Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get to read the chapters earlier! Though I will be pausing the page for next month to plan and write out the story.
On to the story!
Mindscape
A small unknown fact was that when All for One used his quirk to take or give other quirks, he entered his victim's mindscape, creating a bridge from his. From there, he could take a quirk from his victim, draining it into his own mindscape, or take a quirk from his mindscape and place it in his victim's mindscape. Once the quirk was taken, the victim's mind forces the body to revert to its quirkless state, as if the quirk never existed, from the psychological stimulus.
"Ah, I never tire of this," mused All for One as he freely wandered inside Izuku's mindscape. Here, he was the master of all, no matter the location. It was here he could see, feel, and do anything he wanted without his injuries hindering him.
Then he saw it. One for All, trapped inside a steel cage with bars, just like he imagined it. He had tested out taking a quirk while the said victims had his/her quirk restrained by the quirk restraining cuffs, and they were always bound by a steel cage with bars. The said quirk itself always looked like a ball of light that he could easily transport away to his own mindscape.
"What to do," hummed All for One, "I suppose it will be safer if I sealed this quirk even more before I bring it with me."
With that, All for One began to raise his hand to activate another quirk, Quirk Sealer. This quirk had been some child's quirk that he couldn't resist taking when his doctor notified him about it about three years ago. He, of course, wasn't so heartless to leave the kid quirkless, and so merely 'switched' it with something else, though albeit a very useless quirk in his opinion. He had given the child the ability to vibrate his ears... and nothing else.
Similar to Eraser Head, he could suppress a person's quirk. However, the similarity ended there. While Eraser Head merely needed to look at the general direction of his opponents and could suppress anything except mutant variant quirks, All for One's version locked onto one target at a time only and needed to maintain physical contact for five seconds. But in contrast, it suppressed all quirks, even forcing mutant-type quirks to transform back to their original human state. Once sealed, he no longer needed to maintain physical contact and could focus on other things while his target remained 'sealed' until he decided to unseal the said victim. It certainly made taking quirks from troublesome targets much easier. He only wished he had gotten this quirk sooner in his life.
As he raised his hand towards the cage, another clawed hand suddenly grasped his wrist from the abyss. All for One was shocked at this, and slowly looked towards the source of the claw to see a devil, complete with black horns, fiery dark red wings, and a large black body with claws. With a roar, the devil raised its other arm up, its claws closed into a fist, before punching All for One in the face.
Due to his shock at this revelation that the boy, inheritor of One of All, was apparently hosting a devil that didn't look too far off from what he desired to become, a demon lord, he was unable to stop himself from flying back. It was only after he had landed back into his own mindscape was he able to stop himself.
"The boy has a devil inside his body? The existence of actual demons are real?" said All for One loudly to himself before he began to grin excitedly, "I must make it mine!"
If he could subjugate it for himself, then he could truly be the demon lord he always dreamed of! While he questioned how he could take it, pushing off the fact how Izuku even got it, he received his second shock of the day. The devil himself had used the bridge All for One never disconnected and entered his mindscape.
"How foolish of you to enter here," cackled All for One as he raised his hands up, "Perhaps in the boy's mindscape, you were the powerful one, but in here, I am the undisputed, absolute KING!"
Instantly, chains sprouted from the darkness all around, quickly binding the devil's arms, legs, waist, and neck.
Again, this was also how he kept quirks that he stole from others. Chains that originated from himself to keep the stolen quirks anchored to him only. Indeed, the latest one that he had acquired, Search, was chained up behind him.
"Now then, I would be satisfied by this, but securing One for All or at least sealing it permanently is a must," hummed All for One, not noticing the devil suddenly starting to shrink until he heard the chains begin to shake.
Looking back at where he had chained the devil, now standing there in front of him was a man wearing a straw hat with a scar under his left eye as well as a prominent cross scar on his chest. Before All for One could register what was happening, the man began to slowly flex his arms.
'A useless effort,' thought All for One before the chains began to rattle even more violently, 'No… Impossible! This is my mindscape, where my will is the law!'
"Oooooooohh….." growled the man as the chains began to fracture even more until…..
"RAAAAAH!"
The chains containing the man shattered into pieces, freeing him. As for All for One, if he had working eyes and a nose, his facial expression would have been one for the ages. Eyes popping out in shock and fear, snot leaking out of his noses, and his jaw dropping down far past his neck with his tongue out.
Before he could recover from this shock, the man was already in front of him, his arm cocked behind him.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
All for One was sent flying backward once more. However, before he went any further, he felt eight fists land in his back, sending him sprawling into the floor.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" drawled a familiar voice for All for One, one he hadn't heard in roughly 200 years.
Quickly turning around, he saw the past predecessors of One for All, all of them clearly standing in front of him, out of the steel cage they were supposed to be in. Out of the eight of them, only Toshinori, the eighth wielder, was still a hazy image while the others were not.
"I'm sure it's a surprise for him, too," chuckled the fifth user, Daigo, "He's tried to steal One for All several times before, but I doubt none were like this."
"This has been a long time coming," grinned the sixth user, En, as he cracked his fist.
"You seriously can't expect to come here and not be punished," growled Nana, "It's payback time!"
"How ironic, the man who desired to be a demon lord was beaten by a devil," commented the second user.
"Karma at its best," nodded the third user.
"Fate certainly has its ironic moments," added the fourth user, Hikage Shinomori.
All for One looked around him in shock, dare might he say, fear. Such a thing had never happened to him before! How could One for All not only escape from the cage where it should've been suppressed, but also arrive in his mindscape?
Still, not all was lost! He still had a chance. They had foolishly arrived at HIS mindscape.
"HAHAHAHA! You think you can win in my domain! Where my will is law!" laughed All for One as he suddenly unleashed thousands and thousands of chains at the straw hat man and the predecessors of One for All, "I will chain you all down and drag you to the abyss!"
They all quickly dodged, jumping back to avoid the chains.
The chains quickly gathered together before forming a giant hand, intent on grabbing them. With a roar, All for One sent the hand down, while at the same time, activating several quirks within his mind to stall them.
"This is inevitable," declared All for One as several ropes of ice, lightning, and various elements managed to suddenly wrap themselves around the predecessors and the devil, "All will bow to me, all wills will bend to my whim. I am All for One, and I am absolute!"
Just as he proclaimed that, just as the hand was about to smash into them, a green streak of light entered into the mindscape via the bridge.
Poland Smash.
The green light slammed into the hand before revealing Izuku now in the mindscape, slamming a dropkick at the hand, shattering it into dust. The sudden destruction of his chains caused All for One to recoil in pain as well as shock. How could one boy defy his will!
"Now's our chance!" shouted Yoichi, the first wielder, "Everyone, attack him with your best shot!"
The strawhat man grinned as he stretched his right arm back as far as he could, his hands clenched into a fist as his skin began to take a dark sheen.
Gomu Gomu no…..
One for All began to shine brightly. The first star, a white light, flew through the void as if rushing past other stars.
Yoichi clenched his fist as the white star phased through it, getting ready to throw an amateur overhead punch.
Justice…..
The white star shot forward to another location before curving, turning blue as it did so.
The second wielder held the blue star into his left gauntlet, swinging it around before pointing his gauntlet at All for One.
United Kingdom of….
The blue star ascended upwards before suddenly diving at its peak, turning into a red star.
The third wielder jumped high into the air, One for All infused into both his fists as he came crashing forward with a double handed overhead hammer strike.
Fruit Basket…
The red star descended before it curved, changing into a bright neon green star.
Hikage kicked several times in the air, jumping to fire a reverse spin kick before landing on the ground. With a swift step, he launched a high snap kick with the neon green glow in his kick.
République…..
The bright neon green star began to race forward into the depths before finally changing into a yellowish orange star.
Lariat gathered One for All within his right arm before shooting out a dark whip forward with his left, pulling him forward while jumping in the air with his right arm straight out to the side for a clothesline.
Soviet…..
The yellowish orange star bounced upwards, reaching its peak before diving down, changing into a purple star.
En twisted and spun his arms and body like a windmill before taking a step forward with his left foot. Taking a deep breath, he took another step forward with his right leg stomping on the ground, two palms striking out in front of him.
People's Republic of….
The purple star swiftly changed into a magenta star, slowly ascending back up.
Nana jumped into the air, floating for a second before crashing forward with a dive kick, One for All infused to her right foot.
Nipon Meijin…
The magenta star transformed into a golden star, rushing towards the middle of the abyss, as if reaching its end point.
All Might, despite still being a hazy figure within the vestiges of One for All, raised his right fist up for an overhead punch.
United States of…..
The gold star rushed forward before finally turning emerald green.
Izuku stretched his right arm back, allowing it to coil as it stretched. Unintentional or not, Izuku's Sunday punch was always a corkscrew punch, due to his rubber body allowing him to maximize on said punch. One for All gathered in his outstretched arm as his hand grasped into a fist. Unknownst to himself, his right arm began to take a dark sheen as well. With this, Izuku raised his head to glare at his opponent as he uttered words from his heart.
United Nations…..
All for One began to shake as he saw the attacks all aimed at him, and there was nothing he could do. He had just recovered from the loss of his chains, and during that lapse of time, had almost lost all control of the quirks he had inside of him. He had just managed to regain control of almost all of them except his latest acquisition when he saw them ready to fire their strongest signature attack on him.
Terrified, but still able to function, All for One's mind began to race on what he could do to stop the attack. His eyes landed on the bridge that was connecting his mindscape to Izuku's mindscape. If he destroyed it, then the intruders would be forced back into Izuku's mindscape, since he had not been able to take his quirk. Though he slightly bemoaned the loss of being able to take One for All and the devil, and the fact he would never have such a chance again, he had to cut his losses now.
In an instant, the bridge was destroyed, and just as All for One theorized, Izuku and the others were being drawn back to Izuku's mindscape. Before he could let off a sigh of relief though, he saw that he was too late.
S̴̢̨̢̛͚͍̻͓̠̠̙͍͎̤̑͗͒͛̎̀͋̽̈̔̿̒͜͜͝͝͝͝ͅS̸͙͕̗͍͍̓͑́̒̇̊̆̈́͘Ŝ̷̢̨̨͖̹̫̻͈͎̺̞̠̓̋̾̒̈́̕͜͝Ŝ̴͙̠̱͔͙̙̼̬͔̼͓̟͎̠̰̳̒̈́͗ͅŞ̷͓̰̪͎̻̉̓̌̉̈́̓̀̊̽̄͝͝S̵̢̯̼̮̗̼̑͌̾̅̍͒̒̃́̽̕͝S̵̨̧͈̯͖͙̭̝̟̺̱̤̯̟̋͜S̵͚̯̤̳̟̼̳̗̟̫̫̩͙̙͉̭̹͝Ş̶̛̛̺̙͎̦͖̠̖͍͇̙̼̞̥̐͒̌̏̎̾̊̒͌̃͛̓̚ͅṠ̵̨̧̥̳̤̹͇͉̲͑̎͑̓̿̄͗̂̏̿͐̎͘̚͜͝S̸͎̩̯̩͕͉̯̙̭̱̘̻̪̘̮̘͆S̶̭̟̩͎̤̺͛̊̽͆̔̈́̎́͛̃̀͝S̷̫̺͚̲̭͎͓̻̺̰͉̲̪̩͉̐̾̑͊̓̀̒͂̓̒̔̅͌̓̆͘̚M̵̢̡̦͔̫͈̥̯̮̩͖̔̎̇͆̀̊̀̀̉̀̾̒Ṃ̶̧̧̧̧̘̬̻̳͖͙͚̂̓͌̌̔͒̑̌̍́͗̄̅͑͜͠͝ͅM̸̡̛̬̝͔̩̠̍̈͑͝Ḿ̶̡̛͊̾́̌̀̉́͆M̵̩̦̲̭̬͖͓̻̤̋̽̌͘̚ͅM̷̧̹̞̫̱͎̜͙̘̲̌̄́̌͐̐̒M̷̢̹̬͖̪̹̙̮͓̣͐̓̿̃̃̈́̐̈͛͘͠M̵̧̢͇̠̖̠̳͕̳͖̀͋̆͑̌͛̃̔̋͋͂̕̚͝͠M̴̨̜͉͉̭̥̦̫̫͔͈͈̒̇͆̄͗͒̎̋͂̒̒́̒̈́̕M̷̡̨̰̱̪̟̣̜̖̤̳̭̳̹͛̆͐͆͜ͅM̴̛̮̲̳̙̤̤̲̬̱͈͔͍͙̱͓̊͒͗̏̑̊M̴̧̛̛̬̙̹̤̺̫̲̹̦͎̐̀̋̉̍̚̚A̸͓͉̗̝͙̖͕̳̻̒̃̏͋̂͑̈́̈́́̾̋͂Ä̸̧̪̻́̋̇͑̐͊͑̓̾A̶̛̜̹͓̬͖̣̟̗̐͑͒̂͝͝Ä̴̧̹̩͎͔͓̲̱͎̙̯̙̣̱͍̪́̿̈Ṣ̵͉͇͚͓͗̐S̴̘̀̂̈́̓͐̑̓͒̉̓͗̒̔̅͝͝S̸̢̥̬̟̺̭̞͇̳͇̠̠̜̩̑̅Ś̴͈͈̼͓͈̬͙̗̠̹͕̫͂̅Ś̴͈͚͕̰̼̀̀Ş̶͍̰͖̖̤̩̮̺͙̝̣̞̙̮̝͐̔͐̐̆̏̇͑̅̕̚͝ͅS̸̟͓̾́̾̓̒͛͑̒͌̽̕H̶̳̻̼̰̦̥̫͓͖̮͆̊͆̍͑̒̉̓̓̇̚͜͝͠Ḩ̷̧̥̪̝̮̺̘̭͇͘H̷̱̳̯̻͚͈̘̼̟̬͚͍̬̆͂̀̊̚H̸̛̥̩͕̠̫͍̃̇̏̆̃̄̉̍͐̒͗̚H̸̡̨̢̟̹̙̤̯̥͍̥̹̟͈̲̙̓̔̓̋̑̈́͌̃͜H̸̢͖̞͒̌͒̂́́͊͌͝͝!̵̨͔͉͓͎͕̳̠̱̹̳͔̈́̋̎̃̇̈̊̂́̽́̓̏͘͜ͅ!̵̢̥̱͇̤͖̪̯̠̻͚̫̮́̽͑̓͗!̸̧͈̏̽̊!̵̧̡̗͙͈͍͍̖̮͇͍͈͇́͛̀̉̇͌!̶̩̣̀̔̈́̓͑̔̒͋!̷͖͐́̀͆̇̽̂͒̎́̕͘!̷̺͈̼̬̻̾̆̇̐̎͆̒̇̊͒̆́̉̔̕̚̚!̵̨̨̮͇͙̙̗̜̲͍͉͛̓ͅ!̶͍̯̟̳̹͉̖̎̅̃͆̉̍̈́̕!̷͔͇͈̤̼̣̍̆̈́̀̒̄̑̐̐̋̉̆̄͠!̴̡̟̬̼̦̬̺̖̤͈͍̙̠̪͗͐̅͐̈́̊̉!̵̢̢̛̩͉̮̿̾̍̉̿́̋́̓͑̓͘͘̚!̸̡̨̰͙̮̺̓̾͌̑!̸̨͚̞̦̻̯̩̩̹̲͓͕̖̓͗̂!̶̡̛̞̳̠̔̇̊̂̓̃̎̌͊́̌̃͗̐̕͝ͅ!̴̖͆̄͑!̵̨̯̙̞̪͖̹̻̱̭̘͖̺̱͔̭̀̽́̉̓̈́̓̀̉̚!̴̛̖̑͂̈́̌͒͑̊̉
The attack, though greatly weakened when the others had been ejected out of his mindscape, still made it through and hit him. All for One spat out blood as he flew back. Quickly getting up, he saw several of his quirks starting to float away. Quickly reacting, he created chains to lock them down. Never did he notice that the latest quirk was now free and wandering about near where the bridge before it was suddenly sucked in and vanished from All for One.
Back to reality
The whole mental battle between All for One and Izuku seemed to last for hours, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed. It was at this time a few things happened simultaneously.
Situation 1
Gran Torino was trying to escape the Nomu's grasp as he felt his body being stretched beyond its limit. If he didn't escape soon, he'd be ripped into two.
'Shit… guess this is it. I was looking forward to that date,' thought Gran Torino as he thought of Rekai.
Suddenly, the Nomu shrieked in pain as daggers hit its eyes. A second later, a cane slammed into its brain, causing it to freeze up and let go of Gran Torino.
Gran Torino felt himself being dragged away, blinking as he tried to identify who saved him.
"Always having a lady to help you," said a female voice, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Gran Torino blinked as he looked up and swore he saw Nana. Blinking again, he found himself looking at Rekai instead.
"What are you doing here?" asked Gran Torino.
"Saving my disciple and your ass apparently," replied Rekai, "You canceled date night with me. Not to mention I heard the news about my disciple being taken. Just before you hung up on me, though, I heard Kamino Ward, and decided to stalk the area. Good thing, too."
Anything else Gran Torino had to say was shelved as a scream grabbed their attention.
Situation 2
Best Jeanist prepared himself to be punctured by blades when…..
Lacquered Piercing Shot
Kamui Woods came jumping out, using his quirk to not capture, but fire several sharpened stakes into the Nomu. Though it pained him to use his quirk so violently, he knew he had no choice in this regard.
The Nomu howled in pain as the wooden stakes were driven into its body, allowing Best Jeanist to escape safely.
"Seems like the normal approach won't work. How about this!?" hissed Best Jeanist as he wrapped the fibers he had left around the Nomu's neck, choking him.
"Kamui Woods! Go help the others, I'll handle this!" ordered Best Jeanist. Before Kamui Wood could reply, they were both distracted by a scream.
Both Endeavor and Edgeshot had managed to subdue their Nomu when they heard the scream.
In front of everyone's eyes, they all witnessed All for One trying to take Izuku's quirk, though only Gran Torino and All Might knew what he was doing. A few seconds later, though, the one screaming wasn't Izuku, but rather All for One.
All for One coughed in pain first as the mental backlash hit him from the failure. Then he felt his arms burn from the hand up to his shoulders. He tried to let go of Izuku, only for him to suddenly grab his arm with both hands.
'He shouldn't be able to use his quirk outside of the mindscape,' thought All for One, thinking of the quirk inhibiting bands, only to be proven wrong as One for All surged through Izuku's body and into his hands.
Without hesitation, Izuku squeezed as tight as he could, causing All for One to scream in pain as he felt his left arm being crushed. Flailing, he tried to get rid of Izuku, only for him to keep a tight grip on his left arm as well as aggravate the burns on his arm.
Seeing as he couldn't get Izuku to let go, All for One decided to use one of the riskier quirks that he had in an emergency that he had acquired a few years ago. This quirk he had actually been given by a small girl whose parents pleaded for him to take the quirk away. The reason being was the quirk made the user's body turn into water, but was unable to reform back to a human body without intense concentration. The parents were unable to properly care for their daughter as they had to take her everywhere in a glass bottle in fear of losing her. So All for One decided to take it to see if he could use it, considering if he didn't like it, he could just seal it away in his body until he gave it to someone. The only problem is reforming took a lot even for him and various mind-supporting quirks.
Instantly, Izuku lost his grip on All for One as his left arm turned to water. At the same moment, All for One charged up another blast and fired it into the floor, creating another shockwave. The shockwave blew everyone around him away, preventing them from trying to attack him. While the others were blown away, Izuku himself had been launched over All Might, landing somewhere behind him
"Enough of this. It's time to end this farce and face reality," declared All for One as he managed to restore his left arm back while activating several quirks in his right hand. Everyone watched as All for One's right arm began to mutate before their eyes. Soon, a monstrous-looking arm could be seen from All for One's arm.
"I know for certain that your time is already approaching its limits," shouted All for One, "Once the remaining embers burn out, you'll be finished. Then I'll deal with Midoriya Izuku afterward. Though I will admit you raised a masterful disciple, but you can die full of regret that he'll follow you shortly! As a sensei, it's your loss!"
All Might gritted his teeth as he stood his ground, using the remaining power of One for All that was gathered in his right hand. With a roar, All Might met the attack with a right straight, their fists clashing against each other.
"Impact nullification! Jet Booster! " said All for One immediately, neutralizing the impact to prevent the recoil while All Might had to deal with the full impact, as well as sprouting cones behind him that released flames to increase his speed.
All Might struggled as he felt himself being pushed back, blood spurting out of his arm. As much as he hated to admit, he was outmatched. As desperate as he tried to cling onto One for All and keep the embers from burning out, they were fading much faster than he wanted them to due to how early he had transferred One for All to Izuku.
'Even if I die…. I have no regrets,' thought Toshinori as his eyes began to dim. Even if he died, he trusted Gran Torino and the others to be able to stop All for One from reaching Izuku. He knew Izuku himself could take care of himself. However, just as he seemed to give up hope, he heard his mentor's voice in his head.
"When you think you're at your limit, remember…." whispered the voice of Nana, "Now train your successor, and don't show up in the afterlife until you die of old age!"
Remembering Nana's words as well as her message back when Izuku had that freak accident, his eyes snapped back open, burning brightly once more. He used the pain to focus on All for One. His mind flashed to his students, his coworkers, his friends, to Inko, and finally, to Izuku.
"You say it's my loss as sensei? I see it differently. Don't you know just as the master teaches the pupil, the pupil teaches the master?" whispered All Might as he suddenly defused the power in his right arm, transferring it to his legs instead.
Immediately, All Might used the recoil from the attack to spin on his left leg, slamming his right foot into All for One's face.
All for One was shocked at the attack, as All Might had always used his fists. Still, he turned to attack him, only to lose track of him for just a second when All Might made a violent turn.
'Damn, that step really is harsh on the ligaments,' thought All Might as he raised his right arm once more, infusing it with One for All for one final attack.
However, before he could fire his ultimate attack, he found the last of One for All gone.
"That was a surprise, but it was weak! I can see One for All finally gone from you!" shouted All for One as he prepared his other hand with all the same quirks.
All Might gritted his teeth, deciding to still attack no matter how futile it was. He would not show the world of him cowering for his life. He would stand up headstrong against evil.
Just as All for One tried to hit All Might with his left arm, he felt something chilling go down his spine. Something so imposing that it actually stopped him for a second and made him hesitate for a second. Not to mention his left arm throbbed painfully as if reminding him it had been crushed previously. His quirks wavered for just a second before he regained control of them again.
At the same time, All Might felt something touch his back, a human hand to be exact. All Might took the chance to look back to see Izuku stretching his hand out towards All Might. Before All Might could question this, he suddenly felt One for All completely energizing his body once more. Not only that, but he could feel 7 more hands on his back, supporting him.
All for One shook off that feeling of dread before launching his attack at the seemingly weakened All Might. All Might merely raised his left hand up as the attack slammed into the palm, creating a huge dust cloud once more, covering everything.
"No…. All Might… he… the Symbol of Peace….," stuttered the reporter as the viewers watched in horrified silence.
"It is over," declared All for One, "Now for the boy…."
All for One trailed off when the dust cleared to reveal All Might back in his muscular form, seemingly uninjured. Before All for One could even react, All Might clenched his left hand, crushing the offending arm.
All for One let out a choked scream before All Might pulled him towards him, taking a step forward at the same time.
"This is, indeed, over, All for One!" shouted All Might as he turned his waist for his strongest punch.
All for One immediately pulled up the liquid quirk, hoping to phase through the attack. However, at the very last moment before All Might's fist slammed into him, All for One saw it.
Izuku's hand was still on All Might's back. All for One theorized the reason why All Might had One for All energized once more was because of that, though he wasn't sure how. Another thing he saw was All Might's fist suddenly gaining a dark sheen, just like he had seen back at the mindscape with the straw hat man and he could question this, the fist slammed into his face. He was shocked that his liquefaction ability failed, but couldn't question it further as All Might drove his punch further in.
All Might pushed with all his strength that he had left, his emotions driving him. He was ending this for justice. For his mentor. For his disciple. For everyone so they no longer needed to fear this symbol of evil! In the forefront of everything in his mind, stood a smiling Izuku and Inko.
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The attack sent debris and dust upwards in a tornado formation. Izuku and several others were sent flying back from the shockwave while the helicopter from above struggled to maintain balance despite its distance. The tornado soon dissipated as everyone witnessed All Might standing over All for One, bleeding quite heavily before slowly raising his left arm in the air. Everyone immediately recognized it as All Might's victory pose. With the last of his energy, All Might assumed his muscle form once more, standing tall.
"All Might is still standing! The villain isn't moving anymore! He stands victorious!" shouted the reporter, crying with joy as did people all over the country who had been watching the news.
Other heroes from various agencies soon arrived to help with the rescue effort, rushing any innocent civilian caught in the fight to the hospital. Meanwhile, All for One was heavily chained up and slapped with quirk inhibiting bands before being pushed into the iron maiden. Izuku wanted to help out with the rescue effort, but was shut down by Kamui Woods, who insisted he stay safe and in sight of both the police and heroes in case some villains tried to make off with him. So Izuku instead sat down on a pile of rubble with Kamui Woods playing babysitter, pouting slightly at being restricted, but knew that Kamui Woods was just worried about him.
"Go take a nap. You seem bushed, especially after all that," suggested Kamui Woods, "We're getting you to a hospital later to get yourself checked out, no excuses!"
Izuku wanted to argue, but instead took a huge yawn as everything began to catch up with his body while the adrenaline left. Even the sun was slowly starting to rise.
A female news reporter was eagerly reporting everything that was happening, ordering the cameraman to zoom in on All Might and the villain when All Might, still coughing some blood, raised his hand towards the camera.
"It's your turn next," said All Might.
While everyone interpreted the message as a warning to villains, both public and those up and rising to become villains, Izuku realized the truth of the message. Incidentally, he had been standing right behind the camera crew when All Might pointed at him. Due to the angle of the cameraman, he had thought he was pointing at the camera and chose to ignore everything else.
One for All was no longer within Toshinori Yagi, as the embers had burned out. But he had hope for the future. Another pillar would soon rise to take his place, and inspire others, and maybe create more pillars to help. He placed his bets onto his successor, Izuku Midoriya.
"Can I leave?" asked Izuku for what seemed to be the millionth time.
Currently, he was at a hospital just lying in bed while the doctors were running what seemed to be repetitive tests. Izuku swore he was back to full health and was anxious to get back home, but the standing orders were that Izuku was to remain in the hospital in case All for One had done something to his body.
"Now, now, we're almost through," placated the doctor, "This is merely the final exam to ensure no foreign bodies remain in your system."
Izuku sighed as he obediently remained still.
Soon, Izuku wandered out in the hallways of the hospital, just meandering out a bit. For now, he was forbidden from returning home until an escort could be arranged, but he was at least allowed visitors. Besides his mother, all of 1-A and some of 1-B, along with Melissa, came to visit him, making sure he was alright. Nezu made a personal appearance while Inko had come and personally apologized for the situation, stating that such a thing wouldn't happen again under his watch.
As for Toshinori, Izuku was unable to meet with him, much to his disappointment. Due to the revelation of his injuries, the only people that could visit him were all important individuals, whether in the government or hero field.
"I'll talk to him soon enough," shrugged Izuku as he wandered a little longer, passing by a door. He suddenly paused and backtracked a few steps to see Ragdoll, aka Tomoko when out of hero duty, staring out the window from her bed.
Tomoko must've noticed the retracting footsteps as she turned to glance over and saw Izuku.
"Hey little green kitten," smiled Tomoko, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, "Looks like you're doing well."
"Ragdoll," replied Izuku as he walked in, closing the door as he did so, "Are you alright? I heard that you were captured by All for One, too."
"Yea. I'm glad he's now in jail. I was happy when I saw a replay of All Might smashing him into the floor," giggled Tomoko, "I should be asking you that. You were also caught by him, and he actually grabbed you. Luckily, whatever happened to me didn't happen to you. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner to prevent the kidnapping."
Izuku frowned as he noticed Tomoko hadn't answered his question before deciding to push once more.
"Are you alright?" asked Izuku once more, "What did All for One do to you?"
Tomoko's smile slowly dimmed as she looked down to her hands, "It's nothing you should be concerned about."
Izuku frowned as he pulled up a chair, sitting next to Tomoko. With a gentle motion, he put his hands onto Tomoko.
"We were both his captive. Is it safe to say that…. your quirk was taken?" asked Izuku.
Tomoko sighed as she looked back into Izuku's eyes, "It's more than that. It feels like a part of my soul is gone, too. A missing piece that I can never get back. The doctors tell me it's all in my mind, that nothing is wrong with my body besides the quirk factor is gone. But I can feel it. That part of me that makes me….. me is gone. Unless they can somehow get it back from that villain, it's not coming back anytime soon, if not forever."
Tomoko felt tears welling up in her eyes, but was unable to stop them from flowing.
"My hero license has been suspended indefinitely since I'm unfit for hero work anymore. But the worst part is I feel like I'm letting my team down. The Wild, Wild, Pussycats are no longer a team of four. I know they won't begrudge me or judge me, but that makes me feel worse. I want to help out in the field. I want to be with my friends in the front lines!"
Izuku understood her pain, having been quirkless himself before eating the devil fruit. He wanted to do something for Tomoko, to reach out to her. But he wasn't sure what he could do.
'You can help,' whispered Yoichi, the first predecessor of One for All, within the recesses of Izuku's mind.
A side effect of All for One trying to steal One for All and the devil inside Izuku was that Izuku now had better access to predecessors of One for All and the devil. Though it was only today he could hear them much more clearly.
'What do you mean?' asked Izuku mentally.
'Before the bridge between you and my brother fully closed, another quirk that All for One stole wound up coming with us. I believe it belongs to the woman before us. Normally, One for All would've assimilated the quirk into itself, but I've managed to keep it separated. Since my quirk was originally the ability to transfer quirks, I should be able to transfer the quirk back to her without One for All being passed on. Just pluck a piece of your hair, and I'll do the rest."
'Isn't it weird for me just to say 'Here, eat my hair to get your quirk back,'?' asked Izuku, 'How do I even lead into this?'
'You'll find a way. Hurry, I've managed to isolate it and ready it for transfer,' replied Yoichi.
Sighing, Izuku pulled his hands away from Tomoko, ruffling his own hair for a bit.
"Ragdoll, there's something that I might be able to help with," said Izuku slowly, licking his lips to keep them moist as he tried to figure out how to say it carefully. His face was a bit red from thinking too hard about how to explain, "I can…"
Just as Izuku turned around to finish, he found himself locking lips with Tomoko.
Tomoko herself was also surprised at this. When Izuku had first said that statement, Tomoko thought that the boy was just about to confess to her or something or even offer his shoulder. So she leaned in, planning to kiss the boy on the cheek. Except she hadn't expected Izuku to turn his head when she leaned in.
Tomoko slowly leaned back, blushing in embarrassment as she did so before quickly looking away. Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips as she did so, taking in the saliva from Izuku's lips.
'So soft,' thought Izuku before quickly shaking his head. It wasn't the first time he kissed a girl, considering he was dating five girls at the moment.
'Great, how am I supposed to bring that up now!?' thought Izuku.
'You don't,' chuckled Yoichi from within the mindscape, 'A bit unorthodox, but remember, the transfer works through consuming a person's DNA. Saliva counts, too. When she kissed you, she also took in your DNA via saliva when you licked your own lips. I used that chance to push her quirk into the saliva. Though I must say, you have a lot better luck with the females than us, your past predecessors."
Voices of disagreement arose, only to be silenced when Izuku and Yoichi cut the connection for now.
Izuku stood up, his face blushing red, "I should go now."
"Stay safe, little kitten," replied Tomoko, unable to face him as her face was also red.
As Izuku stepped out to leave, he paused at the doorway for a second.
"Ragdoll? About your quirk? Don't worry too much, I'm sure it'll return to you sooner than you think," stated Izuku.
Tomoko's eyebrows arched up in confusion at that statement before relaxing onto her bed once more.
As Izuku was about to close the door, he heard Tomoko call out to him.
"Next time, when it's just us two, you can just call me by my first name, Tomoko. Afterall, we are quite close now, right?" teased Tomoko.
Izuku could only stutter a goodbye before quickly leaving, much to Tomoko's amusement.
One day later
Tomoko was finally allowed to head home with the other members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, having been declared a clean bill of health. She appreciated that her teammates were all trying to cheer her up, making jokes and all that, creating a happier environment. But she knew in the end, something would mess up the tension.
It was when they were at home, all cooking dinner when Shino, aka Mandalay, looked up from setting the plates.
"I'll need to call Kouta back inside for dinner," said Shino, "I think he's outside, but he knows not to wander too far out right now."
"Oh, I can help you check," replied Tomoko without even thinking about it, going through the usual motions to activate her quirk.
"Ah Tomoko," said Yawara, aka Tiger, gently, about to remind her about her situation, "It's okay, we can-"
"Found him, he's about twenty feet away from the entrance," replied Tomoko, "He'll be opening the door in five seconds."
Five seconds later, Kota did indeed open the door.
"Tomoko, how did you know?" gasped Ryuko, aka Pixie Bob.
"I used my quirk, just as I…. always… have?" blinked Tomoko, slowly coming to a halt as she looked down at her hands, "I used my quirk? I used my quirk! I used my quirk!"
Tomoko was sobbing tears of joy as she discovered her quirk had returned to her. The others were shocked for a moment before rushing over to Tomoko, hugging her in joy.
Tomoko felt like the missing piece of her had finally returned when she unintentionally used her quirk. But how did she get it back? She racked her mind for some answers, reviewing the past two days.
Then her mind flashed back to when Izuku told her not to worry about her quirk.
'He knew. He did something,' thought Tomoko as she stopped to wipe her tears, 'Was it from the kiss? Either way, I need to make it up to him somehow later.'
"Oh, Ryuko?" said Tomoko, "Just to let you know. I'm calling a double kitty dib on the green kitten."
Ryuko blinked for a second, registering what Tomoko had just declared before hissing furiously at Tomoko.
"No fair, I called dibs earlier!" hissed Ryuko.
"You called dibs on a quarter of the students. I should be allowed to take one, and you didn't double kitty dib!" argued Tomoko.
While Ryuko and Tomoko had their little 'cat' fight with Tiger breaking them up, Shino could only mentally sigh. As she did though, she suddenly vividly remembered Izuku kicking Muscular off her. Him gently carrying her to safety bridal style. His warm and safe arms carrying her as she felt his muscles.
'If I'm being honest, I would've done the same as Tomoko. He did save me after all, and to say he isn't attractive would be a lie. Maybe I can call a triple kitty cat dib on Midoriya, even if he is much younger than me,' thought Shino.
She then noticed that everyone had become silent, all staring at her.
"I didn't just broadcast that out loud did I?" asked Shino, slowly growing crimson.
"You did," answered Tiger.
"You traitors! You know he's the best one out of the pack!" yowled Ryuko, trying to scratch at them with no real intent of causing injury.
While Shino tried to stutter her way out while Tomoko was rolling on the floor laughing, Koto coughed before commenting, "Though he's a bit young to be dad, if you really want to go after him, I don't mind mom."
"Nonono, that's not at all what I me-," started Shino before pausing, "Wait, did you call me mom? You did call me mom! You also said that back before Muscular tried to step on me!"
"Well, yea, you pretty much take care of me like a mom does," blushed Kota as he shifted his hat down, "If you don't like it, I can always go back to calling you auntie."
"No, I love it!" cried Shino as she hugged Kota, "You can call me mom any time you want!"
While Kota tried to push off a kissing Shino, along with Tomoko and Ryuko joining in, he grinned. Though he would miss his parents, he had a new family that cared for him, even if he never saw it before.
"Finally home," yawned Izuku as he sat down on a chair in the dining room. He had finally been released from the hospital by Recovery Girl. A few of the doctors in the hospital had wanted to keep Izuku in for further study and even draw blood, but Recovery Girl stood her ground. There was no point in conducting further studies.
"I have katsudon ordered from Kinka," comforted Inko, who didn't feel like cooking after everything that had happened, "I made sure to get an extra large portion for you."
Izuku's mouth salivated at that thought, having to deal with hospital food for the past few days. It would be nice to have some actual food with proper seasoning and preparation.
Soon, they heard the doorbell ring.
"Oh, that must be the delivery person. That was faster than I thought," mused Inko as she went to open the door.
Instead of seeing the delivery man, though, she gasped as she saw Toshinori standing there.
"May I come in?" asked Toshinori, "I promised I would tell you everything after the boys were rescued, so here I am now."
Inko slowly nodded as she let him in, still reeling inside her mind that she had been dating the number one hero in Japan, and as Mitsuki would so bluntly put it, letting him bang the shit out of her.
"All Might!" exclaimed Izuku as he quickly stood up, only for Toshinori to waive him back down.
"Just call me Toshinori or Yagi like you usually do. It'll be made public, but I'll be retiring. My body is no longer in the state where I can fight anymore, and the last embers of One for All have faded away, despite that last second boost. I can't even maintain my muscle form anymore," sighed Toshinori as he sat down.
"Umm, should we be talking about this in front of mom?" asked Izuku, his eyes darting back and forth from Toshinori and Inko.
"I can go make tea," suggested Inko as she stood to leave for the kitchen, only for Toshinori to grab her wrist to stop her from leaving.
"I promised her I'd come clean with the both of you, and that includes One for All and the reason why you were targeted," explained Toshinori, "No more hidden secrets."
And so, Toshinori explained to Inko everything, from the origin of One for All to why he chose Izuku as his successor. As he was telling everything, his heart and shoulders felt lighter. As if the whole secret had put an invisible weight on him that he hadn't even known. He even explained his previous fight with One for All and how he lost his lung and stomach. He placated the panicking Inko when she started to hyperventilate, stating that he had recently had transplants to replace the lost organs.
"Wow," muttered Inko as she dainty picked at her salad. The food from Kinka had arrived during the conversation, and by extreme coincidence and luck, had brought extras, though only because another customer canceled their order while on delivery. So Toshinori opted to buy the extra food.
"Speaking of which, do you want to add something?" asked Toshinori, poking at Izuku, giving him a small glare.
"What? What are you hiding young man?" demanded Inko, "Does it have something to do with that fruit that Katsuki made you eat?"
"She knows?" asked Toshinori.
"Part of it," replied Izuku, "She and I both realized my quirk came from the fruit, but we had no idea why. I didn't even know the truth and details about the fruit until a year and a half ago with that incident."
"That incident? The one where you ended up in the U.A. with bandages?" asked Inko for clarification.
"That…. is another long story," sighed Izuku as he took a bite of his Katsudon, "Mom, please try not to panic when I tell you that the fruit that I ate was called….. a Devil Fruit."
As expected, Inko began to panic with tears streaming out of her eyes like a waterfall. It took a half hour and a very waterlogged salad to stop her from crying before finally explaining everything.
"An actual devil?" asked Inko, "And it swore that it wouldn't take your soul?"
"Well he said it was worthless, and that he would just move onto another fruit when I die," chuckled Izuku sheepishly.
"That's not very assuring," sighed Inko.
"Don't worry, with One for All inside Izuku, they'll be sure to prevent that," assured Toshinori as he clasped his hands over hers.
Izuku glanced at how close Inko and Toshinori were before flickering his eyes back at Toshinori, coughing as he did so.
"So how are your injuries?" asked Izuku.
"Nothing too serious, thanks to your help. In fact, thanks to David's regeneration pod, you could say I feel… ALL MIGHT!" declared Toshinori as he briefly transformed into his muscle form, only to instantly start coughing and deflating back to his true form. He couldn't resist such a pun.
While Inko giggled at his joke, Izuku could only sigh. Without even thinking, Izuku's next comment stopped them all.
"A dad joke? Really dad?" groaned Izuku.
They all blinked at that until Izuku realized he had just unintentionally called Toshinori dad.
"Uhh, I mean…. I should get to bed early!" stammered Izuku as he stood up to leave.
Just as he was about to take a step, Inko called out to him, causing him to stop.
"While we're all making confessions, Toshinori and I also have one for you too," confessed Inko before wrapping her arms and body onto Toshinori's arm, "We're dating."
Izuku's mind blanked out for a good moment before finally reacting in the only way he could when he found out his mentor, idol, the number one hero, and somewhat father figure was dating his mom. In short….. he fainted.
"He took that well," giggled Inko as she prodded her son's unconscious body.
"Let's let him rest in his room," suggested Toshinori as he picked up Izuku's body, carrying him to his room.
After tucking him in, Toshinori and Inko soon found themselves on the couch, sipping on some iced tea.
"So you're okay with this?" asked Toshinori, gesturing to himself.
"I would be lying if I said this didn't scare me," replied Inko as she tilted her head onto his shoulder, "That's quite a big secret you had hiding from me. I wasn't fond of how it was revealed, either."
"I never meant it to be revealed like that on television," grumbled Toshinori.
Inko gently placed her hand on Toshinori's chest, slowly sliding her fingers over the injuries.
"I guess the funny part was when Mitsuki found out that I was, in her words, 'banging the number one hero'," giggled Inko.
"It's getting late. I should head back," murmured Toshinori as he began to stand up, only to be pulled down by Inko.
She immediately swung her legs over Toshinori, straddling over his legs as she locked him in place.
"You wouldn't think about leaving me alone after all that, would you?" asked Inko sultry, slowly leaning forward.
Toshinori looked over towards Izuku's room, worried that he would wake up and find them in this compromising position.
"Don't worry, he won't wake up for a while," whispered Inko, "Let's continue this at my…. no our bed, shall we?"
Toshinori wasn't one to refuse such an offer, and so he quickly carried Inko to her room. Though clothes were quickly thrown aside, the two merely cuddled with each other. Both were too tired physically and mentally to do anything else.
Izuku slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself looking into a familiar black void.
"It seems like the connection between us is becoming more and more stable," commented Yoichi as he appeared next to Izuku, "I suppose we have my brother to thank for that. He accelerated that process."
"It's not something I'm keen on experiencing again," drolled Izuku.
"That is something I can agree with," nodded Yoichi.
"So…. how's Nana?" asked Izuku cautiously. During the conversation, All Might had let slip that Shigaraki's true identity was his mentor's grandson.
"Not doing so well," admitted Yoichi, "She's sulking at the corner for now, but she says that she'll get up again soon. She was supposed to be the primary contact to you, not me, you know."
Izuku sighed as he stared out into the void before a question popped into his mind.
"Was it one of you guys that made my skin into some sort of glossy black sheen back then?" asked Izuku, referring to when they all did their ultimate smash against All for One.
"That would be my doing, if unintentional," commented the devil inside Izuku as it appeared beside them.
"What? I thought you just gave me a rubber body?" asked Izuku as Yoichi looked over in curiosity.
"I do. However, it seems I unlocked the potential of Haki inside you when I decided to fight that creep with my former host's form. Your predecessor, to be exact," replied the devil before transforming into the same man he had used before with a straw hat, "This man to be precise."
"Is that where I got my straw hat inspiration from?" asked Izuku, noticing the straw hat.
"Perhaps," it shrugged, "My previous host was very attached to his straw hat. It might have bled over, or perhaps you liked it yourself."
"So what is this Haki?" asked Yoichi in curiosity.
"It's a power that everyone in my world could use. Loosely translated, it means quite a few things, with willpower, spirit, and/or ambition being the top choices. However, many people in my world fail to unlock this power due to never noticing or never awakening it. I'm not 100% sure, but I can say your people don't have this in this world. Except for you, incidentally due to my influence and most likely my predecessor. He grew to be the strongest in his world," it explained.
"So that's why you said willpower can make all the difference. Your people in your world could literally weaponize it," hummed Yoichi.
"So what does it do, besides make my arm turn black?" asked Izuku.
"Haki is divided into three categories, one of them that is only available to a select few. The one you were referring to is armament, and that can be done to any parts of your body. In short, it's like an armor composed of your will, a spiritual armor, so to speak. Not only does it help strengthen your attack, but it is a primary means to fight against enemies to bypass defenses that would normally cause them to phase through. You saw it when you unintentionally imbued your predecessor's arm with Haki. That creep had tried to turn himself into water to phase through the attack, only for Haki to bypass that defense and smash him into the ground."
The devil then noticed it and Yoichi was slowly beginning to disappear, meaning time was running short.
"I'll go over more details about that later, but just know there are two more. Observation, with the ability to sense people and even predict attacks, and lastly, Conqueror. That one is rare, even in my world. In short, you can impose your willpower over others, making them unconscious if the power gap is too great. It seems though that you might just have the capacity for all three, but whether you can pull it out depends on you now."
With that, Izuku vanished from the void, leaving Yoichi and the devil alone.
"So, haki, huh?" commented Yoichi, "Sounds pretty powerful. Mind telling me some stories about your predecessor? I'd love to hear more about this. And anyway you can at least give advice to our young apprentice?"
"We got time. As for training, he'll have to learn for himself. He's a smart boy, he'll figure something out. I might drop some hints every now and then, but it's all up to him," replied the devil, "Plus he's already on his way. I merely unlocked the potential for it, but he's already used it once, even if it was unintentional. It'll come to him."
Izuku slowly opened his eyes, yawning as he stretched his arms.
"What was the last thing I remember? I don't remember crawling into bed," muttered Izuku as he climbed out of bed, noticing he had slept past his usual time.
His mind raced through the events before realizing the last thing he remembered was mom confessing that she was dating Toshinori.
'Holy shit my mom is dating All Might!' swore Izuku before quickly rushing out. He made it to the kitchen in time to see his mother giving Toshinori a kiss before putting a plate of eggs on the table.
"Izuku, I have some bacon and eggs being cooked up right now, so just wait for a few minutes, alright?" said Inko as she continued to hum a song.
Izuku slowly slid down into his chair, looking at Toshinori now.
"So… do I call you To-chan now?" asked Izuku.
Toshinori coughed into his coffee, wiping out the liquid from his face before replying, "You can call me by my given name, that's a bit too early for that."
"But it is in the future?" pressured Izuku.
"That's….." gulped Toshinori nervously.
"Stop being so judgmental," rebuked Inko gently, "What comes up in the future will be our business. Plus, I would've thought you would be ecstatic having All Might as a dad, even if as a stepdad."
"That was fantasy, this is reality. It totally played differently in my mind," argued Izuku before sighing and helping himself to some eggs, "Don't get me wrong, the fanboy in me is excited. But I still worry about you mom, even if I do trust All Might and kind of look up to him as a dad, considering whom my 'dad' was before."
Toshinori could only blush at that statement. Though he never had a family before, much less any children, he knew he was very fond of his successor, and cared for him more than he should.
'Perhaps the feeling is mutual,' thought Toshinori, imagining Izuku as his son, and found it appealing.
Coughing to get his thoughts back on track as well as drawing attention back to him, he cleared his throat before talking, "While it is nice, in public, I believe it would still be wise to keep up the teacher-student relationship. In public, I will continue to call you Midoriya in public while you still address me as a teacher. But in private….. you may address me by my given name if you don't mind me calling you by your given name, Izuku."
Izuku looked over at Toshinori in shock for a good minute before slowly nodding his head in agreement.
"Excellent. And one final thing," added Toshinori before putting his cup down and slightly bowing to Izuku, "From here on out, I will devote myself to raising you to surpass me. I truly believe you will do so."
With that statement, Inko and Izuku realized that truly, this was the end of All Might's era. Whatever the future may hold for the new era, though, Toshinori was confident that Izuku would soon take up the mantle along with his friends.
Ta daaa. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I was experimenting on trying to convey One for All transferring through each user and performing their ultimate smash. If you noticed, most of the ultimate smash relate to the UN Security Council with five permanent members on there, as well as Japan. Two of them were kinda gag/amusement. I kinda wanted to use falcon punch smash, but I already made a watermelon smash way back in ch 2, and rolled with it.