After another hour or two of the greenette just rocking back and forth, sat on the ground he finally worked up the strength to stand, trying to ignore the urge to throw open the toilet and let out the contents of his stomach.
"Huh? Midoriya? I didn't see you come back…" Todoroki said as he looked up, confused upon seeing the greenette. The marked teen didn't say anything, just trudging his feet along to his bed. "Are you ok? You look ill."
His feet gave up, and his body collapsed onto it as he let out a noise between groan and some kind of sob, gripping his blanket.
"Midoriya?!"
Another sob. It was his fault… he was a monster… just like he always knew he was…
"Midoriya!"
Another. He wasn't a hero… All Might should have never chosen someone like him…
"Midoriya!"
And now Todoroki sounded like Nana- Wait, what?
"Hey kiddo, come on, it's me." Nana muttered, rubbing circle's into his back. He lifted his head, eyes still filling with tears and turned to see that all the holders were there with sympathetic gazes, Nana and Aneko closest to him.
The Outsider was also there, right at the back leaning against the wall with a frown.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…." Izuku muttered, unsure what else to say. "I'm not… I'm not a hero…."
"Hey, don't ya ever say that!" Ruki said, pushing forward. "You are just as much a hero as the rest of us."
"No… I can't… I cant…"
His breathe hitched and he was shaking. He felt like his own body was actively fighting against him. A hand grabbed his own and his eyes briefly met Aneko's who seemed to share his hurt.
"We're here, kiddo, it's ok. Just let it out." Nana told him, running a hand through his hair. "I wish I knew what to say…"
Midoriya just swallowed. How could anyone know what to say here?
"Everyone. Please, let me talk to him." A new voice the greenette didn't recognise said, and Midoriya looked down to see a man with soft brown eyes and white hair standing there. He looked young and so… weak. "Hello Izuku. I'm the first holder of One for All."
The greenette's teary eyes went wide.
"And I ask you don't panic, when you hear my name was Shigaraki." He said, with a small bemused smile and despite his request the marked teen shot up immediately. The man turned, opening the door behind him and gesturing for him to follow. "Please, follow me. There is something I would like to discuss with you."
Midoriya stood up slowly, and the other holders nodded at him to go so he made his way out, finding the front door to the house open. He hurried down the stairs and came out into the cold inky void, where he saw Shigaraki staring out into the distance.
"I'm sure you have questions." The first holder said, scratching his neck. "Not all the answers are mine to give however. Well, actually they are but it would be more ideal if All Might revealed them as he has already promised to do."
"Wait so are you related to Tomura Shigaraki then?" The marked teen had to know, walking to his side. To his relief he supposed, the man shook his head.
"Not exactly. Not by blood anyways. You are reeling from the choice you had to make at the hospital today." It wasn't a question, he said it completely assured of his own words. "You think you did something bad, you think you committed an act of evil."
"Because-"
Before the greenette could argue, Shigaraki placed a hand against his head and suddenly he was flooded with…..
So much hate…. So much desire to hurt others… Not even shadow walk could compare… and so much lust for power, coursing through his veins….
Then Shigraki let go and left the most recent user to gasp for breathe. "You and the Outsider are not the only ones capable of magic. Not while we're here. We can't do nearly as much as you two but this place is made of magic, anyone here can learn to manipulate it at least a little. It's how i've been spending my time here, just learning."
"What was…"
"That? That was my brother." The first holder shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, turning to the student with a serious gaze. "A man who has more than once been called the anti-thesis to the symbol of peace, the symbol of evil. All for One."
Midoriya's eyes widened, as he looked up. "But, I've heard that name before. I thought he was just a myth…."
"Look around you, at all this magic, Izuku. There is no such thing as myth, only memories that have been forgotten and vaguely remembered. Perhaps exaggerated but…. All real, to some degree." With a sigh, the man sat down on the edge of the void rock, seeming to struggle to do it. "Those feelings, the came straight from him, linked up to your empathy. THAT is what true evil feels like, and tell me, did you feel anything even slightly close to that until now?"
"N-no…." Midoriya shook his head, confused.
"That's because you are not evil. You claim you aren't hero, but do you want to know what I think?" Shigaraki didn't wait as he stood up, walking back towards the house. A big smile was on his face as the other users were their, waiting. "I think you're more a hero than the rest of us, because you've been one when it really matters. When it isn't possible to save everyone. You saved so many innocent people you don't even know from that one action. That's not something to lament."
With that, the first user disappeared inside and Nana turned, hurrying over to him. Before the greenette could even react, her arms were wrapped tightly around him.
"I promise, kiddo, no one is against you. We're all here for you, if you need us." She said, rubbing circles in his back and after a moment he embraced her back, as Ruki and Aneko came over to him as well, the rest of the users just watching with silent smiles.
"Yeah, if anyone did say anything we'd sock them in the face." Ruki laughed, ruffling his hair. Aneko flicked the plant haired woman's ear, before turning to Izuku.
"Well, we shouldn't be getting violent." She said as she placed a hand on the greenette's shoulder, before smiling wider. "But, she's not really wrong. We'll always be right here for you, if things are ever getting to be too much."
"Thank you…" Midoriya muttered quietly, just revealing in the embrace for the moment. A rather familiar noise sounded behind them though, and a voice spoke up causing them to separate.
"How sentimental." The Outsider said, bored as ever. Something about his gait though seemed to indicate whatever he had to say was fairly serious. "I hate to cut the whole emotional thing short, and to bring this up so soon after your little breakdown in there but thing's still aren't over. I know you know, I can feel it in your mind."
"Right, yeah…" Midoriya sighed, rubbing his hand against his forehead. "Kiyoshi wasn't the only demon there. He talked to that other one in the storage closest, what was his name… Minori! That was it. I knew there might be demons out there but Minori seems like he's currently active and if he is…"
"…And the pattern holds, then no pro will be able to do anything to really stop him." Ruki finished, before letting out a frustrated growl. "Shit!"
"In regards to said demon, I have bad news, good news and really bad news, in that order." The Outsider revealed, disappearing and reappearing as he paced about. "The bad news is I have no idea where he currently is, much like all demons. The good news, I know how to find out and exactly where to go to find out said information."
"And the really bad news?" Midoriya inquired, raising a brow. Somehow, he could already sense he was really not going to like the answer.
"To find out, you'll need to go to the Abbey of the Everyman outpost again." The god said, and Midoriya groaned as he began to pace himself. 'Of course. I couldn't just have to have a lovely date with Hagakure and have her somehow know and tell me. Why did I go to Hagakure for- NOT IMPORTANT!' "Naozumi, the foolish oaf, has managed to get his hands on genuine information regarding this demon I believe. Unfortunately, it appears he's found a way to hide this information from me. I've only heard of it from him talking with other overseers."
"Oh, well isn't that just peachy." Midoriya said with a roll of the eyes. "I don't know what you expect, I can't just walk in and ask for that information now. I doubt that would go over well. Only way I could get in is If I used my powers. If I'm seen doing that, things could get so much worse."
"Good thing your powers have a natural inclination towards stealth then." The Outsider said, mouth curling into that creepy unnatural smile as he clicked his fingers. All to suddenly the scenery changed and Izuku looked around to see a sort of run down destroyed city area. "Look to your mark."
Doing so, the greenette was surprised to see it glowing bright. Looking up, he also saw Sotatsu, Aneko and Kenji had been brought with him.
"Bit boring but I just tampered with your mark to speed up the unlocking of a new power." The Outsider said, smirking once more as he walked over, gesturing for Sotatsu to come over. "I already told these three what to expect so, I would like you to test your new power with them. Just put your mark towards Sotatsu and focus on wanting another face."
The greenette did as he was told, walking towards the man who could see the past, reaching out as he leaned down. 'I want the face of another…'
His marked glowed once more and suddenly light shot out, wrapping around the man's face and pulling into the marked hand. Suddenly it stopped and Midoriya's eyes went wide as he saw his predecessor's face.
It was now covered in a stone like residue, much like how the villain Shigaraki's quirk left someone's body before they disintegrated. It certainly didn't make him feel at ease or help his stomach when Sotatsu dropped into the ground.
"It's alright. He's just unconscious." The Outsider assured, before turning to the other two past holders. "So, you say what you see now."
"You… you look exactly like Sotatsu…" Kenji muttered, walking forward.
"Wait, really?" Midoriya asked, surprised as he looked at himself. The only visible difference he saw was a stone mask in his hand, he still felt the same. "I don't see any differences…."
"You even sound like him, though." Aneko said, hurrying over and taking a look around the back.
"Semblance, this is called. The ability to steal another's resemblance." The Outsider revealed, teleporting to be sitting on one of the roof's. "I knew you wouldn't really be rushing to use possession, what with your bleeding heart. You have the ability to quite literally steal another's face now. Look at the mask in your hand by the way."
Midoriya complied, and cocked his head as he saw it fading away.
"Once that has gone completely your disguise has disappeared, and you are back to looking like yourself. You only have five minutes with every face." The outsider explained, clapping his hands together. "Once that's done, you'll have to wait twenty four hours for another chance. That's how long it takes a face to be restored."
"And does the face really need to be left like that?" Izuku asked, sending away the disguise by his own free will instead. He really was not fond of the stone substance it left.
"Not much I can do about that. The alternative would have been much worse by your standards. It's just an irritant for them, don't worry about it." The black eyed deity assured him, before letting out a small yet eerie laugh. "And after this, a question will be answered with whatever power comes next. You seem, you should only come to possess once more active power after this. That's how it commonly plays out."
"Really?" Midoriya asked, looking up. A mixture of excitement and disappointment flooding him. He couldn't wait to find out what the next thing he could do would be, but at the same time it would be over, no more new powers which would be somewhat sad.
Still, he wasn't really complaining, it wasn't like he didn't have enough.
"Like I said, that's how it commonly plays out. You are anything but common though, so this might not be the case at all. I just thought I ought to warn you what might be coming."
Before Midoriya could say anything to that, the floor suddenly fell beneath him and he started to fall back as the others stayed behind.
"Good luck, my dear Izuku. And remember, your best opportunity will be next Wednesday."
With that, Izuku fell out of the void.
Then he woke up with a start, bolting up in his bed.
"Ah! Midoriya, you're awake!" Iida observed, jumping back from the sudden movement. "Are you ok? Did you have a nightmare of some kind?"
"S-sorry, Iida… it was nothing. Just really not good with hospitals…." The greenette waved away, leaning back and groaning. "Where's Todoroki?"
"He's healed up just fine so they decided to discharge him. I'll likely be going home tomorrow with you." The blue haired teen explained and Midoriya just let out a little 'ah' as he turned, grabbing his phone. "So, we'll be going back to U.A. soon."
"Yeah, barely did anything with my internship." Midoriya muttered, pulling out his phone while his taller friend frowned.
"I apologise about that." He said, looking away.
"Hey, it's not your fault, I'm the idiot who broke his arm and got myself stuck here." The marked teen defended, as he scrolled through his contacts, coming up to a familiar one.
The Invisionable girl 3:
The Invisionable girl 3: Hope you get better soon, all of you. I can't let you go any place. Me and Jirou are right for being worry warts if you do stuff like this – Yesterday
You: Hey, I'm sorry about worrying you all. Tell you what, why don't I make it up to you along with everything else I've done. I'd love to come over to your house without being shot and spend some time with you. – 01:09PM
The Invisionable girl 3: Yes, I'd love to! Any idea when? – 01:12PM
You: I was hopeful for this Wednesday? I'll be free then. – 01:17PM
The Invisionable girl 3: Wednesday it is! I can't wait, though don't tell Jirou but I might just spend the whole time holding onto you to make sure you are safe. 01:20PM
You: Uh, t-thanks. See you then. – 01:22PM
Midoriya had a light blush on his face now, unable to get the idea of just snuggling with Hagakure out of his head, though considering the alternative thoughts he wasn't complaining.
He did let out a guilty sigh at how he was going about getting to the abbey though. He would have to make sure he made it as fun a visit as possible for her to make up for it.
And as he thought about it, another thought occurred to him while he was there.
'Time to find out how they made a whole room disappear as well.'