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"Do you-" A scorch mark on one cheek, dirt smears on the other, yet the little boy looked up with so much earnest, desperate hope he would later swear the world brightened, ever so slightly. "Do you think I can be a Hero? Even- even without a Quirk?"
His heart swelled. He let loose a deep, booming laugh, and gently ruffled soft green curls with a hand larger than the boy's entire head. "I believe anything is possible, little one. Anything at all."
It became a habit he never should have indulged in.
To go back, every so often, and check the playground for a tiny Quirkless child, who put his whole heart and soul into cheerfully standing up for others. To sit and be chattered at, delighting in the simple interaction, a single autograph and some words of encouragement all it took to become friend and confidant to a single, lonely boy.
And here it led.
“You should have known better, All Might.”
Something left All for One’s hand, casually tossed to land on the ravaged ground between them. Something small, easy to be held and played with by a child, formerly bright colors scuffed from constant use.
Something covered in bloodstains.
You should have known better.
It nearly worked. Nearly sent Toshinori crashing to his knees, caught up in horror, in visceral denial. But One for All surged within him, carrying the echo of a little voice, the image of a young freckled face he thought to one day, possibly, pass his gift onto-
All for One launched forward with a new attack, and All Might met him head on, screaming a battle cry pulled out from his very bones.
The following fight ripped apart three square miles of empty roads and abandoned factories.
But in the end... in the end, All Might still stood, triumphant.
He needed to call the proper authorities to begin clean-up efforts. He needed to see to it that All for One’s body was properly disposed of. He needed to call Gran, and probably Nighteye, to tell them the greatest threat they faced was dead.
He needed to pick up the bloodstained action figure lying on the ground at his feet.
Eventually, his joints and muscles protesting the movement, All Might knelt, and gently curled his broken fingers around the plastic replica of himself. That spot was where the emergency responders and police found him, some time later - still kneeling, still gazing at the toy version of himself, tears mingling with the blood on his face.
He didn’t remember Tsukauchi showing up, and getting him in a car, and driving him to the closest hospital. He didn’t remember the phone calls made by the detective while they were en route, or the text messages typed out one-handed. It wasn’t until they got there, and were greeted by frantic green eyes that All Might truly woke up from his state.
“I’m sorry,” he managed to choke out. “I’m so sorry. I failed him.”
Hand shaking, All Might held out the toy to be seen.
And Midoriya Inko broke.