Do You Want To Be A Hero? (13) | The Mighty Hero's Secret

The mighty figure of All Might was soaring through the sky... but a certain green-haired young man was holding on to his left leg.

Thus... the No. 1 Hero had to make an "emergency landing."

CRASH!

He finally landed himself on the rooftop space of a nearby office building, his powerful descent scattering dust and debris across the expanse of the rooftop space.

Concern was clearly visible on the hero's face, but also a bit of annoyance as well. He couldn't believe that the young man he had just saved from the sludge villain... was bold enough to latch onto him as he was about to depart—just to have the opportunity to ask him a question.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't mind at all being asked by such a brave and bold youngster... but this wasn't exactly a normal circumstance for him... for a specific reason.

All Might had a reason why he was in such a hurry and wanted to be left alone for the moment... but the young man was quite insistent. No matter how much the No. 1 Hero had tried to coerce him (all while still in mid-air), the green-haired high school boy had been adamant about asking something to him.

So... All Might was left without much of a choice but to comply with the high school boy.

All Might could feel the young man detach himself from his leg. He turned around toward the boy and waited for the dust to finally settle.

He was expecting the boy to be shaken by the G-force of being attached to him while soaring through the air, and also from the "emergency crash landing" that the hero was forced to make.

All Might was preparing himself to at least scold the young man for being so reckless before he would answer his impending question...

"Now listen here, young man," All Might began his scolding, his voice stern with a hint of concern still lingering. "I know that you are passionate, but you shouldn't... huh?"

However, as the dust finally cleared, All Might was taken aback by the sight before him. The young man, Izuku, was standing straight, nonchalantly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

All Might blinked, confusion now evident on his face. He didn't think this young man would be able to stand so casually after such an intense experience...

For a moment, All Might contemplated how this could be possible, but then his thoughts drifted toward a more 'logical' explanation: 'perhaps the young man had a formidable quirk.'

Thus, he shoved aside any suspicion toward—!

"...!"

The almighty hero then remembered dreadfully to why he had been so desperate to get away from the public's eyes—especially from this young man's...!

"Ugh...!" The hero groaned in pain, covering his mouth from the watchful eyes of the young man in front of him. Panic began to set in as he felt a familiar, dreadful sensation creeping up...!

Meanwhile, the green-haired young man, Izuku, was watching the No. 1 Hero with pensive but observant eyes. He seemed to notice All Might's apparent discomfort... but chose to continue with his special 'Q&A' session with the hero.

White steam began to seep out from the hero's body, slowly enveloping his entire figure... before revealing a cruel truth to the young man.

"What...?!" Izuku muttered in shock as he witnessed the transformation, quite taken aback by the sight.

The very figure of All Might's form... All Might's 'shriveled' form.

As the steam covering the hero's body finally dispersed, there stood in the same spot as before, a dry husk of a man.

"Ugh... damn it..." The "husk of a man" cursed to himself over his apparent blunder.

"... is that your true form, All Might?" Izuku inquired, his voice tinged with disbelief as he addressed the 'supposed' No. 1 Hero.

All Might paused, the weight of his secret pressing heavily on his frail form. Izuku stood before him, his expression a mix of observant curiosity... but also concern for the hero's hidden form.

"Yes and no," All Might began, his voice no longer the booming force it had been moments before. "You see, this form... this 'true form' as you called it... is the result of a battle I fought five years ago. A battle that cost me dearly."

He took a deep breath... before slowly lifting his now oversized t-shirt and revealing the left side of his torso. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the large scars and the remnants of the damage that had been inflicted upon the once mighty hero's body...!

"My respiratory system was nearly destroyed, and my stomach was removed," All Might's voice grew somber as he continued, "I've wasted away because of the after-effects of surgeries in a vain attempt to fix these... and now, I can only maintain my 'hero' form for about three hours a day..."

Izuku's eyes were filled with a mix of shock and empathy as he took in the sight and the hero's words.

"Five years ago... was it the battle with the Toxic Chainsaw?" he asked carefully, his voice steady but laced with curiosity. "I remember reading about that particular villain who had caused quite a bit of destruction... but you fought and defeated him, didn't you?"

Hearing Izuku's deduction, All Might forced a grin, the expression strained as he shook his head.

"Toxic Chainsaw? Ha! That guy couldn't lay a scratch on me," he responded, trying to inject some levity into his tone. But the attempt felt hollow, and even Izuku could see it.

Izuku though remained silent, his gaze unwavering as he observed the man before him, clearly sensing there was more to the story.

"The truth is," All Might continued, his voice lowering further, "the injury that led to this... it was from a much more dangerous foe. Someone who pushed me to my very limits, and... well, left me like this."

"And that foe of yours... are they still out there?" Izuku asked, his voice carrying a note of unease.

The hero looked down, the forced grin fading as he considered the young man's question.

"Yeah..." All Might finally answered, "But that's all I can say. Some things are too dangerous, too personal, to be shared... even with someone as brave and determined as you."

Izuku nodded slowly, his pensive expression never wavering.

"I understand, All Might," he said softly, accepting the frail hero's warning. But... "I still want to ask you something, though."

"Hah, persistent kid, aren't you?" Seeing how adamant Izuku was, All Might couldn't help but let out a pained chuckle. "Alright... ask away, young man."

Izuku took a deep breath, his eyes meeting All Might's with a mixture of resolve and curiosity.

"What is a hero?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Note (and a bit of shameless shilling at the end):

Well, this chapter is pretty much just a recount of the manga with a slight OOC change to it. Not much information could be gain here, though I hope OOC Izuku is interesting enough for you lads.

Though I do have to apologize for not uploading for like a day or two. I was busy writing my new original novel and also some personal real world matter got in the way. A lot of thing happened in just a span of 2 to 3 days...

Sorry, a bit of a venting there.

Anyway, I hope I can upload daily again. Just need to get myself in the "flow" of writing this fanfiction again.

OF COURSE, SINCE I'M SHAMELESS GRIFTER, I WILL ALSO SHILL HERE AS WELL!!!

Check out my new original novel, Magical Warrior Jack!!!

It's a 'magical girl' inspired web novel, but with male protagonist 'magical boy' as the main protagonist as he venture into the mythical secret world and fight the evil creatures that threatens the world he lived, along side his beloved childhood friend whom is also magical girl herself!

Stay tuned for more~!