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A few minutes earlier:

Kuroha looked at the boy who was sweating in front of him with a little bit of wonder. Izuku just finished his training. Frankly, Kuroha thought that it was rather low-level training. But for someone who has never trained in his life, it was pretty harsh.

Honestly, he didn't understand this boy. He didn't want to understand him either. Losing interest in watching him, he laid down on against a tree and looked at the sky.

The weather was a little chilly. The time was at daybreak. The sun was slowly rising. This gave an ethereal painting where light and darkness fought against each other.

For a short instant, Kuroha felt like he was the only one in this world were light and shadow fought against each other.

He didn't want to move, didn't want to speak; didn't want to think. He just wanted to lay down and sleep. He wanted to sleep, for the first time in many years, sleep felt like it was coming,

It was then that he heard a voice, it felt like someone else he knew wished to see such a sight, but who,

̷"̷N̷e̷!̷!̷ ̷n̷e̷!̷!̷ ████████̷,̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷k̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷u̷n̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷k̷i̷n̷?̷"

The voice was blurry, but he could feel that it was a girl, a young girl, almost a child

"̸T̸e̸l̸l̸ ̸m̸e̸,̸ ̸d̸o̸ ̸y̸o̸u̸ ̸t̸h̸i̸n̸k̸ ̸t̸h̸a̸t̸ ̸t̸h̸e̸ ████████ ̸w̸i̸l̸l̸ ̸k̸e̸e̸p̸ ̸ ██████?̸"̸

He could barely hear her, some were completely inaudible, but he could feel the joy and hope in those.

"̸ ██████ p̸l̸e̸a̸s̸e̸ ̸h̸e̸l̸p̸ ̸m̸e̸ !"

Now he could only feel and pain and suffering. Sadness and despair. He couldn't breathe. It hurt, it hurts so much, he felt like his body was screaming in pain.

"Huaa!!! Kuroha!!! Kuroha STOP!!!"

He heard a scream and immediately woke up. It a little time for him to reorganize his thoughts, but he could feel that something was strange.

More precisely, he was holding Izuku down and had a blade that was only one inch away from Izuku eyes in his hand. A little more and he would have stabbed Izuku to death.

He then began to feel his body. He could feel that he was sweating. He couldn't remember what happened a few seconds ago. The only one who could do so was the boy he was holding down.

As such; he slowly got up before giving his hand to Izuku.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to harm or even scare you. I don't understand what happened."

Kuroha was truly sorry and confused. He didn't understand. He tried to remember exactly what happened but

"*Urgh*"

He nearly kneeled as a sharp pain flashed through his brain. Now if he only had a doubt in the past, he was now sure that was something was truly wrong with. More precisely something was wrong with his memory.

(Oi !! Madness answer me. What happened!!)

Since one year ago, Madness had stopped invading his thought, he could only interact with Senketsu/slayer but right now, for some odd reason, he was sure that he could now speak with Madness.

As he thought, a voice answered him,

"*𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗵* 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂."

This voice changed a little, but he was sure that it was him,

("What do you mean?... Madness? MADNESS?)

"FUCK!!!"

"hiii!!!"

Izuku jumped at the sudden curse coming from Kuroha. Kuroha, on the other hand, was in no mood to care about this. He rarely became angry, but this kind of stunt pissed him off so much.

He always hated this kind of plot where some characters hides crucial info to the info and some BS excuse like "it's for your own good" even though knowing said info sooner could have allowed the mc to avoid many unnecessary problems.

(I know you can hear me. I don't care what kind of explanation you'll give me, but please, PLEASE, don't spout Bullshit like you aren't ready to hear everything.)

Kuroha took a deep breath in order to calm himself. Sadly, his control over his emotions was on an all time low. It took him a few seconds before he finally managed to regain his composure.

During all this, Izuku cautiously took a few steps back away from Kuroha. He didn't know what was going on, but he really didn't want to be near him right now.

He looked behind him, hoping that All Might finished what he had to and come back. After taking a fourth step back, he heard a long sigh followed by

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"Come on, I'm not scary. Stop trying to flee. Anyway, you wouldn't be able to do so."

Izuku didn't know this, but he was already marked by Kuroha. Kuroha may not like him, but if everything went as it as, this guy would definitely become the true successor of All Might. There's no way he could let this guy without protection or a means to catch him.

Izuku felt a chill pass through his boy, but then he let an awkward smile before whistle with his hand behind his head

"*Whistle* *Whistle* What could you be talking about? I wasn't fleeing by any means of the way."

Kuroha, seeing him like this, let out a bitter laugh before deciding to put what happened in the back of mind. He would see what answer Madness will give him later.

"Anyways, now that you finished for today, you should go home and take a shower. I will wait for you at the train station.

"What about All Might? Shouldn't we wait for him?"

"Don't worry, he fled long ago. He doesn't want to meet His old partners now since he knows he will be scolded."

Izuku couldn't imagine All Might actually fleeing from anything or anyone, but he decided not to argue. He nodded before taking the road.

Kuroha now by himself looked toward the horizon. Sadly daybreak went past and the sun was hanging high in the sky.

----

Few hours later

Izuku stood in front of the door of the office. In his hands was the gift he bought yesterday. His whole body was trembling like a leaf. He turned toward Kuroha who was standing and looking at him,

"He is here?"

"Yep!"

"Do you think he will like me?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Looking at Izuku crestfallen expression, Kuroha had a flash of inspiration,

(No wonder this gets always got bullied. His reactions are really priceless.)

Yesterday, he asked All Might why Izuku was so weak-willed most of the time when it wasn't about becoming a hero.

He wasn't told everything, but from the little, All Might told him, the answer he got was that Izuku suffered from bullying from his youth until now. More precisely from the moments, he was deemed quirkless.

Frankly, when he heard this, he didn't feel any form of pity for Izuku, in this world, there were things way more pitiful than simply being quirkless. He was a living example of this.

But neither did it make him look down on Izuku. He wasn't self-centered enough to think that his pain was worse in the world. Pain could never be compared.

Only the one being bullied can understand his own pain. Sometimes, some words or actions that may feel harmless for the bystander or the bully can feel particularly harmful for the one being bullied.

Kuroha sighed deeply, before hanging his head with a little shame. He didn't know why, but he never felt comfortable next to Izuku. This made him act curt and a little arrogantly. He decided to stop acting like a cunt and help the poor guy,

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. To tell you the truth, I don't know what will happen. But don't worry, I am sure he will like you."

He gave a pat on Izuku back and continued

"I may not be able to see why, but All Might is someone I respect and look up to. This man chooses you. Stop looking down, raise your head high and walk with pride. If you look down on yourself, everyone will also look down on you. Now follow me and you'll show us what you got, right?."

After saying those words, he opened the door and entered

"I'm back!!!"

Izuku looked at the back of Kuroha with a dumbfounded expression for a few seconds, in his eyes, this back become way larger than it was in reality. Then, a bright smile broke on his face as he answered with a loud voice

"Yes!!"

Kuroha still didn't know how important those words he said would become for Izuku.

---

Once Izuku entered, he surveilled the room. One guy was present in the room. He was standing with his arms crossed in front of him and a large smile on his face. He spoke with a cheerful voice,

"Yahoo!! Kuro-kun."

"Hello Mirio."

The two of them high fived. Izuku was seriously surprised. Who was this guy? Weirdly, he felt like he saw him somewhere, but he didn't remember where.

The guy was a tall young man with a muscular build and blonde hair. It seemed like he was a hero. His hero costume was a white skin-tight top with the number "1000000" (one million) stamped across his chest in a bold, yellow font.

The trimming on the top and shoulder pads were made in a matching fashion. On his waist, two green lines were acting as a belt, along with some lines of similar appearance on his shoulders, which dip in places to form two V's.

The young man also wore baggy dark blue pants and white knee-high boots. The costume was completed by red cape as well as thick gloves of matching color and topped off with a white visor with yellow lenses.

All in all, he made a very impressive sight, Izuku was extremely surprised. No wonder this guy was All Might partner in the past.

Of course he seemed too young, but perhaps he had a quirk that made him age more slowly? The hero turned toward him and raised his hand

"Yahoo, so you're the one Kuro was talking about."

He bowed in hurry.

"H-hel-hello Mister. I'm MIDORIYA IZUKU. PLEASURE TO MEET Y-ouch!!"

Izuku blushed in shame. Not only did he basically scream his name, but he also bit his tongue mid-sentence. He hoped that this wouldn't give a too bad impression.

"Oh?!… Why are you so stiff?"

When Izuku raised his head, he saw that kuroha and that hero were looking at him weirdly.

Three minutes later, Izuku felt like dying. He covered his face with his hands as he crouched down in embarrassment

"Ahahah, Kuro, your friend is really funny."

Kuroha didn't answer. Even though he didn't consider Izuku as his friend, he wasn't tactless enough to say something like that out loud.

The hero finally stopped laughing before giving his to Izuku in order to help him get up. Once Izuku was properly standing, he presented himself,

"Hello!! Midoriya-kun. I am Togata Mirio. But right now you can call me Lemillion. It's my hero name. I'm a student of 2-A at UA."

"Whouaaa!!!"

Stars could be seen dancing in Izuku eyes. For him, UA was like a mythical place. Seeing a student from one such prestigious school was really overwhelming.

Kuroha sighed, this fanboyism was really tiring. One like that was enough in the past, now they had a second. He turned his attention to Mirio

"Mirio, where is he?"

"Sir Nighteye should be here soon don't worry."

Exactly the moment he finished those words, the door opened and a man entered. Izuku, seeing that man had an astonished expression.

"IT'S YOU!!!"

"Oh!!!...What a coincidence. The world is really small."

-----

The room was as silent as a cemetery. A deafening silence, a tense silence. At least that's how Izuku felt.

After Nighteye entered, the two of them left the office and went toward the living room.

There, a young woman with blue skin who Izuku recognized as Bubble Girl served them some tea before leaving.

Right now, Izuku and Nighteye were the only one present, Kuroha and Mirio decided that this had nothing to do with them.

Izuku couldn't believe it. To think that Sir Nighteye was All Might sidekick in the past. What's more, he coincidentally met him one day before their appointment.

Nighteye took a sip of his tea before setting the cup down.

"So… You're Midoriya?"

Izuku was startled before he sat straight and answered with a quivering voice

"Y-YES!"

Nighteye was a little disappointed. He never doubted All Might but now he seriously began to do it.

The time before his vision was coming. In one year or two years max, All Might would die.

The vision was blurry, but the corpse of All Might was clearly seen during the vision. Even now he had nightmares because of it.

You could say that this year was of primordial importance in their preparation. In his mind, Mirio obtaining the One For All would have been perfect.

The boy was the kind of person who gave you a feeling of assurance and safety. His smile was always present even in the most bitter situation.

He remembered one year ago when he decided to take him as an intern. It was the best decision he ever did. In one year, he went from being dead last of his class to being the uncontested number one. He was a genius of hard work.

Midoriya on the other hand… Nighteye sighed internally. Even though he had many misgivings, he wasn't the kind to judge a book by its cover.

He crossed his leg and began to speak.

"Midoriya Izuku. I will be direct with you. I don't think that you should become All Might successor."

Izuku clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he bowed his head in frustration. Once again he was told the same thing. Nighteye continued

"Let us make a bet."

"A bet?"

"Yes, a bet. Kuroha told me about the discussion you two had. So I know what kind of hero you want to be. But this isn't enough. Words are cheap. Only actions show the truth…"

Izuku hesitated before asking

"What are the stakes? "

"All Might is poor."

"What?"

Izuku didn't understand why he began to speak about All Might financial position. What more poor? The number one Hero is poor?

"I see that you don't believe me. But it's the truth. You see, heroes aren't paid nearly enough by the government. That is why most of them need a sponsor and act like celebrities. All Might though, always gave all the money from the different endorsements he received to different charity organisations. This made him really poor. That's why he used such a crude form of training for you. You understand?"

Izuku, who was dumbfounded still nodded unconsciously.

"Here my deal. If you win the bet, I will use a fourth of all my resources on you. Don't look down on the fact that it's just a fourth. I may not be as rich as some large family, but I'm not far from them either. High tech training equipment, information network, money, hero costumes. In short, I will give you everything you will ever need as a hero. "

Izuku gulped a little. But he wasn't swayed by greed. He asked carefully,

"What if I lose?"

Nighteye posed before slowly putting his glasses into position.

"If you lose?...If you lose, nothing will happen."

Nighteye laughed at the expression of surprise Midoriya showed

"What? Did you think that I would arrogantly ask you to give up on a great power in exchange for money or by threatening you? This isn't a wuxia or Xianxia story. It's real life. All Might isn't a child, and he is free to do as he likes with his own power."

After taking a last sip of tea, he got up and said, as he looked coldly at Izuku,

"Midoriya Izuku. I will not ask you to give up on All For one if you fail. But trust me. If you fail, even if you do get One For All, you'll have no future as a hero... Not because I will make it hard for you, but because a true hero should have no problem in winning this bet."

After saying his pieces, he began to walk away. He had another job to do

"WAIT!!!! What are we betting on exactly?"

Nighteye stopped in front of the door. A sly smile forming on his face. He simply opened the door and left this last word as he got away

"Guess…"