Chapter Text
Authors Note:
Nana always reminded me of my mother. Different hair and eye color, sure, but this is her in full crimson. My mother's hair was brunette, (Former redhead, but her hair darkened when she hit her mid twenties) and her eyes were hazel. My mother's not dead, but given the fact that she's cool with the state of the US, I might've preferred her that way, so I could remember her as a good person.
She's homophobic and transphobic, she calls it a "sin". But when I was little, I'm sure she still felt that way, but she caught me being homophobic once and shut that down immediately with a "god didn't call us to judge". It's funny how she taught me to be better than her and ultimately made me feel safe enough to explore my own sexuality. It sounds dark, but in a way, this version of me is getting a better version of her with her dying while he's young.
Anyway, Nana gave me serious mom vibes from back then, so on some level, maybe I'm writing the mom I should have had.
「Why does she look upset, did I do something wrong?」 All Might's voice shook, and he broke form into Toshinori again.
「No, no, she's upset because she tried to speak to you. Unfortunately, she doesn't have Vocal Cords yet. I'll work on that, it sounds like she's got a lot to say.」 Síat was still staring at her. Hard.
You look like Toshi's not the only one who's seeing a ghost... Nana stepped closer to Síat.
"You've no idea, ma... -dam... You look just like..." Síat's throat tightened.
Nana's physical form flickered in understanding. Oh... If you need to-
"Not yet. I just... I need a minute... You... You're actually... Whoever All Might is recognizing, so you can't be her. We'll... We'll talk about the other thing later, when I'm not standing in front of a man who's also fighting tears. You're his, he deserves whatever moment he needs."
「I'm going to hold off too... I need... I need to process this. Especially considering the big one. And what it might mean...」 Toshinori coughs. He's not bleeding, he hasn't pushed himself, but he is staring hard at his own sanguine form, who seems to be as big in stature as he was 20 years ago, before age and an injury started slowing him down.
Síat looked too. 「Whoa... Ghost Might...」
Ghost Might‽ That... is cutting, Young Rahill... I AM HERE, as a manifestation of the 8th holder! Ghost Might puts his fists on his hips. That smile is pretty iconic...
"Okay, fair, but what else am I supposed to call you? It feels weird to call you All Might while the real... Sorry, the living one is still... Well, living." Síat held his hands up.
That is... I am... Touché, Young Rahill. Mmm... Stick with Ghost Might, then. Who knows? It might grow on me. Ghost Might stops pouting under his smile.
"Good. Okay. Alright, we're gonna... Why can I read that newspaper?"
「Mmm? Young Rahill, you've been studying for seven months. 」 Toshinori looks at the newspaper page in question. 「Ah... I haven't taught you much in the way of career vocabulary yet... Wait...」
Right... An older man, not necessarily in appearance, more in spirit, steps forth. I've noticed you're still struggling with the language a little, and with only three months left to the entrance exam, and another two weeks to school, so I thought I'd bump your vocabulary a little. Be warned, I'm a bit old fashioned, so you'll have some trouble with parsing intent, certain words can mean multiple things based on context and tone nowadays, but you'll generally get the idea of what people say and what you read now.
「Are you telling me that I just got a Japanese cheat sheet?」 Síat's eyes widen.
You... Well I suppose you could put it that way, but it's... Hmm... There's at least still going to be a learning curve while you relearn how to use tone. Yoichi Shigaraki chuckled, defeated by semantics. Though Toshinori has given you decent strides there over the last seven months.
「Young Rahill... Are you suggesting that...」
「That I just got a linguistics upgrade? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I still apparently need to finish learning to parse tone and context, but I've gone from conversational to fluent with one little embolism.」 Síat grinned. 「Right, then. Think it's high time you lot introduced yourselves...」
All Might, apparently needing a break from the menagerie, had told Síat he'd be by tomorrow to help Síat figure out the full scope of his One for All integration.
Yoichi was the first to dissolve. Síat attempted to reabsorb the blood, leading to the discovery that he couldn't fit the blood he spent back into his veins. "Shit, that's gonna be a mess... Okay, go into the water, the beach just got pretty."
Kudo and Bruce followed, after noticing they had access to their quirks.
Upon seeing this, Banjo tested Blackwhip. Other than being coated in a thin layer of blood, it functioned just as it used to. Kid, we're gonna have to see what we can DO with this, I'm seeing one-man rescue squad potential, if you ever figure a way to give us our voices back. It's probably best we can speak reassuringly to civilians.
"Oh, to be sure. I think the problem is none of us really know how biology plays into human speech. I'll take it up with the first teach' I meet that seems to have knowledge on the subject."
As he and Hikage melted into the sea, Ghost Might lingered for a bit at the water's edge. I didn't have a quirk... But I feel as mighty as my prime self... He glanced at the seaside, and reared back his fist.
Toshi, wait... Nana grabbed Síat's shoulders.
TEXAAAS, SMASH!!!!! A tidal wave burst forth from his fist, thankfully away from the island. HA! AS LONG AS THE BOY LIVES, THE SYMBOL OF PEACE LIVES ON!
"OI!!!! Ghost Might! That was still ME using an unlicensed quirk, ya daft gobshite! You take a timeout before you get me arrested!" Síat, despite being absolutely correct, was laughing.
Ah! Shit, right, I'll save that sort of fun for sanctioned training... He washed into the sea. His voice buzzed in Síat's head once more... Apologies, Young Rahill, I shall behave henceforth.
"Ah, I can still hear you if you're not out... That's somehow both reassuring and unnerving... On a scale of one to ten, how over is my dating life before it even began?" Síat scratched his head with a wince.
Nana was the only one left. He's not paying attention. Which, I suppose, answers your question. She shifted her weight in the sand, as if uncomfortable. So... Is it later enough to...
"It's a little spooky how much you look like my ma... But... I miss her a lot. I don't know if this is exactly healthy, but..." Síat clamped his mouth shut.
I would bear the honor proudly. When you're ready to commit to it. I can't speak for 'healthy', but I too have a bit of a rough familial history. Maybe this is my second chance. I don't intend to repeat that history. She looked at her sanguine hand. Not that I'd have much of a choice in the matter, being more bound by blood in a literal sense...
Síat smiled through pursed lips and hugged her. She hugged him back.
"I'll take it... Ma..."