All Might's cape flows in the wind as he glides through the sky, before touching down outside of his agency. He looked up to it, it appeared on the outside of a great monument to his heroism and the hard work he puts in. Although All Might didn't really see it like that, more a big ugly building poorly painted where he had to go sometimes. Outside of it though was someone he did like seeing; his trusted sidekick, Sir Nighteye. He sits on the bench outside, but stands to attention as his hero and symbol of peace approaches.
"Hello Toshinori, productive day thus far I trust?" he asks.
"Indeed. Another villain off the streets." states the hero.
Nighteye gently rests his hand on the pillar's shoulder, attempting to be the voice of reason, a calming influence on an otherwise chaotic man.
"Remember to take a break once in a while, yeah?" offers the sidekick. However All Might shrugs it off as needless worry.
"Not whilst there's still fight in me. You should know that by now." he shrugs.
Sir Nighteye's face tenses up, both at the rejection to his advice, even though this was becoming more of a common occurrence in the pair's dynamic; but also because he desperately tries to reach out for the invisible string that isn't there. Trying to read a future that isn't solidified.
"Anything?" asks the symbol of peace.
Nighteye tries his might, but he can't do it, even after all these years, it still eludes him. He removes his hand and shakes his head.
"Apologies, but no. Thought it couldn't hurt to try."
All Might chortles as he pats his friend on the back, he'd been trying this same gimmick for a while now and it always got him disheartened, so to keep his head in the game, he always helped him to find his feet again.
"It never hurts to try my friend! For if we don't try, we can't succeed!" booms the symbol of peace, it enough to bring a smile to the sidekick's face.
"Now then! Where may we find Young Togata?" inquires the hero. Sir Nighteye gestures inside and he follows his sidekick as faithfully as he always did, through the hallways of the agency, those who he walked past couldn't help but smile as they see the pillar of this society walk past them, unfortunately for them he didn't reciprocate these smiles, today was not about pleasure but business!
The pair arrive outside of an official looking door that was labelled 'Sir Nighteye' in subtle letters. Nighteye gestures for his hero to take the lead which he does, he gently knocks on the door before bursting in with his trademark grin.
"Young Togata! I am here... to give you a noble pep talk!" All Might cheers.
Mirio however is sitting silently on the office sofa, his hands both holding the case marked '04' containing his hero outfit, he slowly takes one hand off the case and raises it rather half assed into the air.
"... Hey All Might... power." mutters the young hero.
All Might kneels down in front of his potential successor, his eyes glow blue with his power, he knew he had to say something to raise the young man's spirits.
"In your formative hero years, your resolve will be tested countless times as you become acquainted with your new surroundings! It is up to you to possess the necessary strength to push through and remember there are many behind you who also wish for your success!" begins All Might, Mirio however didn't share the same energy for this conversation, so he just exhales audibly through his nose to let him know that he's paying attention. All Might nods as he gets up and begins to pace around the office, taking in all of the All Might memorabilia that he happened to keep in here, he'd never really noticed that until now... anyway, back to the task at hand!
"Young Togata, you'll be an amazing hero once you ascened from these shadows. I promise" he states.
Mirio nods, before he rubs his face with his hands and sighs.
"It's a lot though. Right, All Might? Like, what if I'm not good enough?"
"You have to be." All Might sternly says.
Mirio's expression turns to one of worry as he looks into the eyes of the pillar of society, All Might's expression isn't the gentle one he came in with, it's sterner, more determined, his hands on his hips and his cape deathly still in the office. Mirio was his sole focus, the boy had to secede him when the time came, and when that time did come, he had to be there with all his strength. He had to understand that. But, he is still learning the ropes.
"But... all we can do is our best. So keep at it young man." concludes All Might as he turns and leaves the room, shutting the door gently behind him. Nighteye shoots a glance at Mirio, who was noticeably anxious hearing All Might's orders, causing him to frown; he might be the symbol of peace but Mirio was still one of the brightest young heroes they'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was to him at least.
"I'll... I'll go talk to him." says Nighteye as he motions towards the door.
"It's okay, Sir. I'd rather not." Mirio interrupts as Nighteye turns back around and looks at his young friend.
"He talks to me... but he doesn't speak to me. Does that sound weird?" Asks the protege.
Nighteye shakes his head as he gently takes a seat on the opposing sofa, his body language open and relaxed, inviting his friend to keep talking, it wasn't good to bottle up emotions on the job, especially one as intense as theirs. Nighteye was sure to drill that into the potential successor from their first meeting.
"I want to be like All Might, sure. But I don't want to be All Might. I want to show people that even heroes are still human too. We laugh, we cry, we feel." adds Mirio.
"You feel All Might isn't these things?" asks Nighteye as he relaxes back into the sofa.
Mirio thinks for a moment, he wanted to word this properly, Sir and All Might went back years, he didn't want to offend him.
"He's the one I look up to the most, sure... But-"
Sir Nighteye leans forward, he was hanging on his friend's every word.
"He seems like this unstoppable force. This immovable object. A god." Mirio forces out.
Nighteye sighs as he takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, before gently setting them again.
"Mirio... Don't tell anyone outside of this room, but. I completely agree." Nighteye confirms.
Mirio's eyes widen. He wasn't expecting that at all. Nighteye practically worshipped the ground All Might walked on, he'd been like that since the moment they met. So to see this side of Nighteye, it was eye opening to say the least.
"Really Sir?"
"There was a time when Toshinori Yagi was as humble and as modest as the rest of us... But one day that changed; he changed, his worldview changed. He knew that if he was to be a symbol of peace, to be the pillar that held society up that wanted so desperately to be... He had to sacrifice what made him human to get there." says Nighteye.
"Why... couldn't he go back to how he was before that?" asks Mirio.
"It's a number of things. But, primarily in my opinion it's all held up by one specific thing. One pillar, if you will. His signature line: 'I am Invincible.'. That isn't to scare villains or rile up the crowd, he genuinely is invincible. He's not had an experience to remind him of the person he was back then." concludes Nighteye.
Mirio's face had switched from one of anxiety to one of sorrow and confusion, he had a lot of things on his mind, about all of it. But there was one thing he felt he had to say.
"If I ever reach the heights he did... Maybe... I would-"
"No. Not you. Mirio; you're so much better as a good person than a perfect hero." Nighteye interrupts. It's enough to bring that classic smile back to Mirio's face, one that always lit up a room like a ray of sunshine whenever it shone out.
"Thank you sir..." he smiles.
"Mirio... is being a hero something you still want?" asks his mentor.
Mirio's expression firms up now, one of determination.
"Yes sir! Of course! There's nothing I want more!" he states. However he was still just human, his determination morphs into sincerity as he talks.
"But, I want to be better and it's just getting in my head a bit... Oh, speaking of which! I finally got my hero name down. I ran it by Amajiki and he seemed to like it." continues the young hero.
Nighteye smiles, he always found joy in Mirio's creativity, and now he was ready to give himself a name that he could truly try and live up to.
"Oh? I thought you were going to go with Phantom Man?" he asks as Mirio giggles.
"Well, as cool as that sounded, it didn't really suit me or suit what I wanted to do. Like how I wanted to be defined as hero, ya know?"
"Tell me then. What did you come up with?
Mirio grins as he gives two thumbs up and smiles.
"I'm gonna be... Le-Million!" he proudly states. Nighteye however tilts his head, as much as he adored his creativity, sometimes he did need it explaining to him.
"Le-Million..? For a million percent effort?" he asks, as Mirio's face morphs again into his grin.
"You don't get it? Okay okay, so. It's because I want to save a million people! I can't save everyone, but if I can save a million then that'll be a good start, right?" he states.
Nighteye couldn't help but smile warmly at his intern, the amount he'd grown in just a few months since they'd first met was staggering to him. He'd evolved greatly from an optimistic young man to a future hero, and at this point, Nighteye looked towards Mirio the same way a father would proudly look to their own son. It warmed his heart.
"I think... that's the perfect name for you Mirio. Excellent choice." Nighteye compliments.
"Thanks sir! I'm so glad you like it too! Now I just need to run it by Nejire... Oh crap, Nejire! I promised her I'd meet her for training, I gotta run!" Mirio smiles as he picks up his case and stands, Nighteye stands with him as they exit out of the office and down the hallway towards the lobby and the exit of All Might's agency.
"So I can expect to see you again... Tuesday-ish, right?" inquires Nighteye.
"You bet! I wouldn't miss our side-quests for the world Sir! Well, see ya soon!" Mirio shouts happily as he picks up the pace towards the door, however there was something Nighteye needed to say to him, words that would burst out of him if they weren't spoken, words that often fell on deaf ears but he knew that this young man would take them on board.
"Mirio! Just a moment!" Nighteye shouts as he runs out the door after the young hero. Who stops upon hearing his voice, Mirio was always good like that, if he even thought someone was talking to him, he'd turn around and give them his undivided attention.
"Oh, sir! What is it? A last nugget of advice?" Mirio asks.
Nighteye walks over to his young friend and sincerely places a hand on his shoulder, looking in the eyes of the intern. It tore him apart inside to see Toshinori running himself into the ground day after day and not looking after himself, he wouldn't see the same fate befall this young man. Not whilst there was still fight in him.
"It's okay to feel the strain of this life. It's okay to feel the way you feel... And it's more than okay to take a break when you're tired. Like you said my young friend, we're still just people after all." says Nighteye. The trademark glimmer in Mirio's eyes restored hearing these words, he gently squeezes Nighteye's hand as a sign of respect and sincerity.
"... Thanks sir. I really needed to hear that."
The pair smile at one another and bow, Mirio then turns around and walks away from the agency, whilst Nighteye returns inside and sits back down on the bench he started this whole episode on, he looks around to see no one about, before taking his glasses off and sighing as he puts his head into his hands. Mirio Togata had the potential to change the world, he puts the pieces together in his head. As he comes to the realisation he always knew deep down, but now could finally see crystal clear.
'He'd be the perfect hero to be the next symbol of peace. But, he's better as an imperfect hero...' Nighteye begins to think to himself. 'I'm sorry Toshinori, but this boy will not be your successor. He'll be better than that. I'll make sure of it.
Made by:truen