After glancing at his successor for a few minutes, Yagi Toshinori broke the hush between them. He whispered, "So, young Midoriya, do you know why I called you here today?"
"No, I don't. Is something the matter, All Mi—Yagi?"
"Not really. I figured it's time for you to train."
"Awesome."
"You saw the kind of power young Bakugo and young Todoroki showed off in the battle royale test."
"Yeah. I didn't believe my eyes when I realized the gap between us is huge."
"Yeah. Mostly when it comes to young Todoroki. He's way much stronger and talented, unlike you." All Might sipped some water from his glass. "You have some strong and tough rivals for you to catch up to."
"That's true, Yagi. I won't be able to save anyone if I can't control your quirk—no, my quirk. I have to make this quirk 'my quirk." Midoriya clenched his right fist. "I'm tired of hurting myself whenever I use this quirk, Yagi. Please, can you train me?"
Yagi sipped again from his glass. "Yes, I will. I'll tell you the basics of my quirk, One For All, and since you're the new vessel and ninth user to inherit this, I'll transform you into a stronger vessel."
"Thanks, Yagi."
"And also, always zip your mouth shut about your quirk."
"Yes, sir!"
Yagi and his little successor, Izuku Midoriya, ordered another round of food and ate before exiting the restaurant to train.
The walk was pretty long, since both were exchanging stories together. Yagi led Midoriya to an open space—the area was filled with dirt and leftover metals and was currently abandoned.
"Okay, let's get your training started," All Might proposed.
"Okay, All Might."
"Yagi!"
"My bad, Yagi."
Midoriya pulled off his shirt, leaving just his sneakers and shorts. He let out a sigh before clenching his fist, maintaining his concentration.
"Now listen to me, young Midoriya. To have the power to wield OFA, you must first become a strong vessel," Yagi muttered, walking up to him. "Firstly, we'll do some weightlifting."
Midoriya gulped. "Okay."
"Remember! As you're training right now, your friends are also pushing themselves past their limits so they can be at the number one spot. It's a competition to rise to the top among you young folks."
"I can't lose."
And so, Midoriya, the current vessel and ninth user of OFA, started his training. The weight of the iron metals was incredibly heavy, yet, after many attempts, he was able to lift them up.
After hours of training, he crashed onto the floor—fatigue had kicked in, muscles aching and eyes blurry.
He did all that with his physical strength, not using OFA throughout the assessment. Yagi then changed back into his bulk figure—All Might.
He walked over to Midoriya, who lay on the floor gasping for breath after the long hour of training. "Stand up, young Midoriya. It's time for you to try using 5–10% of OFA."
"Sure!" He picked himself up from the ground. Sweat slid down his brow, sand clung to his body, and his muscles ached from too much weight.
All Might crouched down and picked up a piece of stone. "You'll channel OFA into your finger and throw this stone with all you've got." He handed the stone over to Midoriya. "Imagine this stone like an egg."
Midoriya simply nodded twice, his face drawn with seriousness as he took the little piece of stone from All Might. "OFA… 5%."
Red streaks of lightning flowed through his body as he channeled OFA into his fingertips, imagining an egg in place of the stone.
SMASH!!
He exclaimed, launching the piece of metal with a single fingertip into the air. The fingertip he channeled OFA into was broken and painful. He clenched his fist, gritting his teeth as sweat dripped down his face.
"Nice job, young Midoriya. You've gotten quite a little amount of control," All Might hummed.
"This is nothing compared to what happened in the entrance exam." Midoriya's mind flashed back to how he'd sustained far worse pain after delivering a powerful blow to the huge faux villain.
"I promise I'll get used to OFA and prove to Mr. Aizawa that I can finally use my quirk without getting injured."
"That's the spirit, my boy," All Might said as steam evaporated from his body, shrinking him back into his real form. "Damn it!"
"All—Yagi." Midoriya quickly covered his mouth and corrected himself, wary of anyone overhearing.
"That's that for today, young Midoriya. And a quick reminder—you've got a long way to go if you wanna catch up to your rivals."
"Yeah, I know," he said, clenching his fist against the pain. "I'll train harder, get used to OFA, and be the strongest."
"Good! Get going. See you at school tomorrow."
"Stay safe, Yagi!"
After a while in the department, Yagi sat on a wooden bench across from the training area. The breeze was cool and warm, birds sang in the sky, and the streetlights dimmed throughout the area.
Yagi Toshinori sat and watched the birds flying, crossing his hands under his chin as he reminisced about the old days when he was in his prime—before a terrible incident occurred. "Why am I thinking about this?" He whispered to himself.
"What do you say, Master? Do you think I made the right choice entrusting OFA to him, eh, Nana Shimura?" He cried out majestically, yet without losing hope.
"I'll make him a bigger and greater vessel so he'll surpass me—I swear." He clenched his fists with determination and courage, standing up from the bench.
Walking at his own peaceful pace—not playing hero this time—he made sure to get home safely, promising himself not to engage in hero work on the way. But…
Smoke filled the atmosphere a few meters away from him. He caught a glimpse of something happening and rushed immediately to the scene.
His jaw dropped instantly as he saw robbers taking advantage of the situation—no heroes or cops were present.
They set houses and stores ablaze, but Yagi Toshinori was the one who felt the most damage. As Japan's number one hero, he was powerless at the moment.
Sweat dripped down his body, his heart beat louder than usual, his body drenched in sweat, and his legs shivered. "Move! Change!" He whispered to himself in despair, his body stagnant, unable to move further.
Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, he tried—but no. His body disobeyed his will. 'If I hadn't used up my time, I would've caught these robbers!' He cursed himself, watching the terror unfold before him as they fled the scene.
He watched civilians cry in despair and pain from the robbers' attack. Many were wounded, but thankfully, no one had died.
Breathing heavily, Yagi's vision began to fade bit by bit, his breath unstable as fatigue kicked in. He collapsed onto the floor, lying on his back as he stared at the beautiful sky before losing consciousness.
After a short while, civilians maneuvered around the scene. The ambulance arrived first, followed by the cops and heroes.
The fire was extinguished, and the wounded were carried into the ambulance van. Detective Tsukauchi was present at the scene when he caught a glimpse of his old-time friend. "Huh?"
He ran away from his crew to Yagi, who lay unconscious on the floor. "Hey, Yagi, are you alright?" He extended one hand behind Yagi's head and used the other to poke him until he jolted awake.
"The robbers!" Yagi exclaimed, bolting upright.
"They're gone! What happened to you?"
"Damn it!" Yagi clenched his fist, irritated by his lack of power. Tears slid down his face as he realized that when the citizens needed him most, he had vanished.
"Stand up, and let's go over there." Naomasa Tsukauchi—a close friend of Yagi and Nezu, the principal of U.A.—extended his hand, helping Yagi to his feet and leading him to a corner.
"Now, tell me what happened! Seeing you on the ground, I knew something was definitely up!"
"Yeah, you're right, Naomasa. I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't save anyone, and the result cost several innocent people getting robbed and wounded."
"You tried your best, my good friend. Given your situation, I figured you were gassed out and couldn't transform, right?"
"Yeah. I stayed in that form for too long and pushed my limit way more than usual," Yagi said. "I was training young Midoriya, and during the process, I realized I was out of time."
"Your successor, huh? Never thought you'd change your mind."
"Yeah, me too! He was quirkless, just like me back then, and he showed me what it really means to be a hero without having a quirk. I realized he was the person I'd been searching for."
"Never imagined I'd hear that from you."
"Yeah… I think I need to take a nap right now," Yagi muttered. "I'm feeling kind of drained."
"Okay, let's get you treated and get some rest!"
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