Hey guys! Okay so first, I know I said it would be like two weeks but I was hoping it wouldn't be lol so my bad for that, the end of the semester was honestly kicking my butt (still is). Cheers though because I'm (mostly) finished until August! Updates should kick back up again with the one a week, maybe 2 since I'll only have work to worry about (no promises). Anyway, I hope you all are doing well, enjoy!

"You've gotten yourself into a perilous situation, little badger." Izuku opened his eyes to find him in the middle of a darkened cave, thousands of glowing gems surrounding him so though the area around him was dim, it was never dark. Oma sat across from him in a lotus position, her fingers steepled together as she looked at him impassionately. Her hair was pulled back out of her face and secured with a red ribbon, where it came from- Izuku didn't know. "We spirits have the ability to change our appearance at will depending on what we see as a reflection of ourselves at the moment little badger, your predecessor employs this method quite often."

"She does?" Izuku tilted his head, the thought distracting him from the danger that awaited him back in the waking world. Oma gave him a small nod, the corner of her lip quirking up minutely.

"Oh quite often, you've experienced it yourself with her flickering through her traditional regalia and her uncustomary style that she grew quite fond of during her times with your other predecessor."

"My other-"

"There is no need to play coy, little badger." The gems around them seemed to glow impossibly brighter as the air around them warped and shifted, and had Izuku been in his human form the hairs on his neck would have raised. "We have known since the forceful merging of Raava with your meta ability, your quirk as you call it. Raava was most displeased even though she herself had foretold this possibility, though I do not expect that she thought it would happen this way." Oma gave Izuku a kind smile, clearly sensing his confusion. "Alas, I am not the right person to explain this to you, and your spirit guide is currently out of commission as she gathers her energy."

"Gathers her-"

"You interrupt people a lot, don't you kid?" The masculine voice had Izuku whipping around, eyes narrowing as green eyes came to rest on violet ones. The man had his white hair pulled back into a short ponytail, quirking a scarred eyebrow up at him before a rattling cough shook the man's chest and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, offering Oma an apologetic look as they both witnessed the disgust crossing her face. "My apologies, my lady. Thank you for connecting us once more, Raava was-"

"Less than cooperative? I should imagine. I shall take my leave little badger, but I leave you with one last piece of advice. When they come for you if you cannot take to the skies, go below." She rose to her feet fluidly and turned around, the cave they were in disappearing, and then Izuku was alone with the man in the strange area with a blackened sky and rocky ground.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have a lot of time. First, though, have you figured out who I am?" Izuku stared at the man a moment longer, flashes of memories that didn't belong to him zooming through his mind before he gave a short and wary nod.

"You're Shigaraki Aiko, the first holder of One For All." At his full name, Aiko flinched and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't go by that name anymore, Nine, but you're absolutely correct. And since you know who I am, you inevitably know the danger that you are in. My brother...Youkai- All For One, he seeks your destruction." Izuku frowned at him, mind racing.

"But why would he specifically target me? Does he know I'm the Avatar?"

"If he didn't before, he does now because of your hero name. You're a double target kid, being a bender and having our quirk."

"But anyone can have an elemental quirk-"

"But none of them rely on martial arts in order to use them, do they? Or if they do, it's rare. Youk- All For One isn't an idiot kid, he's a planner. For him to target you now in the specific and public manner that he did is sending a message, a message that is only partially for you." Aiko's voice died out, leaving Izuku to mull over what he had just been told. Only a partial message? But who else could it be...No.

"No, he can't-"

"But he will. I hate to say it kid, but you're the bait. All For One is using you to lure out Eight, and then when the time is right he'll kill you both." White hot rage ran through Izuku so violently that his form wavered, cracks appearing in the area surrounding them as a violent wind suddenly swept up. Aiko watched him impassively, stepping back and out of the way of a particularly large crack that nearly gave way.

"I won't let him kill Yagi-San, I will slaughter him myself before I let him hurt anyone I care about ever again!" The conviction that laced Izuku's voice would worry him later, would petrify him with the realization that he had been ready to kill for the second time in nearly 24 hours, would make him wonder if he was becoming a villain or losing his sanity- but that time would come later. Not now.

"I know you won't kid, we have luck on our side. One thing about All For One is that he never staked many claims in the spirits, the spirits already having withdrawn from our world at that time. With his extinction of the benders, any thought that he might have had about the spirits would have vanished. I know Sena already told you this, but the solstice is a time where the barrier between the spiritual world and the human world is at its weakest, and the connection between the two is at its strongest. The spirits have never had a reason to walk the world in the last century and a half, and they honestly still don't but at least one spirit does-" Whatever Aiko was going to say was suddenly halted as the world shook more violently than it had when Izuku had experienced his anger, the sound of Aiko's voice suddenly disappearing as the man's violet eyes widened. He lunged forward, arm reaching out to grab Izuku but fell short as an inky black substance suddenly swallowed him whole, yanking him out of the spirit realm, out of wherever he had been with Aiko, and back into the mortal plane.

Yagi had experienced hurt before. He experienced it at a young age with the death of his parents. He had experienced it again as a teenager at the death of his master, he had experienced it again when he had a hole driven into his side that signified his death, and he had experienced it again when he lost one of his closest friends over not retiring as a hero.

So yes, Yagi Toshinori knew about hurt. Still, this hurt he was experiencing right now eclipsed any faded feelings of hurt he may have experienced before as he sat on the wooden floor of his bedroom, bony knees pulled against his chest as he glared at the smoking ruins that had been his phone, crushed in his hand after Tsukachi had called him and told him that his successor, that Midoriya, that the child that he fondly regarded (almost like a son) had been taken by the same man that had killed his Master, and Toshinori had not been there to protect him. He had not been there to save him.

He was 18 again, purple flames blazing all around them. Scratches covered his cheeks and his arms as he stood side by side with Nana, both of them glaring down at the man who smiled down upon them, looking amused by the entire situation.

"You need to go." The woman next to him whispered, blood dripping down the corner of her mouth. Similar scratches littered her body, her outfit dirty from where she had blocked an attack that had been sent at Toshinori. Blue eyes widened at her words as Toshinori whipped towards her, discarding the enemy for a moment.

"Sensei, I can't-"

"You can't let One for All die with you, Toshi. You need to go." If Toshinori had been known for anything, it was being stubborn and it could be seen in the way that he anchored himself in his position, shaking his head firmly. "I wasn't giving you a choice, kid." He went to open his mouth but suddenly he was swept off his feet, a yellow cape billowing in his face as Gran Torino darted in and grabbed him, making a quick escape.

"NANA!" The scream ripped itself from his throat and he reached his arm forward, tears pooling in his eyes as he screamed her name again. A yellow glove-covered hand pointed at him as purple eyes turned toward him and gave him a smile.

"All Might. I'm counting on you." Another scream ripped itself from his throat as an explosion resounded through the area, sending Toshinori and Gran Torino flying backward. He never saw Nana again.

Pulling himself out of his memories, he rose to his feet and shoved his feelings away, adopting his All Might persona. Toshinori may be useless, Toshinori may be weak, but All Might wasn't. All Might saved everyone that he could with a smile, and he would bring Izuku back with that same smile if it was the last thing he ever did. Making his way out of his bedroom, he grabbed the landline that he had sitting in his living room, one that he never used but liked to have in case of emergencies and dialed Gran Torino's number, a frown deep across his face as he waited for the man to answer.

All For One wouldn't take anyone else from him, never again.

Izuku was cold. He sat in the middle of what looked to be an infirmary, only it was bare of any of the supplies needed in an infirmary and instead just housed a single metal chair, one that he was currently sitting in. His ruined pants provided no protection from the coldness of the chair, his ruined hoodie provided no protection from the coldness of the room. He had been brought here sometime in the night, maybe an hour ago? 2? He couldn't tell.

He tapped his bare right foot against the ground, not daring to move his left one that still ached and throbbed. After most of his left shoe had been disintegrated by Shigaraki, the villain (who Izuku thought they called Twice) had carefully wrapped his bloody ankle with a white bandage (one that was now stained pink) and took his right shoe off, citing that he didn't need it and that only one person could wear red shoes in the bar at one time. Izuku didn't know where that came from, and he couldn't bring himself to care. His mind was racing at speeds previously unrivaled as he tried to think of a plan to escape, tried to think about anything he could do to get out of the situation he was in, but the first thing he had to do was conserve his energy. It was why he wasn't using his fire to keep himself warm, he didn't want to risk expending energy on something that wasn't imperative (despite the fact that he could get hypothermia if exposed to cold enough temperatures for long enough, but it wasn't nearly as cold and it was probably just the slow settling panic that clouded his mind that made him think that way).

He had to think, there had to be something that he could do in order to escape-

"So, you're Midoriya Izuku. I'm sorry that we couldn't meet in better circumstances." Every thought in Izuku's head went silent and died out as an overwhelming sense of danger washed over him like a tidal wave, his body freezing in its spot as the previously locked door swung open and a man dressed in a black suit strode in confidently, a black mask covering his face with tubes exiting his body.

"All For One." He whispered quietly, the man coming to a halt in front of him. His arms were folded behind his back and Izuku was given the impression that if he could, the man would have been smiling benevolently at him.

"That man has mentioned me to you then? I shall consider myself flattered." The light tone sent shivers down Izuku's body, broken fragments of that same tone being used floating up in his mind.

"Avatar Sena, you flatter me. It isn't every day that a man is threatened by a beautiful woman who doesn't seem to know her place."

"Aiko, my dearest, foolish otouto."

That sweet tone was almost always followed by disaster in Izuku's memories. He could only think about what that meant for him. "I'm sure you're wondering why you are here." Izuku stayed silent, green eyes watching the man as he began a slow circle around the chair where Izuku sat. The greenette had to force himself not to turn in order to follow the man's motions. "Shy are we? It's alright, I have experience dealing with shy people, young one. I suppose I shall indulge you this once, especially since Tomura was so eager in greeting you. I do offer my sincere apologies for that, he tends to over excite easily, especially when doing something that he knows shall please me." Izuku's ankle throbbed at the reminder and he dug his fingers into the tattered remnants of his pants, chewing on his lip. "Indeed, I do confess to finding myself pleased. It isn't every day that I get to meet All Might's successor. Or the Avatar. Isn't that right, Midoriya?" A hand placed itself on his shoulder, All For One standing directly behind him as Izuku's heart dropped straight out of his chest. A light squeeze told him that the man expected an answer.

"I-I don't know w-what you're talking a-about." The grip on his shoulder went from a light grip to fingers digging in his bare shoulder, a low drawn hiss escaping Izuku's lips before the grip suddenly disappeared, the hand lightly settling across his shoulder again.

"I should have set the ground rules earlier, and for that, I dearly apologize but I do detest liars and I would greatly appreciate it if you did not lie to me."

"I-"

"Avatar Deku. That is your hero name, is it not?" The man continued on as if Izuku had not been speaking, removing his hand and continuing his slow prowl around Izuku. "Where have you heard that phrase?"

"W-what do you want from me?" He dug his fingers into his thighs, desperately trying to anchor himself and stop himself from falling into the descent of panic that he was feeling. He had to stay focused, he was a hero in training, he would go through worse things and All For One wasn't even hurting him, he needed to keep it together-

"I suppose it doesn't matter, since I snuffed out the last Avatar and can easily do the same to anyone that tries to rise in her stead. But I digress- What do I want, Izuku? I want the destruction of the man who destroyed everything that I had." The silken words drifted through the air and All For One stopped his orbit, instead kneeling down so he and Izuku were face to face as the man raised a hand and cupped Izuku's cheek, gaining amusement from the pure fear and disgust that radiated from the boy's body. "And I want him to watch as everything that he cares about is destroyed in front of him. Including you." The hand gripping his cheek moved to his forehead, the hand covering his entire face. Izuku only had time to see the palm glow white before hot agony raced through him, his mouth opening in a silent scream as wisps of green and white seemed to float away from his body. He felt an ache deep in the depths of his soul, almost as if someone was trying to tug an anchor out of its spot, uprooting the land around it and creating a wound. The pain traveled down, down, and down until it came to an abrupt halt. Izuku could faintly see the image of a man with white hair standing in front of two figures that were curled in a ball on the ground, one with a shock of green hair, the other with black, a glowing spirit draped over them like a blanket. The white-haired man's arms were crossed as he glared forward, his eyes covered, and then the pain suddenly receded and Izuku's equilibrium shifted as he abruptly found himself back in the bar that he had been taken to at first once more, body slumped listlessly on the ground.

"Someone get him off the floor-" Was the last thing he heard before his consciousness fled and he found himself kneeling in the middle of a familiar rocky terrain, one that now held a violet sky with stars in it.

"Nine, Nine you're alright he can't get to you here-" A violent ripple shook Izuku's form as he knelt against the rocky terrain, Aiko's voice coming through distorted almost as if it was underwater. Izuku's vision was blurry as he tried to focus on the man, tried to read his lips but it was for nothing as the rocky terrain broke apart and Izuku was falling again, only this time when he landed he was caught by something soft, something wet, and something extremely cold. A shiver wracked his body as he sank through the snow, falling through until he came to a stop in the middle of an area free of snow, and full of warmth. Something wrapped itself around him, swaddling him in something even warmer than the air around him.

He blinked owlishly, the cold having shocked him back to awareness, clutching what he now recognized as a fur parka closer to his body. The scent of freshly fallen snow and lavender wafting off of it calmed him, reminding him of evenings spent huddled up under his blankets next to Sena as the girl whispered ancient stories to him when he woke up from unknown nightmares, staying with him until he was able to fall asleep.

"You have returned Young Avatar, the time is nigh." A woman appeared in front of him, white hair half pulled up into a top knot and secured with a pin that showcased a crescent moon, the bottom half spilling down her shoulders in waves. Grey washed blue eyes peered down at him as Yue offered him a kind smile, standing in front of him.

"Lady Yue, how- how did I get here?" His thoughts were still jumbled together and clearly, Yue could see it from the way she approached him and knelt down, placing a cool hand against his feverish forehead. The tint of green that normally accompanied him on his trips to the spirit world was dull, almost nonexistent.

"It would seem that Aiko has finally managed to reach you on his own without using us as a bridge, though it would seem his method has left a lot to be desired. There is still a lot that we do not know about your souls in conjunction with each other, something like that has not been seen before. If I could describe it, you and Aiko are islands and Raava is the ocean separating you both from fully joining. However, that is not why we are here, is it young Avatar?" The slight glowing of Yue's hand sent relief through Izuku, his green light brightening the smallest amounts. "That is all I can do for you for now I'm afraid. As you have doubtlessly been told, the summer solstice is one out of 2 times of the year where the barriers between the spiritual world and human world are at their weakest. This is why I am able to interfere as I am now as the solstice approaches. So tell me young Avatar, do you remember what I told you?" Izuku's eyebrows furrowed as he forced his brain to work, sorting through his interactions with Lady Yue-

"The answer you seek lies below." She had told him that before when he appeared on the tundra. "You will be the first to gain these gifts, and you will be the last. When it is time, the help that you speak shall be found below in the Spirit Oasis. When it is time, you will be brought here once more and we shall meet again."

"I do, my lady." Izuku still didn't know what he was seeking, but from the conspiratorial smile that Yue gave him, she knew.

"Good, Young Avatar. I shall take my leave." Giving him a closed-lip smile she turned around and disappeared, ignoring Izuku's protest as he rose to his feet, allowing the parka to drift down to the grass. His eyes roamed the area and he slowly made his way over to the koi pond where Tui and La had once swum in together, but now the pond lay devoid of fish.

"It's said that Tui was once killed in this very pond and only brought back to life by the sacrifice of Lady Yue. I believe I told you that story though." The familiar voice drifted across the oasis and Izuku whipped around, coming face to face with a figure that had a dim glow of blue surrounding her. Her black curly hair was fully pulled up into a wolf tail, two strands of white locks hanging into her face as she gave him a smile without the normal reservations.

"Sena." He breathed and his legs moved without his consent as he threw himself at her, slamming into her body. His arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her chest, not knowing how he could do so but being extremely glad that he could as tears welled up in his eyes and his body shook despite himself.

"Izu. I told you I would always be there for you when you truly needed me." A hand threaded itself in his neck-length green hair.

Izuku closed his eyes and wept.

"Why am I here, what did Lady Yui mean by finding what I sought? And why is part of your hair white?" Sena looked at Izuku from his place on his knees in front of her, his hands fisted in the fabric of his pants. He had grown since the last time she had seen him, his hair now nearly touching his shoulders as opposed to when it was barely chin-length, his eyes looking years older as though his innocent light had been robbed from him. And in a way, it had.

"You're smart enough to figure it out without me telling you Izuku. How is your physical body doing?" Her tone was light but her eyes were raging with the force of a storm. The one time she had not been keeping watch on him he had been kidnapped, and Sena would never forgive herself for that. What could you have done? The words were faint and carried a distinctly familiar tone, soft and making it clear that it wasn't her fault. She knew it wasn't her fault but had she been there she would have wrested control from him and demolished them all for even daring to touch him- A hand on hers startled her out of her increasingly darkening thoughts and she found glittering emerald eyes peering into hers.

"It's fi-"

"Factual report, not opinion-based Izuku." Her tone was sharper than she wanted it to be and she winced minutely, but Izuku was far too used to her slip-ups to let them bother him anymore.

"Right, sorry. Left ankle was partially disintegrated by Shigaraki's quirk, I can't put any weight on it. Left arm is possibly sprained and deeply bruised but not as bad as before, it hurts a lot when I try to move it. I think my ribs are bruised but not too seriously." He recited this all with a straight face, used to the numerous times that Sena had made him do this after training sessions to make sure he wasn't being pushed too far. "All my injuries are bandaged though, someone named Twice did them for me."

"I see." Sena rose to her feet, dragging Izuku up along with her despite his squeak of surprise. Her eyes flickered over his body almost as if trying to check for the damage herself but she knew she wouldn't be able to see the true extent of the damage in the spirit world, and they had to make use of the limited time that they had. "Izuku." The green haired boy tilted his head towards her and she crossed her arms behind her back, blue eyes peering into green. "You have questions for me." It was a statement, not a question. From the way that his eyes flickered to the ground, Izuku knew exactly what she was thinking and Sena let out a heavy sigh before turning away from him, her back to the pond. "I was not a benevolent Avatar. I killed without remorse for the protection of those I had been tasked with protecting."

"Sena, what did you do-"

"I was not a kind person. I was brash and rude, uncaring and selfish. Above all, I was not a successful Avatar and as a result of that, I have left you with a mess that I should have resolved myself. For that, I wish to atone."

"Sena-" She turned around and there must have been something in her face that discouraged him from talking as the words died down immediately. She strode forward to him, enveloping his hands in hers. She slowly sank to the ground, shakily leaning back against the very same boulder that she had been about to attack with, her hand pressed against her stomach as she desperately tried to raise the energy needed to recall Raava, desperately tried to raise the energy to bend the crimson flowing between her fingers back into her body-

History would not repeat itself. Not if she had any say in it.

"I...I think I killed someone, Sena. There was a villain and-" His words died off as he suddenly lost the ability to speak, a signal that meant their time was coming to a close.

"Listen closely, Izu. Do not regret anything, regret is poison. If it was a choice you made then you must bear it and if it is a choice you would rather not make ever again then you need to get stronger so you will not have to make it. If it is worth anything, it is a choice that no one will blame you for." She forced herself to speak faster as Izuku suddenly began to fade away, his hand desperately reaching out for hers and she swung hers out to meet his-

"You will survive Izu, I won't let him touch one hair on your head-" And her hand met the empty air as Izuku fully disappeared. She stared at the empty space for a moment longer before swirling on her heel and walking directly into the pond. She moved with a purpose until she was standing in the middle of it, placing her fists directly next to each other. She focused on the place where she needed to travel the most, sinking into the depths of the water only to reappear moments later in a rocky terrain that had an inky black sky with shining stars in it.

"S-Sena? I thought you were still avoiding me." Blue eyes traced the mindscape as 8 figures slowly began to form in front of her, a man with white hair standing in front of them all.

"It seems that I can't any longer. I need your help, Aiko."