3: Pathetic

¨Can even a Quirkless person be like you... someday?¨

¨Your Quirkle---ACK-¨ All Might sputtered and spat out blood trying to muffle it before the mumbling teen noticed.

All Might: ´It's no good… holy shit… damn it...´

Deku had been squeezing his eyes shut and talking, not noticing the steam coming from All Mights body.

¨I have no Quirk so I'm constantly being made fun of by everybody…¨---he looked down at his hands, oblivious to All Might´s situation--¨Maybe it's not just because im Quirkless but...

¨...I don't really know why…

¨I just think saving people is the coolest, most awesomest thing ever.¨

Deku jerked his head up with a bright smile-- ¨I want to know no fear and save people with a smile!

¨I want to be a legendary hero like you and-----!!

¨UWA-AHH?!!¨

¨…...¨

¨YOU SHRIVELED UP?!!¨--he pointed his trembling finger at All Might,--¨You mean, all this time… Eh!!?

¨Are you an imposter?!! You´re such a stick!!¨

¨I am still All Might.¨ The hero said, choking on his own blood.

All Might was no longer the bulky hero Midoriya greatly admired. He was now a tall skinny man. The clothes that once fit him tightly, outlining his defined muscles, now hung off of him as if he was a clothing hanger. His blonde hair fell to the sides of his head from where it once pointed upwards to the skies.

He was just Toshinori now.

¨WHA--?!

¨It can't be..!!¨

¨You know how guys swagger with their abs out at the pool?

¨Its like that.¨

¨NO WAY..!!¨

This whole time…! His entire life is a lie! How could All Might-- he couldn´t believe it.

¨A smile that knows no fear, huh..?¨ Sighing, The Number One Hero slid his body so he sat on the ground, facing Midoriya. ¨Since you´ve already seen my true form, I might as well.¨

All Might lifted up his shirt to show a gruesome puncture wound.

¨y--Eck-!¨ It was difficult to look at.

The right side of his abdomen had been demolished. The giant, purple scar covered most of his stomach up to his right peck.

¨--but whatever you do, don´t post this on the internet or whatever.

¨This is a wound a villain gave me five years ago.¨ Looking at his midsection he explained what happened back then.

¨My respiratory system is now in shambles, and my stomach was totally scooped out.¨

It was really a repulsive sight.

¨I´ve wasted away from constant surgeries and their side-effects.

¨--and I´ve been reduced to a maximum of three hours of heroics everyday.¨

¨Five years ago...¨---the teen uttered weakly--¨was it your fight with Super Venom Chainsaw..?¨

Deku, being the die-hard fan he was, had memorized everything he could about the hero. Everything. He. Could.

¨I won´t let a thug like him take me down!!¨ All Might said energetically, pumping his fist into the air. ¨I haven't told the public about my condition so I ask that you respect my wishes and keep quiet.

¨The Symbol Of Peace who always rescues innocents with a smile, must never succumb to the forces of evil.

¨The reason I laugh, is to deceive myself and to distract from the pressure and terror that dwells within me.

¨A pro is laying his or her life on the line...¨

Here it comes. The dreaded answer. Would it be worth it? Would it be the answer he had been searching for?

¨--so I just can't bring myself to tell you that you can do it even without a quirk.¨

¨Haah...¨ Not even the Number One Hero thought he could do it? What a let down.

¨If you aspire to save people, there's always the police force.¨

This sounded a lot like what Kacchan was saying. Jump off the roof, hope for a quirk in your next life. It didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment.

¨Villain custody is often thankless work but,¨-- All Might stood up, heading for the door that led to the stairs--¨that too is a job worthy of praise!

¨I won't degenerate dreaming!¨

So this was it.

The cruel end of his dreams.

His classmates had been right.

Kacchan had been right.

¨That being said, you need to see reality for what it is, kid.¨ All Might said, slamming the door behind him.

All Might headed down the stairs to the first floor. ¨Now to drop off the villain...¨--he searched his pockets finding nothing.

A cold feeling went through him.

BOOM!!

An explosion in the distance caught his attention. ¨Oh no.¨

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"YOU!!" Kacchan struggled against the slime that had swallowed him. He wouldn't let some gutter mud guy kill him before he became The Number One Hero!

The slime only snickered, thinking: 'This quirk is great!! I really won the lottery with this guy! And once I take it for my own, I'll have my payback against Him!'

He had been using Bakugou's quirk to destroy a large part of the city he was in and some bystanders began to take interest. A fight with a villain this interesting doesn't normally take place!

"Whoa! That doesn��t happen to be a big name villain, does it?!"

"Knock 'em flat, heroes!!"

Many pro-heroes were already on the case, and with a teenage boy in the monster's grasp, there was a much bigger risk than fighting the slime alone.

"It's a no go for me unless it's a two-lane street!" One of the newly debuted heroes, Mount Lady, yelled to her co-workers. Her quirk, Gigantification, allowed her to become taller than buildings.

The pro-hero, Kamui Woods responded, "Unfortunately, flame-type attacks are my weak point!" He had been clearing the attack area from bystanders and moving them a farther distance away, where the crowds had gathered to watch.

"I have to leave this job in someone else's capable hands!"

"Thank you, Kamui, but my hands are full putting out the fire!" Backdraft, another pro-hero, had been putting out the fires that the villain was causing with Bakugou's quirk. Backdraft's Quirk allows him to create water from the hose spigots that he has in place of hands.

"Are the fire trucks not here yet?! How's the situation on your end?!"--He said to the heroes dealing with the slime. They had been fighting for a while and were barely keeping up.

Death Arms was the first to hear him.

"He's too fluid to grab and he's exploiting that poor kid's quirk!"

He yelled over another explosion. He had an Arm Strength Quirk which grants him a superhuman level of strength in his arms. "Thanks to that, this is virtually a minefield. He's triply untouchable!!"

The slime swung a grimy arm and an explosion at the nearest pro-hero. "VHEEH!!"

BOOM

"Shit! Not one of the heroes on the scene can tackle this guy!"

"We have no choice but to wait for a hero with an advantageous Quirk!"

"Until then, let's keep the damage under control! Someone has to come for him soon!"

"I feel sorry for that kid… but he can hold out for a little longer!"

That was all they could do for now.

"Shit." If only they had the means to blow the slime away!

A panting All Might, still in his weak form, had arrived and ran into the crowd to look at the situation.

'I must've dropped the bottle when Young Midoriya grabbed on to me…

'All that time… I failed to notice!

'In the time spent admonishing that fan, I lost sight!'

"I'm pathetic…"

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