Mr. Yaoyorozu did not expect to hear that name.
All for one.
To most people it was nothing, but to those who truly knew about the underworld, it carried weight. It was the name of the king of the shadows. Criminals, authoritative figures, and high-ranking members of society alike had heard of him. The greatest villain Japan had ever known.
Mr. Yaoyorozu knew, of course, that the name had been chosen by a child who could not possibly grasp its implications. And yet, implications there were. It was said that the villain had supposedly been defeated not long ago. Choosing such a name at this point could invite suspicion. And if any loyalists or fanatics of the villains are still out there, the name alone might draw unwarranted danger.
After a brief pause, Mr. Yaoyorozu spoke. "I can see why you chose that name," he said carefully, "but let us think of something else."
Junsei frowned slightly. "Why? You said I can choose."
Mr. Yaoyorozu nodded. "That is true. But that name is already taken. It belongs to a bad person, and it could cause hostile people to come after you. It would be wiser to avoid that."
Junsei considered this. He did not fully understand why people would pursue him over a name alone, but avoiding unnecessary threats seemed sensible enough. After a moment of thought, he said, "All Life. Is it taken?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu smiled. "Not as far as I know," he said. "And it is unique. A fitting name, given your circumstances."
With that settled, Mr. Yaoyorozu departed for work, and Junsei went to find Sai to continue his lessons. From that day on, Junsei's life within the Yaoyorozu household was largely uneventful. His days were filled with learning, steady lessons meant to help him catch up to what someone his age should know.
For weeks, whenever he was not studying, Junsei helped Sai around the mansion. His interactions with the family of three were limited to polite greetings and the occasional meeting in the halls. Mr. Yaoyorozu would sometimes go out of his way to check on him, but that was the extent of it.
Then, one afternoon, while dusting one of the quieter corridors, Junsei came upon Momo speaking with a middle-aged man he recognized as her private tutor.
"Miss Yaoyorozu," the man was saying, "you need to revise the atomic structure of High-Entropy Alloys. These materials will be particularly useful to you."
Momo nodded. "Thank you, sir. I will do my best."
"You are doing well, Miss Yaoyorozu," the tutor said kindly. "With time, I am sure you will learn everything."
He turned and left, while Momo let her shoulders sag, her face briefly showing exhaustion.
A moment later, she noticed Junsei watching her. She straightened at once and smiled. "Is there something I can help you with, Junsei?"
"What is a High-Entropy Alloy?" Junsei asked.
Momo blinked, surprised by the question.
"It's… a material I am learning about," she said. "It's rather difficult to explain."
"Strange," Junsei replied. "I did not come across it. Mr. Sai said I have caught up with people my age in school."
Momo stared at him. "You caught up? You finished sixth grade?"
"I started learning eighth-grade material yesterday," Junsei said.
"Really?" Momo exclaimed. "That's amazing, Junsei!"
"Is it?" Junsei asked. "I still don't know what High-Entropy Alloys are."
Momo smiled faintly. "That's because it's not something schools normally teach. This is for my quirk. As you know, my quirk allows me to create things, but to do that properly, I must understand the atomic structure of what I'm making. I have to learn far more than most people."
"Why?" Junsei asked. "Can't you buy what you need?"
Momo shook her head.
"It's not about that. I want to be a hero," she said, her voice firm. "And to use my quirk properly as a hero, I must go above and beyond."
The look on her face reminded Junsei of Kimi.
After a brief silence, he asked, "Do you admire heroes as well? Is that why you want to be one?"
"Of course!" Momo replied immediately. "They are selfless great people, especially the top heroes. Heroism is a noble profession, helping others and protecting society. What about you? Do you admire them?"
Junsei shook his head.
Momo frowned. "How could you not? Don't you want to be like them? like All Might?"
Junsei shook his head again.
Momo looked as though she had just heard about the greatest crime in the world. "How could that be?!"
Then her eyes widened with sudden realization. "Wait… have you ever watched them in action, like All Might saving people before?"
Junsei shook his head.
At last, Momo understood. Junsei had spent most of his life in the forest, and even after leaving it, his days had been filled with study and work within the house. He had never had the chance to see All Might's heroic deeds at all.
Knowing this now, Momo took it upon herself to educate Junsei on the greatness of heroes.
Before he could object or even properly understand what was happening, she had already taken his wrist and dragged him through the corridors of the mansion. They stopped before a wide door, which Momo pushed open. Inside was a spacious room dominated by a massive screen, plush seating arranged in tiers, and dim lights tucked neatly into the walls.
"This is our TV room," Momo said. Though it was more of a home cinema.
She retrieved a tablet, tapped it a few times, and connected it to the screen. Moments later, the room darkened further, and an old video began to play.
The footage showed a city in flames. Buildings smoldered, smoke curled into the sky, and people ran in all directions until a single towering figure appeared. All Might burst through the smoke, carrying dozens of people at once, his broad grin fixed firmly in place.
"It is fine now!" he declared loudly. "Why? Because I am here!"
Momo watched the video with shining eyes, her posture straight and reverent. Junsei, on the other hand, frowned. His gaze followed the fire, the broken streets, the people crying out in fear. When the video ended, the screen faded to black.
Momo turned to him eagerly. "As a matter of fact, do you see now why heroes are amazing? Especially All Might! He's the greatest hero, the Symbol of Peace!"
At that moment, the door opened quietly and Sai stepped into the room. He looked from the darkened screen to the two of them and smiled faintly.
"Miss Yaoyorozu," he said, "I haven't seen you come here in a very long time."
"I was showing Junsei an old video of All Might saving the day," Momo replied. "Can you believe he doesn't know about heroes?"
Sai raised an eyebrow and turned to Junsei. "That is unusual. Didn't your orphanage have a television? Did they not show you the heroes in action?"
"We had one," Junsei said. "Smaller than this." He paused. "I didn't like sitting down to watch."
He did not add that crowded rooms had always made his skin crawl, or that the times everyone gathered around the television were the worst of all. He had avoided them whenever he could.
"I see," Sai said thoughtfully. "Then I'm curious, what do you think of heroes after watching this?"
Momo added. "Yes, do you see now why heroes are great?"
Junsei looked back at the dark screen before answering. "I don't understand. That man stood among fire and destruction, smiling. Does he not see the pain around him? Why smile at the suffering of others? Does he enjoy it that much?"
Both Momo and Sai stared at him, startled.
Momo recovered first. "No! It's not because of their suffering that he smiles. He's showing them that everything will be okay!"
Sai nodded. "All Might is called the Symbol of Peace because when he arrives, people know no innocent will be harmed and everything will be okay. His presence alone stops fear from spreading."
"But it will not," Junsei replied calmly. "Things were destroyed. Life was harmed. Even if the cause was stopped, the effect remains. Death and suffering are horrible things. Smiling at them is wrong."
"But it could have been far worse if not for him!" Momo insisted.
"Smiling doesn't change what happened," Junsei said.
Sai said gently. "It's not about changing what already happened, Junsei. It's about stopping things from becoming worse. When you believe that what you're seeing will only continue to get worse, that belief itself causes despair. The smile is a promise, that from this moment on, things will not continue that way."
Junsei was silent for a long moment. Then he said quietly, "I don't understand you."
Sai sighed. "One day, you will."
Momo brightened suddenly. "What if I showed you more? Other heroes?"
Junsei looked at her, then asked, "How does it work? How can you show me things that happened in the past?"
Momo was surprised by the question, but still she explained how recordings worked, how moments could be captured and replayed long after they had passed. She showed him how the tablet connected to the screen, and how she used it to access videos through the internet.
Junsei listened intently, his attention sharp. When she finished, he asked, "What is the internet?"
"It's a place where most of our knowledge is shared," Momo said simply. "If you want to watch something or ask a question, you'll most likely find it there."
Junsei asked. "Can I find the answer to anything?"
"For the most part," Momo replied.
Sai smiled as he watched them. "Junsei," he said, "do you have some questions you'd like answered?"
Junsei nodded.
"Alright," Momo said, holding up the tablet. "What do you want to know?"
Junsei asked "How did humans come to be? And why do they exist? What is their purpose?"
He had wanted to know the answer to human existence for a very long time, but no matter how much he thought, he was never able to find it.