Gówno

2

“It sounds like he’s trying to tempt you.” All Might told him, easy and nonchalant.

It was a Saturday morning. They were sitting on a bench on the side of a gravel track in the outermost circle, and Izuku had been blotting sweat from his forehead at the time. His hand froze as the words left his mentor’s lips, blood draining from his face as his eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in, All Might continued.

“No, no!” He hastily exclaimed, waving his hands. “It’s not a bad thing— well, unless it worked, but…”

Izuku’s throat made some noise, strangled and involuntary.

“—But that’s not the point I’m trying to make!” He went on. “You have nothing to be concerned about, Midoriya. In fact, this could be a great opportunity!”

Izuku halted, turning to look at him with a bewildered expression.

“…H-How do you mean?”

“Well…” He made some vague, meaningless gesture. “You’re in a very unique situation. Not a lot of first-tier Angels come in contact with Demons, you know, let alone the same one multiple times.” He explained. “If you can show yourself to be capable of resisting temptation, that’s sure to make you stand out when the council reviews you for ascension.”

Izuku blinked a few times rapidly.

“You really think so?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I know so.” He held eye contact with him for a while, then looked away.

“Isn’t it sort of dangerous, though?” He followed. “I mean, what if he attacks me?”

All Might hummed, brows pinching together for a moment.

“I can understand your concern.” He said, then sighed, leaning back on the bench. “It’s a shame they don’t allow us to give combat instruction to Angels below the second tier.”

Izuku was silent for a moment. He stared at his feet, shuffling them idly against the gravel.

“It’s… not just that. I just…” He bit his lip, fingers tangling with the fabric of his pants as he debated whether or not he should even voice his concerns. “I feel like…” He sighed, “Like there’s just… so much I don’t know about Demons.” He finally said, then released an awkward laugh. “Even he seemed surprised.”

All Might hummed again. “The curriculum as far as that is concerned does leave a lot to be desired.”

He felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders.

“Why won’t they teach us this stuff?” Izuku pressed. “I mean, it just seems so… I don’t know.” He exhaled harshly, raking his fingers through his sweat-damp hair. “I’m sure there are good reasons for it, of course. It’s just, from my perspective, it kind of feels… unnecessarily risky.”

“It’s… complicated.” All Might replied. “The official reason is that they want to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. But honestly, even as someone who’s actually worked closely with the higher-ups, some of the restrictions do still seem sort of arbitrary.” He said, then shrugged. “I’ll be the first to admit that it can be quite frustrating. But that’s society.”

Izuku nodded, and for a while, remained silent. A couple of women strolled by, chatting animatedly. He waited until their voices receded into the distance.

“Are you…” He started, then cleared his throat, speaking quietly. “Do you know about a thing called ‘insidious cryptospection’?”

For several seconds, All Might didn’t respond. Izuku was sure that if he were to glance at him, he’d find him staring back at him with his mouth agape, but he kept his gaze trained on the gravel beneath his feet.