Chapter 61: All Might?!

In a private room of an elegant and minimalist-looking café, two incredibly beautiful women were gathered: one with long, silky golden hair and deep blue eyes, and the other with short brown hair and coffee-colored eyes. Both wore hero suits consisting of a skirt, top, and boots—the first in blue and the second in red.

"Do you have any idea what Nighteye wants?" Pixie-Bob asked while sipping from her cup of coffee, to which Mandalay responded by doing something similar.

"Honestly, no. He didn't tell me anything; he just asked for a meeting to exchange information about a case."

"Could it be that he's courting you? Hehe," Pixie-Bob inquired with a mischievous smile on her face, causing Mandalay to roll her eyes.

"Please, there's not the slightest chance of that."

"Fufufu, what will you do if it turns out he's super in love with you and desperate to win you over?" While covering her amused smile with her cat glove, Pixie-Bob commented teasingly, making her somehow resemble a playful cat.

"Well, nothing would happen. I'd simply walk out that door the moment something like that was mentioned." Mandalay replied while enjoying her coffee, not giving much importance to the remark, which only heightened Ryuko's mischief. She quickly commented knowingly.

"Of course, you already have more than enough with my Kai, fufufu."

"Now, what would you do if what he wants is for me to help him get closer to you?" Not wanting to delve into the tricky subject, Mandalay quickly tossed the ball back into her friend's court, who promptly responded with pride and amusement.

"Of course I'd reject him. I already have my future husband Kai—the most handsome, strong, intelligent, and loving—I don't need anyone else."

Hearing Pixie-Bob's words, a complex expression appeared on Mandalay's face. She not only felt guilty about her conversation with Nemuri, but also because keeping it secret from her lifelong friend and teammate could cause her to waste her youth hoping for something that might not happen.

"Are you serious, Ryuko?"

Hearing her friend's serious tone, Ryuko couldn't help but look at her for a moment, quickly noticing her complicated expression. After a moment of consideration, a look of realization appeared on her face, and she briefly explained in a calmer and more serious tone.

"Well, the truth is that—"

Pixie-Bob's words were cut off by a knock on the door. After briefly exchanging glances, almost as if agreeing to finish the conversation another time, the beautiful woman in the red hero suit spoke aloud.

"Come in."

At Mandalay's words, two men entered the private room: a muscular giant over two meters tall with blond hair and blue eyes, along with a man about 20 cm shorter with green hair streaked with gold, who wore an elegant white business suit.

"I AM HERE!"

""All Might?!!""

Announcing his entrance, All Might exclaimed his iconic phrase loudly, causing the pair of beautiful heroines to jump from their seats in surprise. Meanwhile, Nighteye approached and extended his hand toward Mandalay.

"Sorry for the interruption."

In response to Nighteye's greeting, Mandalay replied almost on autopilot and shook the extended hand cordially, while returning her gaze to Nighteye, who looked directly into her eyes. She then commented with a somewhat ironic smile on her face.

"I didn't know All Might would be coming..."

"Hahaha, well, I was in the middle of a little chat with my old partner and decided to accompany him. I hope you don't mind." All Might commented with a hearty laugh, to which Pixie-Bob responded while shaking Nighteye's hand.

"Of course not, we're just a bit surprised—we didn't expect it at all."

After sitting in their respective seats, Nighteye looked intently at the pair of heroines in front of him, trying to glean as much information as possible from their body language. Unfortunately, they just seemed a bit surprised by All Might's appearance, but not much else. So he immediately spoke after a waiter placed his cup of coffee on the table, who soon left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Well, first of all, I wanted to thank you for agreeing to meet with us when you're such busy people. Therefore, I'd like to get straight to the point and ask if you have any information regarding the vigilante with healing abilities that you mentioned in the report you submitted on the capture of the Class A villain, Muscular."

After speaking, Nighteye sipped his cup of coffee while discreetly focusing his gaze on the heroines in front of him, especially Mandalay. But to his disappointment, neither of them showed any apparent change and remained as relaxed as ever, while the heroine in the red suit asked in a calm tone.

"Of course, Nighteye, what do you want to know? I'll try to give you all the information I can."

In any other situation, that would have been the correct response—a calm and relaxed attitude without the slightest intention of hiding anything—something that would puzzle anyone, but not Nighteye. Perhaps due to his extensive experience as an investigator or his particular interest in the information, but to him, that attitude was nothing more than an obvious sign that the women in front of him were not willing to cooperate.

But he had already prepared for such a situation, and had even met the requirements to activate his future vision on Mandalay just moments ago. So he quickly tried to see her future to find the information he needed, but the moment the image began to form in his mind, it quickly shattered like a pile of glass.

Returning his gaze to the situation in the room, Nighteye couldn't help but notice that Mandalay was holding a beautiful Gladius sword with intricate carvings on its blade that seemed to be a mix between an electronic circuit and tribal runes, while she looked at him with an irate expression, as if ready to attack at any moment.

"What is the meaning of this, Mandalay?"

Seeing the weapon in Mandalay's hand, which had materialized out of nowhere and almost instantaneously even to his perception, All Might asked in a serious tone while looking directly into the eyes of the beautiful heroine, who asked in a dark and evidently offended tone.

"That's exactly what I'd like to ask the two of you: why did Nighteye try to look into my future without my authorization?"

"What do you mean?"

All Might quickly asked, trying to hide his discomfort, as he had noticed his companion's dark expression, which basically told him that he had indeed done it. Mandalay showed the sword in her hand while commenting in an evidently annoyed tone.

"I have ways to block clairvoyance against me, and just now Nighteye tried to spy on my future."

"So you came prepared against me..."

While analyzing the sword in Mandalay's hand, Nighteye couldn't help but comment in a grave tone, while his mind began to wander about the possibilities that the sword in her hand was the key to changing his predictions.

"Not at all, just a method of self-protection. But more importantly, what are your intentions with all this? Am I suspected of something?"

As she and Pixie-Bob analyzed All Might and his former partner, Mandalay asked in a solemn tone. After all, the situation warranted it, since, although she hadn't committed any crime, in front of the number one hero, that was irrelevant. If they accused them of something, possibly only Kai could save them—something they didn't want to resort to, as that would only translate into a world of trouble for the man she loved.

"I see..." Nighteye couldn't help but comment in a contemplative tone, but seeing that the heroines' expressions visibly worsened with each passing second, he quickly continued speaking.

"First of all, I'd like to apologize for my rudeness in trying to look into your future without consent, but I really need to save someone's life, and I know that the former hero duo Water Horse had a miraculous recovery from the brink of death, so I'm in a constant state of anxiety and acted hastily."

Upon hearing Nighteye's words, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob's expressions visibly relaxed, while the sword in the hands of the heroine in red dematerialized, which couldn't help but draw the heroes' attention.

"So that's why..." Mandalay commented before discreetly letting out a small sigh of relief before continuing. "But I must apologize; I don't think I can be of much help."

"Please, Mandalay, I know you know something. Although I still don't know why you covered up the event, I know you must have information about the incident that saved the Water Horse couple from death. Something like that hasn't happened again since then, and the person I want to save is not only important to me but to all of Japan!" Nighteye spoke quickly with an evidently agitated tone, but at that moment, All Might's powerful voice resonated in the room.

"The one who needs healing is me."

"""All Might?!!!"""

Upon hearing All Might's words, everyone present exclaimed aloud and then looked at him with expressions full of disbelief. At that moment, the muscular form of the number one hero burst into a cloud of smoke, soon revealing a thin, haggard man with a sickly appearance.

"How is this possible? All Might is in such a grave state?!" Pixie-Bob exclaimed loudly, absolutely shocked, followed closely by Mandalay, who added aloud.

"But there hasn't been any information about this!"

"We are keeping it a secret to avoid panic, but yes, I was gravely injured in combat."

As he spoke with a much softer and weaker voice than the heroines present could have ever imagined, All Might lifted his white shirt, which now hung large and loose on him, revealing a horrible scar that almost covered his entire left torso.

"This is the wound I received from an enemy attack four years ago. Half of my respiratory system was destroyed, and I lost my entire stomach. I became like this due to repeated surgeries and aftereffects, so I can only do my hero work for about three hours a day."

Upon witnessing the wound shown by All Might and his explanation of the injuries he received, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob were absolutely stunned, almost refusing to believe what they were seeing. After all, it was almost inconceivable that the Symbol of Peace, the invincible number one hero, could be in such a miserable state—something that inevitably appeared on their faces, which, besides surprise and shock, revealed a hint of fear.

For his part, Nighteye looked at All Might with undisguised surprise on his face. After all, the decision he made to tell them the truth was too great a risk, especially when they didn't even know if they had information about that "vigilante" or if they even intended to help them. But at that moment, Pixie-Bob and Mandalay looked at each other with solemn expressions, almost as if they were having a wordless conversation.

"Mandalay, I'll make a call," Pixie-Bob said after a moment in a serious tone to her companion, who quickly nodded.

"Alright."

"It seems they've decided to help us; thank you very much," All Might commented with a small smile on his emaciated face, to which Mandalay replied after shaking her head.

"Don't thank me just yet. For now, and seeing your sincerity, I'm willing to admit that I know who healed my cousin and her husband, but that doesn't guarantee that this person is willing to do it for you. But I'd like to know, why did you decide to risk letting me know something as delicate as this?"

Upon hearing Mandalay's question, All Might prepared to speak, but at that moment he coughed up a mouthful of blood, which immediately alarmed the female hero in front of him, who quickly asked, startled.

"Are you okay, All Might?!"

"Yes, I'm fine—just one of the effects of my current condition, don't worry," All Might replied with a dark expression, then explained while looking at Mandalay, who was sitting back down.

"Back to the topic, there are several reasons. First, the Wild Wild Pussycats hero group has been operating for several years with an impeccable reputation and countless cases solved, so at the very least, I can tell that you are responsible heroes. But mainly it was because of the sword that appeared in your hand, which, even to my perception, appeared instantaneously.

"The creator of that sword must possess a very powerful quirk, so it's most likely that the person who healed that woman is the same individual. You must be quite important to him or her to be willing to give you that sword and to heal your cousin when there hasn't been any public appearance from this person. But mainly because that's how desperate I am—my time is running out, and the world still needs a Symbol of Peace."

"I understand, All Might; you're sharp..." Mandalay replied while looking at the Symbol of Peace in front of her with a complicated expression. He responded with a smile that looked more like a grimace in that skinny form.

"Well, over time I learned a couple of things."

"Well, we should wait for Pixie-Bob then; she shouldn't take long to return."