don't need your help, I don't need anything from a cowardly liar who's too weak to man up and fight for Deku! If I used someone like you to get to the top, I wouldn't deserve it! NOW GET OUT! GET OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU!"
He was unceremoniously booted from the Bakugo property without another word. From the walk, Yagi watched in increasing guilt as the young man he'd been mentoring refused to even look at him anymore. Bakugo stomped back into his home and slammed the door shut behind him without a single glance back.
After being yelled out and cursed so loudly, it was eerily still in the suburban street. Faint wind ruffled his hair and picked up the pieces that Nana had loved, tossing them about, sending them as adrift as his thoughts.
He had spent months with these two boys. He had trained their bodies, advised them, and even comforted them in their desires to be great heroes. Seeing Midoriya the day before and seeing Bakugo today was like witnessing relationships destroyed. One ending in tears and the other in anger, but both terribly damaged by what he did.
When he had first attacked Midoriya that day, he had only cared that the child was related to All for One. It didn't matter what he said so long as the user of One for All and All for One could finally finish their century-long feud. He had just wanted to end things as quickly as possible. And when he had seen quirks in those green eyes making them glow unnaturally, his only instinct had been to attack before he could be attacked.
Now, looking back on all their mornings together, the yogurt he'd bring him and the smiles they'd shared, Yagi knew he had overreacted to Midoriya's confession.
But still … to give him One for All?
Nezu seemed to think it was the right choice.
Bakugo was adamant it was the only choice.
And Aizawa, while not knowing the situation, had told him to do everything he could to restore their bond. Which included Midoriya as his successor.
But what if they were wrong? What if, despite Midoriya's words and honesty, One for All still found its way into his enemy's grasp? What then? Having his quirk so close to the enemy was not sensible, not with the emotions involved or the care between them, not when Midoriya himself did not see his enemy clearly.
Yagi sighed and started to shuffle away from the Bakugo home and down the walk to his car. He had been so sure that this was the path forward—why else would All for One not only exist in a younger host if not for it to protect One for All? All for One and One for All would have co-existed perfectly within the younger generation.
But thinking on Bakugo's words, he realized just what might have happened. If Bakugo had accepted, there was every chance he might have damaged the relationship between the boys. That even the tiniest bit of hurt or jealousy on either side could have tainted their relationship. "You're a coward. I bet you're only asking me because you think if you give it to me then Deku won't be so hurt because he 'loves his Kacchan,' aren't I right?... You think I want the nerd to look at me like that, like I've taken something from him?! … I said NO!"
The clenching in his stomach that he had dismissed as nerves was back full force as he realized that what he was feeling was anxiety, anxiety based in guilt. He had made the wrong choice. In his decision, he hadn't considered how hurt Midoriya would be. The image Bakugo painted was so vivid, he couldn't help but think that Midoriya might very well feel that way. Betrayed.
"Like you've given up on him," Bakugo had said. He hadn't given up on Midoriya, not at all, he was sure that Midoriya would make it through his ordeal. But that wasn't what he meant, was it? He had given up on Midoriya being his successor, that much was evidenced by how he offered it to Bakugo. But did that mean he'd given up on Midoriya entirely, given up on him being a hero?
It left him dumbfounded when he realized that he had. He had stopped asking about what kind of hero Midoriya would be and instead asked whether he could be one at all.
He had given up on him.
Katsuki needed to hit something, badly. If he was even frickin' allowed to leave the house he would be down at the garbage beach and start on the next section already just to find a car or fridge to let loose his explosions on. But when he slammed the door shut behind him, he was suddenly face-to-face with Midoriya Hisashi, All for One, the white-haired demon himself, smiling at him from the stairs.
"Am I invited to the party?"
"What are you doing here?" Katsuki snapped. "I didn't tell him about you and Deku, so you can buzz off."
"Oh, I didn't come because of All Might," Deku's dad promised. "No, I was just stopping by for your answer to my offer yesterday."
Katsuki ground his teeth, ready to tell him to go to hell himself, but then All for One laughed, a gleeful sound that chilled to the bone. "And I'm so glad I did! Seeing All Might take an explosion to the chest was a delightful surprise. You have made my day, you really have."
A pause that he was clearly expected to fill was left silent as he stood stock-still in front of the monster, barely breathing. If Deku's dad had seen the explosion, then he'd heard just about everything. That meant the bits about Deku too. This was bad. And his demon dad didn't seem surprised. He was just standing there all carefree on his stairs like it was no big deal.
It meant he knew.
He knew.
All for One gave him a deep, knowing smirk.
"I think it's time that you and I had a nice, long chat, Katsuki."
After the rejection from Bakugo, Toshinori felt aimless. Covered in blood with maybe a cracked rib or two, he had two options: a hospital, or UA. So he called a cab and had it take him to the school.
Nezu was waiting for him at the gates with an inscrutable look and a medical stretcher.
"Come, come, let's get you to Recovery Girl," the principal laid him on the stretcher and took a position on top of the medical bots as they began the journey through the school. His pointed head tilted down to look at him with a mixture of pity and exasperation. "I'm guessing it didn't go as you planned."
"You knew that it wouldn't," he replied tiredly, closing his eyes against the morning sun. "I was so sure it was the answer, but I, well, I suppose I didn't consider it carefully enough. He raised some good points."
"I imagine so." Toshinori could hear the pride in the principal's voice. "Bakugo is an intelligent boy. So, Yagi, what will you do now with that path now closed to you?"
"…I don't know."
He had chosen one successor, as vibrant and lively as a tropical forest, including a regular monsoon season. Then he had picked another that was as unstoppable and dangerous as a wildfire. But he now had neither of them. He had given up on one and been dropped by another. Both hurt beyond belief.
Nezu's paw patted him head. "Let's get you healed first, and then, perhaps, you would like to see exactly whom Eraserhead was referring to yesterday, yes? Everyone was disappointed when you didn't stop by to visit."
"I'm not in a visiting mood."
Nezu considered the aging hero with only a small smile for emotion. "This visit will help you, I'm sure of it. She has a way of making people feel better."
Toshinori could not imagine such a quirk working against him mood, and fewer that Nezu would allow to be used on him, but he stayed silent.
It took one look from Recovery Girl to identify the issues with him.
"Toshi, you silly boy," she sighed. The short woman jumped from her stool and had the bots bring him closer. She lifted his shirt and tutted. "What did you do this time?"
He gave a weak, cheeky smile. "Your bedside manner is wonderful as always."
The woman prodded at his ribs in vengeance, making him yelp.
"Look at that bruising already," the woman tsked. "Burns, a clear impact wound, fractured ribs ... did you step in front of a bomb out of hero form, Toshi?"
He chuckled. "Close enough."
"Hmph." She extended her lips and pecked at the worst of the bruising. Green light and then a lingering fatigue left him immobile on the stretcher. "Nothing strenuous today, you hear me? And try not to use your other form. I would make that a doctor's order, but we both know you don't listen properly."
All things considered, that comment probably hit a little too low for him to appreciate it. "You're right. As always."
Recovery Girl pursed her lips discontentedly. "Well, see that you remember that. Nezu, make sure you stick him to paperwork today. The stress is bad for his stomach."
"We're going to introduce him to Erichan next, Chiyo," Nezu said.
"Ah, then you'll be alright then," she smiled up at All Might. "Don't be scaring that girl now, understand me? Speak kindly and don't buff up!"
Erichan? Toshinori looked between the two small, smiling people in confusion, but received no answers as he was led towards the conference room.
The room was a mess of papers, coffee cups, and half-eaten food. Each hero had a pile of papers at least two foot high that they were working through and grading and a constant stream of video was playing of various examinees during their exams.
They were all familiar faces, so it surprised Toshinori to see Eraserhead look up and reveal a small child in his lap. A little girl with pretty pink eyes and a horn on her head who was intent on writing in a little book on the table.
The teachers all looked to Nezu and All Might when they entered, but very few actually greeted Toshinori. Midnight and Present Mic were especially giving him the cold shoulder and Thirteen, while her expression wasn't quite detailed enough to read properly, seemed to ignore him in favor of watching the battle footage.
"Hello everyone!" Nezu greeted cheerful. "Yagi has returned! Come, come, let's get you set up with your grading."
He was supposed to be a teacher, right. But wasn't he also supposed to greet the young lady who was sitting with Aizawa? When Nezu had him take a seat next to the pair, he understood. Apparently this was how he was going to be meeting her.
He was handed a stack of papers and a grading rubric and told to ask as many questions as he needed to ensure the students were graded fairly.
He took the first paper and put it in front of him, but he looked over to the young girl named Eri. She was looking up at him with her impossibly large eyes like she was either scared of him or wanted something from him.
"Hello," he greeted cheerfully.
Aizawa was pulled into the interaction by his scarves when Eri tugged them for attention. He sighed and looked down at the child. "Yes, he's okay to talk to. Ask him your question."
It was incredibly endearing how much she obviously trusted him. At his approval, the girl turned to him and whispered, "Are you a hero too?"
"You're no hero!"
He swallowed harshly. "Yes, I am."
He would do a better job to live up to that.
Eri looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Are you going to help Deku-nii?"
Only his years of experience kept him from coughing up blood on the young child. Deku-nii? The entire staff was looking at him and he felt a little short of breath.
"You know Mid-, I mean, you've met Deku?" Tohshinori asked.
She nodded furiously, face screwed up. "He-he brought me here. To help me learn to control my curse."
The young child was trying her best, but the explanation was a little lacking. He looked to Aizawa for extra confirmation.
"Her quirk," the tired man explained. "Don't call it a curse, Eri. We talked about this."
She apologized quickly under her breath and gripped his scarves. Aizawa shifted his pile of grading and put one hand on Eri's back to comfort her.
"Eri," Aizawa said, "Yagi was Deku's teacher."
Aizawa must enjoy pummeling a man when he's down, because that was a savage betrayal in the face of an innocent. His smirk was obvious as Eri about-faced in his lap and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Really?" she whispered in awe. "You know Deku-nii?"
Yagi coughed into his hand awkwardly. "Well, yes, I do. I've known him for quite a few months."
The child cast an excited look up to Eraserhead, who just nodded blankly at some unspoken question. She turned to him again excitedly.
"Yagi-san, do you know his favourite colour?"
Well, that wasn't the question he'd been expecting. But it disturbed him a little how easily he could recall the answer. There was an image in his mind of Midoriya staring at the sea next to them with a content look on his face, telling him how he liked the colour of the ocean because it was calm. Then, with a cheeky smile, turning to him and saying, "It reminds me of your hero costumes."
"He likes blue."
The collective faculty raised their eyebrows at him, but Eri looked like he'd given her the most precious information. She took out her little notebook and wrote that down with fumbling fingers.
"And, umm, does Deku-nii like heroes?" Eri asked innocently. "Everyone always wants to know my favourite hero, but Deku-nii said he's not a hero yet so it's Eraserhead."
The whole room either snorted or let out a heartbroken sniffle—Present Mic—but All Might just gave a sort of nod. "He loves heroes."
"Who's his favourite?"
That was the question. He'd known the answer before this last week was him. All Might had been Midoriya's hero.
"All Might," Nezu interjected peaceably from his seat. The rodent hardly glanced their way, but when he did he made eye contact with Toshinori and nodded. "I believe All Might is still his favourite hero."
If there was a game for what would kick him in the stomach the hardest, that line would have won. Whether Eri was oblivious to the tension in the room or too confused to properly react to it, she simply wrote down Nezu's answer with intense determination.
"Do you want to know his favourite food?" Toshinori asked, volunteering this time. She nodded frantically. "It's katsudon. What's your favourite, little Eri?"
Eri answered with furrowed brows as she wrote down his information. "Apples."
They went back and forth for a little while, exchanging information. He felt uncomfortable now with just how much he knew about Midoriya: favourite animal being birds, specifically the shima enaga (Midoriya has specifically mentioned missing the snow and little cotton ball birds of Hokkaido during the winter), that he liked wearing the strangest or funniest t-shirts he could find at local thrift shops (although explaining to Eri why a t-shirt that says 'flannel shirt' was funny proved impossible), and that Midoriya didn't like green peppers. He recounted stories to Eri about Midoriya, like the day that Midoriya and Bakugo had once been set upon by gulls and how Midoriya had just given them his bento while Katsuki had fired off explosions into the sky.
He came to a realization, then: while he didn't know Midoriya's past, he knew Midoriya enough for the present. It was as Midoriya said; they were not strangers, they were, hopefully still, closer than that.
Still, thoughts of passing on his quirk plagued him. It was not something his brain could properly wrap around, not in that moment, and so he kept his focus to Eri.
In return for his information on Midoriya, he learned that Eri liked to play the piano, but he also learned that Midoriya was the one who had gifted her the piano she used. He learned that Eri was writing in those little notebooks so that "Deku-nii knows what I do." Eri told him about Midoriya as well, how he had given her the journals as gifts for Christmas. How he had just appeared like Santa Clause and given her all these amazing presents and then even made her dresses from the wrapping fabrics.
She loved telling him about how he had used his quirks to heal her and to let her play in the water. Her happiness as she described all the quirks Midoriya had used was staggering. Those many stolen quirks had brought such joy to the child that she was bouncing in Aizawa's seat.
"He let me ride the water like I was flying," she told him excitedly, "and he made shapes of fish to play around me. And he used the fire that didn't burn to make me not hurt anymore so I could play. He hugged me and…and…"
The girl caught a bout of melancholy, suddenly a little sullen. She finally started crying and whispered, "I want Deku-nii. I want him here."
I want him here too, Toshinori thought. The familiar ache in his chest from the past few days pulsed with new feeling. It wasn't that he didn't care for the boy. It wasn't that he equated him with his father, not anymore. It was that he had wronged the boy and pushed him away and now, after doing that, he missed Midoriya. As a student but also as a successor.
That last feeling was wrong, wrong to even consider, but seeing the girl's pain was like seeing his own, even though his was of his own creation.
"I understand," he murmured lowly, comforting the girl. He wasn't unaware of Nezu and Aizawa's curious looks. "I wish he were here as well."
Her poor little sobs kept up, though, and she curled up against Eraserhead for comfort. It was brief but Toshinori watched in alarm as Eri's horn flared dangerously in time with a hiccupped sob. Aizawa's hair raised and his red eyes were on her quickly to snuff it. The gold shine dimmed and Eri was held up in Eraserhead's arms.
She was still crying when Aizawa announced she'd had enough and hefted her out of the room for a much-needed nap. Toshinori didn't even get to say goodbye.
"What happened to her?"
Nezu gave Toshinori a sad look. "Eri was being used for experiments within the yakuza, the Shie Hassaikai. From what she can tell us and what the doctors observed, those scars are from the various operations where they cut her open to extract blood, tissue, really whatever they could in order to test their properties."
Righteous fury flared through him. How dare someone do that to a child! How dare they!
"Midoriya was visiting the organization with his father when he found her," he was told delicately. "He saved her, healed her, and brought her here. She has a dangerous quirk that she hasn't yet found a way to turn it off when it activates, so he wanted to make sure Eraserhead could be called upon when needed to stop it. Because of his care for her, Eri became attached to him and when she decided that Deku was acting like a brother to her, he accepted the role and her as a sister. He has told her that he will be her brother permanently once it is safe."
Toshinori couldn't quite process the information he was receiving. It's not that he didn't believe Midoriya would do such a thing, but if All for One had been involved and a dangerous quirk had been involved, one that clearly scared Eri, why had he not taken it? Why would a man like that let a little girl with a powerful quirk go free?
"Eri's quite attached to Midoriya," the principal continued with a bit more cheer than before. "Perhaps more than is healthy given how little time they've spent together, but in this situation it's completely understandable. He was the only one who found her and rescued her when she was in pain. He's her hero."
The significance did not escape him. He shared a glance with Nezu, one that conveyed a mutual understanding—Midoriya was a hero. Without this operation, there was still someone out there whom he had saved.
One again, Midoriya had shown his true colours. And yet, just as before, a shadow of doubt still clung inside of him.
"We have a lot of tests to grade," Nezu announced finally, plopping himself back down on his seat. "You can think about your troubles while we go through them."
He really did have a lot to think about.
That night when he went to bed, he dreamed of seven faces staring down at him and a large shadow covering the landscape. Nana was with them, eyes sad and tired, as a thin man with white hair reached for him. No, not for him. He was reaching for something just past him. The white-haired man was reaching towards a presence just over his shoulder, a wisp that All Might thought he knew.