Chapter Text
Izuku was nervous walking into class. He couldn’t identify why, but it felt like a voice was buzzing in the back of his head, warning him about something. Uraraka had picked up on his nervousness almost immediately and had been trying to help him figure out what was wrong.
“We don’t have any tests today, right?”
“None that I’m aware of.”
“You completed all the homework?”
“We did it together, you’d know if I didn’t.”
“Forget your lucky handkerchief?”
“Now you’re just messing with me.”
She just chuckled at that. They continued brainstorming but were coming up blank. When they reached the final cross walk before the station, Izuku suddenly went rigid and grabbed Uraraka. She was confused at first, before a speeding car almost flew past the pair.
“How’d you know that guy was coming?”
“I don’t know, but that foreboding feeling is less than before.”
“Interesting. Maybe it’s some part of your quirk? You’re a late bloomer so who knows what all your quirk does?”
Izuku shrugged noncommittally, until he heard a whispered, “You’re welcome Nine.”
The rest of the trip went by without incident. When class began, Aizawa-sensei popped up out of his sleeping bag.
“Today you’ll be making one of the most important decisions of your entire year.”
Panic spread throughout the room, as the implications of that settled in. After a minute of silence, Aizawa-sensei cleared his throat.
“You’re picking your class representatives today. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done.”
The panic disappeared almost immediately, replaced by various people volunteering for the position. Iida took charge, standing up and shouting over the rest of the class.
“Everyone, the fairest way to decide this would be a vote! Anything else would be an insult to civility!”
“Kero. Wouldn’t everyone vote for themselves?”
“That is indeed a risk, however I’d argue that anyone who gets more than one vote would be all that much more deserving of the position!”
Ashido voiced her agreement first, and soon after everyone had agreed with Iida’s suggestion.
Izuku wrote down Yaoyorozu’s name and sent the paper to the front. After the votes were tallied Izuku was speechless. He’d somehow gotten 6 votes, which put him squarely in first place. Yaoyorozu wasn’t too far behind him, managing to acquire 4 votes. The only other person to have more than one vote was Asui, who’d gotten 2 votes.
“Midoriya’s rep, Yaoyorozu’s vice-rep. Any objections?” Aizawa-sensei asked.
No one disagreed, though Izuku was shocked. Compounding on that, the buzzing in the back of his head was getting worse. When Aizawa-sensei dismissed them, Izuku stayed behind.
“Aizawa-sensei, do you know where Yagi-sensei is. I think something’s up with my quirk.”
“Yagi’s running a bit late today, I think Recovery Girl mentioned today’s the anniversary of something personal.”
“Oh, if you see him before I do ask him if any of the previous users had some kind of sensory quirk. I’ve had this buzzing in the back of my head all day. This morning it was really bad but got better after I stopped Uraraka from getting hit by a speeding car. Now, it’s picking back up.”
“Alright. Any reason you haven’t just texted him?”
“I tried when I got here, but the signal was on the fritz.”
The teacher sighed, “Alright. Get to class now Problem Child.”
Izuku chuckled as he left.
English was always easy for Izuku. He and his father used to practice it with each other, Hisashi for work, Izuku because it was something All Might related. That said, U.A.’s English class was a lot different from his high school’s. The difference that actually having a fluent speaker teach the class made was astonishing. The bell finally rang, and their class headed down to lunch.
“So, I imagine you all voted for me,” Izuku half stated, half asked.
All his friends voiced their affirmations, though that still left Izuku down two votes.
“Then who were the other two?”
Yaoyorozu cut in at that, “I voted for you, Midoriya. Though that left me wondering who all voted for me.”
Izuku chuckled at that, “I was one of them. I imagine your teammates from the other day made up the rest.”
“Aw Greenie. Should I be jealous of Yaomomo?”
Izuku looked Tokage dead in the eyes, “If you want, I could talk to Aizawa-sensei. If the paperwork isn’t done, I’m sure you could take my position.”
Tokage laughed at that, “All good man. Don’t need to go that far for me.”
“Sorry Captain, if you plan on handing the position to ‘Kage, I might have to mutiny.”
“Indeed. While Tokage is a wonderful friend her organizational skills leave much to be desired.”
“I already said I didn’t want the position, assholes.”
“Love you too, Scales,” Uraraka said.
Yaoyorozu looked completely lost at the interaction. She turned to Izuku.
“Is this how friends normally behave?” She asked.
“I wouldn’t really know. The last time I had friends my age, I was in preschool. It just works for us.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of alarm bells blaring throughout the cafeteria.
“What the hell’s going on?” Shinso shouted.
“That’s the intruder bell. In my three years here, they haven’t once gone off,” an upperclassman screamed. He was running towards the door, along with almost everyone else in the cafeteria. One of Tokage’s eyes floated towards the window.
“Guys, it’s just the press. I see the channel 6 news logo on one of the cameras. Present Mic and Midnight are already out there.”
“Alright. That didn’t work. Anyone have any suggestions?”
Yaoyorozu got his attention. “Try this,” she said as she handed him a megaphone.
“Thanks,” he said, before he turned it on, “Guys! It’s just the press!”
None of the panicking students seemed to notice, they were too busy trying to get out of the cafeteria. Groaning, Izuku turned off the megaphone and turned to Uraraka.
“Can you float me?”
“Yeah. Good luck.”
“Dark Shadow, give me a push.”
“Got it, Izu.”
Once Izuku was in the air, Dark Shadow shot up behind him, pushing him in the direction of the exit. Turning the megaphone back on, Izuku tried again.
“Everyone! Stop freaking out for a moment!”
Whether it was the fact this green kid was floating above them, or they had actually heard him this time, the students turned to Izuku.
“It’s just the press, the teachers are already dealing with it. Please just calm down.”
That seemed to get through to the students, as they had stopped stampeding. Soon enough they had meandered back towards their seats, allowing for lunch to continue on somewhat normally.
April 17th always had some significance to Toshinori. It was on this day he had received One for All almost 45 years ago, a few years later, it was the day his master had died as he was being flown out to America.
‘It wasn’t all bad,’ Toshinori mused as he massaged his wound. His phone buzzed, and after checking it, Toshinori could only curse his luck.
Aizawa: Yagi, Midoriya thinks something’s up with his quirk.
As Toshinori climbed into his car, he got another text.
Nezu: I’m afraid something quite disturbing has occurred. The damage is reminiscent of a particular quirk, one that I had thought belonged to a dead man. I would appreciate a second opinion.
‘Shit,’ Toshinori thought. Nezu was only vague during an emergency for two reasons. Either it would be traumatizing for whoever he was speaking to, or it was related to All for One.
When he got to U.A., Toshinori rushed to find Nezu. He found him talking to Aizawa. Upon entering, the principal turned to face the newcomer.
“Ah Yagi, I’m sorry to interrupt you today, but it is quite urgent. You and Gran Torino would be the last two people I know of that would be able to recognize this particular quirk, and if it is what I think it is, time is of the essence.”
Toshinori could only nod. He and Aizawa followed the principal to the crime scene. Midnight and 13 were stationed there, serving as guards for a hole in the U.A. barrier. If Toshinori had eaten anything that day, he most assuredly would’ve puked at the sight of the barrier. There was no doubt.
“It’s that quirk alright. The same one that was used to utterly destroy my master.”
Nezu nodded at that, his mood noticeably worsened than even a couple minutes ago.
“What do you mean by that Yagi?” Aizawa asked. Toshinori noticed there seemed to be genuine concern in his voice.
“Not here Aizawa, this is a discussion that shouldn’t risk being overheard.”
The underground hero nodded at that. Nezu called Cementoss over to the wall, then alerted the staff that there would be a meeting in a half an hour.
As the staff piled into the room, Yagi swallowed his nerves and stood up. The other teachers knew who he was of course, but that didn’t put them at ease. If anything, they seemed more on edge. Considering what had happened, the reaction was probably appropriate.
“As you all know, I was brutally injured seven years ago today. What I didn’t mention was by who and how. There was a villain known as All for One, with a relatively simple power, the ability to give and take quirks.
He amassed armies and a repertoire of quirks so vast, it took several heroes working from the dawn of quirks to finally take him down. I was injured in my attempt to apprehend him and had no choice but to kill him. The entire battle I wondered why he hadn’t used a particular quirk yet. One I had unofficially termed ‘destruction’.
It had a very simple effect, anyone, or anything he touched with all five fingers would turn to dust. He had killed my mentor with this quirk, and yet, when his life was on the line, he didn’t even attempt it.
Today, I learned why he didn’t. That was the quirk that destroyed the barrier. He must have handed it off to some disciple or sycophant prior to our fight.”
“Holy hell!” Present Mic yelped.
“How certain are you this quirk is the same, Yagi?” Aizawa asked.
“That quirk is unmistakable. The damage to the barrier matches the remains of anything that fell victim to that quirk.”
Aizawa paused, before asking a follow up, “Did you ensure the job was finished?”
The other teachers were shocked at the question. It wasn’t unheard of for villains to die in a confrontation with a hero. Usually, the hero would suffer some kind of consequence ranging from a fine and community service to a suspension of their license or even jail time. However, in rare instances, the HPSC would acknowledge an S rank villain as enough of a danger that should apprehension be too difficult, removing the villain is an acceptable outcome.
Toshinori winced at the memory, the day that some commission worker had given him a single use ‘kill license’ as they were known.
“I was a bit busy keeping my stomach from falling out of my side. My teacher confirmed the kill.”
Nezu decided to jump in before an argument could take place, “I’ll contact him as soon as possible. I just thought that you all should be aware of what we are dealing with. Please exercise all necessary caution going forward.”
As the teachers filed out, Toshinori let out a sigh. Aizawa looked even more pissed than normal, and Nezu just looked tired.
“I’ll contact Gran Torino. While I have no idea how anyone could have survived having their skull crushed, it’s always possible something weird had happened. All for One was nothing if not meticulous.”
Toshinori made his way to the door, pulling out his phone and searching for the contact.
“That would probably be best, Yagi. Shota, would you collect Mr. Midoriya? He should probably be made aware of the situation.”
“Let me guess, All for One and One for All are connected?”
The door closed behind him, cutting off all sound from the teacher’s room. In all the time that Toshinori had had his wound, it had never felt more draining than today.
Sorahiko enjoyed retirement. He wasn’t fully retired, as his license hadn’t yet expired, but he’d be officially off the books next fall. He knew Toshinori had picked a successor, and it wasn’t the lookalike Mirai had picked out. Sorahiko hadn’t met the kid yet but considering he hadn’t gotten any panicked texts from Toshinori, he assumed things were going well.
His phone buzzed, and Sorahiko cursed his big mouth. He looked down and saw it was Toshinori.
“Toshinori, what on earth is so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
“We have proof All for One might be still alive. Nezu needs your account, as you’re the last person we know who saw the corpse.”
Well, shit.
It an hour and a half later, Sorahiko was dressed up in his suit, sitting with Chiyo, Nezu, Toshinori, and some hobo in Nezu’s office. Apparently said hobo was Midoriya’s teacher, so he’d been brought into the fold, but Sorahiko thought that was flimsy.
“Alright. So, the destruction quirk was used on the U.A. barrier, and considering that he didn’t use it against Toshinori in their fight seven years, we want to make sure that this is just whoever he gave the quirk to lashing out, and not him, correct?”
“That’s the summary. According to Yagi, you were the one who confirmed the kill, we just want your side of the story,” Hobo-sensei agreed.
“Alright. So, while Chiyo was performing first aid on Toshinori, I went over to the corpse. His head was completely crushed, which I took as a good sign. I walked over to him, and he didn’t react. I kicked him in the stomach, and he didn’t react. I kicked him in the balls, felt something crack, but the bastard didn’t react. I checked his pulse after that, and there wasn’t one. I flagged over the guy the HPSC sent with us to collect the body and went over to my student.”
“Do you remember the agent’s name? We should be able to exhume the body with that information,” Nezu asked.
“Yeah, Agent Kyu Tenki. Creepy fella. Wore a black face mask, but professional.”
The rodent typed something into his computer, only for his face to twist into one of horror.
“You are positive that was his name?”
Toshinori spoke up at that, “Yes, I remember Agent Kyu as well.”
Nezu turned his computer, a list of HPSC agents from seven years ago. The search bar read “Kyu”, but underneath were words that would haunt Sorahiko for as long as he lived.
“Results not found.”
Izuku was getting concerned. That ringing had returned, though it was fainter than it had been. He’d been waiting here for almost twenty minutes, and nothing had happened. His friends had already left, he’d told them he’d probably be a while, and was just waiting for something to change.
It was at that moment All Might walked out of the office, looking so much older than he had the previous day.
“Young Midoriya, I would like to apologize. Someth…”
“Toshinori, don’t. I was the one who fucked up,” an old man cut him off. He was obviously a hero, though Izuku couldn’t recognize him. That meant he was either really old, or almost completely underground.
“My name’s Torino Sorahiko, or Gran Torino. The important thing is I was friends with the woman who had your quirk before Toshinori. Nezu said to bring you in, so we’ll discuss more inside.”
Izuku nodded and followed numbly. That ringing had only gotten louder.
“So, what’s going on with my quirk?”
The teachers, barring All Might and Aizawa-sensei looked surprised at that. Aizawa-sensei looked at All Might, and he pulled out a folder similar to the one he’d shown Izuku and his mother previously.
“That is the easier conversation, young Midoriya. This is the notes I’ve compiled about the previous wielders and their quirks. I’d suggest reading over this tonight, but I believe you have accessed one of those quirks, the fourth’s quirk, Danger Sense.” He handed the folder to Izuku.
“Alright, and the harder conversation?” He asked.
“As I said in the hall kid, I fucked up. There was, and quite possibly still is, a villain that’s been around since the dawn of quirks. His name was All for One. Seven years ago, Toshinori, Chiyo, and I went on a top-secret mission to attempt to arrest or kill him, whichever needed to be done. Toshinori won, having to resort to lethal force, but got that nasty wound. While him and Chiyo were busy with keeping his organs inside him, I went to confirm the kill. After I had, the agent with us took the body. We assumed it was to the HPSC headquarters to process the body, but we think it’s possible something else happened,” Gran Torino explained.
Izuku asked a couple more questions, trying to make sense of the parts he didn’t understand.
“So basically, I might have a super-powerful villain after me and those I care for, who can take any quirk except One for All, and he might be too powerful for Yagi-sensei to handle at this point.”
Gran Torino huffed, but nodded his head, “That’s the summary so far.”
“Great, can I at least tell my friends that our friendship could lead to them being hounded by an ancient supervillain who won’t hesitate to kill any one of us?”
The five older heroes looked around at each other. Nezu was the one who spoke up next, “How much would you be informing them?”
“I trust them, I probably wouldn’t leave anything out. If you all think it’s a bad idea, I would keep it to just All for One, but I’m not going to lie. I just will say I can’t tell them the full story yet.”
Torino was the one that spoke up, “Nana let me in on the secret pretty quickly, and it ended up being pretty helpful all things considered.”
Yagi added his own two cents, “I was hesitant at first, but I think it’s important they know. I never allowed myself to build relationships when I was in Japan because of All for One. If there wasn’t an extremely dangerous villain that will start targeting them, I would say to wait a bit longer before telling them, but sadly, we don’t have that assurance. Secrecy doesn’t help at times like this. I tried that route, and it cost me half my organs.”
“I’m with Yagi and Torino. There is a definite safety in numbers, and I’d rather not have to go through the whole organ saving procedure again,” Recovery Girl added.
“I’m not against it, but I feel we’re all looking at the Worst-Case Scenario. I’m admittedly new to the whole One for All, All for One secret, but how often did the worst happen?” Aizawa-sensei asked.
Nezu sighed at that finally adding his own two cents, “I’m afraid, the last time I underestimated All for One’s reach and abilities, we lost Shirakumo-kun. Plus, all of us are guilty of one thing, this isn’t our secret. It’s Yagi’s and Midoriya’s. We’re just advisors here.”
Aizawa-sensei looked noticeably upset at that revelation. Izuku had no idea who Shirakumo was, but guessing by the solemn tone Nezu spoke with, something not very good happened to him. Clearing his throat, Nezu spoke up once more, “Midoriya-kun, it seems we’re all in agreement, if you think they’re trustworthy, I’d say to let them into the fold.”
Izuku nodded, though he was thankful he didn’t need to fight too hard.
“If that’s all I’m going to go. I need to clear my head after all this,” Izuku said as he stood up.
“Kid, wait up,” Gran Torino said, “I’ve been around your quirk longer than anyone else, and if you’re really going to awaken the other quirks inside One for All, I know more about Float than anyone alive.” The older man wrote down a phone number, before handing the slip of paper to Izuku, “If you need any tips, reach out. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about all this.”
“This isn’t your fault. From what I heard; Agent Kyu had everyone fooled. Please, don’t blame yourself for this.”
The old hero chuckled grimly, “Still, next time, I’m not taking my eyes off the corpse until it’s in the fucking incinerator.”
When Izuku returned home, the first thing he did was hug his mother. He was far from a condemned man, but still, learning he’d inherited an arch-nemesis that has killed almost everyone who’d had his quirk before him put things in perspective. He texted his friends, letting them know he needed to talk to them tomorrow, and the conversation wasn’t going to be light. After that, he finally went to sleep.
Izuku woke up in a whispy void with a man he’d never met before.
“Oh good, you can see me. It’s nice to meet you Nine,” the man said. “Don’t bother trying to speak, unfortunately you haven’t exactly formed a complete body. You might’ve noticed, but there’s nothing below your nose.”
Izuku wanted to yelp in shock, but instead of coming from him, the sound reverberated around the entire area.
“That said, we’re still in your head. My name is Shinomori Hikage, the fourth holder of One for All, and the one who had it the second longest,” the now named Hikage explained, “Earlier today, you gained access to my quirk, though just barely. I imagine in the coming days, you’ll experience it more and more, until it’s at pretty much full power. It’s called Danger Sense by the way, very on the nose, but I was never a fan of overly complicated names.”
Izuku tied to nod, but he wasn’t sure how apparent it was.
“Danger Sense is rather limited all things considered. It only alerts you to danger, nothing more, nothing less. You’ll have to learn to quantify the sensation. I wish I could help you, but unfortunately my time is limited, and One for All has grown its strength to an unknown degree. Even if it hadn’t, All for One’s reach was much further in my day, so I was in constant danger already, throwing off what the baseline is. My time is running out, if I can, I’ll try to reach out again when you can actually ask questions. Just know, all of us believe in you, Nine.”
The following day was normal, or as normal as any day could be after communing with a ghost. The constant ringing that was Danger Sense accompanied Izuku all day. It had become clearer, though it wasn’t quite as loud. Izuku decided that probably meant he was becoming more accustomed to the quirk, but the danger was further away. He’d have to dedicate some time to actually studying the quirk.
When the last bell struck, Tokage, Tokoyami, Shinso, and Uraraka met him outside their classroom. Uraraka shot him a concerned look.
“Dekiru, what’s wrong?” Uraraka asked.
“Not here guys. Let’s swing by my place,” Izuku responded.
They looked concerned but agreed to go with Izuku. When they all arrived, Izuku guided everyone into the living room.
“This is the story of two brothers, dating all the way back to the dawn of quirks.” With that, Izuku filled his friends in on the story of All for One and One for All, all the way up to when a Quirkless teenager asked his favorite hero if it was possible to be a Quirkless hero. When he was finished, each of them displayed a different emotion. Tokoyami was thinking hard, and Dark Shadow seemed just as conflicted. Tokage was angry, though it didn’t seem directed at him. Uraraka was mystified until Izuku started to explain how he fit into the picture. Her face shifted from fascination to concern. Shinso was livid.
“Just my fucking luck, I finally make friends, and some immortal supervillain has a hate boner for one of them. Well fuck this ‘All for One’! Captain, you’re stuck with me, got it?” Shinso all but yelled.
Tokoyami nodded at that, “Indeed. We won’t allow something so foolish as this ancient evil to dictate our lives. When you stand against him, I shall be by your side.”
“Greenie, I’m almost insulted you’d think something like this would be enough to drive me away,” Tokage joked.
“I’d be a pretty scummy person if I paid you back for helping me out by abandoning you,” Uraraka finished.
Izuku let out a breath he had no idea that he was holding. “Thanks guys. I’m sorry to spring this on you all.”
“Could be worse,” Shinso shrugged, “We should probably make up a plan for what to do if he comes for any of us.”
When Inko arrived home, she found the five of them passed out in her living room. Quietly, she brought out some blankets, tucked them all in, and went about her evening.