Izuku and Yagi have a heart-to-heart. And then the usual happens...

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By the time Yagi’s latest coughing fit is done, Izuku has made his decision. He can’t tell the other man everything. He has no idea how Yagi would react to finding out that Izuku not only has One for All, but also All for One… and more than that, he’s been using All for One illegally as a ‘vigilante’. First with the bastard who was abusing Ryuko and then to fix Himiko’s Quirk.

Izuku is proud of what he’s been able to do so far, but Yagi… no, All Might is still stuck in the past. It’s not his fault, he’s literally dying from the final blow Izuku’s father dealt him. Still, that doesn’t mean Izuku wants to inadvertently make an enemy of the man in his final days.

… But at the same time, he also can’t bring himself to lie to Yagi. Sure, if the other man survives past the end of the Sports Festival, Izuku could easily pass it off as either not having an opportunity to do what Yagi asked of him, or simply a bad case of nerves and the weight of responsibility proving too heavy on his shoulders.

It wouldn’t be true though. Because the fact is, Izuku has no plans of being the next ‘All Might’. And Yagi deserves to know that much. He deserves at least that much honesty. And so, as the ailing man recovers from hacking up blood and looks at Izuku expectantly… Izuku gives his answer with a shake of his head.

“I can’t do that.”

Yagi’s response catches him by surprise, because rather than get angry, the dying Pro Hero just chuckles and smiles knowingly.

“I understand I’m asking a lot of you, Izuku. It might seem impossible to you as things are now. But believe me when I say I fully believe you have the potential to not just match me but surpass me. You can be the next All Might. You can be better, even.”

Ah, now he understands. Yagi thinks Izuku is saying ‘no’ out of fear or nervousness. Amusing, but also a little irritating. Shaking his head again, Izuku sighs.

“Sorry, let me rephrase that sir. It’s not that I can’t do as you say… it’s that I won’t do as you say.”

Now Yagi’s brow does furrow in consternation, his lips curling down into their more natural visage of a perpetual frown that he almost always has in this form. Izuku straightens up, squaring his shoulders and looking Yagi right in his sunken eyes.

“I refuse to be the next All Might, sir. I refuse to infantilize my classmates as well as the Pro Heroes that have come before me and that will come after me.”

Blinking, Yagi looks confused.

“What… what are you saying, young Midoriya?”

It’s funny. Despite working alongside his father for years in order to trick the man in front of him of giving up One for All… Izuku still feels a kinship to Yagi Toshinori. He also feels bad for the man. All Might was a Hero like any other… but it’s obvious that when it comes to the harm he did to the world with his mere existence, he has blinders on.

Reaching out, Izuku grabs one of Yagi’s hands in his own, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze.

“What you’ve done as the Pillar of Peace can’t be understated, sir. All the people you’ve saved… all the villains you’ve defeated. But I can’t follow in your footsteps. I can’t be the next you… because I think, ultimately, All Might was unhealthy for the world as a whole.”

Now Yagi looks shocked.

“Unhealthy? Young Midoriya… you truly believe that? I don’t understand…”

Smiling sadly, Izuku nods.

“I know, sir. I guess… I can try to explain my reasoning to you. You’re All Might. The strongest wielder One for All has ever had. You rose above everyone else and took on a larger than life persona in order to represent peace and order around the world but also most importantly in Japan. But… what happens when you’re gone? What happens when the Pillar of Peace stops existing to prop up the current status quo?”

Yagi rests back in the massive amount of pillows behind him at that, looking slightly mulish.

“You don’t think I haven’t thought about that? That’s precisely why I trained you to take my place.”

Izuku shakes his head again.

“But what happens when I’m gone, sir?”

“You would train your own replacement and pass on One for All as I did to you before that happened…”

“Would I? This isn’t an easy life we lead, sir. You were lucky to survive… that man’s final attack against you. What if you hadn’t? What if One for All had died with you? What if you’d never trained a protégé and gotten the chance to pass it on? Even if you’d successfully killed All for One at that time, but also died yourself… where would the world be?”

He thinks he’s finally starting to see the light of understanding in Yagi’s sunken eyes. Certainly, the dying man is quiet as he processes Izuku’s words. Forging ahead, Izuku continues explaining his reasoning.

“The world cannot continue to balance on the shoulders of one man, sir. And that’s what All Might’s very existence did. Sure, your reputation might have suppressed some villainy from ever even happening… but you also suppressed heroism.”

Yagi’s eyes widen at that, but Izuku isn’t done.

“There are still plenty of Pro Heroes worth a damn in service right now, don’t get me wrong. But how many people who might have stepped up and used their Quirks for good didn’t bother because ‘oh, All Might has it handled’? More than that, how many current Pro Heroes are only Pro Heroes for the money and the fame? How many only took up the profession because they believed that you were doing all the heavy lifting, allowing them to coast by with the bare minimum?”

The dying hero’s breath hitches at that.

“No… surely not. There are… plenty of Pro Heroes who aren’t slackers…”

Shaking his head, Izuku’s lips form a thin grim line.

“Maybe at the top. Those who are competing for the highest ranks. But even in the Top Ten, do you believe there’s anyone save for Endeavor who has even considered trying to surpass you? Endeavor wants to be the Number One Pro Hero, and he soon will be. But all the others… they’re content to just be very, very good. To be Above Average. They don’t strive for Excellence, because you’ve presented such an insurmountable challenge to overcome that it strangles most ambition in its cradle. Only a complete narcissist like Endeavor has the ego to overcome it.”

And even then, the things that Endeavor has done to try and surpass All Might… Izuku might not know the specifics, but he does know the dossier that he has on the Number Two Pro Hero doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Once All Might is completely gone, even if Yagi still remains, and Endeavor takes on the Number One spot… Izuku might have to act to disgrace the older man. But that was for the future. For now, regardless of his faults as a man, Endeavor was a strong Hero that kept the streets clean and saved people. That was good enough… for now.

“And that’s not all. There are those who are Ranked… and then there are the thousands of other Pro Heroes in Japan alone. What do you think the majority of them think will happen if a natural disaster strikes? Do they think to themselves, ‘it’s time for me to step up and help save the day’? Or do they think to themselves, ‘All Might will step in. He always does.’?

Yagi is completely silent now, with only the slow, unsteady rise and fall of his chest and the fact that his sunken eyes are staring intensely at him to let Izuku know he’s still breathing. Smiling sadly, Izuku gives Yagi’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“I promise that I will be the best Pro Hero you’ve ever seen, Yagi. I promise that I’ll do my best to surpass even you. But I can’t promise to be the next All Might, or to present myself as such. And I can’t promise to be the next Pillar of Peace once you’re gone. This world… it needs to stop leaning on one man for so much. That’s why I’m going to build a more solid foundation and hold the heroes just as accountable for their actions as the villains.”

Looking into Yagi’s eyes, doing his best to convey his sincerity, Izuku continues on.

“The world… the culture around Pro Heroes… it’s broken. And I’m going to do my best to use the power and training that you gave me to fix it.”

At that, he falls silent and waits for Yagi’s response. He has no clue what to expect from the dying man, truth be told. He’s been as earnest and honest with Yagi as he possibly can be. Without going into details, without revealing things that would instantly make Yagi his enemy, Izuku has told the older man the truth. But that doesn’t mean he’ll take it well. There’s every chance that this revelation alone will make Yagi regret making Izuku his successor.

The room is quiet save for the equipment monitoring Yagi’s vitals as he lays there in the medical bed. There’s also the belabored, unsteady breathing coming from the dying Hero as well. Izuku doesn’t look away though. He stares Yagi right in his sunken eyes until the other man finally speaks.

“Young Midoriya… I thought I couldn’t be any more surprised by you than when you made that impossible choice and saved us all from your father. But… this… you have shown me the depth of your conviction. And I cannot deny either your passion or some of the things you’ve said.”

That sounded a lot like Yagi didn’t completely agree with him. But also, that he wasn’t going to argue with him or blow up at him. So… best case scenario, maybe? Yagi’s hand, which has been loose and weak in Izuku’s grasp before now, even suddenly firms up as he grips Izuku’s hand right back and then reaches out with a surge of strength to clasp Izuku’s shoulder with his other hand.

“Your path is your own, Izuku. And maybe it’s not how I chose to do things… but your path is honorable all the same. I entrust the future of this world to you and your plans… and I pray that the world you build will be one you can be proud of. Do not falter. Do not look back. Always continue forward and don’t let anyone stop you from achieving your dreams. You-!”

Unfortunately, Yagi once again reaches his limit, cut off by another coughing fit that results in more blood as he’s forced to lean back again into the mountain of pillows behind him. In the end, by the time he’s done hacking up half a lung this time, he looks more weathered and worn than ever before. Letting out a rattling sigh, the dying man waves off Izuku’s concern.

“Go. I am not quite gone yet… but I do need a nap. Go and do what must be done, Izuku Midoriya. Save this world… in your own way.”

A few moments later and, true to his word, Yagi has already drifted off. But it’s obviously because at this point, sleeping is the standard as his body tries to conserve as much of his remaining energy as possible. Slowly but surely, now that his time as All Might has shrunk to nothing, it seems like his time in the waking world is liable to shrink to nothing as well.

To be fair though, he shouldn’t even BE alive with the injury that Izuku’s father gave him in their final confrontation. The man’s will to live and to keep on fighting is insane. But… he can rest now. Izuku will take it from here.

Feeling strangely bolstered by the conversation, even though he had to reject All Might’s request, Izuku slips out of the man’s room… only to blink when Nana gives him a certain hungry look.

“… There’s someone else who wishes to speak with you, Izuku.”

Oh? Just from Nana’s demeanor, he can tell this will be a different sort of ‘conversation’. Smiling slightly, Izuku lets Nana lead the way down the hall to another room… a storage room. Not an empty one though, because waiting for them inside, wringing her hands… is one Tomoko Shiretoko dressed in a skimpy, form-hugging Nurse’s Uniform.

However, the energetic and bombastic green-haired young woman is currently acting like neither of those things right now as she freezes up at the sight of them. Izuku just raises an eyebrow, prompting the Pro Hero known as Ragdoll to immediately confess the truth to him.

“I know that Mister Yagi is All Might! My Quirk, Search, allows me to keep track of people! I’ve been monitoring Mister Yagi since he arrived here a few days ago, so imagine my surprise when he sped out of here for a couple minutes each day only for All Might to show up at the exact same time!”

Oh. Well, that was awkward. He’d literally just told himself before his conversation with Yagi that he was pretty sure none of the former Pussycats knew about Yagi’s true identity. To find out he was wrong and there WAS more in Tomoko’s actions then met the eye… well, it was a little bit embarrassing, wasn’t it?

Of course, Izuku doesn’t have time to stew for long in his embarrassment, because Tomoko is suddenly in front of him, peering at him closely.

“You’re his protégé then, r-right? And Nana Shimura… she was his teacher!”

Ah. Now he was starting to understand. Tomoko Shiretoko… was a total All Might fangirl. To be fair, it wasn’t like she was lacking in company in that regard. Most law abiding citizens were fans of All Might.

From his side, Nana suddenly speaks up.

“Tell Izuku what we discussed.”

Blushing profusely, Tomoko averts her gaze for a moment, wringing her hands some more. Then… she reaches down and pulls up the skirt of her Nurse’s Uniform, revealing a lack of panties.

“If… if you wanted a personal check-up, sir… you just have to ask.”

Izuku blinks and then looks to Nana just in time for the older woman to offer him Tomoko’s panties as a trophy.

… Seriously? Was every woman in his life constantly going out of their way to draw in other women for him to fuck? When was the last time Izuku CHOSE to go after a girl, rather than having them brought to him? It was like he was surrounded by cats constantly bringing him the prey they were catching and seeking his approval over it…

[ ] Let Tomoko do her 'check-up' but don't push her to seduce the other Pussycats - 10%