Chapter Text
Toshinori stood in one of the many rooms for the students' recreation. This one had more things in common with a broom closet but that wasn’t the important thing now.
“– And this is where my agreement with Nedzu went.” Sir Nighteye, Mirai Sasaki, said as he placed his cup down. Torino grunted from the end of the coffee table as the Hero and his Ex-Sidekick stood in front of each other. “Izuku Midoriya is… Hmm…” He pressed his glasses closer to his eyes, the light reflecting oddly and hiding them. “He’s perceptive. I can give him that.”
“To think the zygote got a feel for your Quirk’s trigger so fast,” Torino said and Toshinori thought of what Inko mentioned about the boy’s hobby. “It even gave me the creeps when he found my Jet is related to my breathing.”
“It’s mostly innocent.” Toshinori tried to deflect. “Young Midoriya always had a fascination with Heroes and their Quirks. It’s his way to look up to them.”
Torino sighed. “I guess it’s at least useful. Too many newbies get taken out by some one-shot ability they didn’t see coming.”
Toshinori nodded eagerly. “Exactly! The boy also seems to be half-decent at reading a person’s body language. It would be an invaluable skill in a Hero’s arsenal.”
“Or a Villain’s,” Mirai mumbled, making the Number One Hero give him the side-eye. “… Anyway. Are you certain that Midoriya is the one? You didn’t even meet with Mirio to give him a chance.”
“You mean a smiling blonde that dropped his pants on international TV once every year?” Torino asked and the other Hero gave a flabbergasted look. “Yeah… Toshi doesn’t need to see Togata to know it’s a carbon copy of All Might’s public image.”
“One that doesn’t seem to work that well anymore,” Toshinori admitted, knowing that since the injury, the mental image of All Might being nigh-omnipresent all over the country was starting to fade. “Young Midoriya doesn’t even regard All Might as something special after he learned of One For All.”
“That seems rather ungrateful for someone who’s meant to inherit that Power,” Mirai argued, and the older man shook his head.
“I’ll have to give it to Midoriya. I was a natural with One For All.” Much to Nana’s saltiness that he never broke a bone in training. “And my fighting style isn’t that special. I am mostly using grapple tactics since I have more than enough speed, strength, and durability to deal with anything.” Despite that, the Hero still gave a small smile. “But he was still impressed by my handling of air pressure.” Something that Toshinori is proud of developing in the United States.
Mirai didn’t seem satisfied but it’s not like this situation was in his control. “Very well, might as well try to build him up into something passable.” He declared, giving a steeled look like he was about to go to war as Toshinori slowly blinked back.
“And when did I agree on that?” Toshinori asked, making the mood turn awkward as they stared at each other.
“… Do you?”
“No.”
“Okay… Where’s Midoriya to ask him personally?” He said without the slightest bit of shame.
“Mirai, the boy already has me and Torino as mentors, a third one is overkill–”
The speaker in the corner of the room crackled to life. “I already intended to Tutor him, so deal with it.” Nedzu’s voice came over, reminding everyone that he has ears in every room.
“The more the merrier,” Mirai added, getting up. “Nedzu, could you arrange a meeting with Izuku Midoriya? I can most definitely bring him in with information on how to run a proper investigation.”
“Okay, let’s jump the horse,” Toshinori spoke louder than normal, glancing around to see if there was some hidden camera. “I was the one that found the kid. At least give me the time to settle a foundation for him. All that investigative training and talk about his Hero persona can come up later.”
Mirai kept quiet as he leaned back onto the couch and, from the lack of quips from the speaker, Nedzu seemed to be satisfied with this path too.
“Then I guess one question remains,” Torino grunted. “When is the brat going to get One For All? It’s not like we have a time goal with Takoba Beach dealt with by a cleaning crew paid by Midoriya. The boy is already cut from all that Gym Training too.”
Toshinori shrugged. “Somewhere in between the written and practical exam, probably.”
“So, a month to learn how to use OFA?” Nedzu asked the speakers again. “All Might, are you certain that is enough?”
It was already hard enough to guess what the Rodent usually means face to face. The disembodied voice was making things only worse. “Is there a problem with that?” He asked, looking at the ceiling like he was expecting an answer from God.
“Sure. You might have mastered the Quirk in one swing of the fist, but Izuku Midoriya is more on the thinking side, more technical.” He enunciated that for a reason. “Not to mention how much it would take for his body to adapt to the accumulated power from your development with it. The best would be to have him already prepared and trained at the earliest convenience.”
How does Nedzu know about the strain on the body– “He’s right, you know.” Torino said. “Over a hundred years from the creation of One For All, yet there was no talk about any previous user getting it right in the first try.”
“Having Midoriya already polished before the first Sports Festival would also make him shine brighter than anyone,” Mirai added, and the idea pushed forward as the Number One Hero had to decide.
He activated One For All in his chest, trying to get a feel for how much the Quirk can operate while he still has it. “… Very well. Young Midoriya has his birthday soon. I might as well use it as a means of gratitude for his given efforts.” He explained and the rest seemed to be satisfied.
Gran Torino went ahead to talk with Recovery Girl as Toshinori and Mirai were left alone.
“Is there no way of changing your mind in the coming week?” His Ex-Sidekick and former friend asked again.
“How many times did you get me to change my mind, Mirai?” He asked back and the man opened his mouth to reply, but after no idea seemed to come, he closed it back again. “Mirio might be a good kid. But I cannot choose someone just because they can turn themselves impermeable to any attacks.”
“Y-You k-knew?” Mirai stuttered with Toshinori laughing a little.
“A bit of Young Midoriya rubbed on me too,” Toshinori said with a smile on his bony face. “I will admit that I find the boy’s rambles about Quirks odd as well. Always talking like he’d use them better if they were his as he gave theories on how they could work and what they could do.”
“This… sounds oddly similar to another person you once talked about,” Mirai said and Toshinori stopped in his tracks.
“It’s not the same.” He said sternly, making sure that there was no doubt ever again.
Mirai seemed to be put off by it. “If you say so… You are choosing him as a successor, so it’s your responsibility in the end.” He muttered. Of course, the man was still dissatisfied, but at least meeting the boy seemed to be swaying him in the right direction.
Young Midoriya. Despite being a teenager, there is something that makes people turn around and look at him.
How can someone so unassuming have such an effect on people?
Nedzu watched from his cameras as the three men split into different directions. “Has my plan come to fruition?” Hisashi Midoriya said over the phone. The man himself prompted Nedzu to listen to the three men and butt into their conversation.
“May I know how you found out they will meet?” The mammal with questionable origins asked, looking at the faceless icon on his private phone. “And should I even bother to ask how you got this number?” Tenko wouldn’t share it even if it was the last thing he’d do.
“Does it matter in the end?” Midoriya-San asked. “If Sasaki is dulled down from pursuing Togata as the next successor, we both have my Izuku with a rather useful Quirk. It’s beneficiary for us, especially if Izuku doesn’t necessarily seek the spotlight All Might is so used to being under.”
Nedzu weighed his thoughts for a second before speaking. “This is the very reason why I was always asked to investigate Hisui Pharmaceuticals, Midoriya-San. You are not someone people should trust –even when you hold your hand over the heart and do what’s best for the people.”
There was a pause. Then a long sigh. “Nedzu. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. Even the people who researched you had the intention of helping. Does that excuse the suffering you went through in the name of research? … Well, that depends on who you ask.”
“And here I thought you had something nice to say,” Nedzu said flatly, sensing that the man was amused at the disregard of human rights for a non-human.
The laughter coming over the phone was unsettling, setting Nedzu’s fur to rise. “Maybe you should have stopped when you took my first bribe? Hm?” Midoriya-San prodded. “But no no no. You had to pretend like you were on some “hot trail” to find something incriminating about me; giving off the idea that every time you were getting another investigation you were one step closer to finding out what malicious thing I was doing!” He raised his voice, but his respirator made him gasp for air the next second. “And here we are. The Commission’s Lap Dog and the man who got his leg bitten by it!” All for One Midoriya scowled. “I hope that this time around we will have a better relationship, Mister Principal. You do not want to see what I would do when my son’s livelihood is on the line.”
With that, the call was closed and Nedzu was left in an uncomfortable silence.
The very same nature that Midoriya has is the very reason why Nedzu thought he was doing something dirty. That similarity to HIM was the biggest red flag of all.
A Week Later
Ever since morning, Anan knew that Himiko was anxious. The way that she stared into nothing, the lack of usual chatter that the girl slowly grew up to have, and the lack of eating in the morning. “How are you feeling?” The woman asked as they waited for the gate to be opened.
“H-Huh?” Himiko blinked twice in her mind just now returning to the present. “Ah. I’m fine.” She mumbled, the beeping and the click of the lock prompting them to enter. “It’s just…” She paused and Anan hummed the next moment, making Himiko continue. “Nobody else knew about my Quirk before. Yet here’s Izuku who just guessed it at a glance!” She said with a flabbergasted face. The fact that she’s so worried about her thoughts made the Hero sad but was glad to nudge her to say them out loud. “It’s just so weird!”
“The nice kind of weird?” The woman said with a smile, making Himiko pause as she started to blush a little.
“I-I guess…” She mumbled as they walked up the stairs to the first floor, a third person standing right in front of the Midoriya apartment.
The bell was run before a pair of crimson eyes on a grumpy face looked straight at them. He didn’t seem so impressed before Himiko got right next to Anan, his eyes widening before the door opened.
“Katsuki! What brings you here?” Inko Midoriya’s voice was heard, making the boy look back at the woman in the door frame.
“Hi, Auntie. I wanted to drop by for the nerd’s–Izuku’s birthday.” He said, more polite than Anan expected from that look as he was ushered inside. “You have two more people waiting’.” He added as Inko-San popped her head out into the hallway, taking notice of the two girls as they walked closer.
“Ah, you two came for Izuku as well?”
“Himiko wanted to wish him Happy Birthday,” Anan said, elbowing the girl a little as she puffed her cheeks.
“Can we go already?” Himiko asked before snapping all of a sudden. “A-And hello, Midoriya-San.” She said and the woman nodded.
They were quickly greeted before the voice from earlier was heard. “–How in the world does your room look even worse?!” Was heard before they passed.
“Come on, Katsuki, I just cleaned!” Izuku-Kun’s voice was heard before the Hero peeked into the room, presumably the boy’s bedroom.
What the hero saw gave her flashbacks to Nedzu’s office on a Monday when he came back with cold cases from all across Japan to solve.
There were files, pages, photos, graphs, two laptops, and even a whiteboard filled with even more documents, all held steady by magnets of all colours and strings tied between them like the kid was doing an ongoing investigation on the biggest crime of the year…
Or maybe just a Tuesday for Nedzu.
“Is this a USB hub hooked to your laptop? Why do you have six–” He dilated the prism-like device, revealing the other side. “–twelve hard drives? Wait. Why is that file stamped ‘CLASSIFIED’ in big bold red letters? What the fuck are you having on these?!”
Izuku-Kun quickly snatched that file, holding it close to his chest before he looked at his bed and saw four others with the same stamp. “How about you let me be crazy in my personal time aaannnddd….” The boy stared right at them, with Himiko giving a meek wave as he let out the most nerdy-awkward laugh heard by a man. “Heh… Hi, Kurose-San… Hi, Himiko…”
“Are you done being crazy?” Himiko quipped and quietly surprised Anan.
“Erm…” He looked at his hands filled with files before dropping them back on his bed. “Yeah… I can deal with this later.”
After going over that odd experience, the entire group entered the living room with Inko-San and ‘Katsuki’ at the tail of it. “The hell–”
“Language,” Hisashi Midoriya sighed from the kitchen table
“Uncle Hisashi? Since when are you back?!” The blonde kid asked while everyone kind of found a place to sit.
“Forgive me if I am wrong but I don’t recall you being someone that I need to inform about my whereabouts and the time I spend with my family.” He said, not even raising his eyes from the phone as he drank his coffee. Anan took a seat at the table, as the man seemingly readied the table for guests already as Himiko and Izuku just went onto the couch. “How is work, Kurose-San?” He added, completely ignoring the boy who sat in the seat between them.
“Not that busy, actually.” She said, drinking her coffee and noting that it was the same as last time when she came over. “Summer doesn’t have that many incidents. It’s the rainy season that makes the soil unstable.”
“Bless the architectural design for resisting earthquakes too.” He hummed as she found herself nodding along. “If only the Heroes were more competent to deal against Criminals.”
Anan watched as the boy mulled over what to say, glancing back at the couch as he seemed to contemplate whether to go there or not. “Hey, Nerd, I got you the new Ultimate Smash Heroes for your birthday.” That made Izuku-Kun perk from his chat with Himiko. “Do you still have that console?”
“Did they add Start & Stripe and Blood Lord to the game?”
“I know Star is,” Katsuki replied and instantly went toward the duo.
Anan watched as the boy jumped over the couch and onto the free side of Izuku before looking back at Hisashi Midoriya. “So, what’s up with the stuff that your son has in his room.”
“Classified documents from Nedzu. Most are Cold Cases that were dropped due to lack of evidence.”
What? “And Nedzu thinks that he can solve them?”
“Oh, goodness no.” He said, finally looking up from his phone. “Izuku is interested in the irregularities because of the possible Quirk being involved in all of them. But he’s working only in hypotheticals for now, so I let him borrow my work laptops for it while at it.”
That sounded oddly cryptical. “And what Quirk is he looking for?”
Midoriya-Sama smirked. “One that if the world would think it's real, Heroes and Villains wouldn’t be able to exist as they are now. Destroying the status quo.” That sent a shiver down her spine as the man’s smile grew into an unsettling one. “It’s only a matter of time until he understands that on his own.” Anan looked at the man’s face, unable to understand what emotions were going through his head as his smile bore like a feral animal before returning to normal.
A Quirk that would change the status quo? This sounds worse than what Nedzu could do with his Highspecs if he were to ever go rogue.
Izuku was struggling to win against Katsuki in Ultimate Smash Heroes. They selected the Regional Heroes just because of the sheer number of characters in the list with Heroes and Villains from all over the world. Some of them were even marked as ‘reskins’ because of how similar the Quirks and body types were.
“Will you stop spamming explosions?” Himiko asked as Katsuki was using Mister Blaster. The guy sucked in speed but, of course, the explosive boy could use the power set to bunker into a dome of explosions as it hopped closer to Izuku with Hydro, trying to make the arena slippery while using his shield of water to defend himself from the overheating debuff.
“Whine all you want; I’m not letting you win just because it’s your birthday!” He smirked, stunning Izuku’s character before pulling a combo throwing Izuku off the arena. “Hah! Loser!”
“–Can I try?” Dad suddenly spoke up as the kids realised, he was leaning on the couch behind them.
“Katsuki just demolished me,” Izuku said in defeat as he passed on the controller, seeing his Dad smirk all of a sudden as he had a funny feeling.
“Don’t think that I’ll go easy on you, old man!” Katsuki snarked as he chose All Might without hesitation.
“Ohhh nooo. What will I do?” Dad replied theatrically before looking at the controller. “Now, how did I do that again?”
“Doing what? Did you forget the controls? I can open the menu if you’re that–” Katsuki stopped as the screen turned red, a dark figure appearing on the screen before being revealed with bold text to the left.
“APOLLYON!! THE BOTTOMLESS PIT THAT CONSUMES IT ALL!!!”
“–The fuck?!” Katsuki cursed and Izuku gazed in surprise. “The Hidden Boss of the campaign?!”
“Virtually impossible to be played since it cycles through the moves of every other character in the game at random,” Dad explained as the very window on top of the menu got selected with Apollyon on it. The made-up Villain is dressed in an all-black suit and shirt, while wearing gloves and a matte mask, only letting the black curly hair rise on top. “Well, anyone except me and two other people. Compute from America still curses me for the sheer disrespect I dished on him.”
Izuku decided to not ask how his Dad knew the Number 4 Hero of the USA as Katsuki grumbled to himself. “Whatever. It has the same HP as All Might but he’s way too clunky to be used for real.” The countdown has begun and the bar of characters that Apollyon had appeared below.
“Katsuki, this character cannot be properly played by AI.” Dad said as he started to ‘dismiss’ characters, cycling through them until he stopped on a string of them that Izuku recognised to be pretty strong.
“Why do I have a feeling Hisashi-San is going to wipe the floor with Bakugo?”
“Shut up, hair buns!” Katsuki barked. “I am going to wipe the floor with–”
“BEGIN!!”
And just like that, Dad started to throw long-range attacks. One after the other they suddenly mixed into the air, creating a huge explosion in the middle of the arena while the man crouched and used the shields of the Hero Crust last second before a bright explosion that shook the screen.
Katsuki tried to block the last moment but that didn’t help as he was hit with a lot of debuffs. Overheat, Burning, Popped Eardrums, radiation– “Radiation?!” Izuku asked out loud, looking up at his dad who had a smug smile on his face.
“Apollyon unlocks the international package for the fight. It just happens that there is a Hero in the game that throws some rocks that hold depleted uranium to be charged up by some other Quirks.” He said before choosing a Hero Izuku could not remember but had a move to remove all the passive effects on themselves. “Sluggish, hurt, and off balance. Not to mention the ticked radiation eating at the HP. I think that if you clash them and some energy Hero the right way, it just ends in a draw from the explosion killing both players.” He looked at Katsuki who was still flabbergasted by the fact there’s a type of damage that nobody ever mentioned to exist. “Make your move, Boy.” Dad mocked and Katsuki snapped back to the game with a growl.
Izuku just glanced at Himiko who honestly seemed alien to video games but enjoyed her commentary when he was getting his butt kicked. “Is there something your Dad isn’t good at?” She asked, leaning a bit on Izuku as the grown adult behind them was low-key laughing maniacally at beating a 14-year-old.
Izuku shrugged. “Not being morally ambiguous all the time?”
“I swear I’m paying all my taxes–” Dad paused himself as he realised that wasn’t what Izuku said. “… Moving on…” He grumbled, returning to the game. “It’s not my fault the tax rates are so high here…” He grumbled under his breath.
Himiko and Izuku stared at each other before they started to stifle laughs at the moment. Hisashi Midoriya is forever haunted by the National Tax Agency of Japan.
[...]
After some time, Himiko also gave a try to the game against Izuku as the day quickly passed through. Lunch was ready, then Kurose-San went home and left Himiko to hang around, and then Dad left for some work and Mom to buy some groceries.
“So, you have a girlfriend now?” Katsuki asked as Izuku side-glanced to see if Himiko was still in the bathroom.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” He replied but the blonde scoffed.
“Yeah, sure. And she wasn’t glued to you all the time today.” Katsuki said as they stood at the kitchen table. “I saw you two in the city as well. You lovebirds.”
“And you accuse me of stalking.”
“Hey! I happened to see you two around! You are the creepy one going out of his way to look for people!” The explosive boy let out some sparks from his palm as Izuku rolled his eyes. The itch inside his palms flared up again.
“Whatever,” Izuku grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning over the table to hide his hand bulging into fists. “You’ll never admit that you’re in the wrong anyway.”
“Because I’m not? You are the one dreaming that you’ll become a UA student. At least choose a school that doesn’t base their exams on combative Quirks.” That level of overconfidence made Izuku wish he could do as the Villain he was reading about and tear that Quirk out of the boy’s body. “Every year there are complaints on the News about UA using giant Robots for the entrance exam, yet you think you can take one because you have some book smarts, you Nerd.”
“Says the guy that hides during lunch to study more.” Izuku shot back. “What? Did you think that I wouldn’t notice you going on your own in some random classroom?”
“And that’s why you’re the stalker!”
“For what? Being honest with myself instead of hiding behind my Ego?” Izuku raised his voice. “You always act like you’re better than me! How about you stop comparing yourself to me and show off how great you are that way!”
“Why would I compare myself to a useless Deku–” Katsuki stopped as a hand the size of his tenure trapezius appeared out of nowhere.
“Katsuki. Bakugo.” Dad said as his grip on the boy’s shoulder tightened. “What did I say about using that word to describe my son.”
“U-Uncle–” Katsuki tried to get up but Dad shoved him back into his chair.
“No ‘Uncle’ you maggot! ” The man scowled and gripped tighter as Izuku could see the muscles flex and Katsuki grimace in pain, the teen’s eyes flashing with the same kind of fear from the sludge Villain incident. “I only tolerate your presence because of Izuku.” He hissed in Katsuki's ear as Izuku himself had a hard time processing what he hadn’t seen in years. “There is no Uncle Hisashi, because I don’t care about you, your C-Grade Quirk, or because of your shitty fashion designer job your parents have.” He let go of Katsuki's shoulder, almost slamming him onto the table before turning around. “Leave my house before I kick you out myself. Katsuki.” There was a moment of hesitation as the teen looked at Izuku. “Now!” Dad shouted, making Izuku flinch as the toxic glare of his father made the explosive boy move off his feet.
Dad just watched as Katsuki dashed out of the house, the same unforgiving look in his eyes that Izuku hadn’t seen since he was nine.
When the door was finally heard closing, the man’s mood returned to normal. “To think that Katsuki would still be hung up on something from a decade ago.” He shook his head as Izuku was shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
“I haven’t seen you mad in a while,” Izuku said, the sensations in his palms continuing.
Dad looked at him for a second, trying to decipher what Izuku meant by it. “Well… I rarely get that mad.” He replied as Himiko appeared from the hallway… looking completely unbothered.
“Oh? You already got back, Hisashi-Sama?” Himiko asked, looking around for a bit. “That Bakugo boy left too?”
What?
“His parents called him home,” Dad replied while Izuku paused to process what happened. Himiko is meant to have a greater hearing due to her feline mutations. She doesn’t seem to be faking it; So how did she miss Izuku and Katsuki arguing, and Dad kicking Katsuki out? “So how are you two getting along? I did hear that you started to hang out more.”
“Izuku-Kun helps me with studies and stuff,” Himiko said as she took the closest seat to Izuku; Dad took the one vacant by Katsuki. “I went through everything he’s learning but he’s just better somehow!” She said, jealousy in her tone as she got Dad to chuckle.
“I tried to raise Izuku to be very methodical in his studies. Those notebooks he carries around aren’t for nothing.” He boasted, adjusting his breather a little. “Speaking of which, how are things going with that little research of yours?”
“It’s going…” Izuku said vaguely as he didn’t want Himiko to know of All For One and One For All. “The Villain seemed to be some crime lord but…” He paused, seeing a curious look in Dad’s eyes.
“Go on.” He encouraged me and Izuku nodded faintly.
“He doesn’t do anything himself. It’s like he waits there, waiting for someone to do something big before popping in and giving in a hand. It’s either information, money, weapons, or power in general.” Quirks especially. “The problem is that outside being a sponsor for just about any Villain that makes it big, nobody knows what he wanted in the end. He had his vendetta against some Heroes–” The One For All holders “–But trying to guess what he’s up to is just that! Guesswork.”
“He sounds like he does it for the hell of it,” Himiko replied, yawning a little. “So, who is this big Villain anyway? It’s not like I heard of someone like that in the news.”
Izuku shook his head. “It’s not someone who you report on. He sounds like a conspiracy theory unless you’re a Hero or Law Organ looking into it, so it would just look bad searching for a bogeyman.”
“Let me prepare something for you two while you talk,” Dad said, quickly getting up to rummage through the kitchen.
“Then why are you looking into him?” Himiko asked as her eyes were all on him.
“His Quirk is… freaky.” He didn’t have any other way of defining a power that steals your genes from your body. “It’s all over the place. He’s assumed to be immortal but he can do a ton of other things. Super strength, flight, laser eyes, teleportation. You think of a Quirk and it’s assumed to be part of his arsenal.”
“That just sounds like a bunch of people wearing the same trench coat as this so-called Villain,” Himiko replied, resting her head on her hands as she blinked slowly. “It would explain more that it’s some sort of organisation than one man, right?”
“It is indeed more probable,” Dad said as he– When did he start making pancakes?! “If it’s a shadow organisation, then it explains the Quirk variety and the seemingly unrelated crimes and sale of illegal products.” He slid a large plate in between them as there was a considerable tower of the sweet goods– Seriously, they were talking for 10 minutes tops. How? “By what the world knows, this alleged group could be doing things on both the legal and illegal front of business. Completely blindsight the Heroes from their true intentions.”
“That makes more sense, doesn’t it?” Himiko approved as she looked at Dad for an okay; The man nodded and she more than happily took some, rolling them before biting into them with a titter from the taste.
“So, Izuku, isn’t this a more reasonable outcome for this case?” Dad prodded and Izuku caught on that was his way to take Himiko out of the discussion.
“I guess…” He mumbled, taking some of the baked goods for himself to eat.
Unfortunately, Himiko suddenly straightened up. “Wait–” She paused, coughing as a bit of the food was trying to kill her. Dad gave her a glass of water. “If this group is real and you have documents on it, then what happened to them?” She asked and Izuku was trying to find a good explanation.
“Uhm… All Might stopped the ring leader from what I know.”
“But that would work if only one of them was doing the crime. As for your theory; Shouldn’t they still be around if only one of those knows how many are out there?”
Izuku paused, looking at his Dad who seemed to be in the same impasse. “Hm. You’re more perceptive than I assumed.” He said before turning around to clean the dishes, leaving the green-haired teen on his own.
Himiko looked at him with an expectant look but he didn’t have any clue what to say. “I guess that’s why I need to look into it more…?” He gave a shot in the dark but after a moment of silence, Himiko seemed to accept it.
“Fine. I’ll just have to wait for you to get done with it to tell me.” He said, returning to the food the next moment.
“Wait. You want to hear more?” He asked and she tilted her head at him, still chewing on the pancake.
“Yeah?” She replied with her mouth full. “I like hearing about the stuff you like.”
“… Oh…” That’s all that came out of Izuku’s mouth before he heard his dad laugh.
“Oh, teenagers.” He let out a sigh, smiling at Izuku. “They grow up so fast, that you turn around and… well… ” Dad suddenly looked at Himiko who seemed to freeze before her face reddened, confusing Izuku as the man started laughing. “I’ll go pick up my laptops to do some work if you don’t mind.”
And with that, the man left, and both teenagers were left perplexed at his comments.
It was late at night on the gazebo on Takoba Beach when Sorahiko waited with Toshinori and Sasaki for the arrival of Izuku Midoriya. The calm breeze of the sea felt rather pleasant for his old body.
“So, this was supposed to be Izuku Midoriya’s first training grounds?” Sasaki asked, leaning over the wooden railing to look along the shore as the waves crashed onto the beach.
“Before Hisashi Midoriya butted in,” Toshinori said with a long sigh. It seems that the man was still hung onto that fact. “I wanted to teach the boy about doing good for the people while also strengthening his body. Sure, the place was a mess a couple of months back, but I had this whole idea of him learning how to deal with different kinds of hardships.” He leaned on one of the pillars holding the roof, looking at the entrance to the beach just as a figure got onto the sand, looking around as the Hero waved at them. “I didn’t even get to take a picture of him to show the before and after!”
“That would have been… Quite nice to show his development, actually.” Sasaki hummed. “Maybe I should have done something similar with Mirio.”
“Hey, at least your student has the Sports Festival to know how much he developed. I need to come up with something new for Young Midoriya!” Toshinori complained but it was light-hearted. The two men watched as Midoriya quickly sprinted onto the wooden bridge. “Maybe with One For All in his possession, I’ll be able to have a similar bond as I had with my Master. Their father-son relationship feels… ‘Artificial’ doesn’t seem the right word, but it seems like there’s some unseen power guiding how he is developing.” He explained before the discussion was cut short by the boy finally getting to the endpoint.
“Hello, Yagi-San! I came as soon as I… Erm…” Midoriya stopped as he saw Sasaki. “Am I in trouble?”
Toshinori let out a wet laugh. “No. No, My boy. Mirai is only here because I wanted to catch up with him. Nothing more.”
“Right…” That sounded exactly like a child who doesn’t trust what an adult says. “Um, I’m sorry for taking hostages during our spar.” Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. “I really didn’t want to get close to someone with a Quirk I don’t know.”
“Not something a Hero should do–” Sasaki said in a scolding tone. “–but at least apologising to your unfortunate targets lessened the offence.”
Midoriya gave a half-hearted nod. “So, why are we here?” He asked, looking up at All Might who smiled back at the boy.
“Well, Young Midoriya…” Toshinori held his hands onto his hips before transforming into All Might with his trademark laugh. “We are here because we are proud of your progress in training your body and learning how to fight! I may have only been around during your muscle training while at UA, but Gran Torino was more than pleased to see how you are faring; Especially when you found a sparring partner that was already enrolled into UA.”
Midoriya let out an awkward chuckle. “Yeah… Hado-Senpai helped me a lot. But she still kicks my butt.”
Sorahiko swiped his cane at the boy’s ankles. “Don’t admit that you’re getting beat up, boy. It makes me look bad for teaching you!” And because he looks like a loser admitting he gets beaten by a girl but that’s another problem. “Just stand proud that you got so far.”
“Y-Yes, Sir!” Midoriya said, straightening up like a soldier and Torino grunted in approval. The kid was still rough around the corners, but it was easier to teach him how to fight compared to Toshi.
“And because of that, I decided that it’s time for you to take the next step in your training!” Toshi clapped his hand, the thunderous sound creating a woosh that seemed to take the boy by surprise. “So, Izuku Midoriya, I think it is time to step up to the occasion and take what you worked so hard for!!”
“Wait, I’m really getting One For All?!” Midoriya said, getting all excited as All Might raised his hand to pluck one of those blonde hairs of his. “It felt like an eternity waiting for it but it’s finally happening!” He cheered, completely unaware of the next part as Sorahiko smiled like a madman.
“Yes, yes, My Boy. I am very proud of you…” Toshi said, stretching out his hand with the biggest smile he could muster. “Now! EAT THIS!!”
That confused Sasaki just as much as Midoriya who was looking at the strand of hair, then at the Number 1 Hero.
“W-What?” He said with the most confused face ever.
“DNA assimilation! I do not know the fine mechanics behind it but once it is consumed it will grant you One For All by tomorrow morning!” The man explained, not breaking his smile as the boy was looking at Sorahiko.
“Boy. I’m retired, in my 80s, and my bedtime was two and a half hours ago.” The retired Hero said, stomping his cane into the ground. “The only reason I came tonight is to see your sorry ass chew down on that piece of hair as I watched Toshinori four decades ago!”
Did he sound sadistic? Maybe. Did he want to see the kid’s face as he struggles to do it? Absolutely!
“For the record, I only came here to discuss further training–”
“Shut it, Sasaki. You can talk about that tomorrow morning!” Sorahiko shut the man up as the boy gulped in despair as he took the hair out of All Might’s hand, looking back and forth as Toshinori was definitely enjoying the moment more than the old man.
Izuku Midoriya opened up his mouth and stuck out his tongue, the following grimaces and whines bringing back Sorahiko’s younger days while Toshi seemed to enjoy inflicting this bit of suffering that probably haunted him throughout his dreams.
“At least if you bought some bread to put it into.” The hair finally went down the windpipe as he got it down the stomach with nothing more than his own saliva.
“And now you go to sleep and by tomorrow morning, the power of One For All will flow under your skin!” Toshinori announced for one last time as Midoriya probably cursed him in a million ways under his breath.
When Izuku went to sleep, he expected a couple of things. All Might tripping and breaking his neck for that surprise being one, Waking up the next day feeling the Quirk and telling Dad about it being second, using it was the third thing.
But nope. Something had to come up from the left field as he woke up standing in an endless black void, a floor of mist underneath him that felt like a cloud and glass at the same time. “I swear, if I somehow got intoxicated from swallowing that hair, I’ll spike All Might’s tea with Katsuki’s nitroglycerin sweat!” And why the hell was he naked?! Sure, the fog was covering everything minus his head and hands but still!
“Hello? Is someone there?” He shouted but no one answered.
With literally nothing around him, Izuku gave a 360-look before deciding to move. As it turns out, that was a horrible mistake as the ‘sky’ started to light up a million colours as it looked like the hyper jump in one of those old Star Wars movies.
Everything felt stuck in place and moving at the speed of light as Izuku felt like he was losing his balance. The world started to warp around him as the fog quickly disappeared and found himself on a concrete floor. “Please don’t be naked. Please don’t be naked.” He whispered under his breath as a prayer before looking down on himself. “Oh.” His pyjamas were now on him. “At least that’s one good thing.”
With that, Izuku slowly got up as he was bare feet on the cold stone. Behind himself was a precipice into the void Izuku was just in –minus the fog that seemed to mark the ground– and in front of him were several thrones creating a semicircle with one of them right in front of him but furthest from the centre which seemed to be Izuku’s position. “Two, four, six, eight.” He counted them up as he realised that there was some sort of aura around them.
Getting to the closest one on the right, it had a golden aura but as he reached to see what was up with it, it started creaking like crazy, almost like it was one step from breaking. The way it looked pristine, yet it was one step from breaking reminded Izuku of a certain Hero.
The next one had a pink aura as the padding seemed to be softer than the first, almost feeling like a cloud. Are they supposed to represent the users? Was this Shimura's seat?
The third was looking rather decent but its wood varnish was darker than the rest... and there was a crack in one of the arm-rests. Almost like it broke and was put back together, but still had a purple aura of sorts.
“It has to be each user, right?” All Might, Sky High, 'En'. “Next should be...”
Lariant. His chair had a bronze aura while the markings on the wood looked like a rope was rubbed onto the surface. He read about Black Whip on the internet and the files Nedzu gave him.
The Fourth user that not even Nedzu could get much about them. His chair seemed to be decent... Until he saw the two lines cutting through the wood of the backrest, which would definitely break if he were to lean on it. He didn't really get the connection between the user and the colours, but this one was green.
For the next two, they looked all beaten as they gave a red and blue aura. Most of them were just scratches but the one meant for the Second User looked more beaten up, but both were covered in dust, almost to tell for how long they have been here.
And lastly, the one for All for One's brother was just exhuming a pure white as the chair itself was intact but covered in dust like the last two he checked. They came from the birth of Quirks, he guessed it as the reason.
“Eight chairs. Eight users.” He mused, realising that there must be a connection between this place and One For All. “All Might didn’t mention any dreamscape.” Whatever, he’s stuck in here so what’s it left to do other than– “Is that a Vault Door?”
Doors usually mean two things: Exits or Entrances. With how it looked, it was probably the latter but he honestly didn’t care which one it was since it would either be his way out of here or closer to whatever One For All was hiding.
He quickly turned around to head to it– “You are not supposed to be here.” An androgynous voice came out of nowhere as the fog started to appear again, piling up on that intact chair for the First before it started to morph into a mass of darkness. “What are you? You are not Him .”
“Uh… Izuku Midoriya? Got One For All tonight from All Might?” Izuku tried to introduce himself, ignoring how every hair on his body rose as the appearance of the aberration slowly changed shape and size. A pair of lights present where the eyes should be as they are changing colours like a rainbow. It also had an aura like the chairs but this one looked different as sparks like electricity bounced around its form.
“Something prohibits Us from implanting properly,” It said, growing so big that Izuku almost confused it with All Might before deflating. “We are not usually this united. If you are not Him , then why are we like this?” It asked again as Izuku’s gears started to slowly turn.
“Eight seats but only one is used…” Izuku had a gut feeling like Himiko’s Quirk and this time, he was more than willing to say this one seriously. “You are One For All, right? You’re supposed to be snippets of the accumulated energy over the years, right? If I get to activate the Quirk, then you should get back to normal, right?”
“No.” It said, looking at Izuku with a judging look. “You are not Him but you are similar. You thirst for Our power until you dry us out. We must go back.”
Izuku stared at the dark figure, filtering the odd speech as he got to the point. “No.” he felt the ache in his hand come back, burning more than ever as an odd sensation was bubbling inside his chest.
“This is not negotiable. You will bring me back to the Eighth!” It raised a hand, pointing straight at Izuku’s chest. “I will not let you use me, even in my unstable state.”
“Well–” Izuku slapped the hand away, the figure staring at him in shock. “–I. do. not. Care!” He hissed, staring at it defyingly. “You are MY Power now! MY QUIRK!” Izuku felt a dark aura coming out of nowhere, dining the one that One For All had as red lights came out of his palms. “If you think that I’ll let you go so easily, then think again, because not even All for One himself would be able to take you out of my hands!”
“Insolent child. We do not exist to be used like that.” It said the world warped around Izuku as he realised, he was pushed away. “You are not like Him . You are worse .”
The ground started to break beneath Izuku’s feet, but he still leapt onto the figure, slamming his palm onto its face as his mind could only think of one thing.
You Are Mine!
Izuku suddenly jolted from his sleep screaming as he was in a cold sweat.
He looked around, realising that he was back in his bed where he went to sleep before he got to turn on the lights. The moment he saw the bedroom around himself, everything seemed to be normal, outside of the piles of cardboard boxes holding all the files Nedzu let him borrow.
“My hands hurt…” He quietly acknowledged as he raised them to see rainbow sparks dancing in his palms, a hole in the middle of each as he was bleeding from them. “W-What?” He gasped, going to the bathroom in an instant as he opened the faucet and started to wash them.
After a couple of minutes, the bleeding stopped and he was left wondering what in the world just happened.
Suddenly, a knock was heard from the door. “Izuku, are you alright? I heard you scream.”
“Y-Yeah, Mom!” He quickly said. “Just a bad dream!” He replied, trying to sound calmer before he realised that his mother had gone back to bed. Normally, Izuku would have liked his mother to pretend she cared for more than a minute but it was not his concern right now.
One For All mutated his hands somehow and with how sparks keep jumping around, that hole in his hand seems to be an exit port of sorts for the Quirk to leave without a problem.
“So much for the Theory of OFA causing Quirk awakenings.” Izuku groaned, realising that if he wants to use the Quirk, then he needs to be damned sure that it doesn’t escape his grasp!
Now… How do you activate a Quirk that doesn’t want to be used?