For years after my fight with All For One, I had just accepted that I would be living without a stomach.
The unrelenting pain, the continuous blood vomiting, the mental and physical trauma, the daily struggle to eat, the inability to work more than a few hours at a time, the endless nights without sleep, the feeling of losing strength every day, the—
I had visited one hospital after another, spoken to countless doctors, endured numerous surgeries, been given many different diagnoses, and tried everything to maintain my role as the symbol of peace while my wound healed.
The best thing that I was told could be done was getting an entirely new stomach that would prevent me from doing hero work for up to a year, and wouldn't even extend my ability to work once it healed.
None of them could do what that child did.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
A boy the same age as Midoriya had been the one who healed my stomach.
I'd heard about him from Principal Nezu around 3 years ago. He told me that the boy was an exceptionally fast learner, and in time might even be able to heal my stomach injury.
Of course, I was skeptical.
I mean who wouldn't be?
Isn't med school supposed to take something like a decade before you're qualified to be a doctor?
A child, barely 10 years old when I first learned of him, was expected to heal me after a few years of practicing his quirk?
I understood the potential of his quirk, but expecting me to accept that some random child, just because he's a bit bright, could fully reconstruct my stomach with it in a few years? That's hard to believe.
It turns out I was wrong, as two weeks ago, he succeeded in creating a whole new stomach for me and repairing the other damage I had taken during that battle.
In just 30 minutes, my life was changed in a way that I never thought was possible. Years of pain and struggle erased in the blink of an eye by a boy who showed no visible emotion during my visit.
I feel more alive than I have been in years. My body no longer holds me back, breathing is effortless, and I can eat anything without worrying about how my intestines might react.
I should be celebrating. For the first time since my battle with All For One, I feel like I'm truly capable of being the Symbol of Peace again. You'd think that'd be great—because it is—but that new stomach has put me into a dilemma.
Should I still pass One For All to Midoriya?
The decision has been haunting my mind for the past two weeks.
On one hand, there's Midoriya. A quirkless boy I met recently who has more heart and determination than most heroes around now days. I saw in him the same thing my master saw in me, the true spirit of a hero.
When the sludge villain attacked Bakugo, the heroes on scene were frozen, deeming their quirks unsuited to fight him, hell, I was one of them, back then, my injury was worsening by the day. I could feel my strength slipping away, and my time as the Symbol of Peace was coming to an end as I watched the blonde-haired boy fight back in agony. Midoriya was the only one to rush into the danger without hesitation, driven only by his desire to save his friend.
He has been working hard to become the new Symbol, pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion almost daily, enduring training that most people would have given up on immediately.
That's why I chose him as my successor, the one who would inherit One for All.
But... I'm not so sure anymore.
Things are different now. Though I'm still far from my peak, every day of training and regaining the weight I'd lost brings me closer to full strength. The limits that once restrained me are gone. My punches hit harder, my patrols last longer, and even my confidence is growing. The desperation I had to find a proper successor has faded. And with it doubts about him being the right choice have begun to creep in.
Thinking about it now, I basically picked young Midoriya out on a whim.
Initially, I had denied his dream at first, then later promised him he could become a hero, giving him hope when the world told him he had none. Yet here I am, contemplating whether to strip that hope away from him again.
That boy reminds me so much of myself at his age—someone who's dreamed of being a hero his whole life. Can I really take that dream away from him?
If I tell him that, after all the training I've put him through, "Sorry, but because someone healed my wound, I no longer need a successor" wouldn't I crush his spirit, extinguishing that fire I saw burning in his eyes?
In a world where quirks mean everything, he's quirkless. People like him don't get second chances, and I was the one who offered him one. If I go back on that now, I'm not just denying him a chance at a quirk—I'm stealing his dream. What kind of hero does that make me?
That sounds very hypocritical of me, if I swapped into his place, I wonder what I'd do. If my master had chosen not to pass on One For All to me, where would I be today? I wasn't the best student, so there's a good chance I'd have been stuck at a low income job forever.
Does that mean If I take away Midoriya's chance at becoming a hero he'd be flipping burgers for the rest of his life?
(pic)
Then there's the other side of the argument.
The world doesn't just need a hero—it needs a Symbol of Peace. Even though Midoriya has the heart of a hero, he's still just a boy. He hasn't trained with One For All, he'll need time to not only train himself, but become experienced enough to be seen as the new Symbol.
A few years back, crime rates were at their lowest, but now they're climbing again. Thanks to rumors about my reduced patrol schedule, villains are growing more bold and organized.
People need to see me standing strong, to believe that the heroes are still able to protect them. If I give up One for All to Midoriya now, would I be abandoning my duty as a pro?
I could put the decision on hold for now, maybe?
Delaying the decision would mean holding onto One for All longer, allowing the world to have more time with the Symbol of Peace. But that would be unfair to Midoriya—he's supposed to start UA's hero course in about six months, and if I wait too long, he won't be able to enter a hero high school.
I can't deny that if I choose that route, time could change everything. He could continue to hold onto the hope I gave him, only to be crushed when the moment never arrives, assuming in that future I'd found a better successor. Or Midoriya might end up finding something else to pursue—another career that was once secondary to his dream of being a hero, now becoming his main focus after waiting too long.
No matter which option I choose, there will be regrets, but I have to make the right decision—for him, for the world, and for the legacy of One for All.
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All Might SS End
2 chapters 1 day, no way.
one of the shorter chapters tho cuz its an SS and was mostly meant to clarify some things. also was pretty rushed tho cuz i wrote half of this at work.
didn't need i'd need to clarify this, but i was getting a few comments thinking that the momo outfit with kiyo's face drew ontop was his actual outfit. or maybe im just over thinking it, but it's not the real design, the idea for it being open to allow easy shapeshifting was true though.
not much else to say for this. prob UA next chapter tho.