Chapter 41 - CH 29: ONE FOR ALL(2)

"Can someone without a quirk become a hero like you?"

All Might turned around to face the kid after hearing this question. But, just as he was about to answer, a terrible pain went through his body.

(Oh no, Goddamnit, not now!!)

Steam began to flow out from his body as he slowly began to lose his muscular form. He could hear the kid speaking but now wasn't the time. He was truly in deep shit.

"WHAAAAAA!!!!!!"

He could see the surprise on the kid's face. Well, who could blame him? His form was truly something surprising.

"You're deflating!!!"

Still, it hurts to hear that coming from a kid.

"Fake? Are you fake it? You're so skinny!"

Ok, now he really needed to beat up this kid. He tried to speak in order to confirm his identity, but blood began to flow out of his mouth.

"NO WAY!!!!!!"

This really scared the kid. If his own situation wasn't so bad, he was sure that it would make him laugh. He decided to give an explanation.

"You know how the guys at the pool are constantly flexing and posturing? It's like that"

"No way…! All Might is fearless, he saves everyone with a smile. He is the greatest!"

As he thought, the kid wasn't fooled by his fake information. Still, it hurt him a little to hear those words.

He could see the denial and the disappointment in the kid's eyes. Still, perhaps he could use this to answer his previous question more clearly.

"*sigh* A fearless smile, huh?"

His back was killing him, so he decided to sit down. While also, making him seem cooler.

"Now that you have seen me like this, young man, make sure you don't write about it online, even accidentally."

He lifted his shirt and showed him his wound.

----

Izuku was transfixed as he watched this wound on his idol. How could it be possible? How could All Might get hurt? He couldn't believe this. He refused to believe this. Sadly, reality didn't care about his belief,

"It's an injury I got from an enemy's attack five years ago. Half of my respiratory organs were destroyed, and I lost my whole stomach."

He sighed before continuing,

"I've become emaciated from repeated surgeries and the aftereffects. Right now, I can only work as a hero for about three hours a day."

"That can't be…"

He couldn't help but mutter more words of denial. All Might could only be a hero for three hours a day? He immediately thought of the villains All Might faced five years ago. He had a very good memory and could remember everything about All Might,

"Five years ago… Was that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"

All Might denied his suspicions.

"You're well informed. But a punk like that couldn't defeat me."

He was a little happy. His information gathering was one of the few things he was truly proud of. Still, All Might continued.

"This fight was not made public to the world. I asked for it to remain a secret."

Izuku gulped as he saw All Might's expression hardened.

"I will save people with a smile! The symbol of peace cannot be daunted by evil. I smile to show the pressure of heroes and trick the fear inside me."

----

All Might looked into the eyes of the kid as he continued, It was harsh, but he needed to tell this. He didn't want to see a kid die because he followed a dream he wasn't ready for,

"Pros are always risking their lives. I cannot simply say something like, you can become a hero even without power."

"Ah… I see…."

He could see the shock those words caused to the kid. It was sad, but it was life. He decided to leave some parting words of comfort.

"If you want to help others, then you could always become a police officer. They're often teased because they get villains delivered to their doorstep, but that's also a fine occupation."

He truly thought so. In his mind, one didn't need to use flashy powers to be called a "hero". He finally left after giving those last words.

"It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what's realistic, young man."

He was sure that he would never see this kid again. He hoped that the kid would listen to him and follow a more tranquil path.

----

A few minutes later:

He watched with stupefaction as the kid he thought he would never see again, was running into the flame in order to help a friend of his who was being attacked by the slug he previously beat.

(Pathetic! Pathetic. How could I act so pathetically after giving him a lesson)

All Might felt his heartbeat strongly at this scene. It was incredibly stupid. He has never seen someone acting so stupidly. At the same time...It was really amazing.

His body began to grow. How could he let this kid die like that?

---

Izuku saw death coming for him. He closed his eyes, waiting for his doom. He didn't know why he tried to save Kacchan even though he knew that it would be impossible.

He waited, waited again, waited some more, but he didn't feel pain. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"I'm really pathetic."

He recognized this voice. He slowly opened his eyes, only to see,

"All Might"

All Might was here in front of him and was blocking the hit that would have landed on him otherwise.

"Even though I admonished you, I wasn't putting what I said into practice!"

He then saw All Might's blood flow out of his mouth even as he spoke. It was clear that he was overdoing it.

"Pros are always risking their lives! DETROIT!!! SMASH!!!!!"

All Might launched one of his finishing moves. The wind pressure born from that hit was so high that it basically created a mini-tornado. Then, It began to rain. He basically changed the weather with his fist.

This view was the last thing he saw before fainting.

---

All Might wiped the blood on his mouth with the back of the hand as he stood under the rain. He then raised his head and smiled at the cheering crowd like what he did was nothing.

It hurt. It hurt like hell. His guts were on fire. Blood was in his throat. His legs felt weak. Despite that, he still had to smile. He raised his fist as a sign of victory.

All Might couldn't afford to be seen not smiling. He was the symbol of peace. His body and his soul was dedicated to the good of the world. Even if his body stopped listening to him, even if he was slowly killing himself. It didn't matter.

He turned to look to the unconscious green-haired boy. What's more, he finally found it…

It seemed like he had to make a call.

----

One hour later

"I want you to inherit my power."

"Inherit your power?"

Izuku looked at All Might with bewilderment. The two of them were standing on a deserted street. Well, All Might was standing.

He, on the other hand, was sort of kneeling. He still had tears in his eyes after All Might finally said that he could become a hero. Those words were those he had always wished to hear.

All Might began to laugh.

"That's just a suggestion. The real show starts after this. Listen, young man. You need to decide whether or not you will accept my power!"

Izuku didn't know if he should be surprised at the content of what All Might was saying or be worried at the fact that All Might was vomiting blood while saying it. After cleaning his face, All Might continued

"I'm talking about my power young man. The tabloids called it [Superhuman strength] or [Boost], and I constantly dodged the question during interviews with funny jokes. Because the symbol of peace, All Might, had to be a natural-born hero. But young man, I will tell you the truth..."

All Might raised his hands to the sky as if he wanted to embrace the world. For a short instant, Izuku thought that All Might looked like a cult leader,

"My quirk was passed on to me like a sacred torch."

"It was passed on to you…?"

How could it be possible? Quirks could be passed to other people?

"That's right, and next, it's your turn."

"W-wait! Wait a minute! It's true that your quirk is something hotly debated as one of the world's greatest mysteries. So much that not a day goes by when I don't see someone talking about it online. But, well, I don't really understand what you mean by inheriting or passing on a quirk. I've never heard of anything like that before, and it's never even been conjectured in the debate. Why is that? is it because since the dawn of history, a quirk like that was never confirmed? In the first place, it's…"

All Might looked at this kid who started a veritable wall of text. He decided to stop him before it became too much,

"Nonsense!!!!"

This managed to stop the babbling kid. He decided to continue.

"I may hide a lot of things, but I don't lie!"

He suddenly thought about how he lied to Kuroha for years about his state before telling him the truth one year ago.

"*Cough!!* Well, I generally don't lie! The power to transfer power. This is the quirk that I inherited, and it is called… [One for All]"

"One For All?...."

"That's right. One person cultivates the power and passes it on to another person, who also cultivates it and passes it on. It is the crystallization of power that spins together the voices of those who need help with a courageous heart."

"Why are you… Why are you giving me something so great?"

Izuku couldn't understand. He was just a quirkless kid who was a fan of All Might.

All Might grinned.

"I have been looking for a successor and then, I thought it would be alright for you to inherit it. You are just a quirkless hero fanboy, but you were more heroic than anyone else back there."

As he said, he thought of the scene where this kid rushed in the fire. He was telling the truth. As he was quirkless himself in the past, he knew how quirkless lived.

That's why he valued such a courageous but foolish boy. Of course, he couldn't tell the kid that he wasn't his first choice, not even his second one either. He suddenly smiled to relax the tense atmosphere

"Never mind! Well, it's up to you, though. What will you do?

Izuku felt like he would cry once again. He began to think seriously of All Might's Proposition)

(He said so much to encourage me and even told me his secret...Is there a reason to turn him down? Of course not. There's no reason to do so)

He began to wipe his tears in a hurry before getting up and saying with a serious expression.

"I accept!!! I'll do it."

All Might was sincerely happy. After having been rejected two times, he was seriously wondering if no-one wanted his power. After that, they exchanged cell phone numbers and planned to meet tomorrow morning at the bay.

---

A few minutes later, All Might who now stood alone in the street called out of nowhere,

"What do you think?"

A young teen suddenly appeared behind him. He had white hair and red eyes. The teen opened his mouth

"Two things. One, he is lucky to have accepted otherwise…"

All Might bitterly smiled but didn't pay attention

"What about the second?"

"Two… As he is now, he is unworthy of your power. Be it physically or mentally. His body will be unable to support the strain, and he accepted your proposition without even really understanding what it means to inherit your power."

Disdain could be felt in his voice. All Might sighed. How could he not understand that Kuroha was partially right? Still, he didn't say anything. He was sure that despite his shortcomings, this kid would make an incredible hero in the future after inheriting his power.

"Anyway, let's go eat. I bought enough ice cream for you to quell over and barf in disgust after eating it all. AH AH ah…"

All Might suddenly stopped laughing. This day was so full of excitement that he lost everything he bought in the morning. He couldn't help but be discouraged and screamed toward the sky

"SHIT!!!!!!!"

Kuruho looked at the screaming All Might before looking toward the direction where the green-haired boy left.

Mirio-Aneki and he already rejected All Might when he proposed to become his inheritor. It wasn't that he looked down on One for All. One should be crazy to look down on such power. He just had absolute confidence in his power. What more, personally, Kuroha has no interest in becoming the symbol of peace.

On the other hand, he didn't know why his aneki refused. In Kuroha's eyes, there was no one more worthy to succeed All Might than Mirio.

Still, it didn't mean that he would be happy if anyone inherited it.

He let out a sigh. To think that the day was going so well. He just had to jinx it.