Chapter 27: First Official Meeting (II)

"I see...a textbook answer, but it's not like it's wrong. Still, that isn't enough. In my eyes, a true hero is a dead man walking. It's something that only masochists can really wish to become, like All Might over there. I have never considered myself a hero, and will never do so. The reason I help others is because...well, I just don't like people dying in front of me and to have fun. No one can have fun being a hero, and that's why I don't consider myself one."

It was the answer Shido came up with after a long five years of asking himself if he wanted to be a hero: To have fun.

"From the moment one chooses to become a hero, he must be ready to fight against the world. When you succeed like me, people will smile with you. But when you fail...

Shido paused a little before continuing, his smile never leaving his face.

"...When you fail, few will cry with you. They will only curse you. You become the enemy of every villain. One mistake might not mean only your death, but also the death of your teammates, the people you protect and your loved ones. And this is usually what happens when someone without resolve and strength tries to become a hero."

"..."

"Being a hero isn't a rewarding job, nor is it some dream job, that's why I never fully commit myself to become a hero. It's a bitter and hard job where only the top few really get enough money and fame, with the exception of the rank 0 hero of course. The lower ones just get enough to not live too badly while the worst ones are constantly under debts."

"..."

"Training to become a hero is hard. Extremely hard. You must always think about new moves, new techniques, new ideas. You must break and reform your body again and again. You must bear the stress and wishes of those close to you."

Eri heard that and snorted. She knew that he didn't go through any of these. Sure, he obviously trained with her and All Might, but he never truly managed to break his limits. His quirk was simply too strong and overpowered, and even All Might had trouble breaking his defence.

"For you, this will be far worse. You'll inherit One for All after being quirkless for 14 years. In order to catch up to everyone else, you'll need to train way harder than anyone else. You'll have to bear way more pain and stress than anyone else. If it's ever known to the public that you are All Might's successor and disciple? Society will expect you to become a second All Might. If you don't perform up to their standards and fail? Well, I don't think I need to tell you what will happen."

"..."

"Now, after hearing from me. After understanding the weight of your choice, do you still want to become a hero?" Shido finished and looked at the green haired boy. He was shivering and sweating. It was clear to see that he was in no condition to think clearly. Deep down, Shido was disappointed in him. Despite seeing his records previously, he at least hoped that the real Izuku wouldn't be such a wimp, but he was wrong. 'Sigh, I hope Uncle Toshinori would choose someone with a more sturdy backbone next time.'

He lost all interest in the boy and began to walk away. He had a concert to perform, and time was precious. Such a boy wasn't worthy of inheriting such great power. Great powers like One for All come with great responsibilities, especially after the torch had passed down from one generation to the next. Not only the power was passed down, expectations and responsibilities were passed down as well. He was about to teleport away with Haniel before he heard a voice.

"I WILL!"

Shido stopped and turned to look at the boy with a surprised expression. "What did you say?"

Izuku took a deep breath to calm his fear and opened his mouth,"I said, I WILL. No matter what, I will become a hero. A true hero. A hero who can make people smile."

"No matter how much stress you'll be under?"

"Yes."

"No matter how pain it will bring you?"

"Yes."

"Even if the people you help curse you? Even if the whole world turns his backs on you?"

"Yes."

It was a funny sight, seeing a twelve year old reprimanding a third year middle schooler. Shido stared straight into the boy's eyes and saw an incredible level of determination that wasn't present a few minutes ago. He continued staring for a minute before breaking eye contact and walking away.

"I see...then do as you wish, Izuku Midoriya. I wish you luck, 'cause you're gonna need it." He didn't believe much in Izuku. He was a realist, and believes that actions spoke louder than words, and until Izuku presented his actions, he would stick to his beliefs. Only real actions could be trusted.

After Shido left, an awkward silence hung in between the three people left. Eri felt uncomfortable with the silence, and decided to speak up. "Now that he's gone, let's introduce ourselves again. My name is Eri, 12 years old this year."

"Oh...my...my...my name is Izu-Izuku Mido-Midoriya..." Izuku returned to his stuttering self when he introduced himself again.

Both Eri and All Might sighed when they saw this scene. He was starting to have second thoughts about this successor. All Might introduced himself once more, this time using his real name and told him about his self-designed "Pass the test, American Dream" plan. Eri who was nearby heard about this plan and almost beat up All Might again after seeing what was included.

In the end, it was decided that Eri would edit the plan to make his work out more efficient and better overall. She was much better than All Might in martial arts since all he knew how to do was smash and smash and smash.

'Sigh, Uncle Toshinori sure is only good at smashing stuff.' Eri thought to herself before making her way home to complete the training plan.

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A/N: I usually write one chapter for patr eon and post one on webnovel at the same time so it's consistently forty chapters ahead, but I'm writing 2-3k words per chapter on patr eon while I'm posting 1k word per chapter on webnovel (for now) lol.

Well, if you stick around to about chapter 35~ then you'll consistently get 2k word chapters.

See ya

If you want to support me or/and want 14+ chapters in advance, link:

https://www.patr eon.com/spirits_everywhere