Switcheroo \BnHA Various x Reincarnated!OC\

36 - Hark... Or Not

"In the future I Foresaw, I didn't recommend you, you didn't go to U.A. and All Might didn't teach you." Nighteye adjusts his glasses with slim, elegant fingers like he didn't just drop a brick on Renka's toe.

"That's a lot to take in—" The girl ruffles the bird's nest of her hair, "YOU recommended me?"

"It was in your copy of the recommendation letter. And what did I say about interrupting? Active listening is an important communication skill, all the more for heroes." There he goes again. Nighteye's lecturing tone is a facsimile of Aizawa's... Surprise surprise! Renka finds herself missing the weary teacher. They had afterschool training and he was the commentator for the Sports Festival so they met practically daily. It's weird to not see that shaggy mop and hideous mustard sleeping bag for the length of her internship.

Aizawa isn't the callous man he paints himself to be. Renka learned that, if nothing else. He's harsh because the world is unmerciful. He beat them down because weak heroes get trampled. He's a parent guarding the cubs under his wing. He cares, and every student of 1-A knows.

What's he doing now? Did he get a good sleep? Why, she ought to get a sleeping bag from the sporting goods store here. It'd make a great souvenir and she owes him for the guidance.

And here she goes, distracted again.

Her copy of the recommendation letter... was in the mailbox, which her mum snapped up. She looked so furious that Renka didn't have the guts to broach the subject. Who dunks headfirst in a sea of piranhas? So Renka never saw the thing and her recommender was a mystery.

Now solved.

"Notwithstanding your knowledge of the recommender, you accepted the internship offer. If it weren't answers you came for: why I recommended you and how I know of you..." The white glare on Nighteye's glasses intensifies.

He's angry?? Renka's ready to throw hands. Why do people say girls are beyond comprehension? This stands true for the reverse!

"I may have sent the offer but this agency has no vacancy for the injudicious. I'm positive you received many offers. Among them, there would be wiser choices for honing your techniques or sharpening your sense of teamwork. Tell me, why are you here?"

Oh. This is easy. "Who'd give up a chance to work with All Might's former sidekick?"

Nighteye's bottom lip jerks down.

"But I came for another reason. Was it last week? The police had another brush with the yakuza in this neighbourhood." The yakuza is an organised crime gang, similar to mafias abroad.

"You saw the news."

"Yes. Sir. The crime rate here is on the rise and I wanted to pitch in. The only agency in this area that sent me an offer was yours."

You could almost see the gears turning in the lanky man's head before he answers, "I accept your reason. Hand this to your parents."

"THANK YOU SIR!"

One look at the verbose document and Renka mentally shelves it under 'For Adulting'. Nuh uh, not her concern. She folds the papers into uneven thirds and into the haversack it goes.

"Returning to the topic—"

Her toes are prepared for the falling bricks!

"—in the Foreseen future, you met All Might at the hospital. He was on his deathbed."

"SAY WHAT!!!!"

Nighteye gives The Look.

Whoops. Small hands slap over her mouth.

"It was a villain," The man sounds composed but his shaky fingers say it all. "He had a week at best, the most experienced and learned doctors confirmed it. But a small girl slipped in, past the security and to his bedside."

If Renka isn't so engrossed she'll notice Nighteye speeding up. Maybe Nighteye, himself, doesn't notice.

※

The once-muscular and hefty man didn't realize how starved for human interaction he was. Ironic, because his friends and students withheld from visiting at his request... He didn't want them to grief when it was his time to go. The baton was in their hands, they couldn't stop for anything, or anyone, before the tape.

All Might almost smiled at the small visitor but stopped; wouldn't his gaunt smile scare her? His sunken eyes and skeletal body didn't make a pretty picture. The drips and machines moored to his failing body were a sight to behold. The top hero... reduced to a shell of his former glory. But each day he evaded death was another day the Symbol of Peace lived, so fight on he would. It was his duty to his master and teacher, to the people believing in him and to himself.

"This must be the reason I was sent here..."

The girl with turquoise locks finally spoke but he couldn't wrap his head around her words. Hold up, how did she come in? Evidently it wasn't just his body that deteriorated.

In spite of his rejection, there were teams of security around his isolated ward because they reckoned All For One would break in and off him for good.

"Lass—" he didn't get to finish because a hand covered his mouth. Another intruder!

The girl looked harmless but the other intruder wasn't the same. Their hand was gloved and a dark robe covered every inch of their body. Which dismal party shop did THAT come from?

All Might tried to move but his body wouldn't listen.

"Shh." Their voice held the distinct quality of a voice-changer and All Might knew this was one methodical opponent.

"You're going too far," the bluenette grimaced.

"Get it over with. They won't stay down for long."

The girl had a mind to argue but stopped in the favour of time, "Here goes."

Blue petals filled the room and All Might would have admired the sight if he wasn't wary of the intruders. The last thing he heard before passing out was a soft, relieved, "Thank you."

When he next came around, his room was empty and the doctors were floored. This was a miracle in the flesh! All Might's body was in better shape than it was for months.

He lived till Thanksgiving the following year, more than 14 months over the 3-day deadline the doctors predicted. In the century accorded to humans, a year was unremarkable but it was an invaluable time for the retired hero. His successor had more time to grow into the next Symbol and the populace to accept that the top hero was no more.

The authorities identified the bluenette but wasn't able to trace her location even up to his last breath.

He'd wanted to thank her. His tenacity played a part but he knew his body best. Had she not come, his organs would go kaput within a week. They ran the tests and couldn't determine what she did but the indisputable fact was:

※

"His lifespan lengthened after their visit." Nighteye finishes the recount.