The True Symbol

__________ POV Narration__________

"Damn~ I guess you got a lot better at making tea in your spare time Toshi~" Beru spoke as some steam escaped his mouth.

He was currently sitting down inside Nezu's office with the man/rat himself and Toshinori, drinking tea.

"Well, I seem to barely be able to get any hero time in these days." Toshinori didn't look too disconcerted when speaking about it.

"At least the next generation is already looking pretty swell~ Izuku's pretty much already surpassed you, with all the other quirks and all~" Toshinoiri nodded with a proud expression.

Izuku, or Deku, had already discovered and mastered the other quirks hidden within One for All. The quirks of all the other users of the inheritance quirk. He was now considered the strongest hero in Japan... Bar All Might and Beru, of course.

All Might was pretty much retired at this point though. Toshi could barely keep his muscled up form for more than 40 minutes. And that was with him forcing himself to his limits.

Izuku wasn't the only hero around though. Bakugo or Dynamight was also considered Deku's equal.

He only had one quirk, but his talent in fighting and the simple raw power behind that one quirk carried him to be the number 4 on the leaderboards. He wasn't exactly satisfied with that though.

Todoroki followed right behind him, as the number 5, he didn't seem all that interested in becoming number one though...

The current number one spot was heavily contested. All Might and Beru were already both legendary figures in the eyes of the public.

"It's rather nice to see how much they've progressed... There aren't even all that many threats around Japan for them to combat though..." Nezu spoke, Beru almost laughed as he felt the slight disappointment in the principal's voice.

He was likely rather sad that his school's star pupils barely had the chance to show what they could do. But he wasn't exactly outright sad at the lack of crime.

Well, there were still plenty of criminals, but it was nowhere near as bad as before. It was as if Japan had gone back into All Might's golden age era.

"Heh, I bet you'd wish for more villains to show up, right Beru?" Toshinori was, at this point, comfortable around Beru at all times. Comfortable enough for such jokes to be made.

"Meh~ They'd all be weaklings anyway~ It'd just be more chaos in the streets~" Beru's words made the skinny looking blonde man shrug.

"... I've been thinking of announcing my retirement. At this point, there's barely any reason for me to keep up the charade, there are already others prepared to pick up my mantle." Toshinori spoke with a smile, yet his words were rather sad to hear.

Still, there was no reason to be sad. All for One was gone, his successor was already at a stage where he no longer needed guidance, Japan was now one of the safest places on earth...

But something about the way he spoke, gave Beru a tragic feeling.

"A prominent figure retiring... This signifies an end of an era." Nezu sighed as he sipped from the still-warm tea.

"No... My era has already ended years ago. I've just been hanging onto what remained of it... Enji is already retired, I should've followed his example back then, but it's better late than never." Toshinori spoke with melancholy.

It was so strange, to see a man reach that point in their lives. Beru could only follow Nezu's motions and sigh at that scene.

For all intents and purposes, All Might had achieved his goal. He had become the great Symbol of Peace, ushering in a new era for the citizens of Japan.

It was during his time that All for One met his demise. All Might may not have been the one to take down his archenemy, but he had been the one to weaken him considerably, to the point where All for One had become a pathetic joke to Beru.

All Might was the one to render All for One to that state. Beru was just the final bullet to the head of an already crippled evil mastermind.

Unfortunately, All Might was in no better state than his former archenemy. His injuries were already catching up with him, his years were numbered.

"The public isn't going to take it well~" Beru's words weren't of discouragement, he was just stating facts at this point. He respected All Might's choice, they were friends after all...

"They already have other heroes to keep the villains at bay. I've already technically retired for a while, I just didn't announce it to the world yet." Toshinori seemed to already have thought everything through.

"So... How do you wish to do this? Do you want to give an anonymous announcement and just let the image of All Might fade as it is?" Nezu's question was what truly intrigued Beru.

"That's what I'm planning to do... There's no reason to break the image of the Symbol of Peace-" Toshinori spoke in a sad tone this time, but Beru didn't let him finish or ramble on for too long.

"Nah~ Fuck that~ You are the symbol of peace, YOU~ Not your muscles~ Your actions and feats are what painted the image of the symbol~ That ever-shining smile shows just as well in this form~"

Toshinori's eyes widened a bit when hearing Beru's words, Nezu showed a large smile as he put his teacup down.

"B-But what if they don't accept me in this form? All Might has always been the hero to save the day, the strong hero that could always show up in time, it's not fitting with my current form... What if I ruin that former image?" The old Symbol may have been moved by Beru's words just then, but he was still rather unconvinced.

"Are you really stupid?~ I've known you to be somewhat slow for a while~" Toshinori winched at Beru's insult.

"The people don't venerate you for your raised up hair or your muscle form~

You are a symbol~ It is your back that has carried countless people to safety~ Your arms that have crushed the evil in this country before I was even born~ Your smile that has given hope to countless others~

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, would ever be able to erase that image from the public's eye~"

To Beru, it was preposterous to even think that anyone would start rejecting the Symbol of Peace over such a reveal.

Now, if Beru's previous words had moved Toshinori, these ones made his heart burn. He remembered his glory days, he remembered who he truly was.

He had no reason to be lacking in confidence, he was, after all, All Might.

"Beru is right... There's no way any backlash would arise from doing this. Even if some outlets try to paint you in a bad light, that wouldn't matter at all." At this point, Nezu's smile was already looking as bright as possible.

"All right... I guess showing my face to the public for one last time wouldn't hurt anyone." Toshinori was filed with confidence at this point.

He knew that his true form would likely cause some issues, but he also knew that he had no reason to fear anything... Why? Because he IS All Might.

He had lived in fear of showing himself to the public ever since he had gotten injured, but now he was determined to finally show his true self to the public.

"Should we arrange a press conference? Make the official announcement of your retirement at the same time you show yourself to the world?" Nezu suggested as he almost prepared to make the phone calls necessary to set up such an event.

"I think calling a meeting with all of the new generation of heroes and televising it would be a good move~ You can also show your students in person that way~" Beru's suggestion also sounded rather decent to Toshinori...

"Or, why not just combine the two? Make a press conference and a meeting with all of the great heroes of this new generation.

Announcing my retirement and passing on my mantle in the same move."

Toshinori made up his own plan though, and both Nezu and Beru found it to be the best fitting for the retirement of the Symbol of Peace.

Also, Beru was rather glad to hear Toshi call it 'my mantle'. Toshinori had been putting himself down a lot since he had gotten that injury, now he finally had the confidence to call that mantle his own.

"Well~ Let's get to it~!" Beru said as he got up from his chair.

"I'll notify the teachers and set up the date for this conference, I'll notify all big outlets." Nezu also got up and started walking towards his desk nearby.

"Let's make it in a few days. I would want to make a proper speech to go with it." Toshinori's smile seemed to light up the room too, regardless of his skeletal appearance.

"I'll gather the younglings~ Gotta make this one count~," Beru said as he prepared to warp himself off.

"Do try to give them some sort of message first before the event starts, try not to take them by surprise too much," Nezu said while preparing to start making phone calls.

"Yea~ Yea~ Toshi~ Ya need a ride?~" Beru asked the one member of their group who was still seated.

"Well, I'd appreciate being dropped off at my apartment, still have a speech to write." Beru only nodded, extended his mist to also cover Toshinori.

The two of them disappeared from the room after waving goodbye at Nezu.

And so, the end of an Era was approaching.

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