A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

And now a check-in with the man who made all of this possible~

-x-X-x-

As Nana leads him to U.A.’s state of the art infirmary, Izuku ponders why this is happening now. Obviously, he was aware of how far Toshinori Yagi, aka All Might, had deteriorated over the last few months. He’d been keeping up with the Pro Hero and keeping an eye on Yagi’s actions. After turning down the job at U.A. and putting Nana in his place, All Might hadn’t simply faded into obscurity… no, he’d been intent on going out with a bang.

Back when the Pro Hero had been training Izuku for those ten months before naming his successor and passing on his Quirk, Yagi had still been able to maintain his duties as All Might for about three hours each day. But after Izuku slew his father and revealed the truth about his parentage and Nana’s survival, the other man had suffered a massive blow to his health, reducing the amount of time that he could maintain his All Might persona to less than an hour each day.

Rather than take a breather and try to recuperate, Yagi had put the pedal to the metal, so to speak. He’d left Nana to take over his position as Heroics Teacher at U.A. and then gone out and done his all to use what time he had left for heroics each and every day. Izuku figured it was because All Might felt like it was the only way he could make up for his failures or something… but admittedly, he couldn’t say for sure.

What he did know for sure was that All Might’s time out in public had become shorter and shorter since the school year began. From just under an hour to less and less… until at this point, even the general public was starting to realize something was up, given All Might was only seen for a handful of minutes each day at most.

They made excuses of course, and All Might’s allies and PR team likely did a lot in shaping the public discourse around the Pro Hero’s slow fading. Everyone loved the idea that All Might was just doing things out of view that they couldn’t see. It was certainly easier for them to all stomach that their Pillar of Peace was merely working behind the scenes, rather than slowly disappearing entirely.

But there was also more and more talk of Endeavor becoming the Number One Pro Hero the next time the Rankings were updated. All Might had his track record to lean on, but there was simply no denying that Endeavor was out there putting in far more time than his rival these days. And slowly but surely, the people who decided those things were beginning to take notice, forced to acknowledge that Endeavor was finally overtaking the Pillar of Peace.

Still, what had made Yagi come to U.A. after all this? He could understand the Pro Hero stopping by for a check up from Recovery Girl, but what had made him decide to ask for a meeting with Izuku of all people?

As he and Nana reach the Nurse’s Office, U.A.’s premier infirmary maintained by Recovery Girl herself, the dark-haired heroine opens the door for him and Izuku steps inside. He blinks in surprise when he’s immediately accosted, however.

“Who are you?! We have a patient resting right now!”

The blonde, clad in a somewhat scandalous nurse’s outfit, gets in Izuku’s face with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed, even as her bust bounces right in his face. She also, he notes, has a pair of cat-like robotic ears atop her head, and a tail swishing back and forth behind her.

“Ryuko… don’t be ridiculous. The patient told us he had a guest coming by. Do you really think this isn’t them?”

Behind the blonde, meanwhile, is another woman in a nurse outfit with technological cat ears and a cat tail. She seems much calmer and more reserved than her counterpart, crossing her arms over her own substantial bust and shaking her head at ‘Ryuko’s’ antics.

“A-Ah! Shino is probably right! But even if she isn’t… you shouldn’t be so aggressive with people, Ryuko!”

And finally, off to the side is a third cat-nurse with long green hair. She wrings her hands for a moment in front of her, bouncing on the balls of her feet and squirming like she has too much energy and doesn’t know what to do with it.

The Wild, Wild Pussycats. Or rather, the former Wild, Wild Pussycats. Izuku was aware of their presence at the school, just like he was aware of every single person in U.A., both faculty and students. He knew them all by their Quirks more than anything, truth be told.

Still, seeing them all together like this, he quickly identifies Pixie-Bob, Mandalay, and Ragdoll. Otherwise known as Ryuko Tsuchikawa, Shino Sosaski, and Tomoko Shiretoko.

Whirling on her teammates, the hyperactive Ryuko looks betrayed as she lets out a loud ‘harrumph!’.

“Recovery Girl put us in charge of holding down the fort while she was away! I don’t know why you both aren’t more careful about just who is allowed in here. Besides, the patient said he was only expecting ONE guest… and yet there are TWO of them!”

Izuku and Nana share a glance as Ryuko lifts up two fingers like her observation is some sort of smoking gun. Shino, meanwhile, rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“Yes but one of them is Nana Shimura… a Heroics Teacher. And it’s obvious the young man she’s escorting is a student. So maybe instead of acting like they’re here to commit a crime, you should do as we’ve been trained and ask whether they need nursing assistance… or if maybe they’re here to see our patient after all.”

It was a little tragic, what had happened to the Wild, Wild Pussycats. They were an up and coming hero group before they’d been hit by a pretty big loss just a few months ago. Their fourth member, Tiger, had died in the line of duty and from what Izuku heard, it hadn’t been pretty. He’d died slowly, too fast for medical services to reach him, but slow enough that if any of the other Pussycats had been trained in medicine, they might have been able to stabilize him and save his life.

… Basically, he’d died in their arms. A preventable death, according to the Pussycats themselves. In their statement announcing their extended sabbatical, all three girls had been of the same mind. Basically, they could have saved Tiger if they were better trained in medicine, and until they had completed their training at the hands of Recovery Girl, one of the premier healers in the nation, they would not be Pro Heroes again.

Honestly… Izuku could respect that. He DID respect that. Quite a lot, in fact. Their desire to better themselves, to make themselves stronger before daring to use the name Pro Hero… he liked it a lot. And he wasn’t just saying that because the three female Pussycats all looked great in their nurse outfits either. Honest.

Whipping back around to them, Ryuko, aka Pixie-Bob, slowly nods her head.

“R-Right… apologies for the way I reacted t-to your entrance. Do either of you have injuries that need to be looked over? Recovery Girl is out right now, but as her proteges, I can assure you that we three combined are just as good!”

Judging by the look on Mandalay’s face, she doesn’t agree with that. But fortunately, it doesn’t need to be put to the test.

“Err… we’re fine, actually. As was previously said, I’m pretty sure I’m here to see your patient? The one who told you he’d be having a guest?”

Ryuko’s face falls, while Shino nods, stepping forward.

“Of course, right this way…”

She trails off and Izuku gives her a smile.

“Izuku, ma’am. Izuku Midoriya.”

He thinks she blushes just a little bit at his smile, but she manages to hide it pretty well under the cover of professionalism.

“Right this way, Mister Midoriya.”

As the former leader of the Wild, Wild Pussycats leads him down the hall, Izuku notes that everyone else follows them. Nana is close behind of course, but also Ryuko and Tomoko both come as well. He doesn’t comment on it though, even as he’s brought to a private room at the back of the Nurse’s Office and the door is opened to let him inside.

Just as expected, All Might waits for him inside… though not actually AS All Might. Instead it’s Yagi who lays in the bed, looking as bad as ever and resting back against what seems like way too many pillows. Izuku gives the pillow mound a curious glance, only to have his intrigue immediately satisfied a moment later.

“Ah! Mister Yagi sir, you look uncomfortable! Let me get you another pillow!”

Before Yagi could actually offer any sort of response to that, Tomoko Shiretoko has already leapt into action. The energetic and almost frantic green-haired woman hurriedly grabs a pillow from a nearby closet and proceeds to stuff it behind Yagi’s head and back, fluffing the ones already there for him to make sure he’s extra comfortable.

When she’s done, she pulls back with a hesitant smile, one that sees Yagi finally nodding to her after a moment of silence.

“… Thank you.”

“Oh! Of course, sir!”

Eyeing the interaction, Izuku quickly deduces that none of the Wild, Wild Pussycats actually know who Yagi really is. While Tomoko’s actions might make it seem like they knew, that was just her bombastic people-pleasing personality shining through, he was pretty sure. And indeed, Yagi looks at them all for a moment before focusing on Izuku. However, his next words are for the others in the room.

“Please… leave us. I must speak with Young Midoriya alone.”

“O-Of course… just let us know if you need anything.”

With that said, Shino is quick to usher her fellow cat-nurses out of the room and back down the hall. Nana, meanwhile, gives Izuku and Yagi a simple nod before stepping just outside as well. She closes the door behind her and then stands watch, ensuring their privacy for the time being.

Izuku, meanwhile, makes his way over to Yagi’s bedside. This man is the Pillar of Peace. The strongest Pro Hero in Japan, possibly the world. Or… he was. In actuality, this man is a mere fragment of what the Pillar of Peace used to be. And barely anyone knew just how much their pillar had crumbled in recent times.

“Midoriya… no, Izuku. Thank you for coming to see me.”

Izuku frowns at that, even as he takes a seat next to the dying man. Not that he thinks Yagi is going to keel over right here and now. Rather… this man has been dying for a long, long time now. Over a decade, in fact.

“Of course I came to see you. Why wouldn’t I?”

He doesn’t mention that Nana actually didn’t tell him outright who it was. They’d both known who she was talking about, so in the end it hadn’t mattered.

Meanwhile, Yagi closes his eyes at Izuku’s words and lets out a sigh… that turns into a coughing fit, blood winding up staining his hand when he brings it to his mouth to cover it. Izuku just watches, knowing there’s nothing to be done. All Might and All for One… neither of them could truly be healed of the injuries they’d dealt to one another. The fact that they’d both lived on for as long as they did after taking such grievous wounds was a testament to the sort of men they were.

Eventually, Yagi finishes coughing and shakes his head.

“… I failed you, Izuku. In so many ways, I failed you. Maybe you didn’t blame me at first, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if you came to realize just how much of the heartache you’ve no doubt suffered rests at my feet.”

Izuku stays silent at that, allowing Yagi to say his piece. After a moment of thought, the blond man continues.

“A boy should never have to kill his father, no matter how evil he is. Putting you on that path, forcing you to make that choice so early in your life… that’s on me. If I hadn’t abandoned Nana to All for One’s clutches, if I had made completely certain that he was dead. But… no. My own hubris led us down this path. And for that, Izuku, I am sorry.”

Reaching out, Izuku places a hand on All Might’s twig-like arm, being careful not to squeeze too hard.

“Apology accepted.”

He means it too. Yagi didn’t have all the facts, to be fair. While it was true that things would have been VERY different if the man had made sure Izuku’s father was really dead all those years ago, the simple truth of things was… Izuku had been set on this path a long time ago. And he was happy on this path.

Oh sure, he wasn’t happy that he’d killed his own father, but that wasn’t All Might’s fault either. All for One had all but ordered Izuku to do it. To take his life. That wasn’t on All Might. That was between All for One and Izuku. But of course, he couldn’t tell the ailing Pro Hero that. It would conflict with the story he’d already told. And so… he forgives All Might for his transgressions, both real and imagined.

Yagi lets out another shuddering breath and graces Izuku with a smile that’s half-pained grimace.

“Thank you, my boy. You’re much too good for me. But… there’s one more thing I must ask of you. The reason that I asked you to come see me today. I know I have no right… but even still…”

Izuku furrows his brow, not quite sure what the other man might be wanting to ask of him, truth be told.

“What is it? If it’s within my power, I’ll try to see it done.”

Another pause, and then Yagi gathers his strength.

“The U.A. Sports Festival starts soon. You’ll be taking part, I assume. My… my time as the Pillar of Peace is rapidly coming to a close, Izuku. I can only maintain my form as All Might for about five minutes a day at this point. But… the world still needs All Might. The world still needs its Pillar of Peace. That’s why… I want you to go out there and win, Izuku. I know you can do it. I know how strong you are. And once you’ve won, I want you to announce it to the whole world, with all your heart… that you are going to be your generation’s ‘All Might’.”

Izuku goes still, even as Yagi’s verbosity catches up to him. Saying that much at once? He was just asking for another coughing fit. And a coughing fit he gets, hacking up more blood as he doubles over in the infirmary bed. Meanwhile, Izuku just sits there, trying to decide what to say.

Because… out of everything All Might could have asked of him, this is the one thing Izuku simply cannot do.

[ ] Go a step further, confess that he 'awakened' his own version of All for One and has been using it for good - 7%