Not Me, But Him

All Might and Izuku were incredibly surprised by Akanes' answer. Both of them didn't expect that someone would reject an opportunity like this. Nobody would have rejected an opportunity for more strength, this should have especially counted for a person that knew the pain of being powerless.

"What did you expect? That I start to jump up into the air? Hollering that I am so happy that I get an opportunity like this? Did you expect me to wriggle in excitement that I am about to inherit such an awesome ability that makes me stronger? Did you expect that?"

With each of her questions she inched closer to the two of them, looking at them with a judging gaze, making them extremely uncomfortable.

"No, not really. I am just surprised that someone would reject an opportunity like this? I mean, it's..."

"Power and strength and all that? Yeah, I know. It's a great opportunity to rise up and show everyone that you aren't just some random background character, right?"

"If you know it, why would you reject it then?"

"It's simple, it really is. What would have been the point in all my training when I chose to cheat and take a stupid shortcut?"

"Stupid?"

"Shortcut?"

Yagi and Izuku were surprised at the girls answer. She called such an incredible ability stupid and treated it as if she would do something wrong if she would take it.

"Do you even have an idea of what I went through, just to get my body to this point? To this level of strength? Yes, I trained that much is obvious. But do you know to what extend I trained?"

She told the two of them her training regime, but this time she didn't held any information on it back. She recounted the days were her body was still weak and her body felt like breaking, just trying to force it to move. She told them how often she landed in hospital because of the reckless training. She even showed them the scars that were on various parts of her body because of her training.

Izuku was surprised hearing all this, even a bit horrified. As Akane told him as Arata about the training regime, he was already astounded by it. But now? All he could think of is the pain she went through, he once again remembered that a famous idol stood before him and that that petite seeming girl did this each single day.

"How, how are you still alive with this kind of training with your kind of body? This is way too much! You even said it yourself! Your body gave in, it broke more often then you could remember, sometimes you were in your bed, wondering why you did this to yourself? Hiding your pain so your mother won't worry about it? This is ridiculous! How didn't you die with this kind of training, how didn't you die hiding all these dangerous injuries? How are you still standing here, and not only that, performing regularly on stage? Going to school? Living life! This should have been..."

"...impossible? Yeah it should have been, I shouldn't be alive right now, right?"

Yagi coughed, this sounded wrong. It sounded a bit like he would condemn her for being alive. He wanted to correct himself, but it was too late...

"Don't worry, I know that you don't mean that I should be dead right now. I understand that you mean that I was reckless and could have died as a result of my actions, don't worry. You too were quirkless once, after all."

What? How did she know?

"Anyways. The point is, I recklessly overworked myself to the point of breaking. Normally this would mean the end, it's broken after all, but me idiot didn't want to give up. I broke my body again and again to reshape it, to make something stronger out of the pieces. As Izuku said, it's too late for me, I clung onto this path all my life, walked it all until now, I can't give up now."

Akane clenched her fists, she clenched them as if she tried to hold something desperately, as if she tried to hold onto something that she forgot she had.

"I did all this to prove my point, that even quirkless, disabled, anyone, can be cool and awesome like a hero if they just try hard enough. What would be the point in suddenly gaining a quirk? Oh, she is just this strong because of her quirk, so she had a quirk after all, etc. I am known as the quirkless girl that stands so high up, despite everything. My image, my reputation, my ideal, all of that crumble if I take your offer."

She shook her head once again, as if she cleared all her remaining thoughts in her head.

"So, I am sorry. I am sorry that you finally found a candidate to inherit your powers, but ultimately, she refused. But you heard me talking, I can't take it."

Yagi shook his head. He understood her point. She wanted to prove everyone, she wanted to prove everyone that they can make it if they try. If he was the symbol of peace, she was the beacon of hope.

All what she did was for her hopes and dreams, he couldn't force a girl like that to give up one her dream, could he?

"Are you sure? The path you will take will be a much harder one than the path of being the symbol of peace."

"I never doubted my goals, but once again. I am more resolved than ever to prove my point."

Yagi had to chuckle, such a beautiful dream. He hoped that she would accomplish it, he hoped that she would pave that arduous path nobody else chose to take.

"Hahaha! You are right, I barely find someone fit to be my successor, but it turns out that that person's goal is even nobler than the goal of One for All! I shouldn't make platinum, gold after all, should I? But damn, once again I have to work my butt off. Your goal might be beyond inspiring, but it will take many years until you are ready, isn't that so?"

Akane looked at him with a confused gaze.

"But isn't there another worthy person right in front of you?"

Yagi was confused, there wasn't anyone that came into his mind that she could mean. Not the boy that was also here, right?

"Hey, thinking that is rude in front of him."

Could she really not read minds? It really seemed like it.

Akane grabbed Izuku on his shoulders in pulled him in front of Yagi.

"He is worthy, isn't he?"

Silence.

"EEEEEHHHHH!!!"

"How can I be worthy? I am just a normal boy! Heck, I even don't even have quirk, how can I be considered worthy?"

Did he just mention that he has no quirk again? As a result, he just got his head flicked by Akane.

"Have more confidence, you little dunce! Think about it, you were there too All Might, weren't you? I mean the moment where you saved that boy from that villain, yes, nobody was ever in real danger, but you couldn't have known that! You still jumped in to save that boy, Izuku you have the heart in the right place, you just don't have the power."

In this moment he remembered the words in the past his mother said to him.

"I am sorry, Izuku! I am so sorry, Izuku!"

Finally, there was someone that believed that his dream wasn't a vain believe.

"This is your opportunity, miracles happen. In one way or another, there is always a path!"

Someone believed in him.

"This boy, All Might, has the heart in the right place, right? So why not give him One for All?"

He was about to cry, but he refrained from doing so, there was a person that risked her life for him, there was a person that believed that he deserved an incredible power.

"With this his dream can become a reality. Izuku, aren't you happy?"

He still cried. He couldn't hold his tears back in this moment after all.

"You can become a hero."

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It was two day after the events of the roof and Izuku was currently on the beach, carrying a fridge with Akane and Yagi on it, he wondered how he could get into a situation like this. He remembered the events two days ago again.

"Well, that boy has indeed the heart at the right place, but there is a big glaring problem."

"You mean that he isn't a vessel for One for All yet?"

"Yes. Seigi, girl. Are you some kind of prodigy? I mean you can deduct things even before I completely said them. You understood that I am quirkless, based on the thing that I only have my super strength from One for All and no other ability, which wouldn't be so if I had a quirk before and you understood the concept of One for All really fast after I explained it. Isn't your understanding too great?"

"That's not important now. The important thing is that Izuku would go boom now if he would try to inherit One for All. You understand what this implies Izuku, right?"

He nodded.

"I have to train, right?"

"That's correct, All..."

Akane turned around and looked at Yagi. She wanted to know his name.

"What's your name? I am done with calling you All Might all the time."

Hearing this, Yagi was surprised. Indeed, he didn't introduce himself to his successor yet, how embarrassing.

"My name is Toshinori Yagi, nice to meet you."

Akane gave him a smile and replied back.

"Seigi Akane, nice to meet you. Toshinori-san, you have a trainings plan for your successor, right?"

Yagi just nodded and handed the girl a little notebook over. She just ripped it into shreds in threw it into the air.

"Not enough! He won't be ready at this pace until the UA entrance exam! Plan change! I will also supervise his training until he is ready to inherit One for All!"

Until then, Izuku was excited, but now he had to carry a fridge all the way to the dumpster with Akane and Yagi on. It was obvious he didn't manage to budge the fridge from its place, right?

"This is impossible, how should I carry this fridge with you and All Might up? Doesn't he weigh 274 Kilograms? How am I supposed to carry this?"

Akane jumped down.

"Well, to be fair, he now weighs 255 kilos, he lost a bit of weight after the wound. What insults me more though is that you are neglecting my weight."

She suddenly pulled the zipper from her track suit down. Izuku looked away in shame because he didn't want to see his idol half exposed. How cute.

"How cute, don't worry, I am not that kind of girl. See, I am wearing training weights! I myself must currently weigh the same as Toshinori does! Hahahahaha!"

Izuku was once again impressed by the girls training progress.

"Seigi girl. Shouldn't you cut Midoriya boy some slack? I mean having to carry half a ton on his first day, isn't that a bit too much?"

Both of them saw Akane sigh. She just walked up to a planted palm tree on the roadside and started to hug it. Until now both of them were confused about what she did, until she rooted the tree out of the ground.

Seeing this their eyes basically fell out. They didn't believe what they saw.

Akane planted the tree back and walked towards the two of them again.

"Yes, my training might be a bit too harsh if you think about it, but let's be honest. Even now I am not even anywhere near as strong as you Toshinori. Aren't I right?"

He was surprised at the girl's action, but he understood what the girl wanted to say.

"With your old training regime Izuku could have barely inherited One for All, after all you cultivated its strength crazy high, even I don't have to confidence to bring out it's full power with my body, look at him. Look at yourself Izuku! Do you think you can build your body even near strong enough to uproot trees? Just think of your strength times three."

He did that, but still shook his head.

"See? With Yagis training plan you would have been barely ready for your power, and even with mine the possibility is still far, but giving up hope is the wrong thing to do! Here!"

She suddenly gave Yagi a tapped-up notebook. It was the one he gave Akane, but now it was tapped all over to hold the pieces together. There were also a lot of red marks over it, seeming to be corrections in the plan.

"Follow it and your successor will have an easier start into his hero career! Now if you excuse me, I have an appointment with the group. We are recording a new album."

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