Author's note: Today's chapter is a bit earlier, cause I'm literally going on a plane right now, so I'll be in the air when I would usually post it.

Enjoy ~

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Spiderling

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Chapter 6

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There was an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Class 1-A and Aizawa should have reached the USJ by now. Yet, he had still not gotten a call. Yagi looked worriedly at his phone again and tried calling his colleagues once more, but there wasn't even a connection. This was definitely a cause for concern and another reason on the pile of why he should hand in his resignation. Being the Symbol of Peace was important. But his time was growing ever shorter, which meant his reason for becoming a teacher should at the very least be at an equal priority. Yagi moved a hand over his forehead and rubbed it.

Nowadays, his limit for using One for All amounted to about two hours and a half hours. He could maintain his muscle form for about three, if he really pushed himself. But while in the past pushing himself increased his limits, right now things tended to be in reverse. Spending almost all of that meager time on heroics before school had been incredibly foolish.

Yagi looked at his phone and dialed Aizawa's number again and when he heard the no connection sound, he made up his mind. The decision of his resignation would have to wait until the end of the day. For now.. "Yes, I will be there!" he said resolutely, shifting to his Muscle form on habit.

"You're being reckless again," the door to the lounge room opened and in came Principal Nezu.

"Principal! I see your fur is as neat as always," All Might quickly replied and crouched on the ground to be at eye level with his boss. Nezu was on the short side, most likely because of the way he was - he looked like a chimera of a dog, mouse and bear, with white fur, dog paws for hands, and a bear-like head with a mousie nose. There was also a large scar going over his right eye.

"It's the keratin, you poor humans just can't achieve such luster," the Principal smiled, before showing him the tablet he was holding. "But I'm not the only one who's the same as always." The screen was showing a news article with a title "In the space of an hour All Might has resolved 3 separate incidents from all over town!". Yagi read it uneasily and looked back at the Principal. "It is heartening to see you so active against this town's plentora of evil-doers. You have reached the point where enforcing your Symbol of Peace has become a reflex." Nezu was moving towards the coffee table where he grabbed a cup and started pouring tea, instantly sending a warning sign to Yagi. It always triggered the same set of memories, whenever the Principal would pour him tea, a lecture would follow.

"Still, you need to keep in mind why you're here. Extending your time as the Symbol of Peace, pushing yourself past your limits despite your injuries will all be meaningless if your fire ends up fizzling, without having found a successor," Nezu handed him the tea cup and poured himself some as well. "And even after you have passed the torch to someone else, I believe it is important for you to remain here as one of our distinguished teachers, to impart your many years of experience and groom the next generation of heroes."

"Yes, indeed Principal. Hence exactly why I was planning on heading to the USJ right now to participate in Class 1-A's Trial of Rescue." Yagi deflated to his regular skeletal appearance.

"A meaningless gesture, considering you don't have much time left given your heroics in the morning. Or correct me if I'm wrong?" Nezu sipped from his cup, looking expectantly towards the pro hero.

"Y-yes.. I only have about 15 minutes with my quirk and I can maybe push the muscle form to 30." Yagi said resignedly.

"It's a 4 hour class, perhaps it would be much better if you showed at the end of it and observe the progress they have made, instead of going there for the long-winded lectures and explanations. In the meantime allow me to impart some of my knowledge and humble educational theories."

Yagi listened to the lecture that was actually not boring at all. He noted a couple of the points immediately and realized this advice was quite a lot better than the self-help book he had acquired. Yet, those realizations could not distract him from the sinking feeling in his.. Where his stomach should have been. If he had gotten at least a text or a call back or even had gotten through the connection to at least get to the voicemail, he wouldn't have been as worried. But the years of experience Nezu mentioned earlier were currently making him uneasy. He was politely thanking the Principal about his wisdom, when the chimeric creature raised a paw.

"I can see you have something on your mind and wish to leave. But first, there is one more thing I would like to talk to you about." Nezu picked up the tablet again, tapped on it a couple of times and slid it across the table towards All Might. On it he could see a student file. One Mirio Togata.

Ah. Of course.

With blond hair arranged in a cowlick, the face on the picture had a strong jaw, a prominent nose and a pair of black eyes that had no sclera. There was a certain shine to them though, that managed to transmit a sense of optimism and cheerfulness, an outgoing persona even through the still image. All Might knew who this was - the top student of the school, a 3rd year, and his former sidekick's current sidekick. The boy who according to Sir Nighteye was the perfect successor for One for All.

"Class 3-A are currently having the Foundational Hero Class as well. To pass the time until it's time to go to USJ, perhaps you would like to observe the boy in action for yourself. Sir Nighteye is right about him, he is one of the most promising students and would rise swiftly in the ranks of Heroes once he graduates."

Yagi couldn't help but frown at the words, memories of falling out with his own sidekick coming up unbidden, yet still picked up the tablet to review the file. Mirio was a very muscular teen and his fitness and exercise scores showed it wasn't just for show. He also possessed keen intelligence and an ability to analyze a situation quickly and even under pressure find a solution to a problem. He had leadership qualities on top, being able to instill respect in his peers and inspire them to follow his lead. The number 1 hero finally read the part about his hero name and aspiration and couldn't help the amused snort. Lemillion, because Mirio was so inspired by All Might, he wanted to one day save 1 million people. Yagi felt humbled that he had managed to inspire so many new and upcoming heroes and students. Still the feeling of unease was ever present.

"Have you perhaps found another possible successor?" Principal Nezu asked him after he noticed his hesitation.

"The freshman students all hold great potential," Yagi replied and put the tablet back on the table.

"Anyone in particular?" Nezu leaned forward with interest.

"There may be one or two.." Yagi shook his head. "But I need to observe them more. No, the reason I'm worried is because 13 was supposed to let me know when the students and Aizawa arrived and started the trial. I haven't been able to get through to them, not even a signal or voice mail."

"Hmmm.. That is peculiar," the Principal frowned as well. "I will see if we can get in touch to at least ease your worries. But in the meantime, how about you observe this potential candidate as well."

All Might let out a sigh, but agreed. Nezu was right, he needed to find a successor quickly, someone who could immediately take up and shoulder the monumental pillar of the Symbol of Peace. Perhaps Mirio would do, he was a 3rd year so the transition would be immediate. The boy also had very good physique and would probably adapt to One for All quickly too.

The two educators exited the lounge room and headed for the observation room of the grounds where Class 3-A were currently conducting their Trial. On the way Nezu contacted Ectoplasm who apparently had a free period and asked him to get in touch with 13 or Aizawa, which put Yagi more at ease. They were met by Snipe, who was currently observing the monitors. "All Might, Principal," the teacher bowed in greeting. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, indeed," Nezu quickly waved away Snipe's concerns. "We are just here to observe how your students are doing."

"We just began another round of the Trial of Battle," the teacher replied and turned to the monitors. "The scenario is simple: villains are attempting a bank robbery, but things went awry and 2 civilians were injured critically so it has turned into a hostage situations. The class has been split in three - 10 students act as the villains, 5 are the hostages, and 5 are the heroes. The tasks for the heroes is to capture the villains, rescue the civilians before it's too late for the critically injured ones, and recover any booby traps or explosive devices that have been rigged by the villains."

"I see, that is a difficult Trial indeed," Yagi said having flashbacks of similar situations himself. "Why are 5 of the students in the roles of hostages?"

It was Nezu who replied, "Rather simple really. We feel like having the students experience the helplessness and powerlessness of civilians in such situations would help them relate better with them when real rescues are in progress. Which team is Mirio in?"

"The heroes, along with Nejire Hado. However I put Tamaki Amajiki on the villain team to make things fairer," Snipe explained and Yagi realized the other two students along with Mirio made up what was known as the Big 3 - the top three students of the school. He suppressed a cough and his sunken eyes shifted to the monitors where he noticed Mirio along with a blue haired girl were in the process of making a plan with their fellow students. The boy was engaged in the task at hand and seemed very animated with his gestures and instructions. Because it was very clear he was the one giving the instructions. All Might was curious what kind of plan he'd come up with, the heroes were outnumbered two to one and the clock was ticking on the injured civilians.

It seemed like the preparations were over, since the hero team started moving out. Just then Nezu got a call on his phone and picked it up.

"Principle Nezu here. Hang on, what?!" Snipe and All Might quickly looked over to the chimeric creature. "Snipe, stop the exercise and have the students go back to the school. Contact Cementos and tell him to do the same with 3-B. The school will be on lock down and I want the third years to patrol it and keep their juniors safe until the authorities are here and we come back."

"Come back from where?" All Might asked shifting to his Muscle Form.

"It seems like you were right, Ectoplasm just informed me that Tenya Iida came back running from USJ. There is a villain attack currently underway there and it seems like the sensors, cameras, and alarms were disabled. We are gathering the faculty at the plaza before heading out."

All Might had a different idea. He shot through the doors and immediately jumped in the air. Thankfully despite his limits, he still had his usual speed whenever he used One for All. He knew he should have listened to whatever was left of his gut, but who could predict such a thing as a villain attack on U.A. Academy of all places?! Besides, the Principal hadn't been wrong about his time limit and observing Mirio.

It didn't take him long to reach the domed area and he came across a group of students running away from it.

"I AM HERE," he announced as he landed right in front of them. "What's going on!" This wasn't all of the students, in fact it was just a quarter of them! And that was 13 being carried by Shoji!

"Sensei!" Urakara yelled and he could notice tears of relief falling down her cheeks. "You have to help the others! We were attacked by a huge villain and Izuku, Kirishima, and Todoroki stayed back to cover our escape! Tsuyu-chan went back to check on them too!"

"Keep going students, the teachers are already on their way! I will help the others!" All Might patted her on the head, reassuring the others with a smile. "You've all done good, everything will be fine!" It took him 2 more jumps to reach the entrance, just in time too. Much to his shock the gate burst open and he barely managed to catch Kirishima who had been sent flying through it. He noticed Midoriya, Todoroki and Asui, who was holding Aizawa in her long tongue, were being attacked by a huge villain. All Might wasted no time in punching the thing away.

"You have made me incredibly proud, students, to have managed to withstand this long against the villains while helping your classmates escape, and saving your teacher. But you can relax now. Why?" All Might ripped his tie away. "Because I AM HERE!"

"As expected of All Might," he heard quiet muttering from young Midoriya. "His strength is on a completely different level to ignore the Nomu's quirk."

"What are you mumbling about, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked his fellow student and Yagi had to admit he was curious too. He got his answer after the boy looked at him.

"Sensei, those villains said they came to specifically kill you. That thing you just hit is called a Nomu and it has incredible strength, speed, and regeneration. However, the most dangerous thing is it isn't affected by kynetic attacks. I used my full strength against it and it absorbed it like it was nothing. Of course, I'm probably not as strong as you, but.."

"Or it has to activate its quirk," Todoroki suggested.

"I am grateful for the information, young Midoriya. For now, I want you three to stay clear of the battle and hold onto Aizawa-sensei and Kirishima," All Might said handing the unconscious redhead to his classmates. He received a chorus of "Yes, Sensei!" and his smile grew wider. He had been wrong, there were more than two with potential.

His gaze finally shifted towards the villains and didn't even realize how his smile disappeared. He had been keenly aware of their presence, but instead of outright attacking them, All Might had decided to take the time to give praise where it was due and reassurance where it was needed.

Now it was time for violence where it was deserved.

In an instant All Might was in front of the Nomu hitting it with a Carolina Smash. However, instead of reacting to his attack it merely launched its own. All Might dodged deftly and the fight turned into a brief slugfest.

"So young Midoriya was right, you do have some sort of ability to neutralize kinetic attacks," the pro hero said aloud.

"That's right, his ability of shock absorption was prepared just for you. You'd be better off trying to scoop his guts slowly and meticulously rather than punching it into submission."

All Might immediately moved behind the Nomu and grabbed him for a suplex. In that case he had to restrict its movements. Except there wasn't a smash in the ground. Instead, there was incredible pain in his sides. He couldn't help the blood that came out of his mouth, that was the worst place to get hit!

Yet there was another thought in his mind while the villains were gloating and threatening. That Nomu had incredible strength. Not enough to match his, but still comparable. And that thing, those villains had dared direct this monstrous power against his young students! Before he could counterattack, the ground was frozen underneath him and along with it the Nomu as well. He felt the thing's grip slacken and used the opportunity to escape quickly.

"You children.. really don't know when to listen to your teachers," he directed at the students.

"Sorry sensei, I tried catching the warp guy, but he's a lot more careful now," young Midoriya said as he landed next to Todoroki and Asui.

"No, I'm grateful for your help," Yagi wiped out the blood from his chin. "But I want you all to stand back from now on. I need you all to see.. how the Symbol of Peace deals with villains."

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The ground shook and he could see the building practically vibrating under the shockwaves. Except it wasn't an earthquake that caused this, but the latest attack by the Villain Alliance. It didn't take long for the structure to start collapsing and Izuku rushed to catch as many people as he could before they hit the ground, which unfortunately amounted to only one. To his relief he noticed a long tongue catching another one, followed by two ice pillars in the form of slides that took care of the last two. He landed at their end along with Tsuyu-chan and put the woman he had caught on the ground.

"Nice save you two," he told his fellow heroes after directing the civilians to the nearest shelter. He then turned towards the collapsed wreckage. "Either of you have one of Mei's scanners? Mine was eaten earlier."

"I lost mine in the subway," Tsuyu-chan replied, wiping some sweat from her face.

Todoroki simply produced a tablet from his pack and turned it on. The tree heroes looked at it and Izuku's stomach sank. There were so many people under the ruined building! A loud thud beside them caught their attention and they turned to see Kirishima lying in a small crater. The redhead groaned before standing up with Izuku and Tsuyu-chan's help.

"Trouble," Kirishima said rubbing his head. They looked to where he'd come from and saw one of the black Nomu's about to charge.

"Great another one." Izuku glared at the thing. "Okay, one of us should be enough to stall it until All Might gets here. The other three can start rescuing the people. Who wants a go this time?" When he didn't receive an answer he turned to his friends and saw they were staring at him. "What?"

"Izuku-chan.. All Might has been dead for 6 years," Tsuyu-chan said and he looked at her in utter incomprehension. He didn't get a chance to reply because the ground shook and he felt himself falling into a chasm. There was banging, a scream and the hard impact of solid ground which finally woke him up.

He looked around dizzily and noticed he had fallen from his desk chair. "Whu? What?"

"Izuku, honey, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah.. yeah Mom, just a dream. What's the time?"

"11 in the morning. You have some friends here that have come to see you."

I have what now? He jumped from the ground, wiped the drool from his face and quickly opened the door to be met with his mother's worried face. Crap, there'd be a talk about this later, which would make her even more worried. He hated doing that to his mother.

"Hey Mom, I think I didn't hear you right.. I think you said I had friends here? As in more than one, who actually know where I live?" What's going on here? My spider sense is fine, so nothing fishy. What then?

His Mom's face immediately lit up and she envelopped him in a huge hug. "Oh Izuku, I'm so happy! You have finally brought friends home! And one of them is a pretty girl, my little Izuku has grown!"

"Mom! I haven't brought anyone! I can't even see who's here!"

"Oh right, sorry. I got excited there," his mothermfinally released him and Izuku could see the living room. His eyes bulged at seeing Mei cheerfully waving at him and Kirishima grinning like a maniac. Oh no no no. Mom, what have you done?! He quickly looked down. Oh thank God, he was wearing clothes.

"Gotta say Prez, now I understand why you're always late to school," Kirishima said.

"What, you're always late? But you leave so early every morning," his Mom frowned at him.

"N-no, I'm never late!" Izuku implored quickly sensing the danger. "What are you two doing here anyway? And how do you even know where I live?!"

"Oh, I hacked your student file like days ago," Mei waved his legitimate concern away. "And we're here to talk about All Might's not so little pro-mmpf."

"Okay Mom, we'll just go to my room," Izuku quickly pushed Mei inside while having his hand clamped firmly over her mouth and doing his best to ignore the wide variety of Looks his mother was sending him.

Kirishima was laughing hard at this point, but still followed them in. "Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya."

"Don't just go blurting that out!" Izuku said after they were safely inside and the door was shut. "I still haven't told her about it."

"You're planning on telling her?" Kirishima asked surprised.

"W-well.." Izuku felt himself start to sweat nervously. "I-it's uh.. I p-promised." Kirishima still had the questioning expression on his face. "It's one of the conditions my Mom set before she agreed for me to become a hero, I have to be honest about Heroics and tell her about stuff that might impact my life."

"Mpfh-thmh-mhpm," Mei gave her input. Both boys turned to her and Izuku immediately blushed and jumped to one of the walls.

"S-ssorry," he said timidly.

"Is this where you tinker with stuff?" the girl ignored his apology, quickly went to his desk, and as usual picked up one of his inventions.

"Wow, you're a huge All Might fan. But what's with the spider posters?" Kirishima asked him and Izuku finally pinpointed the reason for the nervous feeling he'd felt since he saw his friends in his apartment. They were in his room. Will they think he was weird? "Nevermind, don't answer that. Wait, do you have actual spider pets in this terrarium?"

"W-well.. I thought if I observed different species of spiders I'd learn more about my quirk," Izuku blushed even more, not moving from his safe spot on the wall.

"That's good thinking," Mei said not looking away from the already disassembled pieces of his hard work. "Is that how you came up with the web fluid and guns?"

"Shooters," Izuku corrected automatically. "And kind of. Despite having a lot of spider traits from my quirk, I could never produce a web, which I'm actually glad about considering where it normally comes from in a spider's body." Kirishima snickered, but the greenhead ignored him. "What I did get from my quirk was knowledge about the composition, strength and weakness of webs, as well as the different types, so I set out to try and replicate it."

"What's this?" Kirishima asked standing in front of a white board with a huge table on it that had various numbers and months on it.

"My All Might analysis," the spider teen replied before thinking and blushed when both his friends looked at him. "I uh.. Kind of spend last night looking back through All Might incident resolutions to see if I could find anything"

"Did you?" Mei was now standing in front of the white board as well and frowning at it.

Izuku let out a sigh and stepped on the floor. "Yes, I think so. I think it started about 6 years ago."

"Dude, that's some serious level stalkering you did," Kirishima said amazed. Izuku sputtered and looked away while rubbing his neck and the redhead hastened to say, "I mean that's a good thing, considering.."

"What happened 6 years ago?" came from Mei.

"Oh uh well.." Izuku sat on his desk and quickly power his computer from sleep mode. He pulled out an article. "The best possibility I could find was his fight with Toxic Chainsaw."

"Oh I remember that one!" Kirishima frowned. "That villain was pretty weak though. And how are you two certain there's something wrong with All Might in the first place? Maybe his quirk just changes his appearance and he's never revealed his other form to keep his private life secret."

"No, there's definitely something wrong. I can see the pattern," Mei said still looking at the table, which surprised Izuku. I didn't think anyone would understand my messy scribbling. "It's actually really detailed," the pink devil replied giving him a smile and Izuku's blush intensified. One of these days he really needed to find a cure for his mouth. Noticing Kirishima's still confused look, he quickly grabbed a marker and moved to the board.

"Okay, let me explain. After what we saw last night, initially I thought like you Kirishima."

"Dude, we're buddies, you can call me Eijiro now," the redhead grinned at him.

"R-right, s-sure," Izuku took a breath and released it, calming himself again. "But then I couldn't really stop thinking about the way he looked.. That skeletal appearance is just not natural, even if his quirk gives him another form."

Eijiro let out a sigh but agreed, "You're right, I couldn't stop thinking about it either. And he was coughing blood too, he had to sit down almost immediately after the wall was up. Even if the Nomu had hurt him badly, this is All Might we're talking about, he's been through much worse wounds."

"Exactly. So I decided to look back into his heroics, just 6 months at first. That's when I noticed something.. well, really obvious - All Might isn't seen in public that often anymore." His friends remained silent so he continued. "I went even further back, to here." Izuku pointed at a date on the board. "This was the incident with Toxic Chainsaw about 6 years ago. After that he appeared for the next two days normally and then he was gone for about 3 weeks. Everyone thought he was on a well deserved vacation."

"So it was either that villain or an incident that wasn't revealed to the public," Mei said. "What changed afterwards?"

"There was a gradual decline in his appearances. For one, he wasn't everpresent anymore. I'm not sure if you remember, but back then it seemed like he was constantly patrolling or saving people. Some on the forums joked he was present 24/7, 365 days per year. And it was kind of true, documenting some of his appearances before that, I almost thought his quirk allowed him to teleport and only sleep for an hour per day. He'd be stopping a bank robbery in Tokyo then an hour later he'd be saving people from a burning building in Osaka," he circled the two incidents in question from about a month before the Toxic Chainsaw one.

"Naturally, how else would you become known as the Symbol of Peace for years," Kirishima said thoughtfully.

"What are these other dates circled?" Mei asked.

"Those are incidents where he suffered minor injuries. Except, they weren't minor because his time in the public would take a huge dive afterwards."

"How come no one else has noticed this? It seems so obvious," Kirishima asked after counting the circles. There were a lot of them.

"Some did, but no one really considered the possibility that he was sevwrely injured. Or those that did were ridiculed or labeled as trolls, since All Might seemed to face huge crises without any issues. The most popular theory is that he has a family and is dedicating more time to them."

"What, a family?" the redhead asked confused. Izuku noticed Mei had sat down on his chair and was spinning on it while looking at his ceiling.

"Honestly, it kind of fits - those initial three weeks were when his child would have been born and then he also disappears for a week around the same time every year, so that'd be to celebrate the birthday. He takes increasingly more and more time off to be with his wife and see his child grow. If we didn't have the benefit of seeing the video, I'd have probably believed that theory myself."

"How much time does All Might dedicate to heroics now?" Mei asked suddenly.

"Uhm," Izuku looked to the board, to a spot in particular where he had a number underlined. "Around 2 and a half hours I would say, at least that's how much time he spent yesterday on resolving accidents before coming to USJ. It would explain why he didn't show up initially, if he was short on time."

"It's probably even less now, if we take into account the wound he received from that thing," the pinkhead pointed out.

"Wait, if the amount is that low how did he manage to stay in his All Might form for 3 hours when we did the Trial of Battle?" Eijiro asked.

"My working theory is that when he's muscular it doesn't necessarily mean he has his regular amount of power. It's more for show kind of thing. And if you remember he was really quick in disappearing after we were finished."

A look of realization settled on Eijiro's face. "That's right, some of us even commented on it! He really is severely ill then."

"It looks like the days of the Symbol of Peace are numbered," Mei said somberly and a heavy silence fell over them.

What would the world be like without the Symbol of Peace? Without All Might, his smile and laugh that put everyone at ease, his will and strength that stopped villains cold and held society like a pillar? Would everything crumble away? It's already happening, Izuku realized. The villain attack on USJ. The increase in crime in town, despite All Might actively patrolling. In the past only his mere presence caused for crime to drop to almost 0 in towns he visited. And the Hero Killer who became more infamous with each day after his casualty list kept growing. As if he knew he'd go unpunished. What would happen if he faced a weakened, ill All Might?

His dream came unbidden. All Might has been dead for 6 years.

"Izuku? You're looking pale, are you okay?" He realized Mei was standing in front of him giving him a concerned look.

He felt suffocated. "I need to go out. Let's go out." He fled his room, he would have jumped through the window like usual, except he doubted his friends would be able to follow. "Mom, we're going out!" He heard a vague response as well as Eijiro's goodbye to his mother, but by then he was already out and racing down the stairs.

The fresh air made him feel better. It was a nice sunny day and some people gave him weird looks, probably because he was out of school, but he didn't care. He took a few lungfuls of air and felt his breathing slow down. Did I just have a panic attack?!

"Dude, are you okay?" Eijiro and Mei finally caught up with him.

"Yeah, s-sorry.. I just.. lots of thoughts at once," Izuku replied. "You guys want to come to the beach with me?"

"What, the beach? It's spring!" Kirishima yelled surprised. Mei was still giving him a concerned look so Izuku smiled, trying to show he was better.

"Not for swimming, it's.. Well, it's a place I like to go to. It's not your typical beach." His two friends agreed and he led them to Dagobah Municipal beach.

"This is really a beach? Wow, you weren't kidding!"

"It's not a beach.." Mei said with stars in her eyes. "It's a treasure trove!" The girl didn't wait for them and quickly ran to one of the small hills and started going through things, which made Izuku laugh. He finally noticed that she was wearing actual workwear clothing, which seemed perfect for what she was doing. The spider teen couldn't blame her, he enjoyed looking for hidden treasures himself.

"I don't know why it's turned like this. I guess maybe various wreckage and garbage started washing up here and then people just kept throwing things away." He explained to Eijiro as he followed the pink devil. "I've been trying to clear it up, but I've been getting sidetracked by all the things I've found. I used materials from her to make my web-shooters."

"Birds of a feather," Eijiro muttered which made Izuku laugh. "By the way, I like Mei's web-guns more. It's shorter to say, very straightforward, and sounds manlier, you know."

"Not you too! It makes me sound like a criminal," Izuku said exasperated.

"But Snipe uses guns and he's an amazing hero," Eijiro pointed out.

"Ah.. You're right." Izuku was silent for a bit. "Sorry about freaking out earlier. I.. didn't sleep much last night because of the research I did and I had a nightmare before Mom woke me up."

"I get you man, yesterday was pretty traumatic, it's normal. I had a hard night as well, even though I was exhausted from the healing," Eijiro patted him on the shoulder. "It's not unmanly to admit you're shaken up." The redhead sighed. "But this is huge. What are we going to do?"

"We definitely have to keep it a secret for the time being," Izuku said.

"Says the guy who's planning on telling his mother," Eijiro pointed out and the spider teen sputtered.

"I've taken care of the footage from USJ," Mei said and the two boys turned to her. She was sitting cross legged on the ground with various junk strewn around her. She seemed busy disassembling a blender at the moment.

"What do you mean, you deleted it?" Eijiro asked. "Wouldn't that be suspicious?"

The pinkhead shook her head, "I left most of the footage intact, except for the ending and a couple of other uninteresting bits, which I corrupted. They'll think it was because of the interference." She licked her top lip in concentration, it seemed like she was having issue with a jammed bolt. "The only copy left is on a USB stick that I have encrypted and programmed to purge itself if the passcode is entered wrong twice. It will do the same if anyone attempts to force through the protection too." She stopped trying and plunged her hand in the inside of her overall before taking a small stick and tossing it to Izuku.

"Wait, why are you giving it to me?" the spider teen asked as he scrambled to catch it.

Mei shrugged. "You seem like the most reliable and responsible out of us. I may accidentally incorporate it in one of my babies after all."

"That's right, you're the Class Prez who took charge yesterday and guided everyone," Kirishima patted him hard on the back. "Anyway, is this the place you had in mind when we talked about sparring? How about we do it now, get our minds off things. I've been feeling restless since yesterday and I need to move again to see how much I've recovered."

"I uhm.." Izuku stammered surprised at the change of topic. Actually, he was feeling restless as well, especially because of the dream. He looked back to Mei who seemed engrossed in.. Was she extracting the electrical motor from the blender? "Okay, but I don't have my web-shooters," he agreed finally putting the USB stick in his pocket. Wait.. I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday after I got home! I forgot to change in the commotion!

"That's not a bad thing, I think you rely on them too much," Eijiro said while doing some stretches.

"W-what?"

"I've noticed it too," Mei added. "They're awesome and allow you to be extra versatile, but your base physical abilities are pretty impressive too."

"Wait, how do you.." Eijiro frowned. "No, let me guess, you did more spying. I didn't peg you for such a voyeur." Mei smiled to herself and said nothing. "But she's right, let's have a manly fight with our fists!"

"What about legs, can I kick too?" Izuku started doing his own stretches. He felt too stiff after sitting all night in that chair and even falling asleep in it.

"Of course man, what kind of question is that?" Kirishima laughed. Afterwards they sparred well into the mid-afternoon. The redheaded bestial boy was an incredible fighter. He was constantly attacking and didn't seem at all worried about defending, which given his quirk made sense. If Izuku didn't rely on his spider sense, he'd have been knocked out quite a bit. He managed to hold his flexibility to avoid getting impaled or cut, even doing some of his signature acrobatics. He even loosened some of his self-imposed limits after seeing Eijiro was able to take a punch.

To the boys' surprise it seemed like Mei got bored with tinkering and opted to join in. An even bigger surprise was she managed to hold her own for quite awhile against both of them. In a contest of strength and power she was completely outclassed, there was no question about that. However, it seemed like the pink headed devil had incredibly good battle sense on top of being very light footed. In the end the three teens were lying on the ground exhausted.

"Damn, I feel so much better now," Eijiro let out a sigh of relief and Izuku had to agree. He was a lot less stressed than before. Yet his mind was still heavy with thoughts.

"All Might is pretty amazing.. Despite his injuries, he keeps going and doing his best," Izuku said suddenly catching the other two's attention.

"Is it really a good thing? He's clearly leading himself to an early grave," the only present girl pointed out.

"What? He's the Symbol of Peace, he has to uphold that reputation. What do you suggest he do?" Eijiro asked incredulously.

"I don't know, but pushing himself is clearly not making things better. Sure he's extended his time as the Symbol of Peace and giving society a couple of extra years under his protection. But he's clearly at his limit now and it will all come crashing down."

Something clicked in Izuku's mind. "He said he needed us to see him."

"What?" the redhead asked him confused.

"You were knocked out, it was after we freed him from the Nomu. He said he needed us to watch how the Symbol of Peace dealt with villains. I think All Might is the most aware of his own limits and that's why he became a teacher at U.A. He's looking for a successor, someone who can follow in his footsteps and become the next Symbol."

Mei hummed thoughtfully. "That makes sense, although I still think it's too late now. Do you think he has found someone?"

Izuku frowned. "I think.. It won't matter," he said surprising both his friends. "Think about it, despite all his work as the Symbol of Peace, despite being a deterrent for years against villains and evildoers.. It still isn't enough. Villains are becoming more active, no one would have dared attack U.A. if he was at his best." His dream came to mind, the words of dream-Izuku in particular - One of us should be enough to stall it until All Might gets here. But that was wrong. Izuku stood up and looked towards what little he could see of the ocean.

"Everyone has grown complacent, because of All Might. Everyone has been relying on him, everyone has been waiting on him.. He's the Symbol of Peace, it's only to be expected. Endeavor is the only one who is even trying to outperform him and then after All Might stops being a hero it'd fall on him to fill his spot. Can you even imagine that?"

The silence that followed was tense and answer enough.

"I didn't expect this from you, Midoriya," Eijiro stood up as well and looked at the other boy angrily. "All Might has achieved so much and there are many other great heroes like Hawks and Engenium! Even past heroes, like Crimson Riot! What are you saying, that there shouldn't be a Symbol of Peace?"

"No, the opposite." Izuku shook his head and turned back to them. "Why should there be only one Symbol of Peace?"

"Ooooh," Mei's eyes widened in understanding, but Eijiro still seemed confused.

"What? What do you mean, of course there's only one!"

"Yes and that's All Might," Izuku agreed. "And I think no one can really fill his shoes, no one can compare to the incredible job he's done over the years. But I also think it's a mistake for one person to even try to do it, it would just be imitating and people would constantly compare the two. Instead, it should be a group of people. Instead.. We need to build on the solid foundation that he has set up."

"We?"

"Of course!" Mei jumped to her feet as well and had a manic grin on her face. "Who else? We know his secret and it's our generation that will have to deal with the fallout when he finally falls. Sure there are other current heroes and hero teams, but Izuku is right, no one comes even close to All Might."

"You two are crazy!" the redhead shook his head. "We're still just students! The adults and actual pro heroes have to handle this situation!"

"Like they've been doing it so far?" Izuku asked and Kirishima sucked in a breath. "I'm not saying we should go out there immediately and start breaking the law by becoming vigilantes. But I think we should still start making preparations for the future, at the very least look at other students with great potential."

"We'll need funds, if we want to be able to do things our way and not be reliant on the government. And lots of them! I should start looking into registering a company sooner, but I'll need exposure. Oh the sports festival is coming up, we could use that to showcase my babies!"

"My mom is a manager in a tech company," Izuku said excitedly. "She could probably help us with setting up the company. She's been helping me with my dream for 2 years now and I was gonna tell her about All Might anyway."

"I think you two need to calm down," Kirishima halted them in their tracks. "Look, Izuku I think you're probably the best potential hero in our class. And you Mei really are incredibly smart. But we're still just high school students! It hasn't even been a week since we started to learn how to become a proper hero."

"Can you really learn to be a hero or is it something that comes from within?" Izuku asked him challengingly, but the redhead shook his head.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Of course it's something that comes from within! But we lack experience, we still don't know how to deal with a lot of situations! Just think about yesterday! Trying to start a hero team or a company right now is too early! Look, I understand. Seeing All Might like that, finding out he was on a timer, it's really shocking! But that doesn't mean we have to over-react now. I'm not saying I hate the idea, I agree with you. I think we just need to take our time with this."

Izuku exhaled slowly and looked at Mei. The girl was looking to the side and had her arms crossed over her breasts. He looked back at Eijiro and nodded. "You're right, maybe we need to take a step back and sit on this. Think more about things."

The other boy nodded and smiled. "Let's just keep All Might's secret for now. And hey, Mei is right, the sports festival is coming up! If you want to get exposure, that's the best place to do it!"

The topic shifted to the upcoming event and the three couldn't help but share their excitement about it. They had all seen it on tv in the past and now they'd all have the chance to participate. Eventually Eijiro had to get back home since his folks were still worried for his health. To Izuku's surprise Mei still wanted to hang out together, so he invited her back to his house, an offer she accepted happily. It was on their way home when she suddenly put her hand on his shoulder and turned him to fac, after scooping all thetparts she had gathered in her pack. It was on their way home when she suddenly put her hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her. The spider teen had rarely seen such a serious expression on her face.

"I just want to say, I agree with you. Your idea is great, we should do it."

"What? But I thought over what Eijiro said, we're out of our depth here."

"That may be. But I still think we should start preparing now. Rome wasn't built in a day, we won't make a super amazing hero team immediately and become the Pillars of Peace overnight. We need to start setting things up, look for potential members, get exposure. All I'm saying is, not being hasty is good, but we shouldn't lose our focus."

Izuku smiled and couldn't help himself when he pulled Mei into a hug (of course he freaked out several times later that night, while he was reviewing the events of the day). He was glad they were friends, she understood what he meant. Just the thought of standing back and doing nothing made him seize immediately. He had sworn he'd never be that kind of hero, hell that kind of person! They could do this. Maybe they could even help All Might from the shadows.

The two teens continued talking about their plans for the future all the way home. They then switched to other topics and even rewatched the fight from USJ, after Mei had told him the password for the USB stick. The pinkhead made sure to point out on more than one occasion how a web grenade would have been incredibly useful against the Nomu and the other villains.

Izuku was having such a good time, he never noticed no one called or messaged Mei, not even when it started getting late. He didn't even realize she happily agreed to stay for dinner without asking anyone, at least not until after he had walked her to the train station.

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A/N: Damn it, this chapter went longer than I wanted, again. So I had to cut a scene or two and save them for later. Again. -_-

I know dream sequences are cliche, but there's a reason for that - big traumatic experiences or just stressful experiences from life have a huge impact on dreams.

Bit of plot and character development in this chapter. I liked writing from All Might's PoV.

Thank you all once again for the amazing support as usual. This story is gaining a surprising amount of traction, which is good since we're about to get to some controversial stuff. I can't believe there's so many people who are enjoying it. I also love reading all the reviews, some of them really crack me up. Keep them coming! =D

Ta-ta ~

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