Chapter 16: Chapter 16
Black mist coalesced in a seedy bar, and Tomura Shigaraki stomped out of it. "Fuck that stupid brat with all his stupid powers!" He began scratching at his own neck, growling.
"Tomura. The mission went poorly, I presume?" The TV at the side of the bar flickered on, despite only showing a message which read 'Audio Only'.
"That brat with the watch, he's stronger than you said he was! He cheated! He took out our damn Nomu before All Might showed up without even getting hurt!" Tomura punched the counter, grimacing. "You said he couldn't swap between transformations, but thats just what he did!"
"He's correct. I observed more than a dozen times he transformed in merely a few minutes." Kurogiri swept some dust off of his suit. He needed to look fancy, after all, this bar had customers.
"Ah, yes. That is worrying, but it's no matter. Next time we will be prepared. Now, tell me, what are this child's powers?"
Toshinori paced around in front of the nurse's office. As soon as he'd gotten everyone to Shuzenji, he had deflated. He wanted to comfort the students, but he didn't have a lot of time, especially after running from the USJ to the school nurse multiple times.
They'd immediately gotten Thirteen to a hospital, because whatever the villains did to them was... bad, to say the very least. But since the extent of everyone else's injuries weren't as bad, most of them were just given a kiss from Shuzenji to heal their scrapes, then Tsukauchi asked a few questions, and they were sent home. Except for Aizawa, Kirishima, and Midoriya.
Aizawa's arms had been broken, and he had some facial injuries, but nothing that would permanently damage him. Kirishima had obviously used a hundred percent of One For All and broken his arms and legs. Midoriya, however, was strange. He wasn't hurt, he just fainted. And those markings all over him, they'd been on the four armed transformation, so he assumed it was part of that, but when he'd turned back to his normal self and had those markings, that confirmed something was unusual.
"Hey." The sound of Aizawa's voice startled him, and he turned to look. One of his arms was in a sling, and his face had a few bandages on it. "Nervous about the problem children?" When All Might nodded, he continued, "Don't be. Kirishima and Midoriya are still asleep, but Recovery Girl patched them up, so they'll be fine. My class is full of tough kids, it'll take a lot to bring them down."
"Thank you. That's a major relief." Toshinori bowed his head. "And thanks for defending the children."
"It's just what I'm supposed to do. But I'm gonna go see Hizashi and Nemuri. Those two are probably worried sick." Aizawa walked off, pulling his phone out and texting someone.
Toshinori watched him walk for a bit, before gently opening the door to the nurse's office and looking inside.
"Toshinori, you can come in. They're both still asleep, don't worry." Shuzenji was standing at Midoriya's bedside, observing him. "Kirishima's fine, he'll be awake any minute now. Midoriya, however, I'm not sure when he'll wake up. He's not badly hurt, it seems more like a bad case of quirk exhaustion. It happens with rookies, they go all out in a stressful situation, don't realize how much they overdid it until they blink, and then they've been unconscious for 5 hours and are in a hospital. In Midoriya's case, he's severely malnourished and dehydrated himself, somehow."
Toshinori nodded, taking a good look at Midoriya. Shuzenji had taken the shirt and jacket of his costume off, and an IV drip was on one of his wrists, but his watch was still on. "Why didn't you take the watch off?"
"Because I can't. It's attached! More than that, there's no gap between that watch and his skin. I'd have to either skin or amputate him to get that thing off, and there's no reason for me to do that. I've taken a look at him, and he's unharmed. It's a wonder that any of the kids escaped unharmed, from what I saw of Aizawa. Also, when you see him, tell him to get his ass back here. He's not done resting, even if Yamada and Kayama are worried." Toshinori raised an eyebrow at that last part, but didn't question any further.
"I'll... be sure to tell him. Did Aizawa say anything about what did that to him, though?" he asked, looking at Kirishima. "And what was tough enough for Kirishima to use the full power of One For All on?" Just then, Kirishima groaned, putting a hand over his eyes
"The hell happened...?" he groggily grumbled, sitting up and looking around. "Ah fuck, the USJ!" His eyes landed on Midoriya. "Ah fuck, Izuku! What happened to him, is he hurt?! Did he fight that multi-quirk fucker all by himself?!"
Toshinori's eyes widened. Multiple quirks, and Midiriya fought it alone? There was only one person he knew of that could give people multiple quirks, but why would he attack Midoriya, someone who, as far as Toshinori knew, was a pawn for that man? "Young Midoriya's fine, he's just exhausted. But... you said he fought someone with multiple quirks?"
Kirishima nodded, adjusting his hair. "Yeah, they sicced this big guy with four arms on him, named Nomu. He had strength like yours, he could regenerate even after all of his limbs were gone, and they said he absorbed shock. I punched him with a hundred percent, and he didn't even budge! They said he was made to kill you, and I think he could've done it!"
Toshinori processed this, his mind moving a mile a minute. Why would All For One's servents target Midoriya? How in the world did Midoriya beat someone like that, and why in the world did he get into a fight against All For One's lackeys if he was also a lackey? "I doubt that he would've won, even if I couldn't just punch him. I'm the Symbol of Peace for a reason, y'know." Toshinori chuckled, lightly bumping his fist against Kirishima's arm. "I could've figured something out if I was there. But it was because of you and the rest of the students that most of you came out of this unscathed."
"Yeah, everyone tried really hard, but... I was just a burden. I could've been better." Kirishima looked down at the bed, and Toshinori could see a frown on his face. This wouldn't do. He put a hand on Kirishima's shoulder.
"You could have, yes, but that's what you're here for! To learn how to be better. You're only in your first year, and you were in a fight that most heroes would struggle in, but you survived! Those villains picked the wrong fight, because you and your classmates are bound to be mighty heroes!" He made Kirishima a thumbs-up. "I'll make sure of it."
Eijiro yawned, splayed out on the couch next to his mom. The attack and getting healed made him exhausted as hell, and even a few hours after he got home, he was still tired. There was a knock on the door, and he groaned, sitting up.
"No, sweety, I got it." His mom got up first, and made her way to the door. She opened it, and a pink blur sped into the house, dodging through Eijiro's mom and coming right towards him.
"ROCKY!" Eijiro had no time to sit up before strong arms wrapped around him, crushing him. "How the hell did you get into a villain attack?! Where's Watch Boy? He isn't answering his phone! Did you get hurt? Did Watch Boy get hurt?!" It was Hatsume, having become even more rabid than usual.
"Uh, hi, Hatsume? Calm down, everything's fine. Some dudes just appeared at the USJ, blocked signals. Everything ended up fine, and Midoriya's probably just asleep." Eijiro tried to push Hatsume off of him, because this did not feel good for his back. "Also, you're crushing my ribs. Don't wanna break my bones again, y'know?"
"Again?! What happened?!" Hatsume got off of him, looking panicked. "Did they break you or did you break yourself? Crap, I need to get that baby ready faster so that stops happening..."
"Well, it's gonna be a bit of a long story..."
Classes were canceled the following day. Eijiro had nothing to do but unwind. He checked his texts, noticing that Midoriya still hadn't texted him. He pulled up the number of Midoriya's mom and texted her to ask about him. He then noticed a text from an unknown number.
It was an image of an online map, with a location marked on it. Then a text which read "Plumber Base. Visit when you feel like, and show them this text. The guy at front will let you in." So apparently Aizawa got his phone number somehow... Then another text came in, with an image of Aizawa and a caption which said "Also this text, so they can confirm that it's me."
"Huh. Weird." Eijiro looked at his ceiling, considering if he should go now. He could see more alien technology, but he might worry his parents... No, he should wait until he, Midoriya, and Hatsume could all come together. That'd make it special.
The next day, Eijiro sat in class, tapping his desk in boredom as he waited for class to start. Classmates occasionally filtered in, and when he saw Bakugo, he gave the guy a wave. "Sup! Thanks for saving me out the other day. You were real manly!"
Bakugo seemed put off by this, but he just groaned as he settled into his chair. "Try not to break yourself again, Brittle Bones. I won't help your ass next time." He crossed his arms, acting tough.
"Then I'll try extra hard, bro!" Eijiro grinned at him, ending the conversation.
After a bit, Iida walked up to the front of the classroom, shouting about how homeroom was about to begin and everyone should sit down. He was the only one standing, and when someone pointed it out, he froze up for a second before furiously powerwalking to his desk.
A few minutes later, Aizawa walked in. "Good morning. I hope none of you are traumatized yet, because your fights are far from over. The Sports Festival is only in two weeks, after all."
This immediately got the class excited, with some people muttering about how they'd get popular, get to show off their Quirks, or have fun.
"This is an important time. Take it seriously. This is the biggest opportunity you'll get as a hero student. All the heroes in the nation will be scouting to hire you kids as interns."
Kaminari was practically bouncing in his seat as he listened. "Oh, and they'll hire us as sidekicks after we graduate! That's how it's done, right?" He looked over at the seat next to him, where Jiro was sitting.
"Yeah, but most sidekicks never go solo, and are stuck as second fiddle to some better hero. I bet that'll be you, dunce," Jiro snarked, pointing at him.
"That hurts, Jiro! I thought we'd be forever sidekicks together!" Kaminari faked offense, and both of them held back chuckles.
"Take this seriously, you two." Aizawa activated his quirk, intimidating the class into silence. "You'll gain valuable experience and popularity if you're picked up by a big pro. But you don't have many chances. This only happens once a year. Impress the pros, and you'll be setting yourself up for success before you've even started. If you're hoping to become a hero, you can't miss this."
Wait. Miss. That reminded Eijiro of something. He looked around, and saw that Midoriya's desk was empty. He'd been knocked out for two whole days? Just what the hell did he do to himself for that to happen? "Hey, Mister Aizawa? Is Midoriya still unconscious?"
"Yes. He's getting better, but we don't know when he'll wake up. It seems like he extremely overused his quirk, and his body shut down. Don't worry, Kirishima. He'll wake up eventually. Anyways, today, we'll be doing..."
Several hours later, it was almost lunch time! "Even with everything that happened, I'm so freaking pumped! The Sports Fest is gonna be our big premiere to the world!" Eijiro was crowded up with some of his classmates, visibly shaking with excitement.
"Kirishima! Iida!" Uraraka's shouting got his attention, and he turned over to look at her. She looked like she was ready to punch someone in the face. "At the Sports Fest... Let's do our best!" She pumped her fist into the air, filled with fighting spirit! "I'M GONNA CRUSH THIS!"
Eijiro couldn't help but nervously pump his fist in the air as support. He'd never seen Uraraka this pumped! "I had no idea she was so manly..." Eijiro mumbled under his breath, watching as she cheered on the rest of the class.
But eventually, they had to go to lunch, and everyone split up into their own little groups of friends. Eijiro went with Mina Ashido and Kaminari.
"So, Kirishima... When did you get that strength quirk? I thought you had some sort of hardness quirk! Did you get a second one or something?" Mina poked him in the sides a few times as they walked together, an infectious grin on her face.
"Ah, well, I don't really know a whole lot about it myself. I didn't realize I had it until I was in the entrance exams and I one-shot the Zero Pointer." Eijiro tried his best not to outright lie about One For All. It was technically two half-truths. Maybe they were thee-quarters truths.
"That was you?! Jeez, talk about a big premiere!" Kaminari looked absolutely shocked, and he gave two big thumbs-ups. "I bet that was weird!"
"Yeah. I saved that Bakugo guy from being crushed, and he saved me from falling after that."
"I DIDN'T NEED SAVING, YOU BRITTLE BONED DUMBASS!" Bakugo's sudden screaming made all three of them jump a bit, and after a few seconds, they laughed and continued walking.
"So, yeah, that's how I figured out I could punch things that hard. Well, aside from what my muscles can do already." Eijiro jokingly flexed one arm, smirking.
"That's so cool, dude! You're just like-"
"YOUNG KIRISHIMA!" All Might popped up from an intersecting hallway, wearing a suit and carefully holding a bag that looked like a lunch box. "WANT TO... EAT LUNCH WITH ME?"
"What?! You get lunches with All Might?! Not fair, Kirishima!" Ashido laughed, playfully hitting him in the arm. "Is spontaneous super strength all it takes to get lunch with the number one hero?"
"I guess so? And sure thing, All Might!" Kirishima walked past his classmates, waving goodbye. "I'll see you guys after lunch!"
"I've said this before, but wow. You eat like a rabid animal, kid. But I'm flattered you like my cooking so much," Toshinori joked as Kirishima shoved food into his mouth, eating his lunch incredibly quickly. Then he looked up and shrugged, smiling.
"Well, it's good food! Thanks for the meal, by the way! It was super manly of you to make this for me. But did you want to talk about something?" Kirishima wiped rice off his face as he talked, and drank some of the tea he was given.
"Yes, actually. It's about our quirk, and the Sports Festival. You see, the amount of time I could be All Might is decreasing day by day. I can barely manage two and a half hours now, and in a few months, I might not even be able to handle two hours. My time as All Might is running out, and particularly smart villains are beginning to notice."
Kirishima's eyes widened, and he looked at himself, then back at Toshinori. "Crap, that sounds bad!" His brows furrowed, and he looked like he was in deep thought for a second. "Oh! If I gave it back, would I have leftovers like you? Because you could have more power and I'll have an easier time controlling my power, and when I'm ready, I could take the quirk back!"
Toshinori frowned. That was clever, but... "No. One For All is your power now. I appreciate your concern, but I'm going to retire eventually. I may be All Might, but I'm also an old man with one lung and no stomach. I have to stop sometime, or my body's gonna force me to."
"Yeah, you're right..." Kirishima frowned, nodding solemnly.
"But that's where the Sports Festival comes in. You can control One For All now, right?"
"Yeah. I have to stay still for like ten seconds, since I'm starting at a hundred and lowering it. And I can't use Hardening at the same time. Did you ever have trouble with using both quirks at the same time?" Ah, right. He'd never told Kirishima about that. He should've mentioned that before, now that he thought about it.
"Well, you see, that was never really an issue for me. I was born quirkless. So I unfortunately can't help you on that front."
"Wait, really?! That's so cool!" Kirishima looked like he was in awe, which wasn't at all what Toshinori had expected, but it was a welcome reaction. Maybe it was because of his quirkless friend that he had mentioned.
"Yeah, I started out as just a quirkless kid with high hopes. Maybe I would've still been a hero even if I hadn't got One For All. But, back on topic, the progress you've made is good. We'll have to work on starting at safe percentages, but this is great for only a week of practice. By the time the Sports Festival rolls around, I'm sure you'll make a big impact."
"Thank you, Mister Yagi! I'll be sure not to disappoint you!" Kirishima grinned at him, sitting up.
"Don't worry, kid. I gave you One For All for a reason, y'know. I'm already proud of you. Even if you struggle now, you'll still succeed me. You'll be the next All Might. No, better than that! You'll be you. Which is why, when the Sports Festival comes, I want you to tell the world one thing, and one thing only!" Toshinori stood up, clenching his fist as he inflated his body into his All Might form.
"TELL THEM THAT YOU ARE HERE!"
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