The hero Deku is making news long before he graduates from UA. It starts with the sludge villain incident, though not many people remember that aside from Bakugou, and continues with USJ and the sports festival, with Stain and Eri, and it doesn't stop once, until suddenly three years have passed, and he's walking across the stage to the sound of deafening cheers to accept his diploma.

By now, the hero name Deku is quite well known, as are the names of the other 3-A graduates. The hero Deku has a small but steadily growing fanbase. The hero Deku is friendly, charismatic, and above all humble.

And so, when he opens his own agency a week after graduating, and officially changes his hero name to "All Might," to honour his mentor, the man known unanimously as the greatest hero the world has ever seen, it causes a magnificent uproar.

His name is in all the headlines – the press and the public talk about him, nonstop, for weeks.

None of it is good.

All the support and goodwill, the wonderful reputation he had built in his years at UA, goes down the drain.

His former classmates are worried for him, though not particularly surprised about his decision.

Those first few weeks are, quite truthfully, some of the worst in his life. But he makes it through them, with his smile and his laughter, his good heart and his kindness, mercifully intact.

First weeks, then months, then years pass steadily by.

It's eight years before the last ripples of his announcement finally die down.

Midoriya Izuku, All Might the second, is twenty-six years old, and despite the naysayers and the sceptics, he's climbed his way slowly but steadily up the official hero rankings to an impressive third place. The highest anyone his age has ever managed to achieve.

Midoriya Izuku single handedly holds up a collapsing building for two hours straight while his sidekicks and fellow heroes work to evacuate the civilians and stabilize the structure. Thanks to his enormous strength and resilience, there are no casualties that day.

The media sings his praises for days afterwards, and one particularly dramatic photo likening him to the ancient Titan Atlas, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, ends up going viral.

It happens just a few days shy of the ten-year-anniversary of the fateful Kamino Ward Tragedy, and the original All Might's subsequent retirement.

In those ten years, Toshinori Yagi has managed to maintain his near-legendary status, and the utter adoration of the general populace.

So when HMZ manages to land an exclusive interview with him, the huge spike in viewership is bigger than any of them had expected.

Despite his enthusiastic, larger than life reputation as a pro hero, Toshinori Yagi has been notoriously reclusive since his retirement - the number of times he's spoken to the media in the past ten years can be counted on one hand.

Yet as the interview goes on, he slips easily into his charismatic persona once more, the blinding smile that lights up his face is so achingly familiar, it sends a pang of nostalgia through anyone present old enough to remember the days of an era long past.

And though he has everyone hanging onto his every word from the moment he opens his mouth, it isn't until approximately ten minutes in that things start to get really interesting.

HOST: So, All Might - that is to say, the hero formerly known as Deku - has been in the news quite a bit these past few days.

YAGI: [Laughter] Don't remind me. I was watching from home and my wife and I were on the edge of our seats the entire time. I think she was worried I would try to dash to his rescue - she was clutching my hand so tightly the entire time, I'm surprised it didn't break.

HOST: [Leans forward, interested] Did you not believe he would be able to handle the situation by himself?

YAGI: [Waving hands frantically] No, no, not at all. I, more than anyone, know what the young man is capable of. But, ahh, you know how it is. No strong a hero he becomes, there will always be a part of me that looks at him, and sees the gangly little 15-year-old in his first week at UA, wearing his hero costume for the first time ever and still so uncomfortable in his own skin.

HOST: [Nods in understanding] That's right. You taught All Might in his three years at UA, didn't you?

YAGI: [Chuckles] Well now, that's one thing I don't think I'll ever get used to - people referring to someone other than me when they mention All Might. But yes, I did teach him while he was attending UA.

HOST: And what do you think of his achievements so far? Do you think he's truly earned the right to call himself All Might?

YAGI: Oh, more than! In my eyes, he earned it the moment he earned his license. It's been an absolute delight to see him flourish into the hero he is today. [Sheepish laughter] Maybe it makes me petty, but it's been especially satisfying to see him prove all the naysayers wrong.

HOST: You seem to have quite the high opinion of the young All Might. Tell me, how did you feel when you found out that someone else had taken up your hero name?

YAGI: [Leans forward, eyes sparkling] It was, quite seriously, one of the most emotional days of my life. I was at home with my wife at the time, you see, when the young man just comes barrelling through the front door-

HOST: I'm sorry, he came to your home-?

YAGI: Well, yes, he was only in his first year of high school at the time. Anyways, so he comes barrelling through the front door, marches straight up to me and he says, "All Might." And I suppose that should have been my first sign - he only ever calls me by my hero name at school. So he says "All Might, you've been my hero since before I can even remember."

I say to him, "I am aware."

And in that moment, he looked more serious than I ever remember seeing him, and he says to me, "You mean so much to so many people. The hero named All Might means safety and security and hope. And that is something that shouldn't die." And by now, I'm starting to understand where he's going. "So I will become the next All Might," he says, and he looks so serious, so grown up. And for one second, I could see clearly the kind of man he would one day become. It was hard to believe, that this amazing young man was the same baby I'd held all those years ago, crying so hard the nurses threatened to kick me out of the hospital room-

HOST: Th-the hospital room? Yagi-san...are you-are you saying you're-?

YAGI: Hm?

HOST: Yagi-san...what exactly is your relationship with the young All Might?

YAGI: [Looks from the host to the studio audience with a confused expression] Why...he's my son, of course.

[A split second of silence, before the entire audience erupts into pandemonium. The host can be seen to be soundlessly mouthing the words "what the actual fuck" to himself.]

YAGI: [Expression morphs into sudden understanding] Well then. I'm assuming he hadn't made the announcement yet.

[Five more minutes of utter chaos]

[The studio crew finally succeeds in getting the audience to calm down]

HOST: [Is visibly attempting to get his thoughts back under control] Well, Yagi-san, that is...quite the revelation. If you don't mind my asking, why have you kept your relationship with your son a secret for all these years?

YAGI: [Laughs sheepishly] Believe it or not, we originally planned to keep it a secret until he started high school. After all, as the son of the number one hero, he was bound to receive a lot of unwanted attention, and my wife and I wanted him to be able to have a normal childhood, without having to fear for his life every second of every day.

HOST: [Nods in understanding] And when he started attending UA, he would be under the protection of the several pro heroes that were teaching him, so there was less of a threat to his safety.

YAGI: Exactly. But Izuku has always been a very...honest sort of child. He worried that if everyone knew he was my son, he would receive special treatment. And more than that, he worried that no one would take him seriously - that everyone would think that all of his achievements were a result of his connections. So he asked if it would be alright to keep his parentage a secret.

HOST: And when he graduated UA? By then he had more than proved that he was an outstanding hero. Why not reveal your relationship then? Surely it would have made people more accepting to the idea of him taking on your hero name.

YAGI: That is exactly why he kept it a secret. Izuku, more than anyone, has a deep respect for the name All Might. He, who saw all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into my legacy, wanted to make completely certain that he truly earned the right to be called All Might, and to be accepted by the public. If people had known that he was my son, they would have thought that "naturally, the son of All Might would inherit his hero name." But there is a difference between something that one was born with out of pure luck, and something that one worked themselves to the bone to achieve. The All Might who kept on smiling despite all the harsh words and criticisms thrown his way when he first debuted will never be told that he doesn't deserve his name.

HOST: I see. And how were those first few years for you, as his father? It must have been difficult, to see the way he was talked about.

YAGI: [Expression suddenly cold] Never before have I been so ashamed of the people who dared call themselves my fans.

HOST: [Wincing slightly] Is that not...a little harsh, Yagi-san? The way they went about it may not have been the best, but they were trying to support you in their own way, after all.

YAGI: [Voice low, dangerous] One week after he graduated, my Izuku saved a young woman from a villain. And do you know how she repaid him?

HOST: [Nervous, voice barely audible] No…

YAGI: She spat in his face. She told him that he didn't deserve to even breathe the same air as All Might, let alone call himself by his name. And then she walked away, without so much as a thank you.

HOST: [Face pale, speechless]

YAGI: He didn't say anything to her. He kept smiling in front of the public. My boy has always had a too big heart, and so he's no stranger to having it broken. When he got home, I had to hold him as he cried. So no. I don't think I'm being harsh.

skygem: Please leave a comment letting me know what you think!

The fic is marked as complete atm, but I might add a second chapter depending on the reception.