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All Might leaned back in his desk chair and tucked his hands behind his head, sighing with fatigue.
“Papers Graded,” he murmured to himself.
“Tch.”
He cracked an eye open to see Aizawa sitting at the desk across from him, smirking slightly.
“That certainly took you awhile. What’s the matter? Those kids throw you a curveball?”
All Might snorted in response and closed his eyes again. “Nah. I just want to make sure I’m grading fairly, you know? They’re really trying hard, these kids.”
“You’re too soft on them,” Aizawa grumbled.
“Maybe you’re not soft enough,” All Might retorted. At the buzz of his phone, he turned away from his conversation with the grumpy hero to check his phone.
The new text read: “Thank you again for letting me know about the outcome of the tests. Izuku’s always been a wonderful student, but tests have made him freeze up in the past, so it’s nice to hear that he’s doing well! Also, in response to your question, I might be seeing you again sooner than expected.”
That last line got his eyebrow on the rise.
“Oh?” he texted back.
He waited a moment to no reply, and decided she must have stepped away from her phone for a moment. He managed to pull himself away from staring at the screen long enough to notice Aizawa getting out of his chair.
“Heading to class?”
“Yeah,” the sleepy hero answered. “We’re doing sparring today. Wanna come watch?”
He considered. “All right. I think I’ll just hang out on the observation deck though, if that’s okay. Give you and the kids space.”
“Sounds good.”
With that the two left the office, headed for the sparring yards outside. On their way, they walked down the halls, and it wasn’t long before All Might picked up the distinctive sound of Present Mic’s voice.
“And to your left, you can see the wing where students attend regular classes, including English, which I myself am the teacher of! I’m sure you could tell by my perfect pronunciations!”
At the sound, Aizawa groaned.
“Tours,” he said, with utter disgust in his voice.
All Might narrowed his eyes in confusion. “I thought tours of the school were cancelled indefinitely, or at least until we got things under wraps with the dorms and such.”
“They were,” mumbled Aizawa, “but the Principal decided to allow a select few every month or so to the family members of students. Something to keep up morale and make sure that everyone’s really okay with their kids being cooped up here. Ease worries. Didn’t you read the handout last week?”
“I...I skimmed it,” he stuttered, trying to suppress his embarrassment.
Aizawa merely sighed in response as Mic and the tour group rounded the corner at the end of the hallway before the two of them had time to make it past. Several of the students’ visiting relatives spotted the two of them and began mumbling amongst themselves.
“...You see that? All Might!” “So that’s what Eraserhead usually looks like.” “They look awful…”
All Might grimaced and looked straight ahead, keeping pace with Aizawa who was now moving much more quickly than usual. His one solace was that Mic apparently had enough tact not to bring them into the focus of the tour, and soon they’d be free of prying eyes…
“Toshinori?”
Or maybe not.
All Might jumped slightly at the sound of his given name, and slowly turned to find the speaker. It was with surprise that he found Inko Midoriya, the mother of his protege, looking back at him. She had been lingering at the back of the crowd where, due to her height, he’d missed her. Now she was hanging back from the group and looking particularly small and shy in the vast hallway that surrounded her.
“Hello,” she said, giving a little wave. Her soft smile was tinged with anxiety, as if she was afraid that just speaking to him was somehow wrong. Next to him, Aizawa mumbled, “Toshinori?”
All Might grunted at him, trying to subtly ask him not to read into things. He then switched to a smile as he stepped toward her.
“Ah, Ms. Midoriya! Lovely to see you again! I gather you decided to take advantage of the opportunity the tours give to come see our wonderful school in person!”
Inko’s smile relaxed a bit as he spoke; he was clearly putting on an overly friendly air to try and calm her, and she greatly appreciated it.
“Yes,” she replied. “I heard they were having them today and jumped at the chance. I know Izuku’s busy with classes right now, but I thought it would be nice to see the place regardless.”
“Excellent choice,” All Might agreed. “We might have our flaws to work on, but it’s a truly amazing campus!”
Inko nodded. “You’re right! I was blown away with the sight just looking from the gate.”
“I know the feeling! Why, I remember the first time I ever walked through those gates when I was your son’s age…”
“Hey.”
All Might looked to see that Aizawa was still standing behind them, looking mildly irritated.
“Oh!” he realized. “You go on ahead, Aizawa. Ms. Midoriya and I were just going to talk for a moment longer. I’ll catch up with you!”
Aizawa nodded slightly before turning to go.
“Sure thing,” he said, and with just a hint of teasing in his voice he added, “Toshinori.”
All Might frowned. Grouchy, judgemental…
“Um…”
He looked to see that Inko was looking at him apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have used your given name in front of people. I know you said it was okay for me to use it but…”
“Oh no!” he interrupted, waving his hands. “You’re perfectly fine Ms.. Inko! Eraserhead is just like that. I asked you to use my given name and I meant it. Same reason I gave you my personal number. And you weren’t lying: this is much sooner than I expected to see you again!”
Her smile now returned, she said, “I was hoping to get to see you for a second and thank you in person. Being able to message you has been a real relief. Izuku’s a good boy, but you know kids don’t always tell their parents everything.”
“Indeed they don’t,” he said, exasperated. “He keeps things to himself at times. It’s amazing how much that kid can bottle up. You’d think as much as he cries, it wouldn’t be an issue!”
“Oh I know!” she agreed. “He’s always been like that. He’ll get upset over something small without admitting there’s a bigger issue behind it.”
“Honestly, what are we going to do with this boy?” All Might put a hand to his chin and shook his head in an exaggerated fashion, playing the overly concerned father part. That got Inko laughing.
“Well, I’m not sure,” she said, “but it’s nice to know I’m not alone in this for once. Honestly, ever since his father skipped out I’ve been doing things on my own, so it’s nice to know that someone else is caring for him as well.”
All Might’s eyes widened at her admittance. Her face remained passive as she spoke, obviously not aware of how heavily her words were. He’d suspected as much of the boy’s father, but this confirmed it. And the way she’d worded that...why it made it sound as if he was the boy’s new father.
And he wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea.
“Well,” Inko said, interrupting his train of thought. She looked over her shoulder and down the hall. “I should probably catch up with the tour.” She looked back at him and, said, “It was nice seeing you again!”
“Oh, uh. You too!” he sputtered. As she started leaving, he suddenly said, “Actually wait!”
She stopped and turned to him again, green eyes wide. “Yes?”
“You know…” he said, scratching his head, “they’re pretty far off by now. Might take a bit to catch up. And besides, the route Mic’s taking you guys on is honestly pretty boring. If you’d like- or that is if you’d rather- you could come with me to watch the students sparring matches.
Her eyes widened with interest. “Are you sure I’d be allowed?”
All Might shrugged. “Who knows? But we’d just be up on the observation deck, looking down at them. And besides, I can always take the heat if it turns out to be a problem.”
Inko blinked and shook her head. “I can’t believe it.”
“Um…” he looked around confused. “Believe what?”
“How can someone as famous as you still be so genuinely nice?”
Caught off guard, he found himself turning red and laughing slightly. “Oh, it’s uh...it’s nothing I assure you!”
She laughed with him and stepped forward to stand next to him.
“Let’s go then!”
“All right!”
Inko had to resist the urge to take his hand as they walked. She couldn’t help it - she was so used to taking care of other people, and now here he was, perfectly willing to help her shoulder the job of parenting. How could she not feel a rush of affection for someone so kind?
They made their way to the deck, high above an arena-type area, and Inko looked around amazed. Similar to the last round of the Sports Festival competitions, students were being paired up to try and force each other out of a ring. Right now two of Izuku’s classmates - a pink girl and a boy with a bird’s head, were duking it out.
“We’ve been cycling through various pairings this week,” All Might explained as he leaned against the railing that topped the high walls of the deck. “Trying to get the kids used to various quirks. We can’t prepare them for everything, of course, but this way they can get a better idea of how to find some flexibility in their fighting styles.
Inko stepped closer to stand next to him. Down below, the pink girl was running around the bird-headed boy, staying light on her toes, and occasionally tossing some liquid at him, making him jump and counter by sending what looked like a shadow after her.
“I get it,” said Inko. “It helps them figure out whether it’s better to go on defense, offense, or whatever the situation calls for.”
All Might nodded. “Exactly! For example these too, Tokoyami and Ashido, are both used to taking offensive stances with their respective quirks. When faced against each other, they have to figure out the best way to come out on top.”
Suddenly, Tokoyami seemed to gain the upper hand when Dark Shadow lunged at Ashido, making her fall back to the edge of the ring. He ran closer, having cornered her, and the Shadow prepared to strike-!
Only for Tokoyami to slip in a puddle of Ashido’s acid and go sliding and tumbling out of the ring.
From their high point on the observation deck, Inko was able to hear laughter and cheers as Ashido jumped up and down with delight and Tokoyami was helped up by one of his classmates.
Down below, Shouji was comforting his friend by saying, “It’s alright man. You got pretty close.”
Tokoyami nodded. “Indeed. And my failure shall only help me to learn.”
“You did great guys!” Izuku called to both the competitors.
“If you’re done cheering,” Aizawa called, “you’re up next Midoriya.”
Izuku gulped and, with some quick encouragement from Iida and Uraraka, jumped up to take his spot in the ring.
“Sensei, who am I up against?”
A small explosion told him the answer. Izuku flinched slightly as Bakugou leapt up next to him, tracksuit sleeves rolled up high, and smirk on his face.
“You ready, Deku?” Bakugou snarled.
Izuku steeled himself before saying, “All right.”
Back on the deck, Inko was now resisting the urge to bite her nails in worry.
“Katsuki,” she murmured. “That boy’s always been a bit destructive, even when he and Izuku were children.”
Hesitantly, All Might reached and placed a hand on her shoulder. Inko startled at the contact and met his comforting gaze.
“He’ll be fine,” he reassured her with a gentle smile on his gaunt face.
Inko felt her cheeks turning pink and looked back to the match. “I know,” she said quietly. “It’s just...one of those things. A parenting thing.”
“A good thing,” he assured her, and she was relieved that he didn’t notice how red she was.
Just then, a slight rumble caught them off guard. The pair looked to see Izuku and Bakugou leaping around the ring, feet barely touching the ground as they leapt at each other, swinging punches and firing off explosions. The rumble came from Bakugou reaching enough height to aim a heavy explosion downward at Izuku, who managed to leap and dodge just in time to avoid it. Bakugou now repeated the motion, causing the ground to rumble once more.
A slight groan of shifting metal was heard just then, and All Might glanced around to see a crack in the cement of the deck. He looked at it from where he was leaning against the railing and suddenly realized that they might need to-
Just then, as Bakugou was falling back to the ground, ready to brace for impact, Izuku countered. He leapt into the air with a controlled blast of One for All running through his legs, and then sent a mighty punch toward the ground. It was Bakugou’s turn to leap out of the way, and out of the ring, as the punch hit the ground and sent a shock blast that split the earth below and around it causing a miniature earthquake in the arena.
The force of the hit had the surrounding walls trembling and a section of the deck’s railing, which was much weaker than it looked, broke loose and went tumbling down to the ground. And All Might went with it.
It caught him by surprise of course. It had been a while since he’d faced certain death in such an abrupt fashion. In the back of his mind it occurred to him to try and flex into his muscular form, but would it last long enough, and protect him or-
Then, with a jolt, he stopped.
He didn’t stop thinking, no, his mind was still racing a few million miles a minute. But his body, back to the ground and face to the sky, had stopped falling in midair.
Trembling, anxious, All Might slowly looked around for the cause of this break in the laws of gravity. And when he looked up, he saw her.
Inko was lying down, half on and half off the deck, clinging to the remainder of the railing to brace herself, her free hand stretched out toward him. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she strained with concentration. Just as it registered in his brain that she was the one holding him up, her eyes snapped open and the intensity of her gaze left him speechless.
She...is saving me…
Then, without warning, she clenched her hand into a fist and wrenched her arm in an upward motion. And he was rising, almost flying up and toward her. When he reached her height, two short, soft arms were there to snatch him and use the momentum to yank him back onto the deck.
Things went dark for a moment, and when he came to she was over him, holding his head and torso in her arms.
“Toshinori? Toshi! Toshi, please say something!”
Toshi. That was new. He liked it. And the way she was looking at him was interesting...face flushed, eyes wide and rimmed with tears.
Were her eyes always so green?
“Mmm…”
At the slight murmur, Inko gasped, relieved that his eyes were open and he was making noise again. The past minute of silence had been excruciating.
“Oh Toshi, I’m so sorry!” she apologized, tears spelling down her cheeks. “You never should have taken me up here! Oh god, you hit your head when I pulled you up and now it’s bleeding! We need to get you to the nurse’s office. Oh god I hope you don’t die of blood loss!”
Blood loss? She had just saved him. Why was she apologizing? How could she feel so guilty?
“Inko…” he murmured softly, reaching a hand up.
Without thinking she grabbed his hand.
“Yes, dear?” she asked, trying to hold back sobs.
With a strange, almost drunken smile he said, “You have such beautiful eyes…”
Just then, the door to the deck burst open and Aizawa and a few others came running over.
“Is he okay?” Aizawa called.
Inko’s head whipped around, her eyes wide.
“HE’S LOST HIS MIND!!!”
About a half hour later, All Might was lying on a bed in Recovery Girl’s ward, the cut on his head bandaged and fast on the mend. But he wasn’t really paying attention to that.
“She saved me,” he murmured out loud. Recovery Girl looked up from where she was putting some supplies away and gave him a smile.
“Not used to being the damsel in distress?”
All Might shook his head. “Nope, not really. I mean, I’ve been saved before, several times lately of course, but…”
He paused, studying the ceiling tiles, lost in thought.
“The way she looked at me…”
He thought back on the way her eyes had looked. Desperate, determined, intense…
His heart pressed against his ribcage at the memory and he found himself turning red, which got Recovery Girl giggling at him.
Luckily his embarrassment was interrupted by the door sliding open. Aizawa stepped in, stoic as ever.
“Glad to see you’re doing okay,” he said. “I saw you falling from the other side of the ring and would never have reached you in time. It’s a good thing Ms. Midoriya was there to catch you with her pulling quirk.”
“A very good thing,” Recovery Girl chimed in. All Might blushed and tried to ignore the older woman.
“Where is she now?” he asked.
Aizawa pointed a thumb behind him, out in the hall. “She and her son have been kind of hysterical by the way.”
All Might winced, hating the fact that he had worried anybody. “Can you send them up soon?”
Aizawa nodded. “Sure thing, Toshi.”
The pro hero smirked at his friend’s shocked face before he turned to leave.
All Might laid his head down for a second before turning to look at Recovery Girl.
“I have a problem,” he said, his heart still racing at the memory of his rescue at the hands of that sweet, gentle woman.
“I’ll say,” Recovery Girl agreed.