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“You saved me All Might. Thank you. Now, there must be a way I can repay you, show you my gratitude perhaps?”
Those words were like magic, almost making him putty in your hand. Even though the words were more or less a joke, they always seemed to get a rise out of him, albeit subtle in the form of a reddening face as he turned away with your smirk growing. He kept his eyes on the ungraded paper stack on his desk, unable to find the words to say, maybe even slightly embarrassed. It didn’t help that you placed your hand lightly on his back, causing a wave of coldness to shiver down his spine.
Classes were over, in fact it finished about an hour ago. Normally when he stayed after to continue his work, he would allow himself, or rather forced, to switch back into his true form. All the staff at the school knows the reasoning. However, there were some days where he liked to press his luck, especially slow days like this. The weather had been rather unpredictable for the past few days, leaning more towards the dreary and awful side. While everyone knew that to be a hero they should be able to work in any and all conditions, but still. The students were young and inexperienced, only beginning to learn the overall fundamentals and understanding their own quirks. They just weren’t ready, even with everything that they’ve done in their short time being here; thus, they were kept inside.
With that in mind, the day wasn’t too strenuous on him. Still, that didn’t mean it was best for him, or even exactly healthy, for him to be staying in his hero form. You didn’t question it verbally to him however, though the way you ran your hand across his back might’ve told him something, but if it did he didn’t make that clear. Instead he remained silent, his eyes stayed glued to his desk as his head hanged low. You sighed as you leaned closer to him, putting a faint pressure on his back as your breath touched his ear. “It’s okay to change back into yourself, all the students are long gone,” you whispered, your voice soft as if you were trying to sooth him. Yet nothing happened, almost as if he was lost in his owns thoughts.
Like many, your first encounter with him was met with his more famous form, All Might. The number one hero, the symbol of peace himself. It wasn’t anything major, or even that interesting in fact. Just a simple bump into one another as he was leaving a television studio after an interview while you were heading home. A quick and easy “I’m sorry,” and you both were on your ways, not even a simple autograph was given. It didn’t bother you, not like you asked anyways, and besides he seemed like he was in a hurry. You quickly learned the reasoning a short while ago.
You were eating lunch one afternoon when you got a call from U.A. High. They reviewed recommendations of Pro Hero’s, among other things, on their search to find a teacher to teach a strategy-focused class, and you fit all their criteria for it. After getting over the initial shock, you accepted with joy. Being able to educate and help up-and-coming heroes at your Alma Mater would be amazing, beautiful in a way. With that news you were also given a date for a meeting to be had, one that you obviously attended.
It was to inform the staff about another new teacher by the name of Toshinori Yagi, better known as the famous All Might. Explained to you and others was the nature of his condition. A battle, which wasn’t named, caused him to go into critical conditions. Some surgeries made him better, others worse, but overall one thing was clear. His body was tired and weak, completely worn out from everything. With that in mind, his body couldn’t exactly handle his quirk like it used to. The transformation from one form to the other was enough, but preforming his hero duties was restricted to three hours give or take depending. Any longer would do damage to his body. It was just to inform them of the situation at hand, explaining that the two drastically different bodies were in fact actually the same person.
Yet, at first glance you never would’ve guessed. As All Might he was happy, energetic, completely devoted and supportive of his students (and possibly playing favorites, yet you didn’t bring that up). Many days would you two worked together, seeing as both your lessons went hand-in-hand with one another. Together you watched students, quietly conversing and making comments and observations on what the students were and weren’t doing, who was excelling in what categories. Sometimes during lunch you two would discuss where to go next.
Through the small interactions, you slowly developed feelings for him. Not a full-blown crush per se, but feelings nonetheless. It all had to do with the way he presented himself. Hardworking, caring, selfless, and genuinely any positive trait you could think of. Being around him easily put a smile on your face, and honestly seeing him was one of the highlights of your day.
With that came some playful flirting between you two, a few compliments, and stolen touches here-and-there. Would it amount to anything? Most likely not, but that didn’t mean you two had to stop. Besides, it wasn’t like you had a crush on him. You two were just friends. Close friends.
And then there was the morning you saw him in his true form, as Toshinori Yagi.
The previous night you were exhausted and didn’t exactly feel like grading the rest of your papers. Instead you took an early night, setting your alarm earlier than usual to grade the papers in the morning. To ensure you wouldn’t simply go back to sleep, you got ready for the day and headed to the school, deciding it was best to finish up the rest of the papers there. You even wrote a small note to All Might to leave on his desk, asking which direction he wanted to take today’s lessons. Then you saw it.
Sitting at the desk was a skinny man in a suit at least two sizes too big. His cheeks were sunken in, his hair messy, eyes glued on one of the performance videos from a prior day while making notes. You couldn’t help but stare, a faint smile grew on your lips. In all honesty, it was cute and even tranquil, and for some reason you couldn’t move your gaze away.
You didn’t know how long you had been standing there, you lost track of time and forgot the real reason you came in early. Yet, he must’ve felt your presence finally, shifting his eyes and turning his face to see who exactly was standing there. Nevertheless, seeing you standing there did shock him, resulting in you two just staring at each other for a moment. He let out an awkward cough, and you could’ve sworn a minuscule amount of blood dribbled out as well, trying to stop the silence surrounding you two. He wiped his mouth with a tissue before speaking up.
“I take it you’re not surprised,” he began. “I mean, they told you right?” You nodded, taking a step into the classroom. He let out a quick sigh. “Well, here I am. The famous All Might when he isn’t actually All Might. Not as impressive, I know.”
You couldn’t help but chuckle at his attempt to diffuse the tension that rose up, whether he meant for it to be taken as a joke or not. In fact, he looked almost confused but he was probably more embarrassed than anything. Even though the staff knew, that didn’t mean he wanted to be seen like this. “So do the students know too? Or is it just the staff?” At the meeting everyone was told not to tell anyone, that it was a secret and the staff was only being informed for his safety.
He shook his head. “I would like to keep it that way too. Let the kids keep imagining me as their symbol of peace,” he remarked, sighing afterwards.
You went to put a hand on his shoulder, about to make a joke about his secret being safe with you, but then you remembered that your hands were full. You still had the ungraded papers, those that you came early to finish grading. Instead, you tipped them in such a way that the note you had written earlier slowly fell onto his desk. He watched it and then looked at you questionably. “It’s for you,” you told, finally leave to do what you original intended. “See you later All Might.” You stopped in the doorway for a moment, turning to get a look at him one more time.
That was a few weeks ago. Nothing had changed between you two, other than the fact that you became friendlier with one another. However, that would’ve happened regardless, deep down you just knew it. Now you stood close behind him silently, your hand still on his back, All Might’s back. He hadn’t said a word, allowing yourself to get lost in the not so long ago memories. You went to speak again, but he coughed. You moved yourself away from him, knowing what it meant as you turned to grabbed a tissue. By the time you turned back around, he was himself. His true form.
You handed it to him, and he took it with a silent thanks, almost looking defeated. Your eyes never met, he kept darting his away. What little distance that was between you two was broken when you stepped closer. Part of you had the urge to move your hand out, place it on his shoulder or even go the extra mile and grab his hand, but the thought of you already overstepping boundaries earlier made you stop. So you chose to speak instead. “Are you okay?”
Finally he looked at you, yet he wore a sad expression. A sad expression for a sad question it seemed like. “I’m fine,” he bluntly said.
"That’s the biggest lie in the book you know? You honestly can’t expect me to believe that.”
With that said, he leaned back onto the desk eyeing you for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He didn’t exactly know what he wanted to say, or maybe he did. Sometimes after transformations his thoughts get a little jumbled, leaving him silent for a short while. “You wouldn’t understand,” he finally said.
"Try me,” was all you said. You might not have an answer for him, hell he’s probably not expecting an answer or even advice, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t listen.
“Look, I appreciate the offer Y/N, but no. I can’t. I don’t want to burden you with my own problems.”
You sighed as it clicked in your head. His form, his true form. Obviously it’s drastically different from his hero form, and must’ve caused a severe change to his life. Even though you wanted to stay, you wanted to talk to him, you wanted to help him, you also knew not to continuously press him. It would just make the whole situation uncomfortable as well as possibly put a strain of your friendship. Instead, you nodded and accepted his wishes. “That’s fine. I know that feeling all too well. You know where to find me if you change your mind.” With that you stepped past him, but didn’t get too far when you felt his hand grab your wrist.
Looking back at him, your eyes met again. “Are you sure? Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” You nodded, taking a few steps back. He didn’t let go, which brought you closer. He went to speak again, only to cough up more blood. Quickly he turned around, to break the gaze you two were holding, hitting his fist against the desk. Without hesitation, you grabbed another tissue for him. He all but pulled it away from you, most likely with frustration. “This is what I hate,” he spoke again. His voice was firm but soft, as if he didn’t want to be heard.
“Why?” you asked, your voice soft as well. Even though you already knew the answer, you knew it was better for him to get his thoughts and feelings out on the table instead of suppressing them inside.
He slightly turned his head, looking at you from the corner of his eye. “Why? Just look at me Y/N. Take a good look at me, what’s left of me that is.” He turned around, now you two were facing one another. You couldn’t tell is he was angry or upset, probably both if you were being honest. “Tell me what you see.”
“I see you Toshinori,” you explained. He smirked at your response, looking away while crossing his arms, leaning back onto the desk.
"Exactly.” You look at him confused, wanting him to clarify what he meant. Keeping his face away from you, he spoke again. “You see me, only me. The all but destroyed shell of a man that’s supposed to be All Might and all his titles.”
“You are All Might no matter what,” you interrupted to reminded him.
He brought his face back to you, eyeing you curiously. “Am I?” You told him yes, but you could tell he didn’t believe it by the way he shook his head. “Three hours is almost too much for this body to handle. I can barely teach a class before the pain all but forces me to switch back. I’m surprised I’m still alive with all the blood I cough up each hour.” He paused for a moment. “It’s pathetic to say the least.”
“Don’t say that.” Your tone was harsh, perhaps even too harsh for what you intended, but you didn’t like hearing him speak in such a self-degrading manner. “Look, I’m not going to act like I understand your condition more than you do, but what you said before isn’t true. It doesn’t matter which form you happen to be in, you’re All Might regardless. You’re a hero and nothing changes that fact.”
“A hero should be able to save the innocents and defeat the villains at any point. I can only help if it falls within my limit, or if I push myself and that isn’t healthy.” He brought his gaze to the ground, most likely done with the conversation at hand. Maybe you should’ve let it end too, but you didn’t. Instead you took another step closer, the tips of your shoes practically touching. You gently grabbed his chin, making him look you in the eyes.
“That’s why there are multiple Pro Heroes,” you reminded him. “And your own worth shouldn’t be based on what you can and cannot do, especially since you’ve done so much already.” With that you let go of his chin, allowing your hand to fall to your side. Still, you remained close to him and smiled in an attempt to cheer him up. While he didn’t return it, he did in fact look a little better. Yet, you knew there was still much weighing on his mind, but you could’ve bet it’s been there for five years.
He fixed his posture, once again showing off his height. To your surprised, he wrapped his arms around you, bringing you two even closer. You did the same, resting your face in his neck.
“I just want you to know,” you began to whisper in his ear, “no matter what, you’re always a hero in everyone eyes. Innocent civilians, fans, your students and co-workers, me. You will always be a hero, you will always be All Might. And if I have to tell you every day, then I will.” As his arms tightened around you, your lips found his cheek as you kissed him lightly. His whispered something as well, but you couldn’t make it out.
At one point, you two let go of each other, still close. An awkward silence surrounded you two for a moment, but neither cared. Instead you just look at each other, your eyes locked. Smiles left and turned into looks of awe, and at that moment you both realized something, something you both wanted. Hesitantly, you leaned towards one another, your eyes closing. Before your lips had a chance to touch, his hand was on your face, covering it as he pushed you away. You were shocked for a moment, until you noticed his head turned and the sound of his cough filled your ears. You decided to step back, softly chuckling to defuse the tension.
“It’s the thought that counts,” you told him. He looked at you and smiled, his face a little flush.
"What can I say, I don’t know much when it comes to romance,” he playfully admitted.
“Really now?” He said nothing, just rolled his eyes. You step towards him again, grabbing his hand. “Still, that brings up what I said earlier. Is there anything I can do to show my gratitude? You did save me All Might.”
To your surprise, he didn’t go completely red in the face like comments such as those make him. Instead, he worse a small smirk as he brought his face close to yours. “Well, you can start with grading the rest of my papers for one, and then you can clean up around my apartment.”
You couldn’t help but laugh at him, and it must’ve been contagious as he began to laugh as well. With that, you both grabbed your stuff and left the school, sharing his umbrella, because you never brought one. As you two walked you continued to talk, mainly about the plans for tomorrows class. You would’ve grabbed his hand if it wasn’t for the umbrella.
Your apartment was closer, and you invited him inside to wait out the rain, but he declined. Instead, you settled on him texting you when he gets home, just to make sure he got home safely considering the rain was coming down harder. Of course he agreed, and after you got into more comfortable clothes and started grading some papers in your home, you heard a ping from your phone.
“I’m home. A little wet, but safe.” You read and smiled, replying back quickly.
“Good to hear! You better change out of those clothes tho. Don’t need you getting sick.”
“Why? Don’t think you can handle the class on your own?”
“Haha. So you’re not a romantic, but a comedian?”
“No. More of a realist actually. Glad you found me funny.”
You wrote out a few texts, but erased all of them. Some sounded needy, others didn’t make sense, and most just didn’t relate. You sighed and went with a common way to start the conversation you really wanted to have. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did, but yes. You can always ask me anything.”
“If you didn’t cough back then, would you have kissed me?”
It took a while for his response, making you mentally berate yourself. You knew you didn’t have a chance with him, all the flirting and gestures were done in harmless fun, but still. A part wished you did, a part of you wanted to be with him. Yet you also knew this was All Might, and he had a lot of other things on his mind and romance most definitely wasn’t one of them. Another ping filled your ears.
“Yes. Yes I would have.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“So are you saying you have feelings for me, or what? Sorry, I’m just confused.”
“Don’t be. I’m a little confused too. I really don’t know what I want to say. I like you but…”
“I like you too if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I know but I just don’t think we would work together. As a couple I mean.”
Even though you knew, that message did hurt a little. You felt like a teen again, getting your heart broken after asking out your crush only to find out they were never interested to begin with. You sighed, fighting back a tear or two. “I know. You’re All Might for crying out loud. You have so much more on your mind than matters such as that. Can’t blame me for trying lol.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re a great person. Words can’t describe you as cheesy as that sounds. I would love to be with you and it would be a lie for me to say otherwise. I just know I don’t deserve you.”
“What??? Why would you ever think that????” You sent that message but you already knew why, you two had just talked about it hours ago at the school. Still, you found it surprising. The change in mindset between his hero form and true form was quite drastic, understandably so. Another ping.
“Even after all these years, I still have a hard time taking care of myself. A lot of times I push my luck with things I can and cannot do. I don’t wanna subject that to you. I don’t want to force you into constantly worrying about me. You deserve someone better than me honestly.”
“That’s not true first off. In fact, you deserve someone better than me. But besides that, I wouldn’t be forced into worrying about you. I do that already, and it’s not out of force. I care so much about you and your well-being because I like you in general. I mean it.”
“You really are something, you know that? And I mean that in a good way. Thank you. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”
“And anyone would be lucky to have you. Let’s be lucky together.” You put your phone down for a minute, thinking about what you just said. Not only was it terribly cheesy, but quite possibly too forward. Your mind only continues to race as you waited to him to say something, unable to be completely distracted as you graded a few more papers. Getting up, you stretched your legs as you decided to get something to eat, only to be started when you heard that ping again. Your heart racing, you went over and picked your phone back up.
“Tomorrow, do you want to walk together? To work?”
He changed the subject, but you weren’t surprised at all. If you were in his position, you probably would’ve too. “Sure! As long as you don’t mind going in early.” The conversation was over from there, as he agreed and you texted him the time you wanted to leave. Wishing one another a good night, you plugged your phone in as it was almost dead and finished off your snack as you graded the rest of the papers.
You didn’t know how you felt. You weren’t upset or angry by any means, but you weren’t exactly happy either. It didn’t matter however, and you decided to simply stop thinking about it and finish your work. With that, you took an early night.
~~~
With the sun rising, you awoke to your alarm. You quickly got dressed but decided to forgo breakfast as you heard your phone go off. It was Toshinori, telling you he was here. You grabbed your stuff and headed down, meeting with his smiling face in his true form the moment you stepped out of the door from your building.
Walking closely, you two talked about simple matters. Today’s class took the majority, and it seemed you both were acting like the conversation from last night didn’t happen. Maybe it was for the best, yet you couldn’t help but blush as his hand softly brushed against yours. Arriving at the school, you two almost parted ways but he grabbed your wrist preventing you from doing so. You looked back at him, and then followed him into one of the classrooms. He closed the door behind you.
“Look, if this is about last night I’m-” You were interrupted as his hands were around your face, cupping your cheeks. He looked at you for a moment, your eyes were locked, and for some reason everything felt right. Your lips met in the form of a kiss, soft and full of want and desire. Your arms found their way to his neck, wrapping around as your back was pushed towards a wall.
After what felt like an eternity, a long and lovely eternity, your lips finally parted. His forehead rested on yours, his eyes still closed. Yours were too as you quietly breathed, your arms still around him.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” he whispered. “I’m sorry if it was too forward.”
“Don’t be,” you told him. “I wanted to too.” You kissed him one more time, and it would’ve been longer if the sounds of other’s footsteps filled both your ears. Other staff members must be arriving. With that, he let go and moved away from you.
“So I’ll see you at lunch?” he asked.
“Of course, I always have time for my favorite hero,” you told him with a smile. “See you then All Might.” You left with a wink, which you swore made him laugh. Shortly after you heard him follow, the footsteps heavier as he was in his hero form. You felt like this was a dream, that you would wake up any moment, but pinching yourself revealed you were indeed awake.
Words couldn’t describe how you were feeling, and maybe that was for the best. Right now though, that didn’t matter. Your later classes were on your mind as well as lunch with him, which now felt more like a date than simply two teachers conversing about their classes. You smiled at the thought, your days getting a whole lot brighter.