"Ah, you must be Midoriya, thank you for coming".
Midoriya bowed his head deeply and did his best not to fidget in front of one of his childhood heroes, "Thank you for having me!"
His voice came out louder than he had intended, even squeaking slightly at the end, and given the seriousness of the situation, he could feel his face heating up in his embarrassment.
Opposite him, sat down behind his desk, fingers steepled in front of his face, Sir Nighteye let out a brief chuckle, before he pulled back, blinking, evidently in surprise that he had found the actions amusing.
That had to be good, right?
His new friend, Togata, had told him that the best way to get on Sir's good side was to make him laugh.
"Please", the Pro Hero extended his arm in a sweeping gesture, offering him the chair directly across from him, "take a seat".
"Of course", he did his best not to rush into it, "and once again, Sir, thank you for having me".
"Think nothing of it", the older man smiled, "you came with quite the recommendation".
"Togata really didn't need to do that", he told him earnestly, "but I'm really glad that he did".
He meant it too.
Mirio Togata was one of his upperclassmen, one of the heroics students in Class 3-B and was currently standing out as one of U.A.'s Big Three.
Every year, the third-year heroics students would find themselves subject to a class ranking, which was designed to help prepare them for the pressures that they would face, once they graduated and became subject to scrutiny as officially licenced sidekicks and could be eligible to be listed on the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart as fully-fledged Pro Heroes.
Among those students, the Big Three were the top three ranked students among the year, and as it stood, Mirio Togata, or Lemillion, as he was referred to while on duty, was currently ranked as Number One, among his year group, and according to the words that came out of his own mouth, Sir Nighteye was the reason why.
Togata's Quirk was Permeation and it allowed him to become completely intangible, allowing him to physically pass through solid matter, including the walls, ground or even villain attacks.
It sounded like an incredibly powerful Quirk on paper, and Izuku had told him as much, until Mirio had explained all of the drawbacks that came with such a Quirk to him.
Despite being able to become intangible, Mirio still had mass, which meant that when he activated his Quirk across his entire body, he experienced a falling sensation that honestly sounded a little frightening to him; and when he said that he became completely intangible, what he also meant was that light, sound and even the air, passed cleanly through his body as well. As long as Permeation was active, Mirio wasn't just untouchable - he couldn't hear anything, see anything or even breathe.
To Izuku, it sounded a little bit like hell.
For years, Mirio had wanted to be a Pro Hero. Growing up, all he had ever wanted was to help people, to save lives with a smile, but he'd always thought that he lacked the ability to turn his Quirk into something useful. He'd applied to U.A. and even taken the same robot-based exam that Izuku himself had, but his Quirk hadn't been particularly useful for the combat scenario, and he'd gotten into the Hero Course based largely on the number of Rescue Points that he'd managed to accumulate during his entrance exam.
Then, during his first year's Sports & Culture Festival, Togata had managed to make it all the way to the final round, where they had the combat tournament, but then, there had been an accident. Losing control for a moment, he'd accidentally phased out of his uniform, rather than just his arm, which had resulted in all of him being broadcast, live and around the world, while he was almost completely naked.
It had been humiliating.
U.A. had cut the feed, and being a minor, news outlets had been unwilling to show the footage, but that hadn't stopped people from seeing it online, and once it had made its way to the internet, he knew that it would remain there forever.
He hadn't felt too bad until the next day, when he'd arrived back at the school, only to be recognised as the 'naked blond kid'.
He'd ran home, doing his best not to burst into tears.
Mirio had refused to leave his house for the rest of the week and then, the week after that; only going outside just long enough to attend U.A. and then return home; and only while wearing a baseball cap to cover up his bright blond hair, which he could pull down low to hide his face.
When the offers for internships had come in at the end of the week, he knew how he had done, even before Thirteen-sensei had opened her mouth, and he hadn't been surprised when she told him that, this time around, no one had sent him any offers.
No one… save for the single offer that Sir Nighteye had sent him a day later.
For someone as renowned as Sir Nighteye - All Might's former sidekick turned full-fledged Pro Hero - Mirio would have had to have been a fool not to leap at the chance.
It had proven itself to be the single greatest decision of his life.
He'd always struggled with his Quirk, but Sir hadn't seen what he had done with it, but rather what he could do. Together, they'd broken his single application down into a dozen small steps, so much so, that by the time of his first battle trial as a second-year student, Lemillion had dominated the entire field. His mentor's guidance and training had enabled him to perfect his Quirk, and from there, his skill and reputation had only grown.
While Sir Nighteye was the agency's only fully registered Pro Hero, he was considered - and Izuku had to assume that he also considered himself, to be a research and investigation Pro Hero - rather than being focused on active patrol, which he mostly left to the purview of his sidekicks, Centipeder and Bubble Girl.
Togata had told Sir Nighteye about the incident at the school, which Izuku didn't think was at all surprising, but what had surprised him, was that Sir Nighteye had asked him to reach out and offer him an internship.
He'd spent a few hours with the Big Three, after they'd defeated the Humanite together, waiting for the police to interview them, and he'd felt the urge to bite down on his tongue, when they started talking to him about the heroics course. They were surprised that Izuku wasn't a Hero Course student, before he explained that he was considering a transfer to Seijin for the next academic year, if they had an open place for him, so that he could study investigative journalism.
Izuku had shared that information freely, not expecting anything to come from it, but apparently Togata had told everything to Sir Nighteye, and Sir had taken such an interest in the story that he had decided to reach out and offer Izuku a summer internship working in his office.
Students at U.A. were held to high standards, and they were expected to attend training courses over the summer or find an internship to gain real world experience in a working environment.
If Izuku had to gain experience, then he wanted to gain some actual investigative experience from the country's finest investigating Pro Hero, and now, all that remained was for Izuku to do, was pass the preliminary interview.
He just hoped that his nerves weren't showing.
=== === === === ===
She couldn't let go of the steering wheel.
Inko had left her apartment, kissing Izuku on the cheek, before getting in her car and driving to U.A.'s gates and parking in their visitor's parking lot.
After the attack on their campus, U.A. had made the decision to close their campus doors for an entire week, before instituting a complete media blackout, as they reportedly spent the week reviewing, overhauling and upgrading their entire security system.
Now, it was Friday and U.A. had invited the parents of Class 1-A and Class 1-C in for a formal Q&A regarding the break-in. The parents of the classes that weren't directly involved were receiving a formal letter, with an invitation to contact the school at their own convenience.
Inko had arrived to join them, but so far, she hadn't been able to let go of her steering wheel.
The grip had turned her knuckles white.
She tried forcing herself to breathe, exhaling for five seconds and then inhaling the same, trying to relax her grip and ease some of the tension from her shoulders.
It wasn't working.
She wanted to be calm, to go inside and be polite. She wanted to listen to what they had to say, be reasonable and then go home and kiss her baby on the forehead, before transferring him to a school that wouldn't nearly get him killed.
But if she did that, she knew that Izuku wouldn't thank her for it.
Izuku had made the decision not to join the heroics course, despite earning his place at the best hero school in all of Asia, if not the world, but Inko wasn't an idiot. She was well aware that her son had made his decision, in part, (a very large part), because of her own worries on the matter.
People - Pro Heroes - got injured; that was the reality of their line of work.
Some of them were accused of committing crimes.
(Some of them had actually committed those crimes).
Some of them were retired.
(Some of them were forced to retire).
And some of them had died.
Despite what the modern media liked to boast about, Inko was well aware of just how fragile human beings could be - and not just human beings, either, she worried - and not even Pro Heroes were immune to serious injury and death.
A week ago, Izuku had been thrown out of a building - she didn't give a damn that he was invulnerable, (and thank ever deity out there that his invulnerability to damage was apparently a lot stronger than she had expected).
Her job - her only real job, as far as he was concerned - was to see to Izuku's wellbeing.
And U.A. had put him in danger.
Suffice to say, she wasn't happy.
Finally, she managed to force herself to let go of her steering wheel, and before she could change her mind, she stepped out of the car.
The air was cold, and she shivered almost instantly, but refused to linger, already crossing the distance to the building, and for the first time in her life, Inko entered U.A.
It looked good, she admitted.
Polished floors, plenty of glass for natural light, bright and neutral colours, there were sign posts leading to the hall, and she followed them, finding rows upon rows of raised seats, most of which were already filled, and she could see several members of the faculty stood off to the side.
All Might was instantly recognisable, of course. She found it impossible to even imagine someone who wouldn't be able to recognise All Might on sight. She recognised Nezu from his photograph on the school's website, and Present Mic was familiar enough to her - Izuku had been listening to his radio show for years, and after a while, she'd picked up on who he was. She didn't recognise the fourth man, (she assumed was a Pro Hero, same as the others), only that he was wearing all black, but with a long scarf wrapped around his neck.
The Principal climbed up the box in front of his microphone, tapping it twice to gain everyone's attention, and everyone who hadn't already, moved to take a seat.
Without thinking, Inko took one of the empty seats in the front row, nearly knocking over someone's bag, as they tried to sit beside her.
"I'm so sorry-"
"Excuse me-"
The two voices trailed off, recognising each other, even as they hovered awkwardly, not quite standing, but without sitting down either.
"Inko".
"Mitsuki".
Behind the other woman, Inko spotted Masaru, hoveringly awkwardly at his wife's shoulder, his face hardening ever so slightly when he saw her as well, though he said nothing.
The air was tense for a moment, and slowly, they realised that the seats were already filling up, and it was quickly becoming apparent that that the seats in front of them were some of the only few left open.
And the only empty ones that were still close to them.
Slowly, the three of them sat down, eyeing each other warily, but refusing to speak to each other. Mitsuki sat in the centre, flanked by Inko on her right and Masaru on her left, and they were all thankful that they were surrounded on all sides by some of the other parents.
It meant that none of them would be able to do anything stupid.
Once, several years ago, Inko had thought that she and Mitsuki would be able to become real friends. Their sons were the same age, attending the same schools, and she was delightfully funny; which she found to be a welcome break from what could be the seriousness of the hospital. Mitsuki had taken sheer delight in hearing about Izuku's exploits with his developing superstrength 'Quirk', while the two of them could commiserate about having a son at home, whose amazing power seemed to be destined to result in damage to their homes.
Then, Izuku and Katsuki had had an argument - a bad one - and the end result had been Izuku throwing Katsuki through a tree.
His legs, while still moving, were left essentially unable to support his body, and as a result, he would never again be able to walk on his own. His parents - Mitsuki, in particular - had been angry. They had looked for someone to blame, and in ignoring how their own son had instigated their entire incident with his complete lack of manners and empathy, had chosen to place the blame on Izuku.
As he was a minor, they couldn't sue him for any form of damages, but they were free to sue her, as Izuku's parent and guardian. She'd been held liable and on the advice of her lawyer, had to declare bankruptcy, while her wages were garnished and she was forced to sell of her assets, in order to cover the payment.
Just to be certain that they couldn't come after anything she was set to own one day, her mother had even taken the step of removing her name from her last will and testament, with all of her possessions being passed onto Izuku.
If she inherited nothing, then that meant that there was nothing for the Bakugo Family to take from her.
"Good evening everyone and thank you all for coming", Principal Nezu's voice cut through Inko's rapidly darkening thoughts, "as I'm sure you're all aware, we invited you here tonight to discuss what happened during the incursion onto U.A. grounds last Friday, and what steps we are taking as a result, now, first, we'll begin with the first moment that we realised that there had been an attack on school grounds", the small creature cleared his throat, "I was inside my office with All Might when one of our young heroes burst though the door-"
=== === === === ===
Izuku didn't know what to expect from his meeting with Sir Nighteye; he'd never had any kind of job interview before, even if it was just for an internship. The closest he'd ever come was meeting one of the hospital administrators, when he'd started volunteering at his mom's hospital, but that had lasted all of thirty seconds before they were showing him the ropes.
Sir Nighteye was different, in the sense that he had actual questions that he wanted to ask, mostly about Izuku's journalism aims, which he admitted were a surprise to him, having expected that someone with his Quirk would want to join the Heroics Course.
"Yeah", he bit down on the instinctive urge to fidget, or run his hands through his hair, "I took the Entrance Exam, passed it too, even, but it just wasn't a good time, I guess", he shrugged, "and I really do love journalism".
Sir Nighteye said nothing for a moment, simply raising an eyebrow in surprise, "I noticed that you had your old school paper listed. You were only with them for a year?"
"My grandfather was a journalist", Izuku told him, "and growing up, I was always reading a dozen hero news sites at the same time, but it wasn't until I started seriously thinking about applying to U.A. that I realised I needed to shine my application up with some extra-curriculars, so I decided to apply to the school newspaper. My best friend, JJ, he worked there as, well he was doing everything by himself, but he just wanted to be the photographer, so I took the actual reporting off his hands and we split the editing", he grinned, "we made for a pretty good team, or at least, I think we did. After a while. We even started posting some of the stuff we'd written on his blog, when the school said that we weren't allowed to post it on their site".
Sir Nighteye glanced at his notes, "Blog? What blog?"
"Flamebird", he told him, his voice taking on a loud and proud tone, "where you can seek the truth and then find justice".
The edge of Sir's lip twitched up, which Izuku was pretty sure meant that he'd found it funny, so he continued with his rushed explanation, "We started it because there was a lot of stuff happening in the area that people weren't finding out about in time for it to be relevant to them", he shrugged, "we thought that if we had a local blog, dedicated to truly local news, then maybe it would take off a little bit, but it never came to be".
"Small viewership?"
"Well, I mean, it was limited to begin with… and we never actually advertised it anywhere. Our most-viewed post only had eighty visitors, and even then, we're pretty sure that that was only because it was about All Might".
"All Might was in your local news story?"
"He saved some boys from some kind of Sludge Villain; All Might makes for a good headline, but for the Symbol of Peace, I think that barely made for a blip on his radar".
"Still, some of these read rather well", Sir said, as he tapped on his desk, and belatedly, Izuku realised that he'd pulled Flamebird up onto his desktop computer, and was flicking through his articles on a screen that he couldn't see, "though you're obviously in the habit of interviewing yourself, rather than having this JJ do part of it for you. You did also get one thing wrong".
"I did?"
He mentally ran through his article about All Might, and the only thing that stood out as possibly being wrong was if the police had released the name of the Sludge Villain, but he was quite certain that everything else was correct, and he couldn't help but ask, "What did I get wrong?"
"You just told me that your All Might post had eighty views and was your most-viewed article".
"Yeah…?"
"It seems you posted another article this weekend".
"About the attack on U.A.", Izuku confirmed, "they're not speaking with the press, and there's nothing in the student handbook that says we can't, so I posted an article anonymously. The people have a right to know what happened".
"Yes, well, according to the view counter at the bottom of the page, that particular article has generated almost eight hundred views over the last week".
Izuku blinked, "What?!"
=== === === === ===
"This is all very well and good", one of parents said, his tone brusque, as he rose to his feet, fixing the cufflinks of his tailored suit as he did, "you've admitted responsibility for placing the children in danger, for abandoning my son's class to face some kind of monster on their own - the same monster that nearly killed him, by the way - yet you've failed to mention once, how you intend to prevent this from happening a second time".
"He's right".
"The man's got a point".
"Well said".
"You also said that some of the older students took down this Humanite thing, but you also left out the part where it was a member of my son's class who saved all of their lives, not one of your Hero Course students-"
"The student in question is a minor", Nezu interjected, "unlike the Hero Course students, and due to the speed with which we arranged this meeting, we do not have permission to simply hand out his personal details".
Out the corner of her eye, Inko saw Mitsuki's face snap to hers, and she bit her cheek to avoid doing anything that would give away Izuku's involvement.
"Yeah, well", the parent who had stood up shook his head, "if it wasn't for the actions of one of the students that you don't even want to mention, my son would be dead. He admitted as much to me himself, while you're standing there like having Hero Course students on hand somehow magically saved the day".
"I assure you, we are well aware that-"
"You haven't assured me of anything", he shot back, cutting the Principal off, "what are you going to do to stop the teleporting villain from coming back? Can you even do anything about it? Why should any of us", he turned slowly, his arms outstretched, "trust that you can still take adequate care of our children?"
"You shouldn't".
As one, they all turned to look at the side of the stage, as All Might rose to his feet, not needing a microphone for his voice to be heard by them all.
"Your children's lives were threatened while at this school", he continued, moving onto the stage properly, standing beside the Principal, "and we, the Pro Heroes who number among its faculty, responded to a verified threat, but in doing so, we left the rest of the students completely vulnerable. This", his gaze swam across the room, seemingly making eye contact with each and every one of them present, "is unacceptable… and as their teacher, as the one responsible for their safety, I can not ask that you continue to trust me. I can only beg your forgiveness".
The sight of All Might kneeling before all of them was something that Inko felt would forever be burned in her brain.
"Yes, well…", still standing, the lone parent began to look uncomfortable at the sight of the Symbol of Peace on his knees, "we still need to discuss how our children will be protected moving forwards", he stammered, before dropping back into his seat.
"Indeed", Principal Nezu said, leaning back towards his microphone, looking decidedly more cheerful than he had all evening, "now, the summer break is coming up and after that, our next major event is the Sports and Culture Festival. Regarding how we may safeguard the children, we have a number of proposals to protect their identities and, of course, their physical selves during the week in question. First up, the physical event itself will now be considered as an 'opt-in' process, rather than an 'op-out'. This should-"
=== === === === ===
Eight hundred users viewing an online article might not have been a lot, and in the grand expanse of the internet, was essentially equivalent to no one, to Midoriya, it felt as though all of Japan had read his most recent post.
He needed to call JJ.
In what Izuku, despite his complete lack of job experience, knew was a blatant faux-pas of interview etiquette, he whipped out of his phone, laying it out flat on his palm, before very gingerly tapping the buttons to pull up Flamebird's webpage, being extra-careful not to accidentally press the touchscreen too hard, as he logged into the administrator's page.
Seven hundred, eighty-eight views.
Moving the date range, he checked the view counter for a second time, and realised that with six hundred and twelve, they had now completely obliterated their old record for their first twenty-four-hour counter, which had been eighty-three.
The rest of the week had then nearly added another two hundred atop that.
"I don't know what to say", he murmured, as Izuku found himself genuinely lost for words.
Sir Nighteye chuckled, and Izuku, having momentarily forgotten he was there, jumped, accidentally tossing his phone into the air, which the amused Hero casually plucked out of the air.
"Careful now", he teased, "you almost broke that".
"Yeah", he murmured, as he extended his palm out, the Pro gently laying his phone down atop it, "I need to be careful".
As Izuku continued to stare at his phone, still in a state of disbelief, he managed to completely miss the exasperated look that the older man sent him, who had to clear his throat twice, before Izuku looked back up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry-"
"Mister Midoriya", he cut in, Izuku falling silent as he spoke, "I think that, while you still have a lot to learn regarding your priorities, it's clear to me that you would fit in well at the Nighteye Agency".
Izuku blinked, "You mean…"
Sir Nighteye smiled, "Yes, you've gotten the internship", he stepped forwards, his glasses seeming to glint purple beneath the room's bright, fluorescent lights, as he extended his hand, "welcome to the team".
Without thinking twice, Izuku shook his hand.
=== === === === ===
"You're finally awake".
Tomura Shigaraki grumbled, as the Doctor moved across the room, checking his vitals, even as he sat up in his bed, "You know, for a moment there, I thought you were done".
"Whatever".
"I'm serious", the Doctor laughed, "even if you did run away before All Might could do any real damage to you".
"What was that, you-"
"Calm yourself, Tomura", the voice of his Master came through the speakers attached to the screen that the Doctor used to communicate with him, "and do put your hand down. I need the good doctor alive".
"Fine", he spat, lowering his hand from where it was poised to land on the Doctor's face and turn him to less than dust, "I'll spare him".
The Doctor bristled, even as his Master laughed, "Thank you".
"You little-"
"Doctor, as I'm not there to physically stop him, perhaps it would be better if you did not anger and upset my successor".
"Very well", he agreed through clenched teeth.
"How are his injuries?"
"Clean and now clear", the Doctor reported perfunctorily, "he should be as healthy as he ever was".
"Good… good… now, we can begin to discuss what our next steps will be".
The two of them nodded in agreement, before realising and whipping their heads away at the same time, the pair of them scowling, and through the speakers, their Master laughed, hearty and amused.
"For you, Tomura, I have some homework-"
"I want a Nomu".
The Master paused, and the Doctor turned to look at him, his eyes already narrowing, "What?"
"Master", he rasped, his voice becoming hoarse from dryness, and he swallowed to try and dampen it, "Peacebreaker failed. Humanite failed. They weren't good enough. I want a new one. I need a new one. I wanna design it. I wanna build it", he hissed, "the greatest Nomu. One so strong, so powerful, that no one, not even All Might will stand a chance against it".
The vitriol was apparent, but it also seemed to have drained the last of his energy, as Tomura seemed to sway, before grabbing the edge of the cot he had been sleeping on.
The room was quiet in the aftermath of his outburst, the only sounds the faint hum of the Doctor's equipment in the background, before a chuckle echoed out of the speakers.
"Show him".
The Doctor blinked, "Master?"
"Take him downstairs, Doctor. Show Tomura our laboratory. Show him how we make our Nomu, and then, Tomura, I want you to consider this another of your tests: I want you to build me your Ultimate Nomu".
=== === === === ===
"Go home, Moashi".
He blinked.
"Sir?"
"Tell Awata and Togata, as well", he said, his eyes looking out of the window, locked onto something in the distance, "we're closed for the rest of the day".
"Are you… feeling alright?"
Juzo Moashi had been Sir Nighteye's first ever hire, just days into him setting up his own agency, and for the last several years, he had thought it a privilege to work as his right hand. He'd been a floating sidekick, moving from agency to agency to help make up levels wherever manpower was lacking, whether due to heroes being injured, on leave or simply needing to boost their numbers.
Sir had chosen him for his skills and work ethic, rather than his Quirk, which left a lot of people feeling uncomfortable with his presence, and he felt that the two of them had done good work together, and over the time that they had worked together, he felt he had a pretty good understanding of his behaviour and preferences, especially when it came to being 'on the clock'.
For example, Sir always insisted that they use codenames while in the office: Sir was Sir, Togata was Lemillion, Awata was Bubble Girl and he was Centipeder.
While Sir had developed a habit of calling Togata by his first name, the bond and rapport between them as clear as day, he couldn't remember the last time that Sir had called him Moashi.
Did this have something to do with Midoriya's internship interview?
Nothing about it had seemed out of the ordinary. The kid had arrived, been polite, sat in for the interview and then Sir had called for him, asking him to see Midoriya out and make sure he got the paperwork he needed to fill out.
He'd come back to give Sir an update, so that he could begin planning their patrols for the next week, only to find him stood at his window, using his name and telling him to send everyone home.
"I'm fine", his boss snapped, though it was without any real heat behind, "just…", he sagged in place, every inch of his posture seeming to have become instantly tired, "go home".
He nodded slowly, "If you're sure…?"
"I am".
"Alright then… good night".
Sir said nothing, even as he shut the door.
Seriously, what had happened?
=== === === === ===
From his window overlooking the street, he watched on as his sidekicks and student left the agency for the day.
It was a nice day, sunny and clear skied, so hopefully, they would find a way to enjoy what remained of their afternoon.
He watched, as they walked down the street, talking, laughing and joking together, until they reached the nearest intersection; Togata and Awata heading off in one direction, while Moashi raised a hand in a gesture of fond farewell, before he headed off in another.
He looked down at his own hands.
They were still shaking.
Sasaki had always played his cards close to his chest; he'd kept as much information about his Quirk out of official channels as was possible. Even now, people speculated about the nature of it and while some had figured it out, nothing about their suspicions had ever been confirmed. He only ever explained his Quirk's full nature to those he trusted implicitly.
His Quirk, Foresight, was an incredibly powerful one in his opinion, though he knew many would disagree with his assessment, given that it granted him no ability for feats of incredible strength or speed, nor the ability to command the elements, or impose his will on the world around him.
No, what Foresight gave him was the ability to see the future.
With it, all it took was a single instance of contact, and then he could accurately predict all of his target's future moves and actions for an entire hour, finding himself capable of watching their entire future, from as little as mere moments ahead to full decades. The only drawback was his inability to predict just how far into the future he was seeing, as the further ahead he went, the harder it was to understand what he was witnessing.
Midoriya had no idea that when he came in that morning for his job interview, that the final question of his job interview would be one he never knew he'd answered.
You could call him paranoid for peering into the futures of all of his hires, but he'd once been the sole sidekick and partner to the World's Symbol of Peace and Justice, and as the right hand man of the greatest hero that the world had ever seen, he knew that he had also been a target for villains, even low-level thugs, who saw him as an easy way in.
And as far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as too safe.
He'd seen the depth of Awata's heart and Moashi's compassion when he'd hired them; he'd seen Mirio, standing tall and proud before the world as the Number One Pro Hero when they first met, and known in that moment, that he'd made the right choice in finding All Might's successor.
And after what Mirio had told him of Midoriya's Quirk, he'd been so certain that with the knowledge that he'd gain from today's interview, that he'd find the right leverage to convince him to hand over One For All, which he was guarding well, but failing to use properly.
Oh, how arrogant he had been, thinking he knew it all.
How arrogant humanity had been, thinking they knew it all.
His hands were still shaking.
Moving to one of his cabinets, he unlocked the top drawer with a key from his pocket, and reaching in, pulled out the bottle of emergency whiskey and a tumbler glass. Perhaps saké or shōchū would have been more expected of him, given how proud he was of his Japanese heritage, but for this moment, he needed the stronger kick of the American bourbon, he needed to feel the burn in his throat.
His threw his first pour back with ease, before pouring a second and then a third, both of which he downed in quick succession, letting the instant hit serve to calm his nerves, before pouring a fourth, and moving to sit at his desk with it, finally capable of sipping more calmly.
"Izuku Midoriya", he shook his head, leaning back in his comfortable, leather chair, and roughly puling his tie loose, "you have so far to go young man… so much to do… and so little time to do it in", he mused, sipping at his drink, before slumping forward, pressing the glass to his forehead, the chill a contrast against the realisation that he was sweating, "you're going to need all the help you can get, Kal-El".