Timeloop Trouble

Chapter 33 - Blood Red

A few days later, All Might stopped Izuku after school. He hadn't really talked to him or any of the other hero course teachers since the accident in the bathroom. By now school had started up again and everyone fell into their usual routine, which is why Izuku found it even more strange that the retired number one hero would approach him like this. Then again, most hero course teachers were away today for the licensing exams, so if he was going to pry information out of Izuku, now was the time.

I mean, it had to be a good cop, bad cop act, right? Izuku was convinced it was. That UA appointed All Might as the one Izuku could go to and that all the other teachers gave him the stink eye on purpose. That or they really didn't trust him, which was just as likely to be honest. It made All Might's almost friendly behavior stand out all the more, though, and Izuku didn't know whether it was on purpose or not.

"Take a seat, young Midoriya," Yagi smiled, gesturing to the couch in one of the lounge rooms. God, this took Izuku back. Back to all their secret rendez-vous about One For All, back to their strategy meetings, to endless bickering with both Kacchan and his mentor. It reminded Izuku of the father figure he lost by choosing this timeline. It made him feel uneasy, in a way.

"What did you want to talk about, All Might?" Izuku asked, straight to the point. He didn't want to be here any longer than he absolutely had to. Besides, they already settled his class with enough projects to last a semester, so he had to get started on those as well.

"Nothing in particular," he shrugged, making Izuku frown. The ex-hero cleared his throat, leaning forward. "I just felt like we should talk... After everything that happened."

"Is this about my panic attack?" Izuku asked.

"No. Yes? It's..," All Might sighed, rubbing his hands together like when he was nervous, a tick Izuku subconsciously copied from him ever since the first timeline. "I wanted to talk about our circumstances. You, shedding your heritage and stepping out of All For One's shadow. Helping us, helping me, the one who was supposed to kill him. And Tenko... A boy I couldn't save... A villain my successor will have to deal with on my behalf, forever compensating for the mistakes of the ones who came before him."

"You successor," Izuku breathed. So All Might had chosen one... Someone else had One For All now. Someone that wasn't him... "Is it Mirio senpai? I know Sir Nighteye recommended him to you."

"... I won't ask how you got that information, but yes," he answered. "Togata Mirio has inherited One For All, together with all the problems I caused for him..."

"It wasn't your fault, All Might. You didn't know about Tenko, about his quirk, about what happened," Izuku said. "He was out of your reach from the start."

All Might hummed, but Izuku doubted he actually believed him.

"It could've been you, in other circumstances."

Izuku looked down at the ground. He didn't want to think about that. Didn't want to imagine a world in which his father had stayed, had raised him to hate heroes, to take One For All. To become a puppet on a string. Izuku didn't want to know how different his life would've looked if he were to follow in his father's footsteps, if he were to be raised a villain, a monster... He didn't want to think about the possible destruction he would've caused, the people he would've killed... Didn't think there would be a hero foolish enough to try and save him if he went off the deep end.

"I'm glad it's not," Izuku replied.

"Maybe, in another world, it could've been you who inherited my quirk," All Might finished, making Izuku's eyes widen in shock. "Maybe if you hadn't been his son, or if we had met sooner... No, definitely. I would've definitely given you One For All if we met sooner, I'm sure. I was hesitating, after the sportsfestival."