The girls, Kaminari and I, made our way to the center of the USJ, seeing what all the commotion was about.
"What's happening?" I asked Midoriya. He seemed hesitant, his hands were in tight fists, and his teeth were clenched.
"All Might... Defeated one of the villains, but he's-"
When I looked at All Might, I could see that he was trembling past the smoke; he even coughed up a bit of blood.
All Might is... Hurt? I asked myself. Isn't he supposed to be practically invincible?
Reality hit me harder than it had since I'd enrolled at U.A.. Plus Ultra. Go further beyond. Push your limits. Hearing All Might saying this as a child made me believe that I could do anything -- that my potential was limitless -- however; that interpretation was wrong. All Might said it himself: push your limits. That means everyone has a limit, even the number one most powerful hero in the world.
The villains began rushing All Might. His smile was fading. I witnessed a pro hero show a hint of fear firsthand.
Where are the other teachers!? Someone needs to help him!
When I glanced over at Midoriya, I was shaken to my core. Unlike the others -- unlike me -- Midoriya wasn't looking around for someone to help All Might. The way he looked at the path ahead told me everything that was going through his mind: 'I have to save All Might.'.
Plus Ultra. Go further beyond. Push your limits. Yes, everyone has a limit, even All Might. I know that now. Still, our limits have yet to be pushed to the extreme. Midoriya already figured this out. Damn it, how is he always one step ahead of me? He fought the sludge monster, he defeated the giant robot during the practical exam. Even now, he wants to be the one to fight these villains, even if he does it alone. But I won't let that happen. I won't let you keep pulling ahead of me, Midoriya! We both will save All Might!
It was as if Midoriya and I shared the same brain; using our Quirks, we charged our legs with our respective powers and lunged at the villains. When I did so, Midoriya glanced at me for a moment, his eyes wide, before he corrected his face and scowled at our enemies.
Midoriya was smart, so I knew that he must've had the same plan as mine. That villain who could teleport himself and others, the one covered in smoke, he had a physical body hidden underneath it all. If Midoriya and I could strike it, then we could save All Might!
Midoriya drew back his left arm, it shone brightly as he charged it with his Quirk's energy. I did the same, reeling back my right fist as it crackled like a thunderstorm, a vortex of lightning and thunder swirling around it.
Midoriya and I were in sync, throwing our fists forward at the exact same time, aiming for the same spot on the smoke villain's metal, physical body.
"Get away from All Might!" Midoriya roared through clenched teeth.
Just a second before Midoriya's and my fist would meet metal, my head began to buzz. It was my spider-sense, warning me of the danger to come. It was louder than usual, and the migraine from it was so bad that I could feel my brain pulsating. If my spider-sense was being this loud, it could only mean one thing: death was lingering nearby, and I was its next victim.
The creepy villain with the hands all over his body teleported in front of us. His hands -- his real hands -- were outstretched, aiming for our faces. I had no idea what his Quirk did, but it was obvious that if he touched us, it would've been bad news for us both.
Damn it, their reaction time is incredible!
With one hand already occupied, I only had time to fire a web at the villain's left hand, protecting Midoriya from whatever cruel fate this man and his Quirk had in store for us. I yanked his hand away, but his right hand was still going for my face.
Meanwhile, my spider-sense was so loud that I couldn't hear my own thoughts. My skull felt like a kettle, except there wasn't any sort of hole to release the pressure. My body began to act on its own. My neck started defying the laws of momentum, shifting backward to avoid the hand. Though it bought me a half second, it wasn't enough to dodge the attack.
When his hand was mere millimeters from my face, a gunshot echoed through the USJ, and I saw a bullet hole spewing blood from the hand in front of me.
The smoke villain and the creep with the hands retreated backward, and my electric punch whiffed. Midoriya face-planting onto the ground with three broken limbs.
I turned toward the entrance, seeing Iida leading the teachers through the USJ entrance.
"Your class rep has returned!" he shouted. "I've fulfilled my duties and brought reinforcements!"
The teachers acted fast, showing us all why they were pro heroes. Present mic yelled, his voice reverberating off the walls of the USJ, bursting the eardrums of the villains in his line of sight. Ectoplasm spat out twenty or so clones, each one taking down a handful of villains without breaking a sweat.
Snipe began firing shots at the two main villains, and thirteen began using her black hole ability to capture them. However, both villains ended up teleporting away, this time leaving UA for good.
There was a moment of silence while the injured picked themselves up and everyone checked up on the well-being of one another.
Midoiyra was shuddering on the ground with welling tears. "All Might... I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."
I looked at All Might, my eyes wide beneath my mask's lenses. His body had changed. Rather than appearing as the tall, muscular, and heroic All Might, he looked like he was just some guy who weighed less than a hundred pounds. The clothes he was wearing could hardly cling to him, they were so oversized. He looked at me for a second; I could see in his eyes that he was embarrassed that I saw him like this.
"That's not true, Young Midoriya. You and Morales bought me a few vital seconds. If it weren't for you two, I would be dead now. I thank you both."
All Might looked at me again. "Morales, you and I will talk later. Promise me this: you will keep what you're seeing right now a secret."
"I promise."
After everything was settled and campus was deemed safe again, All Might and Midoriya were discreetly taken to the nurse's office, and I was invited.
Somehow, All Might was even skinnier by the time we made it to the nurse's office. I let the nurse heal their wounds before All Might called me over.
"You're probably wondering why I look like this," he said to me.
"Yeah, a little."
"It's because my power is fading. I'm becoming so weak that I can no longer hold that form for more than a few hours."
"What!?" Hearing this, I could feel the world around me shattering. All Might was all I'd ever known as a child; he and my mother were the only two constants in my life up until that point. With All Might gone, even I knew the world was going to change.
"But we need you..." I told him. "Is there not a way to fix it? No surgery? Nothing?"
"We tried, Morales. Trust me. There's no way to fix this. I know you're probably thinking that the world is going to be doomed without me around, but that's not the case. Even when I'm gone, my power will live on."
"How?" I asked him.
All Might answered by pointing a bony finger at Midoriya, who was quick to correct his posture and sit up straight.
"My Quirk has been passed down for generations. Young Midoriya here is now the new possessor of my Quirk, One for All."
Midoriya looked at All Might in shock. I guess they'd made a deal to keep this a secret, but I'd already seen too much, so All Might likely figured it would be better just to tell me outright.
"So that's why his bones break when he tries to use his Quirk... His untrained body is releasing the same amount of power as All Might... You."
"That's correct. You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this. It's because I trust you. And to be honest, if I hadn't met Midoriya, today would've proved that you were worthy to be my successor, and I would've given One for All to you."
Hearing that sent a jolt through my system. If it weren't for Midoriya, I would have All Might's power. It was disappointing to hear at first, but when I looked at Midoriya, I knew that it had to be him.
"I'm glad things didn't turn out that way. I wouldn't be fit to be the one to inherit your power."
"That's not true!" Midoriya blurted out. "I heard about what you did to save Yaoyorozu and the others today. Self-sacrifice is one of the most important parts of being a hero, and you demonstrated that you're willing to put everything on the line to protect others! If anyone else could inherit this power of mine, I would choose you in a heartbeat."
For the first time, Midoriya looked at me with eyes of admiration. "I appreciate that, Midoriya. Still, I'm glad it was you. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be able to fight side by side, would we? Don't think for a second that I'll let you get ahead of me just because you have All Might's power."
Midoriya laughed. "You're right. I won't lose to you either."
All Might interrupted us. "Then I guess I won't have to ask you to stay by Midoriya's side. You know, making sure he doesn't do anything too stupid. I won't always be around, you know..."
"I promise to do my best, All Might."
"Thank you, Young Morales. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
"Right. See you tomorrow. You too, Midoriya."
"See ya."
When I stepped out of the nurse's office, I found Yaoyorozu waiting for me. "Hi, Morales..." she said. "One of the nurses said I had to wait out here since they didn't want too many visitors in at once."
"Oh... Are you here to see Midoriya? He's asleep." I lied.
"Huh? Oh, no, that's not it. I came to see you."
Huh.
"Me?"
"I wanted to thank you," she said, taking a step closer. "If you hadn't reacted so quickly, Jirou and I would've gotten hurt pretty badly. Did you know that you were immune to electricity?"
"I didn't, I'll be honest. I have some level of super strength, so I just thought I would have a higher likelihood of surviving it compared to you two."
"I figured," Yaoyorozu paused for a moment, looking downward. She was so confident when it came to her studies and the way she used her Quirk. It was strange seeing her act this way.
She finally looked back up at me. "Do you want to maybe go somewhere to eat? My treat, of course. As a thank you."
Is this... Did I just get asked on a date? Or is she just being friendly?
"Just us?" I asked her.
"Yeah, just us."
Despite wanting to scream to the heavens, I played it cool and gave a simple answer. "Sure, where were you thinking?"
"How about... Narisawa?"
Narisawa, is she crazy? It costs like ten thousand yen per person to eat there.
"Isn't that a bit expensive?" I asked her.
"Is it? My family goes there all the time."
She's rich... Now I see how she got in based on recommendations. Her family must be a big deal.
"How about something simple like that burger place downtown?"
"Oh, right. You are American. You guys eat burgers every day, don't you?"
"That's... Not really true.
I guess an American wanting a burger is pretty stereotypical, huh? Maybe we should get ramen or something instead.
"Well, I've never had a burger before, so I'm excited to try!"
She's so rich she's never had burgers!?
Yaoyorozu and I left campus together and headed downtown. As we stepped off campus, I saw Mineta glaring at me with his mouth gaping. I smirked at him; I think my devilish smile brought a tear to that little perv's eye.
Maybe if he weren't such a weirdo, he too would be getting burgers with one of the girls.