I had grown accustomed to a variety of things throughout my career as a professional hero.
The distance my career had created between me and the everyman, the adulation of fans that followed my every public step, how some people shouted in joy just at seeing me. Then there was the fear in the eyes of villains, people that had given up on the pretext of polite society and used their in-born gifts to harm others and take more than they'd earned.
I'd grown used to the pain wracking in my body, the dwindling strength of my inherited gift. The disappointment when, almost without fail, I would reach out to the villains that I could see were simply desperate, struggling people and they would lash out in fear. Justifying their actions to themselves.
I didn't know what to think of the young boy back then. He appeared suddenly in a loud explosion just as I was about to be hit by a devastating blow. And along with a bright flash of crimson, he helped strike down that man.
I still remember that day vividly.
As the violent whirlwinds whipped around us, I watched as his expression of sadism turned to one of shock, one of recognition, of how he glanced at the corner of his vision. A fraction of a moment opportunity I took in order to deal with him once and for all.
But even until the end, I remember how he kept his focus on the corner of his vision. Never parting from the boy in red, as his eyes held untold fury even as I caved in his skull and tore my fist through his brain.
I took a deep breath when a soft 'pop' ran through my head.
Still, I remember asking myself 'who is that boy?' and 'what is his connection with him?' before my mind caught up to the exhaustion. Those questions of mine were answered at the hospital. Of how he was displaced in time, of how he took, is one of his many victims.
That day he shared of his story, something resonated inside of me ̶A̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶d̶e̶n̶t̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶i̶p̶s̶q̶u̶e̶a̶k̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶e̶n̶o̶u̶g̶h̶.̶ ̶H̶u̶s̶h̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.̶ ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶?̶ ̶I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶t̶h̶!̶ ̶A̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶.̶ ̶that cemented my decision to trust him. Much to the vocal disapproval and chagrin of Nighteye, it was one of the things the man had been so displeased with.
Still, the aches and phantom pains of something crawling under my skin, the creaking of my joints and the grinding of nonexistent fractures long gone, the burning sensation as I flex and stretch, the dull and sharp stabbing as I put my muscle under the slightest form of stress, even the tingling behind my eyes and faint ringing in my ears. That battle could have gone better, yes. But it could have also gone much, much worse.
I find it quite unfortunate that beyond our interaction at the hospital, I only ever met the young lad during his part-time at my agency. Chiyo has not only taken him under her wing but also a part of her nest! Last I heard of him was that he was doing well for himself.
I truly wanted to get along with him better. The boy clearly had his heart in the right place, no matter what comes out of his mouth and says otherwise. But my duty as the number one, and the restrictions of his current place of residence and education has greatly put a damper on fostering our connection.
So color me surprised when the young man came in through the door on the day of when Nezu had supposedly found something to help my condition!
~~~~~~~~~~
Butterflies. Butterflies everywhere.
Both in my stomach, and in the timeline.
Getting better at something is nice and all, but I've done gone goofed. I forgot that one of the things about restoring organs that can't regeneration on their own is that All Might is one of my potential patients.
I mean, it's a good thing that he'll get better after I'm done with him but what about after that? Fate or destiny liked how unfettered they are, if I were to disturb the flow with the one acting of healing the man, how would that whiplash echo across the future?
Would the symbol of peace still teach at UA to find a successor? Would he chose, or even encounter Midoriya? Would the big oaf actual overwork himself to death in this timeline?
'... Honestly?' My breath hitched sharply before I released it with a grunt. 'Does worrying about it at this point even matter?'
This is the same world, but different. Even if I didn't do anything to tip over the domino chain, there was never any guarantee that thing would have remained the same. With the way the world is, All for One wouldn't have lasted long either way. In fact, thinking back, the world already diverged greatly when that man broke into Gensokyo.
I checked my phone for the time. '10:30AM' it read. I travelled early on the first day of vacation and arrived at the UA, the school I'll be attending next year. I took a deep breath at I stare up at the building before going further inside.
The labyrinthine walls and unusual design would stump any first time visitor, but using the 'Nezu's Map of the Academy' App as a guide, I power walked my way to the infirmary and down the hall, I notice that the door is already open and that there are multiple voices coming from inside. Slowing down, I peeked my head around the doorframe and blink in mild suprise.
The infirmary is filled with people. Recovery Girl whose talking to All Might whose already sitting down on one of the beds. Then, there is the principal and an old man that looks vaguely familiar. They're all chatting idly with each other, but I'd accidentally made eye contact with the old man.
One blink. Then I decided to just enter completely.
"I told you he would come early." Said Granny as she rolls her eyes. "Well, come on in, dearie."
"G'mornin Granny-" I nodded at her. "-Principal-" Nodded at him. "-All Might-" I turned to the old man. "-er."
All Might caught my attention with a cough. "This is a former teacher of mine, Gran Torino." He says, gesturing to the elderly man sitting nearby. "I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind that I invited someone! It's just- big day you know?" He chuckles nervously.
"It's fine. I understand." I nodded. Having love ones around when being healed is a common thing. I'm already used to having a small audience thanks to all my time at the hospital shifts. I turned to the old man "G'mornin to you too." And nodded.
He grunted. "I've been hearing 'bout ya from Chiyo." He said with a hint of gruffness. "Didn't think she'd actually take you in as her own, but I suppose seein' is believin'."
I shifted my weight from one foot to another. The principal is sitting on one of the other beds and was watching the entire thing play out. I looked over at the emaciated form of All Might, My Red eyes meets with his. Anticipation sits heavy in the air, making everyone fall quiet for a second.
I cleared my throat. Everything is ready. It's the moment they've all been waiting for. One of the goals I've been working over. Granny is on standby is case of anything. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. And out.
I'm ready.
"Let's do this." I said to granny.
She nods and takes a step back, allowing me to take the lead. All Might took off his shirt to reveal the scarless torso. Everything seems alright at first glance, but underneath all that skin is where the damage is all located.
My main head floated slightly above my neck as I placed my hands right by the shoulder blades. As weak as he looks now, I can feel his heart beating strongly beneath, I can feel the rise and fall as his lungs contract. I closed my eyes, and smoke flitted over the man. Then, I can slowly start to feel a mental map of his body.
When every part of the man mentally scanned by me, I now had an understanding of where I should direct my energy to begin the healing process. I imparted my will unto my magic.
I was surprised when I felt two pairs of helping hands --Although one of them seemed a bit reluctant-- before being followed by five others as they each individually helped me smoothen out the process throughout his entire body.
Bit by bit, I've undone even the minute injuries the man suffered. Restoring and shaping his muscles to what they once were, molding his bones to what they should have been, it was as if the man has been reborn.
I slowly opened my eyes as my head reconnected to my neck, the dark smoke clearing out.
All Might clenches his fists, then he stood up from the bed and moved each of his limbs one by one, the grin on his face growing with each flex. "HA HA!" Then, all of a sudden, he puffs up into his muscles form and scooped into his arms and swinging me around in cheers. His booming laughter reverberates loudly as the man, too happy to notice that my head is away from my body, much to the amusement of everyone watching sans me. --I wasn't grinning!--
Eventually All Might calmed down enough to stop spinning and simply held my body close, his overjoyed laughter fading away into something that sounded a bit tighter, a bit more choked.
"Oh, my boy, my boy. Thank you, thank you my boy! I could never thank you enough for everything you've done!"
"It's fine. I was just doing my job." I said from right next to him. He turned to look at me, then at my headless body, then back at me, before laughing loudly again and swiping my head from the air to pull me into a tight hug.
"All right. That's enough, Toshinori-kun." Granny, You're a lifesaver! "Lower him down so we can proceed with the standard checks."
He reluctantly put me down, but not before being threatened with Granny's cane. I helped her run through the tests as the other occupants of the room were talking to each other. Eventually the results came out.
"Wonderful! Such significant improvements all around." Nedzu, the strange chimera, said as his beady eyes looked it over. "Everything is in order."
"And I'm not seeing any deficits." Continued Granny, writing on a clipboard. "I would have expected dehydration, possibly anemia and a variety of lacking nutrients at the rapid regrowth of missing tissues. If I didn't already know how my grandchild's quirk works, it would appear as though your body produced the materials from nothing."
"That's great! Now I-" Started the big oaf, but he was interrupted with a smack to the knee, causing it to jerk reflexively. "Would be taking a break."
"WHAT?!" He exclaimed in shock while rubbing the spot he was hit at.
Granny explained while pointing her cane at him. "If you want to get back at one-hundred percent, you need to start taking proper care of yourself!" The glare she fixed at him with could have melted lead. "Eggs, fruits, vegetables- everything might have been put back together at it's place but it still needs proper nutrition! You can't just subsist on those horrible protein shakes of yours!"
"Of course!" He hastily agreed as she waved her cane threateningly.
"Good!" Granny huffed as she placed her cane back on the ground. "Now, my initial observations suggests that you've already experienced one-hundred percent recovery of missing or damaged tissues. However, we still need a gamut, X-ray, M.R.I., everything. I expect we should be done in a few more hours." She turned to me. " Why don't you go ahead and take this chance to explore the school dearie? Having little to no students at a school is a uniquely quiet experience. I know how much you like your silence."
My eyes probably sparkled at the idea, as she chuckled. I nodded at her and said my goodbyes before leaving.
By the end of the day, she was right. A exploring a non-abandoned quiet school is quite a surreal yet calming experience.