When Izuku was a kid everyone was always gathered in groups. Classmates would clump together into packs, chatting excitedly about new episodes of shows or playing a game to pass the time. Kacchan, most especially, was always surrounded, even before his quirk came in. Naturally, that meant Izuku was always surrounded as well.
But that was almost a decade ago. Now out of practice, he felt more than a little overwhelmed as all the students of 1-C huddled together shouting theories and exclaiming their shock.
"I can't believe it! It was so sudden!"
"Sure, but I can't get over that video. Did you hear what Revite said to Stain?"
"Who cares about Stain? Hawks is the one who just became a criminal!"
"It probably had something to do with his interaction with Stain, though."
"Maybe. Midoriya-kun, you were there. What do you think?"
Izuku startled as the cluster of students all turned their attention to him. Freezing in his desk, he made a squeak of surprise. So far he'd been perfectly fine sitting in the background, listening in. In no way did he want to be involved in this conversation.
His mouth flapped like a fishes as he struggled to speak. It took Shinsou elbowing him lightly to jerk the words out of his throat.
"Uh, I wasn't really there?" he says, uncertainty laced into his tone as he rubs at the back of his neck. Internally, he winces at his own voice. "Um, I mean, I wasn't actually there, just in the area. Endeavor-san sent me back to agency before he faced Stain."
Komori leaned her elbows on his desk, a grin stretched across her lips, displaying her sharper canines. "Duh. But, like, what do think of this whole mess? Besides being the best analyst here, you also have worked with Hawks in the past."
"Komori's right," Kaseki said, placing his hands on his hips. "You're opinion would be nice."
Izuku resisted the urge to sink further down in his seat to escape the bombard of questions. This is worse than the time at the USJ. At least then Komori and Kaseki broke up the crowd and their questions weren't difficult. This time, he doesn't know the answers himself. He didn't get the chance to ask Hawks anything.
After Hawks showed up at the flat, Dabi and Izuku had promised he'd be okay crashing with them for a while until things settle down. They barely talked aside from that and Hawks briefly explaining what the commission had threatened him. They didn't say how he got out or what he made of the situation. They didn't discuss their next steps or go over what this meant in terms of blackmail. They only sat there for comfort and waited the night out, each of them falling asleep at one point or another.
With most of 1-C staring at him eagerly, he didn't have anything to say.
"You don't need to share if you don't want," Shinsou whisper to him.
He blanks, glancing at the boy. "But they--"
"--said your opinion would be nice. Doesn't mean it's needed," he interrupts.
Komori - curse her bat hearing - says, "What he said. There's no pressure."
Relieved, Izuku exhales and mumbles, "Thanks."
"No problem." She whirls around to face the two identical girls standing next her. "Right, well since Midoriya-kun isn't giving his input, Onishi-kun, why don't you share?"
The two girl glance between each other, the say in unison, "Me?"
"Asami Onishi," Komori clarifies while Kaseki snickers in his hand. Komori glares at him and immediately he snuffs out his amusement.
Izuku tunes them out then. He's heard all too much about Stain in the last few days and since this morning all anyone has said to him has been related the the fall of the third ranked hero. The fall of Icarus; that's what the media chooses to call it anyways. It's not entirely off point, he supposes. An escapee falling from the skies for a taste of freedom.
It's not that the publicity is bad, per se, but it's a lot dealing with the revelations of both Stain and Hawks. It doesn't help that the public doesn't know what exactly happened with Hawks, only that he is a criminal in the eyes of the commission. There's an odd mix of outraged and over-joyed people, more leaning towards the former however.
The number three hero being convicted isn't a small step, but fortunately it's one Izuku was planning on taking eventually anyways. He was going to give it a month-- maybe a little less, maybe more-- but he can work with it happening now. If it's what Hawks wants, he can adjust.
Shinsou leans towards him, whispering, "Thank gods you're back. I was forced to group with Komori and Kaseki while you were away. Though I appreciated the lack of muttering, they bicker like their lives depend on it."
Izuku hums, glancing at the two in question who, sure enough, were pointing fingers at each other accusingly as they argued about. . . something. It's hard to tell.
"Sorry," he mumbles back. "I couldn't refuse the offer from Endeavor-san."
"Understandable. If an opportunity arises, best to take by the reigns." Shinsou pauses. He brings his hands to rest on the table and sighs, eyebrows drawing together. "Actually, speaking of opportunities, I wanted to thank you for helping present me with one."
For a split second, Izuku nearly asked what he was talking about, then he noticed the small smile struggling to keep contained of Shinsou's face. He halted. Then--
"Oh my god!" he exclaimed. "Your made it?!"
Quickly, Shinsou hushed him. He chastised him. "Shh, not so loud. I'm not supposed to tell anyone till the transfer papers are finalized, when I'm officially a member of 1-A."
Izuku opens his mouth to further praise him when he's cut off by none other than their teacher.
"ALL RIGHTYYYYY! Take your seats class!" Present Mic shouts from the front of the class. Izuku winces at the ringing in his ears. Next to him, Shinsou looks almost unaffected. Lucky.
There's an abundance of noise as the rest of the class hurries to their seats, jostling chairs and pulling out their books. Present Mic waits patiently before speaking.
"Today's lesson plan is simple enough. Since it's Thursday, the hero interns will still be away for a few more days and we'll have to postpone any lessons with them till Monday. That being said, we'll watch footage of real pros in action for the afternoon -- which you will be assigned reports on those heroes which you must hand in -- and for the morning we'll be going over mathematics and-- oh." Present Mic cuts himself off, gaze wandering to the door. "Good Morning, Yagi-san. Is there something you need?"
Standing in the doorway is a tall gangly figure Izuku has come to realize the rest of his class knows as Yagi-sensei. To him, however, he is none other than All Might.
Over the past weeks at Yuuei, Izuku has grown more comfortable with the idea that All Might teaches their class, even accepting his help with training Shinsou before the sports festival. Before, he would have gasped and been in shock at the number one heroes arrival. Now, he barely even looks up from his notebook.
"Morning, Yamada," All Might greets. "I was hoping it'd be all right with you to pull a student aside for a bit?"
Mic gave a thumbs up. "Go right ahead."
For a moment, Izuku wondered what he had to say to the student. He feels bad if it's about English. Shinsou's told him that most of their classes aspiring heroes are failing English. He prays for that poor soul just as he hears his name ring through out the classroom.
"Midoriya-kun," All Might says, locking eyes with him. "Please step out of class. We need to talk."
-:-
Toshinori has felt on the verge of a headache for the past three days which can be traced back to one life-changing video.
That video, god. All anyone ever did was talk about that video, how Stain acted, how Endeavor and Hawks acted, how Revite acted. The whole country was going insane over it. He was going insane over it.
After he saw the video for the first time, he spent hours rewinding and playing it back, analyzing ever bit of it. He recalls staring at the blue-screen light, eyes red and mind struggling to comprehend the realization he'd came to. The lights turned off, he sat alone in his empty apartment, blinking, thinking, trying to make sense of what he'd seen.
When morning came, he'd called up Nezdu, confirmed what he already knew. The video said it all.
He ate breakfast. He watched the video again. And again.
The following day passed in a flurry. The world around him buzzed with gossip, whispers of Revite and Stain passing from lips, and sounds of phones playing news channels echoed through the streets. Toshinori blocked it out, unable to hear it over his own internal turmoil.
By the third day-- today-- he made up his mind and headed straight to Midoriya's classroom.
Said boy stands before him in a secluded room, fidgeting with tense shoulders. Toshinori felt bad for making him nervous but he knew this was more important than nerves.
"Uh, you wanted to talk?" he asked, shifting on his feet.
"Yes," he says, standing taller and clearing his throat. All morning he spent thinking about this interaction and yet he still didn't know how to go about it. He tilts his head to the side in a concerned manner, asking, "Are you doing okay with all that has happened with Stain?"
Midoriya shrugged. "No different from normal. I wasn't involved that much anyways."
Lie, Toshinori can't help but think though he quickly dismisses the thought.
"Young Midoriya, please don't be afraid to reach out to me if you need anything."
"I won't," he assures. A hesitant look overcomes his features as he glances towards the door then back at Toshinori. "Uh, is that all? Really, I'm fine so if I can go or. . . ?"
Toshinori straightens. He holds a frail hand out to stop him from leaving. "Wait. I wanted to ask you about the video that was released a few days ago."
Now that he's looking for it, it's so much more obvious when he notices Midoriya freeze up, shoulders tensing and eyes widening only by a hair before being schooled into a neutral look. The way his alarm is smoothed out in fake innocent curiosity draws a pained spike from Toshinori's chest. It's so strange to see that mask appear on a boy as young as him.
"You sure you want to talk to me about that?" he asks. "I'm sure the teachers or your colleagues would be better. Like I said, I was barely even there."
"Maybe so," Toshi replies, "but you still are one of the best analysts in this school. You're also someone I consider trustworthy."
The poor boy pales, mouth hanging open. "You. . . You think I'm trustworthy?"
"You do know my one of my biggest secrets, my boy."
"Oh. Right." He rubs at the back of his neck, cheeks tinted pink. "Heh. I should have thought of that."
Toshinori feels a small smile tilt the corner of his lips upward. In other circumstances, he thinks he'd be able to grow quite close with the boy. Even now, pulling him aside in this room to say what he is feels like another step towards growing close with Midoriya. He sees his own awkward teenage self in him. It's nostalgic in the best of ways, one that fills him with pride and hope.
He clears his throat again. "Would you be okay with me bouncing some ideas off you about the video?"
Midoriya chews his lip, looking to the floor before ultimately agreeing with a nod of his head.
"Great," he exclaims. "As I was watching the video, I was surprised by Revite's admirable behavior. I read an article after watching it that went on about how the heroes in that alley did nothing while Revite fought to protect them. It made me remember how he acted to save my own life at the USJ. As I re-watched that video I realized we needed more heroes who acted like Revite. Does that make sense?"
Midoriya nodded and so he continued.
"He charged in with no hesitation and with full intent to save everybody there. In the video, you see him try to bargain with Stain to get him to let them walk away untouched rather than only trying to take the villain down. It's rare to see that now."
A memory of his predecessor comes to mind as he speaks. He sees Nana, in all her glory with her yellow cape floating meters above the ground. He pictures her wide smile as she told him it doesn't matter who wins or looses if lives are lost. Sees a day where he saw her on television arguing with a villain to release their hostages in turn of letting him go free.
Slowly, those images of her transform into ones eerily familiar to Revite's mask and his voice as he shouts at Stain, as he taunts Shigaraki at the USJ. And finally, even that morphs into the face of Midoriya barging into the staff room and demanding him to save people.
Toshinori meets Midoriya's eyes, holding his gaze. "It reminded me of you."
Midoriya sputters, eyes wide, mouth hitching open and closed like a fish. He waves his hands in front of him like he seems to tend to do when flustered. "I-- That's not-- What?"
"It's a good thing," he assures, trying to ease his panic. "You are brave, Young Midoriya. You approach fights with zero hesitation and always aim to save people above all else. Revite holds those qualities too, from what I can see.
"You are better than most heroes I know. There is this determination that I see in your eyes when you fight. Each move is driven by some cause. More often than not, I believe that cause is helping others. At the USJ you saved so many of your fellow classmates. You came into the staff room and refused to let up when I insisted you stay. You had to help."
Toshinori remembers that day clearly in his mind. For the second time, he'd bared witness to the unstoppable force that was Izuku Midoriya. He'd wanted to leave him behind to keep safe and yet he ended up taking him because the boy was so desperate to help. He's inspired him, again.
"When I first met you, I thought you were just another civillain with an unattainable dream," Toshinori admits, ducking his head. "I was so very wrong and you proved it within minutes. I never told you, but when I saw you charge in to save Young Bakugou like you did, it inspired me to push myself past the limits and do what needed to be done to get you both out safe."
For hours he'd sat alone in his room after that day, wondering what would have happened without Midoriya. Would he have kept walking past having done nothing? What kind of hero did that make him?
His hands shake at his sides. He clasps them together in front of him to stop and continues.
"My boy, you changed what I thought of that world that day. How I perceived quirkless people like yourself. How I approached fights. You reminded me of all the things I forgot, things I learned from my mentor, from old friends, from myself before I became the symbol of peace." He smiles softly, pride brimming within him. "I should have thanked you. You have no idea what you did for me."
When he looks up, its to see Midoriya with his own eyes watering. Toshinori panics briefly. Had he upset the boy? He rushes forward, placing a hand on his shoulder and asking, "Young Midoriya, are you okay?"
Midoriya grinned through his tears and shook his head, a watery chuckle leaving his lips. "Yes," he says. "Yes, I'm okay. I just-- I didn't expect that."
Toshinori's chest feels both lighter and heavier as relief and warmth flood him. He squeezes his shoulder. "It's the truth, my boy."
"I-I don't know what to say." He wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand.
Squeezing his shoulder again, Toshi murmurs, "Then let me do the talking."
He braces himself, preparing for what he's about to say. Months ago, these words would have been so much easier. Now, he can barely muster the courage to spit them out. The previous night, he tossed and turned in his bed debating his choice. He was really doing this.
"I'm telling you this now because I couldn't then. I should have tried harder to find you after I defeated the sludge villain so I could thank you, and also give you something I'd been meaning to give away for a while," he says. "When I saw Revite in that video and thought the world needed more heroes like him, I realized I would also give him this gift if I got the chance, especially now that I know who he is."
The words sunk in slowly, Toshinori could see Midoriya slowly absorbing it. His eyes widened immensely as he stumbled back a step, inhaling sharply.
"You. . . you. . ." He stumbles over his words. "You know who Revite is. . . ?"
He thinks of the video, hears the words Once upon a time I even wanted to be a hero too, and, My articles are to create a better world, not kill the one we have. Sentences like those that played on loop in his mind as he stared at his ceiling, thinking, debating, accepting. Words that clicked in his mind and sounded too much like someone he used to know. He should hear Revite, but instead he hears her.
In the end, that was all that the decision came down to.
"Yes," he confirms. Standing taller, he outstretches his hand. "And right now I'm offering you-- as both the analyst and vigilante you are-- this gift. . . If you'll have it, I'd like to give you my quirk."
Toshinori waits for a reaction, any kind of reaction. All he gets is Midoriya staring blankly at him.
The first time Toshinori had ever told someone about his quirk was not long after Nana had passed. When he told Tsukauchi, he was a bumbling mess of nerves and uncertainties. Of course, Tsukauchi understood him well enough through his stammering, only smiling softly and offering a quiet, 'I know,' like it wasn't his biggest secret. Telling Sasaki hadn't gone much different, though there were more tears knowing what would come in the future. His sidekick had only pressed a hand to his face, adjusting his glasses while muttering, 'Figures'. Both were reactions that were expected.
Midoriya, however, he expected to have an overly loud scream or perhaps even a little shocked stumble. It felt in character for the boy based off what he'd learned before. To say the least, the lack of theatrics and the calculating look on Midoriya's face was surprising.
Suddenly, he says, "I guess that could be possible." He tilted his head to the side. "Feels like something another quirk would be able to do. But you don'y have two quirks, no one does."
Some days Toshinori wonders how Gran Torino used to get so impatient with students when he was younger. Some days, he doesn't have to wonder at all.
"Midoriya," he says, gathering the boys attention again. "I'm being serious. My quirk, it has been passed down for many years. It has the ability to stockpile and then be handed off. Knowing who you are, I shouldn't be telling you this but I'm coming to the end of my time and I need a successor. Someone to make this quirk theirs after me. I want that person to be you, the next symbol of peace."
As silence follows, Toshi watches him process. Green eyes softening with understanding only to harden all over again.
"I can't."
Toshinori reels. No yes, no thinking about it, no further questions. Just a plain can't. And if that isn't possibly the biggest punch to the gut he's gotten all year than he's not sure what is. Never did he imagine to be refused, as entitled as it sounds.
"I promise this isn't a joke, my boy. I really can pass down my quirk because--" he starts but does not finish before Midoriya raises a hand to cut him off.
"Please, let me explain before you tell me more that I shouldn't know," he urges, lowering the hand. He sighs, shoulders falling like a deflating bloom as he looks to the ground.
Distraught, Toshinori realizes, he's upset. Part of him wants to reach out to comfort, but the rest of him resists, keeping him firmly in place.
"I want to accept," he says so quietly that a breeze in the air could probably whisk his words away. "I do, but I can't. This world doesn't need another symbol of peace."
"Not another," he corrects, "but one for when I'm gone."
He shakes his head, dark curls bouncing with the motion. "No. It has one already, and with all the good you do it still isn't enough. A second symbol of peace will not fix what needs to be fixed; the broken systems and corrupt people. You know who I am, what I want to do. For those same reasons I have to reject. I'm going to become my own symbol. I'm sorry."
Though he won't look at him, Toshinori can still see the clench of his hands. He doesn't know what to say; what to do.
Trust your words Toshi, Nana had once told him. Some people like even the strangest of sounds more than silence.
"You don't have to apologize," he says because it's the only thing he can think to say. Here this boy, Revite, was making statements about the world that not even his own colleagues would. He rejects an offer, a life time opportunity, for. . . for everyone else. The most dreadful and wonderful part at the same time is he could not pick a better person to success him.
Selfishly, he hurts. He hurts for the pride he would have had to call Midoriya his successor. He knows that he would hurt more though for the world that wouldn't have Revite.
For a brief moment, he almost thinks to ask Midoriya why he wouldn't take the quirk and still be who he wants. He derails that train of thought quickly. Being his successor and being Revite are two different things that in a perfect world could work. Sadly, in an imperfect one like their own, it prioritizes too many things. One cannot be a peace keeper and hoist the weight of destroying systems at the same time.
"I'm still sorry," Midoriya mumbles. He inclines his head towards him respectfully before saying, "I should go. I. . . I've said what I needed to. Good luck looking for a successor, All Might."
He lifts his head, a sympathetic smile gracing his lips, then makes for the exit. Toshinori nearly lets him go when his brain kicks in and he stops him with door half open, a "Wait," tumbling from his lips. Midoriya halts and looks over at his shoulder, a question in the raise of his brows.
"If not a symbol of peace," Toshinori asks, "then what kind of symbol do you want to be?"
He grins, the kind of grin you'd see on the face of someone ready to face a challenge.
"A symbol of change."
With that, the door closes behind him, sealing in every exchanged word. Toshinori ponders alone in the room, staring where the boy stood not a moment before.
A symbol of change, he thinks. He couldn't ask for anything better himself.
[A/N: I've always hc that All Might uses Nana as a baseline for everything in life and now I finally get to apply it! I know this is all very random-- the chapter events that is-- but this was how the plot was supposed to go originally (All Might being more involved). Anyways... hope you enjoyed???]