Prologue

'What does it mean to be a hero in this day and age? Ask any child and, chances are, they will offer you a name plucked from the top-chart's billboard, as if heroes can be ranked against one another in what ultimately constitutes as a thinly veiled, toxic popularity contest. The pure intentions that had birthed the very origins of heroism have been lost, swallowed in an overwash of money-making, vain contenders who strives solely for their self recognition and the sweet allure of fame, fortune and fans.

It is for this reason alone that All Might resides unchallenged as our greatest hero.'

Yagi Toshinori holds the tiny form of Yagi Nana to his chest, utterly overwhelmed by just how small the little child is in his giant hands. He can easily circle her torso with the fingers and thumbs of both his hands, can hoist her up with a single hand and not feel the slightest bit of strain. She stares into his eyes, the same bright blue irises reflected in her own and then her lips peel back to reveal a gummy smile. There're some teeth, not many, but they're there. Evidence that she's on solid food is smeared around her lips, mashed carrots and potatoes would be his guess, given the colour.

With the utmost care, Toshinori cradles the little girl (this little miracle) to his chest. He can only wonder why Selene never though to tell him before, why she only dared to speak of the little girl's existence as she lay on her death bed.

Tiny palms press into the sides of his cheeks, baby babble tumbling out from between her lips at a rapid rate and he doesn't understand a word of it. What he does know is that those eyes are glimmering with delight at his very existence, those fingers exploring the contours of his face with wonder. Does she see the same blue eyes, the same blonde hair that resides upon her own head? Does she notice how his own jawline is sharper, more angular than her own?

Does she realise they are family this early in their acquaintance?

Toshinori ignores the way Naomasa and Sorahiko are both standing by the door and watching him. He's got much more important things to focus on.

After all, Yagi Nana is the most precious being in existence and he shall smite any that claim otherwise.

Having risen far above what any hero before him has ever ascended to, All Might stands as the modern-day pinnacle of perfection, the heralded Hercules of our era. Having paved the way for a new generation of heroes, all vying for the number one pedestal he guards so effortlessly, it becomes near impossible to not idealise the man.

However, a man's shoulders are only so broad. Only so strong. And, despite the quasi-divinity of the legacy he has built, All Might is but a man. And as all men are wont to do, even he shall eventually bow his neck to the passage of time. Which creates the impending question; who, if any, will prove capable of taking up Atlas' burden?

Yagi Nana is a blessed child. She's well aware of that fact, milks it a little when she feels the need. Yagi Nana has her Papa wrapped around her little finger and she knows it, adores it. She adores the man who is her father and her father adores her. All in all, it's a perfect little relationship they've got going on. It's just a shame he works long hours and has to leave her with the man she's beginning to suspect isn't her grandfather but, rather, her father's mentor.

Not that it matters. He's still Gran-Tori all the same.

"Tori! Tori!" She stumbles after him on her stubby little baby legs, feet hammering against the floor but she couldn't care any less. What matters is that they are playing tag and he is just out of reach, if only she could just go a little faster, put a little more power into her legs-

He's at a quirk specialist, the expensive kind. But what else can he do, other than find out if what Torino has theorised is true?

Nana sits on his lap, scowling down at the pot she has on her right leg, the one she'd pushed off on as her quirk activated. A quirk that looks frighteningly like One for All. Could he has potentially passed on the quirk to his own daughter by accident? He knows she's never eaten a hair, but… children are made with genetic material from both parties, after all.

Fighting down the blush, Toshinori plucks up his daughter as their last name is called to the room at large, once again thankful for the option heroes are given to hide their name on the registry. Otherwise, there would no doubt be people clambering to talk to him. Toshinori has zero problems with that normally. But he's not here as All Might right now. He's here as Nana's father and he dearly needs to keep people from recognising him, from realising he has his own child (especially with All for One still out there but he could never hope to give Nana up now). So that means a wig of ridiculous hair, it means three layers of padding around his waist so that, instead of looking muscular and heroic, he only looks bigger than the average man. If it's lumpy in places, well, that can be passed off as a quirk. He still hides himself behind Nana and her wild hair, the hair that is slowly darkening to a pinky brown, same as her mother had once had. His blue eyes persist though; he hopes they'll remain that way too.

.

He's got the order from the Hero Commission, the document that says nothing said within this room could be repeated again. There's an acronym but, for the life of him, Toshinori cannot recall the three letters. He's much more worried about Nana, so he explains, without hesitation.

If the quirk specialist he's seeing has to sit himself down upon realising that it is All Might within his room, well, he politely ignores it and continues with the overview of One for All. He doesn't share everything, just enough for the man to get the picture.

Some testing later (including allowing the man to place his palm upon Toshinori's head and Nana's too) and then they're done. One for All remains with him, nestled deep in his breast and not passed down to his child. As far as the doctor can tell, Nana has her own variation of it; the same power stockpiling element, but it's drawn from the family line. She will have all of his power and add to it with her own. It's both a relief and a terror; All for One will not hunt his daughter down as he has done the previous holders. But she has a genetic stockpiling quirk; all the power of One for All, but none of the resistance to quirk theft that his own quirk has. And her little body just doesn't have the support to house the quirk. Not yet, anyway.

Nana rests her head on his shoulders as they walk out the building, the pot pressing against his torso but he ignores it. She's tiny, only a year and two months old.

She is the most precious thing in the universe.

He needs to find out how early a child can start training; he cannot risk his baby girl blowing her body up because of how her quirk has mutated. No, Nana's future is her own; if she wishes to be a hero, then he will support her, just as he will support her with any other venture. But she does need training up enough that her won quirk won't destroy her. That much is evident.

"Love you~" Nana mumbles into his chest, sleep heavy in her voice and words clenching Toshinori's heart where it resides within his chest.

"And I love you, Nana-tan."

I have no excuse, other than this came from 'First Man' by Camila Cabello and I liked the thought of All Might freaking over potentially giving One for All to a baby (which he's not done, btw).

Tsume
xxx