Hey everyone! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to update the story as often as I'd like due to my workload. But over the next few days, I'm going to focus on that and get a good head start on the Patreon content — I plan to leave at least 10 chapters ahead of what's available here.
Patreon: patreon.com/Subaru710772142
***
Izuku took a deep breath. "Kacchan, I... I wanted to thank you," he said at last, the words rushing out. "For... for saving me. And to apologize. You nearly died saving us, and I barely did anything to help..." He stopped, his voice breaking as tears welled in his eyes.
"You're blaming yourself for that? Idiot. How about you stop apologizing and focus on learning to control that quirk you were given?"
Hearing those words, Izuku's world fell apart.
***
'I'm not waiting any longer. I'm going to force everyone's evolution from now on,' Bakugo thought, watching Izuku's face turn pale.
"U-uh... K-Kacchan, w-what are you talking about?" Izuku stammered, the words tumbling over each other.
Bakugo leaned forward. "That thing we fought, it had multiple quirks. And I kept thinking—how is that possible? No one is born with more than one quirk," he said, laying out the most believable theory he had come up with. "But what if it's not an anomaly? What if there's someone out there with a quirk that can give quirks to other people?"
Izuku swallowed hard. 'No. No, no, no. He's getting too close!'
"And what a coincidence," Bakugo narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into an almost predatory smile. "I happen to know someone who shouldn't have a quirk… and suddenly showed up with one. You were given it, weren't you, Deku?!"
"I-I... I..." Izuku mumbled, panic rising like a wave. His mind was a blur, All Might's warning echoing on a loop: "You can't tell anyone!"
"I've figured it all out, Deku. Don't even try to hide it." Bakugo crossed his arms. "Now, I'm giving you ten seconds to tell me who—"
"It was All Might!" Izuku shouted without thinking. The next second, he froze and slapped his hands over his mouth.
"..."
"..."
'That idiot... he confessed way too fast!' Bakugo blinked, stunned, struggling to resist the urge to set off an explosion right then and there.
Izuku, meanwhile, looked ready to pass out. 'I said it… I actually said it… it's all over.'
Before either of them could say anything, a muffled sound came from the door. Both of them turned their heads slowly, almost robotically—and there was Kirishima, standing in the doorway.
"I… didn't hear anything, okay?" Kirishima looked from Izuku to Bakugo, then back to Izuku. "Like, seriously, I didn't hear… anything. Nothing at all."
"..."
"..."
"..."
***
"Is that why you came all the way here, Toshinori?" Gran Torino raised an eyebrow, his piercing gaze fixed on his former student.
"Y-yes- I mean, of course not!" Toshinori stammered, fumbling as he took the taiyaki out of the microwave. "Here you go, sensei." He crossed the room with the plate, trying to mask his nervousness as he placed it on the small table in front of the couch.
"Hmph." Gran Torino grabbed a taiyaki, examining it for a moment before taking a bite. The crunchy sound of the pastry filled the silence. "So let's recap. You go months without checking if I'm still breathing, and now you show up out of nowhere just to ask me to train your successor?"
Toshinori scratched the back of his neck, his gaze drifting to the wall. "...Sorry."
"Ha!" Gran Torino let out a dry laugh, pointing the half-eaten taiyaki at him. "You haven't changed one bit. Now spill it—what's he like, the ninth holder?"
Toshinori hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "He's... different. Clumsy. Naive. A heart too big for his chest. And no matter how much the world says he's weak..." He smiled, a nostalgic gleam in his eyes. "...I've never seen anyone run so hard to help someone else. Even without a Quirk, he already had what many heroes never will. A true, innate sense of justice."
Gran Torino looked at Toshinori, a curious spark in his eyes, but said nothing.
"He reminds me of myself... and at the same time, of everything I never was."
The old man snorted, folding his arms. "Big words. But you know that's not enough. A good heart alone can't bear the weight of One For All. You really think he can handle it?"
Toshinori closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he had transformed into All Might, wearing his signature wide grin. "I don't think. I'm sure of it!"
Silence.
Gran Torino took another taiyaki. His eyes lingered on the pastry for a moment, as if seeing beyond the dough and filling. "...Then I'll go to U.A. with you. But if he's an idiot, I'm going to hit you."
Toshinori returned to his skinny form and let out a relieved laugh. "He'll surprise you. I promise."
Before Gran Torino could fire back with another sharp remark, Toshinori's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, the smile still bright on his face.
"It's him!" Toshinori said, showing the screen to Gran Torino. "My successor."
The old man shook his head, biting into another taiyaki.
Toshinori answered excitedly, ready to share the good news with the boy. "Midoriya-shonen, I have great news—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his smile slowly fading the more he listened to what Midoriya was saying on the other end.
And then, without warning—
"PFFFFFFFT!"
A massive stream of blood burst from his mouth.
***
"All Might?! All Might! Are you there?!" Izuku asked frantically into the phone, his voice thick with worry.
Bakugo and Kirishima, a few meters behind, watched the green-haired boy in silence. Kirishima, arms crossed and a puzzled look on his face, leaned slightly toward Bakugo and whispered, "He... actually has All Might's number?"
Bakugo shot him a glare, as if Kirishima had just said the dumbest thing in the world. "You're impressed by that? Seriously, Shitty Hair?"
'Shitty Hair?...' Kirishima blinked. "I mean, you're really buying what Midoriya said? That his quirk was, like, given to him by All Might? That's crazy, man!"
Bakugo scoffed, crossing his arms with a grunt. "Tsk. It's true."
Kirishima's eyes widened, his mouth slightly open. "Seriously? How do you know?"
"Because that damn nerd over there"—Bakugo nodded his chin toward Midoriya—"was born quirkless. Spent his whole life being a weakling, then suddenly pulled a quirk out of his ass."
Kirishima scratched the back of his neck, trying to keep up. "But Midoriya said—"
"He's lying," Bakugo cut in, rubbing his temples. "It's just some dumb excuse they came up with to explain why he looks like a kid learning to control his quirk. Just... trust me, okay?!"
"Alright, man!" Kirishima replied, thumping his chest. "If you say so, I believe it!"
Bakugo stared at him, incredulous. "Seriously? Just like that? Are you stupid?!"
Kirishima laughed, unfazed. "Hey, you're the guy, Bakugo! The leader! If you say that's how it is, I believe it. Simple as that!"
'...I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel about that'
***
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.