MHA: Undying

(All Might POV)

I wake up in a hospital room coughing. I look around in a panic. How did I get here?More importantly, why am I here? I’m All Might! The Symbol of Peace doesn’t lose, he can’t lose!

I finally calm down enough that I can take notice of my side-kick, Sir Nighteye, also known as Mirai Sasaki. A good kid, and a powerful quirk. He can look into the future of someone he touches for… I think it was an hour? Useful in a fight, or when trying to find out a villain’s plan, though being limited to once a day does mean that he needs to be more careful than most heroes.

Seeing me try to sit up, he scrambles to his feet. “A-All Might! Stay down! You’re seriously injured!”

I blink at him blankly. “Injured? What are you talking about? As the Symbol of Peace I can’t be injured. That’s what reassures the population, as well as strikes fear into villains!”

He gets an uncomfortable look on his face, and I’m about to ask him what’s wrong when I start coughing again, covering my mouth with my hand. Damn. Did I get sick or something? I hope I didn’t collapse in front of the kids, I wouldn’t want them to worry.

Now that my coughing fit has passed, I can question my side-kick more thoroughly. But when I pull my hand away, I see it covered in a red liquid.

I stare at it for a moment, uncomprehending. It’s not until my teacher, Gran Torino, enters the room that I realize what it is. And I start shaking.

I’m injured. How!? It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what it’s felt like!

“-inori. Toshinori!” I’m pulled from my thoughts by my teacher’s words. Seeing that he’s gotten my attention, he continues. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

My brows furrow, and I realize that I’m in neither my buff form nor my skinny form, but something in between. Another thing that hasn’t happened before. But that can wait, for now I need to work things out.

“Well, I was patrolling the city when I heard a scream. I approached and saved a young woman from a villain. After the police came I took my leave. I was on the edge of the city when I felt something hit me…”

I trail off as my memories start to piece themselves back together. My eyes widen in terror. “All For One! I was attacked by All For One!” One For All flares up, reacting to my emotions. I’m filled with the feeling of power, but there’s something else now as well.

I’m filled with intense pain and I cough up more blood. One For All starts to recede, and most of the pain goes with it. “What… happened…” I groan out.

Teacher sighs as the sound of rapid tapping comes from the hallway. “I’ll let Chiyo explain your injuries.”

The door slams open, and there stands Recovery Girl. I can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. No matter what type of injury a person has, she’s able to fix it. I’m sure I’ll be back up on my feet in no time.

I stare at her in open-mouthed horror. “C-can you say that again? I-I must have misheard you.”

She sighs. “Your stomach is basically destroyed, and you’ve lost half of your respiratory system. I’m sorry to say, but you can’t continue as All Might, Yagi.”

I’m shocked into silence, broken quickly by my teacher and side-kick speaking up.

“You don’t have to worry, Toshinori. You’ve done your duty as All Might. You managed to defeat All For One! You’ve made Nana proud, so you can retire!”

“Y-yes, All Might. You can focus on finding your successor. You’ve defeated the greatest threat to peace that the world has ever seen! So now you can focus on passing on your legacy. If you like, I could construct a list of potential applicants.” Mirai adjusts his glasses nervously.

“A splendid idea!” A high pitched voice comes from the door, drawing everyone’s attention. “Am I a rat? Am I a bear? Who knows!” The principal of UA highschool steps into the room, closing it behind him.

“UA has a plethora of students who you’ve inspired to become heroes. If you like you can come and observe them so you can make the best choice on who to pass your quirk onto.”

My head is reeling. All For One is… dead? I killed him? Yes… my memories of the fight are finally coming back to me. I crushed his head, but in his last moments he managed to use one of his stolen quirks to blast my side.

But giving up being a hero? Finding a successor?

…

“No.”

The sudden silence in the room is oppressive, but I continue on. “I won’t be retiring. The world still needs the Symbol of Peace.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Toshinori.” Teacher is the first to object, but I know the others won’t be far behind.

“Did you not listen to Chiyo when she told you your injuries? You’ll be lucky if you live another ten years living as a civilian, much less if you force yourself to continue heroing! Just retire now that Nana can rest in peace. It’s not too bad, except when people make personal requests.” He mutters that last part to himself.

I understand where he’s coming from, but I shake my head. “I won’t retire. The world needs the Symbol of Peace. At least until I can find my successor and pass on my power.”

“And how long will that take, All Might?” My side-kick asks.

My thoughts turn to my son, and the plan I’d originally made for him. But even with One For All, will he be able to stand strong against villains? It’s only a matter of time before another Symbol of Evil appears. If I give him my quirk when he turns ten  like I’d originally planned, will he be able to become the next Symbol of Peace?

I was so sure of my idea when I first told Inko about it back when he and Izumi were four. But back then I thought that, as the ninth bearer, One For All would be strong enough to keep him safe from any kind of harm. But if even I obtained such a debilitating injury even after such a long career…

I shake my head free of my thoughts. I can think on it another time. For now, I turn my attention to Mirai. “It will take as long as it takes. But the world cannot go without a Symbol of Peace. So long as villains never rest, neither shall I!”

“That would sound more convincing if you didn’t throw up a waterfall of blood after you finished talking.” Nezu comments.

“All Might.” Mirai looks at me with eyes full of resolve. “You need to retire. Please. Work on finding a successor, someone who will become the next Symbol of Peace. But do it from the safety of retirement.”

My brows furrow. He’s never insisted on something so insistently before. No, he was much more insistent when he asked to become my side-kick. But nowadays he’s only this persistent when…

Suddenly, I know. “You used your quirk on me.”

He flinches, confirming my words. He looks hesitant, but after a sigh reveals what he saw. “Within the next seven years, you’ll be killed by a dangerous villain.”

“Oh?” I question. “Within seven years, huh? That’s quite a timeframe for someone who can see the future.”

He frowns. “Looking so far isn’t easy. And there’s something… wrong with what I’m seeing.”

“Oh?” Before I was just going to brush off his words. After all, I can’t stop being a hero just because of something that will happen in seven years. But this is the first time Mirai has ever sounded unsure of his quirk.

“Normally,” he slowly says, “my quirk shows me the future as a type of reel. I watch what happens around them in a 3rd person perspective, along with the choices they make. But this time…” He trails off with a concerned frown.

“This time, when I looked into the future, it shattered.”

Silence. Nobody understands what he means, but we know by his tone that it’s serious. “It shouldn’t be possible. Everything I’ve seen with my quirk is one hundred percent accurate. But in 5 years, everything becomes… jumbled. My foresight can’t determine what will happen, nor what leads to the choices that get made.”

He looks me in the eyes, and I shiver. They’re desperate. Panicked. “All I know, is that whatever is happening, it will end in your death.

𝌡𝌡𝌡

Soahc claps, startling everyone as the screen goes black. “Ok everyone, sorry about this, but this scene contains far too much sensitive information for all of you to know about. At least to the point where your reactions will give away certain parts of the narrative, as well as giving each side too many advantages back in your world. So I think that I’ll just keep things quiet until the next scene.”

He listens as everyone boos him and demands he lets them see it. He taps his chin in thought before raising a finger. “Hmm. I suppose a few of you can watch it. But I’ll leave it up to the person this scene features to decide on who.” With that his finger falls, pointing to All Might.

“M-me?” He’s shocked that he’s being featured in what they’re seeing, but since he’s Young Midoriya’s father in this universe, he supposes that it makes sense.

“Indeed. It has to do with your… condition.” Soahc taps his side with a knowing look. All Might panics at the thought of having his weakness suddenly revealed, but he continues before he can say anything.

“Of course, it’s up to you who can stay. But since it also concerns Mr. Gamer, he’ll be allowed to stay and watch as well. Not like it’s nothing he doesn’t already know.”

All Might sighs while Tomura raises an eyebrow. This basically confirms that All For One is alive in our world. As such, I should allow those who know to watch.

“Very well then. Principal Nezu and Tsukauchi are who I’d like to watch it with me.”

“Ahem.”

“Ah, and Aizawa.” All Might had honestly forgotten the man was there. He doesn’t know about his quirk, but he does know about his injury.

Soahc nods, and all the students and Inko disappear despite their protests. “Very well then, let’s-”

“Wait!”

“Hmm?” At Soahc’s questioning look, All Might points at Toga.

“Should this young girl not be sent away as well?”

“Nope.” Soahc shrugs. “Like I said earlier, this scene could provide too much of an advantage to one side. But Toga doesn’t take sides. For her, it’s family or murder. Plus, the heroes here already outnumber the villains. Having a four to one advantage for this is simply too much! So Tomura gets the only other villain to watch it with him.”

At his words the two exchange glances, Toga with an excited squeal and Tomura with a tired sigh.

“Anyways, no more interruptions, let’s play!”

Nobody says anything as they watch All Might in the hospital, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Huh. Maybe Nighteye’s quirk is getting static from us watching this world?” Soahc mutters, low enough that nobody else can hear. It’s unlikely, but he doesn’t know what else it could be.

“That could prove… interesting.”