A LITTLE EARLIER

Nighteye had already gotten up and was drinking his coffee as he was finishing his usual ritual, sadly this morning, his ritual didn't manage to calm his mind.

Weirdly, today he got up earlier than usual. He didn't feel well. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind. As if he was missing something as if something dangerous was happening.

Nighteye knew those signs. Generally, his quirk had to be activated consciously, but sometimes, it could act as a passive effect. Anytime he had those feelings, it means that something bad was happening.

As if answering to his speculation, he got a video call on his computer. When he opened it, the face of his old mentor, Gran Torino greeted him.

Sadly he wasn't happy to see his face. After all, his face was completely bloody. He had a bad feeling, a very bad feeling as if a hand was squeezing his heart. He asked with shaking lip.

"Hello, Master. What happened to you?"

Gran Torino didn't answer immediately. He paused a little before opening his lip.

"Boya, stay seated and listen to me until the end."

Nighteye nearly broke his coffee cup. Those words were such bullshit. What better way to tell someone that something really bad happened than to tell him to sit down and listen carefully? Still, he understood that it was a form of caring, so he took a deep breath and nodded. No matter what Torino said, he would be ready for it, he was a hero. His willpower was enough and ready for anything.

"Toshinori was mortally wounded. Right he is under operation, his fate is still unknown."

Nighteye suddenly understood that he overestimated his willpower. The world went dark around him for a few seconds. He nearly fainted. By the time he understood what was happening, he already fell down from his seat.

"Sasaki? Sasaki?!!!"

This voice seemed so distant, so far away. It was like he was in a dream, no a nightmare. How could it be possible? It was All Might, the symbol of peace, who could wound so gravely?

"Came back to yourself. You're a father now. Are you going to act like that in front of your son? Is it what you taught him?"

Those words allowed him to came back. At least enough to listen. He slowly got up before sitting back on his seat.

"Excuse my pitiful display."

"Don't worry. I understand how much respect you have for Toshinori."

"Explains things clearly to me. What exactly happened? Please!!"

"There is nothing much to say. Toshinori and I finally managed to find All for One. He had an epic battle with him. No epic was an understatement. Sadly, the price to pay was really high. Almost too large."

"What about All for One?"

Torino answered with a dismissive gesture.

"Defeated, most likely killed, his body was retrieved by a teleporter. He provoked All Might by mentioning how he killed Nana. Let just say that he went a little too far and awakened the beast."

Nighteye took a deep breath as he pinched his eyebrows. His head was hurting like hell. Still, he had to continue.

"So All Might is in a critical situation right now. Was the new leaked?"

"No. Toshinori was fast and asked for the information to be locked. He is the symbol of peace. The symbol must stay invincible in the mind of everyone"

"I know. So now, what do we do?"

"Nothing. There is nothing we can apart from praying. The hospital where he is treated is a secret facility. I will give you the coordinate."

"I understand. I will prepare myself."

"Also, come with the little boy. He is close to him and has the right to know the truth. Inform him and come here with him."

"Understood."

The call was cut after those words.

Ding!!!

This was the sound his phone made when he received the directions from Gran Torino.

Seated in his chair, Nighteye was blankly looking ahead. His vacant eyes were seeing the scene of the past, the heroic fight and victory of All Might all flashed in his mind.

He was lost. It was like learning that Santa's Claus never really existed as a child, only, 100 times worse.

Finally, he managed to gather some of his strength on his legs as he got up and walked toward the exit of the room.

Gran Torino was right, Kuroha had the right to know, he couldn't appear too weak in front of his child. If he appeared weak, he would lose his respect.

That why he stood in front of him and said seriously,

"I have received a call,"

He made a pause before continuing, he didn't know how to announce it, but he bit the bullet and said it simply.

"All Might was critically wounded."

He expected many things when giving this new to Kuroha. He thought hard about what kind of reaction he would have, what kind of emotion he would feel, what kind of expression he would show. Cursing, crying, denial, or even no reaction. Anger, shock, sadness, or even uncaring. Still what he saw chilled him to the bones.

For a short instant, Nighteye feels that he was being soaked in freezing cold water, his back was drenched in sweat and his breath was a little ragged. It was like he was being faced by a superior being.

Kuroha had managed to make him activate his flight or fight response, and he was a little ashamed because he nearly chose to flee.

"Who did it?"

Thankfully, this feeling didn't last and everything went back to normal. He looked curiously at Kuroha. It seemed the kid wasn't even aware of what he had done. Still, he shelved this in a corner of his mind. Now wasn't the time for such a question.

"Let take the car. I will explain what happened on the road. If you aren't ready, go change yourself."

Kuroha nodded without adding another word and began to walk toward his room. His reaction might have seemed calmer than Nighteye, but his heart was in turmoil. It was like an ideal cracked inside him.

All Might represented an ideal for him. In his young(but troubled) mind, All Might, was invincible, indestructible. He was strong, fast, he was everything he dreamed to be and some more. He wasn't just some abstract bullshit symbols of peace, he was literally his savior, his goal. A goal he always thought to be insurmountable.

Right now though, a thought was birthed in his mind.

(Human life are so fragile.)

It was only after hearing this news that he understood the truth. Even the greatest hero was nothing more than a human in the end.

He had his flaw as well as his limits. He could be wounded, he could be die. But what about him? What was he? An Immortal? A monster?

He read about many awesome healing or self-regenerating quirk, but none worked like his. Even the best healer quirk, the one belonging to recovery girl, wasn't even half as effective his one was. Could he really call himself a human?

Kuroha didn't know this, but the shattering of the image he had of All Might, was a sort of sublimation of his soul. All this while, he had placed a limiter of sort in his own abilities. Restricting himself to only creating weapons, when he could have done so much more.

This lock was placed subconsciously not just on his power but even on his memories. He placed it because he didn't want to appear even more freakish as well as to protect his mind from the more dangerous experiments his body had to bear.

Because of that, even though he was a little aware, he didn't know how truly powerful his regeneration power as well as all his other abilities were.

Still, a crack has appeared, and soon, the lock would be completely destroyed.

(AN: In the recent chapter of MHA, it was shown that trauma and strong emotions can significantly strengthen or weaken a quirk or even give birth to new abilities. Those who follow the Manga know what I'm talking about. Kuroha doesn't have all his memories of the four years he spent in the laboratory. What he remembered is nothing than the tip of the iceberg. Of course, I don't plan to make all his power up to be thanks to strong emotions he is not some saiyan. That would be too much of a Deus ex machina if I did that. 😂)