In a single room of a dark, stagnant space, inorganic sounds echoed.
I was leaning back in my chair, listening to my favorite record.
The arm with the IV needle ached.
I found it bothersome, but with this body of mine, I couldn't remove it. Such is this frail body that can't even manage that.
This form is the result of my own inadequacy in losing to him. I've already accepted it, but thinking of him still doesn't put me in a good mood.
Click.
With that metallic sound, a presence entered the room.
If it's who I sensed, it's him.
"Well, Doctor. How are you doing?"
At my words, the Doctor frowned.
"Is that sarcasm, sensei?"
"Not at all. I was simply concerned about your health, Doctor. Nothing more."
"I hope so. My condition is the same as always. I still haven't found a way to heal your body, sensei."
"Then, what about that? Did it work out?"
"Ah, that. It died before mixing. Even with precedents, it's a reckless proposition."
The Doctor sank into a nearby chair.
"Giving someone multiple Quirks is possible. But beyond that doesn't go well. Mixing Quirks together. Simple in words, but it's quite troublesome."
"But my brother managed it well."
"I'd like to think that was special."
The Doctor reading the chart let out a sigh.
He seemed terribly exhausted.
"So, will you give up?"
"Don't be absurd, sensei. Something this interesting, how could I stop? Above all, if this technology can be established, I'll—no, let's stop this talk. Don't count your chickens before they hatch, as they say."
"That's good to hear. If I lost a collaborator like Doctor, I'd be in trouble."
"You're flattering me. If it weren't for the injury, you wouldn't think so."
The Doctor, who let out a dry laugh, hardened his expression as if remembering something.
"Speaking of which, I delivered that."
"Ah, I'd forgotten. Did it reach her safely?"
"U.A. is nothing special. In the end, it's just another educational institution. They can't even stop a single gift."
"You shouldn't expect too much from that place, Doctor. Well, is everywhere the same now? Terribly lukewarm, terribly stagnant. What a boring era this has become."
"Would it have been different if you'd won, sensei?"
How amusing. Of course it would.
But reality is as it is.
I no longer have the right to say such things.
"I dislike hypotheticals. I'll leave that to the next generation's him."
"Will he manage it well?"
"He will."
I raised him for that purpose.
I raised him solely for that purpose.
"He's my precious, precious student who will become me. He'll surely become me."
And he'll end the ridiculous era All Might created. From him who took everything from me, this time I'll take everything from him.
"Hehehe, I'm looking forward to it."
I enjoyed the music.
While imagining him sinking miserably into a pool of blood, while imagining his face distorted with anguish, while imagining him dying wretchedly.
I enjoyed the music.
Thinking of him.
Thinking of the girl he chose.
"—I wonder if she liked the present? Hey, Midoriya Souko."