Chapter Text
Mina shivered awake just before dawn. It had been colder at night as of late, especially with the ocean so close by, and a measly blanket and sweatshirt really came up short when you were sleeping more or less outside (in the back seat of a long-abandoned car). Bundling everything back into her bag, she set off up the beach and into town, dodging a few early-morning joggers.
She arrived at her destination just as the sun had started to come up, a coffee shop she’d seen in a blurb online called Darker Brews. The caramel latte was to die for, and at this point she was pretty sure their pastries were made of actual magic. Pushing in the door and hearing the little bell go off, she was nearly knocked back off her feet as she collided with something solid with a quiet oof.
“Sorry young lady, are you alright?”
She glanced up, up, up at the man she’d just run into. He was super tall! And skinny, almost too skinny, wearing a baggy white shirt and green cargo pants over a practically skeletal frame. And his eyes! They were like hers! Black sclera with bright blue irises. He had blonde hair that was even messier than hers, and she didn’t own a brush so that said something! Oh wait, he said something to her-
“Ah! Sorry, sir. Um, no I’m fine, sorry for running into you.” she glanced down from his face as she got to her feet, hoping he wouldn’t say anything. The patrons here were typically pretty tolerant of her presence, but this guy was new.
“No worries, I should have been paying better attention.” He moved past her and into the open doorway. She moved aside as a second man moved up behind him, plain-faced with black hair, and- was he a cop? “Naomosa-kun, I’ll let you know after I’m done house-hunting.”
The other man responded with a warm smile. “Sure thing, Toshinori. Best of luck.”
As they left, Mina walked up to the counter, the usual barista giving her a warm smile and typical customer service greeting. After getting her nerves under control, she only had to wonder what flavor of pastry to get today.
----------------------
By the time noon rolled around, Mina was hungry again. She’d spent the last few hours shelving books for Suki-san in the back of the main reading room. She’d offered Mina this little job a few days back; she’d spend her morning shelving books and organizing and cleaning, and Suki-san would give Mina a bento and some yen. She hated to admit it, but it was pretty much the only reason she hadn’t starved to death yet. She owed the librarian a lot. More than she felt she could repay.
Logging on to her computer for the day, Mina pondered the future. She’d been interested in heroics originally, especially after all of the bullies she’d had to face over the years, but Suki-san cemented it a bit differently. She didn’t have to be a hero to help people, but did she want to be one anyways?
…
Yeah, probably. There was too much hate in the world, and she had always wanted to see a hero like her growing up. If she could be that hero for someone else, she’d be happy. Her online schooling was pretty much wrapped up already with all the free time she had, and her grades were good.
The one issue she saw at the moment was her body. Lack of nutrition and no real chance to exercise meant that she had lost what little muscle she’d had from her jogging and dance practice, and her ribs were really starting to show. She’d never make it into a hero school, let alone UA, if she wasn’t physically prepared. She’d have to figure something out soon.
She spent the rest of the afternoon in an internet trend rabbit hole, something about the history of artificial flavors, and decided that she’d had more than enough screen time for today, she wanted to move. Maybe a walk around town wouldn’t hurt.
“Come on, sweetie. Let’s go walk on that side of the road.”
“What’s with him? Looks rough.”
“Is that his quirk? So off-putting.”
Toshinori sighed to himself as he walked down the streets of Musutafu. He’d gotten into town just this morning, and already the weird looks were starting. He’d gotten some coffee with his friend and signed a lease for an apartment near UA, and stopped a few petty criminals. All in all, a very successful day!
“-some kinda skeleton freak.”
Except that the people here…kind of sucked.
Closer to the heart of Tokyo, people usually just looked at him in curiosity, or sympathy, or pity, and moved about their day. More people meant more quirks, and more body types that deviated from ‘the norm’, so to speak. A deathly-thin man with dark eyes wasn’t much of a statement piece. Even though Musutafu was close to the best hero school in the country, the people here seemed less tolerant. They’d sneer, or glare, or divert their path specifically to avoid him. It was…quite different, from what he was used to as All Might. He wanted to say something, to remind them that he wasn’t quirkless anymore. To swell into his heroic form and tell them off. But that wasn’t what a hero does, what All Might does.
He wondered what Nana would say to all of this.
Heck, she probably would’ve punched anyone who looked at him funny. She was protective like that, he supposed and gods did he miss her every second of every day.
What even was a hero, nowadays? It was a thought Toshinori found himself having more and more often. Back in his youth, being a hero was about self-sacrifice. A hero was someone who put themselves in danger to save lives, and who meddled in situations that had nothing to do with them. He smiled to himself slightly as he walked, remembering a young, skinny blonde, full of hope and ranting all of these thoughts at a pro hero who had just been out sightseeing in a new area.
What’s your name, kid?
Yagi Toshinori!
Well, Toshinori, I think you’re nuts!
Nana was as blunt as she was talented. It had taken some time to convince her to train him, even a little. It had taken even longer to get her to see his point of view on heroics.
It had, apparently, taken no time at all to convince her to give him One for All.
Listen, Toshi. You’re taking the UA entrance exam this year, right?
Yeah! I…I’m pretty nervous, but I’ll just have to go beyond!
Ha! How corny! Listen, kiddo, there’s something I want to tell you, but you have to promise not to repeat it, kay?
I promise!
So quick! I knew I chose right. Now listen closely…
I have an offer for you.
Looking at the heroes of today, things had changed quite a bit. As the industry grew, sponsorships and popularity polls came right along for the ride, and many a talented young teen with a strong quirk saw it as their chance to make it big. Even veteran heroes jockeyed for a coveted place amongst the top 10, and Toshinori himself had seen heroes wait to subdue a villain until the cameras started rolling.
It made him sick. It made him sick, and it was all his fault.
He wasn’t blind. With One for All’s overwhelming power at his command, a blinding smile of reassurance, and the defeat of All for One, heroes were in the midst of an unprecedented era of peace. It was everything he had ever dreamed of, everything he had hoped for and Nana had hoped for him. So why did he feel so dissatisfied? Even if more heroes were in it for fame and fortune, they were still saving people! He couldn’t even judge that much, seeing as he had more fame and fortune than literally any other hero. It wasn’t really his thing, truth be told, but there were several charities that benefitted from his paycheck, so that was something.
Maybe he was feeling restless in his old age. Maybe defeating All for One left him feeling a bit devoid of purpose. Maybe it was time to retire from active duty, get more political and try to clean up the quirkism issue a bit before it escalated even more. He nodded to himself, already liking the sound of that idea.
First thing first though, he wanted to find a successor. While the main goal of One for All was completed, it could still help save people, and there were always villains to Smash. Mirai’s choice of successor was a good one, but he had his doubts about young Togata. That boy had a bright future ahead of him, he would definitely become a top hero in no time after graduation. But truthfully, Toshinori didn’t think he needed OFA. He himself had needed it to be a hero, which made, in his opinion, a big difference in how he handled and revered his gifted powers. Would Mirai’s pupil appreciate it? Sure. Would he save hundreds, if not thousands of people with it? Most definitely.
But would he feel it? The weight, the importance? Maybe he was overhyping what was, in essence, just a quirk (two quirks, but details). But he just needed to feel it out. Someone out there would have the spark he was looking for. He would find his successor and he would know. He had no doubt.
Or he was stalling. Possibly. A little. (He and Mirai had parted on terrible terms, and he was a little socially awkward, sue him!)
*BOOM!!!!!
“Help! Villain!”
Toshinori ducked into a side alley as the people on the street started to move in for a view of whatever villain had decided to try his luck in broad daylight (running towards the danger like morons). His quirk swelled inside his chest as his body returned to that of All Might, but he sighed and rubbed at his old injury. Probably only a few solid minutes, maybe ten if he pushed it. It would have to be enough.
Walking around town had proved to be something of a mistake.
Mina had made it a solid, oh, fifty feet before she got a dirty look. A block and a half until someone had said something vaguely offensive. A whole five blocks until someone threw a can at her from across the street!
This town sucked.
Why did she even bother going outside during the day? Maybe because if she went out at night she’d get mugged again, although that weird hero that saved her was kinda neat. She just…couldn’t spend the whole year going between the coffee shop, the beach, and the library. She needed variety!
She had just considered finally turning back and heading to the beach for the rest of the day when the shouting started. At first she had flinched, whirling around and assuming the shouting was directed at her, but quickly realized it was coming from down the street. Against her better judgement, she reached out towards a passing man, lightly grasping his arm as he ran past (towards the commotion?).
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The man responded, tapping away on his phone trying to call someone, hopefully emergency services, “Villain attack by the looks of it. Heard that-” the man glanced over and, seeing Mina touching his arm, wrenched his limb loose and shoved Mina away from him. “Get your hands off of me you freak!”
Mina grimaced as the man shot her a nasty look and ran off. Maybe it was time to head back-
“Fear not, for I AM HERE!”
Mina gawked as the whole ass Number One Hero slammed into the street not ten feet in front of her. He was out of costume, she noticed in the background, wearing a tight white shirt and some green pants. He was even taller than she’d thought he would be! He stood, blonde spikes of hair glinting in the afternoon sun, hands on his hips, scanning the crowd-
He was looking right at her.
She instinctively straightened, running a hand through her undoubtedly filthy hair and trying to make herself look like less of a slob. What if he said something? What if he tried to arrest her or said something terrible like everyone else? She didn’t think her heart could take it if the Symbol of Peace was just another bigot. She needed someone to look at her and see a person she needed help
He smiled at her. Maybe Mina was imagining it, but his comically-wide smile seemed to soften a bit at the edges, shadowed eyes she couldn’t quite make out softening a bit at the edges. He nodded at her and leapt into the air.
He seemed nice.
Her legs seemed to lead her along with the crowd as people packed in towards the end of the block. Normally she wasn’t one to go chasing villain fights, but she kind of wanted to see who All Might was up against. Standing on her tip toes and peering around the steadily increasing crowd of watchers, she could just vaguely make out a haphazard barrier made from a few police officers, trying to keep the bystanders from getting any closer.
BOOM!
The crowd flinched as one as an explosion rocked the ground. Everyone attempted to move back a few steps, some people toppling over in the commotion and barely making it back to their feet. Mina was roughly elbowed by the man next to her and rubbed the now sore spot on her ribs. Glancing up and around the people in front of her, she could barely see a…car? It looked like a car had been hit with a quirk or something, and was now steadily smoldering away after exploding. From within the flames themselves, a man came into view that Mina assumed had to be the villain.
He was pretty much made of fire, best she could tell, bright orange and flickering in the wind. He looked pretty tall, maybe around All Might’s height, but that could just be because of his quirk. Mina watched, fascinated and scared in equal measure as the man absorbed the fire coming from the car, growing in brightness and size until he towered over the police officers even more, who had their guns drawn on him but did not look eager to shoot.
“This isn’t my fault, it’s theirs! Theirs! Now leave…me…ALONE!” The man raised a hand towards the officers, and by extension the crowd, unleashing a gout of flame. Mina could feel the wave of heat from where she was. The crowd immediately panicked, people running and shoving to get away from the spectacle as fast as they could. She could hear people cry out in pain at getting stepped on, while others tried to guide the rest to some semblance of order.
Mina was knocked to the ground pretty quickly, wincing and trying to cover her head as person after person ran over her trying to flee the scene. She cried out in pain as a particularly heavy shoe came into contact with her ribs, and she sucked in a pained breath when she felt something give, and pop. Fuck, that was a rib, I think.
She could hear running water and a loud hiss, and glancing up it looked like the fire-man was getting doused with a hose. Oh, Backdraft is here. That’s good. But where’s-
A large hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt, hauling her into the air while another hand wrapped itself around her throat.
“What-?!”
“Not a move outta your lot or the girl here gets it!”
Heart sinking straight to her stomach, Mina slowly angled her head behind her, glancing up at the large figure holding her. He was muscular, and fuzzy. Maybe an ape or monkey mutation? She tried to wiggle, but his grip on her throat tightened, momentarily cutting off her air supply.
“You too, girlie. Don’t be stupid.” He slackened his grip, sending Mina into a coughing fit that was awful for her injured ribs. Her breathing turned quick and shallow as she tried and failed to stave off the flow of panic to her system. This is bad. Oh this is really bad. I’m gunna die here, oh god!
Looking ahead, Backdraft was still battling the fire guy, while the police had scrambled, splitting between directing the rest of the people out of harm’s way or cordoning off an area. A few people were still nearby and watching, but…nobody was looking at her. A few police had trained their pistols on the villain holding her, but that was it.
“NOT SO FAST!”
Another loud SLAM revealed All Might, standing tall with another man flailing as the hero held him by the scruff like a lost kitten. The man in question was wearing a bright green trench coat and had a mask on, clearly some kind of homemade villain outfit.
“Release that girl at once, villain! You’ll land yourself a lighter sentence if you comply, I promise.”
Mina was trembling, but the villain holding her just laughed. “Like I’d throw away a bargaining chip! Not how we’re playing this, Golden Boy! Me and my guys are walkin’ outta here scot-free, or I turn the girl’s head into pink slush.”
All Might’s signature smile tightened into something a bit more staged. With a chop of his hand, the villain in his grip was unconscious, his gaze never wavering from the larger threat in front of him. He tossed the unconscious man over his shoulder like a dirty rag, a few police that had formed up behind barely catching him and slamming him in cuffs.
“You’ll regret this, young man.” His stance tightened, but the villain’s grip on Mina tightened at the same time. It was a standoff. The tense silence felt like it lasted a lifetime, but in reality must have been 30 seconds of the two feeling each other out, waiting for the other to make a mistake.
I’m in the way! Dammit, Mina! If I wasn’t so useless I wouldn’t be in this situation and All Might wouldn’t be struggling! Think, there has to be SOMETHING I can do!
But there wasn’t, really. She was too weak to break his grip, and trying would just get her neck snapped. If All Might couldn’t negotiate with the guy she doubted she’d be able to talk him out of it. Plus, she could barely breathe, let alone talk. All Might needed an opening, though. She wanted to be a hero, she had to help!
…Wait. A hero. Heroes use their quirks!
She’d probably get in trouble, but the situation definitely called for it. Vigilantism was a nasty crime to get charged with, though. Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t but one outcome came with a lot less bodily harm, so she’d take it.
She locked eyes with All Might. The man only half-looked at her, keeping his gaze on the villain, but she could see his brow raise a fraction of a centimeter. Determination burned in her eyes that she hoped the pro hero recognized.
A breath in, a breath out. She mentally apologized as strong acid leaked from the skin on her neck. A loud hissing sound filled the air as smoke rose from the villain’s palm. It wasn’t her strongest acid by far, but it was more than enough to leave a mark. Enough to give All Might an opening.
“OUCH! FUCKIN-” The villain dropped Mina on her ass in surprise, which hurt, but there was no time to dawdle. She scrambled away on all fours as fast as she could.
All Might took the opening.
If not for the bright blue sky and clear weather forecast, Mina would have mistaken it for a lightning strike. A loud band, a rush of wind, and the villain was out for the count, now embedded in his own personal crater in the middle of the road. All Might stood over him, chuckling his signature laugh, but he looked a bit…off?
Why was he steaming? Was it a trick of the light, or did he move so fast he caught on fire or something?
“Young lady, I must say-”
“Look out!”
BOOOOM!
Mina and All Might both flinched as a large ball of flame surged upwards over the street. Several police officers scrambled as one of their cars went up in smoke. Backdraft was still fighting the fire villain, who had finally just been extinguished with that final blast. The man, now visible beneath his flames, fell to the ground, waterlogged and unconscious.
Mina was about to look back to All Might, when she noticed something off. With an ominous creaking sound, a chunk of wall from the building adjacent to the explosion came loose, threatening to topple onto the two officers below it. She tried to call out, but her voice caught in her throat as pain danced through her chest. Damn ribs! She had to-
The rubble fell, and Mina moved. She didn’t even process it, her legs burning until she was sliding on a weak, viscous acid across the ground, burning her shoes to sludge. She tackled the officer just as the brick and plaster hit the ground not a foot behind them. She rolled off of the cop and onto her back, trying to get air back into her lungs and failing.
“Are...you…okay?” she huffed. She tried to turn her head to look at the man to see if he was alright, when a hard, heavy force connected with her cheek, whipping her head to the side hard enough to make her vision black out for a moment.
“You’re under arrest!” Mina scrambled back a few inches, finally opening her eyes and holding her now bruised cheek in one hand the same one her father had struck. The other cop, the man’s partner? Had kicked her in the face, and was now glaring at her.
“I-what?” she asked, trying and failing to quell her rising panic. “B-but I didn’t-”
“But nothing!” He shouted, “You used your quirk without permission and assaulted an officer of the law! You’re going to Tartarus, villain.”
Tartarus?! The villain prison?! “But, the wall was falling, and-”
CRACK!
The man backhanded her across the head, sending her sprawling. Hearing the loud cracking sound, Mina looked down to see a jagged yellow object, almost bone-like, laying on the ground. The man had broken one of her horns.
Seeing red, Mina tried to stand, glaring at the man when his hand shot to his hip, drawing his gun and leveling it at her. Her anger went cold, and she sank back down to the ground, shaking with wide eyes. Tears started blurring her vision.
“Stop resisting or I will shoot! Convenient how you stuck around for this, you’re probably working with these freaks! Now put your hands on your head, last warning!”
Is …this how I die? Mina thought, tears streaming down her face and breath coming in short, ragged pants. Is everything I went through just for nothing. Do I deserve this? She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for pain, or handcuffs, or a bullet…but nothing happened. Was she already dead?
“Would you care to explain what you’re doing?”
Her eyes snapped open, revealing All Might, standing in between her and the officer, who looked aghast.
“All Might?! What are you doing? That girl is a vil-”
“A child.” He cut in, “This girl is a child, a person. Who you just threatened to shoot and kill because she was scared and tried to defend herself, and you, from danger.”
The man paled, realizing quickly that the hero was not on his side in this. Regardless, he doubled down. “But! Quirk Use Laws State-”
A large hand cut him off as All Might talked over him. “That a regular citizen may utilize their quirks only for self-defense purposes, if the situation warrants it. Given she was just held hostage, I’d say this counts.”
The cop sputtered, before his face turned red and he started to shout, gun still pointed in Mina’s direction (and, incidentally, at the Symbol of Peace). “Heroes don’t even have any authority to interfere in arrests! Release the villain to me, now! That thing has no right to-”
Crunch!
The man snapped his mouth shut as All Might advanced on him in the blink of an eye, crushing his gun to dust between two large fingers. If Mina was in a better headspace, she’d have wondered just how strong this man was.
“Well then.” A few people, who had filtered back into the scene close to the conclusion of the fight, gasped. All Might was not smiling anymore. “I’m sure the Commission would love to see the video of this entire transaction, as well as the Chief.” Now the man really looked pale. Mina was pretty sure he’d started shaking. She knew she was. All Might turned and shouted to the observers.
“Take heed, citizens! This man’s actions are inexcusable. Children are the future of this fine country, and of hero society! We must not teach them to hate others and judge them without due cause. We must educate them, and teach them to stand with one another for a better, brighter future! I have not been in Musutafu long, but sights like this are both common and completely unacceptable.” Some people were gaping, slack-jawed at the Symbol of Peace, the Number One Hero, and the man who had apparently thrown shade at an entire city as well as its police. This was sure to cause a stir online.
“Do better.”
Waving off a few reporters who had trickled in amongst the chaos, All Might walked right up to her, positively towering over her.
“Young lady, you seem injured. May I pick you up? I’d like to bring you someplace safe.” He extended a hand down to her, looking her right in the eyes and smiling. Her ribs hurt, her head hurt, and her heart hurt. Even so, the panic and desperation she felt started to bleed away, little by little.
She took the hand.