Chapter Text
Yagi Toshinori stepped down onto the sand, quickly readjusting himself as one foot slid on the loose sand. He looked out on the horizon that had once been blocked by the mountain of trash. He had a newspaper article about the “miraculous change to local landmark” framed and hung on his living room wall pride of place. It made his heart swell every time he looked at it. The normal clusters of families and couples sitting on the sand or pier were absent today, driven away by the icy sprinkle of rain.
There were still five months to the entrance exam; plenty of time for Midoriya to adjust to the new quirk. His pocket suddenly felt heavy at the thought of calling his old tormenter mentor. Gran Torino should be there to help with the initial training. For all he knew, the quirk could break all of Midoriya’s limbs the first time she tried to use it. He had been putting off the call though. Kami knows what he would do if Torino acted the same way Nighteye had. He hadn’t talked to him since; so quick to dismiss the idea of a quirkless girl being the next symbol of peace. He could use the help training her. There was one other person he could ask, but he was even more scared of Aizawa. He would take his chances with Torino.
Midoriya was already on the beach, sleeves rolled up and the black garbage bag next to her half full. A scrunchy that looked like his iconic bangs attempted- and failed- to contain her green curls. For reasons only known to her, her shirt said ‘wool jumper’ today. It had taken him an embarrassingly long time to figure out that all of her t-shirts had a different item of clothing written on the front. It had taken her wearing a shirt that said ‘jeans’ on it for him to notice. Midoriya looked up as he approached her eyes lighting up when she saw him.
“Yagi! I got here a little early and thought I would get started,” she exclaimed waving wildly, the glove her her hand nearly flying off.
“Ever the hard worker, aren’t you Midoriya. Make sure you’re using some of your break to rest. We can’t have you burning out before the entrance exam.”
Midoriya rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
“I’ll try,” she stammered out.
Toshinori nodded approvingly before ruffling her curls.
“I hope you left enough rubbish for this old man to clean as well.”
“You’re not old!”
Toshinori gave a booming laugh and clapped her on the back. Once upon a time, here on the same beach, that would have sent the girl face first into the sand. He had learnt that the hard way one day by accident.
He rolled his sleeves up and began working alongside her. The training was just as good for him and he had learnt the past year that he shouldn’t ask his student’s to do something he wouldn’t do himself.
They had had more than one argument about him moving some of the… bulkier items, like the fridges. She was of the opinion that he he wouldn’t stand a chance at moving any of the heavy stuff without coughing up a lung in his ‘skinny might’ form and it was pointless to waste the precious few ‘big might’ minutes on moving a fridge that she was now capable of moving. She had, however, caved when it came to the rusted car they found at the bottom of one of the scrap piles with missing tries and a cracked rear axle. It had taken both of them to cut it up enough to drag it to the edge of the sand to be collected.
They worked solidly for several hours while talking. Well, Toshinori spent the time talking, telling her stories ranging from his adventures in America with Dave, edited to remove the more… rebellious things they had done while in college to more recent mishaps with his students at UA.
Midoriya deftly dodged any talk about school or home. She liked to talk about the things she did with her mother, but now even those moments were few and far between.
He didn’t press, even if he desperately wanted to. He had mentioned it to Aizawa, of course framing it as being worried about one of their shared students. The man had told him not to push the kid too hard or they might completely shut off all future lines of communication. He was determined to keep building Midoriya’s trust until she told him herself or he saw evidence of some mistreatment. All he had for evidence right now was that she was a private person.
They finished working as the shadows started to stretch in the late afternoon sun. A cold breeze off the ocean had taken the place of the drizzle. Toshinori placed down the bag he was holding and stretched. Midoriya did the same, before rubbing her left arm a little with a smothered wince. He might have missed it if he wasn’t keeping a close eye on her after she collapsed the week prior.
“Is your arm okay? Haven’t been overdoing again I hope.”
Midoriya shook her head quickly, her drenched curls bouncing.
“No. It not sore as such, just a little… tingly. It’s probably the cold.”
“Well, I have just the solution to that, “Toshinori walked to the steps and grabbed the thermos out of his bag, “I made sure to bring hot chocolate with me. I figured all this hard work deserves a treat.”
The look on her face is what made him regularly to bring to training. He wasn’t sure why she reacted this way every time he brought the drink with him. It was just a powder mix with baby marshmallows he bought from the American Supermarket near his house.
They sat on the edge beach, cups in hand. Toshinori’s legs were stretched out in the sand in front of him and the cup looking like a piece of a child’s play set in his hands. Midoriya was cheerfully swinging her legs while sipping. One of the laces on her garish red shoes was untied with the ends trailing in the sand. They sat in silence, listening to the mewling of the seagulls overhead and the lapping of the ocean against the gazebo posts. It was moments like these that made Toshinori so happy to have met the young girl. Nana would have loved her, he thought.
Midoriya carefully took his finished cup and stood to wash it at the nearby water bubbler. Instead of her usual bounce as she stood up, she wobbled on her feet and toppled onto the sand below. Toshinori half shifted to All Might before deflating with a spray of blood as he leapt to his feet. Midoriya was lying on the sand not moving, tears streaming down her face. He would normally joke about her tendency to cry, but she looked so scared. He crouched next to her phone in hand already. He wasn’t sure when he had pulled it out. He certainly didn’t remember dialling for emergency services.
“Midoriya, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” He felt like he was babbling, hands wavering, trying to figure out what to do.
“Yagi, I can’t feel my arm or my legs. What’s happening to me?”
Toshinori settled on holding her trembling hand. It was cold and limp in his grasp. There was a click as the operator answered the phone. Midoriya’s eyes fluttered and she started to convulse.