Chapter 36: The Weight of History, Part 5

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Reborn! _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Third Person, Unknown Location

A small green light in the rough form of a male human floats in the void. Across from him is a small skyscraper sized net of red, filled with a nearly uncountable number of smaller lights of all colours and intensities. Midoriya Izuku finds himself staring down the apparent mental representation of All For One and his Quirk of the same name.

"So, Midoriya Izuku. You've stumbled and fumbled your way into my trap. Weeks of slowly amplifying your emotional instability and the severity of your responses, the careful maneuvering of pieces to ensure that you would lose touch with the gift that my brother gave you, ensuring that my brother was awake to help you, all of it has lead to this moment. This perfect moment where you have two options. You can either die here like the insignificant pawn in this grand game that you are, or you can join-"

"Shut up." The green man/boy mutters, the soft green flares of light representing his eyes flickering as if he rolled them.

"Pardon?" the red net pulses a little, the only sign of any emotion remotely similar to the confusion it's conveying.

"I said shut up. God, it's like nobody listens anymore. Blah blah blah, master plan, everything was a ploy, pawns in a cosmic game of chess, join me or die. Riddle me this, fuck face: What's several generations old, looks like a shit had a baby with vomit, and can stick it's proposition where the sun doesn't shine? Here's a clue. It's you." A deep sigh seems to rumble through the empty space.

"I see you're uninterested in saving not only yourself but those around you and that foolish 'Symbol'. What a shame. I was curious about this strange self-propagating Quirk that you have, but I suppose i'll just study it after I rip it from your warm corpse." with that, a strand of red unravels from the giant net and lashes out at Izuku's avatar.

Staring at it dispassionately, he does nothing as it wraps itself around his torso and arms. It then starts to slowly squeeze, but he still doesn't react. Looking 'upward', for lack of a better phrase, Izuku starts talking once more.

"So, not gonna show up, huh Blank? That's fine. I'll just have to talk to you next time we meet, which should everything go according to plan will be somewhere between 'when pigs fly' and 'the end of time'."

"Praying to some God, are you? How pitiful, especially since you refused the deity before you. If you repent now, it's not too late-" Izuku's 'head' tilts back down to face the red net as a flare of green light envelops him.

The red whip tries to instinctually tighten and shred Izuku's avatar form, only for the green light to shred it, leaving not even pieces large enough to identify in this colourless void. Izuku rolls his right arm for a moment before raising it and his other arm to face the red net palm first.

"Burn. Burn like everyone else who's ever tried to control me. Burn like everyone who's ever stood in my way. Burn like the pathetic, weak, human that you are. Burn away until nothing remains.

Taking a deep - albeit completely unnecessary - breath, Izuku centers himself mentally and emotionally, and lets it all burn. His anger, his rage, his depression, it's all kindling. His memories are the spark, and his willpower, his Determination is the flame.

He doesn't let go of it, but rather forces it to let go of him. Izuku allows his emotions to flow through him without any barricade, any filter. He releases his grip on himself, and allows himself to simply exist. Everything that had happened up until this point is meaningless, and burns. All of his worries about the future, his plans and backup plans, it all burns.

Some parts burn brighter than others. His love for his mother, the joy he felt being with his classmates, the camaraderie he felt with Katsuki, and of course the inferno that is his love for Momo and Ochako. Those emotions burn bright like a supernova.

Some parts burn darker. His anger, his fear. The memories he clings to of his former life. His hopes to one day return and show his loves the world that made him who he is, tinged with the sadness of knowing it will never happen. The raw, unadulterated hatred he has of the entity in front of him. His exhaustion at constantly having to do something, be somebody, put on some sort of show for the rest of the world.

He let's it all burn, and in that moment he can feel his Flames again. In that moment he can watch as each aspect unravels and changes. His determination to never get hurt or let another hurt that which he loves. His love for not only his girlfriends but also all of his friends, and his desire to always be together. His desire to make it so that his friends are strong enough to defend themselves, and that if they ever do need his help he'll be more than strong enough for them and himself.

He watches as the Lightning softens and Harmonizes with the Sky. He watches as the Sky Hardens and sharpens itself and BURNS brighter and brighter until it becomes a beacon to ward off any who would wrong those it's claimed. He fuels his flames with his love, his hate, everything that makes him who he is until the line between man and flames blurs and warps until it shatters. It is not a flickering fire, or a weak cry. It is Thunder, and it's roar will shake the earth.

As it's mental form begins to unravel and burn itself from the inside out, it begins to grow brighter and larger, consuming everything. It consumes everything that makes Izuku who he is until all that's left is the Thunder. It consumes it's connection with One For All. Images flash by.

A scrawny young boy standing up against his brother for the first time. Using his power to SHIELD both himself and those whom his arms can reach. The First.

An extraordinarily tall man with hair like a bomb with the power to CONCENTRATE his power into his fists, creating explosions of wind and energy. The Second.

A slightly shorter man with hair shaped like a pineapple, who learned how to FLY with his legs to reach those who needed help faster. The Third.

Another tall man with black and white armor made of his bones, which he learned to SPREAD to increase his power even further. The Fourth.

A short chinese woman who gave a new definition to ELECTRICITY when she punished wrongdoers with her sparking fists. The Fifth.

A funky looking man who used his shadowy tendrils to CATCH those who needed a hand, even if it was to protect them from themselves. The Sixth.

A woman with black hair and a mole, who used the power to speed up herself and her reactions so she'll NEVER BE LATE again. The Seventh.

A Shining Yellow Flame, not yet dead, who had taken the gift he was given and used it to ensure everyone had a SMILE on their faces at the end of the day. The Eighth.

And finally him. The Ninth. The latest and possibly last torchbearer. the one who had INHERITED the wills of not one but two worlds. The one who would either BURN away the root of this century long feud or BURN himself trying.

Back in the first layer of his psyche, the echoes of Kaen and Nana stop as their world is enveloped in emerald flames. The representation of Izuku calming down and catching on fire itself with a serene smile on its face. They watch as everything BURNS, becoming fuel for the raging fire that they can feel building under the surface.

In the real world, the Eighth pauses as the Ninth freezes in place. Sparks begin to fly around their head and hands before emerald fire erupts from their mouth. Tilting their head back, they roar at the sky as the flames begin to escape from their skin all over, wrapping them in a bonfire that bathes the area in an ethereal light that only glows brighter and brighter with each passing second.

Back in the void, the emerald flames begin to flicker out their tongues and lap at the red net. The net shrinks back and the lights within flicker in a multitude of emotions. The voice returns, shaken but not dissuaded.

"This is your solution? To sacrifice yourself in some feeble attempt to destroy me from within? I must admit, had you been a bit faster, or your power a generation older, it might have worked. Unfortunately for you, you do not burn hot enough to do little more than irritate me."

The flames do not respond, and in fact they curl back. Before the net can gloat over it's victory, a solid spear made from the flames shoots out, impaling the net. When it retracts, an inhuman screech of pain escapes the net as it's torn apart from the inside out, and several dozens if not hundreds of lights escape their prison.

Instead of escaping however, they flock to the flames. They throw themselves into the pyre, sacrificing themselves. As they do so, small snippets of sound escape them one last time. Voices, dozens upon dozens of voices that cry out in near-synch.

"I̵̺̳͐t̴̝̾'̵̝̂͛s̴͕͖̎ ̶̼̖̇ṱ̴͆́i̷͔̇m̶̘̒͛e̶̝̍.̵̣̾ ̶͙̌̔I̴̺͗ṯ̵͝'̸̈́ͅs̵̰̍̊͜ ̶̘͒̓t̶̤͂i̶̲̠͌m̶̬͛e̶̠̩͆̓.̵̯̝͌ ̶̟̕Ỉ̶̯̈ṭ̷̩̊͊'̴͈͍͐s̶̻̀ ̶̩̮̔̚t̶͎̉̚ͅi̷͓͔̓͌m̸̱͂̀e̵͍̪̕.̷̤̈͛ͅ ̶̖̺̾T̶̲̋̂h̷͔͊e̵͚͙͋ ̸͖͝p̵̹͉͛́a̶͔͛i̸̮̒̆n̴̢̂ ̸̙͎̓̿s̶͈̙̄̀h̶̛͎ͅâ̸̢͓̅l̵̰̲̈͝ḷ̸̹̑ ̷̛̮̋ȩ̶̿̾n̵͕̏̍ḓ̵̀͂.̶̡͔̌ ̸̘͔̓T̸̯͍̏̓h̷̻͖͑͐ê̷͈̾ ̷̣͇͌̂ḟ̶̜l̶̖͘a̵̜̐̔m̵̨͐͋e̴̟̎s̵̟̿ ̶͉͎͝s̷̻̎͠h̶̲̱̿͝ȃ̴̬̗͝l̶͙̜͐͐l̸͈̇͑ ̷̢̝̆͠ḃ̷̨ù̶̖͈͆ř̷͈͌n̵̟̮̈ ̸͚̀t̸̮͘h̶̼̿ẽ̶̝ ̵̟̳̽͝ḑ̴̛ḁ̶̥̆̈́r̵̛̤ḱ̷̫͉n̵̻̬͌̀e̴͍̱̐s̶̠̍s̴͍͛͒.̸̹̳͝ ̵̨̼̀T̶͇̙͆͛ḣ̵̺e̶̬͚̓ ̴̦̮̅̆f̶̙͑̍l̵͉̹͒̐a̵̪̞̎m̶͔̣͗̚ȇ̶͎s̶̩̄̐ ̷̜̉ẇ̸̭̬i̵̧̝͗͠ĺ̶̙̘l̷̙̘̾͘ ̶̬͔̉̉d̷̢̝̄e̸̛͓̥̿s̶̬̊t̶͎̹̽͒r̵̟͗̏o̷̥̙͋y̴͕̬͗ ̷̛̭t̸̯̱̑ḩ̴͚̐ḛ̸̜̂ ̵̹̺͠ș̶̆h̶̩̥͆̈́ȃ̴̡̯̽d̶͖̒̿ò̸̗̼ŵ̵̝͋s̶̭͝.̸͕͉̂ ̶̨̎͝T̷̽̄ͅh̶̬̟͊è̵̪̼ẏ̶̧̱ ̴͚͎̅w̷̛̯̯̓ị̶̭͛̚l̵̻̭̒̀ḻ̴̙̋̒ ̷̲̳̍e̵͎̒͠n̵̘̜̓d̸̪͑͝ ̴̞̬͝t̷̙̕h̸̰̟̒̎ȇ̶͉ ̵̠͌͜ö̵̞n̵̹͓͆̈́ẻ̴̳ ̶̛͎͛w̵͉̦̿h̵͎̑̈́o̷̲͙̿ ̶̲̮̓͘s̴̘̞̎̄ţ̴̀o̶̘͍͆l̸̥̓̚è̷̦̼̎ ̷͇͆͊ṯ̷̤̽͆h̶̰̑̆e̷͚͂ ̸͓͖͋̄l̶̟̊ȋ̷̩͕̊g̶̙̠͆̅h̶̞̋ť̶͓̣̍.̵͍͚̄"

The flames do not continue assaulting the net however. They in fact begin to wrap themselves up, tighter and tighter, condensing themselves. Slowly they take the form of a human once more. Almost as much flame as they are solid, their eyes open, only for the previous light green fires to be replaced with golden orbs radiating fury.

"I suggest you leave me alone, All For One. I'm tired of playing games. If you just sit in your corner of the world and let old age take you, then I promise that I shall not seek you out. But know this. If you so much as lift a finger against me or mine again, I shall make your pain today look like a bee sting. I shall make your death slow and painful. I will BURN you, cell by cell. I will BURN you slowly enough that your nerves have just enough time to heal themselves before being subjected to the pain all over again. I will make you wish you had never been born with a Quirk. I swear this on the graves of my ancestors, the names of my mentors, and the very fire coursing through my veins. Test me on this, I dare you." and with a flash of green light, Izuku's avatar disappears from the mental plane entirely.

Back in the first level of Izuku's Psyche, First Person

I allow myself to appear in my subconscious, fazing in as easily as if I were merely waking up from a dream rather than...whatever the hell you call what just happened. Taking a look around, I whistle in surprise.

Place is different, to say the least. Gone is the lake of blue water, small island with grass and occasionally a tree, and rainbow sun hanging far too close to the ground. It's also devoid of people, which i'm not sure if i'm happy about or not yet.

Instead of all that my mind looks a lot like some sort of throne room. A throne room without a roof, or walls, or an actual throne. So it's nothing like a throne room. Good job Izuku. What IS there is a black marble path with columns of various stones that reach infinitely into the sky. On either side is a white void, nothing to be seen as far as the eye can go. The path itself leads to a large golden basin that houses a green Flame that's ten times my size at the smallest.

Walking up to it, I stick my hand in the flame. It feels nice. Like being able to think clearly after having a bad headache for a few days. Or getting a full nights rest after an all-nighter. Taking another step forward I stand fully within the flame, letting the calming sensation wash over me.

I take a seat, crossing my legs and bringing my hands together. I take deep breath and let my mind calm down. I really, really need to collect my thoughts. The last few days have been rough, and that's without the Big Bad trying to exacerbate issues.

A few stray emotions and thoughts cross my mind as I recall the last few days, but I let the flame take them. They're unimportant. Huh, this whole 'complete calm' thing probably isn't all that good in the long term now that I think about it. Even the small amount of worry I have over the possible negative side effects of burning away all my emotions disappears as fast as it can manifest. A balance perhaps?

True i've been too caught up in my emotions lately, not even telling Momo and Ochako about the whole 'losing my powers' thing, but there's a nice middle ground between that and complete emotional death. Well, might as well start with calming this raging bonfire.

I close my eyes and let everything flow through me. I let myself become angry, I let old worries and paranoias take root again, and I let my heart tie itself down to the people I love again. I'm not sure how long it takes, but I eventually open my eyes, and i'm pretty sure i've balanced myself out again.

Standing up, I crack my neck and take a look around. The path is still there, but now the pillars extend into a wide blue sky with the occasional puffy white cloud floating by. There's also now ground on either side with grassy hills going out until the horizon, and occasionally a few cherry blossom trees sprout out from the ground, the pink petals in full bloom.

Hmm, everything looks good. Now, I should probably wake up here soon. I have no clue how long it's been in the real world since I fell asleep and it feels like it's been days. OH FUCK I HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT'S BEEN! What if it's already morning and the girls can't wake me up?! Already, chill Izuku. we can handle this. Just think really hard about waking up and-

The Real World, about thirty seconds after Izuku's body caught fire

JESUS CHRIST WHY DOES EVERYTHING HURT?! Fucking hell, it feels like someone took my body and used it to practice some MMA. It also burns for some reason. Opening my eyes, I figure out at least half of that whole situation rather easily.

I'm on fucking fire. Emerald flames, so it's my own power, but that then raises the question of why the hell my power is active. Okay, let's take a quick inventory, shall we?

I'm in a city, scratch that i'm in the wrecked ruins of the fake city urban training area. Makes no sense but we'll worry about that in a moment. Next up, Yagi is there in muscle form, looking like he just went three rounds with an oddly determined train. And my body is currently burning itself away and putting itself back together piece by infinitesimal piece. Plus it kind of feels like someone shattered most of my bones and then shoved them back in place, then put some duct-tape on it and called it a day.

Channeling as much of my Flames through my body as possible only increases the pain for a moment, but slowly I feel my body starting to heal faster than it's breaking down. The emerald flames covering my form start to die down a little, and I take a moment to look in one of the few not shattered pieces of glass in a nearby window.

My hair is floating around my head, looking more like fire itself than hair, and my body is bare except for the tattered remains of my sleep pants. Across my body are a few thick green lines that glow in the dark. They look kind of like tattoos, except for the glowing bit.

In total there are eight lines, all of which start in the middle of my back in a circle. Two curl up my neck and end just below my eyes. One curls down each of my arms and legs, and two trace down my back a little before twisting over my sides to go up my chest before curling over my pecs.

I feel...good. I feel strong. A surge of confidence rises up in me. I have my powers back! Izuku Midoriya is back in action! I look up from my now clenched fists, and lock eyes with Yagi. A wide grin stretches across my face.

"Young Midoriya? Are you back with us?" I ignore his question. All of this energy just bursting at the seams needs to go somewhere, and I just found the world's best sand bag.

"I have no idea what just happened, but for some reason I don't really care. My blood is boiling. You better dodge this attack, Yagi, because i'm not sure I can hold back."

Not really giving him the time to prep, my burning body moves. I don't really run, as my feet just barely ghost over the surface beneath them, but regardless of the physics of it I end up in front of Yagi in less time than it would take a speeding bullet. In my perspective though, everything else is moving so painfully slowly. I can see the individual movements in the strands of his hair, and the twitches in his muscles as they scream in protest to the speed he's trying to use them at. It's like watching an action movie in high definition and slow motion.

I pull my right arm back. It's still so slow, but compared to Yagi I must be moving at speeds comparable to his 100%. I see more than feel the raw air pressure from me pulling my arm back start to rustle the debris around us. I really shouldn't punch him, but I NEED to do something with this power before it starts burning me out, and he's the only person I know of that I can hit at full power and they'd stay standing. Well, probably.

I start to swing my fist, and I take the seconds - in my perspective at least - to really admire the way that the flames engulfing my arm sway and flicker with the wind. The way that the air pushes against itself as my fist pushes it out of it's way. Oh, would you look at that, a sonic boom in the making. Never seen one in slow motion before. The ripple is almost opaque and spreads out from the epicenter of destruction that is my fist. The green line that trails down my right arm glows brighter for a moment, and it's like a pulse of energy travels from my pine to my knuckles. Is that what One For All looks like in action? Fascinating.

I almost forget to keep my fist moving, i'm so enraptured by what i'm seeing. It's hard to keep track of the fact that i'm processing a few milliseconds at a rate that feels more like half a minute. I watch as Yagi nearly explodes with effort, focusing all of his might into moving out of the way of my attack. To his credit, years of instincts beaten into him along with his Sun Flames and whatever embers of One For All still burn within him actually allow him to move out of the way, though just barely.

My fist passes all of a single centimeter away from his cheek, a small tongue of Thunder Flames licking at him but not doing any actual damage, and all of the sudden everything snaps back into normal speed. A massive crack, similar to that of a clap of thunder, fills the air as does a cloud of dust. I can feel the asphalt and concrete underfoot crack and shatter from the forces at play above it.

The emerald flames covering my body start to flicker and then fade out. The green tattoos fade away as well, though faint traces of them remain visible. they look much more like tatoos now. My hair falls to my shoulders and i'm once more struck with the thought that I should get that cut here soon.

The dust settles, and me and Yagi can see the carnage that i've wrought. The building behind him, which already had a person sized hole in it - from what, I have no clue - but now the building is just...gone. As is the building behind it, and so on for four blocks. The last one actually looks like the air pressure from my attack had turned the buildings between me and it into shrapnel that pulverized the front of what was probably supposed to look like a flower shop.

I think for half a second about gloating to Yagi about how epic that was, but the moment the last vestiges of my Flames fade back into my core, i'm so...incredibly...tired.

I think I'll just take a nap...just for a moment. Oh boy, that asphalt sure looks comfy, and is approaching at high speeds and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Reborn! _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AN: What's up fuckers? Jk, ya'll know that I love you right? Well, here's the absolutely thrilling conclusion to the Weight of History Arc. I mean, we get one more chapter where we go over the ramifications of what the hell just happened, but you get my point. Now, for those upset by me skipping through things like this, let me ask you: would you really be happy with me slapping together fake backstories, motivations, and lessons that the other users could teach Izuku? Probably not, and it'd take another ten chapters to get through it all. Also, just want to point out two things. Firstly, a certain reviewer may or may not have guessed where I was alluding to with the knife. Good on you! I figured that the bullets had to have had some sort of basis in history, or else Over-Dick wouldn't have had anywhere to really start. And I firmly believe that "He stumbled on the answer to his search by sheer chance" to be a bullshit answer that only exists to move the plot where it's needed. The Wright brothers only knew they could make a plane because they saw birds flying. you don't make shit up without at least a general idea of how to start. Anyway,s moving on. Second thing to point out: yes, that was All For One, and yes his appearance here and the actions taken will have consequences for all involved. Mainly the 'gutting' Izuku gave him was a way for me to rationalize a literal centuries old guy with the power to STEAL QUIRKS could somehow not be so damn overpowered that he's literally unbeatable. Like seriously, he only used like ten or twelve Quirks in the whole time he fought All Might and Torino. Are you trying to tell me that in several centuries he's only found twelve Quirks that might be handy in a fight? Bullshit. and before anyone says anything about Handsy being the successor to AFO, and Botox the Ad had passed AFO on to him therefore weakening him, allow me to say this: Fuck off, you non-manga scrub. So far, there's been no indication that Shigaraki so much as actually HAS AFO in the first place. It's been strongly alluded to I suppose, but there's NO EVIDENCE of it so far. He only has the one Quirk, and we've yet to see him hijack someone else's Quirk, so until the source material says otherwise, i'll just assume that AFO the dude still has AFO the Quirk. Meaning that there's no conceivable way that All Might beat him using raw physical power. Seriously, in all of history, AFO never once hijacked a 'poison mist' Quirk, or a 'Terrakinesis' Quirk, or a 'I can melt your bones with my bare hands' kind of Quirk? Sounds like bad writing to me. Anywho, I should probably stop myself there before I add another two K words to this story just in a rant about how AFO could have been so much more than they hyped him up as. For now i'll see you guys next time in Gof 9 on the 8th, and again in HAR 37: Super Saiyan Green on 6/22.

Signed,

Phantom Drache