My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[The Synonym]

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[I AM—]
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All Might, now in his muscular form, walked through the school hallway with Recovery Girl alongside him, expression deep in thought as the two advanced in silence.

After dragging him out of the teachers' lounge, Recovery Girl had offered nothing further in the way of an explanation—saying it was better for him to see it himself rather than hear it hurriedly from her.

And so All Might had been forced to leave his rest and follow, knowing only that something had come up, but having no idea what.

Her tone, when she'd said as much, hadn't been one of worry but of sheer bafflement—which at least let him rule out the possibility that something had happened to one of his students.

And from the way she'd worded it, it seemed Taka actually had something in store for him. Something significant.

But what?

All Might had to sit with that question through the two minutes it took them to reach the infirmary.

Once they stepped inside, he was surprised to find it wasn't only Taka waiting there—sitting on a bed with a bored expression.

Nezu was there too, standing calmly beside him, watching both of them approach with a quiet, knowing smile.

Instantly, the weight of the situation scaled several levels. The principal's presence here wasn't something that happened over small matters.

After all, Nezu wasn't merely his current boss. He was one of the few people aware of what had transpired during his fight with that man, and everything that had followed. He was the one who had volunteered to help find a successor, and who was practically aware of all the behind-the-scenes details.

For him to be here, alongside Recovery Girl…

"…"

All Might looked at Taka with a puzzled face.

'Just what is going on with young Takahashi?'

"Sorry to interrupt your break, All Might." Nezu's voice pulled him out of his daze, nudging him to finally step inside rather than linger at the entrance.

Recovery Girl made her way to the chair beside her desk. All Might took a seat on the bed across from the principal and the student, looking between them with quiet seriousness.

"Recovery Girl said something important came up—something involving young Takahashi?"

"Precisely. To be honest, I'm quite surprised myself. The news came so suddenly we barely had time to process it."

"News?"

"Young Takahashi has awakened a new ability." Nezu said.

"Awakened?"

A deep frown settled across All Might's hollowed face for a moment.

He understood what awakening meant. It was the point at which a Quirk underwent a kind of evolution—gaining power or capabilities previously thought impossible given the Quirk's known nature. But for something like that to occur, it was said the person had to experience tremendous stress—the kind only reached when staring death in the face, and even then, it was just a slim possibility.

If young Takahashi had truly awakened—what could have possibly happe—?

"It seems I may have prompted unnecessary concern." Nezu interrupted his train of thought, gesturing calmly for him to settle down, then turning to Taka. "Let me first give you the context around Takahashi's Quirk, and how the two of us came to have an agreement… if he's alright with that, of course."

The teenager gave him a look, followed by a small huff and a silent nod.

Nezu turned back to All Might. "Splendid. Tell me—do you recall the incident involving that giant heteromorph near the lake, toward the end of last year?"

All Might cast his mind back, looking pensive.

After a moment, he nodded. "I remember it. The incident drew a lot of attention because of the villain's sheer power—it was talked about for weeks afterward, given how much destructive capability he demonstrated, and how he'd apparently been moving through the city completely undetected up until that point. If that man, Rockinesis, hadn't intervened when he did and kept him airborne long enough to reach the lake, it could have ended in a disaster."

"Precisely. That's also the day Takahashi and I first met. He came home beaten up from the fight, and I almost burst out laughing when his face contorted for a split second upon finding me sitting in his living room."

"My face did what?" Taka muttered, looking at him with a baffled expression.

"Hold on, principal." All Might raised a palm, looking confused. "What do you mean he came home beaten up from the fight?"

"Well, he tried to hide it—but by paying surgical attention to his behavior and body language, I noticed he'd come back with a broken arm. I didn't say anything at the time, but I did let out a small snicker once I finally left."

"You did…?" Taka muttered again, the flat look deepening.

All Might waved his hands in opposite directions. "No, no—I mean, what fight are you referring to?"

"With the villain, of course."

"The villain?" All Might struggled to reconcile what was being implied with what he couldn't quite believe. "Which villain?"

Nezu smiled innocently.

"The giant heteromorph."

"…" All Might went quiet, blinking, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to process whether he was understanding correctly before committing to a response.

Ultimately he found no other way to read the rat's words.

"Y-you're saying young Takahashi is…?"

Nezu's smile stretched with quiet satisfaction.

"The vigilante, Rockinesis. Yes."

"…!"

All Might's mouth fell open, and his head turned slowly—like a rusted hinge—toward Taka, who offered a faint smile as the attention landed on him.

"Don't arrest me, please."

"…!"

Everything resurfaced at once. No longer the actions of some distant, mysterious vigilante—but of a student of his. A teenager.

A kid the same age as his successor.

The dozens, if not hundreds of villains apprehended. The concert crashed and turned into one of the vigilante's song debuts. The heteromorph incident they'd just been discussing. The Yakuza raid. And most recently, the capture of the Hero Killer and the saving of Ingenium.

It all landed on him now as the acts of a student under his care. A mere teenager going to U.A.

The most wanted vigilante of recent years was one of his students?!

And it was Takahashi?!

A chain of detonations went off inside All Might's head.

His eyes darted between Nezu and Taka. "B-but—if that were true, his Quirk wouldn't be Telekinesis anymore!"

The original concept of Muscle to Mind—which supposedly granted Taka greater telekinetic output proportional to his physical strength—fell apart quickly once you stacked everything else on top. Abilities with no apparent connection to telekinesis whatsoever.

Clones, energy rays, flames, electricity, cutting force.

What Takahashi had shown until now was already strange enough—but now?

Now there was no way this was just Telekinesis!

And if the premise of strength feeding the telekinesis was a cover story, then Taka's superhuman physical abilities counted as yet another power with an unexplained origin.

Just what kind of Quirk could hold so many abilities? He had never heard of such a thing!

"That's precisely why I reached out to Takahashi months before the school year began." Nezu replied. "Through his actions as Rockinesis, he had demonstrated multiple abilities with no obvious connection to one another—all from a single Quirk that didn't quite match the description in the official documents. When I discovered it, I couldn't help but want to see that talent properly channeled. So I eventually roped him into our dear school."

All Might nodded. It made sense, and it was the right call—especially since he had seen the gap between Takahashi and every other student in his year.

Every student, actually.

That said, it didn't make the shock any easier to absorb.

Nezu walked up and patted him on the thigh, then drifted toward the window, watching the sun begin its descent, quietly marking the end of the school day.

"The truth is—according to Takahashi's own account, and my analysis—it appears his Quirk continues to evolve even now. Whether in raw output or entirely new capabilities." He said, still facing the glass.

All Might swallowed, taking in that information with difficulty.

A Quirk in constant growth. Unbelievable.

"And that brings us to the reason we called you here." Nezu's words drew him back. "… One of those new capabilities—one Takahashi reported today—is healing."

Taka extended a hand, green aura flames seeping from the palm as if in demonstration.

Seeing that, and piecing together why he'd been summoned, All Might turned to Nezu with a stunned look.

"You mean to say he can…?" He hesitated at the last word, out of habit around the secrecy of his condition.

But Nezu continued regardless.

"We tested the ability as thoroughly as we could. Given the extent of the damage in your case—and the track record of every doctor and hero with healing-adjacent Quirks who's examined you before—we were cautious about drawing conclusions. The results, however, were not what we expected."

Recovery Girl spoke up from her desk, setting a sheet of paper down.

"My Quirk works by accelerating the body's own natural healing, drawing on the patient's energy to fuel it. Which is also why it has limits—the body can only regenerate what it hasn't already given up on. Scar tissue is the body's way of declaring a wound closed. It doesn't reverse that decision on its own."

She folded her hands.

"What the kid's healing energy does is entirely different. Rather than working alongside the body's healing response, it overrides it. The energy appears to instruct cells directly—signaling damaged or scarred tissue to break down, while simultaneously prompting the surrounding healthy cells to multiply and rebuild what was lost. It doesn't accelerate healing so much as it reverses the injury… In a way, it's almost like a sentient healing—one that knows exactly what is damaged and how it should be restored, even when the body itself no longer does."

She handed him the sheet.

"The cost comes entirely from the kid, not the patient. And it scales depending on several factors—the age of the injury, the size of the affected area, and the structural complexity of what needs to rebuild. In your case, the first and last of those are the significant ones."

All Might nodded, frown deepening as he absorbed the data in the paper alongside his limited medical knowledge.

"Does this mean… he knows?" He asked, eyes lifting from the sheet and moving across the three faces in the room—settling on Taka's unsurprised expression in particular.

The two teachers nodded.

Taka didn't look surprised by the question.

"I see…"

At that, All Might let out a long breath—and his body deflated all at once, the steam leaving him in one long release.

When it cleared, he had become his gaunt self. Gone was the towering figure of the greatest hero and the ever-present smile—in their place, a thin man with hollow eyes and a quiet, heavy expression.

Seeing him finally lower his guard, Nezu smiled softly and continued.

"According to what we've understood so far, the way this healing works should be able to address the kind of damage your body sustained—Takahashi's healing energy will act as both a guide and energy source, directing your cells to revert the injury to its previous uninjured state, regardless of whether the body believes it's possible or knows how to do it on its own. The only concern is…"

"Whether I'll have enough energy." Taka finished. "Like Recovery Girl explained, the cost scales with several factors. For all I know, I might not be able to heal it fully—or I might not even break a sweat."

All Might nodded in silence, his expression not changing much despite the apparent good news.

That was because he hadn't let himself expect much the moment his injury came up.

Despite the hope the two teachers clearly carried, too many treatments had failed before—regardless of the expertise, the Quirk, or the approach. The best anyone had ever managed was preventing him from dying of it.

And however exceptional young Takahashi was—however far beyond any expectation he'd already proven himself—he couldn't quite bring himself to believe the kid would also be able to pull off a miracle like this.

Even as the two teachers walked him through the logic of why it should work, he had quietly resigned himself to the idea that it probably wouldn't.

But who was he to deny them the try?

Before that, though…

"You mentioned the energy comes directly from you, young Takahashi?"

Taka nodded.

All Might looked at him directly, serious. "What happens if you run out of energy and it isn't enough? No matter how much I'd like to be healed—I won't risk a student for it."

There was a brief pause before Taka let out a soft snort, mildly amused.

"It's not my direct life force or anything like that. Think of it more as a secondary energy that fuels all my other abilities. If I exhaust it, I go back to normal human capabilities until it recharges on its own."

All Might blinked in surprise, nodding slowly.

He hadn't expected to come away from this conversation with new details about the boy's actual Quirk.

But regardless—if healing him truly carried no grave risk to Takahashi… then perhaps it was worth a try after all.

His fist tightened.

"Then, young Takahashi—I'll be in your care." He said, his tone somewhere between resignation and faint hope.

Taka smiled—freely, confidently, in a way All Might wasn't used to seeing from the usually composed student.

"Don't worry. This will be easy peasy."

All Might noted that he even spoke differently in this moment. Less… dramatically, if he had to put it into words.

He really did seem like a normal teenager right now.

...

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| Minutes later… |

...

Soon after, the room was prepared as thoroughly as the circumstances allowed.

Which mostly meant giving All Might's bed more space, and connecting a few monitoring devices to track his condition once the healing started, so nothing would go unnoticed.

Once everything was in place and All Might's vitals along with many other details were under watch, Taka approached the bed.

"Uhm, young Takahashi—does this hurt?" All Might asked, glancing nervously at the approaching Taka, whose face was faintly illuminated by the green flames in his hand.

"For minor things like cuts or muscle pain, not really. But I honestly don't know about rebuilding a stomach and fixing a respiratory system from scratch."

"I see…"

"You can bite down on this leather belt, though."

"Why do you have that?!"

"I borrowed it from Recovery Girl's supply cabinet."

All Might gave Taka a baffled look.

Then, without a word, he put it between his teeth and bit down.

"Very well—let's begin, Takahashi." Nezu said, seeing that everything was ready.

Taka nodded silently, and the flames in his hand intensified in the same motion.

Then he placed his engulfed hand over All Might's scar.

From it, the flames spread and washed over All Might entirely.

"It doesn't burn?" The hero murmured through the belt, staring at the green fire now covering him.

Taka smiled wryly. "The energy itself is actually invisible. I'm only giving it a color for dramatic effect."

As he said that, the flames shifted to an orange-red—looking for all the world like actual fire.

Yet All Might felt not the slightest heat.

He gave Taka a baffled look.

'Dramatic effect, seriously?'

Taka shrugged.

Since he was already outed, he might as well be a little honest.

"Well—enough about me. Bite down hard."

"Ye—"

His agreement was cut off as a sudden rush of warmth flooded through him.

Like a heatstroke arriving all at once—instantly hot, then cold, leaving him drenched in sweat before he could process it.

It didn't hurt, but it was deeply uncomfortable.

And uncomfortable would have been perfectly fine, because what came next was far worse.

"Hngh!" A groan tore from him as heat began building in his innards. His lungs, his ribs, his muscles—all of it burning.

It was as if an inferno had ignited directly inside his chest.

Taka's brow furrowed at the sight of All Might's face contorting in pain.

But before he could even consider whether the healing was having adverse effects, Nezu's voice cut through.

"All Might's cells have gone into overdrive—thousands of new cells per second across the tissue"

"Don't worry kid. The pain he is feeling is all the heat of his own body repairing." Recovery Girl added, her eyes moving rapidly between All Might and the monitor, where cell division was happening at blinding speed. "Mitosis at that volume and speed releases an enormous amount of thermal energy. Your energy itself may be heatless—but the conversion into cellular activity is generating the heat from within. All Might's body can't thermoregulate fast enough to compensate. However, conversely, even though it's burning him, it's also healing him even faster."

They didn't even need the screen to verify it. The jagged purple scar stretching from All Might's left ribcage across his chest was visibly fading—and in its place, steam was rising from his skin in steady waves.

"You alright, All Might?" Nezu asked.

All Might gave a rapid nod.

He had endured considerably worse. This hurt, but it was bearable.

So instead of focusing on himself, his eyes drifted to Takahashi—standing beside him with eyes closed and hand still pressed over him, channeling the energy.

There was a frown on the kid's face.

And no wonder.

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[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 183

▸ Defense: 366

▸ Aura Projection: 124,343 → 112,223

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Total Aura: 124,526 → 112,223 (90%)

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Just a few seconds in, and he'd already burned through nearly 10% of his total aura.

He checked the monitor. Aside from some superficial damage having cleared up, the deeper injuries—the respiratory system, the missing stomach—remained untouched.

'H-how is it costing this much already?!' He questioned, outraged.

Fortunately, Recovery Girl's voice cut in before his panic could go anywhere, apparently having taken note of Taka's less than ideal expression.

"Is the energy flow too high, kid?" She said, watching the monitor closely. "Well, I suppose it's to be expected somewhat. All Might's body spent years compensating for the missing tissue—surrounding organs shifted, the musculature restructured, everything rearranged to accommodate the absence. Before it can accept a new stomach, the body first has to undo all of that—reverting itself to its original pre-injury configuration. That's essentially two healing processes for the price of one. So it ought to be pretty taxing."

'Of course.' Taka groaned internally, but held the output steady.

Before hosting a proper respiratory system and a stomach again, the body had to roll back everything it had quietly changed over the years to cope without them.

Muscles, tendons, bones, arteries—the whole internal architecture was being remodeled back to what it once was.

And with it, the aura kept draining.

By the one-minute mark, 70% remained.

"The body has finished reverting." Recovery Girl announced the moment it reached that number.

However, following that, the rate of drain suddenly accelerated enormously, making the two spectators, Nezu and Recovery Girl, stare harder at the screen.

60%

But in turn to the preoccupying boost in energy being spent, the tears and damage along the lungs and diaphragm began closing, rebuilding into perfectly functioning tissue.

50%

The cracks and missing sections of the ribcage grew back, filling in solid.

40%

The scar on the left side of his chest faded entirely.

30%

And then came the last part.

The void in his body—the space that had formed as everything rearranged itself around the absence—suddenly stopped being empty.

A small mass of living muscle appeared where there had been nothing.

It grew. It sent tendrils out into the surrounding tissue, finding its connections.

20%

Soon it had integrated. Then the overall shape continued expanding, growing into its proper size.

Until—

10%

At last—

5%

It was done.

A new stomach was born. One that was connected to All Might so seamlessly, it appeared to have always been there.

And with it—the healing process was over.

—Tsssssss…!—

The moment the treatment ended, All Might's body expelled vapor as if he were a machine venting steam—the heat radiating off him palpable from several steps away. The room had become a sauna.

Taka stepped back, pulling in a deep breath.

His eyes moved to his status screen, wincing at the sight.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 183

▸ Defense: 366

▸ Aura Projection: 124,343 → 5,380

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Total Aura: 124,526 → 5,380 (4%)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

96% aura, used in just a matter of minutes.

He'd never burned through that much in such a short window. It left him dizzy.

Slowly, he pulled his gaze from the screen and looked at the room around him—thick with vapor, the far wall barely visible through it.

'Did it work?'

With what aura he had left, he opened the curtains, then the window, and siphoned the vapor outward in a steady stream.

Until, at last, the room cleared—now lit softly by the last of the setting sun.

-Screech-

As soon as sight was returned to everyone, the bed of the patient groaned as the figure lying in it began to move—slowly at first, then with increasing certainty.

-Tap-

The figure sat up. Then stood, his wet feet echoing in the silent room as the figure rose tall, letting the light fall over it.

There stood All Might.

Not in his muscular form. No.

But he wasn't a skeleton anymore.

It was a healthy-looking All Might, staring at his own open hands and stomach with wide, stunned eyes.

Then he looked up.

And the smile of the symbol of hope returned.

"I AM—Cured."

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Pretty epic, if I say so myself.)

 

[The Synonym]

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…

As All Might stood there, admiring his new state with a dazed look, Taka heaved a sigh of relief.

'So it worked,' He thought as he gazed at the newly healed hero, before shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 'Of course it did—it drained me completely. It had to work.'

He had expected it to cost a lot—just not this much.

Truth be told, the energy conversion for healing compared to destructive output was horrendous. A hundred thousand aura had barely been enough to rebuild a stomach and repair a respiratory system—whereas shooting a laser that, per his calculations, could level several buildings in a row would cost the same amount. The disparity was crazy.

It also scaled wildly depending on factors like size, complexity, and age of the injury. Midoriya's broken finger on the day of the Quirk assessment test had cost him only a few hundred aura at most.

Yet All Might's injuries had gone through the roof.

But hey, at least it had worked.

'Also, good thing I only tried this after the festival, otherwise I'd have run out of energy midway,' He thought, snorting.

The 50k he had before all of it began? It would have been gone before he could have even begun the actual healing process.

And what would happen if he left a treatment like that half-finished?

He preferred not to find out any time soon.

But what's done is done.

'It's time to focus on what lays ahead.' Taka thought, focusing on All Might's figure, and then, on what it meant for the future.

He'd done this somewhat on a whim, so he hadn't thought through the consequences. Even if it was a pretty significant move—for canon, and for his carefully maintained secrets.

Though, on the other hand, One For All was already passed to Midoriya. Even with All Might healed, the Quirk would run its course sooner or later.

He doubted his healing had done anything to reverse that.

But at least the hero would be retiring more dignifiedly, now that he looked like an actual human being. And maybe he'd be better equipped to deal with All For One in their eventual fight after the summer camp.

—If canon continued as it should.

Who knew? Maybe his interference had already pushed things too far off course for that fight to play out the same way, or at all.

'What am I saying? Of course the canon is already derailed like crazy—Stain is behind bars without the chance to rally villains with his speech, Chisaki is without a Quirk and probably losing his mind over it, not to mention what beating the Nomu instead of All Might doing it might have changed.' Taka thought, mentally slapping his forehead. 'The path of the canon is in shambles. It's only going to go haywire from here.'

If the future bore any resemblance at all to canon from this point forward, he'd be shocked.

Except for school matters—those would probably stay roughly the same for a while. Final exams. The summer camp.

Sighing, his eyes fell back on All Might, who was now testing his movements, as if hunting for even the faintest trace of the pain he'd lived with every single day.

The excitement was hard to hide from his face.

Seeing him like that, Taka smiled too.

'Well, at least there's a new fallback if something goes wrong. Even if One For All will fade eventually, the limits his injuries imposed on how much he could use it should be gone now.'

His gaze shifted to Nezu, who had been patiently watching All Might examine himself in silence.

Picking up on the look, the rat seemed to understand what it meant, and turned back to All Might with his usual smile.

"How do you feel, All Might?"

The hero finally snapped out of his daze, looking between Nezu and Taka with a wide smile.

"I feel amazing, Principal. No discomfort of any sort… it's truly as if my body has been rebuilt to perfection!"

Then he focused on Taka specifically.

"Thank you, young man. Truly. I had already lost hope—but to think a day like this would come… I can only express my deepest gratitudes."

Taka gave a nod, though his actual question still hadn't been answered.

So he was straightforward about it this time, without using Nezu as a middleman.

"Your full power—can you use it?"

"…" All Might's eyes widened for an instant. Then he glanced at Nezu, who gave him a small nod of approval.

Sighing, he fell quiet, eyes dropping from Nezu to his own body, hands opening and closing as if gauging what was actually there.

"No." He answered plainly.

Taka's brow furrowed. Had the Quirk depleted too far, even with peak condition restored?

All Might's next words settled it.

"You've brought me back to a healthy state, but the power I used to access required my body to be in absolutely peak condition."

He flexed an arm. It was solid now that he was no longer a skeleton of a man, but Taka understood what he meant—the frame in front of him was nowhere near the mountain of muscle from All Might's golden age.

Right now, he looked like a teenager who'd maintained decent physical condition over the years and aged naturally—not the All Might who had trained to the absolute bone for decades and built himself into the superhuman he had been.

In other words: injured All Might had become healthy All Might, not peak All Might. Whatever that meant for the semantics of his Quirk.

"However, I can feel that the strength I'm able to tap into has grown tremendously, even if not what it once was at its peak." All Might smiled. "And now I feel as though I can hold the muscular form for several hours without issue."

Taka tilted his head. "Wait—I thought you couldn't hold that form because of your injuries. How is time still a factor even now that you're healed?"

All Might looked briefly caught off guard by how knowledgeable he looked about the problem.

He had expected the kid to be a bit more lost.

…Just how much had Nezu told him? Hopefully not too much about One For All.

Although—even if he had, at this point, Taka had become someone he owed a great deal to.

Maybe it'd be fine to do so personally one day.

When? He didn't know.

Regardless of his uncertainty, he answered. "Before, using the form worsened my condition directly. Now it's simply exhaustion—that muscular form is me flexing, after all. Imagine holding a full-body flex for hours, it's very tiring. Although, from now on I'll just need a brief rest to go back into it, unlike before, when my limited hours cost me the rest of the day."

Taka nodded, expression neutral.

"Basically—All Might will need to rebuild his musculature before that form stops being time-limited." Nezu stepped in, filling the gap. "The muscular form reflects what he looked like before the injuries gradually stripped away most of his muscle mass. For now, flexing makes him appear the same, but there's considerably less behind it than there used to be."

Taka nodded again.

'So in the end, even 100k aura was able to bring back peak All Might.' He sighed inwardly, disappointed that despite the expenditure in aura he still had failed to bring back the full Symbol of Peace .

Still, it was a stronger All Might than before. And that was all that mattered at this point.

'At least now I know a few more things about how my healing works.' Taka thought, letting out a satisfied huff, before slowly getting to his feet.

Once standing, he went to the nearby desk and picked up his things, before giving Nezu, Recovery Girl, and All Might a curt nod.

"Then, if everything's good here—I'm heading out. I have an appointment with my little sister to teach her guitar that's coming up soon, and if I don't move now I'll be late." He declared, already making his way to the door. "And I'm not an unpunctual guy."

With that, he gave the teachers one more nod of farewell, before closing the door behind him and leaving the room for good, his steps across the hallway echoing through the door.

The three teachers stared in silence as the furthering steps slowly became lower and lower, until they eventually ceased all together. Their faces utterly baffled, yet amused.

Leaving that quickly, that unbothered, and with such a priority in mind—as if he hadn't just healed the number one hero in Japan and effectively pulled him back from what had seemed like an irreversible decline.

All Might ended up letting out a short huff of laughter at the teenager's attitude.

"He's a peculiar boy."

"That he is," Nezu agreed. "And he grows more peculiar with each passing day. I'm excited to see what else he'll show us."

All Might nodded—before turning at Nezu with a wry look. "By the way, Principal…"

"Hmm?"

"The concert at the festival—you knew about it beforehand, didn't you? That's why you told me not to interfere."

"Me? What a crazy thing to suggest."

Nezu laughed, patting the man's back with an amused look.

"Now, nevermind the small details—let's have a proper talk. I'm sure you have plenty of questions."

"Can't say I don't."

All Might smiled slightly, casting one last glance back at the closed door, recalling Taka's figure leaving like nothing, even though he had been revealed as the most wanted vigilante in recent days.

Yet—

'I suppose that's fine.'

Criminal or not, he couldn't bring himself to hold anything against the teenager. The good he'd done so far was real, and even if the means had been illegal, Nezu was quietly steering him toward the right path.

There wasn't anything he could add to that.

Having settled whatever misgivings he might have had, he looked back at himself—his now-healed body, a stark contrast to the half-dead figure he'd grown used to seeing in the mirror.

'I wonder how young Midoriya will react.'

...

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| Several days later, at the subway station… |

...

"Alright, does everyone have their luggage and costumes?" Aizawa asked, scanning the crowd of students assembled in front of him.

""Yessir!""

Some responded properly, others simply held up their bags to make the point. Some with considerably more enthusiasm than others.

Aizawa ignored the inconsistency and gave a nod once he'd confirmed everyone had what they needed.

"Good. Remember—no wearing them in public. And mind your conduct at your internships. It won't be school. It'll be a professional environment, and you'll need to behave accordingly."

After that, he checked his phone, glanced at the time, and nodded.

"It's time. If that's understood—off you go. Good luck."

""Yessir!""

And with that, he left them to it.

From there, each student headed for their own train, since everyone had chosen different agencies. Some departed right away. Others had to wait, and filled the time with idle chatter.

Taka had settled into one of the empty seats nearby, his group drifting in around him.

"So—remind me again, which agency did everyone go with?" Sero asked, bag resting on his knees, grinning.

"Didn't we go over this on Friday?" Kirishima gave him a confused look.

"Yeah, but people change their minds. Who knows?"

"Well, I'm still going with Fourth Kind. He was the manliest choice on my list—pretty much a no brainer." Kirishima said, pumping a fist.

"Just because of that?" Sero stared at him.

"Leave him alone—that's his thing, so it makes sense for him." Kaminari laughed.

"What about you, Kaminari? You were still going back and forth by Friday."

The blonde froze for a split second, then a sly smile appeared.

"As a matter of fact—it turns out there's this heroine who uses electricity as well, a total babe. Hero AA is her name. She actually sent me an offer. Can you believe it?"

He pulled out his phone and showed everyone the hero's official page.

But the reaction he got was not the one he'd been hoping for.

"Dude. She looks like she could be your mom."

"Yeah—she's even blonde with a lightning bolt in her hair. You sure you didn't just get scouted by a distant relative?"

Kaminari's expression dropped.

"Huh?" He looked at the phone again. "Wait—for real?"

"If I were you, I'd check if there's any family resemblance."

Kaminari nodded slowly, staring at the screen like having a quiet existential crisis.

While that unfolded, the rest moved on.

"How about you, Jiro?" Sero turned to her.

She couldn't quite hide her smile, scratching her cheek. "Cangunnon from the Buster Union actually sent me an offer. When I asked the teachers about it, turns out Present Mic-sensei interned under them too—makes sense, since both our Quirks are sound-based."

"For real?! That's one of the hardest-hitting hero teams out there!" Kaminari leaned in, eyes wide.

"That's just what ranking high at the festival gets you, I guess." Sero sighed in a mildly tragic way. "My offers were nothing that wild by comparison. I ended up going with Arthropodman—his fighting style is a bit similar to mine, so hopefully that was the right call."

"Who's that?" Kirishima tilted his head.

"… You don't even know him." Sero muttered, deflating.

Ignoring his sulking, everyone turned to the last person in the group.

"And you, Takahashi? That many offers didn't paralyze you or anything?" Kaminari asked, with just a hint of bitterness.

Taka lifted his head from where he'd been dozing with his chin lowered. "Nighteye." He said, not sounding particularly sold on his own choice. "Seemed the most interesting, I guess."

That was the entirety of his reasoning.

The four could only stare at him.

Not that they could blame him—with that many offers, having deep reasons for any one pick probably became impossible after a while. Still, they couldn't help feeling a little jealous of just how freely he'd been able to choose on a whim.

"Nighteye, huh? That blonde third-year interned under him, didn't he?" Jiro commented, the meeting from the cafeteria surfacing in her memory.

"Yeah." Taka answered, sighing faintly at the mental image of spending a week around Togata's relentless good cheer.

He was not looking forward to it. The guy didn't look like the quiet type, which is what he'd prefer.

Contrastingly, Nighteye's stern look seemed much more pleasing.

"By the way—where is that third-year girl interning? Not under Nighteye as well, is she?" Jiro asked, frowning slightly.

"I think she's going to Ryukyu." Taka answered.

"Hm, is that so?" Jiro hummed, sounding satisfied with that answer for reasons Taka didn't particularly want to examine, so he let it go and went back to resting.

"Talking about Ryukyu—" Kaminari leaned in, lowering his voice slightly. "Has anyone noticed Midoriya keeps looking this way?"

"What does that have to do with Ryukyu?" Sero looked at him strangely.

"No idea. I just couldn't think of how to bring it up naturally. But it's starting to bother me."

The four of them glanced over.

Midoriya was looking in their direction.

—Or rather, since he didn't seem to notice all four of them looking back—

"He's looking at Takahashi." Jiro noted.

Taka opened his eyes and glanced lazily toward the greenhead.

Only then did Midoriya look away in a hurry.

"Look—he even tried not to get caught."

"What did you do to him, Takahashi?" Sero asked, laughing wryly, clearly picturing Taka having bullied the already nervous Midoriya into a paranoid state.

Taka shrugged.

"No idea. But he's usually like that around everyone, isn't he?"

"True, true." Kaminari nodded with deep agreement.

"Maybe he's just jealous of Taka's offers?" Kirishima offered, though he didn't look very sure about it.

"Like all of us."

Everyone scoffed—then immediately glanced at Taka with a pettiness they didn't bother hiding.

While they sulked over their own comment, Taka's gaze remained on the now-nervous Midoriya, who could clearly feel the attention.

'I'm guessing All Might, much like his pupil, is terrible at keeping secrets—not that I asked him to, but I thought he'd be sensible enough not to bring it up unprompted... Apparently, I was wrong.' He sighed inwardly.

Well. As long as Midoriya didn't start sharing things he shouldn't with the rest of the class, he didn't mind too much.

If Midoriya said too much—then he could just send the greenhead flying from a school window all the way to the USJ with one well-aimed punt.

"...!"

At that moment, Midoriya felt a chill crawl down his spine.

While Taka had such thoughts, barely keeping up with whatever chatter the group made in the background as the minutes passed, slowly more and more trains passed by.

More minutes later, most students gradually began boarding their trains, the group present at the station slowly thinning.

At some point, only a few remained, one of them Takahashi, who was still in his chair, calmly resting from a night of very responsible activities.

Since he had solved most of his issues, he had let himself indulge a bit in his old hobbies, like playing.

Turns out, he might have went at it a bit too hard, and ended up still awake by 3 AM.

Thus, he now was paying the price, feeling a bit under the weather.

Luckily, True Breathing was helping him feel a bit better. Though he wouldn't mind sleeping for a few hours right here and now.

"Your train still hasn't come, Takahashi?"

Just then, Jiro—who'd just returned from buying juice at a nearby machine—blinked to find him still sitting there, completely unbothered.

"Nope." He said, the p popping.

She scratched the side of her head. "That's strange—I'm pretty sure the train to the city Nighteye's agency is at should have come and gone by now."

"Must be your imagination."

"Hmm." She hummed, unconvinced, then sat back down and let it go.

A brief silence settled between them. Not awkward—the topics had simply run out after the long wait, and both were more or less in quiet mode until they could leave.

Until Jiro suddenly perked up, glancing at Taka from the corner of her eye with a small smile starting on her face.

"… So, Takahashi—you play music?"

Taka's head came up, looking at her with a baffled expression. "Where did that come from?"

"Nothing, nothing… you just seem like the type."

"…" Taka's mouth twitched.

She was making her suspicions pretty clear.

He turned it over for a few seconds.

But to his own mild surprise, he found he wasn't quite as determined to deflect as he usually was.

Maybe having All Might find out had made him slightly less guarded about it.

That, or the lack of sleep was making him more susceptible to her puppy eyes.

Taka shook his head. He'd have to play the long game a little while longer still, so no revelations to her for the time being.

Still…

He glanced at Jiro, who flinched faintly under the direct attention.

Then he opened his mouth.

"I guess… you could say I know a little."

Her eyebrows shot up and a proper smile appeared. "Oh, is that so? A little, huh? What do you usually play?"

Taka winced.

Give someone a hand and they'll take an arm.

He turned his face away, not bothering with more than he'd already given.

"Whatever sounds good."

"What does that even mean?" Jiro asked, her expression going flat all of a sudden.

Right on cue, a train began pulling in, and Jiro checked her phone.

"Well, that's mine. Lucky you—you're getting off scot-free this time."

"From what?" Taka asked, face calm but eyes clearly baiting her.

Her smile went tight, annoyance creeping in at the edges.

The train doors opened and Jiro got to her feet, picking up her things.

As she stepped toward the platform, she threw one last look back at him.

"See you in a week, Takahashi. Try not to cause too much trouble."

Taka let out a short laugh, smiled faintly, and waved her off without a word.

Jiro boarded, and the train pulled away. Taka looked it go, heaving a soft sigh.

Minutes later, it wasn't only Jiro who left. Whoever else had been waiting filed out too.

Leaving only one behind at the station.

"Took them a while." Taka muttered, standing up and brushing off his pants.

And instead of heading for a platform, he walked out of the station. Eventually reaching the street, and then an alleyway.

Standing in the quiet and the shadow of it, he pulled out his phone.

"They're not expecting me for another forty minutes." He muttered, shouldering his bag as he began to float.

He pocketed the phone. His figure blurred—then vanished, reappearing high in the sky a moment later, barely visible from below.

At that height, he raised a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, and fixed on the general direction of his new destination.

Done, he smiled, aura flaring around him.

"No reason to waste all that time sitting around. They're getting an early visitor."

And without further delay—

—BOOOM!—

He shot forward.

New destination: Nighteye's agency.

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────

[Nighteye]

────────────────────────

...

Inside the Nighteye agency, the hero in question sat at his desk, clicking rapidly through his keyboard while staring at his screen with focused intensity.

"It's quite breezy in here, isn't it, sir? Should I close the window?"

Beside him, Mirio Togata stood with his arms behind his back, swaying slightly left and right—most likely waiting for Nighteye to finish whatever he was working on and explain why he'd been called in.

"No need. The breeze is pleasant while I work." Nighteye clarified.

Mirio nodded, and after a few more seconds of silence, glanced at Nighteye's screen—more specifically, at its contents.

On it sat a picture of Taka, alongside a brief profile covering his Quirk and personal history. At the bottom, it noted his application to the agency, and his scheduled arrival as being… today.

Seeing that, Mirio's brows rose, a smile appearing on his face.

"That freshman actually applied here? I'm surprised. When I handed him your card, he didn't look entirely convinced... and with all the offers he must have gotten after the festival, I genuinely thought he'd go somewhere else."

Nighteye didn't bat an eye, simply adjusting his glasses as he continued typing.

"Nezu was the one who recommended him, so I assume he also nudged the boy our way. Otherwise, I agree with you. For a young man this promising, I doubt my agency would have stood out among his options."

"Come on, don't say that, sir."

"It's only logical, Mirio. With his performance in front of the whole country, the top heroes must have sent offers in numbers. Ours isn't likely to stand out among them."

Mirio could only laugh wryly at the cold facts delivered in Nighteye's usual matter-of-fact tone.

But then something in Nighteye's words made him blink.

"You said the principal recommended him, sir?"

"Yes. He was cryptic and difficult to read as ever. However, he said it was in my best interest to extend an offer to the boy—though I'm not entirely sure what he meant by that."

"As eccentric as ever, huh?" Mirio smiled wryly.

A brief pause settled, filled only with the sound of keys clicking. Then Nighteye spoke again.

"Since you've met him, what's your read on him, Mirio? From what I saw, he appears rather arrogant—daring to declare he'd surpass All Might's mark at the festival, how ridiculous. He may have followed through, yes, but that doesn't excuse the obvious overconfidence."

Mirio smiled wryly, eyes drifting across the All Might merchandise covering every available surface in the room.

It seemed sir hadn't taken kindly to Takahashi's history-making declaration.

He put a hand to his chin, thinking back on his own meeting with the freshman.

"I wouldn't call him arrogant, personally. When we met, he was mostly quiet and reserved, if anything. He even seemed uncomfortable when Nejire bombarded him with questions—but he didn't turn her away until she'd gotten through all of them. If anything, he just didn't strike me as someone who enjoys social situations."

Nighteye didn't respond, simply continuing to type as he listened.

Mirio thought on it a bit longer, this time recalling the festival recordings and the string of edits that had spread across his feed afterward.

Setting aside Nighteye's obvious bias from his All Might fanaticism, Taka's personality still read as a little flamboyant—erratic behavior and strange choices that somehow only made him more popular with the crowd.

But if there was one thing that stood out to him…

"I think he might be a good classmate. Given the kind of power he had on display, there were plenty of moments where he could have ended his opponents in one move—but didn't. He let them show what they had first, then defeated them. And when he did knock someone out, he usually just tossed them off the platform rather than doing anything worse."

Nighteye gave a faint nod, as if already aware of as much.

"I suppose we will see soon." He said, finally turning to Mirio. "The school has just notified me that Takahashi should be arriving in roughly thirty minutes. As his senior, it will be your responsibility to meet him at the station. I'll be here when you both return, finishing the weekly report."

"Thirty minutes?" Mirio repeated, gauging the time window, then gave a nod. "Got it, sir."

"When you're back, and after I've briefed him on his responsibilities for the week, I'll have you show him around and to his room."

"Room two, right? That one's been empty for a while now."

"Correct. Now start making your way—since he'll be more or less a guest here, it would be inappropriate to leave him waiting at the station."

"Yes, sir!"

"No need."

Both heroes' pupils shrank as an unfamiliar voice suddenly came from somewhere in the room.

Their heads snapped toward it—and the owner made himself apparent quickly, clearly not intending to hide.

"..."

"..."

Taka was there, sitting at the window with his back against the frame, the curtains swaying in a wind with no clear origin, his hair catching it mystically.

"Sorry for the interruption. The window was open, so I let myself in."

The alert dropped out of both of them at once—and was replaced immediately by pure bafflement, cautious expressions flattening into deadpans.

The new intern was here. But… why like that?

"I've changed my mind, Mirio—go ahead and show him around first, then come find me. I'll brief him on his duties after." Nighteye said.

"… Yes, sir."

...

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

...

Taka and Mirio now walked the corridors of the agency together, door by door, Mirio narrating as they went.

"This is the meeting room. We use it at the end of each day for anything important—case progress, notable incidents, that sort of thing. Also for meetings with other heroes from outside, though that doesn't happen often."

"…"

"This here is the cafeteria. It may be small, but with how few of us there are, everyone fits. You can eat the food you bring here, but we also have a small stock of simple meals just in case."

"…"

"Down there are the bathrooms. There's also one in your dormitory room, so you won't need to use those much."

"…"

"We also have a small office for any online work or research you might need. Though, as an intern, you'll mostly be observing and learning—so you probably won't be spending much time in there."

"…"

"Oh, and how could we forget the indispensable janitor's closet! Though he usually comes by well after we're all asleep, so we rarely see him—except for sir, who stays late to greet him."

"…"

Mirio didn't seem deterred by the wall of silence. Since Taka was looking around and giving small nods, he appeared to actually be paying attention, even if he had nothing to add.

Soon they reached the dormitory area—small, with at most three rooms spread along a short corridor.

Mirio led him to the door marked with a two, opened it, and showed him a compact but comfortable room with everything he'd need.

"This is yours for the week. We're up and ready by six in the morning, so try not to stay up too late."

Taka nodded—though this one nod was faintly less convincing.

"That's the last stop. We should head back so sir can walk you through what you'll be doing the rest of the week. Leave your things here for now."

With another faint nod, the bag on Taka's shoulder and the briefcase he'd brought flew across the room and settled on the bed on their own.

Mirio watched with an impressed look.

"What a convenient Quirk… can you just grab things from across the room whenever you feel like it?"

"Yeah."

"Oh!" Stars appeared in Mirio's eyes.

After that, both left the dormitories.

Minutes later, they were back at Nighteye's office. Stepping inside, both noticed the window was now shut, before their eyes found Nighteye already waiting at his desk.

"Everything went smoothly, Mirio?"

"Yes, sir. Full tour!" He did a salute.

"Good."

Nighteye turned to Takahashi, his serious, almost stern gaze settling on him with full weight.

"You can leave us now."

"Oof—you're not putting him through that test, are you, sir?"

"I am. Even with Nezu's recommendation, I need to see for myself his qualifications."

Mirio gave Taka a pitying look and stepped out—leaving the two most cheerful people in the world alone together.

"…"

"…"

Awkward silence filled the room.

A full thirty seconds passed before Nighteye spoke.

"I saw your performance at the festival. I'll admit—you're a promising future hero." He adjusted his glasses and fixed Taka with a sharp look. "However, do not let arrogance overtake you. It's been the downfall of many who showed the same early potential. You're still far from any comparison to All Might, and I hope you're aware of that."

"For now." Taka answered plainly.

Nighteye's frown deepened visibly.

"Confidence is a necessary quality for greatness, I suppose… Then I hope you won't mind a test of mine. It's designed to tell me how much potential you truly carry to become the hero you claim you will."

Taka slid his hands into his pockets, unhurried.

"Sure, fire away."

A small smile crossed Nighteye's face, barely noticeable.

"Then, the test for you is… to make me laugh."

The very next second, he expected confusion, or at least a visible hesitation to appear on the youth's face. That was what usually happened with every intern or sidekick who came through his door.

But Taka didn't hesitate. Instead he pointed a finger at him, completely confident.

"Sure."

And of course he was like that. He'd known what Nighteye was going to ask from even before this day, so he'd come prepared.

With the best joke he knew.

"Tell me—what is the fish that makes a 'tssss' sound?"

"I don't know. What fish is it?"

"The fried fish."

"…"

Not a single muscle on Nighteye's face moved.

'That didn't work?!' Taka's expression froze.

That was the joke Seiji used to tell him whenever he tried to act like the annoying man wasn't there, and it never failed to crack him despite his best efforts. How did it have no effect here?!

'This guy is something else… no wonder he's a pro hero.' Taka thought, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple as he found himself with his best option already used up.

—Or not.

His mouth curled slightly.

As a thorough aura farmer, of course he'd prepared a contingency for exactly this.

If his own humor couldn't crack this man, then maybe someone else's would.

'I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice.'

He pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward Nighteye, who raised an eyebrow.

Then, a video began playing.

There, All Might landed on an open field in front of the school, the dust rising and swallowing his figure whole.

{"I AM—"}

Then it cleared, revealing, for Nighteye's widening eyes—

{"—A CLOWN!"}

—All Might, sporting a rainbow wig and a red nose.

Then he reached into his pocket and produced a small rubber horn.

-Honk, honk-

A beat of awkward silence passed.

{"Is that enough, young Takahashi? Who are you even planning to show thi—"}

The video cut off.

Nighteye's face contorted. He brought a hand quickly to his mouth and held it there, not making a sound.

Despite it, Taka wore a smug look.

'Good thing I called in that favor the day after I healed him.'

When he decided to come here, he recalled the grateful look in All Might's face when he got healed and thus decided to ask for this favor just in case Nighteye might be feeling testy.

The hero had seemed a bit weirded out, but agreed in the end.

'And it worked perfectly.' Taka thought, snorting at Nighteye's tightly closed eyes and struggling look.

It took a full minute before the hero had his composure fully back, his face returning to its usual impenetrable stillness—as if he hadn't been a breath away from laughing moments before.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't count. It wasn't you who made me laugh." Nighteye said, adjusting his glasses.

"I planned for it, though—so technically it was."

"You planned for it?" One of Nighteye's brows rose.

"I…"

Taka paused, realizing he'd said more than he should have.

"Ask Nezu."

And swept it cleanly under the rug.

Nighteye didn't look entirely convinced, but knowing he'd have to consult the principal about several things later anyway, he gave a nod of mild acceptance.

"That still doesn't make you the one who made me laugh, however."

Taka fell quiet, visibly a little annoyed at the man's persistence.

He glanced back at his phone and turned the screen on again.

"I see… then I suppose this video is useless. Might as well delete—"

"Nevermind. On second thought, I'll overlook that small detail. You've passed, Takahashi."

Taka slid the phone back into his pocket, expression unimpressed.

Letting out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, Nighteye moved straight to business. "Now that that's settled—let's go over what your responsibilities here will be for the week, since you're my intern from now on."

He proceeded to walk Taka through the agency's general schedule and where he'd fit into it.

Three patrols throughout the day—one early in the morning, one around midday, and one in the evening. A break for lunch in the afternoon. Night patrols were handled by a separate squad and wouldn't involve him.

For most of it, he'd be accompanying Mirio—observing how incidents were handled, occasionally helping with physical tasks if needed. Carrying people, moving medical supplies, that sort of thing.

Overall, a fairly quiet schedule given what he was capable of. But he didn't have much of a choice until he had his provisional license.

Besides, if it got genuinely unbearable, he could always dip out and leave a clone to deal with all this.

For now though, he'd try to stick to Nezu's plan. He was curious about Nighteye's Quirk as well—specifically how it would interact with him, the very person responsible for derailing canon in the first place.

Though he'd leave the explaining to Nezu. He was the one who'd sent him here, so he could handle telling Nighteye whatever needed to be said and dealing with whatever came after.

As for himself—he'd make the best of this internship. Powerful as he was, this was genuinely his first time working alongside heroes. Or close to it.

That was worth something.

Suddenly, Nighteye checked the watch on his wrist, squinting faintly. "... And since you're already here, there's no reason to delay it. You'll go out with Mirio for the second patrol. Twenty minutes, get your costume."

'Right away, huh?'

Taka nodded and left without complaint. His pace slightly hurried.

Walking back through the hallway toward his room, the calm of his expression shifted, just a little.

A small smile surfaced.

If he was being honest—he was a bit excited.

He'd seen hero work up close growing up alongside Seiji, sometimes following him to the job. Never too close—but closer than most people ever got.

The years he'd spent with a Quirk he thought was mediocre had only deepened his sense of wonder at this world.

So, with this being his first real step into the thing itself—setting aside his vigilantism, which was its own kind of pseudo-heroism—he couldn't quite stop himself from wondering what was waiting out there.

'Besides—it's finally time I showed off the new look.' Taka's smirk settled more firmly as he thought of the briefcase sitting on his bed.

His new hero suit was ready.

And it was time to let the villains out there get a good look at it.

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Debut]
────────────────────────

…

Across the city, people went on with their daily activities like any other day. Taking the bus, calling a cab, going in and out of all sorts of buildings, or just walking by alone or with friends.

In a less central part of the city, life wasn't so different. Purposes just varied a little.

Some people were heading out to restock food, others were waiting at bus stops to go elsewhere, and some were sitting calmly on benches, relaxing.

Yet none of them were able to remain indifferent when, all of a sudden, two figures appeared around the corner and made their way down the street unhurried, but carrying themselves with a quiet confidence that drew the eye.

One of them was a broad-shouldered blonde in a white, gold, and red hero suit with the number 1,000,000 on his chest. His steps were confident but light—almost bouncy—like he was radiating some inexhaustible good cheer.

This was Mirio Togata. A hero in the making already in his third year, also once a primary candidate to become All Might's successor, and the future number one ranked hero… in another timeline at least.

As he walked, he turned toward his patrolling partner.

Takahashi.

He studied the way the kid carried himself on what could reasonably be considered his first real patrol.

Absolute confidence.

He really couldn't describe it any other way.

His way of walking didn't look extraordinary at first glance—but there was something in the way he carried himself that gave off the feeling of a seasoned hero whose mere presence was enough to make anyone nearby feel safer.

Strange, given that Mirio was supposed to be the one showing him the ropes.

Still, regardless of whatever he was feeling, he had a job to do.

"I bet you're nervous. I was incredibly nervous during my first internship. I wanted to absorb every bit of wisdom I could from my senior heroes, even from the most ordinary moments. But don't worry, being a hero is hardly sixth dimensional science. Just do your best, and people will start looking up to you right away!"

"But you're not a full hero yourself yet either, are you?" Taka gave him a look.

"Well, I'm sure I'm not wrong regardless!"

Taka nodded, not exactly agreeing with the optimistic outlook, but not arguing it either.

"By the way—we've put our costumes on and stepped out into the streets, which makes us heroes right now. But we haven't told each other our hero names, have we?" Mirio pointed out, gesturing between them.

"I believe we haven't."

"I'll go first then. I'm Lemillion. I know I can't save everyone, but I want to save at least a million, that's the goal. Hence the name. What about you, Takahashi?"

"My hero name is Auros—"

Taka paused, weighing whether to go into the explanation about gold and the old terminology for mountain.

However, after a beat, he just gave a thumbs up.

"... I chose it because it sounded neat."

Mirio nearly tripped, sweatdropping.

"Because of that…?"

"There were other reasons. But if I'm being honest, that's the main one."

'Plus it's kind of my power, so it fits neatly—but no one's going to figure that out, given that no one here actually knows what aura is.' Taka added inwardly.

"Well…"

Mirio seemed to turn the name over a few times, tasting it, before giving a wide smile and a thumbs up back.

"It does sound pretty cool, I'll give you that. Fits the serious vibe! If I were a villain, I'd be scared."

Taka nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.

'So the vibe is still there. Good.'

He glanced down at his new outfit.

It was similar to the old one—just a bit more personalized and less dark-fantasy.

The hat was gone. As much as he liked the shadow it gave off, it was a nuisance during combat and high-speed movement. He could keep it in place, sure—but it was still an unnecessary thing to focus on.

He'd taken it off during the Nomu fight for exactly that reason. Fighting something like that with his aura reserves at the time, while also keeping a hat pinned would have been pretty auratic, yes, but also pretty idiotic.

So he'd dropped it from the suit. He still had it stashed somewhere for the occasion that called for a dramatic hat-tip. But for now, no hat.

Next, the cloth that had covered his mouth was replaced with a proper mask with an air filter. Easier to breathe in, and it looked more modern.

His long coat was no longer worn—instead it hung over his shoulders, the way a mafia boss might wear one, or a certain Viltrumite with the most iconic drip in the universe.

He was testing a less bulky silhouette without completely removing something for the wind to catch.

The belts were also gone as they had been a tad unnecessary in the context of a hero suit.

Overall the changes weren't dramatic, he was still wearing practically the same clothes, but the effect they gave him now was different.

Equally serious but less villainous.

Something like Gang Orca.

—Although the saw cleaver hanging at his waist did push things back toward villainous a little.

'But I wouldn't give you up for anything.' Taka gave the weapon an affectionate caress.

He'd grown attached to the thing. Though, mostly for the aesthetic and how good it looked. In the practice, even a stick could replicate its function with the aura he now carried, but it certainly wouldn't look half as cool.

—Unless he was cutting a mountain or something. In that case the stick would probably look cooler.

Or maybe his bare hand would be cooler, going for a mere gesture being enough to cause all that devastation.

'Guess the art of farming aura is too versatile to categorize properly.'

While he turned that over idly, both heroes in training continued the patrol with not much happening, following the route Nighteye had given both—which was standard for this early in the shift.

At least, that's how it usually went for Mirio.

But that was about to change.

"Hey, Lemillion." Taka suddenly spoke up.

"What's up?" Mirio turned, tilting his head.

Taka jabbed a thumb toward an alleyway at their side.

"I'm getting the strangest feeling that something might be happening about two streets over in that direction… can we check it out?"

Mirio slowed, then stopped altogether, giving him a perplexed look.

Then a wry smile.

"You're… having a feeling?"

"Yeah."

"…"

Mirio fell quiet, scratching his head with visible internal conflict.

On one hand, this was an official patrol—they couldn't just reroute on a hunch. On the other, this was Taka's first patrol, so turning him down felt a bit wrong.

'Well, patrols are somewhat flexible as long as the whole area we're responsible for stays covered… so I suppose it's not a huge issue.'

Sighing, he gave Taka a nod.

"Alright. But we're making it quick. We don't want to stray too far from the route."

Taka nodded calmly.

Seconds later, the two had crossed two alleyways and one street, stepping back into the light at the road Taka had pointed toward.

Both stood there for a moment, scanning their surroundings.

As the seconds ticked by with nothing happening, Mirio felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

"Well, don't sweat it too much, Auros. I've had feelings like this plenty of times myself. Usually it's just hunger or boredom making me believe they are some sort of sixth or seventh sense. Sir's patrol routes are designed carefully to minimize anything slipping through, so don't worry too mu—"

—VROOOOOOOM!—

—CRASH!—

"Outta the way!"

Without warning, the window of a small store around the corner exploded outward as a motorcycle carrying two figures burst through it, each of them loaded with bags stuffed to the brim with cash and goods.

The people on the street scattered in a hurry as the bike accelerated, weaving through them without the slightest regard.

It sped up and away—clean, fast. The perfect crime, over before anyone had fully processed what had happened.

Or so everyone thought.

-Tap-

Lemillion's eyes widened faintly as he heard Taka's foot touch the ground once.

Then—

—CRASH!—

The motorcycle slammed into something invisible and came to a violent stop, the impact launching both riders into the air.

They hung there for a moment—suspended, motionless.

Then, slowly, they began to descend. After a while, they settled onto the pavement exactly where they'd crashed. The motorcycle followed, lowering beside them without a sound.

Mirio stood watching the whole spectacle with his mouth open.

"Well, what a coincidence. A small pebble just so happened to block and overthrow both of them" Taka said, already walking toward the downed robbers at an unhurried pace. He glanced back at Mirio, who was following beside him, still too shocked to say anything, and gave a thumbs up.

Mirio gave one back, too surprised to do anything else.

"By the way, you're not going to believe me, but that direction is giving me a feeling too…"

...

°

°

°

| Somewhere in the Nagano mountains, underground… |

...

In a dark room, All For One sat calmly in his chair, one finger tapping the armrest as the steady beeping of medical equipment filled the air with a heavy, ominous rhythm.

—Bzzzz!—

A portal opened several meters behind him, and a figure stepped through.

"I'm back, master," Kurogiri announced as the portal closed.

"Welcome back, Kurogiri. How did it go, has Tomura settled into the new base?"

"He has some complaints about the internet connection." Kurogiri said, with a faint helpless note in his voice, before giving a nod. "But nothing beyond that. We've also made contact with several local villain figures and more influential names in the underworld. A number have agreed to join us, or at least to ally. I believe the pressure Takahashi's presence has been applying has done a great deal for Tomura Shigaraki's growth. All Might had been an static target, Takahashi however has proved himself a looming threat, fueling his focus to great lengths."

All For One's smile shifted into a grin. "Good. Very good. Perhaps the safety net we'd been giving Tomura had been stunting him without our realizing it. A real threat may be exactly the pressure he needs to become something greater."

Kurogiri listened in silence.

Then All For One tilted his head slightly, as if regarding Kurogiri from the corner of his perception, even though he couldn't see.

"Besides that—how have our little tests gone?"

Kurogiri gave an affirmative nod. "You were right, master. Our people among the civilian population noted consistent surveillance on the bar over the past week—several individuals of similar appearance, some aerial, others at street level, all of them, however, oddly interested in our previous base, and all of them with their face mostly covered up. I made appearances at regular intervals to make it seem we were still operating from there... And given their lack of reaction or behavioral change, it's unlikely they know we've relocated."

"So I was right." All For One laughed quietly. "Takahashi-kun really did have eyes on our previous location—"

He turned toward one of the nearby monitors. On it, feeds from various cameras showed the surrounding forest and mountain terrain—undisturbed, no movement beyond the occasional bird crossing the frame.

"—And yet, he has yet to appear anywhere near this one. Is he managing to evade our detection somehow… or is this clear evidence of the limits of his unusual knowledge?"

He chuckled to himself, then tapped the monitor and brought up a document on the larger screen showing Taka's registered internship placement under Nighteye, turning it toward Kurogiri.

"According to our informant, Takahashi-kun chose Nighteye's agency for his internship week."

Kurogiri's yellow eyes amidst the mist widened, interest growing in his tone. "An alleged clairvoyant, going to another clairvoyant for training… If our suspicions are wrong, that would be an extraordinary coincidence,"

All For One nodded, his quiet laughter continuing as the evidence piled up.

"Beyond that, it presents us with a perfect opportunity."

"Master?"

"Takahashi-kun is powerful. Based on the doctor's analysis of available footage, even deploying another Nomu at the level of the one used at U.A. would likely accomplish little—he's already grown past that. A conventional villain wouldn't fare much better. If we want to move against him decisively, the options narrow considerably—down to taking action myself."

A brief silence settled, heavy with the weight of that implication. Taking action himself—with his deteriorating condition, it was as significant a risk as it was a threat.

They had remained hidden all these years for a reason.

Even if they took care of Takahashi, what good would it be if his master ended up captured, or worse, killed, once the heroes arrived?

Kurogiri shook his head. It wasn't a wise decision, no matter how much of a threat Takahashi appeared to be.

"But that's only if we face Takahashi at his full strength." All For One suddenly added, and Kurogiri straightened slightly.

"What do you mean, master?"

"His cloning ability has proven extremely versatile. He can be in multiple places at once without needing to be there himself—and each clone carries tremendous power, from what the recordings show. In effect, he is an army unto himself… However, I highly doubt those clones come without cost, or that they're equal to the original. If they were, he would have deployed them against opponents that clearly gave him trouble in the past, rather than facing those situations personally."

Kurogiri nodded, recalling the handful of notable instances—the three A-class villains Taka had dealt with when he first came to attention, and Gigantomachia. Both situations where the clones would have helped considerably if they had been that powerful, and yet he'd largely managed them without them.

It strongly implied a real cost per clone—a portion of his power, perhaps more.

"'Divide et impera'… divide and conquer," All For One said with quiet amusement. "—Only this time, we will be the ones doing exactly that, in the most literal sense."

Suddenly, the entire base began trembling rhythmically, as if something enormous were approaching.

The monitor feeds shook.

"And once we have spread Takahashi-kun thin, we will draw the real one out."

A shape appeared on one of the cameras—enormous, like a shadow moving across the sun itself.

"And when we do, we'll be able to deal with him once and for all."

He leaned forward, pressing a button at the edge of the monitor.

"Isn't that right, Machia?"

"Master..."

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: All For One has Taka completely figured out.

Or does he?)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Take The Reins of Fate]

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| A couple of hours later, Nighteye's office… |

...

Nighteye sat at his desk, massaging his temple as both Taka and Mirio stood straight before him, like two soldiers awaiting a verdict.

"… So, what happened out there, Mirio?"

"We, uh… had an eventful patrol, sir. I don't know how else to describe it."

"You call 300% more arrests in a few hours than we manage on average in a full day… eventful?"

Mirio nodded sheepishly.

Nighteye adjusted his glasses, his frown tightening visibly. "… I suppose that's fair."

He let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers.

"Very well, let's agree that it was eventful—as you say. What exactly are these events that compose it?"

Mirio glanced at Taka with a nervous look.

Taka returned a look that said, clearly: "You're the senior here. You give the report."

Mirio ended up slumping forward in defeat.

"We—we altered our patrol route due to… having reason to suspect certain incidents might be occurring in the vicinity away from our normal route. And we did indeed come across such incidents, sir. Multiple times."

Nighteye massaged the bridge of his nose.

"And where would these suspicions have come from, if I may ask, Mirio?"

"…" Mirio's mouth stayed shut.

"Well?" Nighteye prodded.

"Feelings. We, uh, had a hunch."

"…" Not a single muscle on Nighteye's face moved.

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck, clearly pained by what was coming out of his mouth. "First I decided to make an exception and follow it quickly so we could get back to the route as soon as possible—but then it worked, and I decided to try a second time… and then a third… and then we fully leaned into following them, which is what led to the several other arrests."

"A hunch is what dictated altering the established route. Is that what you're saying, Mirio?"

"… Yes."

"Was it your hunch?"

"…"

Mirio fell silent. He didn't want to admit the hunches had come from their intern, and that he'd gone along with them when it was his responsibility to keep to the planned route.

Regardless of what he answered, however, Nighteye seemed to reach a conclusion on his own, turning to Taka.

"I suppose that answers my question. Takahashi—care to explain how your hunches led to this… rise in our usual level of performance?"

"Ask Nezu." Taka answered plainly.

Nighteye's eyebrow twitched at the unusually direct answer from someone who was supposed to be an intern.

However, he wasn't oblivious.

For them to have stumbled across several crimes after deliberately altering the planned route—the implications, if they were right, could be significant.

And speaking of it so openly, right here…

Nighteye's gaze shifted briefly to Mirio.

He was the boy he had chosen to be All Might's successor, even if that title ultimately ended up elsewhere. The boy he considered the most worthy of bearing the name of number one and symbol of peace.

That's how highly he regarded Mirio.

But without knowing the true weight of whatever Takahashi was hiding, he couldn't be certain whether to include Mirio in this conversation.

So…

'Talking to Nezu about this first might actually be the right call.'

He eyed Taka again, with a guarded look. The kid grated on him a little—between his bold declarations at the festival and the way he was now playing clueless about something as blatant as this. But his role here was as a mentor. He'd get the full picture from Nezu first, then decide what path to take with Takahashi for the rest of the internship.

Having settled on that—

"… Very well." He let out a sigh of reluctant acceptance and gave Taka a nod.

Mirio's jaw dropped at how easily they got off scot-free.

But since he wasn't in any position to object, and didn't think it would help if he did, he quietly let out a breath of relief—then shot Taka a bewildered sideways look.

'This freshman is something else.'

Taka, for his part, chuckled confidently in a low tone.

'I'm quite something.'

After that, the meeting wrapped up and both Mirio and Taka went on break.

Taka retreated to his temporary room right away, unpacking everything he hadn't had time for before being sent straight out on patrol, and taking his time checking in on what his classmates were posting in the group chat.

Most of it was just them sharing early impressions of how their respective internships were going.

—At least the ones who could. The rest were probably still too buried under whatever their supervisors were throwing at them to respond.

'Midoriya is probably getting kicked in the face right now.' Taka thought, amused at finding no message from the freckled broccoli—recalling the kind of training the show's version of him had gone through.

Although, this Midoriya had considerably more control over One For All than his counterpart. Maybe he was the one doing the kicking?

"…"

'Nah.'

Shaking his head at the idea, Taka pulled out some clothes and began folding and storing them in the room's closet.

As his hands went through the motions, his mind drifted back over the patrol, smiling to himself as he recalled Mirio's stunned face each time they stumbled over yet another crime just by following his "hunches."

His Trouble Radar's alerts, more precisely.

Of course, he had never intended to sit in the background like a good intern and take careful notes.

He was going to get hands-on experience, whether Nighteye approved or not.

Besides—going out into the streets and stopping crime, legally this time—wasn't that the ideal setup for aura farming?

It would have been genuinely stupid to waste that just because some rule said he shouldn't.

'Very much so.' Taka answered himself.

And today was only the beginning.

He wasn't sure what Nezu would tell Nighteye once the two spoke, but he hoped it would result in Nighteye giving him a bit more latitude going forward.

If not—he could always intervene in ways subtle enough to leave room for doubt for the authorities, but clear enough that anyone who'd watched the festival would connect the dots on their own.

—Or he could just bulldoze through every villain he came across without any pretense of subtlety. That would work too.

Huffing in quiet amusement, he decided to leave the matter to future Taka. Whatever Nighteye decided would determine which path he took—so there was no point overthinking it now.

He refocused on folding and storing his clothes.

'Hold on—why am I doing this by hand?'

He stared at the shirt in his hands, fully aware he could have the whole thing done in seconds with his aura.

Then he shrugged and went back to it.

'It's quite relaxing, honestly.'

Besides, he hadn't brought many clothes—it was only a week, so he didn't need much.

And if he ran short, he could fly home in under ten minutes and grab what he needed, checking on Eri and Seiji while he was at it.

'On second thought, that's not a bad idea regardless.' He mused, tucking away the last shirt.

Finished, he sat down on the bed and checked his phone.

A few new messages, but nothing substantial. The chat was still mostly quiet.

'Jiro hasn't posted anything either.' He thought, scrolling up and down in search of her name.

After a beat of silence while continuing to stare at the chat, he tossed the phone aside and stretched out on the bed, eyes closing.

'She must be getting worked to the bone,' he mused, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.

But then his eyes opened, staring at the ceiling.

'But I should be too, shouldn't I? Just because I'm already operating at a high level doesn't mean I should be wasting time.'

His gaze drifted to the saw cleaver leaning against the wall, then to the mask sitting on the small desk.

'This week—I'm going to make the most of it.'

...

°

°

°

| Nighteye's office, a few hours later… |

...

The sound of pages turning and a pen moving at high speed filled the room as Nighteye worked through the day's paperwork, his eyes steady and his focus absolute.

A minute or so later, he set the papers aside and leaned back in his chair, massaging his shoulders.

He let his gaze rest on what he'd written for a quiet beat, then opened a drawer and pulled out a small metal disk.

He placed it on the desk, pressed a button, and leaned back in his seat to wait.

A few seconds later it beeped, and a projection shone from the top—revealing a familiar rodent face.

{"Well, if it isn't Nighteye. To what do I owe this call?"}

"Nezu." Nighteye pronounced the name with weight. "I'd appreciate it if we skipped the pleasantries and went straight to why you thought it would be a good idea to send Takahashi here."

{"My, what happened? It's only the first day—I expected this call in a few days at least. Tomorrow at the earliest."}

"He…"

Nighteye walked him through the noon patrol—and then the afternoon one. Neither lacked for "hunches" that led Mirio and Takahashi straight to crime after crime.

Even Nezu sounded genuinely surprised.

{"Takahashi certainly chose the less subtle route. I expected him to at least try to keep a lower profile…"}

"So?"

{"Before I say anything, let me ask you something first."}

Nighteye frowned. Why was he the one being questioned all of a sudden?

Regardless, he assumed there had to be a reason, and gave a reluctant nod.

Nezu smiled.

{"Tell me, Nighteye… when you saw All Might's death at the hands of a villain with your Quirk—what did he look like at that moment?"}

Nighteye's frown deepened, an ugly expression crossing his face.

'Why is he asking me to recall this?'

Nezu bowed slightly before he could voice the dissatisfaction.

{"I know it's a difficult thing to revisit, but it matters. Please answer."}

Nighteye drew a slow breath, adjusting his glasses as if that might help him manage the pain of the memory.

"At that moment… he looked very thin. Almost what you'd expect of someone in the final stages of a terminal illness. Sunken cheeks, heavy eyebags, coughing blood. He… no longer resembled the hero who had once shone so brightly—except for his eyes. They still carried the same conviction as always, even in that state. But even those eyes eventually went dim. Like everything else."

A beat of silence followed as Nezu seemed to take in the words.

Then—

{"I see… that's good."} Nezu smiled, nodding to himself.

Nighteye's expression hardened, his eyes widening.

But before he could say anything, Nezu spoke again.

{"Because that vision of yours no longer exists."}

—Pulling the upset expression off Nighteye's face and replacing it with complete confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, voice tight with what that might imply.

{"The other day Takahashi performed a miracle. With his Quirk, he accomplished what every doctor and hero who'd tried before had concluded was impossible… he healed All Might. He isn't back to his peak, but the injuries, the stomach he'd lost—all of it is back to a fully healthy state."}

"…"

Nighteye went still. Eyes widening.

All Might… was healed?

The first thing he felt wasn't doubt or disbelief.

It was relief.

The injury that had reduced the once-greatest hero to a shadow of himself was gone. The man he admired most no longer had to spend his days enduring unimaginable pain while keeping a smile in place so the world wouldn't notice.

And beyond that—if the future had already changed once, then the vision he'd seen could change too. If it hadn't already.

There was a real chance that death he'd watched through his Quirk would never come to pass.

Nighteye leaned back in his chair and let it settle over him.

As the relief gave way to something quieter, a calm he hadn't known in a long time, his thoughts shifted toward the other part of this.

"Takahashi."

That kid was behind it.

Nighteye had already known he was exceptional—from what he'd shown at the festival, he had the qualities of a leader and the power to back them up.

But to cure what had been considered incurable?

That was something else entirely.

How had he even done it? His Quirk didn't seem to—

"…!"

His mind snapped back to the day's events. The hunches, and how he made Mirio alter the patrol route because of them, causing them to come across crime after crime, each located with apparent precision for what was supposed to be just "hunches".

Something clearly didn't add up.

"From the documents you sent me, his Quirk was described as converting physical strength into telekinetic force—but that's not it, is it?" Nighteye said, his finger tapping the desk as the pieces started falling into place.

Nezu smiled.

{"Yes. There's still some ambiguity around the precise mechanics, but the truth is clear enough. Takahashi's real Quirk is something vastly different, and considerably more complex, than strength feeding into telekinesis."}

"Like healing." Nighteye offered.

{"Like healing. And cloning, and conversion into electrical, thermal, or pure destructive energy, and a superhuman level of physical performance… and, of course, what appears to be a precognitive ability."}

"…!"

Nighteye went quiet again as the full picture continued to assemble itself.

He sat there in silence for a few seconds, letting his thoughts run.

It didn't take long for him to reach a realization.

"Rockinesis." He said, half in awe and half in something close to frustration.

{"You connected the dots quickly."}

Nighteye nodded.

Of course he had. Nezu wasn't the only one who'd noticed the pattern in Rockinesis's appearances—arriving at the exact moment a crime was unfolding, sometimes even before it fully began. Some had attributed it to staging, or claimed it was fabricated for attention. Others had settled on a heightened danger sense—picking up on criminal stress signals or environmental cues that hadn't fully registered with anyone else—rather than genuine future sight.

After all, there were arguments against precognition too. His behavior in many of his fights was reactive, not anticipatory—someone who truly knew what was coming in advance wouldn't need to react at all.

But none of that had made Nighteye take him any less seriously. Because ever since he'd seen All Might's death with his own Quirk, he'd been looking—quietly and relentlessly—for any ability that might offer a way to alter what his Quirk had shown him as an inevitable outcome.

Any Quirk even adjacent to that had earned his full attention.

He simply hadn't expected the person behind the one he'd been watching most closely to be a student currently sleeping in one of his visitor rooms.

The most popular vigilante of recent years. The most wanted by the police and the HSPC.

A U.A. first-year.

Nighteye opened his mouth to berate Nezu for it, but he closed it before anything came out.

On the surface, Nezu had taken in a criminal—well-intentioned or not. But on the other—he'd brought a child with unparalleled potential into the hero course and given him a path toward something legitimate.

Nighteye leaned back and gave it a proper thought, trying to hold both things at once without letting either one win prematurely.

In the end, he had to accept that while it wasn't optimal from a legal standpoint—and certainly not something the HSPC liked, given Rockinesis was bringing some bad fame to heroes due to his efficiency—it was likely the best possible outcome for Takahashi, and possibly for society as a whole.

Swallowing the small residue of dissatisfaction, he composed himself and returned to the conversation. Nezu had been waiting patiently.

"So… why did you send him here?"

{"You already know. He may not carry One For All, but his power is sufficient to consider him All Might's successor in terms of what he might represent for society—even with Midoriya-kun in the background as well."}

"…"

{"And with that power, and a precognitive ability in his arsenal… he may be exactly the answer to making sure the future you saw never comes to pass."}

"So what you're saying is that my only hope lies in this kid, and that reporting him would be stupid."

{"You can see it that way—or simply as me placing a rare, unpolished gem in your hands, and trusting you to make the most of it."}

Nighteye let out a long sigh.

Even if he wanted to argue the point, he wasn't going to refuse at this stage. So what was the point of making a scene?

"Very well." He agreed, leaning forward at his desk with a measured look. "What do you propose?"

Nezu smiled, cupping his chin.

{"Perfect. Then we simply need to determine how your abilities interact with each other. From what we see in this week of internship, we'll know whether Takahashi will find himself flowing with the future you saw—"}

A glint of genuine interest passed through his eyes.

{"—or whether he'll take the reins of fate into his own hands."}

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: More and more people are coming to know about Taka's secrets. Will this be a good thing, or not?

Maybe both.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Unlikely Meeting]
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| Three days later… |

...

Inside a store, two men stood at the cash register—one of them hurriedly stuffing money into a bag, while the other kept watch.

However, for some reason, he also stood tensed and paranoid, his fist in the form of a cannon raised toward what appeared to be the clerk of the store they were robbing, who had his back against the wall with both hands up.

The cannon man turned to his partner, kicking the counter.

"Come on, hurry up! Haven't you heard? The past few days, every single crime in this part of the city has been falling apart spectacularly. If we don't get out of here fast, the same is going to happen to us!"

"Huh?! And you didn't think that was worth mentioning before we started this?!"

"I need the money, man. I'm desperate."

"Damn it—and how come? Is All Might patrolling around here or something?"

"No idea. I heard from another crew that lately the heroes in this sector have been foiling everything before anyone even gets a chance. It's like they can see the future or some crap like that!"

"Shit, Shit... alright, just—let me focus."

He picked up his pace, stuffing the bills in faster.

A few seconds more and he zipped up the bag and swung it over his shoulder, giving his partner a nod.

"Alright, let's move."

As soon as he gave the word, the two rushed out of the store.

They had a vehicle waiting right outside, so the moment they stepped out the door they threw themselves in and slammed the car doors—startling the driver.

"Woah, the police get alerted or something? Why so rushed?" The driver asked, adjusting the mirror to look back.

"Just go." The one with the bag said immediately, jabbing a thumb at his partner. "This idiot forgot to mention that the heroes in this sector have been shutting down every other crew who's tried anything the past few days. If we don't move now, we're just going to be another number on their daily reports!"

"For real?! Urgh—alright, fine." The driver clicked his tongue.

-Screeech!-

The next instant the car lurched into motion, tires shrieking as his foot hit the accelerator and the vehicle tore away from the curb.

Before long they were back on the road, weaving recklessly between other cars and missing collisions by inches.

But thanks to that, they were also now well clear of the crime scene.

"Hahaha, must be lunch hour for the heroes!" The one with the bag laughed, glancing through the back window to see nothing but ordinary traffic.

They were completely in the clear.

"We're off, baby!" The driver laughed too.

But just as the mood was lifting—the cannon man went rigid in his seat.

"Hey—watch out!"

Only then did the driver notice the figure standing in the middle of the road.

He didn't even have time to hit the brake. For a moment, he was certain he was about to run them down.

"Shi—!"

—But what followed was the complete opposite.

'Huh?'

By the time he processed what had happened—a millisecond after squeezing his eyes shut—the street and the figure were still there.

Only… upside down.

No—it was the car that was upside down.

That's when it clicked.

The car had crashed, and somehow it was spinning through the air.

How?

He had absolutely no idea.

'Well, damn.'

And so he closed his eyes, resigned to what was either imminent death or immediate incarceration after most likely ending up hospitalized.

Then, the big impact came.

-Thud!-

—Only, not nearly as hard as he'd braced for.

"…?"

He slowly opened one eye, looking around confused, before slowly opening the other.

The car was sitting normally on all four wheels, settled on the street as if nothing had happened.

Somehow… it had landed properly?

'What?'

Looking through the mirror, he saw his partners looked just as stunned, staring around in utter bafflement.

For a second or two, none of them moved—trying to process how what should have been a disaster had left both the car and the street more or less intact.

A second or so after that, however, he stopped trying to understand it and focused on getting out of there.

They were on the run. He could worry about whatever happened just now once they were safe and sound.

So, he slammed his foot on the accelerator.

—But nothing happened.

"The hell?" He frowned.

The engine was dead.

He twisted the key. The machine groaned, but still then refused to start.

"You've got to be kidding me." He threw his head back into the headrest in frustration, then turned to his partners. "The car's dead. We move on foot!"

"What?!—why now?!"

"What the hell even just happened?"

"I don't know, and we can figure it out later. Let's go already!"

And so the three got out.

The moment the car doors were slammed, they scanned their surroundings quickly, looking for the best escape route—one where the police wouldn't be able to trail them…

"Huh? Isn't that—"

"It's that guy!"

—When they noticed the same figure that had been standing in the road when they crashed, still there, facing away from them.

The cannon man squinted, getting a better look—and his eyes went wide as the details of the person's outfit registered.

"It's a hero! It's a goddamn hero! He's the one who crashed us!"

The other two snapped their heads toward him, then back to the figure.

Black hair. A sleek, modern-looking mask. A long black coat hanging from his shoulders that covered most of what was underneath, except for black trousers and plated boots.

The man with the bag gripped it tighter, teeth clenched. "How did they get here?! The police should barely be mobilizing right now. No way the response time is this fast, let alone for a hero to already be on scene!"

The cannon man spat. "Don't know. But forget running—looks like we're going to have to make our own way out!"

The three readied themselves. One drew a long, sharp blade from the horn-like protrusion on his forehead.

The other raised his cannon-fist, steadying it with his free hand.

Lastly, the driver pulled out a regular gun.

And yet—even as all three leveled their weapons, the hero remained with his back to them, much to their annoyance.

"Oi, what are you so relaxed about?! You think you've got us?!"

"You're going to have to try harder than that!"

"You know who we are?! We're the infamous—"

Before any of them could finish, the hero turned his head.

A somewhat quick and smooth turn of the head.

And with just that…

"Ugh—!"

"Ack!"

"Oof!"

—Thud!—

All three dropped unconscious simultaneously, hitting the pavement at the same time.

The hero looked them over for a moment, then swept his hair back as the sun hit his face.

Then a head popped up through the ground, taking in the scene with a speechless look for a moment, before laughing weirdly.

"You were right again… seriously, how do you keep doing that, Auros?"

And with that, he pulled himself the rest of the way out of the pavement, landing smoothly on both feet.

Mirio.

He turned to Taka, who was still holding the pose—letting the sun catch him just right—before finally stepping out of it and walking over to the unconscious pile.

"What is a hero but the antithesis of evil. Given that, isn't it only natural that a hero can perceive such deviousness, even from far away?"

"Uhm… maybe?" Mirio scratched his cheek, not entirely sure that logic held up.

He didn't get much time to question it, though.

—Weee ooo weee ooo!—

Soon enough, police patrols began pulling up, and with that, the official procedure got underway.

Both Mirio and Taka gave their account of what had happened while the three unconscious criminals were carried off to the patrol cars.

Minutes later, Taka was the first to be released from it, since Mirio was technically the senior and the one required to give a full report.

With that freedom, Taka leaned against a lamppost, arms crossed, taking in the results.

The street undamaged, not a single bystander hurt, and an efficient arrest that could barely be traced back to him—even though the three had clearly gone down the moment he looked at them.

But that could easily be attributed to adrenaline crashing in after the car went flying, and that it coincidentally went away when he glanced at them.

Praising himself inside his mind, he huffed in quiet satisfaction, before his gaze drifted to the crowd of bystanders who were recording with their phones.

Sadly, none of them had caught the car crash itself, as it was too sudden, but luckily a few had managed to get the head-turn moment.

'Another good clip for the internet.' Taka thought, letting out a small snort.

As he did, a screen popped up at the edge of his vision.

<[+68 Aura]>

He glanced at the crowd. Most had stopped recording and were cheering at him instead.

Some even looked like they wanted to come over for autographs—but the police perimeter was in the way.

So, of course, he wasn't about to just let that sit.

He reached into his inner chest pocket, took out a pen, and tossed it gently into the air.

It floated upward for a moment, like gravity had lost its control over it—then shot toward the crowd, stopping and hovering right before them.

A beat of stunned silence passed as the crowd stared at it confused, then those who'd wanted autographs realized what it meant and started scrambling for notebooks and anything else that would work.

And so the pen got to work, signing things left and right, while Taka just leaned against the lamppost and watched.

A few people even took a photo with the pen for some reason.

But before long the crowd began dispersing, and the pen drifted back to him.

Taka turned to the status screen now open beside his head.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 7,500

▸ Defense: 15,000

▸ Aura Projection: 120,000

─────────────

Total Aura: 145,191

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'Yet another fruitful day.' He thought, smiling faintly behind his mask as he closed the screen.

About ten minutes remained in their shift, so this was almost certainly the last incident of the day.

He was quite satisfied with it. So far, he has been keeping up his promise of making the most of this internship.

Both in aura, and in learning the ways of the heroes.

It had been roughly a week since he'd healed All Might, and a week and a half since the festival ended. His aura had grown by another 20k in that stretch, reaching 145k. Close to 150k, yet still not quite there.

Regardless, it still baffled him how quickly it had grown. It was 50% stronger than the day of the festival, achieved in barely over a week.

That just went to show the scale of people that had been watching his stunts on TV. Even after the festival was over, his passive gains remained enormous.

Of course, as the days passed the passive gains were dwindling, but his reappearance in public through the internship had steadied them again somewhat.

Nowadays it was about a thousand aura per day—sometimes more, sometimes less. The same rate he'd hit the day he crashed that music festival, only now more consistent.

If he had to heal All Might today, he wouldn't end up nearly powerless the way he had a week ago.

'And all of this is thanks to Nighteye letting me participate directly.' Taka thought, his mind going back to the second day of the internship.

He'd woken up ready for another round of concealing his abilities and nudging Mirio toward crimes in a not-very-subtle way, and then Nighteye had informed him that he was permitted to participate in arrests directly—although still with certain restrictions to it given that he was still an intern without a provisional license.

But that latitude, however qualified, was enough. It had let him farm aura far more actively on every incident they crossed.

He also noticed, with time, that Nighteye was looking at him less severely than he had on day one. Maybe he was just imagining it, but he didn't dwell on it.

'Nezu must have told him something.' Was what Taka concluded—though without asking, he couldn't be sure.

Not that he intended to ask. He was here for the internship. Whatever arrangement those two had made between themselves was their business, so long as it didn't bother him.

And so that's how the four days had gone. Three more remained, which meant more chances to farm aura and keep growing—but the rate would almost certainly slow soon.

Relative slow, granted. It would still be enormous compared to his passive earnings from before the festival. Just not what it had been this past week.

"Well, a storm isn't meant to last forever. Calm always follows." He muttered, gazing forward, then sweatdropped slightly. "… Except maybe on Jupiter."

A few more minutes passed before Mirio finally wrapped up his report. Then, the two left. Their shift was over, so it was time to return to their base of operations.

As they made their way back to the agency in silence, calmly waving at civilians who became excited as they saw them, Mirio turned to him with an easy smile.

"Seriously, Auros. Since you joined, our shifts have been getting more and more intense."

"Sorry about that." Taka sent him a wry look.

But Mirio stopped walking and did some kind of loose, flappy arm dance.

"No need to apologize! Thanks to all this, I'm even closer to my million of people saved. If anything, I'm looking forward to the next few days even more!"

Taka could only stare at him.

After a beat, he let out a quiet, relieved huff.

'Good. That's one less thing to worry about.'

He didn't know whether Mirio was genuinely easygoing, had simply decided to take things at face value, or respected his privacy enough not to ask, but the blonde hadn't once pressed him on how they kept stumbling across criminals.

At some point he'd just started to go along with it. The fact that Nighteye had stopped questioning the method and simply told Mirio to use his best judgment probably also helped.

Either way, if tripling his usual workload didn't bother him, who was he to argue?

'That just means I'm the only exhausted one.' Taka thought, rolling his shoulder and holding back a faint groan.

Luckily, the day was done. The rest of it was his.

'Maybe I'll go home for a bit.' He thought, watching the sky shift toward orange.

It wouldn't take more than ten minutes, so it was very doable.

'Although—first I'll grab a souvenir. Eri liked apples, didn't she? Maybe I can find somewhere that sells candy apples so I can bring her some.'

That said, a candy apple was more of a festive thing, and today wasn't exactly a festive day, so there was a high chance he wouldn't find any around.

'I'll just ask Nighteye. He's the hero in charge of this zone—he'll know.'

Worst case, he'd travel the entire country for a candy apple.

He was capable of it.

...

°

°

°

| Half an hour later… |

...

Taka, now in his regular clothes, walked along the street with squinted eyes, scanning everything around him.

"He said there should be a stall around here somewhere that sells all sorts of candy… but all I see are pubs and restaurants."

He pulled out his phone to double-check the address.

He was in the right place.

"Then where the heck is it?" He asked himself, looking around with a deadpan and scratching his head frustrated.

To make it worse, the sun was going down, and all the stores were lighting up their neon signs—turning the whole street into a dazzling mess that made it hard to pick out anything specific.

Taka kept scanning, his expression souring as he went around the zone more than once and still found nothing.

'Should I just clone myself and cover more ground at once?'

Just as desperate options were starting to seem necessary, a voice came from behind him.

"Ah, it's you, you bastard!"

Taka blinked. Then frowned.

Were they talking to him?

Based on the distance and the direction the voice had come from, it appeared so.

He turned around, looking for whoever had said it—and blinked in genuine surprise when he saw who it was.

"You…"

"What are you doing here? Wasn't ruining my life once enough?! Have you come back to finish the job?!"

Purple ball-shaped hair, impressively short, a face with roughly the same punchability as Midoriya's.

Impossible not to recognize.

'Well, I'll be damned.' Taka thought, scratching his chin. 'It's Mineta. What are the odds?—And what's he complaining about?'

"I ruined your life?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah! Don't tell me you forgot!" The purple menace pointed a finger at him accusatorily.

Taka tried to think through what he could have possibly done.

The only time they'd been anywhere near each other was at the entrance exam—

'Oh.' Taka blinked, the answer arriving flatly.

Not only had he taken Mineta's spot in Class 1-A, but he'd also obliterated most of the robots in their shared battle zone in the process—which would have made scoring anything near sufficient considerably harder for the guy.

Mineta probably didn't know about the first part. What was bothering him was almost certainly the second.

"I do remember."

"So you admit it! You bastard—because of you I got stuck at a much worse hero school. Every other school's exam was too hard for my Quirk to deal with. If you hadn't been there that day, dealing with those robots would've been easy peasy!" Mineta dropped to his knees, tears flowing freely.

"…" Taka sweatdropped, feeling a twinge of guilt over how things had played out.

The guy wasn't wrong. Mineta's Quirk was actually well-suited for that particular test, since it was just immobilizing villain-bots and turning them off. With his Quirk, he could do it without much trouble.

However, other schools ran different exams, so his Quirk's effectiveness wasn't guaranteed.

'Maybe I should apologize. I wasn't technically in the wrong since the exam was competitive by design—but I still feel a bit bad.'

He was about to say something, when Mineta kept going.

"… Plus, I heard you U.A. bastards are already using your hero costumes. I can only imagine what a glorious sight that must have been, hehehe…"

"... Alright, bro." Taka sighed, swallowing the apology he'd been preparing.

And thus, he turned and was about to take his first step to going back to his search.

"Oh, you're just going to walk away now?!" Then, Mineta called after him.

Taka shot him an annoyed look, and for a moment actually considered giving him a small aura blast.

But after a second, he let it go with a sigh, calming down.

"Listen—I'm sorry about that day. I could have still passed comfortably and with flying colors even if I'd left some robots for the others. I was too focused on myself at the time to think about that… so yeah. Sorry."

"…"

Mineta went quiet, staring at him with the face of someone who had absolutely not expected an actual apology.

After a moment, he smiled, chest puffing smugly.

"It's fine. As long as you get it I don't mind. But if you're really apologetic, if you gave me the number of any of your girl classmates, I'd consider us fully even—"

"I'm trying to be decent here, man. Don't push it."

Mineta reeled back slightly, smiling wryly.

"Sorry. Got carried away."

Taka gave a nod, and let out a faint huff as the fallout from one of his early aura-farming decisions settled itself just like that.

'I did go a bit overboard that day.' He snorted inwardly, recalling how fixated he'd been on standing out. 'Besides this, who knows what else I set off without realizing?'

Hopefully nothing serious. The other entrants had not passed the exam in the show either, so dominating his own battle zone probably hadn't altered too many futures—other than Mineta's.

Still, although he hadn't been as indiscriminate in his robot monopolization that day as Bakugo would have been, he was still a bit blunt in how he'd bulldozed his way to the top.

Maybe it was worth looking into at some point.

'Worst case, I unknowingly created my future nemesis.' Taka winced at the notion of such a cliché situation.

The day of the U.A entrance exam, a young aspiring hero had his chance taken away by the ultimate talent swallowing everything like a blackhole. Bitter and thirsty for revenge, he turned to a life of crime, swearing revenge against Taka and slowly preparing for the day he'd enact his revenge for once and for all.

'What a dumb plot.'

While Taka had such thoughts, Mineta seemed to have something on his mind as he saw Taka's somewhat sour look.

"Well, don't stress about it." He waved a hand, before shooting Taka a thumbs up. "Honestly? When I watched you and your classmates at the sports festival, I felt a bit relieved I didn't make it in. If I had, I would've been surrounded by complete monsters."

Taka's mouth twitched at his positivism.

Meanwhile, Mineta rubbed his chin, then broke into a grin as his nostrils flared with a distinctly Mineta expression.

"Besides, the school I ended up at isn't all that bad either… the girls in my class are quite the sight."

Taka rolled his eyes—but still ended up letting out a short snort.

'He really does stay true to his character. Even without U.A., he's exactly the same.'

His will was truly unbendable. In the show, no matter what the universe threw at him—Mountain Lady shattering his view of heroines and showing him the full "intern experience", Mina attempting to reform him through brainwashing—he always bounced back unchanged.

He had a depravity of steel.

In a way, it reminded Taka a little of himself from a year ago, when he'd written all sorts of absurd things on his career plan. Like winning the lottery, or making love to thousands of women.

Though in his case it had been less genuine conviction and more a product of not caring what his class thought of him at the time—plus a certain bad influence named Seiji.

'Right, Seiji—I should get back on track.' Taka mentally slapped his forehead.

Snapping out of it, he glanced around, then turned back to Mineta.

"By the way—you don't happen to know where I can find a candy apple around here, do you? I was told there's a stall somewhere that sells such things, but I've been looking for a while."

Mineta looked startled by the topic change, then thought for a second, eyes lighting up.

"Oh, yeah. There's one down an alleyway near here." He gestured for Taka to follow. "Come on, I'll show you."

"You could just point me in the right direction, you know." Taka looked at him confused.

"They also sell my favorite grape soda there, so now I'm tempted. Might as well walk you there while I'm at it, right?"

With nothing to refute that, Taka shrugged and followed.

It seemed his problem had been solved by an unlikely ally.

Life truly could take the strangest turns.

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Well well well, the discarded character makes a comeback, who'd have thought?)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Stay True]
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| Minutes later… |

...

Taka and Mineta stood in a line, waiting for their turn to buy at the stall filled with all sorts of candies and snacks. Mineta was ahead since he had been the one to lead the way and the first to join the line.

'When he said it was in an alleyway, I thought he might try to jump me... but turns out it really was here?'

Taka stared at the stall with a speechless look.

"Why is it even inside an alleyway? It's harder to find for anyone looking for it," Taka grumbled, scanning the somewhat dark and narrow stretch of alleyway. The stall was set into the side of a building that faced directly onto it, which made the line of people waiting feel a little cramped.

This sort of shop wasn't that unusual a sight across Japan. But they tended to be bars or ramen spots that could hold multiple people sitting inside. Not this.

'Though, I'm not an expert, so maybe I'm just talking nonsense,' Taka thought, scratching his side.

"Must be because it's cheap," Mineta offered.

Taka considered the idea, then shrugged.

'Most likely.'

Soon enough, Mineta's turn came. The owner had a bit of trouble noticing him given how short he was, but as soon as he did, Mineta ordered a grape soda—one Taka hadn't seen before.

Once the owner grabbed it, it came time to pay.

Mineta immediately took out his wallet and began digging through it.

Only to slow down as several droplets of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Slowly, he turned to Taka.

"You mind, uh… paying for me? I swear I'll pay you back!"

Desperately, he tugged at the hem of Taka's clothes.

Taka could only stare at the pathetic display with a wry and baffled look.

Pay him back? He highly doubted it, given they weren't going to see each other after today.

Except maybe when both were pro heroes. There was a chance he'd run into him again then.

Although he doubted he'd pay even then.

Still…

-Sigh…-

After letting out a loud, long sigh, he took out some bills and paid for the soda.

'Let this be the compensation for screwing up his entrance exam.'

He had already apologized, but this was at least more tangible.

After this, he wouldn't feel like he owed the shorty anything.

Besides, he wasn't short on money nowadays.

Before long, Mineta was handed his soda, and Taka's turn came. As soon as he caught sight of the candy apples he'd been looking for, he ordered six, then spotted a pack of spicy potato chips and bought those as well.

Everything got handed over in one bag, and with that, he and Mineta stepped out of the alleyway.

As soon as they did, Mineta turned to him, scratching his head with an apologetic look.

"Hey, thanks for paying for it. I swear I'll pay you back!—someday…"

Taka smiled faintly, shaking his head. "Don't mind it. This one's on me."

"For real? Alright! No taking that back, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Grinning, Mineta opened the can and began drinking, manners long abandoned.

Watching him drink merrily, Taka snorted faintly, then figured it was probably time to leave. The matter between the two was resolved, and he had a home to visit while he still had time.

But just as he was about to pass, coincidentally, a busty woman walked by the two of them as they stood at the exit of the alleyway, disappearing into the crowd soon after.

Naturally, Mineta's eyes went wide as platters as he followed her figure, his interest in the soda evaporating instantly as he forgot to close his mouth.

But as she disappeared through the crowd, no longer visible, and he hurriedly wiped at his chin, his eyes shifted to Taka.

And caught him stealthily glancing the same way.

Only after a second or so did Taka notice what he was doing, and pulled his gaze back, sweatdropping as he felt the weight of Mineta's stare.

"…"

"… What?"

A fiery look appeared in Mineta's eyes. "I see, so I wasn't wrong. This companionship I felt between us… it wasn't an illusion!"

"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Taka sent him a disbelieving look.

Mineta shook his head with a wide smile, eyes closed. "They say great minds think alike."

Then, he pointed a finger at him, sweeping it back and forth between himself and Taka, sporting a cheeky grin.

"You and I… we are not so different after all."

"Ugh…" Taka's eyebrow twitched at the shorty's words.

Truth be told, he had been swept up by the guy's attitude, and when Mineta glanced the woman's way, he'd ended up following the sight on pure instinct.

Usually he would have been able to act like those proportions didn't exist. But apparently keeping this guy's company was getting the worst out of him.

'If I stay with this guy, I'll start losing aura.' He thought with alarm, before blinking as he noticed something. 'Hold on—why hasn't the system said anything?'

[Do you want me to?]

'There you are—and no.'

[Then I'll be back to watching from the shadows.]

'Funny guy.' Taka snorted.

Although it probably wasn't lying. These past weeks, or months, it had been almost completely silent.

'I wonder why...' Taka mused.

"Then, what do you think about that one?" Mineta suddenly asked, pointing at someone in the crowd.

Taka followed the direction, finding yet another woman of… interesting proportions.

A few seconds of silence passed while the woman continued on and disappeared into the crowd.

Only then did Taka say something.

"She's fine."

"FINE?! Man, you can't tell me you aren't salivating right now—look at those! They are bigger than my head—although I'm not so sure that's hard to accomplish."

Taka's hand covered his eyes and forehead, almost like he was disappointed in whatever was happening here.

In reality—

'Damn it, I made that exact comparison. How did this guy know?!'

Had his interference in canon somehow given Mineta mind-reading?

"I see I hit the target." Mineta smiled slyly, watching Taka's face twitch, before lifting a finger and wagging it left and right in a no-no gesture. "There's no need to be ashamed of it, my friend. We are carnal creatures. Those that act like such feelings don't exist are simply hypocrites, fearful of their own soul and what it has to express!"

"You just want to say whatever comes to mind without getting beaten, don't you?"

"Yes. But beyond that, I also believe what I say, which is why I'm not afraid to admit that my motivation for becoming a hero is to get cool and be incredibly popular with women!"

Taka could only stare at him, baffled by his total lack of shame.

"You probably aren't very popular in your class, are you?"

Mineta froze, as if lightning had struck him.

"T-that's… damn it." Mineta slumped forward, clearly having been hit somewhere tender.

Seeing him like that, Taka felt a bit bad. He'd spoken without thinking since the shorty was getting on his nerves.

His pity lasted very little, however.

"... YEAH. I BARELY HAVE ANY FRIENDS THERE, AND THE GIRLS HATE ME! HAPPY?!… Damn it, a popular guy like you—why did I think you could understand my pain? With how famous you've become, you probably even have a girlfriend and everything, damn bastard!" Mineta's face contorted in pure rage, teeth gnashing as he seemed to imagine Taka happily skipping along hand-in-hand with an imaginary girlfriend.

However, it was actually Taka who froze this time, and Mineta noticed it.

"… Aha. So you're as lonely as me." He muttered with a mocking grin.

"Should I send you flying?"

"… Ahem—I mean, you're probably like that because of your own choices, right? I mean, what girl would even catch the eye of someone as popular as you?"

Taka's hostile gaze withdrew—albeit slowly, really slowly, making Mineta sweat cold.

While the short guy decided it was better to just stay silent, Taka's mind slowly turned the topic over.

'A girl, huh…? Ugh, this is like talking with Seiji.'

Well, he was too busy for relationships. Yes. Aura farming was a very occupying task. He couldn't focus on a girl at the moment.

Yes.

And besides, just like Mineta said, he didn't really fancy anyone in particular at the moment beyond just thinking they were good looking.

No one…

'Although Jiro—'

Taka cut his own thought short on instinct, blinking in surprise.

'Ugh, I can't stay here with this guy anymore. He's making my mind go weird places.'

Totally not embarrassed, Taka turned to Mineta, about to bid him farewell for good.

But upon seeing him still a bit sulky over the earlier comment, Taka heaved a sigh.

'Though, I suppose I can give him some advice before leaving.'

"You said your ultimate goal for becoming a hero was to get cool and be popular with women, right?"

Mineta frowned. "Hmm? Yeah. What, are you going to tell me I shouldn't aim for such banal things?"

Taka let out a short laugh. "I don't really care. I am… I was like that too, a while ago."

"So I was right?!" Mineta asked, grin and eyes wide.

"Let me finish."

"Okay..."

Taka paused for a second, then went back to what he was saying, looking at the bustling street in front of them. "Then you should know that the reason you're probably unpopular is that very pervy way of acting, right?"

"…" Mineta fell silent, looking somewhat annoyed, like a hormonal teenager having to listen to his parent's advices. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Then why don't you stop? If you want to become popular, you don't have to change what you like—but you could try acting less… freakishly?"

Mineta seemed to take in the words with some resistance, but took them in regardless.

"Maybe… but, you know, if I did that, would I still be true to myself? I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not, even if it helps my goal come true," He said with genuine conviction, or stubbornness. "It's why I'm not ashamed of my goal. Isn't that cool enough?! Huh?!"

"…" Taka fell silent this time.

'He sure is rigid about being honest with himself.'

After thinking for a moment, he turned back to Mineta.

"Then don't change. Just take into account how other people might feel about the stuff you say and do, instead of trampling over those feelings just because you want to express something."

Mineta seemed confused by that, scratching his cheek as he took another sip of his soda.

Taka decided to explain better. "Hmm… Imagine a 100-year-old mummy makes constant inappropriate comments about you, disregarding how that might make you feel, just because it wants you bad and wants to express it. That mummy is you. The feelings it has might not be bad in themselves—but it should at least be aware that it's making you uncomfortable, instead of outright ignoring it. Shouldn't it?"

"You saying I'm ugly?!"

"I'm saying that's how you might come across based on your actions and comments. I don't know about your mug," He gave Mineta a look. "You don't need to change how you feel, or what you want to achieve. Just be more considerate. Then maybe your classmates won't mind your, uh... passionate heart as much."

"… I see." Mineta muttered under his breath after a few seconds of silence, seeming to actually give it some thought.

While he went quiet, Taka choked down the cringe he was giving himself, playing the sage.

He'd honestly just said whatever came to mind regarding Mineta's situation.

Although, maybe he'd said a bit too much because he saw something of himself in Mineta.

A less than ideal relationship with his classmates. (In his old school, at least)

Similar… tastes.

Not very heroic motives for taking on this career.

'I guess, just like he said… he and I really aren't so different after all.'

His eyes fell on the concrete floor, deep in thought.

'Stay true to oneself, huh?'

Soon, however, he shook his head, setting that train of thought aside for later.

He had somewhere to be.

"Anyway, give it a thought." He said, turning slightly to signal he was about to leave.

"Hm." Mineta nodded, saying nothing more, as if still turning it over.

Taka watched him for a bit longer, then attempted to fully walk away.

Only for Mineta to stop him one last time.

"Hey, you uh… mind exchanging numbers?"

Taka stared at him with a deadpan.

Those were words he hadn't particularly wanted to hear from a man, let alone from Mineta.

But he supposed it wouldn't hurt. The midget was… fun to be around.

-Sigh-

"Why not?"

...

°

°

°

Minutes later, he was already descending toward Shizuoka, near his house.

Another minute or so after that, he was standing before the door.

-Knock, knock, knock-

He called at the door. It took a moment for anyone inside to answer.

-Click-

Soon, however, the door opened, revealing Seiji staring at him with a condescending look.

"Well well well, look who it is—Mr. I'm-Too-Good-For-Your-Agency in the flesh, gracing us with his presence."

"You're just angry you didn't get to mess with me for an entire week."

Seiji grinned, stroking his chin while nodding. "True, true. But that doesn't make the betrayal hurt less."

"Taka!"

A voice came from behind Seiji.

Taka turned slightly, and saw Eri running toward him.

He received her with a hug—or rather, he was the one received with one.

Smiling, he patted her head. "I escaped for a bit to come see you guys. How's my absence been? Relieved you've got the TV to yourself?"

"I missed you."

Taka's smile softened.

"I brought you something." He showed her the bag of candy apples, smirking.

She took it with curiosity—and clear hunger in her eyes.

Soon, she dashed back inside to put them on a plate, while Taka came in and made himself comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV.

Before long, she came back and handed him one.

He looked at it for a moment, then grinned. "These are for you, you know?"

"I want to share." She said, sitting beside him and watching the screen as well.

Taka snorted with a smile, eyed the candy apple, then shrugged and bit into it.

After that, the two watched a cartoon together, with Seiji leaning on the couch's headrest and watching along, while sometimes snatching the candy apples that Eri gave Taka for himself—earning him a scolding from Eri who gave him a candy apple so he wouldn't steal from Taka.

An hour or two passed like that, and eventually Eri's bedtime arrived. He had gotten here relatively late into the day, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

At least he had gotten to see her for a while.

She was already yawning and rubbing her eyes as Seiji guided her by the hand toward her room.

"…Come back tomorrow as well, Taka…˜"

Taka gave her an amused look, then nodded and waved, much to her happiness.

"Sleep well. I'll come back tomorrow with more stuff."

"You're gonna give her cavities, Taka." Seiji commented.

Taka, however, ignored him.

Then, as she disappeared into her room, followed by Seiji who led her by the hand, they soon left Taka alone in the couch.

As he found himself back into solitude for a moment, he focused back on the TV.

'Home sweet home.' He thought, settling fully into the couch and huffing a big puff of relaxed air through his nose.

In about an hour he'd have to head back to the agency, since to everyone thought he'd just gone on a really long stroll. The curfew was also coming soon and he needed to be back there before then.

So he was going to make the most of this brief moment of full relaxation.

With such thoughts running through his head, his mind subconsciously drifted back to his conversation with Mineta—specifically, to a certain someone he had unintentionally thought of.

And, after a moment or so of staring blankly at whatever the TV was playing, he took out his phone, opening a certain chat.

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: How was the meeting with Mineta? Turns out even he has an honorable motivation for his actions—well, not really, but close enough.

This was supposed to happen way before in the story, but I forgot and then I didn't know where to put him. Luckily, he fit nicely here.

Next chapter things are getting spicy... Action-wise.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Future]

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| An hour later… |

...

The door to the agency opened, and Takahashi stepped inside as he closed it behind him, being greeted by Bubble Girl at the entrance, who waved at him with a smile.

"You stayed up late, didn't you? It's almost closing time."

"Sorry." Taka bowed slightly. He had relaxed a bit too much at home and was a tad later than he'd expected. He'd had to push his flight a bit faster just to make sure he'd get here on time.

Hopefully he hadn't triggered any alarms for the sky police.

She smiled calmly. "Just be more mindful of time. We won't lock you out, but there are specific times for closing."

Taka nodded, his expression a bit wry.

After that small exchange, he made his way inside toward his room, ready to drop on his bed and call it a day.

As he walked through the agency's hallways, he let out a yawn, rolling his shoulder with a groan as his body seemed to start realizing the day was ending.

It had been a good day, that was for sure.

A bit odd, considering his meeting with Mineta, but overall good. He'd aura farmed well, got to chillax at home for a bit, and chatted a lot with…

"Ahem," He cleared his throat, deciding he was wasting time recollecting his day.

So he simply turned off his thoughts and kept walking. There wasn't much left, just around the corner.

But just as he turned that corner—

"Takahashi."

The tall figure of Nighteye appeared blocking his path, looking at him while his glasses gleamed with mystery. Shrouded in the dimly lit corridor, he looked a bit more stern than usual.

"… What?" Taka sweatdropped. He hadn't been found out about his trip between cities, had he?

"There's something I must speak to you about. Follow me to my office."

And so, without further context, he walked off.

Taka hesitated for a second, then heaved a sigh and followed.

He might be about to get reprimanded for his outing.

A minute or so later, they were at Nighteye's office.

Nighteye took his seat in silence, interlocked his fingers, and rested his chin on his hands, hiding his mouth. Taka decided not to let the awkwardness sit for too long.

"So… why did you call me here?"

There was a beat of silence between the two that Taka couldn't account for, given his question was quite simple.

He discovered why pretty soon, however.

"Takahashi… You're Rockinesis." Nighteye said, loud and clear. Not a hint of doubt or hesitation in his voice.

"Wha—?" Taka's face scrunched, a bit startled by the directness.

It hadn't even been a question, but a statement. The guy already knew his identity and wasn't going to beat around the bush.

Yeah, he had expected him to figure it out somewhat after he and Nezu talked… but to be this sure—had Nezu not even attempted to mask his identity a little?

Seeing the stern look on Nighteye, Taka feared the worst.

'I guess this is as far as my hero career goes. It was a good run, but it's time to return to my vigilante roots.'

"Don't worry, I won't report you." Nighteye's assurance arrived midway through his derailing thoughts. "Given how far you're into the path of a hero by now, I'll overlook it."

Hearing that, Taka blinked in surprise before heaving a relieved sigh. "Then…"

"However, let me ask you something, Takahashi… What is your motivation for being a hero?"

Taka froze at the question.

"My what?"

"Your motivation. I want to know what drives you toward this life path. From what Nezu told me, he somewhat coerced you into joining this career after figuring out your identity as the vigilante… However, it is also true that, given your Quirk's power, even if he had revealed everything, you probably wouldn't have been very affected by the consequences. You were already as strong as the top heroes of our country by then. So him forcing you to become a hero is barely a good excuse for why you did it, and aside from it, you had already written down that you planned to join U.A. even before meeting him. So—why?"

"…"

Taka fell silent, eyes slowly drifting away as he thought about it.

The reason was pretty clear at first sight.

Farming Aura.

Ever since gaining his system and the memories of his previous life, he'd gotten control of his own life back.

No longer was he an apparent Quirkless kid with an uncertain future.

He had received the power to change it—and to become stronger.

All he had to do was go to U.A. to foster that power.

And he did, which was why he was here now, at this level at that.

Other than that, he supposed Bakugo's read on him wasn't entirely wrong. He liked attention to a worrying degree, and although he hadn't been totally sure about it at the beginning, the adrenaline and dopamine rush he felt when he performed at the music festival during his first few months with the system had shown him what he truly enjoyed.

In the end, those were the two things that had put him here, and they were still his main drive even now.

After that bit of introspection, Taka smiled dryly, eyes dropping slightly.

"If you're expecting an answer like All Might's, I'm sorry to disappoint. My motivations aren't as selfless as his."

"And they are…?" Nighteye pressed.

Taka hesitated. Revealing his worst aspects was something he didn't do these days, other than with Seiji maybe.

And he was talking with Nighteye here—someone with a moral code that aligned pretty closely with All Might's. Just the thought of revealing the murk behind the shiny and powerful image he'd been building so far gnawed at him.

But, strangely, as he found it harder and harder to speak—a conversation from just today ran through his mind as the words stuck in his throat.

"I don't want to pretend to be something I am not, even if it helps my goal come true."

Taka's eyebrow twitched.

Was Mineta really being his motivation here?

...

Taka stifled a laugh, his mouth curling as he ended up covering part of his face with his palm. Somewhat ashamed, somewhat amused.

'I suppose he is.'

"Is something funny?" Nighteye asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Taka answered, calming his expression.

"…"

Then, Taka looked at the wall—or rather, his eyes landed there, while what he was actually looking at lay much further away.

"My motivation… It's fame and power. I find joy in being looked up to and cheered on, and I certainly like the feeling of growing stronger. These two were the core of why I decided to become a hero back then, and even up to this day—since my goal is to one day reach my limits, stand at the top of the world, and laugh loudly as everyone cheers and celebrates from below."

"…"

"How is it? Not as noble as you were expecting, was it?" Taka smirked wryly.

"… Hmm, it appears your attitude shifted somewhat." Nighteye noted, adjusting his glasses again. "But no. I was expecting it to an extent. You're a teenager. Even if I asked your motivations for becoming a hero, it's not something someone your age needs to think that deeply about."

"…"

"Plus, your behavior as both a hero and vigilante until now had already told me as much."

Taka's mouth twitched. 'Right, my motivations aren't all that subtle if you connect both identities.'

Nighteye leaned forward, a really serious look on his already serious face.

"I'll be blunt. With your power, you stand a high chance of eventually becoming a symbol similar to All Might in terms of your importance to society."

Normally, Taka would have taken pride in the comment.

"..."

But something in Nighteye's tone turned what would usually have been cause for smugness into a heavy feeling of responsibility suddenly falling on his shoulders.

"Maybe what you become won't be a symbol of peace like he achieved. However, it's undeniable that it will be grand, and your impact on society will be enormous, whether you like it or not."

Slowly, he stood up, walked to the window of his office, pulled the blinds aside, and looked out at the night city with squinted eyes, giving Taka his back.

"Your motivations are yours alone to decide—that's not for me to impose. However, I wanted to make sure you're aware of what you are, Takahashi."

"What I am?"

"A giant."

"…?"

"A figure whose mere steps send tremors through all of society, and who, if not watching his steps carefully, might cause a disaster. All Might was a giant too. However, he managed to become a pillar of society through his ideals, his selfless nature, and his incorruptible mind. The ripples he could have caused—ones that might have ripped through society in destruction or corruption—instead turned toward its betterment."

Slowly, he turned back to Taka.

"Fame and power are fine. They are basic human desires, and without them one cannot reach the top. Even All Might has such desires, and just as they did for you, they fueled his rise. Ambition, anger, desire for recognition—he experienced these in his own measure. However, at the end of the day, he didn't let them sway his conviction about the ripples he wanted to send through society, ones that brought an era of peace and calm that Japan hadn't seen in many years."

His brows furrowed, eyes set directly on Taka's, unwavering.

"You're still a teenager for now, Takahashi, so like I said, these feelings are fine… But when you stand at the top, when you've become a giant whose mere movements send ripples through society—whether good or bad, because believe me, you will—will you truly hold these feelings as the ones that guide you?"

"… I…"

Taka fell silent, staring back at Nighteye with his mouth open but without words.

Seeing his look, Nighteye sighed, his expression easing.

"Give it a thought. You have many years ahead of you, so it's fine if you don't reach an answer right away."

Taka nodded, looking a bit lost, but otherwise still firm.

After a small pause, Nighteye turned slightly to the side, walking across the room and examining his very precious limited-edition All Might posters.

"Having said all that, there's something I want to ask of you, Takahashi."

Taka glanced up at him, a bit caught off guard that the deep hero lesson had suddenly shifted into the hero asking something of Taka.

However, Nighteye didn't say it outright.

"You must be a bit confused about my sudden interest in guiding you toward a proper path, right?"

Taka raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it because of what you learned from Nezu?"

"Yes. But to go deeper—are you aware of what my Quirk is, Takahashi?"

"It lets you see the future?"

"That's a basic interpretation, but yes, I can see the future. However, for that I must touch the person whose future I plan to see and establish direct eye contact. Once I do, I become able to see clearly one hour into their future from a third-person perspective. Almost like watching a movie."

Taka nodded, somewhat aware of this, but still appreciating the detail since his memories had grown diffuse after so long.

"However, this also comes with some other effects. For one, I can see further into a person's future than that mere hour—much, much further. But the further I go, the more vague and fragmented what I see becomes."

His face scrunched, a pained look appearing.

"And second, the future I see is… unchangeable. No matter what I do, or what I've tried, none of the futures I've seen with my Quirk have changed in the slightest."

He turned to Taka.

"—At least, until I met you."

Taka's face shifted slightly at the mention of changing the future.

"How so?"

Nighteye didn't answer right away. "Nezu told me you can see the future as well. You've had long visions of a future that is no more after your direct interference—the day you rescued that girl, for example, was am action prompted by one such vision—and you also seem to have a faint precognitive sense toward where crimes might emerge, as seen by your activity as Rockinesis. So perhaps you've seen something similar to this."

His eyes drifted away, toward something well beyond the wall.

"Years ago, I saw All Might's future. A disastrous future that ended with his death in a horrible way. The image I saw that day is still imprinted deep in my mind. All Might's hollow, wasted appearance, his dying state, and the heroism that persisted in his eyes until the end slowly fading away."

For once, the sternness lifted faintly, his eyes gleaming as he looked back at Taka.

"And yet… you cured him. The image I saw of All Might in that state is no more. Just like that, without even my interference, the future had changed—thanks to you."

Through all of the explanation, Taka remained silent.

'That's a given. My interference has already vastly derailed fate, it'd be weirder if it hadn't.'

The vision Nighteye had seen was from many years ago—right after All Might's catastrophic fight with All For One—and thus, well before Taka had obtained the system and his otherworldly memories.

Well before he had wrecked the way things were supposed to progress.

"Do you understand what that makes you, Takahashi?"

"… Pretty great?"

"That makes you the only answer to solving the unchangeable future I saw… and always see. The only thing that can bend what had seemed unbendable until now—of course, perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here. Perhaps your appearance is just the byproduct of something else, invisible, that happened during these past years—"

'He actually got it right.' Taka thought, sensing the presence of his system in the background.

"—However, Takahashi, I'm willing to bet everything on you. Which is why…"

He extended his hand in a handshake—a gesture ordinary enough, but given that it was Nighteye making it, the other meaning was clear.

Though he said it himself the next instant, in case it wasn't.

"Please, let me watch your future."

Taka fell silent at the question, eyes dropping to the offered hand while his body showed no signs of reciprocating it.

'Do I really want to let him see my future?' He asked himself.

It was a genuinely complex question.

On one hand, he trusted Nighteye. The man had a true moral code, and Taka really doubted he had anything bad planned with whatever he saw—that is if he could even see anything, considering his current status as an anomaly actively changing the timeline might make Nighteye's Quirk act weirdly.

On the other hand… he didn't quite trust himself.

Like Nighteye had said, his motivations weren't ones he should let guide him once he stood at the top.

But what if he didn't care about that as time passed? What if he stayed as he was, and one day slipped?

He could tell himself perfectly well that he wouldn't. That despite his more human side, his ethics were stronger.

But such words were meaningless against the weight of time.

He wasn't a perfect hero like All Might, nor selflessly self-sacrificing like Midoriya.

Would his future… really be a bright one, leaving power aside?

What if what Nighteye saw, looking at what awaited him at the top, was something bad.

A careless giant, as Nighteye had put it.

"…"

The silence stretched as Taka didn't answer for several seconds.

But just as Nighteye was about to drop his hand, a wry look crossing his face as he took in the apparent rejection—Taka's hand moved, slowly lifting to meet his.

"...?" Confused by the change, Nighteye gaze lifted to Taka's face—only to see him smiling calmly.

And so, just like that, the handshake that had seemed about to be rejected, was done.

As it held, Taka met Nighteye's gaze without any worry, as if everything from before had been unnecessary, much to the hero's confusion.

And it really was, since…

'Maybe I don't trust myself—but I trust the people around me. Seiji and Eri will give me an earful if I do something bad. My classmates will too.'

Maybe before, when he'd first gained his system, there had been a chance he would have taken a wrong path even as he achieved ultimate strength.

But now, with all these people around him… he could say he trusted them to keep him in check.

So there was nothing to worry about here.

'And besides…'

Nighteye's vision about All Might had been from years ago—well before his path for the future had derailed enormously thanks to the system.

So it was safe to assume that whatever the system was, Nighteye's vision hadn't accounted for it, or at least not for its appearance.

Which made him wonder…

'What will his quirk see now? Will it keep seeing the future that should have been, had I not changed things? Or will it see—me?'

He was genuinely curious about what would result from this.

Thus, with the approval given, Nighteye gave Taka a short nod.

"Then, if you're willing, I won't dilly dally. Here I go, Takahashi."

Taka nodded back.

The next instant, the hero's eyes went dark as his irises turned a mystic purple, taking on an almost mechanical shape—like a highly detailed gear—that soon began spinning clockwise.

Taka could only stand there awkwardly, his hand held in place, watching Nighteye freeze as he seemed to observe whatever his Quirk was showing him, while all Taka could do was stand there, stifling a yawn as bedtime approached.

'Did he mention how long this was supposed to take…?'

On second thought, he hadn't.

'It won't take a whole hour, will it?' Taka wondered, swallowing nervously at the prospect of standing there holding his hand for over an hour.

Luckily, a minute or so later, the effect on Nighteye's eyes disappeared.

Unluckily, Taka saw what he had hoped not to.

A distraught look on Nighteye's face.

His heart skipped a beat—the bad kind.

"What… did you see?"

As he worried over it, Nighteye gently shook Taka's hand off, not appearing angry, but still taking several steps back until he met his desk and sat on the edge of it, dragging a hand over his forehead as he seemed to process what he'd seen.

Taka could only remain silent, feeling like he'd done something wrong, and that anything he said now would only make it worse.

Contrary to what he expected, however…

"I didn't see as far as I expected."

"Huh?" Taka's worried expression shifted into confusion, his frown deepening.

Nighteye took a deep breath, eyes landing directly on Taka's.

"Takahashi, what I saw… was your death."

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Stays silent for dramatic effect*)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Fate Will Be My Bitch]
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…

"My death?"

Taka's question echoed in the cold silence that had settled in the room.

Nighteye's pupils seemed to tremble slightly as he remembered it, his hand gripping his face tighter.

"The future I saw… it was still too detailed to be too far away in time. There's no certain number, but given the level of detail compared to other attempts I've made reaching into much further visions… I wouldn't give it more than a month."

Taka's eyes widened, startled by the proximity.

"…"

Yet, as he gave it more thought, it made a bit more sense.

The further into the future, the stronger he'd become.

If there was any moment he'd be vulnerable and killed, it would be now. When he still hadn't become the true strongest.

Yet, even as he glanced at himself right now, he couldn't see how.

Regardless of whether he still wasn't the strongest, the number of people even remotely capable of fighting him off were in the single digits.

And the only one strong enough who would also have some kind of motivation to kill him was…

"…!" A glint of realization crossed Taka's eyes.

After a brief pause in which his eyes traveled as his thoughts ran, he looked back at Nighteye, who still seemed to be recovering from the shock himself.

"What did you see exactly?"

After processing the question for a moment, Nighteye didn't answer outright. He seemed to revisit the vision first, his face growing grim.

And in a way, it was no wonder.

Taka—the answer to bending fate and changing the unchangeable—had been sentenced to die by the very fate he feared was unchangeable.

He had bet Taka was the key… but what if he wasn't? What if it was something else, something in the background he hadn't yet seen, that had brought the boy to this point? Would that help prevent this as well? Or would Taka too fall prey to fate?

Or even if Taka was the key as he hoped—would he be able to bend fate twice? Even more so when this time it was his own life on the line?

The hope that had begun brewing in his heart started to wilt, his stern and troubled look returning. As it did, he began explaining.

"You appeared to be in a battle, a fierce one judging by the destruction around you… Yet you were smiling, not looking the least worried. So I don't think it was particularly a struggle for you."

"With whom?"

"I didn't get to see. I only saw you standing over a destroyed landscape, glaring at a ruined building with a victorious look."

"… Then how…?"

"Something pierced your heart from behind. It was too sudden—nothing had been there, but suddenly, as the vision shifted like a change of scene, something pierced you completely… what came out of your chest was a grotesque-looking arm filled with sharp, spear-like bones that served as the piercer. Then you fell, blood seeping out of you—until the vision cut off."

"…"

Nighteye massaged his temple, looking like a migraine was coming. "So in the end, I wasn't able to see what was behind you or what killed you."

"Hah."

Taka's sudden laugh startled Nighteye, who focused back on him—only to see Taka smirking, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

-Snap!-

The sound of the window latch giving way came out of nowhere, and the night breeze rushing in snatched Nighteye's attention, making him turn in disbelief before glaring back at Taka in confusion.

But before he could ask anything, Taka walked past him.

"Sorry, but I've got to go somewhere."

And, without letting him say anything—

—Boom!—

-Flutter-

—He shot out the window, the violence of his ascent making papers scatter off the desk and the entire room shake briefly.

Nighteye could only stare as, in less than a second, Taka's figure disappeared into the night sky, impossibly fast.

...

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°

| Minutes later, Kamino's Bar… |

...

Silence enveloped the bar—until recently a villain gathering place, now filled with nothing but the barely audible hum of machines still running somewhere.

Dust had gathered everywhere, a clear sign of how long it had been abandoned.

Then—

—BANG!—

—CRASH!—

Suddenly, the door to the hideout was sent flying off its hinges, crashing against a wall and shattering into several pieces. Behind it, Taka stood with his foot raised where the door had been, having kicked it clean off.

Then he stepped inside, eyes scanning sharply.

"..."

Yet no matter where he looked, he saw no one and nothing. Only an empty, abandoned place.

Still silent, he made his way through the few other rooms.

However, no matter what door he opened, all he came across was solitude.

And with it, anger began seeping in, his teeth gritting.

—BOOM!—

In an instant, his figure shot forward at blinding speed, still upright as if standing on solid ground, and crashed straight through the far wall, bursting out into the street.

"What?"

"W-what happened? A villain?"

"I think that building just collapsed!"

Several bystanders glanced at the destruction in confusion.

—But before they could catch sight of him, his figure blurred and shot across the air.

The city below stretched as his body moved at impossible speeds, warping the space around him.

He crossed half the city in seconds. And even as he did, he moved silently—as though air resistance and sound simply didn't apply to him.

Before long he stood in the air before another building. An abandoned residential block.

All For One's base from the show. The one where Nomus had been harvested, and from where the villain had emerged to wreak chaos during the arc involving Bakugo.

Just like the villain bar, it had been under his surveillance.

So, just like the bar, would it be…?

"…" His frown deepened at the thought.

Without a care for infrastructure, his figure shot straight through the wall, entering the building unimpeded and unaffected.

Yet, just as the previous one…

"Nothing." He spat.

Only dust and an empty place, not a soul in sight.

Holding onto some kind of hope, he extended his sensory aura through the building, searching for any hidden crevice, a secret entrance, any trace of movement from someone invisible.

There was nothing.

This empty, abandoned, desolate place. This was all there was.

The villains who were supposed to still be here… were no longer so.

And the reason was pretty clear.

"So they figured it out too," Taka said with a scoff, the grin on his face doing nothing to hide the anger bleeding into his voice.

Since when, was the question.

How long had the bastard known?

"My clones saw nothing abnormal in how they were behaving, even until yesterday."

Slowly, he walked over to a stair railing and dragged a finger along the surface.

As expected—it came away with dust.

"Yet they've been gone for far longer than that."

What did that mean?

It meant they had been fooling him. Showing him what he wanted to see, making him think he was in control.

As aura began seeping off him involuntarily like a red mist, his figure suddenly blurred.

—CRASH!—

A second later, the ceiling of the building exploded upward, and a vertiginous shadow shot into the sky, ascending unimpeded at impossible speed until it stopped at cloud level, swallowed by the dark.

Watching the lit city far below, Taka's eyes remained on the building he'd just left, his fist trembling.

After a few more seconds, he drew in a deep breath, the anger subsiding slightly.

As he calmed, his gaze dropped to his chest, picturing the arm of that man piercing through it.

'He will kill me, huh?'

The thought reignited his anger all over again.

Now that the bastard was aware of the threat he posed, he planned to dispose of him, just like that?

Like it was so easy?

"Nah."

He had lost that chance a long while ago.

And now that the bastard wanted to cash that chance, he wouldn't let him.

He hadn't come all this way just for All For One to kill him for flying too high.

Just because Nighteye's vision had predicted his death didn't mean anything.

For all he knew, Nighteye's Quirk couldn't predict the system given that he hadn't seen the future it had brought, so maybe it hadn't accounted for it this time either.

Maybe the Taka he saw was one in an hypothetical case where the system vanished, and he was forced to fend off All For One as he was.

And even if the Quirk could somehow now predict the system, just like everything else, he also knew firsthand that, in the show, Midoriya had shifted the outcome of a future Nighteye saw, through sheer strength of will.

He didn't know whether he was as strong as Midoriya had been at that moment, given that Midoriya at that instant had access to the full power of One For All thanks to Eri.

But he refused to accept that, even knowing his future demise, he couldn't do anything about it—even with all the power he'd amassed.

Just because the man's Quirk had said so.

Despite how strong he had become.

Despite the change in fate he'd brought, no longer just background noise in a story he wasn't even sure he appeared in, even as just a bland figure.

Despite how he had grown.

They were telling him nothing of that would be worth anything because the future had said so, and because All For One had decided he wouldn't put up with him anymore.

Like saying the control of his own life still wasn't in his grasp, being nothing but a disposable piece that any of the two entities could discard at any given moment.

"A fixed future my ass." Taka spat, his eyes gleaming with anger-fueled conviction as a deep aura began emanating from him. "Nighteye wants the key to bend the unbendable? I'll bend the unbendable."

His figure shot ahead from one moment to another, like a shooting star crossing the night sky back in direction to the agency.

"Fate will be my bitch, as will be All For One."

With those words coming out of his mouth with spite, he took out his phone still mid-flight, and pressed a contact.

After a few seconds of ringing, someone answered.

{"Well well well, if it isn't my lifelong rival, Rockinesis. To what do I owe this pleasure?"}

...

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°

°

| The next day, noon… |

...

"Goddamnit, let me go!"

A man in a balaclava floated overhead, kicking and squirming futilely, unable to descend no matter what he did, a faint crimson aura surrounding his body.

"Well, that's one efficient way to apprehend someone." Mirio noted from below, nodding appreciatively as he watched their target rendered completely helpless without even a fight.

He turned toward Taka, who leaned against a wall, looking anything but interested in the man he had suspended mid-air.

"Something the matter, Auros? You don't seem to be in the best mood."

"I'm having some pest control problems."

"Pest control?"

Before he could ask what that meant, a police siren snatched his attention, and patrol cars began pulling up shortly after.

With them here, Mirio got right into his duties and gave his report.

Since the arrest had been smooth and quick, there wasn't much to cover. The officers could only stare between the still-floating suspect and Taka with stunned expressions.

Before long, both were cleared to go, and with little time left in their patrol, they made their way back to the agency.

As they arrived, Bubble Girl was there to greet them.

"Another fruitful patrol, right?"

"Yeah, the police are getting quite the workload lately. I guess that's a good thing though!" Mirio laughed.

She smiled cheerfully. Their agency had been doing remarkably well this past week, and all thanks to their newest intern. They were bound to rise a few rankings after this.

As she thought of Taka, something else came to mind.

"That's right—Sir Nighteye told me to let you know to come by his office once you were done, Takahashi-kun!"

Taka nodded, not looking particularly surprised.

Mirio could only tilt his head at the summons. He didn't remember his own internship being this eventful.

Before long, Taka bid them farewell and made his way directly to Nighteye's office, walking with calm in his step.

As he arrived, Nighteye seemed to have been waiting—he set down the papers in his hand the moment Taka entered.

"Takahashi, you've come. Good."

He stood up and walked over to him.

"I've contacted Nezu. I hope you don't mind, but yesterday was of enough importance to involve him. We've agreed that upon finishing your internship here in two days, you'll return to U.A. immediately and enter directly under the school's protection. It's the least we can do to prevent… what we've foreseen."

Taka didn't seem thrilled by it. But he didn't oppose it. He doubted he had much say in the matter.

Nighteye's description of the vision was almost certainly enough to alert Nezu and the rest about who would truly be behind his death.

He doubted they would just let him handle that on his own.

"However, if you prefer to bring this internship to an end right now, given the circumstances, Nezu clarified that that's fine too. You'll be evaluated with that into consideratio—"

"It's fine." Taka cut him off. "I'll finish the internship. Regardless of what may or not come."

Nighteye seemed surprised for a moment, but after a brief pause, he gave Taka a nod.

"I'll tell Nezu, then."

Taka nodded back.

And with seemingly no more content to the brief meeting, and no more words between the two of them, Taka gave Nighteye a nod and began walking away.

Nighteye could only stare at his departing back in silence, lost in his own thoughts.

Minutes later, Taka arrived back at his room, sat on the bed, took off the most cumbersome parts of his costume, and dropped fully onto it.

As he lay there, he stared at the ceiling.

'The school is gonna try and help me.'

They would probably have All Might watch him around the clock to prevent anything from happening.

He didn't know how effective that would be, though. He doubted whatever had led to his death in that vision hadn't accounted for All Might.

Although, in all his strength, the man might be enough to bend destiny. Especially now that he was healed.

But he wasn't going to gamble on that and leave it all to him. He wasn't just going to sit and wait for whatever was supposed to lead to that outcome.

All For One might have figured out that he knew about their bases—but he didn't know everything.

He was still the one with the advantage in information.

And he'd make sure to put that to use.

"Fate or not on your side, baldy—it won't be enough."

This time he wouldn't make the mistake he made with Shigaraki.

He'd wipe them out for good—their boss included and all.

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: I dunno what to put here.)