Kaminari: Right... I still haven't decided on whether I'm accepting it or not...

Sero: I don't think it's just that though...

Izuku took a deep breath and reminded himself for the fifteenth time that he did not have to do this. He could go and find a crime to stop or he could do some investigation online. Heck, he could even just go home and go to sleep! He did not have to confront the number one hero.

Midoriya(freaking): Wait I'm what?!

As much as he didn't want to, however, there was a certain aspect of nostalgia to the whole thing. The last time he'd asked the number one hero an important question, it had been more of a spur of the moment thing and a lot more of a personal question rather than an interrogation, but Izuku just hoped that this time, the answer would be a little more positive.

Tsukauchi: Yeah... you crushed his dream last time...

All Might: A mistake I must never make again.

He shook his head and focused on staying silent and keeping to the shadows that the first rays of sunset were creating. Normally he wouldn't go out as Viridian this early, but he didn't want to lose his chance and he figured this counted as an exception. If he had asked, Eraserhead would have probably been willing to have this conversation for him, but from what Denki had told him, All Might wanted to keep the knowledge of his quirk as close to the chest as possible. Looping in Eraserhead might get both Denki and Izuku in trouble and even if All Might was a lot weaker than he had been at his prime, Izuku still didn't really want to be on his bad side if at all possible.

All Might: Hey I wouldn't... punish you or anything.

Hound Dog: Viridian has a lot of trauma from figures in authority. He'd rather err on the side of caution at this point.

So instead, Izuku had hacked into the city camera system again and checked the streets around All Might's last fight until he caught sight of his skinny form. In the end, he'd basically stalked the number one hero

(a lot of people snorted, feeling slightly better from the last chapter. Midoriya was the main character, he couldn't possibly die, right?)

until he knew his basic schedule and could engineer a meet-up. He probably should have waited longer and gotten more information, but if the sheer amount of new articles today with All Might in the headline were any indication, he'd already reached his time limit, so there wasn't really going to be a better time for Izuku to talk to him without immediately getting beaten into the ground.

All Might: I'm not going to do that!

Joke: Don't forget, he also thinks you might be working for All for One.

It was better to get his answers sooner anyway, so that Denki could get back to All Might with his decision as soon as possible... or so that he could tell the heroes about All Might's true colors if he turned out to be working with All for One, but he was trying to ignore that possibility.

All Might(firmly): There is no universe in which I am working for All for One.

He hadn't told Denki what he was planning to do, for obvious reasons. With everything he had had going on, first with preparing for the UA entrance exam and now with the decision he needed to make about All Might's quirk, he seemed to have forgotten about his momentary suspicions about Viridian's identity and Izuku wanted to keep it that way. Thankfully, Denki assumed he knew so much about quirk transfer because of his quirk theory classes and not because he'd been researching to help the heroes with a case, so Izuku had said he wanted to do a little more research, he let Denki assume that he was reading a few more articles instead of kind of not really stalking a hero.

Toga: No no, that definitely counts as stalking a hero.

All Might turned onto a side street and Izuku took a deep breath. It had been ten months since he'd talked to the number one hero. There was no way he'd remember a weak little quirkless kid after all that time and he'd already gone over his limit, so as long as Izuku was careful, his identity should be safe. He pushed the memories of their last encounter and the last of his nerves under a thick layer of bravado and jumped down onto the street.

Nezu: Considering that in the other universes All Might didn't remember that encounter even happening at all I think Viridian is quite safe.

Mt. Lady: Seriously though how do you not remember something like that?

Something was off, but Toshinori couldn't quite put a finger on what. If he was in his muscle form, he would have assumed that he was being followed, but no one ever paid attention to Toshinori Yagi except to give him dirty glances when they assumed he was a drug addict or something.

(a lot of people snorted)

Aizawa: Well he does look a lot like a skeleton.

All Might(flustered): Well you look like a hobo!

Aizawa: I know, what's your point?

Tsukauchi would probably want him to call, just to be on the safe side, but he was the number one hero! He couldn't bother his friend just because of a little paranoia, especially when he was so busy with the villain factory case, so Toshinori just wrote the feeling off as him being tired after a long day of hero work and went home.

Tsukauchi: All Might...

He should have listened to his gut.

Dabi(snarking): Your non existent one?

He was just getting out his key to enter his building when he heard a soft thud behind him, "Hello All Might."

Toshinori immediately swung around, fists raised as he tried to reach for the last dregs of his quirk, swearing slightly as he realized that there wasn't enough to keep him transformed for more than a few seconds. He really should have called Tsukauchi.

Tsukauchi: Yes you should've.

His opponent easily dodged his less than superhuman punch and held up his hands appeasingly, "Don't panic! And you don't have to try to activate your quirk, I know you're exhausted. I just want to ask you a few questions!"

Spinner: He does realize that people aren't supposed to know about his quirk exhaustion right?

That didn't make Toshinori any less tense. In fact, it made him even more worried. He narrowed his eyes and almost immediately widened them again as he finally took the time to actually see who he was fighting. It was somewhat difficult, as the boy seemed to be careful to keep to the shadows and had a hood pulled over his head and what appeared to be goggles hiding his eyes, but his height gave away his age, at least. How did a child know about his true form and his time limit?!

Midoriya(trying to not feel bad): And you forgot too... okay...

After a few moments without being attacked, the boy straightened, still keeping his hands up in front of him, "I, uh, I'm sorry to corner you at home like this. I... there were probably better ways, but, um, I'm Viridian! Sorry, I probably should have led with that..."

The kid smiled awkwardly and Toshinori felt himself relaxing slightly, "You're the vigilante that Tsukauchi is trying to catch."

Todoroki: Mm-hm.

It didn't answer how the kid knew about his weakness, but if Tsukauchi had complained more than once that the kid was always digging into things that he shouldn't, and he seemed to have a good reputation among the local heroes, so he shouldn't pose a threat, at least not immediately.

"If Tsukauchi is the detective that Eraser works with, then yes." Viridian grimaced slightly and Toshinori couldn't help the nagging feeling that he'd seen the boy somewhere before. "Um... I actually wanted to talk to you about one of the cases I'm... well, I can't say I'm really assisting on it, because it's not like they actually gave me permission, but, um, I've been helping out where I can and I have a few questions."

"I'm not assigned to that case." Toshinori said slowly. "Which you should already know, considering your involvement. Why not ask Eraserhead or some of the other heroes? You have a good relationship with them, correct? I'm sure they'd be willing to give you information on the case if you asked."

Joke: He's not asking about the villain factory.

"Heh, about that..." Viridian rubbed the back of his neck, "I, uh, don't think the police know? I mean, I could tell them, but I don't think you'd want that! I mean, unless the other heroes already know about your quirk, which I mean, might make more sense, but somehow I don't think that's the case..."

Viridian trailed off into a muttering storm that Toshinori couldn't even catch half of, not that he was overly focused on what the boy said after your quirk. Toshinori must have heard that wrong because there was no way this boy knew about One for All. Perhaps if his successor...? Toshinori shook his head. No, young Kaminari wouldn't have told anyone and even if he had, it would have been a friend, not a local vigilante that he knew nothing about.

(everyone snorted)

Kaminari: Yeah, about that...

The boy must have found out through the same method that he used to discover the time limit, or there was always the likely possibility that he was simply pretending to know more than he did and hoping to bait Toshinori into giving something away like the reporters always did. Toshinori relaxed a little bit more. That was probably it.

Vlad: No, he does know.

Cementoss: He knows way too much.

"My quirk, my boy?" Toshinori laughed. "I'm lucky to have such strength, but I don't think it'll help you in your case. A little too much brawn and too little brain, am I right?"

Gran Torino: Well at least you admit it.

"That's what I'm worried about..." The boy muttered, almost too quiet to hear. "Do you have someplace more private that we can talk? Maybe the roof? I don't want to talk about One for All right out on the street like this."

Toshinori froze. Well, that cut off the best case scenario. He forced a smile, knowing it wasn't nearly as comforting as it would have been in his muscle form, "Of course, my boy. Why don't you come upstairs and I can make us some tea."

Viridian gave him a disappointed stare that he must have learned from Aizawa,

(everyone giggled and Aizawa scowled)

"I'm a vigilante, All Might. I'm not going to let you corner me in an enclosed space when I know there are heroes that want to arrest me."

All Might: ...I didn't even think of that.

"Of course." Toshinori gave a strangled chuckle. Just who was this kid?!

Aizawa: A problem child.

Hound Dog: A very traumatized problem child.

"Then I'll meet you on the roof in a few minutes."

The boy nodded and within seconds he had disappeared up the side of one of the buildings. Toshinori stared after him in shock for a few moments, feet stuck to the floor until he pried them up and entered his building. He pulled out his phone in the elevator and immediately dialed Tsukauchi. Better late than never, he supposed.

Tsukauchi: You really should call me sooner next time...

All Might: I know, I will.

It only rang twice before the detective picked up, "Toshinori? I heard you had a busy day, how are you doing?"

Toshinori cleared his throat, "Actually, um... I was calling to ask you about something. That vigilante you've talked about, Viridian. He has a talent for finding information he shouldn't have any way of knowing, correct?"

Endeavor: Unfortunately yes.

"Unfortunately." Tsukauchi groaned. "Kid's nosed his way into the villain factory case and it was actually his research that led us to believe All for One might not be as dead as we thought he was. Why?"

"The boy showed up at my home." Toshinori said, voice straining as the elevator approached the top floor. "He knew not only about my time limit, but my quirk as well. You don't suppose...?"

There was a long moment of silence and then Tsukauchi sighed heavily, "He must have come across some hint while researching the legends surrounding All for One and put the rest of the pieces together somehow. I'm so sorry, if I'd known..."

Recovery Girl: No, this isn't your fault, Tsukauchi.

"It's fine." Toshinori cut him off quickly as the elevator doors beeped open. "He's waiting for me on the roof. He said that he had some questions for me."

"I'm on my way." Tsukauchi said. "I'll bring Nezu as well, since he already knows about your quirk and wants to get his hands on Viridian anyway. Wait for us."

Setsuna: Viridian might get suspicious if he takes too long though...

Toshinori shook his head, "If I take too long to show up, he might get suspicious and leave. I need to know what he knows. You trust him, correct?"

"I don't know, Toshinori." Tsukauchi sounded frustrated. "He does good work and wants to save people, but he also refuses to go into the vigilante rehabilitation program, which, honestly, is probably a huge red flag, so I don't know."

Dabi: He doesn't go there because he's quirkless. He's actually being very smart about this.

Toshinori swallowed thickly. He'd been hoping for some sort of assurance, but... well, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice anyway, "It's alright. I'll see you soon."

"I know this is like talking to a brick wall, but be careful." Tsukauchi said. "Good luck."

Toshinori hung up and gathered his courage before climbing the final set of stairs to the roof. He pushed open the door to see Viridian already waiting for him in the fading light of sunset and he was hit with the oddest sense of deja-vu. Had he already...

Uraraka: Yes.

Iida: When you shattered his dream.

Toshinori shook his head. He didn't have time to worry about the weird things the human brain did right now. He needed the information that Viridian apparently had and the reverse seemed to be true as well, so that exchange needed to be his main focus, at least until back-up arrived.

"Are you okay?" Viridian looked genuinely concerned. "When I suggested the roof, I wasn't really thinking about how hard stairs must be with only one lung..."

Midoriya: Okay Viridian doesn't suspect anything...

Toshinori stiffened slightly at the casual reminder of how much the boy knew about him, "Weren't you here for information?"

"Oh, right." Viridian pulled out a notebook from his toolbelt. "Um... your quirk, One for All is transferable and you're looking for a successor, correct?"

Toshinori spat up a mouthful of blood, "How do you know all this? Where are you getting your information?"

Monoma: A lot of places actually...

"Um..." Viridian hesitated. "Here and there? Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone!"

"These are extremely dangerous secrets, young man." Toshinori said sternly. "Outside of the obvious security risk, knowing them makes you a target for very dangerous villains!"

Gran Torino: And yet someone didn't even think about that when he told a literal fourteen year old about it and didn't even bother telling anyone else that he did it!

"Like All for One, right?" Viridian asked. "What is your connection to him? You aren't working for him, are you?"

"We're enemies." Toshinori glared at the boy, wishing that he could just activate his quirk and spirit him away to the police station. "I had believed that he was dead after a fight over five years ago."

Viridian nodded, "Then he was the one who gave you your injuries. Did he give you your quirk too?"

All Might: ...Sort of...?

A lot of people: Wait what?

It took a few minutes for Toshinori to stop coughing after that and when he finally managed it, Viridian was awkwardly hovering above him like he wanted to help, but didn't know how. Toshinori groaned and pocketed his ruined handkerchief, "Where in the blazes did you get that idea?! I would never have accepted a quirk from that villain!"

"I didn't mean to offend you!" Viridian waved his hands frantically in denial. "It's just that All for One is the only person I've found in my research that has a quirk that allows transfer. Not to say there can't be others, but with the names of the quirks, it's obvious that there's some kind of connection and if you had gotten it from All for One, then that could be really important in understanding the villain factory case and..."

Koda: Oh yeah... the names are really similar...

"I didn't receive my quirk from All for One." Toshinori interrupted firmly. "I received it from my mentor, a hero."

Gran Torino(sadly): Nana...

"O-okay." Viridian nodded with wide eyes. "I'm... it's just... if you didn't get it from him, then why are the names so similar?"

All Might: That's a long story...

"One for All is a sacred responsibility that has been passed down from hero to hero for generations, young man." Toshinori drew himself up to his full height, ignoring the twinge in his back as his body protested the movement. "From its creation, it has had one purpose: defeating All for One."

Ectoplasm: Creation?

The boy scribbled something down in his notebook, "That explains the name, but... I know it's a hero's quirk, I'm not saying anything against that! But you said from its creation..."

Viridian looked so earnest that Toshinori couldn't help sighing in defeat and collapsing onto the wall, letting some of the tension leave him as he finally sat down. It appeared that the boy was intent on getting the information he required and nothing that he said was going to dissuade him. No wonder Nezu was so interested in the boy.

Nezu: Mm-hm.

"They're brother quirks." Toshinori explained. "Back at the dawn of quirks, All for One had a quirkless brother, or one who they thought was quirkless. When All for One forced a stockpiling quirk into him, it combined with the useless quirk that was hidden in his DNA and created One for All."

Everyone: Oh...

Tsunotori: Wait that's actually kind of cool.

Shishida: Except for the part about non consentually forcing of a quirk onto someone.

"A stockpiling quirk that can be passed on." Viridian noted something down and started muttering to himself again. "That might explain the longer life expectancy, or maybe it has something to do with the quirk All Might was born with? There wasn't any information on it, but it's possible that's a factor of why the quirk hasn't destroyed his body yet, but would that be passed on to the next holder?"

All Might: Except I don't have a quirk...

Toshinori couldn't decide whether or not he was grateful that he'd forced himself to pay attention to the muttering this time, "One for All is a lot of power, but I trained to prepare my body for it so it wouldn't blow my limbs off. The only risk to the holder's health is All for One himself coming after them."

The boy looked at him for long enough that if Toshinori had been a lesser man, he would have started to fidget under his stare and when he spoke again, it was soft and sounded almost like pity, "Are you sure?"

All Might: Well I thought I was...

Toshinori raised one eyebrow, "It's my quirk."

"Of course!" Viridian nodded, but the frown didn't leave his face as he sat down beside him. "But quirk transfer is really dangerous, you know? I'm sure you're already aware, but in every other case I've found, the body eventually rejects the quirk and ends up destroying itself in the process. I'm just worried that will happen to your successor... or even to you."

Recovery Girl: I don't know... I've had to do a lot of health checks on Toshinori from the several times he got hurt... the only thing killing him is his own recklessness.

"I..." Toshinori paused. Had Nana