The second we stepped into his office, I closed the door gently and locked it, ensuring absolute privacy. No room for mistakes.
I turned to him, my expression solemn and respectful.
"Please, you can rest now, All Might-sensei. Maintaining that form must be excruciating given the... severe injury you carry. I know the price you've paid for our peace." I said, walking over slowly and placing a high-calorie energy bar on his desk with both hands.
He froze. The trademark smile didn't vanish, but it stiffened. His eyes, usually beaming with confidence, flickered with a sharp mix of shock and vigilance. "Young man... what are you implying?"
"I know the truth, sir," I responded, bowing my head slightly to show I meant no harm. "And I have absolutely no intention of repaying the kindness of the hero who saved my life with betrayal. So please... feel free to release that burden."
The air in the room instantly grew heavy. He didn't attack me, nor did he pin me down like a thug. Instead, an overwhelming pressure - the aura of the Number One Hero - flooded the space, locking me in place more effectively than any physical restraint. His gaze was sharp, piercing through me.
"Tell me, young Onodera. Did He... did All For One send you?"
Before I could answer, steam erupted from his body. Poof.
All Might - the invincible giant - shrank back into his true form. The skeletal figure stood there, sharp angles and hollow shadows, coughing up a alarming amount of blood into his hand. He wiped it away casually, a routine he was painfully used to, but his sunken blue eyes never left mine. They weren't murderous; they were tired, wary, and deeply concerned.
"Who are you, really?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly.
I didn't flinch. I held his gaze with unwavering sincerity. "I am not a spy, Sensei. I know the embers within you are fading... and I know young Midoriya is the one you chose to pass the torch to, correct?"
"..." He remained silent, assessing me. The tension was palpable, but he was listening.
"I am simply here to help," I stated clearly. "I wish to change the tragic fate awaiting this society, and yours as well. I swear on my life, I will never betray 'All Might'."
He studied me for a long moment, the suspicion in his eyes slowly giving way to a complicated confusion. "I don't know how you stumbled upon this information, kid, but..."
"Please, hear me out. There is something critical I must report - a matter of life and death," I interrupted politely but firmly. "In a few days, the League of Villains will attack the U.S.J. They have infiltrated the school system and possess a bio-weapon called 'Nomu' - a creature designed specifically to kill you. If we do nothing, Aizawa-sensei and the students will be in grave danger."
All Might's expression darkened instantly. The shock was replaced by the grim seriousness of a hero hearing about a threat to civilians.
"That is a heavy claim," he said, his voice stern. "Why tell me this? How can I verify this isn't a trap to lure us in?"
"You have every right to doubt me, Sensei," I nodded. "Tomorrow is the Combat Simulation, correct? One team will play heroes, the other villains protecting a nuclear weapon."
He blinked, clearly caught off guard. "...Correct. But that information hasn't been released to the students yet."
"Let's just say... I possess a secondary Quirk. A form of limited foresight," I pointed to my eyes, lying smoothly to protect my origins. "Even if you doubt me now, the events will unfold exactly as I say. I am revealing this because I need you to trust me. I need you to warn Principal Nezu and perhaps arrange for backup - someone like the Number Three Hero - to be on standby."
He leaned back against his desk, the weight of the world visible on his bony shoulders. He was chewing over my words, his instincts warring with his logic. Finally, he sighed.
"What is your objective, Young Onodera?"
"I will explain the details later, Sensei. For now, please just prepare for the U.S.J. That is all I ask."
...
Next damn day rolled in, and after All Might's loud-ass, awkward-as-fuck intro to the class—big grin, booming voice, the whole overblown circus—we got our hero gear. Each piece was custom-built, some fancy-ass shit to juice up our Quirks and cover our weak spots. Uraraka's getup kept her floating without puking her guts out, Ida's had engines bolted to his legs—practical as hell.
Mine? Looked plain next to the others. Just a black bulletproof tux with a bow tie, matching pants that could take a slug, gloves, shoes, and night-vision specs rigged up like regular glasses. Slapped on a silver half-skull-mask to hide my mug and a slick "office" briefcase packed with papers, a sedative vial, some aphrodisiacs and a bunch of survival and fight-ready junk. I'd only barked some simple orders: "Tough, cut-proof, fireproof, mold-proof, comfy, easy to use, low-maintenance, and don't let it scream 'hero.'" So yeah, it just looked like some slick suit—nothing flashy, nothing begging for attention.
Izuku's, though? A mess of details compared to mine. His mom sewed it up, just like in the canon. Green jumpsuit, red belt, clunky red boots, black knee pads, and a mask that was straight-up All Might fanboy bait - right down to the dumbass grin stitched on. Kid couldn't hide his admiration for the guy if he tried. As for the others? Their costumes were... certainly unique and practical for each person's Quirk. Take Yaoyorozu, for example, wearing an outfit with the belly and chest all slashed open just to make it easy to craft items- sure, it's handy, but it's got this serious adult video vibe somehow.
As for Bakugo, those two grenades strapped on the arms like support gear? I swear to god, they look like a total pain in the ass, not to mention if you're not careful, you might fuck yourself up so bad you can't even clap your hands later...
All Might laid out the rules next. Two teams, picked outta a hat, slugging it out. Team one's the heroes - gotta nab the bad guys or shut down a fake nuke in 15 minutes. Team two's the villains gotta fuck up the heroes or guard the "weapon" for the same stretch. With 21 of us in the class, I'd get paired up later, solo. Perfect, meant I didn't have to cram into a squad and screw the balance. Plus, I wanted to eyeball if Izuku could pull his actions together like in the original without me sticking my nose in.
First up: Team A as heroes, Team D as villains. Heroes were Izuku and Uraraka; villains were Bakugo and Ida. Couldn't have rigged a better kickoff if I'd tried.
I left the staging area with the rest of the class to watch from a distance, keeping my peepers sharp.
"Onodera-san, where are you going? Test ain't even started yet…" Izuku piped up, looking at me like a lost puppy.
"Just learning from the sidelines, bro," I said, flashing a grin under the mask. "Watching from my own angle."
He nodded, still looking like he'd lost the plot, then hauled ass into the building with Uraraka to prep.
...
The combat trial finally wrapped, and all my stressing turned out to be a waste of time. Shit went down exactly like it was supposed to. Bakugo's sloppy-ass explosion tantrum, the clusterfuck that came after all of it lined up with the manga like clockwork. Only difference was watching it live, which kicked way more ass than skimming pages.
When it was done, I swaggered back to the site and call Ochako to bring him away.
"Uraraka-san, can you please take him to the medbay? Leaving him here any longer is not a good idea at all."
Without waiting for a word in reply, Ochako immediately approached Izuku, using her Quirk to lift him up and carry him away urgently.
"Thanks, Onodera-san," Izuku said with a wobbly smile before disappearing.
All Might strutted over right after, still puffed up like a damn parade float. "Hey! Good work out there. Smart move, kid. But do you really have to do that?"
"Yep, I do," I said, shrugging it off. "He just needs to quit sucking at looking after himself. I'll apologize to him later."
He shot me this weird-ass look, half curious, half something I couldn't pin, then said.
"Onodera, you're up next."
"With whom? I'm the odd out, remember…?"
"Nope, one-on-one with me!" he roared, grinning like a psycho. "You're the last, and it's my job to train everyone. Let's do this!"
"For real…? Alright, if that's what you want, sensei," I grumbled, a little pissed.
I tailed him to the building where he'd rigged the fake weapon, slipping in through a busted window while he took the front. The second I stepped inside, All Might - back in his bony-ass true form - swung around, arms crossed.
"So, what do you need from me, kid? You said we had some 'important' things to discuss…"
"Yep," I said, cutting the fluff. "I need you to set some crap up, someone to act as a go-between to snag what I want. I will try not to make things more expensive." As I talked, I snatched a fist-sized chunk of concrete off the floor, fired up my Quirk, and turned it into a solid gold brick. Held it up and stared him down, daring him to call bullshit.
His face went wild, shock, then more shock, like he couldn't process it. "So that's your other Quirk, huh? But why me? You could hit up any other - why spill your guts to me?"
"I need your connections, sensei. As the Symbol of Peace, you've got ties - heroes, bigwigs, all that stuff."
"I see…" He let out a long, tired-ass breath, scratching his neck. "But what do you need this nonsense for? This doesn't sound legal…"
"You know the Shie Hassaikai, right? They've got a person I want - someone that could flip the whole game."
"And that would be…?"
"Eri. That little girl is the main factor for making Quirk-Destroying Bullets. I'm gonna save her and take some bullets, figure out how to use 'em for the shitshows coming up."
He damn near choked on that, pushing back hard at first. Took me laying out that I wanted to cook up a vaccine, something to fix anyone who got their powers jacked - before he eased off.
"I know where both the girl's location and the prototypes workshop, and I'll get them myself soon right after I have a chance. I just need you not to interfere anything to...you know, help me. In return, I'll save everyone and prevent the collapse of society."
"Stealing from the Yakuza? Using illegal weapons?" All Might frowned, his hollow eyes narrowing. "That's crossing a line, kid. Even if it's for the greater good, a Hero doesn't..."
"A Hero plays by the rules and lets people die because he was too slow," I cut him off coldly. "I'm not asking you to be the thief or a drug dealer. I'm asking you to look the other way so I can save a life you don't even know is in danger yet..."
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. All Might looked pained, his hands clenched into fists.
"...No," he whispered, but his voice was iron. "I cannot allow you to walk the path of a villain to achieve justice. The ends do not justify the means, Onodera. If you start breaking the law now, where does it stop?"
I gave a wry smile behind my mask. Of course he'd refuse. If he'd agreed, he wouldn't be All Might. But at least, the seed of suspicion had been sown. He'd be keeping an eye on Shie Hassaikai.
I sighed and shrugged. "I knew you'd say that. I know you will refuse, but I am forced to make the cruelest choice to save everyone. But no matter what, I must live my life to the fullest for my ideals. And I will PROVE IT HERE!"
He looked at me with a suspicious and stern gaze. "Don't get your hopes up. f you harbor any ill intentions, I'll be the first one to stop you!"
"Fine. Oh yeah, one more thing," I tossed in, turning back. "Don't spill this to Izuku - or why I know you handed him your Quirk - not yet. I'll break it to him when the time's right."
"Got it. My lips are sealed," he said bluntly, with a WAY CONCERN LOOK. "Alright, enough talking. Now then, prove to me you have the power to deliver that twisted 'justice'!"
Then the "test" kicked off. All Might called it a formality, but christ, even that "formality" was a nightmare.
Right after it started, I juiced myself up with Titanium-Tungsten alloy - hard and durable, sprinted towards him at maximum speed, trying to use his kinetic energy and sturdy body to at least land one blow on him.
But this is like trying to fight a rock with an egg.
He still got my jaw smashed by a punch without any pretense, without any effort, and he didn't even show the slightest sign of concern.
My whole body flew backward, crashing through two concrete walls before slamming into a supporting pillar.
"Fuck..."
I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My vision blurred. Pain. It hurt like hell. Even though I had hardened, the shockwave was still too much for my muscles and bones.
He was still standing there, smoke rising from his fist. He hadn't even used 5% of his power.
"Your Quirk is quite interesting," he said, walking slowly like death itself. "It has a tough exterior. But if it's hollow inside, it's just an eggshell."
I struggled to my feet, my limbs trembling. So this is the power of a Top 1? The gap... is immeasurable.
The match ended in less than 30 seconds.
Guess I've still got a long road to haul before I'm ready for this crap.
He definitely went soft on me, though - I could still crawl to the med bay after. Even with my Quirk soaking some damage, I was a mess of cracked bones. If I were some normal dumbass, I'd be toast - or at least fucked up beyond fixing.
...
When I dragged my ass into the med bay, Izuku was already there, zonked out on a bed. All Might was there too, catching hell from Recovery Girl for dumping Izuku in here three damn times since school started, and for punching another student hard enough to dislocate a jaw and break several bone, then whispered about One For All's deal later - shit I already knew, so I let it slide past. No point sweating stuff I'd already clocked.