Chapter 25: Successor? (II)

"You need to be realistic, kid."

"Even as a third-year, he still can't face reality."

"It's time to start thinking seriously about your futures!"

The words kept resounding in his head, and he was unable to forget them, remembering each insult, dissuasion and belittlement clearly, word for word.

'Even...the best of the best said it...Don't cry!' The green haired boy had tears threatening to fall, and desperately rubbed the tears off. 'You knew already, right?! This is reality...It's because I knew...that I tried so damn hard...so hard not to see, so hard to ignore reality. Yeah'

BOOOOMMMM!!!!

'That explosion?' Curiosity overcame him, and he rushed into the pack of people, and when he almost reached the front, he saw something that shouldn't be there.

'Is that him?! How?! All Might let him go?! Did he drop him?! That means...' Fear and guilt washed over him as he saw the mud villain who was previously captured by All Might and put in a bottle. "This...this is my fault!"

"Why're the heroes just standing there?"

"Seems like the villain has grabbed a middle schooler."

The green haired boy listened to their conversation, and placed his hands over his mouth. 'Grabbed...? So he's enduring that same pain?!'

As he continued moving in front and listening to conversations, his guilt grew as he witnessed the mud villain destroying public properties and injuring heroes. 'Hang in there...I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! Someone will come to save you soon...A hero's bound to come...'

He kept thinking to himself, reassuring to himself. 'Even though it's my fault, I'm weak and quirkless, I can't save you...if only I had a quirk...if on-' His eyes widened he saw that the victim had a familiar face.

His mind couldn't keep up with his body and before he knew it, he had already rushed forward towards the mud villain in an attempt to rescue his victim. Despite several warnings from the pro heroes, he did not heed them and continued rushing forward.

All Might was nearby when he saw the boy rushed forward. 'Sigh...'

*****************

"What do you think the commotion is about?" Shido asked casually as he ate his McSpicy.

Eri who just had an ice-cream, looked at him like he was an idiot. "Of course it's about villains attacking. Who else do you think can cause a commotion this big?"

Despite her insult, Shido just shrugged his shoulders. "Is that so?"

Eri looked at him while waiting for something.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Shido asked after he noticed Eri staring at him for a minute.

"Are you not going to capture the villain?" She asked with an exasperated expression. Her friend was the rank 0 hero, Phantom, and here he was, just sitting down in a McDonald's restaurant and enjoying his food, not caring about the villain attack at all.

"Why should I? Uncle Toshinori is nearby anyway." Hearing his excuse, Eri had no way to counter it. Sighing internally, she gave up on persuading him and decided to move on. "On the other hand though, when are you going to get a surname? You have just been using your first name all along right?"

"Huh? Why so sudden?" Seeing Eri waiting for him to continue, he said,"Well, to be honest, I don't know who I am and where I came from. I don't know if I even have parents at all. After all, I didn't exist five years ago."

Eri felt bad for reminding him of his sad past apologised to him. "Sorry, Shido. I didn't mean to bring it up..."

"No worries. I have already gotten over it. Besides, I've got you, don't I?" Shido replied with a teasing smile.

Eri was almost immune to his teasing already, and didn't have much reaction apart from turning slightly red. "Yes, yes. I'll always be by your side. So, your surname. You want to create one?"

"Create one?" Shido was puzzled. He didn't know why she wanted him to create one so badly, but he trusted her, so he did not question it. "If I were to create one, it would be...'Itsuka', I guess. Itsuka Shido. How does it sound?"

Eri smiled at him,"Fantastic! let's go register it then!" She then stood up and started dragging Shido to the municipal office to register.

"Wait wait...what about you? Are you not going to decide on a surname as well?"

Eri just smiled mysteriously as she placed her index finger on her lips and winked at him. "It's~A~Secret~for~later~"

Shido just sighed at her antics. "Fine, let's register later then."

****************

"But of course, it would depend on you! What do you say?"

"...Yes...I accept!"

"A quick answer. I expected nothing less." All Might was sincerely happy. He had asked Mirio Togata if he wanted to inherit his quirk, but he was rejected, saying that he wanted to rely on his own power to become the next symbol of peace. He had also asked Shido if he wanted to inherit One for All. It wasn't the best choice since he knew he had been doing some 'not-really-heroic' things behind his back like killing criminals and gangs, but he knew he at least had the heart of a hero, and not someone who just blindly follows faith, rules and tradition. But he was also rejected since Shido told him it was too troublesome to follow up on the responsibilities that came with it.

After having been rejected two times, Toshinori was seriously wondering if no one wanted his power. After that, they decided to meet tomorrow at the beach near the bay. He decided not to exchange his cell phone number as he knew that his successor candidate would probably hound him the entire night. Plus, it also acted as a test to see his determination in becoming stronger. If he came later than All Might himself, his impression on his successor would drop. But if he came earlier than All Might, his impression would probably rise up in his eyes.

****************

A few minutes later, All Might who now stood alone in the street called out of nowhere.

"What do you think?"

A pair of young children suddenly appeared behind him. Both had black hair, and ordinary features one would find everywhere. The boy opened his mouth and spoke," Two things. One, he is lucky to have accepted the power, otherwise..." He grinned manically, and only stopped when the girl smacked him at the back of his head.

"Don't scare Uncle Toshinori like this. He really thought you were going to kill him." The girl spoke up.

Toshinori just looked at their interactions and smiled. They had lived together for five years now, and although he might not be in the house with them half the time, he had come to see this pair of children as his own.

"I'm just kidding. All I was going to do is seal his memories so that he won't leak out your power on accident or by purpose. After all, you don't want your nemesis to know your current health status right? He still thinks you're injured like him." Shido just grinned like a child who had just gotten a new toy.

All Might bitterly smiled but didn't pay much attention. He still believed he would have at least two to three more years left before he came back.

"What about the second?"

"Secondly...as he is now, he is unworthy of your power. Be it physically, mentally or emotionally. His body will be unable to support the strain, and he accepted your proposition without even really understanding what it means to inherit your power. I rejected it since it was too troublesome, but that doesn't mean that I'll be lenient in confirming your selection."

Disdain could be felt in his voice even if he was smiling. Being at rank 0 of the pro hero list at the young age of 12, Shido would have his own pride. "Furthermore, I remember seeing him before when I was exploring the place. I think his name was...Izuku? Well, he didn't bother trying to do anything that could help him in becoming a hero. All he did was cry and whine and stood up against his...bully? Friend?...while being weak. He doesn't take up any martial arts, try to improve his body fitness, or find other ways to be the 'hero' he wants to be so badly. Overall, a negative evaluation."

All Might sighed. How could he not understand that Shido was right? Still, he didn't say anything. He was sure that despite his shortcomings, this kid would make an incredible hero in the future after inheriting his power.

Eri heard his evaluation and sighed internally again. She knew that although Shido's evaluation was harsh and cruel, it was true. All of Shido's information was accurate and correct, and he was never wrong even till now. Suddenly, she realised something and jumped up to smack Toshinori's head now.

"You baka! Why did you transform yourself in front of him? You didn't have the need to! Don't tell me...that you also told him about your present state?" Eri glared at him. Despite the generation gap, it seems as though Eri was the mother scolding her son for doing something wrong.

Of course, it didn't hurt much to Toshinori who had strong natural defence, but he still looked down in shame. "I...might've told him about my present condition. As for why I changed back, it was initially to show him that heroes would risk their life in doing their job, and being quirkless would mean that you can't become a pro hero. I...might've also shown him..."

"Showed him what?" Eri continued glaring at him. Even if he wasn't there most of the time, he was still the one who took care of them after all, and she didn't want her benefactor/landlord to die early.

"Showed him the picture of my previous condition..." Toshinori's voice got smaller and smaller until the end.

"That means you've also told him that someone could heal you?! What were you thinking at that time?!" Eri continued scolding Toshinori for being irresponsible, reckless and impulsive for the next hour while Shido just stood at the side watching them.

Shido smiled as he looked at his scene. 'This is a family huh?'

By the time they were done, they decided to go home, completely forgetting about registering Shido's new (self-proclaimed) surname.

*****************

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

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