Chapter Text
“Happy birthday, Toshinori!” Toshie Yagi cheered, presenting her now five year old son a small cake. It wasn’t much, but it was his favorite flavor: vanilla.
The party was just the two of them right now. Not because Toshinori was unpopular, as he was decently liked. The issue was Toshie, specifically how other mothers found her ‘odd’. Still, there was another guest.
“Miss Nana!” Toshinori cheered, running up to Nana to hug the sidekick. “You came!”
“Of course, kiddo.” Nana laughed, picking up the little boy to spin him around. “Look how much you have grown! Soon you’ll be big enough to pick me up.”
“Yes, boss!” Tiny Toshinori saluted her, right as Nana put him down to greet Toshie. “Hey.. how are you doing?” She asks, reaching for the blonde woman’s hand.
“I’m doing..alright. Toshinori has a cake, and a present, and you are here…but none of his friends were allowed to come.” Toshie sighed, with Nana giving her hand a comforting squeeze. “He shouldn’t be alone because of..me.”
“Hey now, he’s not going to be alone. He has you…and me.” Nana told her, letting go of Toshie’s hand, before moving it to her cheek. “It’s going to be alright, because I am here.”
Despite Nana’s promise, Toshinori Yagi had been lonely for a while. His dad left after his mom Toshie got pregnant, who then got killed by a villain when Toshinori was thirteen. After that, he stayed with his mom’s ‘friend’ Nana Shimura, from whom he got One For All.
One For All changed his life. Finally, he could be a hero, protecting the ones who couldn’t protect themselves. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The training was harsh, Gran Torino was harsher, and All For One seemingly lived to ruin his life. Sometimes he went out of his way to kill somebody Toshinori, now named All Might, just saved. Other times, he just calls the hero throughout the night to keep him awake. But nothing compared to when he killed Nana, resulting in Toshinori going to America after graduating from UA. It was lonely for two years, though Torino did call once a month. But then, Toshinori met David.
David was like a brother to him. A little one that made sure he didn’t die every other day. And the other day, he was there to make sure he wasn’t running around naked. Without him, Toshinori wouldn’t have been the greatest hero in the world.
“Have no fear, for I am here!”
“All Might, focus on the villains, will you?!” David yelled from his car as he and Toshinori chased after a pair of villains.
“Right, on it, David!” Toshinori yelled, saving a family of three from a missile-firing villain by destroying his explosives with a mere blow of wind. And that family of three had a little girl.
“Thank you for saving us, mister!” The girl with brown hair and big glasses, screamed enthusiastically. Now All Might never became a hero for attention. He was tired of everyone fighting for themselves and so fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. But even he had to admit, having a little girl say thank you for saving her and her family made some of the harder days manageable.
“Haha! Thank you, young lady. I’m glad to help.” Toshinori said, patting the little girl on the hair. But before he could walk away, the girl of flung herself at him.
“I wanna be like you!”
“That’s..great.” All Might laughed awkwardly, much to David and the girl’s parents’ amusement. “What is your name, young one?”
“Christ man, you’re like 23. No need for the ‘young one’ shtick.” David said dryly, getting a giggle out of the little girl.
“Hihihi, I’m Cathleen. Cathleen Bate, aka the next greatest heroine, like Star!” The now named girl told All Might, who was caught off guard by the fact that this little girl wanted to be like Nana.
“…I’m looking forward to it, Cathleen.” Toshinori said, this time with less bravado, as he once again patted her on the head.
“….Please adopt me!” Cathy yelled, catching Toshinori off guard. Surely, this had to be a joke.
“Hahaha! Of course, girl! If your parents allow it.” Really, the hero meant it as a joke. But that evening, while he was making a flavorless dinner for himself, the doorbell of Toshinori’s apartment rang. When he opened the door, he was greeted by Cathleen with a big smile and backpack filled with clothes and toys. “…Did you run away from home?” Toshinori asked, rubbing the back of his head.
“Nope! Mom and Dad said I could stay with you! They think you’re a good guy.” Cathleen answered. “They said you saved us, so you’d keep me safe.”
“They… really said that?” Toshinori asked in disbelief. What kind of parents just handed off their kid to a stranger, even if he had saved their lives?!
“They’re really busy,” Cathleen explained, already shoving past him into his tiny apartment, looking around like she was inspecting the place. “And they think you’re safe.”
“I don’t think that’s how parenting works.” Toshinori muttered, watching as Cathleen ran into the kitchen.
“Do you even have food? I’m hungry, daddy.”
“I… have rice.”
As Cathleen stared at him, unimpressed, Toshinori thought about calling her parents. He had no business raising children…And yet, as Cathleen ran up to him, practically bouncing with excitement, something in him softened.
“You’re really gonna let me stay, right?” Cathleen asked with puppy eyes.
“…Yeah, kid. I guess I am.” Toshinori exhaled slowly before ruffling her hair. And just like that, he was a dad.
Toshinori had faced villains with grenade-launching arms. He’d stared down All For One without blinking….So why was enrolling a six-year-old in elementary school scarier than any of that?
He straightened the blazer he was wearing, which he borrowed from David since none of his clothes said ‘stable parental figure.’ Beside him, Cathleen stood in a navy jumper and a red backpack nearly as big as she was. She had declared that the backpack was ‘for my homework and also justice.’ She also wore a determined scowl.
“You don’t have to scowl.” Toshinori murmured. “You’re not going into battle.”
“School is a battle,” Cathleen muttered. “I read that eye contact establishes dominance.”
“That’s prison. And do I need to check everything you read from now on?”
“No daddy.”
After that, they entered the school office together. The secretary looked up from her computer and blinked at the two of them.
“You must be… Mr. Yagi?” She said uncertainly, glancing at the child beside him.
“Y-Y-Yes! I mean, yes madam.” He cleared his throat, all the while telling himself to get it together. “I’m Toshinori Yagi, legal guardian of Cathleen Yagi.”
“I’m here to learn everything so I can defeat evil on a global scale.” Cathleen stood up straighter and saluted.
“…Well aren’t you adorable.” The secretary laughed before Toshinori handed her the needed documents, followed by her telling them to go to classroom A.
As they walked toward the classroom, Cathleen clutched his hand a little tighter. “You’ll come get me again, right?”
“I promise.”
“Even if a villain attacks?”
“Especially if a villain attacks.”
As the bell rang, she gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go. The new father stood there, watching her walk into the classroom without fear.
He was so proud of her.
It was a Saturday, and Toshinori had the bright idea to take Cathleen to the local park to wear her out so he could actually get work done later. But that plan failed when she challenged three older boys to a climbing race on the jungle gym, and won.
“I told you!” She laughed, hanging upside down by her knees. “I’m built for greatness!”
“Please be careful, Gummy.” Toshinori called from the bench. “You don’t want to fall.”
“I’ll tell you, daddy. Cathleen Yagi will not fall.” The little girl giggled, right as it happened. She dropped from the bars mid-flip..but didn’t fall.
“…Cathy?”
“Look, daddy! I'm floating!” Cathy cheered before gasping. “Do you think I got my quirk?”
After a brief visit at the doctors, the Yagi’s concluded that yes, Cathleen’s quirk came in. And what a strong one it was.
“Let’s call it ‘New Order’.” After their doctor’s visit, Toshinori and Cathleen went to get Cathy’s quirk registered. On the way, Cathleen thought of a couple suggestions, among them New Order.
“That’s a wonderful idea.” Toshinori told her, taking Cathleen inside the government office..Which she only went along with so she got ice cream afterwards.
But then, halfway through her ice cream, Cathleen just ran off.
“Cathy? Cathleen?! Where are you?!” She couldn’t be that far. He looked away for a second. “Cathleen Yagi, come back, young lady!”
“I’m here, papa!” Suddenly, Cathleen appeared behind him, all the while holding hands with another. She had blonde hair and dark skin. “This is Meryl. She’s American too.”
“Wait, your dad is actually All Might.” This Meryl girl mumbled with wide eyes.
“Of course! I would never lie to you.“ Cathleen told her with a bright smile. Unfortunately, her dad was less than pleased by his kid running off.
“Cathleen, I am very disappointed in you. What if somebody tried to kidnap you?”
“I’ll turn their bones into ice cream.”
“…You are grounded, young lady.” As Toshinori said this, Cathleen gasped…but she didn’t throw a temper tantrum. Instead she let go of Meryl’s hand, waved goodbye, and sauntered after her dad like a disappointed duckling.
At least she and Meryl kept in touch over the phone…Toshinori might have pulled some strings to get the Hope family’s number.
Years passed, and the little girl Toshinori took in had become a strong, capable woman. She went to UA for her hero license, and then briefly joined the American military for additional training. But she was also growing in different ways.
She had started to date, at the right age of twenty-two.
“Dad,” she said one evening, standing in the doorway in jeans and a white blouse. “I’m going out.”
Toshinori, who had been trying to figure out why the washing machine was making clicking noises, blinked. “Out? With who?” Her adoptive dad asked.
“A guy,” Cathleen said in the same tone someone would use when admitting to a minor crime. “Midoriya said I should give it a try.”
“Your friend from business studies at UA?”
“That’s the one. We kept in touch.” Cathy explained. “She claims I work too much and should ‘expand my social horizons’.”
“Ah, sound advice.” Toshinori trailed off as she grabbed her jacket. And by the time he wanted to give more advice, Cathleen was already gone, mumbling something about ‘just one coffee’ and ‘how bad could it be.’
Later that night, Cathleen stepped inside. Her jacket hung over her shoulder, her hair slightly less wild, and a faint look of something negative on her face. She walked past Toshinori, set a slightly crumpled folder on the coffee table, and didn’t say a word. So Toshinori started the conversation. “Cathleen, did something happen?”
She gave him a small shrug, barely noticeable, and headed toward her room. “It wasn’t meant to be…” she said quietly over her shoulder, then disappeared inside her room.
Toshinori, deciding to give her some space, picked up the folder. Inside was a neatly typed resume containing hero certifications, references, and a short cover letter addressed to him.
As for the owner of this near perfect resume, it was someone named Mirai Sasaki.
Cathleen really wanted to take a shower, just wanting to wash the terribleness of her date off. Mirai had no actual interest in her or what she had to say. All he cared about was her dad, his accomplishments and how he could make Might Tower more efficient.
He just wanted to be All Might’s sidekick, not Cathleen’s boyfriend. Hell, he brought his resume on the date.
But as Cathleen finished undressing, her phone buzzed, signalling that she got a message from someone. Mirai wouldn’t text her (and if he did, she’ll just ignore him), dad would rather speak in person, and she had already texted Inko. So who could be left?
Mery: Good evening, your Japanese friend told me you had a date.
Mery: How did it go?
Cathy: I don’t want to talk about it.
Mery: Was it that bad?
Cathy: Let’s just say, he was in love with a Yagi.
Cathy: My dad.
Mery: Jesus Christ.
Cathy: He was so creepy. Imagine lecturing the daughter of the greatest hero ever how said hero can be more effective.
Mery: Can’t you just use his advice? You’re a top hero right. Number four at the age of 22 is very impressive.
Cathy: Not impressive enough I guess.
Cathy: By the way, you aren’t messaging me just to get an interview for your internship at the news station, right?
Mery: I’ll just tell Whitman I asked you, and you declined.
Mery: I just wanted to see how my friend was doing.
Mery: So…how are you doing?
Cathy: …..
Mery: …..
Cathy: I think I’m going back to America.
If she stayed in Japan, she would never get out of All Might’s shadow. If she stayed with her dad, that’s all she’ll be, All Might’s daughter.
She loved her dad, but she couldn’t stay ‘Girl Might’ as the media loved to call her.