I Am Here (BNHA One-Shot)

I Am Here

The city of Musutafu burns. The heroes, defeated, lay on its remains, waiting for the successor of the Symbol of Evil to finish them off.

Shigaraki Tomura approaches Midoriya Izuku, right arm bulged and grotesquely deformed to show off the brutal combination of quirks, made specifically for the green pest in front of him, the bastard hero that kept getting in his way.

No more. Shigaraki Tomura dies here, along with the successor that symbolized all of his past failures. And from the ashes, the new All For One shall rise, baptized with the blood of the failed successor.

Not a single word was spoken as he cocked his fist back, prepared for the wonderful, melodic crunching of his sworn enemy's head as he extended his arm in the last punch the green hero would ever feel.

Ah, there it is. The wonderful crunching followed by the gross squelching and the gushing of the warm, thick blood that coated his fist.

Midoriya Izuku could only stare in horror as his face and hair is soaked in the blood of Yagi Toshinori. His idol, mentor, father figure. His hero, All Might.

His final act of heroism, his last job as a mentor. Just as his master did for him, he sacrificed himself to buy his student, or in this case, students, time. Time to grow, to become stronger, to become better heroes. And, just like his mentor and predecessor, he did it all with a smile. His time was up, anyway. He could no longer fight, and his successor had entered uncharted territory with One For All a long time ago.

It was time for him to step aside. But he wouldn't be the Symbol of Peace if he didn't save lives while doing so.

Smiling brightly at the shell-shocked greenette in front of him, he gently ruffled the boy's fluffy green hair, slicking it with his blood as he tried to comfort the boy in his final moments.

"Young Midoriya," he forced himself to speak though the pain. He was rapidly nearing his end, quickly losing strength. But he had to encourage his son one last time. "I am so proud of you..."

Izuku looked up at him, shock written all over his face. All Might was dying because of his weakness. How did he make his mentor proud? "A- All Might..."

"You, who used to have nothing... Who was just a quirkless coward... You were quick to prove every single one of your naysayers wrong. You showed us all what a true hero is, and that you are worthy of that title..."

He coughed up a tiny bit of blood. He was getting closer and closer to the edge, even as he desperately fought to stay alive long enough to talk to his son for the last time. He didn't know why Tomura was letting him do this. In truth, no one knew, not even Tomura himself. In that moment, they could only watch as no one dared disrupt this touching moment between mentor and student, predecessor and successor, father and son.

"I know... You will end the brotherly conflict of All For One and One For All. You will be better than me."

"I- I can't-"

"You will succeed where I failed. Because you are my successor. Because you are destined for greatness."

"All Might, ple-"

"Even when I'm not longer here... Even when I can no longer watch over you, see you grow to become the hero you are destined to be. I know, the world will eventually find peace..."

"No, no no no, you can't...! All Might!-"

"Because you are here..."

With his piece said, Yagi Toshinori finally let the chill of death claim him, his sunken eyes closing, never to open ever again. He had done his job, it was time for him to rest.