The apple came apart with a soft, clean sound beneath the knife.
Reinhard worked carefully, each slice even and deliberate, the blade gliding through the fruit as if it were practice rather than necessity. The scent of apples mingled with antiseptic, a strange but familiar blend he had come to associate with this room. The hospital was quieter now than it had been days ago. Fewer footsteps in the hall. Fewer voices raised in urgency. The crisis, at least here, had passed.
All Might lay propped up against the pillows, blankets pulled to his waist. Without the dramatic posture and booming presence he carried in public, he looked older. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he looked smaller. His frame was thinner, shoulders not quite as broad, chest rising and falling with a steady but fragile rhythm. Tubes and wires traced paths across his body, machines beside the bed humming softly like patient sentinels.
"You know," All Might said, watching Reinhard's hands, "I really can manage simple things like fruit."
Reinhard did not look up. "You collapsed in a hallway three days ago," he replied calmly. "You are staying."
All Might chuckled weakly. "You make it sound so final."
"It is," Reinhard said, placing another slice onto the plate. "At least for a few days."
All Might sighed, exaggerated despite his condition. "Very well. I surrender. Temporarily."
Reinhard allowed himself a small smile. He slid the plate onto the bedside table and wiped the blade clean before folding his hands in his lap and sitting beside the bed. For a while, neither of them spoke. The silence was not awkward. It was comfortable. Earned.
"I've been thinking," Reinhard said at last.
All Might turned his head slightly. "Oh?"
"I want to be a hero," Reinhard continued. "Not just someone strong. Someone like you."
All Might's brows lifted. "Like me, huh?"
"Yes," Reinhard said. "Someone who stands even when they are afraid. Someone who takes responsibility."
All Might studied him quietly. "That path is... not an easy one."
"I know," Reinhard replied. "But if I can protect people, if I can make them feel safe, then the pain is worth it."
All Might smiled, softer than before. "You already sound like a hero."
Before Reinhard could respond, the television in the corner flickered to life.
The sudden change in light drew both of their attention. Neither of them had touched the remote.
The screen resolved into the image of a news anchor seated inside a helicopter, the city far below her framed by windows streaked with condensation. Her voice, when she spoke, was steady but strained.
"This is an emergency broadcast," she said. "We are receiving live footage from the United States, where an unprecedented disaster continues to unfold."
The image shifted.
A vast white shape hovered over a skyline Reinhard did not recognize it at first, its sheer size dwarfing buildings that would have been landmarks on their own. The sunlight around it bent strangely, casting an unnatural pall over everything beneath.
Reinhard's fingers twitched.
"Authorities believe the phenomenon may be the result of a quirk catastrophe," the anchor continued. "Containment efforts have failed."
The words felt distant, muffled, as if spoken through water.
"The entity, now referred to as the White Whale, first appeared without warning. Within minutes, the city was engulfed in an unidentified mist."
Reinhard's breath grew shallow.
"Approximately twenty-five million people are confirmed missing."
The room seemed to tilt.
"Officials emphasize that these individuals have not been located. There are no bodies. No remains. Even more disturbingly, witnesses report that memories of the missing are gone. Names forgotten. Faces blurred. Emotional connections faded, despite physical records still existing."
Reinhard's ears rang.
"America's most powerful hero, Stars and Stripes, attempted subjugation. Her current status remains unknown."
The sound dropped away entirely.
The image on the screen blurred into meaningless color. Reinhard saw only white. Endless, oppressive white. A sky filled with mist. A roar that scraped at the inside of his skull.
The plate slipped from his hands.
It shattered against the floor, the sharp sound echoing unnaturally loud in the quiet room. Apple slices scattered, rolling beneath the bed and across the tiles.
All Might turned sharply, heart lurching. "Reinhard?"
The boy stood frozen, staring at nothing. His face had drained of color, eyes wide and glassy, breath coming in short, uneven bursts. His shoulders trembled as if bracing against something invisible.
"Reinhard," All Might said again, louder. "Hey. Look at me."
He reached out, gripping Reinhard's shoulder.
The contact grounded him.
Reinhard inhaled sharply, as if pulled back from somewhere far away. His knees buckled slightly before he steadied himself against the bed.
"It's here," he whispered.
All Might frowned, concern sharpening. "What is?"
"The White Whale," Reinhard said, voice barely audible. "How is it here?"
All Might's expression hardened. "I don't understand"
"My world," Reinhard replied. "It's a Great Witchbeast."
The term meant nothing to All Might, but the way Reinhard said it sent a chill through him.
"It's a calamity," Reinhard continued, words spilling out now. "It terrorized us for four hundred years. Entire towns erased. Families forgotten. It feeds on peoples existence."
All Might felt a cold knot form in his chest. "You're saying that thing on the news... isn't human. Isn't even a quirk."
Reinhard shook his head. "It's a monster. Created by the witch of envy."
He swallowed hard. "We tried to kill it once. A subjugation. It failed."
All Might listened, silent, as Reinhard's hands clenched into fists.
"When I was five, my grandmother led the greatest subjugation at the time and fought it," Reinhard said. "She was the strongest knight I knew along with my grandfather. She had a Divine Protection that let her stand against it."
His voice cracked. "But in the middle of the battle. It transferred to me. I took it from her. I didn't mean to. I didn't understand what I was doing."
All Might's breath caught.
"She died," Reinhard finished. "And the Whale escaped."
The room was quiet again, save for the steady beeping of machines.
All Might reached out, pulling Reinhard into a careful embrace despite the ache in his own body. Reinhard stiffened for a moment, then leaned into him, trembling.
"That wasn't your fault," All Might said firmly. "You were a child. And even now, you carry more responsibility than anyone should."
Reinhard closed his eyes, nodding faintly although he didnt agree. "But that doesn't change what I did."
He pulled back, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. When he looked up again, there was fear there, but also resolve.
"I have to kill it," he said.
All Might opened his mouth instinctively. "Reinhard—"
"It can't be reasoned with," Reinhard said quickly. "It doesn't think like people do. It doesn't feel guilt or mercy. It's like a storm that always comes back."
All Might fell silent.
Reinhard's gaze did not waver. "If it stays, more people will disappear."
Slowly, All Might nodded.
"...Then we stop it," he said.
Reinhard blinked, surprised.
All Might's eyes hardened with familiar determination. "But we do this properly. I'll contact Principal Nezu. Right now."
He reached for his phone beside the bed.
"If monsters are crossing into our world," All Might continued, "then heroes need to understand what they're facing."
Reinhard straightened.
Somewhere far away, beneath white skies and the erased city, the White Whale drifted on.
Its eyes gleamed with hunger.