Izuku Midoriya sat at the edge of the building with his legs dangling over the drop. He was on the same rooftop where All Might had landed two years ago on this very day. From there, he could see the exact location where his life had changed forever: the street where the Slime Villain attacked his mother, making his life more complicated than ever. Two years ago, Izuku had dreamed of having a quirk more than anything else so he could become a hero. It seemed that having a quirk was not the answer to his problems. As he viewed people walking the street his enhanced mind raced in memories and thoughts of last two years from that fateful day.
Now, Izuku was already a hero as he had performed a heroic deed, albeit in a complicated manner. The shitstorm he had generated was immense. The fire he had lit under society's ass after All Might's famous press conference and the 'Might Speech' was truly significant. All Might had followed up on his words from that day and had been working tirelessly ever since. Even Izuku, who now genuinely hated All Might thanks to his father, had to admit that he was doing more than he had before the incident.
His loving father truly knew how to twist anyone with plain, honest truth and succeed in his goals. It was one year before All For One told Izuku the truth about One For All. He remembers the meeting even now as if it had happened yesterday.
Flashback
"So, you want to know about the hatred between me and All Might? Are you sure, Izuku? This could be an attempt by me to manipulate you into villainy and my plans for you. The truth would hurt you," and hurt it did.
"So you are saying that All Might could have made me his successor at any point in time and given me the Quirk—One For All. He could have mentored me like Nana Shimura did for him or helped me whether he gave me OFA or not." Izuku asked surprised and a broke tone.
All For One was serious for once without the mocking smirk in his voice, like the world is a joke and only he knows it.
"Yes, Izuku, it was pure hypocrisy by your old idol hero. All Might, quirkless, should have understood you and helped you. He should not have destroyed your dream and later defended himself with a version of the truth on national television, making him more of a hero who tells the truth. Even now the Might Speech is debated by the world over and All Might regarded as a fearless hero who will even reveal the ugly side of the society when he lied without any remorse.
The truth being his reason, which is utter horseshit for anyone knowing about OFA, so for Principal Nezu, Recovery Girl, Gran Torino, Nighteye, and the real hero All Might is friends with, the lie detector policeman. Isn't it ironic that the heroes who should stand for justice and truth hide the biggest secret and laugh at the whole world? You want to know one more funny thing that came from that lie, Izuku? Let me tell you. You know about David Shield on I Island, right? You see, he is a human genius who has more inventions and patents than half of I Island. He has made many contributions for humanity as a whole. I know because I hold 10% of I Island with my legitimate business side. I read the annual reports, and for the last two years, there have been no inventions made by Shield. He is working on a machine that will increase quirk power in a drastic way, but with side effects of drugs like trigger. We can surely guess for whom he is making it? So with that one lie, he has damaged humanity in unaccountable ways. I have killed all holders of OFA. Isn't it basic right for a human to get his stolen goods back? I gifted that quirk to my brother, and disgusting pieces of shits corrupted him and are using my quirk and my own brother's vestige to fight me. I just want my brother back with me. Where is my justice? So, I hurt them. Just like they are hurting me, I go for their families and use them for my own purposes."
Izuku was shocked hearing all this and didn't know what to think. He was devastated, and hatred burned in his heart against All Might, thinking 'What a shitty person you have to be to not help someone when you yourself got that help from someone.' In Izuku's view, it's the most unheroic thing to deny a person the help you got yourselves. What a symbol of a piece of shit.
All For One smirked as he saw the hatred ignite in his son's mind.
Even though Izuku knew that All For One was telling the truth, he saw a golden opportunity to acquire something from his father. 'He would, of course, see through my ruse,' Izuku thought, 'but at least I will know one more alias of my father.'
Izuku scoffed and said, "What a great story, father. A quirk passed down like a cup of trophy. You allowing the passing down of quirks to become stronger is the first red flag. You have the resources to track down and kill them before it happens. Once is a mistake, twice is coincidence, thrice is enemy action. You are not a person to entertain such power for this long. Once or twice, maybe more than that, it is very, very unlikely. I don't believe it. Prove it, father."
"Ah, yes, let me then invite the people in the know to verify it. It's not like they believe I am dead or anything. How am I going to prove it, Izuku? Don't be ridiculous."
"Well, I don't want that to happen. I don't want the deaths on my conscience. Well, prove that you own 10% of I Island as you told me," Izuku said, hoping that his father would indulge him.
"Of course, that I can easily prove. Let me ask Kurogiri to fetch my documents," AFO said, exasperated.
"No, stop. You could easily forge documents. You may even have a helpful quirk for it. I will not believe this," Izuku said firmly.
"Then what am I to do? Izuku, you tell me, so that you can accept the truth you know is the truth deep down." AFO snapped
"Make me your heir. Burn the identity and make me the owner of 10% of I Island. Then I can visit the I Island as the new owner, and then I can trust your story," Izuku said, hoping that AFO wouldn't be angry and lash out.
There was a silence for several seconds.
" Izuku, what an opportunist you are. Well, what do I get out of this? I am giving up a significant portion of my legal wealth and income. I don't need you to believe me. So, what can you offer to sweeten the deal?" AFO asked with a condescending smirk.
"Please, father, what can I give you that you already don't have? Consider this a compensating gift for all the missed birthday and festival gifts for the last 11 years," Izuku said to distract his father while he thought of what he could offer with the least repercussions to himself.
AFO started laughing upon hearing this. "Oh, stop this, Izuku. You know I repaid that debt like a loving father by giving you that quirk, Boost. So, what is the answer?"
Izuku knew only one answer would suffice. "I will follow your plan. I will be your spy and attend UA when I am 14. I will be the decay in the hero society and break it from the inside while your heir Tomura decays it from the outside."
"Excellent answer, Izuku. You know how to sweeten the deal. You will have complete ownership in 10 days," AFO replied.
"Thank you, father," Izuku replied.
Flashback ends.
Over the year, Izuku visited I-Island two times as an owner. The first time was to visit, and the second time was to lease the ownership voting rights to a party on I-Island. He made a good sum without his father knowing, depositing it in an offshore account under a false name. His father was a right bastard, as even though Izuku was the effective owner of the shares, he couldn't do anything else with them due to his lack of the right age. So, he sold his right to vote via proxy and made the buying party his proxy until he came of age. Unknowingly, his father gave him the first opportunity to obtain a power that is essential for any kind of politics or war to conquer his father's empire: Money. For all the power quirks have over society and the personal power of an individual, money and influence are still king.
'Look at All Might. He single-handedly started the 'Mightless Movement' two years ago, and the reason it wasn't stomped by the HPSC or other powerful entities is only because of his money and influence. Even though All Might decreased the hatred and quirk discrimination, it was not eradicated. Many people follow the new standard set by All Might only because of his Personal power, not because of his influence as the Number One Hero or Symbol of Peace. What does the new generation care about the status or the value of the Symbol of Peace, when they have never tasted strife or war? And why should they care about All Might's Number One position if he himself doesn't care about it, as he said the same two years ago? It was a very foolish move by All Might,' Izuku thought to himself. 'I wonder whether All Might recognized the irony of his entire movement; that any improvement for quirkless, weak, and villainous quirks situations occurred only because of his personal power and him suppressing others view using his own power just like they did to the weak. It is just a continuous cycle of weak being suppressed by the goals of the powerful. And now, after careful planning and consideration from today, a day that changed his life forever two years ago, he decided to change his life again and walk a path of no return.'
Izuku has finally reached a crossroads in his life, with two distinct paths laid out before him. One path leads to All For One, where he would become a pawn in his father's insanity and villainy. The other path leads to All Might, where he would be a pawn in a hero system that is decaying and outdated, established by the powerless during times of chaos and war. These two paths, forged by blood over 200 years, represent the dichotomy of All For One and One For All, his father or All Might.
Izuku is enraged that he must choose between these two sides. Throughout his life, he has been heavily influenced and shaped by the opinions of others. Bakugo's belief that he was worthless without a quirk, the teachers' abuse based on his quirkless status, and All Might's smile inspiring him to become a hero—all have played a role in shaping Izuku's path. Now knowing his helping nature before the Incident, his father subtly threatens the lives of others to manipulate Izuku into fulfilling his wishes.
Tired of being told what to do and influenced by others, Izuku decides to break free from these constraints. He vows to make his own decisions and follow his own desires. Whether it involves saving someone or taking a life, Izuku will act according to his own reasons, not the influence of others. For him to live a truly free life, he understands that he must confront the two titans of Japan—the hero and the villain—who hold immense influence over society as a whole.
Izuku has realized that he was the latest victim caught in the war between One For All and All For One. While he has been hurt more by All Might, he acknowledges that All For One is equally responsible for his suffering through inaction.
Finally, as the thoughts and decisions raced in his enhanced mind, Izuku Midoriya decided that he will not be a pawn anymore, and he will walk a path created by his own hands, not the Old Titans'. He shall achieve his long-term goals on his own terms, and for that to happen, he had immediate goals to achieve his ambitions. He should be free of his hatred and must have his revenge for the events that occurred two years ago or it will always hold him back. There are many people who are responsible for his mother's death, and Izuku couldn't achieve his ambitions while his revenge is not complete.
First were the heroes, Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Backdraft, three heroes who have been in house arrest for 2 years while redoing their fast-track hero course again. If they ever return to their hero jobs, they will regret it. Similarly, as long as the sludge villain is in jail, he is safe. Now, that only leaves the Old Titans, AFO, and All Might himself. One, a devil in human form trying to destroy society as it is and reign as its emperor, and the other, a benevolent god for the masses who keeps society afloat.
As midnight approached, Izuku thought about his father and his power. How could he ever fight against it without being obvious about it? Izuku hoped he had enough time to build his own base before he had to leave his father's camp. Until then, he would continue to play the perfect son.
On that day, his father came into his hospital room. Izuku hoped for some kind of positive interaction, but fate seemed to be against him even before his birth. He was only an experiment to his father, not born out of any desire for family in his old years. After leaving with his father that day, Izuku hoped that the several red flags in their conversation were just his paranoia. But, as usual, his instincts were correct.
When he saw The Doctor for the first time within a week for examination and training his quirk, Izuku realized that his father and the Doctor believed he hadn't recognized him from his childhood. How could he forget the complete disregard in The Doctor's face when he said Izuku couldn't be a hero and proclaimed him Quirkless? He couldn't, of course. The moment he recognized the Doctor, he realized that his father had carefully observed his life from outside.
Izuku understood that his father had observed him getting abused for his quirklessness and had done nothing. Moreover, his father had observed his mother being overworked to support their family, even though he had millions in his accounts to fund the Doctor's crazy experiments. Anger burned in Izuku's heart, but he remained a Deku before his father's might. He somehow managed to smile and maintain a normal façade that day.
From that day forward, Izuku observed, snooped, manipulated, and did everything in his power to learn everything about his father's plans and empire. Over the two years, he learned many things about the empire and understood that it would not be easily destroyed or conquered. So he trained and followed AFO's training sessions as best as possible.
For the first year he spend training and discovering what his Quirk could actually do and the weakness of it. With careful training and skill Izuku discovered that there is many difference with his father's AFO. Izuku has hidden the most important benefits from his father and the doctor. After the quirk training was physical training by Kurogiri and Gigantomachia. The only thing he will ever be grateful to his father will be his quirk Boost. It was truly an awesome base quirk for him, when for All For One, it's almost useless even as a base as AFO has to consciously keep the quirk active. For Izuku he didn't has to be consciously keep the quirks active, once made permanent it will be active till he switched it off.
"You can come out now, whoever you are." Izuku called out. He had felt someone coming to the rooftop and observing him for some time now. Izuku looked back and saw a hobo looking man with bright yellow goggles and tape draped in rings around his neck and upper body.
"Please get off the edge now, I don't want to be alert all the time, kid," Eraserhead said, clutching his capture tape loosely, ready to act if the kid jumped or fell accidentally.
"No, thank you. I am comfortable here. I don't want to bother you, Eraserhead," Izuku replied, turning away and gazing back at the streets below. Eraserhead was surprised that the kid recognized him. The kid looked familiar to him too, but he couldn't place where from.
"I am coming closer, don't panic," Eraserhead said calmly.
"Why should I panic... Oh, you thought that I am going to jump and commit suicide? Don't worry, I am not going to jump. I am here to think and observe, an important location to me. Why should that be your first observation?" Izuku said, raising an eyebrow.
"Important location?" Eraserhead said, finally connecting the dots. "Green hair, 12-13 age, important location... Quite morbid, kid, to come to the place where you lost her on the anniversary. Many people go to the cemetery to talk, not the place they lost them."
"Impressive as always, Eraserhead, sir. I will never visit her in the cemetery. I have only been there for the funeral, and it was enough. I don't want to picture her lying dead in the coffin. I want her last image to be saying she loved me and giving me the greatest gift. It happened here, so here I am."
Eraserhead thought about the quirk activation being the gift he was talking about and became cautious without knowing Izuku was talking about Pull itself. To value a quirk more than life is concerning.
"Activation of your quirk in such a circumstance is not a gift, Midoriya, especially not from your mother, as she lost her life in front of you, after all. No parent wishes that," Eraserhead stated firmly.
"Oh, activation of my quirk is definitely not the gift I spoke of, sir. It was something else. No one will understand it now. Don't worry, you will come to understand what it is in the future," Izuku replied, feeling the warmth of his mother's quirk pulse under his heart like a hug.
Eraserhead, who had been calm until now, was definitely wary. Intelligent, suffering from trauma, abuse in childhood—all the necessary things for making a villain.
"That is quite alarming to hear the way you said it. It's almost like you have some dangerous plans for the future," Eraserhead remarked, trying to fish for information.
"Ever the hero, sir. Don't worry, I have no plans for going villain. In fact, you will see me in UA Hero course in 2 years' time," Izuku reassured Eraserhead.
"Quite the boast with an attraction quirk. Anyway, try your best, kid. I suggest some therapy as well. It's a must for you to have some closure before you start becoming a hero," Eraserhead advised.
"Oh, Eraserhead, sir. Don't worry, I will get closure. I am working on it, actually." Izuku said with a knowing smirk.
"Anyway, what are you really doing here? I don't think it's a coincidence," Izuku inquired.
"Meeting you is, kid, but me being here is not. Last year, on the anniversary of the event, a quirkless person tried to end his life on one of the rooftops in this street. After consoling him and talking, I learned that many people have great hopes because of you for the future. Since it started here in this street, many consider it an important place for them—a place where hope was reignited. But the hope didn't meet his expectations. Even the Mightless Movement couldn't help him for a whole year because of heavy workload. Thus, he decided to end things. So, I want to prevent any such incident this year. That's why I'm here until you came and sat at the edge," Eraserhead explained.
" You shouldn't have saved him. You should have let him die, Eraserhead." Izuku said sadly.
Eraserhead was taken aback by Izuku's statement. "Explain, right now," he demanded.
"There is nothing to explain. I understand the feelings he had. Two years ago, I stood on this very rooftop and nearly jumped. I stopped myself not because of cowardice, but because it would have devastated my mother. So I chose to walk away. I had the power to choose. You took that power away from him. He felt powerless and worthless his whole life, and one of the only things he truly controlled was whether to live or die. And he chose to end his life. You should have respected his choice and not pushed him to more misery and sadness," Izuku explained firmly.
Eraserhead sighed, feeling the weight of Izuku's words. "Midoriya, that's a terrible way to think. With this mindset, you'll never pass the hero course. We should help even when the party doesn't want the help. And for your information, I helped him contact All Might's agency and assisted him personally. He was working a job and living a happy life, last I checked."
Izuku scoffed in disbelief. "A happy life, you say? Did you talk to him or did you just assume because you saw him working and still alive? I'm almost certain that he's only alive because you intervened and felt enough guilt in rejecting your help."
"Maybe, but he's alive and helping others. So it's a win situation for me," Eraserhead replied.
"Whatever," Izuku muttered, unconvinced.
"So, kid, when are you leaving? I have to complete my patrol and sleep. Please go home," Eraserhead urged.
"Don't worry, Eraserhead, you can leave. I'll be gone in 10 minutes. I'm not staying out any later, as I have an important meeting tomorrow morning. I promise I'm not going to jump; I have many things to achieve," Izuku assured him.
"I believe you. Then I'm going. See you never, problem child," Eraserhead said before leaving.
Izuku waited for 10 minutes, sensing whether Eraserhead was still there with his enhanced senses. As he sit there and the clock strikes midnight, Izuku vowed that he will be free to choose his path and decided to start the first step in his war by acquiring 'Double' tomorrow. Even if it doesn't work as he guessed it will be helpful, but if his guess was correct, then it will truly be a gamechanger.
Once he felt no one around, Izuku took out his phone and called Kurogiri.
Eraserhead watched from the balcony of an apartment opposite Izuku's building, five floors above. He observed as a portal opened and Izuku vanished through it. Witnessing a warp quirk in action, Eraserhead was very much surprised and made a mental note to check the quirk registry for the owner. Knowing someone with such a useful quirk might be essential down the line.
Authors note: Read, Comment and share!!