Chapter 143: You’re more than worthy of being my successor!

While Kai and the girls were walking away, Midoriya stayed behind, silently watching their backs, completely lost in thought. It was quite jarring for him to see the terrifying boy with blue eyes acting as the hero of the situation, defeating the villain and saving the victim from a critical situation—something even the number two hero couldn’t manage.

Somehow, the terrifying boy seemed different now, no longer so malevolent and frightening. Also, thinking back on the week of classes they had after the sports festival and before the apprenticeships, his attitude in class had changed slightly.

Although he still slept through lessons that weren’t outdoors or taught by Midnight-sensei, during that time, he never once released that pressure of his that knocked people out, even when they were yelling and all that—something he seemed to hate quite a bit. Furthermore, on occasion, Midoriya had even seen him chatting with the “class rep’s group”, which consisted of Kirishima, Seto, Mina, Jiro, and occasionally Kaminari.

It was as if, somehow, he had gotten used to the classroom and was now calmer, to the point that if you didn’t look for him specifically, it was easy to overlook him. He came and went without anyone noticing, so much so that several times Midoriya himself thought the boy was skipping an afternoon class because he had not seen him come in. Only to find him sleeping at his desk as always, without anyone noticing how he’d gotten there.

Also, Midoriya couldn’t deny that his advice had been incredibly useful, allowing him to go from being a glass cannon that broke at the slightest action to being moderately useful in combat. He was sure that was the reason he got so many apprenticeship invitations after the cultural festival.

All that reflection led Midoriya to remember what happened on the day of the cultural festival, when he woke up startled in the UA infirmary because the last thing he remembered was Kai’s ominous black sword approaching his chest.

+++

“No!”

In the middle of UA’s white infirmary, Midoriya, who until just a moment ago had been sleeping peacefully on one of the beds, suddenly exclaimed as he sat up with a jolt. He then tried to check his chest with his only usable hand, since the other was immobilized, when a feminine, aged voice sounded at his side.

“He didn’t cut you. I suppose the sword he used wasn’t sharp because it only penetrated a few millimeters into your skin.”

Turning to look toward the source of the voice, Midoriya found All Might accompanied by a short elderly lady dressed in a dark brown hero suit with a line beneath a white coat. On her head she wore some kind of helmet that protected the sides of her face and connected at the front to a purple visor covering her eyes, prompting him to ask in mild surprise.

“Recovery Girl? All Might?”

“But the same can’t be said for your right arm. It was completely shattered into several pieces. It will never fully heal.”

Ignoring Midoriya’s words, Recovery Girl continued in a calm yet serious tone, which caused All Might, who was next to her, to turn and look at her with a solemn expression. Still, she went on explaining in the same tone of voice.

“I need to remove the bone fragments so they won’t remain in your joints before I can even start to heal you…” Recovery Girl turned to look at All Might and Midoriya as she let out a sigh, then continued in a weaker voice.

“I really thought that after you learned to control your power a bit better, you’d stop being so reckless. But look at how you ended up. Why did you push yourself so far? Clearly, there was no need—he barely left a scratch on you…”

Upon hearing Recovery Girl’s words, Midoriya chose to remain silent, staring at his immobilized arm. At that moment, the door to the room was thrown open, revealing Iida, Uraraka, and Tsuyu, who exclaimed simultaneously, filled with concern.

“““Midoriya/-chan/Deku!”””

“Are you okay?” Uraraka entered the room quickly, asking worriedly as she did so. Then she looked at All Might and exclaimed in surprise.

“Eh? All Might?!”

“All right, all right, I know you’re worried, but I’m going to have to make a Surgery on him.” At that moment, Recovery Girl started ‘pushing’ her out while explaining, surprising and scaring the young students equally.

“““Surgery?!!”””

While Recovery Girl ushered the students out of the infirmary, Midoriya watched them for a moment with a small smile before quickly turning to look at All Might, a mixture of guilt and concern on his face. Right as the door closed, the green-haired youth spoke in a pained, regretful tone, catching the Symbol of Peace’s attention.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t do what you asked of me… I couldn’t even touch him. He surpassed me in every way…”

“…Midoriya-shonen.” All Might spoke quietly, looking visibly regretful, but Midoriya went on in a complex tone, lifting his head to stare at the ceiling.

“No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, he truly felt like an invincible Demon King. At one point, I even felt like I was losing control of One for All, yet he never took me seriously—he just toyed with me. If that had been a real fight against a villain, I’d have died at the first exchange…”

Feeling deeply remorseful over the heavy burden he had placed on his proud successor, All Might wanted to speak. However, Midoriya turned to look him in the eyes and, clenching his healthy fist, spoke with conviction.

“I know I’m not worthy of bearing your power. I know there are people who could handle it much better than me. But I don’t want to give up—I want to improve so I can face him properly. I want to live up to the expectations you have for me, All Might. So please, give me a little more time! I promise I’ll work my hardest to achieve it! I promise I’ll become a worthy successor to you, and a Symbol of Peace you can be proud of!!”

(I really underestimated him. He isn’t giving in to that seemingly insurmountable gap between him and Kai-shonen. Midoriya-shonen, you’re truly amazing… you’re more than worthy of being my successor!!!)

Hearing Midoriya’s declaration, All Might couldn’t help reflecting to himself with an enormous, proud smile on his face. He spoke in a tone brimming with confidence and joy, after unleashing his iconic laugh.

“Hahaha, Midoriya-shonen, I have total faith in you! I know you’ll be the Symbol of Peace this country needs. For that reason, I need to apologize to you—I haven’t been the mentor you needed.”

“No, All Might, it’s my fault…” Midoriya quickly tried to offer his perspective, but All Might raised a hand to request silence for a moment and continued explaining.

“I can acknowledge my shortcomings, and I know it will be difficult for me to become a qualified mentor in the short term. That’s why I decided to ask for help from my own mentor, Gran Torino, so he can guide you.”

“All Might’s mentor?!!” Midoriya exclaimed in surprise, but All Might kept talking.

“My mentor will send you an invitation for your apprenticeship, and I want you to accept it. Also, once you come back, I’ve reached an agreement with Kai-shonen so he can help with your training, since his Quirk—along with his father’s Quirk—has many similarities to All For One, and you’ve already seen how useful his methods can be.”

Midoriya nodded, feeling perplexed. Seeing All Might remain silent for a moment, he couldn’t help asking seriously, for although he had asked Kai for advice before knowing All Might’s intentions about passing on One for All, it now made him feel uncertain.

“Is it really okay for Saito-kun to help me…?”

“Hahaha, he already helped you once, so I don’t see why he can’t do it again. Besides, even though I did mention wanting you to eventually serve as a counterbalance to Kai-shonen, that time isn’t now. While his mindset may be a bit off, he hasn’t done anything wrong.

“He isn’t a villain or anything of the sort, and it’s not guaranteed he’ll become one at some point, either.” All Might explained with a big grin, which greatly relieved Midoriya. However, internally, the Symbol of Peace had made a decision.

(The One for All is yours now, Midoriya-shonen. I truly hope you become a great Symbol of Peace in the future. So I will take it upon myself to finish that villain from the past era who wants to rise again, even if it means taking him to the grave with me.…)

Shortly afterward, Recovery Girl returned to the room and made All Might leave so she could perform the surgery. The Symbol of Peace left after saying his goodbyes, although some of what Midoriya had said continued echoing in his mind.

(He said he lost control of One for All for a moment? That never happened to me… Could Kai-shonen have done something? It’s quite possible, after all, his ability to create anything he’s familiar with is extremely broad. Who knows what he might have created… I’d better ask him when the opportunity arises…)

+++

By the time Kai and the girls disappeared from his view, Midoriya clenched his fist tightly as he watched in the direction they vanished, silently making a vow with conviction to himself.

(Saito-kun, I don’t know if you’ll really become a villain in the future, but what I do know is that you can become a great hero. So if you stray from the path, I’ll make sure to bring you back with 'all my might'!!)

…

…

…

Shortly after separating from Gran Torino and the others, Momo and Nejire, a bit calmer after all the commotion and blood, looked at Kai with beautiful smiles on their faces. Nejire spoke in a voice filled with excitement and joy.

“You were super cool back there, Kai!”

“It wasn’t that big a deal, just some first aid.” Kai replied in a calm tone, prompting Momo to shake her head and speak proudly.

“It was a lot, actually. Aside from you, no one else there could do anything. Today, you were the true hero!”

“More like a field medic, but whichever makes you happier.”

Kai quipped playfully as he watched the girls’ happy smiles, feeling it was worth the effort. At that moment, he sensed Salem running toward him, so he quickly controlled the Nen beast on his shoulder, making it leap off and run toward him.

“What’s up with Salem?” Nejire asked, somewhat puzzled as she saw Salem disappear into an alleyway, to which Kai replied casually.

“Who knows…”

Moments later, the real Salem arrived, bounding forward and jumping onto Kai’s shoulder before starting to purr happily. The sight deeply charmed Nejire and Momo, who quickly exchanged looks and, after a small nod, Nejire picked Salem up in her arms and summoned her Accomplice, which was a lovely cat with pale blue fur.

“Salem and Mira look really good together, fufufu.” Nejire commented playfully, holding a cat in each arm. Momo and Kai smiled in amusement, but Kai soon spoke up.

“Well, let’s go meet the Pussycats. It seems they finished talking to the police and met up with Onee-chan.”

““Let’s go!”” Nejire and Momo said at the same time, speeding up until they saw the Pussycats and Nemuri, who was holding her phone close to her ear.

Hearing the riff of an iconic Heavy Metal song—Kai’s phone ringing—Nemuri and the Pussycats quickly turned to see the trio walking toward them. But when they looked closely at Kai, they immediately noticed not only that he was wearing a different shirt, but that his pants and shoes were covered in pronounced bloodstains, causing them great concern.

“What happened to you, Kai? Are you okay?” Nemuri quickly ran toward the group and asked worriedly. Right away, Ryuko, Shino, and Tomoko grabbed Kai and began checking him all over almost obsessively.

“What happened? Where are you hurt?” Shino asked, patting Kai’s chest with worry evident on her face, while Ryuko questioned him as she checked his legs.

“Where’s all this blood coming from? Where are you injured?”

“Who did this to you? I won’t let them get away!” At the same time, Tomoko shouted, looking pretty angry as she rolled up Kai’s shirt sleeves looking for wounds.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s not my blood.”

Completely surrounded, Kai could only respond in a helpless tone as he looked at the overprotective women, who, despite his answer, continued checking him for injuries.

“What happened?” Chatora asked in a calmer, more serious tone, which prompted Momo and Nejire to share a knowing look and exclaim together, brimming with excitement.

““Kai was a hero today!!””

“Really? What did he do?” Nemuri, looking more relaxed, asked as she gazed at the pair of students. Momo explained with a wide smile.

“Well, it turns out that one of our classmates ran into the Hero Killer…”

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