The Immortal Hero: Phoenix

Chapter 1: From the Ashes

Toshinori Yagi, better known as the Number 1 Hero All-Might, sat in a Hospital Room, his entire left side covered in bandages and a dull ache in his lungs and stomach. To be honest, he had nothing to complain about; just a few hours ago, he was certain he was going to die from a wound inflicted by his Arch-Nemesis, All for One. But now he was alive, permanently weakened but not crippled, and All for One was cold ash, all because of the little girl lying in the bed beside him.

Toshinori looked over to the other bed, a growing sadness in his dark eyes as he watched the sleeping girl. Izuka Midoriya... 10 years old. She was dangerously thin and a fair bit shorter than most children her age, with a cute freckled face and soft green curls that had been rather roughly cut into a short style that just barely reached her shoulders. When she had been awake, Toshinori had marvelled at the sparkling green eyes, shining with hope despite the awful situation she had been in.

Exactly one year ago, on July 15th, Izuka's 9th Birthday, the girl had been kidnapped by a Villain in the employ of All for One. Izuka hadn't been the intended target, but had saved the real target Katsuki Bakugou, by pushing him away from the Warp Gate, only to be taken herself. Her kidnapping had sent the country on a manhunt for the Villain that took her, especially since the unique black warp gate had been associated with the disappearance of many other individuals, all with unique and interesting Quirks. It was that fact that caused All-Might to take a special interest, suspecting All for One's hand in the crimes. When he had gone to ask Inko Midoriya, Izuka's mother, about her Daughter's quirk, All-Might had learned she was quirkless and his heart had nearly stopped. If she had no Quirk to steal and had not been returned, it made it very unlikely she would ever be found alive and made it less likely that the other kidnapped individuals would ever be seen again. All-Might had added Izuka's death to the crimes committed by All for One, and it fuelled his furious search alongside the murder of his mentor, Nana Shimura.

Then finally, one week ago, they had finally caught a break in their search. A lesser known Pro Hero by the name of Clementine Man was kidnapped (his quirk gave him several orange-themed abilities such as growing peels for protection, producing and controlling orange juice in a bizarre form of Hydro-kinesis and creating a calming smell). He had been one of the heroes helping the search and had managed to hide a tracker inside himself, allowing the Heroes to pinpoint the location of All for One's base. Then finally, on July 15th a year after Izuka's abduction, All-Might had assembled a team (really a small army) of the best Pro Heroes and Police Officers and attacked the base, which turned out to be a laboratory in the mountains. All-Might, leading a team consisting of Eraserhead, Midnight, Power Loader, Endeavor, Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye had been the first to infiltrate the lab.

To the shock of everyone, they had found Izuka alive but with a glassy look in her eye, like she had given up all hope. All for One mocked the Heroes for failing, but just as the Warp Gate Villain was about to take Izuka away while All for One attacked, Eraserhead had temporarily erased All for One's quirks (saving Power Loader's life) and pulling Izuka away from the villains. The rest of the fight became a blur of action and quirks. All for One unleashed strange mutant creatures that kept the Heroes busy while All-Might and All for One battled one on one. In the end, the Mutants were killed, the Heroes were left battered, bruised and unconscious and both All-Might and All for One were left mortally wounded and glaring at each other.

It was at that moment that All-Might nearly lost hope; little Izuka crawled out of the rubble and All for One ordered her to kill All-Might, his cruel voice telling her that all her suffering was his fault, that if All-Might was dead, she wouldn't hurt any more. Toshinori's lungs and stomach were basically shredded and he barely had the breath to whisper, telling Izuka that everything would be alright, that her mother was waiting for her to come home and that even if he died, he'd be happy if she was safe.