Soulmate - dekumight

Chapter 2

It hadn't helped with what happened later. The blond kid had been captured by the sludge villain he'd wasted his time chasing around in the sewers. With his mood so low, he had never felt so fucking pathetic.

His side hurt, his fingers digging into it as he grimaced through the pain and the war inside his head. What kind of hero was he?

And then he jumped in. Izuku; more of a hero than he'd ever be right in that moment. He had his drawbacks, limited by his scrawny little body and small stature, still new to the world. He was also the only one to stand up to the challenge that the other heroes backed away from. That Toshinori, the symbol of peace, backed away from.

At that moment, Toshinori was nothing but a coward among the crowds. And Izuku, he was the one.

He had never made his mind up so quickly on anything. Something deep inside him told him it was the right thing to do, and he followed his gut instincts.

Training Izuku was a piece of cake. The fanboy would do anything Toshinori asked of him. No matter how big a challenge, he stepped up to it. Always pushing his body until it collapsed. His vigour burned brighter than anything he had seen before, and he knew that he really had made the right decision.

Izuku was the one. The next symbol of peace. Toshinori only had to show him how to get there.

The morning of the UA entrance exam, he had never felt so proud. Izuku had gone above and beyond his expectations. That was why he had picked him, always going beyond.

Izuku rushed off to get ready and find his way to UA, while Toshinori made his own way there. He was earlier than most of the students, though he noticed some lingering around the entrance as he walked by. They spared him no more than a confused glance. Nothing out of the ordinary in this form.

Midnight, introducing herself and Kayama, led him to the watch rooms where the non participating teachers were sat.

They all knew of his true form already, it had been addressed when he was hired by his old friend Nezu. But seeing him like this in person, for the first time in some of their cases, came off as a bit of a shock. Again, nothing out of the ordinary for this form. He knew it was nothing nice for the eye to look at. Kayama seemed just fine chatting away with him though, so he sat by her and let her talk the time away.

Students started to appear on the cameras shortly after. One Present Mic's signal, they were off.

Toshinori wasn't really able to keep up with so many screens, so he searched them all for Izuku.

The minutes ticked by, Izuku ran around breathlessly in search of robots, and he still had no points. Toshinori tapped the arm of his chair nervously. He'd transferred One For All that morning, it should've been enough time by now. Why wasn't he using it? He'd already explained how to activate it, had Izuku forgotten?

The zero pointer was released, making the students all run. Izuku was lost in the crowd.

Moments later, Toshinori jumped in his seat, grunting at the sudden pressure on his body. It started small, a tingle in his muscles, rapidly growing into an ache, stretching and breaking. All at once, he felt the intense pain of multiple bones snapping. He dug his nails into the cushioned seat and shot forward, clenching his jaw as three limbs subsequently throbbed.

Beside him, Midnight gave him an odd look, before her lips twisted into a smirk. He didn't want to know what she was thinking.

"Are you alright, All Might?" Nezu looked at him over the main chair, drawing the attention of the other teachers in the room.

"Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth, straightening up and forcing his body to relax inconspicuously. When their gazes turned back to the many screens, he absentmindedly rubbed his right arm, trying to soothe the bone deep ache as he scanned the screens for his protégé.