Chapter 14
Toshinori smiled to himself as he enjoyed his lunch. He'd been wise to pick Dagobah Beach as a location for his meal. It was nothing like it had been the year before, and that fact filled the man with an intense sense of pride.
There was nothing quite like community work that tested one's strength, will, and dedication. Originally, he'd just wanted the boy to put a dent in the mess. He would have given him One for All regardless of the amount of garbage cleaned, as long as he had clearly given it all. It was just a test to measure his focus and dedication. And of course Izuku, being Izuku, had gone well above and beyond his expectations of what he could do here. He'd transformed an illegal dump back into the pristine dating spot it had been years prior.
Because of his protege's efforts, he could see children playing and couples sharing each other's company amongst the white sands and rolling waves. It was a brilliant thing that filled him with hope for the future. Even if something happened to him, he knew the world was in good hands. After all, Eri had called the boy the Symbol of Hope.
He had to prepare for the coming trials that she'd outlined, but he'd do so as he'd always faced them: with a smile on his face. Because the strongest never let adversity get them down. They have the strength to always smile, even in the darkest moments.
He smiled and took a bite from his gyudon, an old childhood favorite of his. Though he did have to admit, when he was young, he'd eat one beef bowl... not ten of them. With extra tempura.
Slowly, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the list eventually stopping at the name of one of his most trusted friends. He'd been meaning to make this call for a long time. But between dealing with the immediate preparations and his own hero duties, he'd been putting it off. Partly due to his duties but, if he was being entirely honest, it was nothing more than a convenient excuse. Toshinori sighed. Coming clean with the man he kept in the dark for years wasn't exactly comfortable. Doubly so because he should have done this decades ago.
Taking a deep breath, he scrolled down his phone and opened a call to David Shields. Nervously, he waited for the man to pick up.
"Toshi!" exclaimed the excited voice on the other end, "It's been too long! How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing well, Dave," Toshinori said with a smile. "Better than I have in years."
"Really?" he asked, "About that. I might be onto something that might help you with your problem. I just need a bit more time to finalize the research and..."
He couldn't help but smile at his friend's statement. Even after all these years, Dave never failed to have his back. "About that, Dave. That's part of the reason I'm calling."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I recently met a..." he paused for a moment, trying to think of a word that could properly describe Eri. "An interesting young lady. One with the most amazing quirk."
David laughed. "That's high praise coming from you, Toshi."
He was well aware and meant every word of it. Eri really was an amazing young woman who had overcome pain and terror unlike any he could ever imagine and rose to the occasion gloriously. It was no surprise to him that his own successor had chosen her as the next in their line. Someone willing to throw themself into the winds of time in the vague hope of turning a bleak present into a bright future was more than worthy of bearing the sacred torch that was One for All.
If something were to happen to him, she would be his successor. She'd earned the right. Assuming her body was ready to accept his power by then.
"She healed me, Dave."
There was a long pause on the other end. The next words out of his friend's mouth were barely above a whisper. "What."
"She healed me," he repeated, "Her quirk is called Rewind. She used her power to undo my injuries."
"This..." He could hear the man laughing with pure, adulterated glee. "That's amazing,Toshi! Oh my god! I'm so excited! So happy for you! Oh my god! This is great! Ha-haaa! Yes! I can't wait to tell Melissa! She'll be so excited! This... This changes everything!"
The hero slowly smiled as his old friend all but lost his mind on the other side of the line. He understood the feeling. It's been days and he was still reveling in the joy of being whole again.
"It does," he agreed before stealing himself. "Which is why I need to talk to you as soon as physically possible. There's a lot we need to discuss that has to be talked about face to face."
"Well, you're already invited to the next I-Expo..."
"No. As soon as possible," he replied. "It would be best if you came to us."
Toshinori could hear the man's face turn to a scowl, "Toshi, you know how anal the board is about clearing us to leave. It would probably be faster for you to just wait for the expo instead of waiting for the paperwork to clear."
He knew all too well. It's how that silly rumor that researchers on I-Island weren't allowed to ever leave started. They could, but the legal hoops were so complex that it could take months to arrange. He honestly thought it was overreacting, and intentionally convoluted, but their security measures weren't entirely without cause. Scientists were popular targets in many circles...
A frown slowly crossed his face. A number of whom had vanished about five to six years ago, matter of fact. Not long after his battle with All for One. Experts in quirk-based medicine and bioscience...
Shit!
He should have known! Hell, that should've been the first clue.
"First, I'm technically on the board," Toshinori replied, more harshly than he'd intended.
He'd invested heavily in I-Island when Dave had voiced his interest in working there, both to diversify his own portfolio and to ensure that his old sidekick was treated with the deference and respect the man deserved. A convenient side effect was this made him a voting member of the board of directors. At the time he just laughed and had one of his many lawyers warm the seat for him, never really doing anything with that membership... until now.
"Second, do you really think they would deny me of all people direct access to my sidekick for a critically important strategy meeting?"
There was a long pause. "Wow. You really are serious about this, aren't you? It's not like you to throw your weight around..." another pause, "Ever."
"Deadly," was his droll response, "There's a lot I have to tell you. Both about recent going ons and..." he paused for a moment, "Things that, by all right, I should have told you decades ago."
"And bring Melissa," he added after a moment of thought, recalling how many times Eri had mentioned the girl. She'd clearly taken up an important role in the future and it would probably be for the best to start preparing the future generation now.
Dave couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright. Well, she'll certainly be excited to see her Uncle Might!"
"And I'll be happy to see her too." Toshinori replied. It had been several years since he'd seen his goddaughter. Before he met Izuku he'd been considering selecting her as his successor. As much as Mirai had insisted on pushing young Togita on him, Toshinori had never been convinced of his suitability as a successor. While he had the skill, drive, and passion to be an exceptional hero, being the successor to One for All required... vision. A certain hunger that went beyond simple drive and passion...
The sort of indomitable will that Toshinori didn't quite have the words to describe.
"...Great! And I'm looking forward to using this chance to meet your other partner."
Slowly the smile faded from Toshinori's face. Dave. And Mirai. In the same room.
"Ugh," he grimaced, "I'm doomed, aren't I?"
"Absolutely," his old friend said with a chuckle.
"Shit," he muttered. Well, at least it would be nice to see everyone together.
"Love ya too, Toshi."
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Later, Dave."
"Stay safe and try and keep your insides on your inside this time, okay?"
He snorted. Smartass. "No promises."
"Ha! Though really, Toshi, look after yourself."
"I'll try."
"Good. Talk to you later, Toshi. Bye."
Toshi smiled and hung up the call, leaning back against the retention wall as he turned his attention back to his lunch. This had gone far easier than he thought it would. He'd still have to tell him about One for All, All for One, and the whole Alien Invasion thing... but...
It would be nice to have his entire family together, even if it was just this once.
Deep Fried Butter, Eri had decided was quite possibly one of the most horrifying foodstuffs ever created by man. Frozen butter, wrapped in pancake batter, deep fried, and then slathered in a pure sugar glaze. It was disgusting, it was revolting, it was literally fat, covered in carbohydrates, fried in more fat, then covered in yet again more carbohydrates.
Why Might Burger served it as one of their dessert options she had no idea, but once she'd found out about it, she was hooked. Or at least, she was interested. Not because of its flavor, or any real desire to eat deep fried milk fat, but because it was just about the most calorie dense foodstuff you could cram down your gullet without turning to eating raw lard or drinking pure palm oil. And to be frank, she'd rather deal with disgusting American excess than face the possibility of having to do that.
This, of course, meant she'd be eating about a hundred or two orders of the little balls of crap over the next 3 days in order to get the pure caloric intake needed to feed her quirk heavily enough that she could make free use of it. And that was not even counting the normal meals she'd have to eat. Even with all fats and carbs she was taking in, her growing body still needed all the other proper nutrients and minerals found in a proper diet. Doubly so since she was borderline malnourished due to having lived off of takeout and instant ramen most of her current life.
The need for an endless stream of food combined with an honest desire to get out of her room had led to her heading to one of the more isolated booths in the Pro-Hero section of Might Tower's food court, one of the ones next to the Roppongi streets that passed beneath it.
Part of her, the child part of her, was so shocked to see so many people. The other part of her, the survivor, could only look towards the bustling scene with a grim determination. This is what she came back for. Not just to save her loved ones, but to save them all. Because in the end, they were all just trying to live their lives and they all needed a hero to save them from what was coming...
"Hey kid, aren't you a little young to be eating here all alone?"
Eri's breath was all but wrenched from her lungs, as her eyes went wide at the sound of a familiar voice. One she hadn't heard in years. Or ever really, but to her it felt like years.
Slowly, and all but gasping for air, she turned to look at the, at least to her, towering figure of the "18+ Only" Hero: Midnight. Or as she'd known her for the most of her previous life... Aunt Nemuri. The woman who'd taught her how to be feminine. The woman who was in many ways the closest thing she had to a true maternal figure in her life after her own stupid bitch of a mother had abandoned her.
While she'd known on an intellectual level that she'd still be alive in this time, it hadn't quite processed until this very moment.
"You okay, kid?"
Eri sniffed and rubbed her eyes, which had begun streaming with tears without her even being aware.
"I-I'm sorry," she said meekly, almost unwilling to trust her own vocal cords, "Y-you just reminded me of someone... who died."
The woman winced and slowly sat down with a smile. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Though I have to ask, why are you here and why are you alone? This is the hero section. Nobody else is supposed to be here. Do you need help?"
Eri couldn't help but smile. Despite her scandalous reputation and sadistic streak, her aunt had always been a compassionate person. She cared about people, even to the point that she'd be willing to step out of the limelight if that was what it took to help them. It was why she'd been willing to "transition" out of the whole "Sex Bomb" part of her career, even if it had been done with all the poise and grace of an angry honey badger being told it had to go to bed without dinner.
Or at least had until Eri rewinded her to her physical prime. Though she could do without watching the woman marvel about how perky her tits were... again.
"I'm fine," Eri replied, as she fought to regain her composure, "And I'm authorised to be here."
She held up her "All Access" pass card, something that had the woman's eyes widening slightly. The card was special because it theoretically gave her access to the entire tower, All Might's personal sanctum included.
"Wow." Nemuri blinked. "Just wow. Who are you, kid?"
She paused for a moment, "Right now, I'm in All Might's care. And I'm not a kid..."
She smiled and pushed her reading material to the woman.
"Wait," Nemuri picked up the tablet, "This is the primer for the U.A. Entrance exam."
Eri nodded. "Yep! I'm actually fifteen."
The woman, who in another life, was her aunt flinched slightly. "Ah. Peter Pan quirk?""
"No. Age reversal," was Eri's reply, "My quirk's called Rewind. I can reverse the effects of time on living things." she raised a finger, "And before you ask, yes, I can use it to make you 18 again. No, I'm not doing it right now, and yes, I'm willing to do you a solid at some point as long as you don't start feeling yourself up in front of me while marveling about how firm your tits are!"
Midnight stood there, mouth agape for a moment before her expression slowly twisted into a manic grin. "Oh, I like you kid. What's your name?"
"Eri," she replied.
"Well Eri, I hope you pass..." she paused, "And not just because you offered to zap a decade off me. Though I have to ask, why do you look like a kid then?"
Eri sighed. "Because I was being kept in a lab and had to reverse myself due to some... "invasive" procedures."
The woman's eyes went wide, honest horror apparent on her face as her mind clearly supplied her with the worst. "Holy shit. I'm so sorry..."
Eri nodded, and sighed sadly. "Yeah, but I managed to escape. All Might found me and took me in for the moment, and I want to be a hero so..."
She shrugged and took the tablet back, "So there you go."
Midnight smiled. "Okay, I really like you now, kid. You've got guts and passion. I'll definitely vouch for you when the exam's on."
Eri smiled. "Thank you."
Nemuri smiled. "My pleasure..."
She glanced down at the massive pile of take out containers on the table, along with the multiple orders of fried butter that she'd been consuming when she'd arrived.
"So, um... What the hell are you eating?"
"Fried butter," Eri replied, causing Midnight to turn an interesting shade of pale olive.
"Are... are you serious? I... just the sound of it is enough to make my arteries harden." she said with a horrified grimace.
"Stockpile quirk," Eri replied, "And I exhausted my reserves escaping. If I want to have a chance at passing the exam, I'm going to need to build them back up. That means eating lots of really unhealthy stuff."
Nemuri picked up one of the containers and looked at one of the glazed, golden battered grease balls with a look of utter disgust. "Well, I think you have the unhealthy part well in hand. You have my sympathies, kid. I can feel my thighs getting bigger just being next to this shit..."
"Well, look on the brightside," Eri replied with a thin smile. "I could theoretically eat my weight in chocolate and not gain an unwanted gram."
"I take it back," Nemuri grumbled, as she placed the revolting treat back down, "Now, I officially hate you."
Eri grinned like a shark. "Just for that, I'm going to eat two entire liters of ice cream in your honor."
Nemuri snarled. "Little bitch."
"First," Eri said with a smirk, "Talk like that, and I won't Rewind you. Second, if I was feeling generous, and was willing to push my quirk... we could easily, say, go on a full on gluttony binge... you know, the kind that you'd normally never even consider because it would put twenty kilos on your ass, then just zap it right off once we're done..."
There was a long pause as Nemuri parsed the idea and then began to smile manically at Eri... again. "Nevermind, you are now officially, my favorite person."
Eri smiled and honestly had to resist the urge to cry. She didn't know how much she'd missed this. Her back and forth dialogues with her aunt were one of the things she treasured most from her future self. It was all she could do not to jump over the table and just hug the woman. Both parts of her were in absolute glee.
Nemuri took a deep breath, "You know... one thing, Eri. I'm almost tempted to ask how a girl with a time reversal quirk exhausted herself escaping, and I doubt it was by shrinking yourself back to being a kid to slip out."
Eri froze. Then she slowly shook her head.
Nemuri flinched. "I guessed as much. I think I'm just going to leave it there because I have a feeling this'll give me nightmares if I asked."
Eri nodded. "Yeah... That's probably for the best."
Iida Tenya smiled as he patted his brow dry after yet another successful run through the family obstacle course. He'd improved his time by a whole two tenths of a second over his last run. Not his best time, but still close to margin of error. Enough that he was satisfied that with a couple more runs he'd be able to surpass his old time and have a new milestone to focus on defeating!
This, he thought, was the true spirit of heroism.
Pushing past your limits with every action, and rather than gloating about every past success, using them as a measure to judge your future successes against. Never be satisfied, don't save two, save three. If one could save three, that means one could save four. Always forward, always faster, always better, build on every success, learn from every mistake. Be honorable, be just, never arrogant, always fair. That, to him, was the path to becoming a hero!
He smiled as he fell back onto the bench to let his muscles rest and his stamina recover before his next run. The path to heroism was walked one step at a time and he was proud to walk it. Proud to have taken the first step already, even before his heroic education started, even if he needed help realizing it. He hoped that Uraraka and Midoriya would be in his class. To him they already shared a heroic bond forged in a trial of courage and fire.
Perhaps it was simply a hunger for a bond with his peers that he'd never been able to experience in his junior highschool years. He could already imagine a bright future for the three of them. Once they had graduated, he was absolutely sure his family would permit him to offer them places of honor in the Idaten agency. Together they could be a wonderful team. With his ever growing speed, Midoriya's undeniable power, and Uraraka's near limitless flexibility they would make for a mighty combination.
He just hoped he wasn't being too bold in assuming Uraraka's stance on the matter. Mirodiya may have already shown himself to be open to Tenya's friendship, but he did not want to presume. Not that his own presumptions could match those of his mother, who was already imagining the possibilities of a Zero Gravity/Engine hybridization. Just thinking of his mother reflecting on such a Quirk made his face burn and filled him with a degree of embarrassment bordering on mortification.
He was also hopeful that he would find additional camaraderie among the students of UA. Friends and allies who would help him rise to greater heights, and whom he, of course, would do his best to aid in their quest to become the finest of heroes. After all, that was the true strength of heroes.
Heroes were ultimately reactive. It was a hero's duty to protect the innocent, to respond to threats to the public good as they happened. Without a threat, there was no need for heroes to take action. This gave villains the initiative. Sometimes it was possible to predict them, to undermine them, but only after their plots had already begun. This initiative, coupled with a much greater willingness to resort to lethal force, gave villains a dangerous advantage. But despite this seemingly overwhelming advantage, villains could be countered by a force more powerful than any other. A singular ideal his family and their agency treasured above all others.
Unity. Cooperation. Coordination. A unity of purpose that transcended all else. Individually, they were strong. Together, they were an unstoppable force for justice. They, collectively, bore the name of the God of Speed as a declaration of purpose. To proclaim that whenever innocents were at risk, they would be at the forefront! It was what made them Idaten!
His internal musings were interrupted by a buzzing from his gym bag.
Pausing, he walked over and withdrew his phone. On it was a simple message from Midoriya that made him smile.
My mentor said it was okay. When do we meet up?
Tenya's smile grew wide as he typed in his reply.
'I will check with my parents, but I believe I will be able to send a car over tomorrow some time before noon.'
You don't have to do anything like that, I can take the train!
No. Absolutely not, Tenya decided. He wanted to treat Izuku with the proper dignity and respect one treated a fellow hero, and he knew in his heart that his parents would agree.
With that in mind, he typed in 'I insist.'
Okay. Are you sure? Was Midoriya's responding text.
He smiled and followed up with a rather strong statement that he felt encapsulated his feelings well.
'One doesn't ask heroes to take the train.'
'Oh. Thank you. I mean it.'
"The pleasure is mine," he muttered to himself as he typed in the same.
'I'll let you know when you can expect the car.'
'Do you want me to tell you who my mentor is?'
Iida pondered for a moment. Tempting, but no. He wanted to discuss that face to face.
'Tell me tomorrow.'
Okay.
When Kugizaki Soga and his two friends had come to deliver Knuckleduster's letter, Haimawari Koichi had been in a low place. The situation with Kazuho was beyond his ability to deal with as he was now. She'd been possessed by that Bee parasite and had been branded as a villain.
No. She was a hero, not a legal one, he'd admit, but she was a hero. And sure, she could be flighty and selfish, but when the going got tough, Pop would do what it took to help people. She didn't deserve this. He needed to help her, and he knew he couldn't trust the pros, even if he gave them all the information he had. After all, who'd listen to him? The Crawler wasn't an official hero, a pro. He was just some vigilante... technically a criminal himself.
But none of that mattered, he thought, as he pulled the All Might hoodie that made up the most identifiable part of his costume around himself as if it were a security blanket. Pop needed help, and he'd save her, even if it cost him his life. That's what All Might would do. That's what Knuckleduster would do. That's what any real hero would do. And it was what the Crawler would do.
"So where are we going?" he asked, looking to the spiky haired former thug turned, well, he wouldn't really call him a vigilante hero, but he was certainly a vigilante and his heart was in the right place, even if his attitude was still pretty terrible.
"The old man," he said, referencing the fallen Pro who was in many ways their collective mentor. The former hero O'Clock, who somehow lost his quirk before becoming the now retired vigilante Knuckleduster. "He left a place behind, said to use it if you ever were in trouble. This is trouble."
"Yeah," replied Tochi Moyuru, a large bald man with a single whips of flame burning on his head like a fury topknot. He smiled at him. "It's around here someplace, right Soga?"
"I wonder what's in it?" Muttered the final of Soga's two comrades, the lizard-like Tokage Rapt.
"You haven't been there?" asked Koichi.
"No, only Soga has, but I bet it's all sorts of cool!" Rapt replied, a wide smile on his reptilian muzzle.
The green haired man smirked. "Yeah, it is... and here we are."
He grinned and motioned up to a medium sized warehouse. It was among a dozen other identical buildings, older but still in passible conditions, still solid looking despite the broken windows and cracks in the concrete..
"A warehouse?" he asked, "Is this it, Soga?"
The green haired 20-something punk nodded and started to unlock the garage door. "Inside. Then we talk."
As it slid open, they beheld a sight out of a movie.
"What the...," Koichi muttered, in slight discomfort as he took it in. "This place looks like the home of a terrorist cell."
And it really did. There was a living space, full racks of weapons, fuel, and equipment, even a full on conspiracy wall on a cork board on the far end. The place was fully kitted out. It really was like something out of an old movie.
"Haha! Awesome!" Rapt exclaimed, "We got us a secret base!"
"The letter wasn't the only thing the old man left behind," Soga said as he walked deeper inside. "He said use anything in here that you need."
Koichi frowned. This was getting more out of hand minute by minute. "Anything, huh?"
"Check it out, Moyu! Shotguns!" Rapt said with a laugh as he held up a pair of what looked to be actual pump action shotguns.
"Don't touch those." Soga growled, looking back, "They're loaded."
"Sweet!" Rapt exclaimed, taking one of the weapons in hand. "The real deal then!"
"Don't point that at me!" Moyuru exclaimed, backing away.
"And enough of that..."
In what seemed like a blink, a large, muscular blond man had all but teleported to Rapt's side, pulling the gun out of his hand and holding up and out of the way.
"The fuck?" Soga exclaimed spinning around, spikes exploding from his back and arms as he readied his quirk.
Rapt also jumped away with the speed and agility granted to him by his quirk, while Moyuru stepped back as the flame on his head intensified, file leaking from his mouth and nose as he readied his fire breath.
Even Koichi had fallen into a combat stance as he looked at the unexpected new arrival.
"You were following us, weren't you, asshole?" Soga said accusingly.
"Yes, I will admit I was," he replied. "I was hoping to speak with Haimawari-san, but when I saw you together I decided to let you finish before interrupting."
"Bullshit!" Soga explained, "Now how about you tell the truth before we kick your ass."
Koichi's eyes narrowed. After years as an illegal hero, he'd developed a fighter's senses and everything inside himtold him that this was a fight they couldn't win. Whomever this stranger was, he was completely unafraid of them, facing down four reasonably powerful quirk users without even the slightest sign of fear. What he did see was the way the man's feet were planted, and while relaxed, his stance allowed him almost complete freedom of moment. He was an experienced fighter for sure. He'd say he even reminded him of Knuckleduster, but no. That wouldn't be fair to say because as much as he respected his old master, this guy was clearly on a whole other level.
"I believe him," Kochi said, with a smile, stepping forward with a hand extended, "Haimawari Koichi. And you are?"
The tall, well built, shaggy haired man looked at him with an eerily familiar smile as his bright blue eyes shined at him behind a pair of long, messy bangs. "Yagi Toshinori, Haimawari-san," he said as his large hand all but engulfed Koichi's own, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So, you wanted to talk to Koichi," Soga said with a scowl. "You found him. Say your piece and get going. We're busy doing important stuff."
"Planning how to deal with the Pop Step situation, I assume," Yagi said, a small frown crossing his face.
"She's not a villain!" Koichi exclaimed immediately in response, "She's being possessed by a parasite that's controlling her mind!"
"If that's so, then may I ask why you're not telling any pro heroes?" Yagi asked as he looked down at him.
"Because who'd actually believe us?" Koichi replied. It wasn't like he wanted to do this solo, but the simple fact is no pro would ever believe him. Considering he was long known to be her accomplice, the best case scenario was that they'd take him in for questioning wasting precious time. The worst case scenario was them just arresting him and calling it a day. Then Queen Bee would use her and throw her away, just like most of its other hosts. Kazuho would die and there would be nothing he could do to save her.
"We have to save her," he said, "We're the only ones who can."
"We're the only ones who'd even really try," Soga added with a contemptuous snort. "The fucking Pros only care about making sure they look good for their next shampoo ad."
That wasn't entirely true, Koichi had to admit. He'd been planning on asking Eraserhead and Midnight for help. He was pretty sure that he could convince them. It was just too bad Captain Celebrity was back in America... he was kind of an asshole, but he was sure that Chris would have helped for old times sake. Maybe he could ask Ingenium?
"I think you'll find that most Pros actually care very much," Yagi said in response, before looking Koichi in the eyes. "There's no talking you out of this then?"
He shook his head, his eyes full of determination. He wasn't just going to sit back and do nothing while Pop was in danger. She was his friend, and more than that, she was someone who needed help. He might not have much of a chance against whoever this guy actually was, but he'd do whatever it took.
"Good!" the large stranger exclaimed, his eerily familiar smile returning full force, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear!"
"So, if you're not here to stop us, did the old man send you?" Soga asked with a frown.
"I assume you mean Oguro-san," Yagi replied with a pained look on his face, "If so, then no. But I do know him... in passing."
"Hold up!" Soga growled, "How the hell do you know the old man's name!"
That was Knuckleduster's real name, and Soga actually knew it? Koichi had to admit, he was a little hurt by that. That his master hadn't trusted him with those kinds of details. But... what about that business card he gave his mom... the one with his "day job"?
Yagi sighed and he could see pain in the man's eyes. "...It was my fault he lost his quirk...and by extension his career as a Hero," Yagi admitted. Koichi's eyes widened in shock. Knuckleduster had been a Pro? And he'd somehow... lost his quirk? No wonder he'd been so crazy. That was like someone ripping out a piece of your soul. The mere idea of it was horrifying.
"The one who... injured him was my worst enemy. I thought he was dead and he was able to exploit my assumption. He retreated into the shadows and used his anonymity to further his wicked plans without interruption."
"Your... enemy?" Koichi asked, "You're a Pro Hero."
It wasn't a question. He'd already suspected it, but this basically just confirmed it.
Yagi nodded. "I am."
Koichi nodded. He was a little surprised, to be completely honest, but not very. It explained a lot, such as his ability to trail them without being seen, and his immediate, seemingly instinctive intervention when Rapt was waving around the guns. Plus the strange sense of familiarity he had. It was like he knew who this man was, but couldn't quite place it... like his identity was just at the edge of his perception.
"Bullshit, let's just get rid of this guy..." Rapt growled out.
"Let 'em talk, man," Moyuru said, earning a look of appreciation from Yagi.
"I already knew about the Bee," Toshinori said, as he looked over the conspiracy wall. "She's being dominated by a parasite that has bored into one of her eye sockets and is using her body to host its hive. The villain Queen Bee."
It was all Koichi could do to shudder. Soga had just just told him about the truth of his master's daughter on the way over. That had hurt, both from the horror and from the fact that Knuckleduster had never told him. The letter had soothed some of his pain(at least from the lack of trust) but hearing it again though, it just poked at the wound.
The idea of Kazuho going through that mortified him. And the fact that even if he saved her, she'd still lost her eye. He knew how proud she was of her beauty, even if she was uncomfortable showing it when she wasn't Pop. This might kill her dream, and the idea of her facing that pain was the most painful part out of all of this. It was all just too cruel...
Slowly Yagi turned back to him. "But Haneyama-shoujo's predicament is only half the reason I'm here, Haimawari-shonen."
Koichi couldn't help but feel a little put off by that. This guy didn't look that much older than him.
"So what's the other reason?" Koichi asked.
Slowly the man grinned giving him another strange sense of familiarity. What was it about this guy?
"I've been watching you and I like what I see. You're brave, noble, selfless, and kind-hearted." he replied calmly, "You're wasted as a vigilante. You have a true hero's character."
Koichi couldn't help but blush and scratch the back of his head. "Well, I couldn't get into a hero school and... well..." he shrugged, "I guess that's just the way life is."
"Doesn't have to be," Toshinori replied, "The other reason I came here was to offer to take you on as one of my sidekicks. To give you a chance to show the world what you've got and prove that you have what it takes to be a hero."
Koichi gasped. If this had been any other situation, he would have been floored. Maybe even in tears. But instead, all he could think was how this would help Kazuho. With a Pro's help, he wouldn't have to worry about the police. He could act publicly and do what it took to save her. He could use this opportunity to reach out to the other heroes he encountered over his years as a vigilante.
"So, what do you need from me?" He asked without hesitation.
"Already had the paperwork filled out. You just need to sign," Yagi replied as he handed a file to Koichi, "Though, I guess I'll have to work something else out for your sidekicks."
"Eh!" Rapt exclaimed, "Who do you think you're calling a sidekick!"
"Shut it, dumbass," Moyuru hissed at him, "Hero industry jobs make bank."
"Got a pen?" Koichi asked as he accepted the papers.
"Always read before you sign, young man," Yagi admonished.
Frankly, at this point he didn't care if he was selling his soul to Satan as long as it would save Pop. Still, he did as he was asked and opened the folder, glazing over it.
It was like many documents he'd seen before, thick with legalese, but he could get something out of it. He was the hero's responsibility and was covered under his insurance. Had to earn a license within six months of signing. Warnings that as a defacto-hero he'd be tried as a villain if he committed any crimes using his quirk. Something something about marketing. A rather pointed sticky note that he'd have to come up with his own costume and stop wearing branded hoodies...
That was enough to make him draw back. No more branded hoodies!? But that meant... no more All Might hoodies! He was aghast! They were the source of his strength and courage! Without the presence of the Number One Hero to support him, via his official merch, the Crawler would be helpless! Powerless even! How could he even hope to support the needs of the people without the warm comforting embrace of his sacred hoodies? He immediately flipped to the end of the document to see what heartless beast could possibly demand that of him!
Then the world turned upside down and everything stopped making sense. As the file fell from boneless fingers, he slowly looked up to the large man towering over him as everything snapped into place, his jaw hanging open from the sheer shock.
The smile, the eyes. The reassuring tone of his voice. The warm, soothing, embrace of his presence that filled all present with courage and hope. He'd thought it had been his hoodie, but no... it had been something infinitely greater.
All at once that lingering familiarity crystalized into one figure. A person whom he'd known almost his entire life, even if only by reputation. A hero who was standing before him right here and right now. Only about thirty odd centimeters shorter and a hundred or so kilograms lighter.
A hero who was asking him to become his sidekick.
He stood there for a moment not entirely sure if he was still in bed and this was all just a strange hallucination, because that was really the only way that any of this made sense...
Slowly, Yagi Toshinori reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze as he smiled wide, his eyes all but glowing with... with justice.
"It...it can't be..." Koichi whispered.
"What can't be?" Soga asked, "The fuck is going on?"
"It is," All Might replied, "And don't fear for Haneyama-shojo. You and your friends aren't in this alone. Not anymore. I Am Here... and I will be with you the entire way."
This was real. It was actually happening.
In the face of this realization, there was only one logical thing that Koichi felt that any reasonable human being could do in response to the sheer enormity of the situation before him.
He fainted.
Chapter 15
Toshinori slowly sat back and watched as his new sidekick slowly breathed into a paper bag. It was both flattering and off putting in equal measure that he seemed to have this effect on people.
He'd always wanted to be the pillar of strength and hope who others could look to when they were filled with doubt and fear. He didn't want to be so overwhelming that people lost their wits about themselves so easily in his presence.
"Breathe, my boy, breathe," he coached as he gently rubbed the young man's back in what he very much hoped was a comforting manner.
"I still can't believe it," Haimawari muttered to himself as he looked at the documents in his hands, "I... just can't believe it. It's like a dream come true."
"What I don't understand is why you weren't in a Hero school to begin with," All Might replied, "While you've only recently been brought to my attention, I have indeed studied your career. I don't lie when I say you've managed to deeply impress me with both your personal talents and your strength of character and I don't lie when I say that I feel you have the potential within you to be a top ranking hero."
The young man's response was to breathe harder into the bag. Not the one he'd been hoping for. Clearly he was not used to flattery.
Still, after a moment to center himself, he looked up to the number one and said with a sad tone, "I tried, but I was late to the exam..."
"Oh?" All Might asked, looking down at him, "What happened?"
"On my way to the test I saw a kid, a little boy, who'd fallen into the river. I jumped in and swam him to safety because... well..." he shrugged.
"Because you acted by instinct," All Might offered, "Your body moved of its own accord."
God, today was almost becoming a punchline in the joke that was his life. He'd spent years considering who would become the next successor of One for All, and now that he no longer needed one, he'd found two at least workable prospects in a day. What was supposed to be a reflection of the true nature of a person's character was nearly feeling like a gag that had gone stale.
It was actually amusing. Here he was complaining about finding too many good, heroic people who only needed someone to give them a fair chance to achieve their potential. If only every day were annoying in such a manner!
Sure, they both would have needed closer examination, and a good deal of effort on their part. Not that Midoriya had been a flawless gem right out of the gates either, but still, they had the spark, so he would do what he did with young midoriya. Grind out the rough spots and give them some polish to allow them to shine. And from what Eri said about the future, his instincts had been spot on then, and he was getting a good feeling now. He honestly appreciated her suggestion to look into these two.
"I guess so," Koichi finished with a sigh, "And because of it, I missed the test and my chance at going to a hero school."
Toshinori's eyes narrowed slightly.
What.
He remembered the boy mentioning something about that, but really, that was it?
"So what you're telling me is a hero academy rejected you on the basis of you missing the exam, because you were too busy saving someone's life to get there on time?"
The young man nodded lightly. "They told me if I couldn't be trusted to make an exam on time, I couldn't be trusted to be there when people really needed me. That Heroes foremost need to be upstanding pillars of society and if I asked for any special treatment I was not worthy of the title."
Toshinori scowled deeply, doing his best to suppress his building fury. "Of all the mindless, self-indulgent... bullshit..." he said, cursing in English as he often did when he was stressed, frustrated, or simply angry. "I fucking hate this country."
Though that wasn't true. Not really. He loved his people and was proud of his culture, but to him a nation was ultimately the sum of its people, and modern Japanese society to him had some aspects that he felt would have been best drowned in the toilet and flushed down the u-bend of history. Among them was the insipid and infuriating insistence on absolute conformity and never rocking the boat. As a hero and as a man, especially one who'd spent his formative years at UA and then in the United States, both of which were places that prided themselves on their love of individuality, he saw it as a thoroughly toxic concept.
Sometimes the boat needed to be rocked. One could even argue that doing so was one of his duties as a hero.
Especially in the era of quirks where people's abilities helped define them, for both good and, at times, for ill. Even more infuriating was that it both led to a stigmatization of those without quirks, while at the same time judging people who's quirks were in some way intimidating or inconvenient to have been born evil. In many ways, he actually agreed with parts of Destro's shitty book. Sure, the man had been an unapologetic lunatic, but even the ravings of a madman could make a couple good points... if you took the work as a whole with a grain of salt and a bottle of whisky.
It was a shame that those actual good ideas had become tainted by proximity to a psychopath. Honestly, that was the danger of Destro's writings. Like a number of controversial political authors of history his work tended to oscillate between thoughtful commentary and complete batshit insanity often enough that the two could be difficult to tell apart. It's why his ideals would never die out... and why they never were given serious discussion.
Taking a moment to steady himself he looked at the younger man. Who, while legally an adult, was still young enough to be his son, without it being creepy even. God, he felt old.
"I'm going to need to know the name of this academy," he said, losing his breath in a deep sigh.
"W-why?" the young hero asked, "Why do you need to know the name of the school?"
"So I can see them stripped of their accreditation," he said in a dangerously low tone.
Koichi's eyes went wide as he began to flap his arms defensively. "There's no reason to do that!"
"A school like that is unworthy of its students." All Might stated firmly, "Any hero school worthy of calling itself such would have made allowances for your actions," All Might replied, "I know for a fact that UA would have looked into it, and then simply had you take the recommended students exam instead. And if you'd somehow missed that due to yet another unfortunate needing to be saved, they likely would have just ordered you in for the written and waved the practical..."
"And what if he missed that one?" the green haired punk asked with a smirk, much to his friend's mortification.
"Then the principal would have shown up at his door with the test in hand," Toshinori replied dryly.
"At my door?" Koichi squeaked.
He nodded. "Yes, because at that point it would have become obvious that you were destined for heroism, like it or not. Though there would be questions regarding whether you were physically incapable of going out in public without running into someone who needed saving..."
Toshinori paused, before letting loose a mighty sigh. "I know the feeling, I really do. Sometimes it feels like I can't go down to the corner store for some milk and oranges without having to deal with three muggings and a lost kitten..."
He wasn't even kidding about the kitten. That was the sad part. Though sometimes it was a puppy.
"So it wasn't my fault?" Koichi said in a small voice, his eyes going wide.
"No. Of course not," Toshinori replied, cutting that bit of self-recrimination off at the bud. "You didn't fail. You were failed."
The young man looked up to him and after a moment said, "It was Chuseki Academy High School..."
Toshinori gritted his teeth. He recognized the name. It was one of those schools. One of the so called "Hero Public Service Academies". If that was the case, then it was probably for the best the boy had missed the exam. Those schools were infamous among those in the know for being nothing more than sub-standard hero mills nominally sponsored by the Hero Public Safety Commission. They focused on a mindless dedication to the ideals of public service over any sort of preparation of the actual realities of hero work.
And it showed in their results. For every Hawks the HPSC managed to produce, those schools graduated a thousand half-trained C-listers with an average career lifespan of about three years. The lucky ones simply returned to civilian life with their dreams crushed, the unlucky ones either found themselves in financial ruin or face down in a ditch.
"One of the things I loathe about our culture is our overemphasis on keeping your head down. As the old saying goes, 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered*'. People are told they must behave with strict conformity while at the same time exalting a profession where a strong sense of individuality is the only path to success. To be a hero, you absolutely must stick out. They like to tell us that a hero is a public servant. That's not true."
Koichi blinked in surprise. "What?"
Toshinori looked wistfully into the air as he spoke. "Policeand firemen are public servants. Their duties, while honorable, are much more clearly defined. Heroes? We don't have a defined role. We are what the world needs us to be."
He smiled at the young man. "If they wanted Super Cops, then they could give us badges, uniforms, and cover our expenses. But they don't. A hero is a symbol. An icon. We represent something greater than ourselves. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Because sometimes what the authorities want and what the world needs are not one in the same."
He paused. "If they're going to ask for Superheroes, then we'll give them Superheroes. With all the baggage that entails. We are not public servants. We are servants of the people. There is a difference. So have confidence, Haimawari-shonen, and stop trying to live up to society's expectations. Live up to your own and the world will follow."
Koichi let out a deep breath and smiled up at the symbol of peace. He paused for a moment before looking back up to the man that was now his boss. "I think I understand now. I'll try harder."
Toshinori smiled. "Good! That's the spirit!"
"Um, All Might-san?"
He looked up to... Soga was it? The Punk with the spiky hair.
"Do... Do You think I could become a hero?" he asked in a hesitant tone.
"I don't know," Toshinori replied, "Do you?"
"I mean... Everybody says I got a villainous quirk... and...," He paused for a moment and looked away with a small sneer, "Never mind."
Toshinori grimaced. Ugh. Every time he heard that sort of idiotic nonsense he just wanted to scream. "There is no such thing as a villainous quirk. Just difficult quirks and small minded people. When you can answer that question for yourself, and mean it in the depths of your heart, you will know my answer."
Slowly the man began to smile as he began to parse what Toshinori was really saying. "...Thank you."
"My pleasure," and he really meant it too.
"All Might-san?"
"Yes, Haimawari-shonen?"
"Just one thing?" he asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'Superhero'?"
Toshinori let out another long suffering groan. Seriously? Kids these days. No appreciation for classic literature. "It looks like I'm going to give you some required reading..."
He looked at the other ne'er-do-wells in the room. "All of you."
* 出る杭は打たれる (deru kugi wa utareru). The nail/stake that sticks up gets hammered down
Most would scoff at the very concept of Kayama Nemuri, the 18+ Heroine Midnight, being in any way nervous. She was quite proud of her status as the most shameless Pro on the circuit. After all, there was nothing to be ashamed of in her opinion. Youthful passion was a beautiful thing to be cherished, and the human body was a work of art without peer.
It was wonderful, but it didn't mean she couldn't get cold feet. Being a hero was risky. Her direct combat ability was limited. Yes, she was a physically fit woman who certainly knew how to handle herself, but her fear was always that all it would take would be someone who was clever enough to work around her aroma to render her effectively quirkless.
Still, fear was a natural part of life, and focused and controlled, it reminded you to take care. Left to go wild, it would strip you of your faculties and render you helpless. And seeing it in an enemy, rendering even the most deadly foe helpless before you? Well... the idea just made her shudder with anticipation.
But regardless, there was something about trying to get in contact with the Number One Hero that left her wondering if she was making the right choice. Part of her questioned if she shouldn't have just asked Nezu for his cell number rather than going through official channels. Waiting at Might Tower for him to finish his daily schedule was turning out to be a bit of a drag.
Most heroes would stop by their agencies several times in the day, if only for some short recuperation and to check in with their sidekicks. She'd been waiting at Might Tower for the better part of seven hours, and she hadn't arrived early. They'd told her it would be a while, but this was ridiculous. If it wasn't for Tokyo's light pollution, you'd already see stars.
Thank god it was her day off, and she was lucky that All Might's agency was home to a department store and its own mall. She'd been needing to get some shopping done after all, and this was as good a chance as any... but now that she's taken care of that, she was starting to feel a bit tired of waiting. Exactly what sort of hours did All Might pull?
Well, at least she'd met some interesting people. She honestly was rooting for that strange kid, and not just because she'd offered to magic a decade off her using her quirk. Nemuri didn't know if she was for real, but if she was, she wasn't going to say no to another decade of peerless beauty.
Within her jacket, she felt her phone begin to vibrate to indicate that she'd received a text.
Pulling it out she couldn't help but sigh in relief. And, to be honest, a little exasperation.
HE IS HERE!
Yeah. She had to wonder. Were they required to use All Might's catchphrase, or was the desk girl just a smartass?
Even odds she'd say.
Still, she couldn't fault a desk jockey for trying to bring some harmless fun into an otherwise humdrum job. It was only natural, after all.
With a cat-like stretch, she jumped to her feet and started towards the desk, arriving five minutes later.
The girl behind the counter was different from the first one she'd spoken to. A shift change. If that didn't make it clear how long she'd been sitting around, nothing did.
"Pro Hero Midnight to speak with All Might?" she said as she presented her ID.
The pretty young woman behind the desk nodded and picked up the phone.
"Yagi-san, this is the front desk... is All Might-sama available?"
She nodded. Then she nodded again, and then, oddly, the girl gasped before looking back up, red in the face.
"Yagi-san says All Might-sama is currently taking a bath and would like to know if it's important."
Of course, Nemuri sighed.
"It is," she replied, "There's a young girl's life at stake..."
The girl nodded and parroted her words into the phone. Another pause.
"I understand, Yagi-san..." she looked up to Midnight and handed her a pass. "This will give you temporary restricted access. All Might-sama would like to meet you in his personal quarters as soon as possible."
She couldn't help but blink. Wow. She was going to get to see All Might's place?
That was actually sort of awesome.
Taking the pass she walked over to the elevator and scanned the card.
THE ELEVATOR IS HERE!
She couldn't help but wince at that. That got old fast.
Automatically it began to move on its own, highlighting the button for level "Might 6", level six of All Might's personal segment of the tower.
The trip was surprisingly fast considering it was taking her to the 80-something-th floor.
YOUR DESTINATION IS HERE!
Once again, she had to question what the hell the Number One was thinking. She knew he was a ham, but... really?
The room she entered was not what she'd expected, it was a long, homey corridor with a plush carpet and warmly painted walls. It felt like someone's house, not a corridor in a 90ish story office tower. Well, technically it was a home, but it still wasn't what you'd expect to be at the top of an express elevator.
Next to the elevator was a shoe rack into which she dutifully placed her heels. Normally you'd do this at the entrance of someone's apartment but she guessed this kind of was. She had to admit she was a little jealous of the size, but there were perks to being number one.
Turning her attention back to the room itself, she saw there were a number of rooms along the wide hallway, but she could see that one of the doors near the far end was cracked open. Along the walls of the hallway were a number of pictures along with what she could only assume were trophies of his long and illustrious career.
Some of the pictures were obvious. Him shaking hands with a US president.
Others were just adorable, like the picture of him with a tiny little blonde girl on his shoulders, who seemed to be using his trademark bangs as handholds, both of them looking like all was right in the world.
Others made her feel a little embarrassed at seeing. For example, the image of him in tux, standing next to a man who seemed to be his former sidekick David Shield, clearly at the man's wedding.
Feeling as if she'd invaded his privacy enough, she kept walking only to slow down as she took in the trophies. She'd been in the hero business for a decade but she recognized not a one of them.
She knew no one who carried a hammer like that, and she had to admit, as she looked at a simple discus shaped shield, that somehow managed to be both simple in design and one of the most painfully American things she'd ever seen. However all of them reminded her of something, just at the edge of memory.
There were also several costumes all in armored, climate controlled cases as if they were priceless artifacts. She glanced at the one in the center of the little display. It was blue with a red cape and trunks, with a stylized S proudly across the chest.
Leaning in, she looked at it. It was lighter than most costumes and almost looked as if it were home made. No professional support gear manufacturer would produce something with such a rough level of finish...
Hmn. She leaned in.
There was a tag on the case.
"Kirk Alyn," she muttered as she read the English. "Superman. 1948...?"
A hero costume, from a hundred years before the dawn of quirks?
Slowly her eyes began to widen as her memory was jogged by the sight. At UA she was the teacher of modern Heroic Art History, which was a polite way of saying she basically taught image and branding... Even so, her history degree was not just for show and she was quite cognizant as to what was in this case before her.
She turned back to look at the trophies, memories of multiple "History of Heroism" courses came back to her in full force. What surrounded her were not just heroic trophies. These were memorabilia from the age of comic books that predated the age of quirks. They were icons of the colorful fictional heroes and champions that served as the very templates for the modern heroic profession.
Superman. Batman. Thor. Captain America. Spider-man.
...And that suit of armor at the far end of the room, on display as if it were a suit of plate in some medieval castle... she'd bet her favorite bullwhip that it was one of Iron Man's many armors.
When quirks changed the world, mankind turned to these heroes of story and myth to give themselves structure and to serve as an example... and it was the hero who wore the costume before her who served as the virtual prototype of the entire fictional genre that defined them.
Superman. The first Superhero.
She wasn't looking at a hero costume. No. This humble suit of tights with the underpants on the outside... it was in many ways the first hero costume.
Slowly she touched the treated plexiglass in front of, her heart quickening as she could almost feel the history and legacy behind it. Every deed, every action, her entire career. All of it was at least in some way rooted to the red and blue costume within this case...
"Ah, Midnight-san,"
It was all she could do not to jump out of her skin as she hopped back, reeling like a little girl who'd been caught with her fingers in the cookie jar.
"I-I'm sorry!" she said, bowing, her face burning like a middle school girl about to confess to her first crush, "I..."
Her eyes widened even farther when she realized his current state of dress. Or rather, his lack thereof.
While he was smaller than he normally was, showing that there was some hitherto unknown transformation aspect of his quirk that honestly, was a massive show of faith in and of itself, he was also almost naked. He was still a large man with... well... forget grinding meat, you could sharpen knives on those abs...
Tall, muscular, and shocking youthful for a man well into his 40s, dressed in a simple pair of trunks and a light weight yukata that failed miserably to contain his well formed build, and as if to add a bit of absurdity to his entire ensemble, a pair of All Might branded bunny slippers.
His face was kindly, partially concealed as his normal bunny-bangs were hanging loose giving him a shaggy look that when coupled to kindly blue eyes that just seemed to overflow with good humored mirth. He didn't look like the god-like icon of heroism that was All Might, just a man. A kindly man, and a very physically impressive example of manhood, for sure, but he was so much more... approachable.
And, as part of her mind supplied, yummy. Very, veryyummy.
Not that he wasn't good looking in both forms, but in his public face he just wasn't quite... human. Wrong word to think, especially in a world where mutation quirks were a thing, but at the same time... true. He didn't seem quite human. He seemed to be above humanity.
All Might the demi-god was fuckable.
All Might the man... now this, a treasonous little voice in the back of her mind supplied, this was a man you could hold hands with.
Now, with her cheeks glowing for two reasons, she could only listen as All Might chuckled at her embarrassment. "It's alright. I was just as blown away when I first saw it. It's not my favorite costume, nor the most famous, but it is the oldest."
She blinked. He had multiple authentic Superman costumes?
He was All Might. Right. If he said all of his toilets were made of solid gold, she wouldn't have batted an eye. That his home was a heroic history museum was no stretch to believe.
"So, how can I help you?" he asked with a wide smile as he gestured for her to follow.
Well, you could let me coat you in baby oil, her libido supplied, before rapidly being tamped down.
"I need your help," she said after a moment as he led her into a very cozy looking living room.
It had large leather couches, a luxury she could never possess... a sacrifice she had to make because she knew Sushi would inevitably end up tearing the shit out of them. She loved her little snuggle baby, but owning a cat and leather upholstery were pretty much a one or the other proposition.
Slowly she saw the man come to a stop, and he looked at her. "I know. Sit, and tell me what's going on and I'll do all in my power to help you."
And those were the words of the Number One Hero. Even in this form, his conviction was unyielding. The laws of reality itself would break before his will would falter.
She took a deep breath and sat down. "Have you been watching the news?" she asked.
"Not as much as I would like," he replied, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I normally spend more time making it than watching it."
She snorted. "Alright, that's fair. But have you heard about the recent Naruhata bombings?"
Slowly a smile came to his face as his eyes crinkled with mirth. "Ah, I see. I take it you're here to ask for help investigating the situation with Haneyama-shojo?"
Her eyes went wide. He knew about Kazuho?
"Yes," she replied, "I'm surprised you know about it. I..." she took a deep breath, "Haneyama Kazuho is a good kid. We've actually worked together in the past. Whatever is going on isn't like her. At all. She can be a bit selfish and bratty at times, but this... this isn't anything like her. Something is seriously wrong."
All Might simply nodded. "I know. I was considering asking for your help in this matter, but it seems like we're of one mind."
Nemuri's eyes went wide. All Might was going to ask for herhelp?
Her eyes narrowed as her professional face took complete control. She didn't have time to swoon over the pillar of masculinity who was sitting across from her. No. She was a hero here on heroic business. All Might clearly was investigating this manner himself, which meant that the next thing to do was to see what he knows. The fact that he was going to ask for her help meant that he probably needed access to her quirk. While he was in absolutely no way lacking in direct combat options, her Somnambulist was almost peerless in its ability to nonlethally subdue a target.
"Do you have any idea on why she's doing this?" she asked.
"She's currently being possessed by a parasite," he replied, his smile vanishing in an instant. "Queen Bee, a villain with a parasitic bee quirk that lets her possess her victims by boring into her host's eye and constructing a nest in the socket, giving her control of her host's body..."
She felt herself wretch at the very thought of such a terrible quirk.
"I have already contracted her partner and have gone so far as to take him on as a sidekick."
That was enough to give her pause. Well, she didn't know the young man as well as Eraserhead did, but she was rather sure that Koichi probably lost his mind at the offer. She was pleased that the kid was finally getting some recognition. Hell, simply having All Might's personal acknowledgement would probably get him placed in the top 100 by years' end.
He certainly worked harder than a number of pros she'd met, and his dedication to his role as a hero was second to none. She'd have to have her costume cleaned for the inevitable celebratory party. Iida Tensei wouldn't take this lying down.
Still, something bigger was up. Outside of David Shield in the US, and Sir Nighteye in Japan, he'd never been one for sidekicks. For him to change tracks like this, something else was going on. But that would be for later. Right now, Haneyama Kazuho took precedence.
"So the plan is that we subdue her and extract the bee?" she asked.
"It's slightly more complicated than that," All Might replied, "We have to remove the entire hive or she'll suffer the fate of most of the previous hosts."
She felt a chill go up her spine. The grim look on his face said everything she needed to know and explained her presence perfectly. He needed her to keep the hive from killing her during extraction.
"I'll do whatever is required," she replied, "Though if we're working together, I do expect a copy of everything you have on this."
"Of course," he replied as he reached into a minifridge and withdrew a pair of beers. Very large beers at that. Both bottles were easily a liter. All Might-sized, she guessed. "Sir Nighteye is currently going over what we have and his agency is following up on several important leads. Once they bear fruit, I'll be sure to have you sent a full copy of the report."
She nodded in thanks as she accepted the large bottle of European-sounding beer with an umlaut in the name. "I'm guessing there's more to this than one girl then," she remarked.
Taking a sip her eyes went wide. Okay. This was the good stuff. She'll have to remember this brand.
"There is," he replied, "She'd deeply connected to the 'Instant Villain' and 'Next Level Villain' situations." He then paused for a moment and smiled, "But it doesn't matter. Even if it was just one girl in danger, I'd still be putting in just as much effort."
A small smile came to Nemuri's face. She wasn't surprised and she didn't doubt it for a moment. He was the Number One hero for a reason.
He closed his eyes and looked back at her. "When I look at her image, I see under the surface. I can hear the girl trapped within that monster screaming out for help... and to me, that's not a request. It's an order."
She couldn't help but laugh, as she felt her eyes begin to water slightly. "So it's really that simple? All someone has to do is cry for help and..."
"I am here," he said, completing her sentence, as he thrust his chest forward, that smile on his face, and hands on his hips.
She shook her head, "Do you have any idea how corny it looks when you say that?"
She paused, looking mortified... Oh god. She didn't just say that...
"I'm perfectly aware," he replied with a small smile, clearly amused that she'd actually been willing to say it. "But it puts people at ease. They know that when they hear those words they don't have to be afraid anymore. If I had to charge into battle wearing a clown nose to make them feel safe, I would without a moment's hesitation."
"I'm sorry," she admitted, "I normally don't say stuff like that but..."
"It's probably the beer," he replied as he finished off his first bottle and went for a second.
She looked down. While it was a large bottle, she'd only worked her way through about half of it.
"I'm not a lightweight," she said, giving him a bit of a stink eye.
"That's not Japanese lagar," he replied, "It's four times stronger than Asahi."
Her eyes went wide as she half-glared, half-goggled at the bottle. Okay! No wonder she was starting to get a little loose lipped! This stuff was as strong as Sake!
"You trying to get me drunk, Number One? She asked as she learned over, 'accidently' popping the top three buttons of her shirt as she did so. Not that it actually damaged them. All of her clothes were designed to be at least partially break-away for a reason.
"Woops!" she said in a playful tone as she 'noticed' that her tits were now half hanging out of her bustier
He chuckled and looked her dead in the eyes, ignoring her breasts entirely.
"After today, I needed a beer," he replied, "Didn't want to be rude."
She sighed and learned back. Okay, he had a point there. Though this was the second time she flirted with him and he was able to shut her down cold. It was getting annoying. She wanted to get a rise out of him!
"So what happened?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Eighteen muggings, nine car accidents, seven robberies, six sexual assaults as well as the obligatory lost pets... and I had to break up a brawl between a couple guys with Kaiju quirks in Nara who were fighting over a girl..."
Her eyes almost bulged. No wonder he needed a beer. And that's not even counting the mountains of paperwork he would have to file for all of that.
"Thankfully there were no fatalities," he continued, "But there were a couple close calls."
She nodded stiffly. If this was the workload of the Number One... well... any Pro who claimed that they didn't want to be number one was either lying to you or lying to themselves. But hearing this, this wonderful, heroic, self-sacrificing man... he was welcome to it.