For all that the holders of One For All thought that their encounters with All For One were random, they were carefully choreographed. All For One did not allow them close to him until he was good and ready, and then, they generally left his presence in several pieces. Such was the fate of those who kept his Brother's quirk from him. He gave them all the chance to give it back to him after all.

As such, All For One kept track of the holders of One For All, and their attempts to find him, which is why he was standing looking at a pin board the current holder, a hero by the name of Toshinori Yagi had made. It hadn't even been a chore to gain access. Really, operational security was not Yagi's forte. All he'd done was request clearances from the cleaning company. which admittedly he did own, and they were given to him. People always forgot to check what their menials had access to.

All For One shook his head. He resisted the urge to tut. It would be a wonder if this All Might actually found him if this was his level of skill!

He looked back at the board, letting his eyes trace over the timeline. Bits of it were correct. Those historic events that everyone knew about but... All For One sighed. It was just so wrong... and did they truly not know what he was doing at the moment?

He'd admit to being flattered about that. He routinely hid his operations but confirmation that such measures were working was always nice. All For One stepped up to the board. I, II and III were in the correct places. He'd confronted his brother but he hadn't realised then that the quirk he'd created with his brother was transferrable so II had a while to operate.

IV was a disappointment. There should have been no reason for One For All to be passed on so quickly. All For One looked around, and spotted what he was after. The room was sparsely equipped but there was some stationary and several pens, All Might themed off course. He picked up a small pad of sticky notes and the least offensive pen before turning back to the board.

Now what should he tell this current holder of One For All? The answer was easy. Something of the truth about each of the previous holders.

After all, he couldn't expect the current holder to know the truth, unless he told them.

-ted-

"Mirai?"

"Yes?"

"Did you move anything on the board?" Toshinori asked into his phone.

"No."

"Okay," the Number One Hero replied before he hung up. He looked back at the board he was using to track All For One.

It was different. The number representing the holders of One For All had been moved and there were extra notes on them. He shivered and looked around the room. Everything else see- No. The pens were all destroyed. Each of them was snapped, and the one that had a bobble head was decapitated.

He swallowed and made sure the door was locked behind him. Yagi knew what he should be doing now. He should be getting forensics into here. He should be checking that there was no bomb and that nothing was poisoned but it didn't feel right. Why would he change the board if he didn't want it read?

The Number One Hero walked up to his tracking board. Curiosity made him look at the note under VIII first. The handwriting was neat and the small piece of paper was full.

I will give you a choice. The same choice as I have given all the holders of One For All since the Third. Choose wisely, and you will live. Choose poorly, and - well, I believe history speaks for itself.

The note was confirmation enough of who had moved things. It was predictable though… what was the cho- Hah! As if he'd do that. The only choice All For One would offer him was the opportunity to give back One For All and that would never happen.

Toshinori left the note in place and braced himself before turning to the note under his Master's number.

You probably think she died heroically but the truth is she died in pain, crying because she knew she'd failed. I'd catalogue the injuries but there is not that much space. I do not show mercy to those who stand against me.

He clenched his fist, trembling. If All For One thought he was going to give up One For All then the man was mistaken. He wasn't going to do it before reading that note, and he definitely wasn't going to do it now. He would avenge his master!

He forced his eyes to shift to VI. All he and Sir Nighteye had been able to determine was that she was a very early Pro-Hero who had a very short career.

This one was foolish. She thought she was strong. She could have had a future if she wasn't so arrogant. For a woman who was supposedly prepared to fight she was weak.

It might have been the closest battle in history but All For One would never admit that. The tone of the note told him what the rest would be like except maybe… All Might stepped down the board to where they had marked out I, II and III. He looked at the sticky note under the I. There was only a single word there.

Loved.

Now that could not be true. All For One was not a man who loved, he was a man who used, who judged a person's worth on how much they could help him. He might believe he loved his brother. Such people were good at self delusion because it was how they fooled others but the emotion was not love.

Toshinori looked at the note under II.

This man was cunning. I respected him because he knew what he was doing. He didn't attack until he was ready and he had already passed on my Brother's quirk before he did. Not that it did him any good but he knew the consequences of choosing poorly.

Choice again. There was no choice. All For One was deluding himself if he thought there was. One For All might die at some point in the future, but the quirk would only die when All For One was gone. All the holders of One For All knew that, and were prepared for that.

Yagi shifted his eyes to the note under number III. They really didn't know much about this woman. Her records were almost non-existent.

You would call this woman heroic. I call her miserable. She took my brother's quirk and all she had to show for it was a brutal life of hardship. I had nothing to do with it. It was her own choice, her own failure and once I found her… She was beaten and bloody already, in no condition to fight. Hardly heroic to let her husband beat her, is it?

He didn't know the history. He didn't know anything really about the woman but… Yagi shook his head, feeling sorry for the woman. She didn't need his pity. At this end of history, she didn't need anything and she had kept One For All safe. That was her most important task. Some day in the future, after All For One was gone, he'd be able to tell her that, just as Toshinori was sure the other holders of One For All had already told her that. She wasn't alone.

Number IV's note was next. The writing was quite small on this one but still very neatly formed.

It wasn't hard to find this one. He hadn't left III and I can see by your placement of notes, that you know he didn't have my Brother's Quirk for long. I'm still not sure how he knew to pass it on. He had though, and I knew it. I can sense quirks after all. But… he was boastful about that fact. At least at first. He understood the magnitude of his error in giving away my Brother's quirk before the end. I made sure of that.

Toshinori shook his head. All For One would think that but the man had been sensible to pass on One For All quickly. History proved that. He sighed, and looked at the last note under V.

Did you know that IV was his father? He swore to avenge his father but he spent most of his time running. He was pathetic and I'm yawning just remembering. I did say history speaks for itself, didn't I?

All Might swallowed again. How did he know he would read VIII first and V last? He didn't like that implication. He stepped back until he was against the door as he looked at the board. His eyes picked out the notes, not seeing the words but seeing the neatly written words.

They were just more proof that All For One had to be defeated.

He would not fail.