Trust Time: All Might's Class

"Yagi-san, come, sit down."

There was a calmness in the air as Toshinori took a seat in the wannabe-teacher's lounge in the Class 3-E building across from Korosensei. The octopus had his signature smile on his face, but it held the feeling of gentleness yet sadness. Toshinori couldn't help but feel tense regardless. He wasn't much for confrontation, and he knew he wasn't Korosensei's favorite person.

Though, if Toshinori was honest, they weren't… well, they did have their bumpy start (okay, maybe that was putting it lightly. He distinctly remembered Korosensei hating his guts and straight-up disrespecting the Pro Hero in front of the entire class at the beginning), but as time passed by and both got to see each other's true colors—colors of true kindness and heroism—they slowly drifted into a… comradery of sorts. Odd to say, but it was nicer. At least they didn't bicker in front of the children anymore.

"Korosensei," Toshinori prompted after a long bout of silence, the air filled with the rustling of paper as the octopus simultaneously graded papers and sorted photos of his class. Toshinori caught a copy of himself and Izuku, posed in fighting stances, training his quirk. His lips quirked up at the image and the memory.

"I'm making one for you as well," Korosensei began, his voice laced in amusement.

"Hm?"

Tentacles lifted up a halfway finished photo album. "Just a simple yearbook. Consider it a graduation gift, if you will. The students have been helping pick their photos the past few days as well. I thought you'd enjoy one for yourself."

Toshinori's sunken eyes widened in astonishment, registering the stacks upon stacks of photos, all capturing the students and teachers throughout the year. Was he planning on finishing all these yearbooks before the end of the school year? What is he saying, Korosensei never ceased to amaze him. A hum of amusement. "Thank you, Korosensei."

Somehow, the octopus' smile grew soft. He set the photo album down gently. "Yagi-san," his tentacles lapped over the other oh the desk. "I have a favor to ask of you."

The Pro Hero hesitated, curiosity tinged with uncertainty. "Yes, what is it?"

A moment of silence, somehow Korosensei's smile grew sad and his tentacles lifted to his face, bent at where elbows would be and his "fingers" clasped together. "These kids are close. You know that, right?"

"Why, yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

A sigh was his immediate response, and the Pro Hero felt his heart clench nervously. "After graduation, the children will part to different schools. Things will be hard for them, especially being separated. I know they'll need each other, however." Toshinori nodded along, unsure of where this was going. "That's why I ask that you help them, all of them. Not just Young Midoriya."

Blond brows curved together in confusion. "Yes, of course. I'll do my best," he hesitated then, a sense of dread and suspicion crawling up his throat. Those… were the words of a dying man, were they not? "... Why do you ask?"

"I'm afraid I won't be here to see them graduate."

The dread went from crawling to striking his throat and chest. Toshinori almost spat blood, but was too surprised to even do that. He swallowed thickly. "What? But- Korosensei, you don't- you're not going to die, Korosensei." The air felt too thick with the thought of this… this important creature dying. Korosensei wasn't responding—Toshinori felt his heart hammering in his chest. He pressed again. "You're not going to die."

"Perhaps not by your hands, or the children's," his voice was eerily calm, but it felt so sad. "But I've made mistakes, Yagi-san. Mistakes that has the government's eyes on me, it's why you were brought back to Japan, why I bargained with the government. I may not be a danger to the Earth anymore, but the threats I've made cannot be easily taken back."

The octopus opened the drawer in his desk, a napkin curled around an anti-sensei knife and he lifted it in the air.

"Humans are intelligent creatures. Give them one hand up, and no doubt they will exploit it to its full potential."

Toshinori swallowed again, understanding full well what his colleague was insinuating. Korosensei set the knife down. "But couldn't you try? Convince the government, retract—"

"You know as well as I that it can't work that way," Korosensei shook his head. "I could even claim to extend the 'deadline', but what's done is done. Higher up officials take safety of the public most sacred over the word of one villain."

"Oh, friend, you're not a villain. "

Toshinori almost surprised himself with that statement. He remembered there was a time he wouldn't hesitate to call the octopus a villain, he's in fact regarded him as such, even forgoing the name Young Kayano placed on him. Toshinori deflated internally.

Korosensei's smiled grew at that. "I appreciate it," he began. "However, people will believe what they believe. Stain is one such example, he believes so strongly that heroes are no better than villains, and that you're the only exception. It's simply a fact of life, Yagi-san."

Toshinori frowned, his eyes lowering to the litter of photos organized on the desk; not exactly a mess but organized just the way Korosensei likes it. Korosensei, human no longer but still a living being deserving of life. He's suffered enough, hasn't he?

There has to be something he can do, right?

… Right?

Abruptly, Toshinori stood up. Determination burned in his eyes as he stared his colleague down. "I'll talk to the government officials. There—There has to be something we can do! I can—I can use my title as Number One Hero, I can try to—"

"Yagi-san."

Toshinori paused in his babbling, lifting his tired, desperate eyes to the yellow being who smiled at him as though he had already accepted his fate long ago. Realizing this gave Toshinori a deep pang in his chest, and it wasn't his deteriorating health that pained him. Lamely, the old Pro Hero slumped back in his seat, head lowered.

"... How… how can you be okay with this?"

"I've made my peace," came the calm reply. "I've just about finished all I wanted to. My only regret is not being able to see our students graduate and grow up."

Toshinori's eyes burned for a different reason than before. He grimaced and felt like he just swallowed hot coal.

"I see." He gave a short huff of laughter. "I wish I had nerves like yours, Korosensei."

"Yagi-san, if I may… I can't fix it completely, but I can grant you more time, at least. Please, as a final request?"

Another huff of amusement, knowing full well what the octopus was suggesting. A calloused hand lifted to his shirt, unbuttoning the top of his shirt to reveal the ugly, curled scar over his chest.

"Alright. Who am I to deny a dying man's last request?"

 ---

Toshinori said he would watch over the children, keep them safe.

Oh. Oh God, Young Kayano, she…

During the fight, All Might gave his all in helping Korosensei take down this monstrosity Shiro had created, Death itself it almost seemed. After the patch-up Korosensei did on him, he could actually keep up to the two tentacled men, meeting punch for punch and block for block. He couldn't inflict as much damage as he had hoped, seeing as the Reaper had Korosensei's same 'Shock Absorption/Quirk Immunity' quirk, so even One for All couldn't do much. Finally, he had to accept defeat after a particularly hard hit to the stomach that threw him into the ground, creating a crater. After that, Toshinori had to deflate. He pushed too hard, and a hard feeling in his gut made him know he would regret something in the morning.

He lost time. From five back to three. Back where he started. He could feel it.

Young Nagisa and Young Maehara rushed to his side, each calling his name and helping him at least sit straight.

Then Young Kayano, she… was she dead? Oh, lord, he prayed she wasn't. Young Izuku could hardly hold himself together as he cradled her red body.

And Korosensei, Toshinori had never seen his friend so incredibly devastated . His heart clenched. What sort of hero was he when he couldn't even protect one of his students? He watched in silent distress, his two students at his side holding him up as Korosensei grew in energy, presumably moved by pure rage and grief.

Then white—and the fight was done.

Korosensei never ceased to amaze him, though.

He was weak, but he still managed to save Kayano. The way her cells and blood floated in the air, tendrils passing through her, stitching her back together, and bringing her heart back to life. Young Izuku's eyes never dried when he held her after sitting her up. Toshinori smiled and both Nagisa and Maehara helped the Pro Hero to stand up and come by the class.

Everything seemed fine for a moment, where he was passed to Karasuma and Jelavić to help him stand.

And then Korosensei died.

 ---

He stayed with the students in the classroom despite his dire need for medical attention (It's okay, though, Young Takebayashi helped him as best he could with his quirk. He only threw up blood twice!).

With each one, he sat and cried with, looking over the photos and handwritten notes he left for them all.

He held Young Kurahashi and Young Kanzaki's shoulders as they sobbed into him. He offered gentle nudges of support to the stronger students like Young Terasaka, Young Karma, and Young Hazama. He gave tight embraces to Young Nagisa and his apprentice, along with Young Kayano and Young Yada.

No eye was dry, there wasn't a moment of silence until they all fell asleep, which wasn't until deep, deep into the night-near-morning. Some of the students kept waking up in the middle of the night, sobbing and suffice to say, Toshinori didn't get a wink of sleep himself, but he didn't mind. He was going to be there for each of his students. Through everything. Just like Korosensei asked of him. He'd tear the sky open for these children.

The students fell asleep on their desks, some of which they huddled to make islands.

Izuku, Nagisa, Kayano, and Karma all huddled in their island, falling asleep together and holding hands.

Terasaka and his tightly knit group of friends with the addition of Hara fell into a fitful sleep on the floor, under their desks. Hara and Yoshida were leaned against one another.

Isogai, Kataoka, Sugino, Nakamura, and Maehara made a circle together in the corner of the class, looking through their stack of photos.

Toshinori had raided Korosensei's office after an hour of sobbing and grieving, and with the help of Karma and Maehara, they brought back piles of blankets that Korosensei had stashed during his overnight stays. Why he had so many for only one octopus was a mystery—and, Toshinori supposed, it would remain a mystery forever now.

Blankets covered almost all the students. There weren't enough to fully go around, though, so many of them had to share which they were glad to.

Graduation was in the morning.

Toshinori looked out to the night sky, to the broken moon forever frozen in its crescent shape, the world's reminder of the creature that was Korosensei. The Hero turned to the students crowding each other in sleep, soft whimpers filling the silence along with the soft chirping of crickets outside. He would protect them all, be there for them all…

Toshinori frowned, looking down at his own copy of their class yearbook, smiling faces staring back at him. Korosensei had written, "keep spreading your smile." His lips forced themselves to lift broken heartedly at that, grinning for the sake of Korosensei's own smile which always seemed wider and brighter than his own for some reason.

He died smiling. Toshinori wondered if he would have the same courage to smile with his last breath.

Korosensei looked happy, that it was his students who did it in the end.

The Pro Hero turned to the next page in silence, a tear escaping.

It was so quiet.