AFM Interlude 4 & 5

Interlude 4

Yagi Toshinori

Yagi cursed himself for thinking that making All Might available for people to talk to or air their problems after using up his hero time in a day was a good idea. His plan was to help  Instead, it had resulted in endless fans calling him just to hear his voice or talk to their hero. All the time these people were wasting was time that could have been spent helping someone with a real problem, causing those truly in need to lose their opportunity.

The movement inspired by young Midoriya had been genuinely good. He personally had solved hundreds of discrimination and abuse cases so far, but it still wasn’t enough. Before quirks, problems arose due to money, religion, and ethnicity, which were major sources of division among humans and somewhat controllable. But now, with everyone being different and everyone having some power, the discriminations seemed truly endless.

Yagi disconnected the latest call, a headache-inducing experience, and decided to stop for the day. As he straightened up, he looked through the one-way mirror into the call center he had set up to handle the calls. It started with 10 attendants and now had over 25. His aim to only employ the quirkless had fallen through at the first stage, as only seven had applied, and five of them didn’t even have a high school education.

Thinking about middle school and the quirkless, Yagi's thoughts halted on Midoriya. He had been trying to get a meeting with the kid to apologize directly, but his father had been rather stubborn in allowing such a meeting. His point of contact was Midoriya Hisashi, who was surprisingly pleasant to talk and chat with. It seemed that Izuku had become rather close with his father, even confiding in him about his injury and reduced time. All Might was sure that Izuku, being a fanboy bordering on obsessed with his hero persona, would only share such details if he truly loved and trusted his father.

Hisashi’s argument that All Might was a traumatic point for Izuku and thus declining a meeting was actually a good reason. Yagi had agreed that he would meet Izuku when he got into UA at age 14. Hisashi was more confident in his child than anyone else Yagi had seen. Midoriya Sr. had even agreed to share Izuku’s progress in school and his regained passion for heroism after the event.

Interlude 5

5 Months Later

Izuku had been allowed out after careful pleading and being a dutiful, loving son for the last six months. He walked through the streets of the area where All For One was currently based, which changed every month. He observed the streets and noticed some cheerfulness—at least the Might Movement had some success. Izuku was never thankful for what had happened to his mother. His rant against society had ignited a fire, and many people were utilizing the situation for their own needs.

The reason Izuku wanted to get out of the base was to collect quirks. He knew that the only reason he was still alive was that his quirk couldn't be taken. He hadn't shared any details with either All For One or the Doctor. His quirk was truly exceptional compared to the old All For One, but without training his body to take and adapt to quirks, it wouldn't be useful, and All For One was deliberately being an obstacle in that. After carefully hacking into the base’s computers, Izuku had ensured he had true privacy on the internet and had gained access to the Doctor's files. The Nomus, being quirked corpses, were an excellent source of quirks if All For One allowed him, but since he did not, the only reason was to keep him as a "Deku."

However, patience was something Izuku had learned in spades, and he would wait. His endless internet access and determination to learn various skills helpful in detective and hero work had led him to learn hacking before the incident.

 He knew he couldn’t wait for things to change, and he knew he couldn’t openly take any quirks from people on the street without raising flags. So Izuku deduced that the only way was to work in an environment where people who lost their quirks wouldn't talk about it or even realize it. The answer he came up with was a hospital or an old age care home. Thus, he volunteered to serve there to utilize any opportunity that arose. His aim was to take quirks from anyone who was on death's door or in a coma.

Izuku was surprised that he didn't even feel any guilt for taking quirks or for the plan he had hatched. There was no other option for him to save himself from the harsh hand he had been dealt. He entered the old age home he has volunteered with a kind smile that allowed him to charm the elderly, just as he had done when he was a "Deku."