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“Regardless of All Might’s mandate, you are not worthy of his power,” Nighteye said, dropping the seal in Midoriya's hand.
‘...he's taking me on to make me give up,’ Midoriya realizes, staring down at the seal. ‘Despite being All Might’s chosen successor, Nighteye still thinks Mirio should've been the one to inherit his power, his legacy.’
Suddenly, a thought popped into Izuku's mind.
‘But…would Mirio have even accepted such a legacy? Did Nighteye even care what he wanted or was Mirio just his replacement All Might?’
He knew he shouldn't be thinking these things. After all, not only was Sir Nighteye a Hero, but All Might’s former Sidekick! There was no way he'd do something so devious!
Then again, looking around the room, he knew how obsessed Sir was with All Might and the idea of the Symbol of peace. Given what Todoroki had told him about Endeavor, Izuku also knew how obsession can poison a person's mind.
Gripping the seal tightly, Izuku stood and turned to Bubble Girl and Mirio, who were both smiling at him.
“Senpai, before I stamp this contract, I have a hypothetical question I'd like to ask you,” he said in an even tone.
“Oh? I love hypotheticals!” Mirio eagerly said. “Ask away!”
Nighteye's brows subtly furrowed in confusion.
“During my…interview, Sir and I got into a bit of a debate. If given the choice, would you accept a second quirk?”
Nighteye's hands tightened into fists. What the hell is this brat playing at?
“Hmm, good question,” Mirio hummed, cupping his chin. “What kinda quirk are we talking about?”
Midoriya looked down, as if trying to figure out the best way to word his answer.
“Well…it would be a strength enhancer, but not an ordinary one. Like mine, it would stockpile power over the years. However, what makes it unique is the legacy that comes with it.”
Midoriya looked up and into his upperclassman's eyes.
“It's a power passed down from Hero to Hero since the Dawn of Quirks. Over two hundred years of power and you're offered to carry the torch next. Do you take it?”
Mirio just blinked before nervously chuckling, rubbing the back of his head.
“Heh. Gee, that's quite the hypothetical!”
Meanwhile, Nighteye was glaring a hole in the back of Midoriya's head. Did this brat think he was being clever? He knew what Mirio's answer would be. Of course he'd take One for-
“No, I don't think I would,” Mirio casually shrugged.
…what?
“...what?” Nighteye dumbly asked.
“I mean, a strength enhancer would be handy to have, but my quirk's already pretty tricky on its own. Adding on another, completely different one is just asking for trouble. Besides, that whole legacy thing would be WAAAY too much pressure!”
“But you could be the next All Might,” Midoriya added.
Mirio just laughed like Midoriya just told a silly joke.
“Why would I wanna be the next All Might when I could be the first Lemillion,” Mirio said with a thumbs up.
While Nighteye looked like his whole worldview had been shattered, Midoriya smiled and nodded.
“Thanks, Togata,” he said. “Now, could you and Bubble Girl please give Sir and I some privacy? There's one more personal matter I need to discuss with him.”
“Sure thing,” Mirio nodded.
Once the door closed behind the two, Midoriya turned and gave a serious look to the still stunned Nighteye.
“Now that you have your answer, will you actually teach me or should I look for someone else?”
“T-that wasn't an answer,” Nighteye stubbornly said. “Had Mirio known everything-”
“I gave him the same amount of information All Might gave me,” Izuku interrupted. “Since he thought All for One was dead, he didn't feel the need to mention him. Even if he had told me the full story, I still would've taken One for All. ”
Midoriya's gaze hardened further.
“Furthermore, how long did it take Mirio to master his quirk, even with your help? Because I had to learn to use mine, yes, All Might told me One for All is MY quirk now, in three weeks basically on my own. The only advice All Might gave me was to ‘clench my buttcheeks and yell ‘smash.’’ As I've just demonstrated, I have greatly improved since my internship with Gran Torino and that was more due to his love of taiyaki than any actual advice.
“Speaking of, did you ever ask Gran Torino how One for All affected All Might’s predecessor? Did you do any research on any of the past holders before deciding Mirio was the perfect and only candidate? After all, All Might and I are both quirkless. How do you know the previous users didn't have any complications with One for All affecting their quirks?”
Nighteye's brows furrowed once again as he appeared to be searching the floor for answers. He had to admit, the boy brought up several good points. He had honestly forgotten All Might was quirkless, so he wouldn't know of any side-effects a quirked person would have.
“Finally,” Midoriya continued with a disgusted look. “Togata doesn't deserve to be treated as your personal All Might doll.”
This made Nighteye splutter.
“H-how dare you-”
“No, how dare you!” Izuku snarled back, green static bouncing off of him. “Y'know, for someone who can see the future, you sure are obsessed with living in the past! Admit it, the main reason why you're so dead set on Mirio inheriting OfA is because he looks and acts like a young All Might, one who you can control! Mirio-senpai is not now, nor will he ever be All Might! He is Togata Mirio, leader of UA's Big Three; he will be an amazing Hero as Lemillion and he doesn't deserve to be used by a creep like you!”
“You don't understand!” Nigheye cried, showing more emotion than Izuki has seen since entering his office. “Our society needs a symbol, a bright, shining light to act as its pillar, to-”
“Why!?” Iizuku shouted, the static growing and causing both his and Nighteye's hair to stand on end. “Why does it have to be a single pillar!? The reason why everything's going to hell now is because we became over reliant on a single pillar and never considered what we'd do if and when that pillar would fall! I love and respect All Might for all of his accomplishments, but even he's begun to understand that the idea of a sole Symbol of Peace was, in the end, a mistake! Why not have multiple pillars, multiple Symbols of Peace to help and inspire others to share the weight!?”
As Nighteye's mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish, Izuki angrily stuffed his contract into his backpack.
“You know what? Forget it! It's clear I won't learn a damn thing of worth from you,” he said, slamming the seal on the Hero’s desk and causing spider cracks to form around it. As he walked towards the door, the green static ceased and he stopped and turned to give the Hero a sad look.
“You know, Gran Torino once told me that my admiration for All Might was a shackle...I see what he meant.”
Once the door closed, Nighteye could only stare off into space. This wasn't at all what he saw. After dropping the seal into his hands, Midoriya was supposed to almost immediately stamp the contract.
So, what happened? How did that boy change his future?
He didn't know and now he probably never will.
After thanking Mirio but apologizing and saying Sir wasn't what he was looking for in a mentor, Izuku was walking to the train station when something bumped into his leg.
Yagi Toshinori was brewing some tea in the teacher's lounge when his phone rang. Seeing it was Midoriya, Yagi smiled and picked it up.
“Hello, young Midoriya! How did-”
“ALL MIGHT, I NEED HELP!” Midoriya shouted, making Yagi jump and move the phone from his ear. He then placed it on the coffee table and put it on speaker.
“Young Midoriya, what's wrong,” he asked.
“AllMightIwaswalkingbyanalleywhenalittlegirlbumpedintomeandshewasshakingandaskedformyhelpandthenthisguywithabirdmaskcameoutsayinghewasherfatherbutIaskedherandshesaidnosoIkickedhimintheballsandgrabbedherandranand-”
“Slow down, young Midoriya,” Yagi interrupted. “Now, what's this about a little girl and kicking someone in the balls?”