Chapter 10: Ghosts of the Past
From then on, Izuku was more determined than ever. For an 'easy start' All Might had him 'just' move a few lockers, tires and similar sized pieces of junk off the beach to the pickup until the sun was at its zenith. Before they departed, Izuku received a training schedule from his idol turned coach. This 'American Dream Plan' as he dubbed it, clearly specified when, which and how many training exercises he was supposed to perform each day in order to reach his goal in time, with additional appendices providing recommendations for nutrition. Even sleeping and waking times were precisely defined.
On his way home - which he decided to use as a supplementary jogging exercise – the green haired boy studied it and did his utmost best to commit it to memory. »Get up at 4 am, aerobic training from 5 to half past 8 am. After school, from 4 until 7 pm its all about cleaning the beach, then lunch at quarter to 8 pm. Finally, there's endurance training from half past 9 to 11 pm and then it's off to bed at midnight. Sounds easy enough, but I have to adjust it slightly to have some time left for my 'community workout' as well. After all, I can't just abandon them at a moment's notice. And then there's of course studying and homework, too.« He sighed, both physically and mentally. »Maybe I can sacrifice some sleeping hours for this? Getting up sooner and falling asleep later? This is going to suck big time. But no pains, no gains, right?«
When he came home, he was greeted by the unusual but not unexpected sight of his sister, dozing at the dining table. He snorted in amusement. "What's the matter, Mikumi? Don't tell me you only just got up."
His sister turned her head to him, pouting and glaring in irritation. It would have been more effective without her unkempt hair looking like a startled cat. "Don't play innocent here, you! You know exactly what the matter is!"
"Not my fault if you can't be bothered with setting your own alarm. You have to apply self-reliance once in a while. We won't be around forever to do this for you, you know?"
"Precedence says otherwise."
"Yeah, sure." he dismissed her comeback and looked around "Where is mom?"
"Buying groceries, I think. We were out of coffee and tea last I checked." she said before yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. "Speaking of: Where have you been anyway? Don't tell me you did our morning program without me?"
"Not … exactly?" He answered, slightly nervous. He had to keep a secret from his sister, which alone caused him an upset stomach. But he knew he couldn't hide the full extent of it to his family either. So he decided to lie by telling an adapted truth. "You see, after the … incident with the villain last week, I, uh … I got contacted by somebody."
"You got contacted?" She said, astonished and with a raised eyebrow. "What for?"
"W-Well, he works … or rather, used to work as a coach and … when he saw me jumping into danger that day, he told me that he was impressed by my bravery!"
"… this guy praised you for your recklessness?" Mikumi inquired with narrowed eyes, to which Izuku gulped and backpedaled quickly.
"Nononono, he made sure to give me an extensive tongue-lashing about that part. Don't worry, he got the point across. But still, he said that it inspired him and made him seek me out." He shifted on his legs and scratched his cheek sheepishly. "The part where I cussed out the Pro Heroes present on camera might or might not have cemented his decision."
Mikumi chuckled in response to the reminder of that particular part. "Well, I can understand him there. It was glorious!"
"Not the word I would use. I don't even know where that came from …" He sighed before continuing. "Anyway: He offered to train me so that my body can keep up with my … 'helpfulness', as he put it. Even went so far as to make an extensive training plan for me when I told him I aimed for U.A.!" He showed the plan to his sister, who immediately flipped through it.
"This is … damn, this is really hardcore, Izuku." She looked back up to her brother. "And you really want to go through with this?"
"Mikumi, I have about 10 months to get ready for the entrance exam. What I have been doing with you and mom so far was great, and I'm thankful that you pushed me into the right direction. But I have to seriously ramp it up if I want to have a real chance. This man says he will make sure I get that chance, so I will do whatever it is he recommends me to do."
Mikumi thought this through. What her brother said did make sense, that much she admitted, but she would lie if she said it didn't make her sad that he and her would no longer train together. »A small price to pay for his happiness, I suppose …« "Alright then, if that's what you want, then I've got your back." she declared, before something else occurred to her. "But what about mom? Wouldn't she get suspicious about some mystery guy popping up out of nowhere and offering to get you ready? And without compensation, from what it sounds like? I know that I am, even though I trust you there."
"Mom MUST NOT know about this! He said he wanted to remain anonymous, it was the only condition he had. I can't tell you why, but trust me: He has a really good reason for this. If mom found out, she would hunt him down in order to grill him about his motives. You know she will. So, as my sister, I beg you to keep my new coach a secret from our mom." said Izuku, clutching his hands together not unlike a prayer.
Mikumis jaw hung slightly open. She knew her brother had a point. Part of her wanted to track down that mystery guy herself, after all. But both the seriousness and plea in Izukus voice made it clear that there was no way around it if he wanted to receive the help that guy offered and that she knew he desperately needed. »Besides, he keeps my secret from our mother, too.« "… alright. Yeah, alright, I will keep this secret from her. Only fair. But what am I supposed to tell her if she asks about it? Especially the change in diet?"
"Tell her that I came up with it myself. You know how I can be when I really put my back into research and conceptualizing." At that Mikumi nodded exaggeratedly, which annoyed him a little, but he decided to ignore it. "She will believe it, no questions asked."
"Ok, you got my word Izuku. Just … just make sure you won't come to regret this, yeah?"
"Don't worry, I won't."
… 20th May 2257 …
»Scratch that … I am regretting this …« Izuku thought as he pushed along a vault filled to the brim with electronic scrap. For the past three and a half weeks, he had followed his idols training regime to the letter, even expanding beyond it with his other activities.
His mom was, as expected, surprised by her sons sudden request to adjust his diet. But even before he went on a rapid explanation for the reasoning behind it, with Mikumis backing no less, she had already agreed without a second thought. Apparently, ever since exercising more herself, she had looked forward to a chance to improve her own diet as well. She was by no means back to her former peak condition, but she had made good progress in losing the weight she had previously gained through comfort eating after Izukus diagnosis.
School life was a different matter entirely. Both him and Mikumi already lived on the edge of what was reasonable when it came to the amount of sleeping hours. But now that Izuku had further reduced that - much to Mikumis annoyance - he had a hard time focusing on class. Whenever he wasn't outright napping, he descended into a mumbling fit about whatever it was regarding his training regime that occupied his mind at the time. It came so far that at one time, the teacher was ready to slap him over the had for interrupting his lecture about 'paranormalization and its influence of construction standards'. Good thing Mikumi beat him to it by stomping onto Izukus foot under the table.
"Come on, young Midoriya! No slacking off! You are almost one month into your training already and the remaining 9 ones will go by faster than you might think!" His idol bellowed, making him refocus on the here and now.
"YESSIR!I'MONIT!" Izuku replied before quickening his pace. Once he had successfully gotten it to the pickup, he instantly run to another pile for the next item. He had made it a habit to alternate between piles so that he wouldn't accidentally succumb to the illusion of progress and thus subconsciously easing up.
When the time came to leave it be for today, All Might blew into a whistle, causing the boy to quickly collapse into the sand in front of him, to which the number one hero just chuckled. He took two bottles of water out of his thermal bag and went over to the boy, offering him one. "Good job for today. Now rest and refresh for a bit. Breaks are just as important as the training itself."
Izuku groaned as he sat up and accepted the bottle. All Might sat down next to his successor into the sand and the two enjoyed the sound of the waves for a bit, before Izuku found his voice again. "C-Can I ask you something, sir?"
"Of course, my boy. Ask away!"
"Did-Did you have to go through this training too? With your predecessor?"
The mention of his master made All Might freeze for a bit before he breathed out, suddenly exhausted. "Not exactly the same. Back then the beach was clean for the most part. But training in general? Definately. From what my teachers said, as far as they knew, I would be the youngest holder of One For All. That and the first quirkless one. Neither knew how the quirk would impact me and my body, so they wanted me to be as resilient as possible."
Izuku nodded. "That makes sense, I suppose. Better safe than sor-" then something about what his idol said occurred to him, and he did a double take in response. "HOLD ON! 'They'? Plural?? So there was someone beside you and your predecessor who knew about One For All?"
Taken off guard my the boys exclamation, All Might had to take a second to clear his thoughts. He knew exactly what his successor was aiming for. "Listen, young Midoriya. What I told you before is true. No one must know about this quirk. However, from my personal experience, there will come a time where you have no other choice but to take another person into the loop. For my master, that was her friend and partner Sorahiko Torino, also known as The Turbine Hero: Gran Torino." He involuntary shuddered upon uttering the short elders name. "He … 'helped' her training me and together, they made me into the hero I am today. Chiyo Shuzenji - or The Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl, as you probably know her - is another person who came into the know through my master. Back then she … uh … had to be made aware because of me. Back when I attended U.A., I was rather well known for getting myself hurt during training and other exercises." he rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled sheepishly. "She spent a good chunk of my school years there to chew me out for that, actually."
Izuku chuckled along, imagining a scene with a much younger All Might being told off by a much younger Recovery Girl. Then he got serious again. "And … and did you tell other people the truth about your quirk?"
"… a few, yes. But for each of them, I had to consider very carefully. The first one I told - or, rather, who figured it out by himself - was actually the principle of U.A., Nezu. He … to be honest, I don't know to this day just how he did it … and honestly, I don't even want to know." He turned to his successor with the most serious expression the boy had seen thus far. "If there is any serious advice I want you to commit to memory for your time at U.A., it's this: Don't question principal Nezu. Not how he manages to do the things he does, nor why he does them. Trust me, you will live a much happier life without that knowledge."
"If-If you say so, mister Yagi?" The boy said, confused of his coaches intensity when he gave him that advice.
"Good, good." He cleared his throat. "Then, much later when I've already had become the symbol of peace, I told the truth to my sidekick, The Precognition Hero: Sir Nighteye." Then he frowned. "As you probably know, he and I aren't exactly on speaking terms right now, but nevertheless I trust Mirai Sasaki with a secret of this magnitude."
"I have wondered about this, actually." Izuku decided to interject. "If I remember correctly, you and Sir Nighteye went separate ways around the same time you said you got your injury. Is there a connection?"
All Might chuckled briefly. "You are a clever boy, young Midoriya. Yes, back when I received my injury, Mirai insisted I give One For All to somebody else and retire."
"WHAT?! Why would he do that?!"
"I believe because he was more concerned with me as a person rather than the symbol of peace. He knows about the importance of One For All, but I think he was, still is, too much of a fan of me and wanted me to be out of the line of fire."
"I … I see … Still, I think he exceeded his authority with this, didn't he? With you being the holder, it is your decision, not his."
"Right you are, my boy. Right you are. Sadly he kept insisting, even went so far as actively looking for potential successors in my stead. It wouldn't even surprise me if he had one 'at the ready' for me right now. But what he didn't understand then as well as now is what the requirements are to be the next holder. Certainly not being a carbon copy of myself."
"… no offense to you, sir, but that would be really creepy."
"None taken, young Midoriya. I completely agree."
"So, your master, your other teacher, Recovery Girl, principal Nezu and your former sidekick Sir Nighteye. So far, that makes five-"
"Four." All Might corrected without thinking.
"… f-four? Why four?"
"My master … died … a long time ago." All Might elaborated with a heavy heart.
"O-Oh … I'm sorry, I … didn't want to reopen old wounds."
"It's ok, my boy. You didn't know …"
An oppressive silence enveloped the two for some time. Izuku knew he should not ask All Might further questions about his predecessor, so he instead went back to the original subject. "Are there any more than the aforementioned people who are in the know?"
"Oh, yes actually. That one was a necessity as well. Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi - back then only Officer Tsukauchi - was the one who found me after I got my injury, even before Gran Torino did. It was an … eyesore to him, as you might can imagine. But he kept his mouth shut about it towards his superiors, which is why I deemed him trustworthy." He then chuckled. "Imagine my surprise when he told me he had a Lie-Detection quirk. Oh the irony …"
"If you don't mind me asking, if five people currently know about One For All already, then why tell me to keep it secret? I understand about not going public with it, but why also towards my family?"
"I understand where you are coming from, but you have to keep in mind that everyone who does know is by default in grave danger. If any of them were to accidently spill the beans - not saying they would, but the more people know the more likely it becomes - they could easily become a target for villains, who might abduct and threaten them to get to you, so that they can force you to hand it over. As such, me and those before me only entrusted the secret of One For All to those who could protect themselves in such a case. Naomasa is a well respected and cherished member of the police, who cannot only do so for himself if he or his sister Makoto were in imminent danger, but also has lots of colleagues which would go on a warpath in that case. Principal Nezu has all the resources of U.A. High at his disposal, with several Pro Heroes under him. No one in his or her right mind would try to mess with him of all people. And Sir Nighteye, Recovery Girl and Gran Torino are Pro Heroes themselves. The latter two may have gotten old, but they can still serious kick ass." He shuddered again. "In fact, Sorahiko still does and enjoys kicking my ass whenever I least expect it. And Chiyo is all but lethal with that cane of hers. Seriously, old people are scary …"
»An old man that can still kick All Mights ass and even trained him as a student?! To the point he still gets the shivers when he thinks about him?! Just how scary is that guy?!« Izuku too got the shivers in sympathy with his idol.
All Might shook his head, returning to reality from whatever nightmarish memories he remembered. "Anyway: If you were to tell your family about One For All, do you think they could protect themselves in the worst case? Or would they, as harsh as it sounds, more likely become liabilities to you?"
Izukus first instinct was to defend his family. But if he looked at it soberly, he couldn't deny that All Might had a point. Even if Mikumi were to use her secret quirk, this would lead to even more disaster down the line. So, in the end, all Izuku could do was shaking his head in agreement with what the number one hero had said.
All Might put a comforting hand onto is protégés shoulder. "I know its hard for you, keeping a secret from those you hold dearest. But it is for the best." Then he stood up. "Now, come on, my boy. It's high time for you to get home."
Izuku just nodded and got underway.
… 27th June 2257 …
"With all due respect to your vigor, Izuku, but you are overexaggerating with your training." Mikumi remarked in worry. Ever since that mystery coach took her brother under his wings, he has been working himself to the bone. Currently, it was after 10 in the evening and they were already wearing their pyjamas. Yet she had to watch him sweating rivers while performing pushups in their room.
"Non … (huff) … sense … (huff)"
"Izuku, seriously, that can't be healthy! For the past 9 or so weeks you've slept maybe 2 hours a night. At most! Every other time I see you, you are either doing homework, jogging to or from training, help in the neighborhood or wolf down moms food - which is really disrespectful, by the way, seeing how much effort she put into preparing it."
"I will … (huff) … apologize … (huff) … once I'm in … (huff) … U.A. … (huff)"
Mikumi groaned loudly and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "For goodness' sake … You have been … I don't know how to word it: Zombie-ing in the school every day since then. Looking dead on your feet, constantly groaning, and drooling over your sheets like there is no tomorrow!"
"Now you're … (huff) … exaggerating … (huff)"
"Am I?" She deadpanned as she got up and held her phone into her brothers view. On it was a photo she took of Izuku during today's lessons. It showed exactly what Mikumi had described, which made him stop for a second or two before shaking his head and returning to his exercise. Mikumi just threw her hands up in defeat. "You are so stubborn, it's infuriating …"
"Whatever … (huff) …" If he was honest to himself, he was on the verge of collapsing. But he knew he could not ease up now. If anything, he had to increase it even more. "I need … (huff) … more weight … (huff) …"
"'More weight'? What do you mean 'more weight'? Am I supposed to tape your dumbbells onto your back or what?"
"Not enough … (huff) … need something … (huff) … really heavy." Then he looked up at her. "You!"
"Huh?"
"You're heavy … (huff) … sit on my back … (huff) …"
"… excuse me?" If Izuku wouldn't have clenched his eyes shut in exertion, he would have seen one of hers twitching.
"Now … (huff) … come on … (huff) …"
Mikumi blew her white streak out of her face in irritation and got up from her bed. »'Weight', huh? I will show you 'weight' …«. And instead of carefully sitting down how her brother expected her to do, she crouched down and jumped with a cannonball onto Izukus back, who quickly screamed in pain and collapsed onto the floor. Mikumi then shifted into cross-legged seat on top of her brother before their mother barged into their room.
"What's going on here? What's with the screaming?" She then laid eyes on the scene before her and focused her gaze onto Mikumi. "Explanation?"
Her daughter just huffed offended and crossed her arms. "He called me heavy."
Inko blinked and then switched to look at the back of her sons head. "Is that true, Izuku?" she asked him to which he just groaned in response. It did sound like an affirmation, though, so she just shrugged and said "Alright. Carry on, then." before closing the door again.
"That's what you get from calling a lady … heavy?" She said before her brother shifted beneath her and actually started a new set of pushups with her on top. "… are you serious right now?"
"I don't … (huff) … give up … (huff) … that easily … (huff) …"
Needless to say, Mikumi was speechless. Seeing as she couldn't win this particular fight, she relented and instead began to count. "… you were at 117 before. So that's 120 … 121 … 122 …"
Izuku continued his training schedule unwavering until his alarm ringed at 11 o'clock sharp. Promptly and mercifully succumbing to exhaustion, he crashed to the floor and Mikumi quickly got up from his back.
"Do you need a hand to get up? Looks like your arms turned into spaghetti."
At his once more affirmative groaning, she crouched down, slung his arm over her shoulder and dragged him over to and dropped him onto his bed, noticing that he indeed got a little more massive. After lifting his legs onto the mattress, she covered him with his blanket before turning off the lights and taking his phone to turn off the alarms. She would deal with his anger about that in the morning.
"If you can't take proper care of yourself, I will."
… 26th July 2257 …
Mikumi's impatience finally reached its peak 3 months after the appearance of Izuku's secret trainer. She tried to be sympathetic, she really did. But that whole thing had in her eyes reached utterly ridiculous dimensions by now. After weeks of scorching sunshine, the summer heat had triggered heavy downpours over the past few days. Every reasonable person would have taken a break from training in order to rest and to NOT get a cold. And herein lied the problem: Every reasonable person, which by definition excluded her brother.
»Dedication is one thing …« she grumbled mentally as she put on her rain gear. »This? This is obsession. Inane. Risky. And absolute absurd obsession.« She opened the door and stepped out into the downpour. »And a certain someone is going to get such an earful from me for this.«
Irritated, Mikumi stomped down the streets which were by now littered with puddles. She had sadly no clue where her brother was right now, but given the fact it was summer, she figured her best shot would be the bay he would usually follow his swimming exercises. She got serious doubts about the competence of this so-called 'coach'. »Hero school or not: This is not a boot camp! Neither is Izuku an aspiring soldier! This guy better have a VERY good explanation for what a wringer he's putting my brother through.«
Sadly, the bay was as empty as one would expect during such weather conditions. And after what happened the last time she was here, she wasn't keen on climbing the cliff either. So she did the next best thing she could think off and followed the road parallel to the shoreline and searched for Izuku. On the way, she noticed something weird. As long as she could remember, the trash mountains across the beach kept rising from year to year. Sometimes slower, other times faster. This time, however? They appeared to have shrunken. Overtaken by a sense of foreboding, Mikumi quickened her pace, the piles shrinking in tandem with the distance she traveled until they had entirely vanished by the time she had arrived at the entrance to the park.
Looking around baffled, not used to having such a clean view onto the beach and the ocean behind it, she eventually spotted two people in the midst of the former breeding ground for resistant germs.
One was a gaunt blonde man, barely distinguishable from a bag of bones, yelling something at the other person which she couldn't quite make out. It was, however, the other one that made her turn to stone in shock:
Izuku, her dearest brother, unrivaled hero otaku and helplessly selfless cinnamon roll, was pushing a discarded vehicle across the wet, mushy sand while covered in only a white T-Shirt, some shorts and his signature red shoes and while the rain mercilessly pelted down on him. And hastened his insane venture when the skeleton yelled at him.
Mikumi saw red. And once Izuku was out of view, she stomped down the stairs and onto the beach, straight towards the gaunt man. "HEY YOU!!"
Startled, the gaunt man turned around with a bewildered face. "O-Oh, hello there, young lady-"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE?!" She exclaimed.
"I'm sorry?"
"HOW DARE YOU DRAGGING MY BROTHER OUTDOORS DURING THE POURING RAIN?!"
"Your brother? Wait, do you mean-"
"AND AS IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH ALREADY, YOU BRING HIM HERE OF ALL PLACES?! TO A GARBAGE DUMP?! DO YOU HAVE A SCREW LOOSE?!"
"Hold on, young lady! That's no way to-"
"SHUT UP, YOU DISCOUNT HALLOWEEN DECORATION!! WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?! WHO KNOWS WHAT HE MIGHT CATCH HERE?!"
Meanwhile Izuku had gotten wind of the commotion behind him and turned around curiously, only to be overcome with dread when he recognized his sister, who was unknowingly in the process of cussing out All Might. Momentarily distracted by this display, he didn't notice how he went astray from his intended path and pushed the car into one of the larger piles he had not yet touched, mostly because of its obvious instability. The impact, coupled with the strong gusts of wind and a foundation softened by the rain, caused it to collapse. And before he could so much as scream or retreat, Izuku got buried under tons of trash.
The noise caused by the collapse interrupted any unilateral scolding between Mikumi and the gaunt form of All Might. Upon seeing the car that Izuku had shoved around a minute ago covered to the brink in scrap, the horrible realization struck both of them simultaneously.
"IZUKU!/YOUNG MIDORIYA!" Both of them shouted and immediately made a mad dash for the collapsed pile. All Might had switched into his buffed form for this, being immediately at the scene and hauled the trash away. Mikumi was only startled for the fraction of a second upon comprehending that she just had scolded the number one hero, but once he had finally uncovered her brother and both of them laid eyes on him, she was struck by a magnitude of horror that she had never experienced before and let out an atrocious and bloodcurdling screech.
Izukus body had been utterly crushed below the collision force of the trash. His head had cracked open like an egg, with splinters of all kinds having shredded his partly caved in face, rendering him unrecognizable to everyone who was unfortunate enough to have been witness to this. His torso too got pierced by various rods and chips, with one particular nasty cut going across the left side of his abdomen. His arms and legs were broken in several spots and partly twisted into angles that no healthy limb should ever be bent into. And as if to round out this sickeningly gruesome concoction of horror, underneath it all, was an evergrowing puddle of blood, fueled by the red fountains, rapidly spilling their content in rhythm to his slowly decelerating heartbeat.
Unable to accept the picture in front of her, Mikumi immediately lunged for her brothers broken body, only to be stopped halfway by All Might. "LET ME GO! WE HAVE TO HELP HIM! YOU'RE ALL MIGHT FOR FUCKS SAKE!! DO SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT!!" She screamed under tears as she struggled to escape his grasp.
"If you try to move a crash victim carelessly, you could end up snapping their neck by accident!"
"ARE YOU SEEING WHAT I'M SEEING?! HIS NECK MIGHT JUST BE THE ONLY PART OF HIM THAT ISN'T BROKEN! AND HE'S BLEEDING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!"
"Yes I see that too! All we can do is to call rescue services and try to staunch the bleedings somehow until they arrive!" All Might explained, shifting his grip on her to dig in his pockets for his phone. He dialed the number of the only person he knew could save his chosen successor, if she would be able to arrive in time, only to go straight to voicemail. »DARN IT, CHIYO, WHY NOW?!« He thought as he hung up and tried again.
Mikumi was whereas freaking out more and more with each passing second. »HOW CAN HE BE SO CALM?! THERE IS NO WAY IZUKU WILL SURVIVE UNTIL THEY ARRIVE!! HE NEEDS HELP, NOW!! I CAN SEE HIS PULSE SLOWING DOWN!! THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME!!« She grasped tufts of her hair in despair and clenched her eyes with tears spilling out like waterfalls. »SHIT IF ONLY ONE OF US HAD A HEALING QUIRK!! BUT ALL THIS BEEFCAKE CAN DO IS PUNCHING STUFF AND MY QUIRK ONLY HEALS MYS-« she opened her eyes widely as it dawned on her. »My-my other quirk! THAT'S IT!!« "ALL MIGHT, LET ME GO! I CAN SAVE HIM!!"
"Young lady, I understand your agony, but-"
"I HAVE TO GIVE HIM MY QUIRK!!" She shouted out without thinking
Experiencing a mental vinyl scratch, All Might froze for a moment. "Y-Your qui-HURK!" He suddenly felt the girl ramming her elbow right into his scar, causing him to deflate instantly and let go of her.
No sooner than her feet hit the wet sand did she rush to her brothers side and pressed both her hands onto Izukus deformed face and activated her true quirk for the first time in years. When the signature flames surrounded her hands, she listened to her inner voice and mentally reached out for Rebirth.
As she focused with all her might to transfer her other quirk and save her brothers life, All Might observed the scene from the sideline and felt like he was re-experiencing his worst nightmare, because while the color was different, the feeling in the air when those flames appeared where all too familiar to him. »No … No, this can't be … Please don't tell me this is happening …«
With one powerful push, Mikumi felt her quirk leave her body and enter her brothers with a jolt. And immediately after it happened, Izukus eyes opened wide and his body started to shift. He gurgled in pain as his bones moved back into place with sickening crunches, which was quickly followed by the wet noise of reattaching muscles and closing wounds. It was, for all intents and purposes, a stomach-turning spectacle. When his body had fully returned to its intact state, Izuku exhaled and quickly fell unconscious once more.
Acting fast, Mikumi checked his pulse and respiration and sighed loudly in relief when she found he was alive. Then she turned back to All Might. "All Might, he is alright, but he should still be … checked … over …" She stopped herself as she noticed the shift in the gaunt mans condition.
At some point during the emergency cure Mikumi performed on her brother, All Mights breathing had become heavy and erratic. "This quirk …" he muttered aghast. He had witnessed the telltale phenomenon of the very quirk he had long since considered dead and buried. Devastating fears and disturbing memories resurfaced, which sent chills down his spine and flooded the number one hero's brain with flashes of the worst day in his life. "You … transferred a quirk …" he kept muttering, having grown paler with each passing second.
Confused for a second, it soon dawned on Mikumi that she had revealed her secret in front of the number one hero of all people and kicked herself mentally. "L-Look, I know it is a scary quirk, but-"
All Might couldn't hear what she was saying, too occupied reliving the most horrific moments of his hero career. When finally the last smile of his deceased Master appeared in front of his inner eyes, just before this DEMON executed her, his fear shifted into anger. Suddenly, in his mind, he was facing his nemesis once more, that sick mans conceited laugh mocking everything the number one hero stood for. He all but growled and clenched his fist. He put down that monster once before, and he sure as hell would make sure he would not emerge once more.
"All Might, I-I swear that I will explain later, but at the moment we have to focus on Izuku-!" She was interrupted by the number one hero buffed up out of nowhere and took a menacing step forward, with a look on his face that would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. Startled and rendered voiceless in fright, Mikumi quickly backed up and pressed her back against the wall of trash. When All Might raised his fist, she clenched her eyes shut, expecting the worst. But then she heard a loud clonk followed by someone falling over. She hesitantly opened one of her eyes … and was utterly dumbfounded when she saw the gaunt form of All Might, lying knocked out face first in the sand. And standing on top of the blond hero's head stood a short, elderly man, dressed in a white and yellow costume.
"Sorry about him, girl. He has always been an … 'act first, think later' type of guy. And sadly, try as I might, I was not yet able to fully beat that out of this fools noggin … you ok?"
"Uh … I-I … Who are … huh?" She stammered, barely comprehending what she was seeing right now. Just then, sirens echoed through the air, briefly drawing the of those present, before an ambulance came into view at the beaches entrance. "Ah, cavalry has arrived. About time." said the short man and turned back to Mikumi. "Can you carry the green bean by yourself? I will drag the beanstalk." Simply nodding in response, she shifted Izuku onto her back and carried him to towards the ambulance, while the old man just grasped the foot of the unconscious number one hero and dragged him across the sand.
Halfway there, they got intercepted by a pair of robots that had a stretcher spanned between them. Seeing two unconscious people, the looked between the two and then at the short man. "The green boy." He simply said, to which the robots nodded and helped Mikumi to put her brother onto the stretcher. Just then, a new voice spoke up.
"You know, Sorahiko." said a short elder woman in a doctor's coat. "When you called and reported an emergency about an 'out cold and brutally injured dimwit', I half expected you to be talking about Toshinori. And lo and behold …"
"Yeah yeah, you old trout. Save the berating for when both imbeciles have returned to the land of the waking." He pointed at Mikumi, who had started to shake like a leaf without noticing it. "Better make sure this young lady is not falling over, too. I will take care of the dunce here and set him straight."
"You do that, you geezer." the old lady said before approaching the shaken girl with a caring smile. "Don't worry, deary. This boy is in good hands now. Come, you can ride along and I will give you something against the jitters, ok?"
Mikumi just nodded and stepped into the ambulance, quickly followed by the nurse who closed the doors behind her. As soon as she did, the ambulance drove off.
"W-Where are we going?" Mikumi asked in a whisper, extremely nervous and intimidated by what she just had witnessed.
"Well, seeing as it involves that big oaf, best place to head to is my practice on U.A. campus."
That did nothing to calm her down. On the contrary, she was all the more scared now. But she swallowed it down and instead focused on her still sleeping brother. »Guess both of us screwed up today, huh? …«
Once on campus, after settling the sleeping, green-haired boy in one of the hospital beds, Recovery Girl turned her focus back to the anxious young lady next to her. "Now, deary, can you tell me exactly what happened? Sorahikos depiction wasn't exactly elaborate."
Mikumi fiddled with her hands, hesitating "U-Uhm … I'm not … not sure how much I am allowed to say …"
"If it's about that blonde oaf, I am well aware of his condition. I have been the one treating him, after all."
"… Oh … w-well, from what my brother has told me, a few months ago, someone took him in as a coach, to prepare him for the entrance exam of U.A. … though, that this someone happened to be All Mightof all people …"
"Toshinori decided to train this boy? … I see …" Recovery Girl said before looked back at her patient and sighed. »So this is the one he chose as his successor …« "How much do you know about All Mights … circumstances?"
"… nothing, actually? Only that he looks like a living skeleton half the time, and that he is probably just as healthy as one, too … what's up with that anyway?"
"It is very complicated, and it is not up to me to reveal this secret." she turned back to Mikumi. "So you surprised All Might training with your brother. What happened then?"
"He … Izuku m-must have gotten distracted and … next thing I knew, the spot he had stood before got hit by an avalanche of trash … a-and he … oh god, there was so much blood …"
"He got injured that much? But how come he doesn't have a scratch on him now?"
"My quirk … it healed him …"
"So you have healing quirk? And such a potent one at that?"
Mikumi shook her head violently. "N-Not healing … s-s-self-regeneration …"
That baffled the youthful heroine. "… that doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. How could you have healed your brother by using a self-regeneration quirk?"
Mikumi gulped nervously. With All Might knowing and how had reacted earlier, she knew that she couldn't keep it a secret anymore. "… I g-gave it t-t-t-to him …"
"… come again?"
Clenching both her eyes and fists, Mikumi clarified herself by shouting out the truth. "I removed my quirk from my body and shoved it into his!"
Recovery Girl was floored, to say the least. "… you can transfer quirks." she stated matter-of-factly, her mind going places she had long since considered abandoned, before her train of thought was interrupted by the young lady's sniffing.
"And when All Might saw that, he … he looked at me like I was a demon and-"
"Don't tell me he was seriously about to attack you!?"
"… yes … he was …"
"That stupid- Good thing Sorahiko knocked him out before I arrived, or else I would have clobbered him myself."
That was not at all the reaction Mikumi had expected from the nurse. "You … don't side with him?"
"Of course not? Why would I?"
"Because I … I could steal your quirk-"
"Let me stop you right there, young lady. First off: Trust me, my dear, you would not be able to take my quirk from me. I might be old, but I still got spunk!" to underline her point, she swung her like a syringe looking cane around. Mikumi wisely backed up a step in response. "Furthermore: Opportunity and intent are two entirely different things. Just because you could doesn't mean you would, too. And lastly: I doubt you would because of the way you reacted just now. You clearly wanted to hide this quirk of yours."
At that, Mikumi nodded subtly. "Izuku figured that … other people would loose their minds about it … looks like he was right in All Mights case …"
"So your brother knew about it … Nevertheless, that oaf shouldn't have attacked you just like that. He is a Pro Hero and as such should have a lot more self-restraint. Especially if the person he was about to strike not only happens to be the sister of his protégé, but also the one who saved his life. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't have any other quirks at your disposal, have you?" Recovery Girl asked, to which Mikumi just shook her head. "Then you were by no means a threat, which makes that even more of a blunder. And I will make sure he apologizes do you properly, young lady."
Mikumi went slack-jawed. "That … No, you don't have to. Despite everything, I can understand where he came from …" Then she suddenly became really bashful "Plus I, kinda, scolded him quite a bit beforehand …"
Recovery Girl looked at the Mikumi for a second before she laughed heartily. "You give the number one hero a dressing-down?"
The girl flushed in embarrassment. "It-It's not like I knew who he was?! I just- I saw him yelling at my brother and shooing him back and forth through a dump in the rain! I was just worried for Izukus health and … blew a gasket, I guess …" she crossed her arms and looked away.
The elderly nurse hummed in thought. "Headstrong, young woman with the protective instinct of a feral lioness and a quirk that can heal others? I knew I liked you for some reason! You're like me when I was your age! Keep it up, it will take you a long way."
Mikumi just chuckled tiredly. "I don't know about that. Once the authorities get wind of my real quirk, I will most likely be incarcerated." She looked over the still sleeping form of Izuku. "At least he is alright."
"Speaking of which: Physically speaking, he is completely fine. Yet he sleeps like a log. Has that something to do with … your quirk? Mine uses up the patients stamina for the healing process and thus tires them out accordingly. Could this be the same case?"
"… I don't really know, actually. I only ever hurt myself that bad once. And as far as I can remember, I had enough stamina afterwards to run away from the scene. Could have been the adrenaline, though. And I vividly remember feeling the pain when my body reset itself, so this might play into it here?" Then she groaned. "But if it is simply exhaustion, then it's most likely the deficit in sleep he has built up over the past three months. All Might really put him through the wringer with his training."
"Is that so?" the youthful heroine remarked. "Well, one more thing I will make sure to give him hell for."
"You are welcome to have what I have left of him." butted a third voice in. Turning to its source, both Mikumi and Recovery Girl caught side of the short elder that the youthful heroine had previously called Sorahiko entering the infirmary.
And following right behind him was the scraggy shape of who she now knew was All Might. When their gazes met, both froze in shock before Mikumi unconsciously backed up until she was standing on the other side of Izukus bed and started quaking in her boots … until the source of her fright yelped in pain as a certain nurse hit his shin with her cane, causing him to hop on in place his other foot.
"Stop scaring this poor girl, you overgrown clod!"
"It's not like I was aiming for it, Chiyo?!"
"Oh you were aiming, alright! With your wound up fist at her face!" the other elder in the room joined in.
"Seeing that I was facing that quirk I was well within my rights-!"
"In your rights my ass!" the angry little man interrupted. "This is a teenage girl for fucks sake!"
"Looks can be deceiving!"
"Apparently, because with all these muscles and bravado of yours I would never have taken you for a child abuser!"
All Might blanched "I am not?! Just because was ready to defend myself and young Midoriya-"
"Give me a break, boy! I have been tracking these two zygotes for over 4 years-"
"YOU WHAT?!" Both All Might and Mikumi exclaimed in sync, which the short elder either overheard or ignored.
"-and the boy never needed 'protection' from her. The few times she did 'attack' him were during sibling scuffles, and most of those times were justified I would say."
"You knew for years that there was someone with that quirk at large and didn't think to inform me?!"
"Best decision we ever did, seeing how you are going bananas right now!"
"'We'?! Who else is in on this plot?!"
"That detective buddy of yours."
"NAOMASA?!"
"… are you talking about Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi?" Mikumi wondered out loud, which caused everyone to turn into her direction. All Might exclaimed and stepped forward, which caused Mikumi to cower further behind the bed. Only when Recovery Girl stepped in front of him did he stop in his tracks.
"H-He was the one to … t-to investigate my case and interviewed me and my mother when I … when I was adopted."
"How did you manage to deceive him?! He has a lie detection quirk, you shouldn't be able to-"
"I-I DIDN'T LIE!!"
"Did you steal an appropriate quirk then?!"
"Toshinori! Cut. It. Out!" Recovery Girl warned him. "This girl saved the life of your successor - who is also her brother in case your forgot!"
All Might at the very least hat the decency to look away, uttering a barely noticable apology, before a certain green-haired boy decided this was the best moment to rise from his slumber.
"Whua? … Whazzgoinon?" He stammered groggily and slowly sat up. Only to be immediately tackled into a hug by his sister. "OOF! Mikumi?!"
"Izuku! Thank goodness, it worked!"
"Worked? What worked? What happened?" He looked around, slowly but surely making sense of the situation. And once he realized where he must be and who was present with him, memories of the previous events before he got buried came crashing back like a tsunami. He immediately began to check himself over frantically, only to find that he astonishingly was perfectly fine. And finally, he paled when realization about what she had done set in and immediately scrambled to cover his sister from his mentor and the other heroes. "M-M-M-M-M-MISTER YAGI, I-I CAN EXPLAIN!"
"Explain? Wait-YOU KNEW?!"
Feeling like the discussion was about to start anew, both elders in the room facepalmed and were about to subdue this kindergarten again when another voice spoke up through the intercom.
"Now that everyone involved has regained consciousness, would you mind showing them the way to my office, Recovery Girl? Then we should be able to clear everything up nicely and objectively."
"No problem, Nezu. I was second away from kicking them out anyways."
"Magnificent! I shall prepare the tea then!"