Boku No Hero Academia One Shots [Book 2]

Toshinori Yagi ღ All Might

Requested by: Michelle_AzFar18

[A/N]: Not sure how this one turned out. See if you can guess whose life inspired the reader's!

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"E Pluribus Unum?" Toshinori studied the engraving on the coin that lay in his palm.

"Hm? Oh, yeah!" You nodded, savouring every note of that thick, Japanese accent. "It's kind of an unofficial motto. It means 'Out of Many, One'. Something to do with the original thirteen colonies coming together to form the USA, and the phrase having thirteen letters. It's actually really cool, when you think about it!"

A smile, marginally softer than his signature, played at his lips. "You know a lot! It's quite impressive!"

"Well, I do live here." Your response was bashful, as you tried to conceal the sudden surge of happiness induced by his compliment.

This man, a fairly new introduction to American Hero Society, possessed charisma and altruism beyond anything you had seen before. It wasn't surprising that your heart settled on him. There weren't an abundance of commonalities between you, but two important ones were David Shield (with whom you were both best friends) and an almost-unhealthy obsession with learning the history and culture of America. The former had actually been the catalyst for your meeting, since you were in no way, shape or form an extrovert, and couldn't hold a conversation with a stranger to save your life.

Human interactions were overrated anyway - the flora and fauna provided company much more pleasant. The seclusion equated to safety, in your mind, being sequestered amid the glasshouse. You excelled in botanic studies, and through your 'Phytokinesis' quirk, you shared an empathic link with the plants, that a human could simply never match. This quirk also allowed for plant manipulation, and further knowledge of the different species, conditions required for survival, etc...

When Toshinori first made an appearance, you worried that the more particular flowers (namely the exotic ones, like the Nelumbo Lutea and the Oriental Lily, who enjoyed the presence of quieter people) might show distaste, perhaps even fear, towards him. But they didn't. He treated them with respect, touched them with a tenderness indicative of someone far frailer. 

It was such a heart-warming sight.

From that day forward, whenever he took a respite from hero work, Toshinori would call upon you, and hours would be spent either tending to the flowers or talking about American culture. In turn, you were taught some basic Japanese, and given a crash-course on the Japanese Hero Society, food, superstitions, and everything else he could think of. Sometimes, David would tag along, and although he was incredibly special to you, it severely limited your time alone with Toshinori. You acted like it wasn't an inconvenience, however, for the sake of maintaining your friendship. Besides, who was Toshinori most likely to side with? Your bets were on David.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now!" His voice echoed across the glasshouse, as he admired all the beautifully-cultivated plants. "Why do you always wear white? Forgive me if it's a weird question, but I don't think I've ever seen you in colour!"

"...I wear this small badge, from time-to-time. That's kind of got some colour." You gave a nervous chuckle, unsure of how to proceed with this conversation.

Weren't you literally just discussing the inscriptions on coinage? Why had the topic shifted so drastically? "Some, but not a lot! Eh...pink, yellow and blue? Is that a symbol, or do you just like the colours?"

"A bit of both, honestly..." You trailed off, wondering why David wasn't here to rescue you.

Oh yeah, he wasn't invited, because you wanted more uninterrupted time with Toshinori. Which genius put that idea in your head? You were screaming at your past self, to remember the bro code. You were very clearly female, but that was of no consequence - you could still be a bro, surely? No-one could take that from you. This was (supposedly) the land of the free, after all.

Your companion's eyes glazed over in concern. "Is it a bad reason? Well, not bad, but you know...uh-"

"I guess it's a way of mourning? Um...I lost a dog, a few years back. We were really close - she was a snowy white terrier, a small thing...I'm still not over it. I really miss her, but life goes on, right? So...maybe it's mourning? Maybe it's just to honour her. Not really sure." You clarified, avoiding his gaze.

"Ah," He coughed, ashamed that he might have caused you some discomfort. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, Toshi."

"...You didn't get another dog? Isn't that usually what people do?" He asked, with a cautious confusion.

You laughed a little, before replying, "You've never had a pet, have you?"

That laugh was laced with sorrow. Great, well done 'Next Symbol of Peace'. Real nice job there. His mind and mouth seemed to be in opposition - he wasn't given chance to process those words before they were released. Now he wished to apologise profusely, a million times over. For a budding hero, this was a very poor performance, and all he actually had to do was talk! If only his quirk was the ability to conjure a more debonair demeanour, then he could hand you a lovely bouquet and flirt a little, to ease your mind. His heroic voice and stature were suitable for alleviating worry and fear, but perhaps heartbreak was just too potent?

Hey...was that something to chat about? - The bouquets? The ones you designed for friends and relatives, and with which you added poetic verses of love, of affection and well-wishing? It would be a start, hopefully even a distraction! The memory made him smile - the day he first received one. It was Valentine's, and you gave flowers to both Toshinori and David. He still felt special though...like you cared for him, as something more than a friend.

"Did I ever properly thank you for Valentine's? You don't celebrate White Day in America..."

"Eh...I can't remember. You probably did." No, there was no trace of White Day in America - that was solely for Japan, being such a stereo-typically polite and gracious country.

He mused on this for a moment. "I would still like to give you something!"

"Sure, I guess...?" You complied, hating the soured atmosphere.

You were expecting a flower, maybe, or perhaps a key-chain.

You weren't expecting a kiss.

[Word Count: 1046]