Journey For Trust (Vigilante Deku)

Chapter Fourteen: Everything and Nothing

All Might had everything and nothing at the same time.

 After a particularly long shift, All Might checked his mailbox. A smile crept on his face as he had received a bit of mail, though most of it was junk. Against his wishes, fan-mail was only sent to his agency, and not his personal mailbox. As a popular hero, he had many fans. People from all over the globe adored him. Fame and money was just a result of doing the thing he loved the most. Helping people.

He donated any excess money that wasn't needed to run his agency or needed to live a normal life, which would in turn gave him more fans. That confused him at first, why should he be acknowledged for simply giving away what he didn't need to someone that did?

But as his coworkers all gained more popularity and money as well, it became obvious. He was the only one who wasn't concerned or even obsessed with the number in their bank account or hero rank. All he wanted to do was help as many people as possible. As a result of that, he climbed to the top hero rank in record time. All in all, All Might was incredibly lucky to just have a career doing what he loved most, let alone being 'the best at it.' He had everything.

He opened the door to his modest house and set the mail down on the living room table. The silence killed him when the door shut behind him. But for all the things he did have, he didn't have what he truly wanted. What he needed. Well, he used to have them, but over time all except one just dwindled away into mere memories. And now, that may have just happened again, leaving him completely alone.

After the passing of his mentor, he found himself extremely lonely. Thankfully, he was surrounded by many friends that he could have never dreamed of meeting without his mentor. But after his graduation, one by one, they all eventually stopped talking to him. He wasn't angry with them for that- or anything of that matter, they were probably just very busy with their hero-work and higher education. But he couldn't deny that it still hurt. Of course, he could just go out on the street and ask to be friends with anyone and they'd accept, but that was only because of his status. Not because of him. As a result of years without any personal, real, connections, empty solitude devoured him whenever he was alone. Especially in this painfully quiet house. He'd work himself to the bone every shift he had until labor laws forced him to return home, just so he could avoid facing the lifeless misery he was entrapped in.

But even through that, he still had one person. One friend that never ghosted him after high school. Tsukauchi. He could always count on his company to fill his lifeless misery with color. But that may all be gone now. Did he do something to offend him? Did he hurt him? Was he too needy? All Might shook his head, not wanting to deal with those thoughts right now. Instead of trying to guess what Tsukauchi is thinking, he should try to understand what he actually said.

"All Might, you're great at picking up on small details. That's why we were able to get so far into our investigation while it lasted. But you wouldn't have gotten as far if I wasn't there. That's because you're terrible at analyzing them. Whenever you notice something, even if it's far fetched, analyze it. Think deeply about it. Examine every possibility. A-and please... Find Deku b-before... before Endeavor does."

From that, it's easy to conclude that he's good at noticing the little things, but bad at figuring out their meanings and the possibilities for them. But the last part was worrying. The only time Tsukauchi had ever stuttered was when he fought with his sister. And that was Tsukauchi at his lowest. What could be going on that's causing him so much pain now?

No answers or even ideas popped into his head. The only reply he received was deafening silence. All Might sighed. This is probably what Tsukauchi was talking about. Why can't the answers just be laid out for him rather than just void quiet? He turned on the TV, presumably to kill off the silence. He should do something productive. Go over the Deku investigation. Especially with what happened with Yui.