Chapter 49

 "All-Might?" Izuku says cautiously, as he waits for his tea to cool down. It's Saturday and the common room is empty, with most of his classmates visiting family or hanging out away from the dorms.Usually he would be out as well, but after yesterday's discussion, he finds himself craving his mentor's presence just a little more than usual. At the moment it's just him and All-Might sitting at the table by the dorm kitchen. "Can I ask, um… how does Nighteye's quirk work, exactly? I mean, I know he keeps it under wraps, but… he knows about One For All, right? So you know about his quirk, too?"

All-Might hums thoughtfully over his food. Without his stomach, he has to eat small portions frequently. "The way he always described it was like looking at frames on a film reel—when he touches a living person, he can see the course of their life, second by second. There are limits, of course—he can only activate it once per day, and he has access to it only for an hour."

"So it's purely visual? No sound? And how much of it can he see?"

"My boy, why do you want to know?"

Izukushrugs. "I just want to know what kind of future he saw, and how he saw it," he says. "If there was any chance that maybe he just misinterpreted it. But I guess, if it's like a film reel…"

"Then he saw it run out," All-Might finishes.

"How much does the frame show?" Izuku asks. "Does it show him things through their eyes, or…?"

"No. He said it was more of a limited third-person sort of view. But it's narrow; mostly he just sees the person and their immediate surroundings."

Izuku nods as he files away the information.

"Is there any particular reason you want to know?" All-Might asks.

"I… was thinking." Izuku finishes drinking and pushes his cup further in. "We've been hearing a lot about internships lately, and—" All-Might makes a quiet, vaguely disapproving noise. "What?"

"To be honest, I was against the decision to move forward with internships, at least for first-year students," All-Might admits. "The school took a strong stance in holding both the Sports Festival and the summer camp in spite of serious threats, and I'm not sure it's a good idea to continue with that particular tactic, especially since… since it didn't stop you and young Bakugou from being abducted."

Izuku winces. "If anything, what happened in Kamino just makes the internships even more important," he points out. "We need heroes more than ever now, don't we?"

"You may be right about that," All-Might concedes. "But I'm not sure if the correct response is to send heroes out even younger."

"They wouldn't be, though," Izuku says. "It'd just be carrying on as normal."

"I'm uncomfortable with it," All-Might tells him. "Especially given everything you've been through. And despite Toga Himiko's appearance at the exams, we don't know where the League is or what they're planning."

Izuku chews this over carefully before answering. "I want to learn all I can. Aizawa-sensei said we should use the connections we made from the Sports Festival nominations if we decide to do internships, but I know Gran Torino's not very active and… honestly, with everything we've talked about…" He braces himself. "Do you think you could introduce me to Sir Nighteye?"

All-Might almost chokes on his food. "I beg your pardon?"

"You said he's been in contact with you recently," Izuku says hesitantly. "So it wouldn't be out of the blue. And he knows about One For All like Gran Torino did, so it'd make sense, wouldn't it? And besides that… well, never mind besides that. Could you?"

"He has been in contact." All-Might stops eating and lays down his chopsticks. "We've spoken, technically, but… not pleasantly. I don't—I don't have his ear as I once did. It's just not…"

Izuku searches his face, then looks to Nana. He can tell that All-Might is trying to hide things, but he's not good at it, and Nana is even worse. Izuku has seen enough ghosts to recognize old regret when he sees it, and the way Nana is looking at him only confirms it. "Were you and Nighteye close?" he asks cautiously. "You said you worked well together, but… you were friends too, weren't you? You had to have been, if you told him about One For All. You wouldn't have needed to, if you were only coworkers."

All-Might's mouth twitches like it's trying to smile, but it can't quite manage it. "We shouldn't have been," he says. "We had practically nothing in common from the start—he had all the sense and cleverness, and that formed the basis of our partnership. I trusted him to know the best course of action, and he trusted me to heed him. When I rejected his advice outright, it was a betrayal of that trust. I did it a second time, when he pointed me to a promising successor and I chose you instead. While I can't regret either of those decisions, I also can't ask anything of him. Not now."

Izuku nods, pursing his lips to keep from frowning. "I'll think of something else, then—"

"By that I don't believe I can be the one to introduce you," All-Might says. "But I do know someone who can, and would probably be willing. We can talk more about this on Monday, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," Izuku says firmly, and the discussion ends there.

All-Might seems to hesitate for a little while, then coughs a bit to clear his throat. "I actually had a question for you, as well."

"Sure."

"Well, I…" At that moment, the elevator door opens, and Iida, Todoroki, and Uraraka emerge with Tensei wandering after them. Uraraka looks a bit run-down, and Iida has a book tucked under his arm. They wave as they pass the kitchen and settle on one of the couches, well within hearing range. "…It can wait, I suppose."

"They're just taking a break from studying," Tensei explains. "Don't mind them."

Izuku nods to him, then turns back to All-Might. "Were you about to ask something about the ghosts?"

On the couch, his three friends go quiet and look up, startled. All-Might blinks, equally surprised, and switches between looking at them and looking at Izuku.

"Everybody here knows," Izuku says. "About the ghosts. So if you're going to ask about them, then it's all right."

"Oh," All-Might says faintly. "I see."

"So we can talk about it around All-Might?" Uraraka asks cautiously.

"Is anyone else safe?" Todoroki adds.

"My mom. Bakugou, technically." Izuku looks up at All-Might again. "So what did you want to ask?"

His mentor blinks a few times, recovering from his shock. "Well, actually, I spoke to your mother recently, about your quirk," he says. "And I'd like to know more, if you're willing to talk about it." He hesitates. "She suggested that I start by asking about Rei."

Izuku looks up, surprised, then glances around sheepishly. Rei isn't with him at the moment; recently she's taken to following Kaminari and Ashido around just to spook them whenever possible. She isn't hurting them, and she's having fun, so Izuku can't begrudge her that. "I'd introduce you, but she's not here right now."

"Does she follow you often?" All-Might asks.

"Most of the time," Izuku says. "Right now she's off bothering Kaminari and Ashido. She says they're fun to tease."

"Is it all right to let her do things like that?" Iida pipes up. "That seems…"

Izuku shrugs. "She's nine, I'm not gonna tell her not to have fun whenever she can."

He looks up to find Iida and All-Might both staring at him in shock and mingled horror, and realizes belatedly that dead nine-year-old girls aren't the most comfortable of conversation topics. Todoroki and Uraraka have already seen Rei, so at least they aren't surprised, but…

"Do you want to know more about my quirk?" Izuku asks. He isn't sure if he's asking All-Might or his friends. "I mean, all of it? Not just Rei?"

"I'd like to," All-Might says softly. "If you're comfortable with it."

Izuku looks over to his three friends. Todoroki is sitting up straighter, while Uraraka watches him intently. Iida clears his throat. "Whatever you're all right with telling us, Midoriya."

Izuku mentally runs through the people he knows are in the dorms. Jirou, Hagakure, and Shouji are not among them. Almost everyone is either out for the day or spending time at other parts of the campus. In fact, he's pretty sure the only other person here is Sero, who was complaining early about wanting to sleep all day.

He gets up from the table. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

It's a quick run up to the second floor, into his bedroom. He throws himself flat, reaches under his bed with groping fingers, and finds the box. It's only a plain old jewelry box that his mother gave him when he was small, held shut with a tiny lock that he quickly removes. Tucking the box under his arm, he hurries back downstairs.

All-Might rises from the table as he passes, and follows him to the sofa where his friends are waiting. Izuku sits down among them, places the box on the table in front of him, and opens it.

It's full and cluttered, items placed in with little rhyme or reason. There's no organization to it all, but Izuku knows what each one means. Photographs. Slips of paper. An old coin. A ring. A metal tag from a pet's collar.

Todoroki picks that out of the box, turning it over in his fingers. "Mika," he reads. "This was your cat's?"

Izuku takes a deep breath. "I met her old owner at the park," he says. "There was a villain attack in that area, three days before, and she died in it. She took me to her apartment, and when I got in… there was Mika. She'd been alone for three days, and Ms. Yamamoto didn't move on until I promised I'd make sure her cat was okay." He swallows the growing lump in his throat. "I took her to a shelter first. And when no one adopted her, I went back and got her myself."

He takes the tag from Todoroki and puts it back in the box, then takes out the ring and puts it on the table. "I found this on a beach I went to a lot, when I was training to get into UA." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees All-Might stiffen. "I called it the 'screaming beach' because the place was a dump, and there was a ghost stuck in an old trashed car in the middle of it all, and—all day. She'd just… cry. All the time, until I finally found her. She lost her engagement ring on that beach, and her fiance thought she threw it away on purpose, so he cut the brakes on her car so she wouldn't leave him. It took a while, but I found her ring the night I got my acceptance letter from UA." His voice cracks. "She said her name was Sachi."

He goes through a few more things. A ribbon from a child's well-loved stuffed animal. A coin from a collection that was worth enough to save a widow from losing her house. A necklace in the shape of half a heart, with the word "Best" engraved into it.

"So you keep something from every ghost you meet." Todoroki turns the necklace over between his fingers before putting it back.

"If I can," Izuku says. "There isn't always something to keep. I just don't want to forget them."

"And the people that… that they leave behind?" Iida says. "Do you ever tell them?"

Izuku shrugs. "I could never be sure they'd believe me, and I was always afraid I'd just hurt them, if I told them that someone they missed stayed for a little while, but they couldn't have seen them or touched them anyway. I thought it'd just be better to let them live their lives and move on. And half the time, there's no one to tell anyway." He reaches into the box again, sifting through the items until he pulls out the photograph and puts it on the table. Morigawa Hitomi's unsmiling face peers through her hair, frozen in time.

Todoroki sits forward, and Uraraka gasps softly. "That's her, isn't it," she says in a hushed voice.

"Who?" All-Might asks.

Izuku swallows the lump in his throat. "I met her when I was five or six," he says. "Back when they still scared me. She was smaller than them, even though she was older than me back then. I think she was the first real friend I ever made." He looks around, just to make sure Rei isn't coming back. "We were both lonely. The other ghosts get scared of her. She didn't talk, and she didn't remember anything about who she was. So I just called her Rei."

He sees Todoroki's mouth twitch at that, but no one interrupts.

"She's been with me ever since. No other ghost has ever stayed as long as she has. She's like my sister. My big, little sister." He plays with the photograph, trying not to let his hands tremble. "I found this in the Kamino warehouse."

A hand closes on his shoulder, gripping lightly—All-Might's.

"I didn't know how she died," Izuku goes on. "I found their file on her, and I read about what they did to her, before they killed her. They were trying things, they were trying to figure out how to make Noumu, and they took her because she didn't have anyone and no one would come looking for her and—" His voice shakes. "She was nine when it happened. She was a little girl. They did that to a little girl."

It's then that he realizes he's probably said too much. They were horrified just learning her age, and Izuku isn't sure he can bring himself to look up and see their faces now. What must they think, knowing he can eat and sleep and live like everything is normal when he has that in his head—?

"Are they all like that?" The quiet question comes from Todoroki, sitting close enough to press up against him. From the guilty look on his face, he's asking it against his own better judgment.

Izuku purses his lips, wondering how to answer. "Not all of them," he says at last. "But—enough. Most—most people don't leave behind ghosts, if they die of natural causes. They're—they're usually unhappy. Or there's something they want to do. Or someone they want to see. Sometimes they stick to one place, sometimes they wander, sometimes—sometimes they follow people. For better or worse."

"Like…" Uraraka's nerve fails her the moment the first word is out. Her eyes are on Iida.

"Like my brother," he finishes.

Izuku nods. "Sometimes it's good. Sometimes they stay because there's someone they love. Or someone they want to thank. But sometimes it's—sometimes it's because they want payback. I-I mean, villains—almost every villain I've ever seen has had ghosts with them. Just… following. Waiting."

"Kamino?" All-Might asks.

Izuku's breath shudders in and out. "There were so many I couldn't breathe sometimes." He shakes himself. "But that was a good thing. I had help. I had so much help. I don't—I don't think I'd be here right now, if they hadn't helped. And—" He swallow, trying to fix his dry throat. "All For One's as good as dead. So they've probably… they've…"

Because of me, he doesn't say. He remembers his escape, remembers ghosts reaching for him and him reaching back, recognizes now the sensation of offering them One For All, giving them the strength and solidity they need to turn and fall upon their killer and—

And Dr. Tsubasa—

He's not sorry. He'll never be sorry. They could have lived—they could have lived if they just hadn't killed so many people, if they hadn't given him so many angry, vengeful ghosts. They could have lived if they'd left Izuku alone, if they'd left Bakugou alone, if they'd left Morigawa Hitomi alone—but they didn't. They made their choices and Izuku will never be sorry that their crimes caught up with them in the most direct and literal way possible.

But he won't forget it, either. He's not like them. He'll remember the people he's killed.

There are arms around him—Uraraka's, then Todoroki's, then Iida's and finally All-Might's. He's surrounded by warmth and beating hearts now, driving back the memories of cold hands and misty figures. Izuku lets his eyes slide shut, lets them pull him back into the world of the living.

It feels better, talking about this. They don't understand—can't possibly understand—and they can't help. But at least he can talk about it now, with someone living who isn't just his mom. Just because no one understands what it's like to know the things he knows, doesn't mean he's alone.

And who knows? Maybe he'll find someone who does.

As promised, All-Might calls him to the faculty office on Monday, and Izuku barely waits for a nod from Aizawa before running to the locker room to change back into his regular uniform. A few of his classmates give him curious looks, but Izuku puts that aside for now. He can explain things once he gets a solid answer one way or the other.

He leaves his uniform jacket and sets off for the main school building at a run, Rei darting along with him. In his eagerness he takes a few most likely unsanctioned shortcuts, jumps a few fences and dodges at least one surveillance droid to shave off a few seconds. The top of the building is creeping into view over the surrounding roofs when Rei calls out a warning a moment too late. Izuku turns a corner as she shrieks, and nearly collides with someone.

"Sorry!" he yelps, and a firm hand on his shoulder steadies him.

"Not a problem!" a familiar cheery voice replies. "You seem to be in an awful hurry."

Izuku blinks, and Togata-senpai's smiling face shocks a smile out of him as well. "Oh, hi, senpai! Sorry for running into you, I just got called in from the athletic field."

"I'm sure whoever called you in will understand if it takes you an extra minute or two," Togata assures him. Rei prances around him unseen, looking eager. "Are you heading to the faculty office, by chance? That's where I'm going myself."

"Ah, yeah!" Izuku slows up to walk with him, trying not to smile at Rei's excitement. He's never seen her take to someone as quickly as she has to Togata. "I was discussing some stuff with All-Might, and he said he'd have an answer for me today, so…"

Togata pauses mid-step for a moment before continuing. "All-Might was the one who called you in?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's the oddest thing, then," Togata muses. "He's the one who called me in, too."

Izuku blinks, and feels the gears turn in his own head as he adds two to two and makes four. "Um. Senpai… you wouldn't happen to know a hero named Nighteye, would you?"

Now Togata looks even more confused. "I… yes? I've been interning with him since last year. How'd you know?"

Izuku faces forward again, hoping it's enough to keep Togata from guessing what's on his mind. "Wild guess."

His senpai's giving him a shrewd look now, one that tells Izuku he's putting a few things together himself. If he does, he doesn't call him on it, though. "Huh. Well, today seems to be a day for odd coincidences, I guess! My birthday's July fifteenth, if that helps."

Izuku gapes at him. "Shut up, no it's not."

Togata looks positively delighted. "Wait, you mean yours is too? Is it really? Are we twins?"

"You're two years older than me, senpai."

Togata slings an arm around his shoulders. "Still counts! Twins forever."

They reach the faculty office like that, and All-Might looks appropriately pleased. "I'm glad to see you two getting along," he says, as they take seats before his desk. "It makes this conversation a great deal easier."

"I think you two have the advantage over me," Togata says sheepishly. "I might be the only one here who doesn't know what this is about. Something to do with Sir?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." All-Might leans forward, elbows resting on his desk. "I was hoping to ask a favor of you, young Togata. You are still interning under Nighteye, correct?"

"Of course! I've learned at least as much from him as I have here at UA."

"Ah, it's going well, then."

"Sir's fantastic," Togata replies, beaming. "I was nothing special before he took me on. Not to sound dramatic, but he kind of changed my life."

"Good to hear," All-Might says with a smile, though to Izuku it looks a little sad. "As you can probably guess, young Midoriya is interested in internships himself, especially after your enlightening demonstration the other day. He's shown immense promise for as long as I've known him, and from what I remember of Nighteye, he's excellent at teaching and offering guidance to nascent heroes. It's my belief that they both have much to gain from each other. So, with that in mind, would you be willing to introduce him to Nighteye? Perhaps show him about, if possible? I think he would benefit from your experience."

Togata goes wide-eyed with surprise and pleasure. "I'd be happy to!" he says. "I think Sir would be happy to have him, too—he lasted longer against me than anyone else in that demonstration, so there's plenty there to work with." He shoots a grin at Izuku. "I'm actually getting called in tomorrow to meet with Sir about upcoming training assignments. I could bring him in then, if that's all right?" He looks to All-Might, then to Izuku.

"I'm free," Izuku says. His heart flutters in his chest, nervous and excited. This is happening? It's really happening.

"Excellent," All-Might says. "Thank you very much for your help, young Togata. I'm quite in your debt."

"It's no trouble at all!" Togata shoots Izuku another grin. "I hope we get to work together. It'd be interesting to see you in the field."

"Oh." Izuku says, because there's nothing more he can say to that. "Wow. O-okay."

"Well, then!" All-Might brings his hands together. "If that's settled, then I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you again, young Togata."

"Always a pleasure, sir."

Togata stands, with Izuku only a beat behind. Excitement buzzes in his veins like Full Cowl, and he has to tamp down on it a little. He's only going to meet with Nighteye, he reminds himself. There's no guarantee he'll get an internship, but still—

Togata turns to leave, pauses, and seems to change his mind. "All-Might," he says, turning back. There's a cautious note in his voice that Izuku hasn't heard before. "Could I ask a personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

All-Might blinks, looking taken off guard by how bare and blunt the request is. "Er, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if… I mean, is there a reason why you couldn't make this introduction yourself? I'm happy to help," he adds quickly. "Really, I am! But, you've spoken recently, haven't you? So…"

"I… I'm not sure if that's a good idea." A wry smile crosses All-Might's face. "Keep in mind the purpose would be to convince Nighteye to take Midoriya on, so…"

Togata returns the smile, almost. "Right. I… see."

"We do have things to discuss, Nighteye and I," All-Might says quietly. "But not this. Not… yet. Complications to overcome, that sort of thing."

Togata nods. "He misses you, you know."

All-Might goes still. Izuku's heart leaps to throat level.

"I mean, I know he probably hasn't said it," Togata goes on. "He doesn't—I mean he has trouble with—well, you probably know that better than I do. But he does. I can tell. If you wanted to talk to him, I don't think he'd say no."

All-Might is silent for a while, hands folded tightly in front of him. "Thank you, young Togata," he says. "Don't let me keep you any longer, now."

"Of course. Thank you. And I look forward to introducing Midoriya." He gives Izuku another smile and a nod, and walks out.

"Oh my God," Nana says once he's gone, for all that Izuku's the only one who can hear her. "I can see exactly why Nighteye tried to throw him at you, Toshi."

"Satisfy my curiosity on something, will you?" Togata says.

There's a train ride between UA and Nighteye's agency, and Izuku would be lying if he said Togata wasn't fun to talk to. It helps a lot with his nerves, because his nervousness over meeting Gran Torino was almost nothing compared to this. He can always use the distraction. Rei's here, but sometimes Rei isn't quite enough.

"Sure," he says. His hands are shoved into his pockets to quell the trembling. He might feel better if he had his costume, but Togata had advised him not to bother bringing it. It was only an introduction, after all.

"How did you keep track of me, during that demonstration?" Togata asks. "It was a decent strategy in and of itself; you were expending way less energy just dodging, and if I hadn't changed tactics on you, you would have worn me down in minutes. How'd you manage to predict me?"

Izuku chews on his lower lip as he ponders the answer. The truth is this: he kept his eyes on Rei. She's enough of an empath to be able to feel where people are, and she can phase through floors just as well as Togata can. Between those two skills, she was able to stay on him and make herself visible to Izuku at floor level, so that Izuku could continue dancing out of Togata's range.

Not that he can tell Togata any of that.

So instead, he lifts an eyebrow at the older student and says, "Now that would be telling."

Togata narrows his eyes with a lopsided grin. "It's only practical. Clearly there's a hole in my strategy that needs filling."

There really isn't, and Izuku would love to tell him that but he's not sure how to justify that statement.

"I mean, it's clearly nothing to do with your quirk," Togata continues. "Yours is a standard strength enhancer, nothing to do with increased awareness or perception. So it's some kind of skill, isn't it? Which means it's something anyone can learn, including villains." He digs Izuku in the ribs with a gentle elbow. "Throw me a bone, Midoriya. I know there's always room for improvement, for myself especially."

Izuku purses his lips and decides to take a risk. "That's a pretty big assumption, isn't it? That it's nothing to do with my quirk?" He pauses. "I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that it's not a skill that just anyone can learn. In fact, as far as I know, it's not a skill that anyone can learn, at all."

"So it's all to do with your quirk, then."

That, and acquiring the cooperation of a murdered empath who loves mischief, Izuku thinks. "Pretty much," he says.

"How, then?" Togata presses. "How does strength and agility enhancement translate to predicting my moves? Unless it's a general enhancer that includes perception as well? That seems a bit broad, for a quirk."

Izuku nods absently. "That's one way of putting it."

"How else would you put it?"

"It works by increasing my levels of updog."

"Midoriya."

"Yes?" Izuku tries for a wide-eyed innocent look. Rei rolls her eyes.

"You're avoiding the question," Togata says.

Izuku smiles thinly. "What gave you that idea?" Togata gives him a thoroughly unimpressed look, and Izuku sighs. Distracting Togata isn't going to work, apparently. "Look, my quirk's kind of complicated, and a big part of its effectiveness is that most people don't know the full extent of how it works and what it can do. But I can promise you that no one else has anything like it." His throat goes tight for a moment. "Believe me, I've looked."

Togata doesn't look quite convinced by this, but he's apparently willing to shelve the conversation for later, because he doesn't press further. This may also be because they reach their stop soon after.

"So, um…" Izuku braces himself, hoping his evasiveness won't have discouraged Togata from being forthcoming himself. "Any, uh, advice?"

To his relief, Togata grins at him again. "You seem like you have a sense of humor."

"I mean, yes?"

"He likes that in heroes. I'd open with a joke, if I were you. Make him laugh and you'll be on his good side in an instant."

Immediately the knot in Izuku's chest starts to loosen. So Nighteye's that kind of hero. The kind that goes for levity. Obviously. Anyone who works with All-Might has to know how to smile.

"Okay, cool," he says, half to himself. "I can do that. I can definitely do that."

I definitely can't do this, Izuku fingerspells at Rei.

Part of him is wondering if Togata was hazing him with that advice. One look at Nighteye is enough to tell him that he could probably give Aizawa-sensei a run for his money in being a strict, no-nonsense taskmaster. They'd walked in to find him taking a hapless sidekick to task over… something? The tone and manner of a report? He's still not quite sure, and the look that the hero is currently giving him doesn't exactly encourage him to ask.

If there's one comforting thing about this situation, it's the fact that Nighteye's office, as immaculately neat as it is, isabsolutely lined with All-Might merchandise. The clear evidence of common ground is reason enough to hope that this won't go as poorly as the look on Nighteye's face suggests it will.

Sir Nighteye sits behind his desk, brows knitted together as he watched Izuku over his folded hands. He's a tall man, and the fact that he's sitting down doesn't diminish that. All-Might had said they were opposites as heroes, and it shows; he's not nearly as thin as All-Might is now, but he's slender and angular, with a thin, severe face and glasses balanced on a tall nose. He's very crisply dressed in a gray suit; the only splashes of color to him are a red polka-dotted tie and his hair, which is dark green with a few streaks of bright yellow.

In Izuku's mind, he looks more like an accountant than a pro hero, but he supposes that he's the last person who should comment on deceiving appearances.

Here's the thing, though. Izuku doesn't find fault in any of that, not even the humorless expression on a man who supposedly appreciates a good joke. But Izuku has spent his whole life talking to ghosts, gauging possible bullies, and dodging teachers who saw him as more of a problem than a pupil, and he'd like to think it's given him a decent read on people in general. At the very least, he can recognize when people are determined to dislike him.

What makes him so uncomfortable now is that Nighteye's looking at him the same way a lot of his old teachers used to look at him, when they'd known him long enough to decide to write him off.

"So," All-Might's former partner says. "Midoriya Izuku. You wish to intern with me. I have to say I'm surprised; I'm not usually renowned enough to be sought out, especially by a first year student."

Izuku stares at him, wondering how to respond to that with Togata still in the room. Just as he's sure that Nighteye dislikes him on sight, there is no doubt in his mind that the man knows exactly who he is. He resists the urge to look to Togata for support, because the last thing he needs right now is to show shaky resolve.

Make him laugh, Togata had said. Izuku has literally no other cards to play until he can speak with Nighteye alone.

"I mean, it's definitely Plan A," he says, and prays that Nighteye takes the bait.

A single yellow eyebrow rises. "I suppose that begs the question of what Plan B is."

"One of my friends cancels gravity," Izukuanswers. "I figure if all else fails, I can just high-five her and launch myself straight into the sun."

He can almost hear the crickets.

A moment passes before he leans over and mutters to Togata out of the corner of his mouth. "I thought you said to open with a joke."

Togata leans back. "I think we have very different ideas of what constitutes a joke."

Rei snickers.

"In any case," Nighteye continues, as if Izuku hadn't spoken at all. "I don't open my doors to just anyone. I have both a job to do and a reputation to maintain, and I will not offer a chance to any who have not proven themselves worthy of it." There's a strange emphasis on those words that has the hairs on the back of Izuku's neck prickling. "An internship is an opportunity, and not all heroes in training deserve them. So, tell me, Midoriya—what makes you deserving of the opportunity that this would present? What can you offer my agency?"

"Well if I work for you, you won't have to pay me for it," Izuku answers before he can think better of it.

Nighteye's face doesn't change, except for a slight deepening in the creasesbetween his eyebrows.

Izuku turns to Togata. "See? I did it again."

Togata sighs a little. "Sir, please just hear him out? Remember that demonstration I told you about? He held out against me longer than the rest of his classmates. All-Might recommends him, too."

"Quite impressive, I'm sure," Nighteye replies, and Izuku doesn't miss how his voice softens when he talks to Togata. "Though, All-Might is not often known for—"

"Sir, look," Izuku breaks in, before Nighteye can finish the thought. "I think we both know how I ended up here. Right?"

Nighteye falls silent for a moment, meeting Izuku's eyes once more. Finally he lets out a short sigh and sits up straighter. "Mirio?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"I'd like a moment alone with him, please?"

"Oh, right, sure." Togata stands up, giving Izuku an encouraging pat on the shoulder before he leaves the room and shuts the door behind him.

Izuku waits a moment or two before taking a deep breath. "Okay, so—"

A yelp of static makes him turn. It's Rei, standing at the door where Togata just left, pointing. He's still outside and he's got his ear to the door, she says.

"Senpai, you have to actually leave," he calls, raising his voice to be heard through the closed door.

There's a moment of silence, then the sound of footsteps retreating. Rei gives him a thumbs-up.

Izuku turns back to Nighteye. "Does he know that you wanted him to inherit One For All?"

Nighteye, who looks like he was about to say something, stops in his tracks. His severe expression breaks into surprise, and it takes him a moment to school it back into something more controlled.

"He does not," he replies quietly. "And I would prefer to keep it that way, since it's no longer in the cards."

"I mean…" Izuku hesitates. "Was… was it? At some point?" Nighteye's sharp gaze zeroes in on him. "You're the only one who would know."

"I don't use my quirk that way." Nighteye's voice is sharp and cold. "Not anymore. And certainly not on Mirio." He studies Izuku for a moment longer, then stands up with his hands pressed to the desk surface. "You seem determined to get straight to the point. So I'll afford you the same courtesy. I do not and have never approved of All-Might's decision in choosing you. He acted in haste, with his judgment clouded by his sympathy for your quirklessness, and I have yet to find any evidence to the contrary." He fixes Izuku with a flat look, unaware of the snarl building from Rei. "If you came looking for my help, or myacknowledgment as All-Might's successor, then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

Izuku feels cold. It's not a chill up his spine, or shaking in his limbs, or fear. He feels detached, as if Nighteye's words have pressed until all the feeling has been pushed out of him. Everything's at a distance. He doesn't tremble. He sits stock-still in the chair before the desk, feet planted on the floor under him, fingers digging slightly into his pant legs.

"I'm not here about One For All," he says. "And I'm not here because you know All-Might. That's just how I found you."

"Why, then, are you here?" Nighteye's voice is composed, at least on surface level, but Rei's still hissing like a chorus of snakes so that probably doesn't mean much.

"A lot of reasons," Izuku says, forcing himself to relax a little. He can't just lose his temper and storm out, or say something that will drive Nighteye to toss him out. As much as Nighteye is grating on him, he does want this. It's just the first day; Nighteye doesn't know him, and there's plenty of time for things to turn around. "You're really well known for whipping heroes into shape, for one thing. And Togata-senpai says you're a good teacher. And ever since—since Kamino there are things I've been wanting to learn. I got out of that because I was lucky, and because people helped me and made sacrifices to save me. I don't ever want to feel that helpless again."

"All valid reasons," Nighteye concedes after a moment. "Which brings me back to my earlier question. What can you offer my agency? Keep in mind that your possession of One For All is not a qualification."

Izuku nods, pursing his lips. "I'm pretty good with people," he says. "I mean, in both ways. I'm good with strategy, and cooperation, but I'm also sort of good with—with villains. Against villains, I mean. I know how to talk to people, and read people, and make them feel a certain way, sometimes." He bites his lip for a moment. "I've been told I'm manipulative. It makes it easier for me to find openings in a fight."

"I see. In that case…" Nighteye neatens a few things on his desk, until the only thing that sits in the center is a single form and a stamp. "Let's put that to the test, then. This is an internship registration form. It's been filled out already—the only thing left is this approval stamp." He meets Izuku's eyes. "I will not stamp this paper. If you want an internship with my agency, you must do it yourself."

"I take it you're going to stop me if I try," Izuku says.

Nighteye doesn't answer, except for a slight raise of his eyebrows. Izuku takes that as his invitation to get started.

He calls his bluff first, steps forward and reaches for the stamp. In all of two moves, he's flying into the opposite wall, narrowly missing a few decorative wall hangings with All-Might's face. He manages to twist around so that he hits the wall feet first, bending his knees to absorb the shock and launch himself right back toward the desk. His grasp on One For All is up to ten percent from pure, single-minded grinding, and he hopes that's enough.

Except, it's not. His bare wrist aches from where Nighteye gripped him to turn him away the first time, and All-Might said that Nighteye's quirk is activated by touch. He's not sure what Nighteye meant when he said he didn't use his quirk "that way" anymore, but he has to assume that the hero knows what his next moves will be.

And it shows; no matter what Izuku tries, Nighteye has a counterattack ready and waiting for him. Every angle, every maneuver he knows, Nighteye sees coming and foils effortlessly. All-Might had said Nighteye was the brains, but he has plenty of strength as well. It's hard to judge his build under that suit, but Nighteye is strong enough to fend him off with ease. Not even his more underhanded moves work; he aims for the kidneys and narrowly avoids a sprained wrist for his troubles.

"Is that all you have to offer?" Nighteye asks when Izuku stops to catch his breath. "Brute strength and underhanded tactics? You may have learned a few tricks from Gran Torino, but it's useless if you can't execute them properly against an opponent. You claimed to be a strategist—have you run out of maneuvers already?"

Izuku gets to his feet again, winded and sore. "I guess I do have one left."

Still at the desk, Nighteye guards the form and barely braces himself for Izuku's next move.

Izuku hesitates, clearing his throat quietly. "...Could I have the stamp, please?"

The hero gapes at him, apparently speechless.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Izuku says with a shrug.

"Is this a game to you?" Nighteye's voice is low and dangerous. "I knew you'd be brash, foolhardy, and poorly prepared, but the fact that you're arrogant as well only strengthens my previous convictions."

That stings. Rei shrieks in fury and takes a swing at him, but her hands pass through him harmlessly. She turns to Izuku, furious and frustrated. Let me help! Her signs are sharp and jerky with anger. He doesn't get to talk to you like that!

Izuku looks from Rei to the form. He'd been fibbing before; there is one more play. It's not a pretty one. It's not one he's fond of, or one he's eager to put into action. Nighteye's not a villain nor an enemy; he's a hero, he's a former friend of All-Might's, and the thought of playing this card against him leaves a bad taste in Izuku's mouth.

But Nighteye is also wrong. Izuku knows that, has no doubts about it. And if Nighteye is going to help him the way Izuku hopes he can, then Izuku's going to have to show him what he's capable of—all of what he's capable of. And so, finger-spelling instructions to Rei, Izuku does what he does best.

He lies.

"This is stupid." It comes out caustic, sharp with frustration. "This is stupid and a waste of my time."

"It's easy to belittle what you can't have," Nighteye tells him.

"No, not the internship," Izuku shoots back. "This. You. Where do you get off calling me arrogant?" He's a good distance away from the desk, but he shifts back and hopes Nighteye doesn't notice. "You've been high and mighty since I walked in. Thinking that I came here for your acknowledgment." His eyes feel hot; Rei's presence nearby, and the fact that there's some truth to what he's saying, give him extra nerve. "Or that you have any say in who gets One For All."

The lines between Nighteye's eyebrows deepen again.

"I mean, Gran Torino spent half a week making me taste the floorboards," Izuku says. "He taught All-Might, and All-Might was so scared of him he couldn't speak in a straight line when he told me about him. But he never called me unworthy, and he never tried to tell All-Might what to do with his power. And you think you get to throw a fit when All-Might chooses somebody without asking your permission? Who do you think you are?"

"You know nothing of this," Nighteye says coldly, and for the first time he starts to look truly angry. "I never steered him wrong, I always had his best interests at heart, on and off the battlefield! He trusted my judgment for years, and yet now when his decisions are their most crucial, he casts them aside like they mean nothing."

Izuku swallows his own disgust and bites out, "Well maybe you should've thought of that before you abandoned him when he needed you."

Nighteye freezes. For a few seconds, silence falls like a sledgehammer.

"What did you just say."

"All-Might told me what you saw," Izuku says. "And you—what? Got mad when he didn't want to get coddled? Is that why you're mad about me? Because he's not doing what you wanted anymore?"

"Midoriya." Nighteye's knuckles are stark white, fingernails digging into the wooden desktop.

"No? Not mad? Just scared then." An epiphany strikes. "Is that why you don't use your quirk 'that way' anymore? Because you're scared of what you'll see?" He hates himself just a little for saying that, but it's out and there's no swallowing it back now.

"What would you know?" Nighteye bites out. "How would a selfish child like you understand what it means to know the shape of fate and be powerless to stop it? Everything I ever did was to help him—"

"How, by making him accept his own death? Because that's what you did! He told me!"

"It was to protect him!" There's pure rage and pain on Nighteye's face, but Izuku keeps going. The words taste foul in his mouth, but he keeps saying them because it's working, bit by bit.

"Protect him?" he spits out. "You abandoned him! Things went wrong, and instead of looking for a solution, you ran off so you wouldn't have to watch it happen!"

"There was no solution," Nighteye seethes. "I offered one, and he refused to listen."

"You're a coward!" Izuku yells. "You're a coward, and it's no wonder he never talked about you—"

He hits the ground hard enough to see stars. The back of his head throbs from striking the floor, and the impact of his back to the too-thin carpet almost knocks the wind out of him again. He can't get up; Nighteye has him pinned to the ground. He's not just strong; he's fast, too fast for Izuku to have avoided him.

Nighteye's voice is icily calm, "Have you anything else to say, without speaking so carelessly about things you don't understand?"

Izuku looks to the desk, then back to Nighteye's face. "When do I start?"

Above him, Nighteye freezes. Slowly, without releasing Izuku, he turns and looks back.

Rei sits on the edge of the desk, legs swinging. The ink on the paper is freshly wet, and she plays with the stamp between her fingers. To Nighteye, it must look like the stamp is floating in the air on its own. When she sees him looking, she holds it out and drops it carelessly to the floor.

There's a moment of shocked silence before Nighteye lets him up and returns to the desk. He retrieves the dropped stamp, picks up the now completed form, and inspects the neat red "Approved" glistening on the paper. After a moment, he turns back to Izuku.

"I didn't mean any of that," Izuku says. It's true, and he knows it's true, but it sounds hollow. Nighteye goes back to inspecting the form. "About you, and about All-Might. I didn't mean that. It's like I said, I'm good at—with people. I was just trying to—"

"Get out."

"I don't think you're a coward—"

"I will speak with you later," Nighteye says. "Concerning the specifics of your internship. But for now, get out."

Izuku flees.