Everything was cold and dark in those few hours of the night. It's eternal null covering the world and beyond. He was alone, without friends or family, or even the tools of murder which he had grown so attacthed to. His skin was bare to the harshness around him, yet no one was there to mock. No birds flew in the sky, no insects chirped and buzzed. It was as if the whole of life had gone silent.
A figure stood in the distance, their form hidden by the darkness save for the glint of impossibly green eyes that stared enraptured by his being. Blue light flashed overhead for the briefest of seconds, illuminating the thick clouds of something denser than smoke just barely as seven shapes of people flew higher until they vanished. With their passing another light, this time green, painfully erupted from his own body and caused him to scream. It was short-lived as the light followed after the seven forms, leaving the youth to fend for himself in the darkness.
Then the figure raised what in the gloom might have been an arm and allowed a crackle of green and blue energy to surround it, revealing in the shadows a thing dressed in his old killing garb that had no legs, only an attachment to the floor beneath him that blended in perfectly. The light reflected off the golden mask was identical to the ones that fled, save for a noticeably darker tint. The thing flicked a finger and the lights grew before everything ended.
Izuku woke up with a start, though he wasn't in a cold sweat or screaming or crying which was progress if anything. The sweet smell of cinnamon rolls greeted him as the springs of the sofa creaked under his weight, still disorientated from the rather deep sleep he had after returning home. He recalled how he passed on his quirk last night...along with taking something in turn from his partner. The act of giving the power had left him with practically no energy to really train, so they decided to rest until tomorrow after the fact. That meant there was a long, hard path ahead for them once he got up.
However when he looked to the other couch, it was empty and her duffle bag was gone.
"If you're looking for Ms. Triathlon, she's out front exercising. The girl's been at it since four and she asked us not to wake you. I'd get up if you wanna catch her."
La Brava said as she sat at the dining table with Gentle, enjoying some of the sweet breakfast foods while the older criminal for once didn't appear bone tired. Izuku groaned a bit when his joints popped as he stretched, the half forgotten strain of his hero days coming back to prove a point. Throwing a greeting to the pair, he walked over in his nightwear to the fridge and got some cheap energy drink with enough caffeine to give a horse a heart attack. Normally he wouldn't stoop so low, but right now he had better things to worry about than his usual diet.
With his buzz secure he threw on his training gear and walked out the door, hoping against hope nothing would go wrong. However his answer would instantly be given at the sight of dozens of pieces of home made gym equipment littering the front of the building. Hana's signature blue hair bobbed up and down on a ramshackle pull up bar next to bunches of improvised weights made from garbage essentially. Shaking his head at how worn out he still felt, Izuku hurried down to meet up with her.
The first thing to speak to him was the smell. As soon as he hit the ground floor and walked out to the yard the stink of body odor made itself known. The second was the puddle of sweat gathering under Hana as she went about her routine, all around the "equipment" were similar spots of moisture. The third came about when she finished the last rep and fell to the earth, grinning with more passion and joy than he had ever seen on her.
Steam rose from her body like a machine pushed to the very edge of performance, somewhere between failure and perfection as she cracked her knuckles meaningfully, eager to start.
"Morning Darling, see you slept well enough."
A water bottle was tossed into her hands which she nodded in thanks for.
"Yeah and you didn't, it's nine A.M., you should have taken it easier. Believe me, you don't wanna push it."
More steam rolled off her skin as the remaining water was drenched over her, all the while she held onto the feeling with an iron grip.
"I believe ya, but now I have something important to do. So I gotta train and train hard, otherwise it'll go to waste and the last thing I want is to let you down."
Izuku smiled slyly at her. Grabbing the bottle he tucked it away and admired the set up around them.
"That's sweet, but if you pull a tendon or pop a muscle then that'll really set us behind."
She tapped him in the arm while making sure to kiss him delicately on the cheek.
"Touche, anyway let's get moving. I've been dying to finally test this out."
Izuku rolled his eyes fondly at his sweetheart.
"Maybe after you rest a bit and I set this stuff aside before the management gets on us."
Hana raised her hands in defeat as the endorphins started to wear off and left her in more than a little pain.
"Fine, but answer something for me."
He hefted the pull up stand around himself and started to move it out of sight.
"Shoot."
Redness colored her face as the question came to mind.
"Between me and that...girl, who made you feel the best?"
Steel clanged on his skull when he heard that. Instantly he wanted to shut his mouth, but for some reason he just felt more...at ease.
"Well, considering not once during the entire thing did I wonder if you were going to kill me, I'd say the point goes to you...but if I'm being honest my memories are a little spotty."
She scowled at him expecting some lame joke.
"Oh really now? What do you mean by that?"
The last of the weights got shuffled out of sight as he gave her his best attempt at subtlety.
"I mean I have trouble recalling how good it was with you, seeing how everything else that happened. So as I see, the only way to remedy that is to...refresh it. Maybe tonight?"
Her blush grew by ten as she covered her chest in embarrassment.
"We'll see, for now let's get to the warehouse."
Izuku chuckled at her, earnestly loving every second as they poked fun at each other. It felt good to make somebody else blush for once and she threw it right back with equal taste. Soon after a few dirty jokes and a session of grabass or two, they arrived at their training spot, busted windows and all.
They went to their selected areas, stretched for a couple minutes and to Hana's eternal frustration, sat back down. Izuku, not wanting to risk any chance of injury to either of them, decided to explain before any practical attempts were made. Snapping the lid off his drink he leaned against the wall with an old stool supporting him while he tried to recall what All Might told him about the quirk.
"The most important thing you have to understand is that when you use it, there will be damage to your body if you aren't adjusted to the amount of force placed upon where you channel it. The reason I kept breaking my arms is because I didn't take the time to let my body adapt. I was reckless and paid for it, except we don't have a healer who can fix months worth of injury in moments. So today we aren't hitting anything or using it to amp up our run time. Instead, I want you to just get used to calling on it."
He moved over to the wrestling mats on the floor and gestured for her to follow. The sweat from last night was still staining a few spots as Hana grumbled about how much this sucked. Taking a cross legged position adjacent to Izuku, she listened while keeping the insane excitement inside her.
"Alright, now I want to breathe deeply. Enough to where you feel your entire core move, right down to the belly. Do it slowly and as gently as you can."
Air passed through her nose in methodical, meaningful rhythms as Izuku did the same. Her stomach flexed under the action like some ancient yogi as the tension faded. He took note of the example, deciding now to break the silence.
"Good, you feel that tickle in your chest?"
She nodded, suddenly growing more aware of a pulsating sensation between her heart and her spine the longer she focused on her breathing.
"Yes, what is it?"
He smiled proudly at his partner, crawling on his hands and knees to her side of the mat before wrapping his legs around her, crushing himself to her back and mimicking the placement of her hands. All the while being careful to keep track of her heartbeat.
"That's the energy of the quirk meeting your body's functions. It's merging with your adrenal glands and your nervous system so it can flow into the rest of you."
His hands held the bottom of her palms forcing them into fists while the rough skin supported the sensation of ever quickening pace inside her.
"Shut your eyes and think of something that makes you feel emotional. Anger, fear, joy, anything that makes you want to act. Picture it in your head and keep watch on your heart. That's what summons it forward."
Thousands of little images fluttered in her mind's eye, each causing some tick to her soul. The first real victory she ever had in gymnastics, seeing her father laid out on the floor of their house sobbing in apology, watching the UA sports festival for the first time, reliving the events of last night, all that and much more flashed in her head.
Each moment seemed to agitate the second heartbeat, making it spread beyond the middle of her chest and to the very tip of her spine to the base of her brain stem. A blush almost crept up on her when Izuku spoke like a coach, encouraging and supportive to his bare roots.
"Good, you're doing wonderful. Open your eyes but keep thinking about whatever is working for you."
She did just that, slowly coming out of the nearly meditative state to be greeted by the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Blue light flowed out of her body in short, thick arcs of lightning that began to fill her muscles with a mild numbness. The light was flimsy, leaving large patches of skin plain while others like her chest and arms practically flooded with the stuff. A deep desire to launch one of her fists out into the air possessed the girl, if only to see what would happen. Rearing her arm back she was set to try when Izuku doubled down on his hold over her.
"Easy, you're about to send the combined force of ten people into that. Like I said, just focus on getting adjusted to the feeling then we'll start punching stuff."
Hana snatched her fist out of his hand, suddenly disappointed at the fact and ready to argue her point about not being too worried. Then she saw the horrid scar on his shoulder. It's ugly, hardened skin faded white from age etched out the details of puncture wounds except far worse from how deformed the surrounding bits of flesh was. It was like something attacked him over and over again until the very color itself vanished from repeated abuse. Still sensing the second heartbeat pulsating over her, something appeared that took it over the edge.
Instantly the blushing, vampiric face of the monster who ruined so much of her life and the lives of almost everyone she cared about smiled the same gut wrenching parody that it made when she attacked Satio. Only now her imagination was egged on by the evidence before her eyes and the unholy things that journalist was so kind enough to warn her of after their interview. Scene after scene of that beast tormenting innocent people changed to Izuku being subjected to things unspeakable even to the worst of humanity.
The pulsating sensation expanded, quickly outpacing her natural heart which now felt set to burst, along with it the mild numbing transformed into a extrasensory explosion where she felt even the hair on her neck touch the air. The blue light fired around her in rapid swarms, throwing energy in and out at an astonishing speed as Hana stood up in a rage engulfed by righteous fury. The world was blind to her, Izuku's words drowning out in the tide of repressed contempt.
The very weight of the gravity around her changed from the pressure and heat she generated as she thought about only one thing. Capturing that sadist and making her pay for every last drop of blood she took. The picture played out in cinema quality in her head, however she was snapped out of it when a flare of tenderness attacked her right hand. Flinching at the surprise Hana flung her arm out on instinct, causing the joint to pop from the movement. More and more energy built on that part of her body looking as if it was now radioactive until multiple black tendrils launched out of her wrist, swirling in a massive frenzy that soon wrapped around a support beam and threatened to bend it.
A pair of strong, powerful arms grabbed her torso while the energy still rattled around the tendrils and her, taking them both into a sitting position. Izuku grabbed the back of her head and kissed her, hoping to take her mind off whatever was causing this. Thankfully it appeared to work as the support beam was released and the anomaly flowed right back into Hana's wrist. Yet the lightning from the quirk still thundered on enough to illuminate her like a Christmas tree. The blue haired woman held on to him for support as the drumming of both her heart and her given power slowly calmed, clutching him with a desperation that honestly filled the very pit of his soul with dread.
They remained embracing for what might have been hours before the light coming from Hana's body faded away. She looked at Izuku, amazed and ecstatic in only the way an adrenaline junkie like her can. She grinned madly, beating even Himiko for the depravity she wore as her entire being trembled from the crash, digging her digits into his back and breathing with excitement.
"Holy...what the hell was that!? I thought you said it only increased the force output of my body!"
The joy in her voice was very far from lost on the former hero who chuckled at the ridiculousness of it all.
"Well yeah, that's what it always did for me and All Might. Maybe it's different for you since you're the tenth person to use it. He didn't exactly get much time to explain how the quirk operated before I got kidnapped, so this is out of my expertise."
She squeezed herself to him, enjoying every bit of the heightened sense that happened from the rise in her emotions.
"Whatever it was, it was amazing! Can I do it again or do you wanna do something different?"
Izuku sighed at the instant reappearance of the blue light, realizing this was going to be more of a pain then he first thought. Softly pushing away, he stood and walked off the mat to the concrete floor.
"We're going to keep your training going like I said. Just follow my lead and do as I do."
An arm was extended out as he took a fighting stance and methodically inched his limbs to mimic the movements that would happen in combat, throwing his other arm forward after rearing the left back slowly. As he did so Izuku found a kernel of panic when he didn't feel the pulse of the quirk, no secondary heartbeat which should have accompanied his intent and emotions. Yet there was soon something else that answered, a flicker of what felt like One For All while at the same time...different. It itched at the back of his mind like an encroaching danger, but when his limbs began to glow with the familiar energy he couldn't be bothered to care. The light wasn't right though, too darkly pitched to what it usually was.
Still he was empowered by the numbness that proved to him that everything was normal. Hana crossed her chest, annoyed at his caution, but she stepped next to where he stood on the concrete and began to follow his motions. Soon the frown vanished from her and they grew into a silent symbiosis, the power slowly increasing all the while. It changed when she moved into his direct field of view and reacted to his actions, creating something between a mock battle and a dance.
"Hey Izuku, do you ever think about your mom?"
The ninth bearer raised an eyebrow as he "dodged" a punch thrown at his torso, returning it with one of his own aimed at her shoulder.
"I try not to, but I'd be lying if I said I don't."
The blue light illuminated around her body by another percent as she moved his blow with her forearm.
"Do you miss her?"
The darker blue swarmed out of his body as he fought back the thoughts that suddenly arose, careful not to break the routine that was between them. He partly glared at her, torn between shame and passive anger.
"Of course...can we please talk about something else? My mother isn't the most comfortable topic for me."
Hana bit the bottom part of her lip, upset at something he had done that was beyond his own sense or really any care. However to her credit, it had to be greatly important because energy crackled out of her enough to match the one who gave it to her.
"What if we went to go see her? So you can get some closure about what happened."
Izuku balked at the statement, his mind flat out refusing the idea before she even had the chance to continue.
"Yeah right, let's just stop by my mom's place for a chat after I've been gone for almost three years at this point, have next to no money to my name and am currently living with you and two others who want to stay away from any sort of trouble. Oh and not to forget the fact I murdered over fifty people, sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon and not get captured by every law enforcement agency in the country."
Hana scowled with all the disappointment of an older sibling. The flow of energy arching up around her body in response as she followed his example and danced slowly to allow her muscles, bones, joints and tendons to adjust to the force flowing to them.
"But it's your mom. You haven't seen her since you were kidnapped and as far as we know she thinks you're dead. The risk is worth it if you get that closure, I mean, this can at least get you back in touch with who you were."
He snorted, stifling a laugh as the darker toned lights spun around him, raising an arm and letting it fall in rhythm with his lover as they moved in lockstep.
"Who I was doesn't matter when it was that long ago. The poor woman has enough drama in her life without me barging into it, best to leave sleeping dogs alone."
A click of the tongue came from the tenth bearer of the quirk when she heard that. She grabbed the hand thrown her way and lightly tapped the center of his belly
"But you always say the past defines you. That's why you keep those things around, right?"
He flexed his torso when they began to turn, barely increasing the output as he changed the position to where he was now standing behind her by stepping to the side.
"Your point being?"
Hana felt the very tips of her fingers tingle with electricity all the way to her feet as every cell was becoming accustomed to the change. Twisting around to restate the space until they fully traded spots, the numbness shifted into a noticeable tingle that rested just under the skin.
"My point is that if you believe that, then the entire past matters. Not just the bad and the ugly, you have to accept the good and you clearly are cherry picking what you remember. I saw you on national TV inspiring countless people, I read online about how you took down Stain, I heard about how you beat back the attack on the USJ and more. That happened and to try and pretend it never did is wrong."
Izuku scoffed at the facts, enjoying the session less by the second.
"History won't recall it like that, my mom won't because I was a monster, plain and simple."
His body grew tight in the dance when she stepped closer, the flare of her power flowing out in arcs and intertwining with his in an odd, pleasantly warm sensation that increased as the friction did as they moved. Hana gave him a no nonsense gaze, speaking frankly without a hint of humor.
"No, you were a victim to a group of psychopaths who abducted you and mentally tormented you into acting that way for survival. From what you've told me, if anyone would understand that it'd be her. You miss her dearly and you need to close that loose end before anything else happens."
There was a pop in the air when he grabbed the lower part of her back with the dark blue starting to enwrap around her and the sky blue around him. He thought reluctantly on the matter, for once appearing without pretense or falsehood on how it made him feel. A deep sadness overtook him. Holding her as close as he dared with their quirks feeding off one another, he nuzzled his head into her shoulder and found comfort when she stroked the back of his head.
He didn't speak for a minute with his conflicting thoughts before he gave in to his emotions. The strength in his arms amplified with One For All, taking her closer in the bind and to his endless gratitude she returned the act while he tried to keep himself in order.
"I just don't want to risk losing you because of my own bullshit, or worse La Brava and Gentle too. Of course I miss my mom, but we already have a life, a good life that I'm amazed everyday to have with you and them. Nothing in the world is worth risking that, so if I never get to speak to her again to keep it then that's the price I'm willing to pay."
The formerly quirkless girl smiled melancholically at her lover, finding a sense of justification in his words. Taking him by the tip of his chin she leveled his head so they could be eye level, caressing his cheek with her thumb as she did.
"That...is a fair point, but think about it, you may not get the chance later. Our living situation isn't the most stable and with all the craziness going on in the world I think you should take it before something else happens. Besides, I said I'll always help you and I meant it."
Warmth flooded Izuku's body in the most literal sense when the arcs feeding into the both of them grew, crackling with an almost overwhelming feedback that caused them to cling harder. Pursing his lips, he wanted to fight against the stupidity of the moment, to say that it was foolish to threaten everything for his sake. Yet there was a part of him, the childish, idealistic part that he needed to kill that practically infected his being whenever he thought about the girl holding him. Soon came the image of him hugging his mother and feeling the reassurance she alway brought and then it morphed into seeing Hana introducing herself in that headstrong way he knew she would and watching how maybe, just maybe his family could at least include her in some vague way.
Sighing in defeat despite the creeping smile upon his lips he let go of his student and retook his original fighting stance.
"Alright, I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no either. We'll leave it up to Gentle and La Brava since there's risk in it for them too. For now, let's get back into it, shall we?"
Hana returned the grin with an unspeakable satisfaction which burned at watching the cynicism disappear from her best friend. Taking up the opposite stance she allowed more of the quirk to surge.
"Let's get on it then."
Hours passed by in the pleasant company of the pair, the frustration lost in the fun. Not a bone broke that day and to Izuku's deepest pride he saw how Hana could handle three percent of the quirk safely with her movements. Of course like an over eager inventor she wanted nothing more than to test with a punch, a kick to something before the day ended, but as was his responsibility to her, Izuku refused that. When the sun had started to fall their tasks were done. However they remained far longer than they should have once the focus shifted away from the combative, both went home blushing from the act and Izuku felt lighter than air when the apartment complex was finally back in sight.
In the haze of the moon above it seemed like he had entered paradise where the streets were clean and the air was sweet and only good things looked to himself and those he loved. Hana was around his arm like nothing in the whole world could hurt her, smiling with all the joy she deserved in Izuku's eyes and her eyes reflected a kind of golden glow through the scratched lenses of her glasses that let him know she felt the same. The ugly red of the front door swung open when they finally arrived and there came the soothing sounds of Gentle's recordings of classical music granting a boon to the mood as the couple stumbled in.
The man himself was in a bathrobe on the couch, a cup of tea on the coffee table, a book in his hands and La Brava asleep on his side with a blanket between them. He gazed up, happy to see his children back home. Setting the book down he gestured to a pot of tea, careful to not wake the woman of the house.
"I assume you two had a good time, did anything interesting happen while I lounged about?"
Izuku let go of Hana, moving to make a cup for himself and her.
"Not really, but there is something we want to ask you about."
Gentle rolled his eyes jokingly, expecting anything from needing money to wanting a debate about this or that. However his expression changed when a string of blue light came from Hana, crackling around her quietly as she waited with anticipation. Quickly Izuku followed his line of sight and shrugged.
"We'll get to that later, but-"
Gentle stared at the supposedly quirkless girl in concern, raising a hand to stop his ward.
"No, explain why she's...glowing like that first."
Izuku never got the chance to answer because Hana took her tea from him and planted herself down on the opposing sofa, her power popping out at every chance.
"He gave me his quirk."
The older criminal's eyes bulged out of his skull in surprise, waking La Brava up as he readjusted his seating.
"What!? How is that possible!?"
Izuku shrugged again, hoping to get the mood back to where it was before. Which was unnormally easy to do.
"I have that ability and I can't really explain how I can do that anymore then anybody else with a quirk."
The older man gapped in astonishment as he watched the light flow out of the girl.
"But how can…"
Gentle calmed by a small margin, the wild haze vanishing as he decided that now was not going to ruin his night. Questions upon questions sprouted up, yet he merely waited until the time proved more opportune to ask. Inhaling after sipping his brew and leaning into the cushions with La Brava still being half drunk from waking up after a deep sleep he patted her softly on the head and returned Izuku's shrug while holding up his hands in surrender.
"That's good enough for now. Just tell me there isn't any danger to what you did."
A laugh came from the younger two who now sat apart from their seniors. Gentle might have given a stern glare but either he actually trusted Izuku's judgement or was too relaxed to care when the other man spoke.
"No more dangerous than my own quirk, though she needs to be careful because if she uses it wrong then that's a lot of broken bones. Anyway, we wanted to ask what you'd think if I wanted to...go visit my mother."
There wasn't the expected tension that both of the younger outcasts thought was coming as Gentle studied him for what felt like eternity before he tugged at his now neatly trimmed beard, contemplating the idea. Instead it appeared more akin to casual thought and thankfully there was none of the immediate signs of him dismissing a plan, but it was still up in the air.
"Why exactly do you want this now of all times? It's been quite a while since you joined up and while I'm not exactly against the idea, you understand how much risk is involved from both the heroes and your old "friends" finding you if they keep an eye on her."
Izuku shrank back at the statement. Heroes he was more than willing to fight because he knew winning was easy, the League was a completely different story...with a far worse ending if things went sideways. He could see the old man leering at him with that mask while he was dragged back to hell and that was if he got extremely lucky. Yet like a light shining in darkness, Hana spoke up with a boldness that made her seem invincible.
"Don't worry, I'd be there with him and now that I can really fight we don't need to be afraid if things get bad."
She raised up a sparking fist to increase her point.
"We don't need to fear them, not now or ever again."
Gentle took this in with a hint of fatherly pride at how sure she sounded, turning to La Brava who was now fully awake as he waited for her opinion of the matter. She stretched on the couch, her short stature not impeding her movements at all before sitting up.
"I say we let them go, Gentle. Izuku needs to see his mother before anything else happens and Hana does have a point. When does caution start turning into fear, you know?"
The silver haired man weighed the voices around him as everyone waited for his verdict. Thinking deeply on every gain and loss he could see, Gentle soon found his answer.
"Fine, but I'll be in touch and you both will flee if any problems arise, do that and I'll allow it."
Izuku froze, unable to truly process what he heard for a few seconds. Then slowly a smile came over him that none had seen in a long, long time.
"Thank you Gentle. I'll make good on it."
The man nodded, glad to see the response fostering such a change in the youth.
"Don't thank me just yet, since you're risking our necks, how about you make us some steak tonight?"
Izuku held onto his smile, finding a deeper joy that added atop his already good mood.
"It would be my pleasure."
That night when everyone had fallen asleep Hana tossed and turned in her sheets. Izuku was ten feet away completely gone in his slumber while she continually felt the power surge within her again and again to near painful levels, illuminating the dark of the living room from her body. She squirmed and rattled like a snake in her comforter unable to find a single second without the jolting shock of the quirk. Again she shut her eyes in what was sure to be another vain attempt to rest, darkness devouring her vision while the lights of the heavens flickered from her very being.
Yet, when she closed her eyes, there came something that was akin to rest. Her body turned itself off and she could feel everything from her muscles to her breathing lower and contract. Except as she was met with the void of sleep, a force overcame her dreaming mind which made the transition from the waking world unnaturally quick.
Shadow swirled around her in vaporous clouds, streaming and curling like the thickest of smoke as her eyesight was blurry from the lack of light, then before another step was taken the darkness split open and trapped her inside wherever it led. Nothing still lingered everywhere, revealing what was an empty void at first, but in the next instance a light blinded her. Shielding her eyes with her arms, Hana adjusted to the glow instantly and saw what was before her.
A throne room covered in the whitest marble that shined with the radiance of a sun laid under and around fine wooden chairs of masterful design, each set in a semi circle of nine to the supposed entrance to this realm while a chandelier cast a light so pure and brilliant to the room below that it may as well been heavenly.
Seven of the nine individuals turned their heads to acknowledge her presence, the two who did not were firstly a shriveled husk of a man that seemed more dead then alive with how skeletal he appeared and the second was bolted to their seat in heavy chains that connected to a metal box placed over the head which had inscriptions of strange symbols etched into it. The rest were a mostly male group of people who regarded her with a dire seriousness that made her flinch at first.
The man at the head of this court, judging from how he sat at the center of the arrangement, rested his chin over folded hands as white hair flopped down in messy bangs. The green of his eyes pierced Hana down to her soul as he watched her with an intensity that no normal person could make. His voice was deceptively soft for what his station appeared to be, calming her almost instantly when he spoke.
"Welcome, we apologize for the rush of your arrival but none of us have the time left to allow you to get used to the quirk. There is much for us to discuss and a danger on the horizon, so please listen as best you can."
Hana blinked at the ridiculousness of what was happening then it clicked. She raised a hand to her mouth in amazement as she stared at the man.
"You're...You're the previous users!"
She clutched the sides of her head, still reeling from what this may have meant.
"Is...is this the afterlife? You're all dead so how am I talking to you right now when-"
The man eyed her with the intensity of one set to die, shutting her up at once.
"Young lady, we will get to that, but for now what you must understand is that there is a threat coming to the world that could easily see everything perish from the earth. Originally we were...allowed per say to continue on due to my brother's malicious plot to rule the world, or so we think. Now there is something far worse than him waiting in the shadows, something which would rend the very laws of reality asunder and bring about a world that makes even the worst fantasies of madmen seem tame and you must keep it at bay."
The room grew quiet in wait for her response. Hana stared back at the king of this place, unsure of how this was even happening.
"I don't understand what you mean. Are you saying the apocalypse is going to happen soon? I...I can't even figure out how I'm here, muchless why. What's this giant threat then if you're so worried?"
The leader's knuckles cracked as the other bearers all shared a look when he began to speak again.
"Put frankly, we believe that it is and that thing will be the cause for it."
He pointed to the chained figure next to the dull eyed husk of a man. For a second it shifted ever so slightly in the binds, not fighting against them but making an effort to turn the head towards where Hana was standing. The master of the place repressed a shudder when that happened, gazing at the thing which might be a person with all his contempt.
"That thing is going to create a destruction so vast that nothing seen on this earth would compare to the death it would unleash and-"
He was interrupted when the chains rattled again, this time making the chair scrap against the floor in her direction with the face now twisted to perhaps see her. A voice filled in for the senior of the group, a feminine voice that sounded sure and proud in a righteous way.
"And your job is two fold now. We wouldn't wish it on anyone, but that's the reality of the situation as we see it. Right now we're dealing with something none of us, not even the first knows a damn thing about, on top of his brother's schemes. So accepting the situation unanimously and putting our differences aside, the transition for you is going to be a lot sooner in spite of what we want."
The speaker was a raven haired woman dressed in a hero outfit kitted with white gloves and a black top connected by a golden chain to a cape in the same shade as her gloves and boots. Grey eyes shined matter of factly with an unusual beauty that complimented the mark on her chin. Hana whirled from the sheer whiplash of everything, taking a step back in her attempt.
"Hold up, I just got this thing yesterday and I haven't even hit anything with it. What the hell does this all mean? What does "transition" mean and who's this brother you both keep bringing up?"
The black haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly already out of patience for the younger girl.
"You don't even know the name of the quirk, do you?"
The tenth bearer shook her head, suddenly feeling very out of place in the grand scheme around her. Fists clenched at the older woman's disposition as she began to spell things out for the newest member.
"Very well, I'll start from the top. You are the tenth user of a quirk known as One For All, the only meta ability which can not be stolen by the brother of the first user, the villain known as All For One. As such your physical force will be multiplied by a factor of ten added onto the spiritual power of the previous users. Meaning you have the combined strength of almost everyone in this room. Originally we were formed, you could say, in a multigenerational attempt to stop the bastard from succeeding in his plans to rule the world through eternal tyranny. However, in the time since we were suppressed within the ninth user."
She cast a glance at the thing near the very end of the circle.
"We saw something inside him that...we can't explain. It isn't a soul or a quirk or human even, it was this-"
A pause came when the heroine stopped her speech, suddenly engrossed by the thing in place of the ninth only to physically recoil when she realized what was happening.
"You're the only one left that can maybe stop it from waking up."
Blood flew to Hana's brain as she tried to handle all the information, instantly looking around to the others in hope of finding an answer.
"Wait, wait, All For One? The original god damn villain? He's involved and, you know what forget that for now, what about this thing inside Izuku? Is he in danger?"
The first bearer regained his status within the conversation by answering for them all. His frame quaking gently as he spoke.
"Yes and no, he's lived with this thing all his life and never had any negative effects from it, though I know for a fact he has no real idea about what it remotely is. Not that any of us do either, but he has had contact before in his dreams. You see, when we were unable to interact with the ninth during his imprisonment by my brother's followers, all of us had gotten sent down to a place beyond this one, a place deeper than the soul. What we found was an aberration without form or thought. However, it seeped into our sanctum, corrupting the very make up of the walls and eating them."
He gestured to the thing once again, the face plate still set on Hana in the most unsettling way.
"Eventually, it took his form and invaded. None of us could force it out, yet strangely it stopped encroaching when it no longer met resistance from us. At least not the physical sort, because the only reason we can even have this conversation safely is due to us tricking it into putting that box around it's head and wrapping chains to the chair."
The blue haired girl threw up her hands when it became too much for her to accept. She motioned to the contained creature masquerading as her lover with exacerbation.
"Well what the fuck have you done to prevent it from screwing with him!?"
The first stood up with a tiredness suddenly overcoming his body, still remaining strong to decry his weakness.
"We did the only thing we could do, we waited until a new user appeared and took every ounce of power left inside him with us. That was supposed to kill it, but instead it replaced the quirk. That boy should be quirkless now, yet it gave him an exact copy of my ability because it knows it. The only reason he can't use the rest of our gifts is because they were hidden to the monster and even that advantage can't last for long with what we've seen."
Hana squinted at the man in confusion only to be informed by the woman of the council.
"You're set to gain the use of our quirks, which so happens to be six so far. Normally we would have waited far longer before placing such a burden on your body, but as you can see, time is very limited. That little blast of black rope you used was Black Whip, the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo's original ability amplified by One For All. That is only the first one you will get and over time you'll be able to use each one, but-"
A tremor rocked the court, knocking loose some large chunks of marble as the entire world shook. Panic colored the faces of everyone able to speak and Hana was grabbed by the raven haired hero who held her pleadingly.
"There's no more time, look, Izuku is fine so long as nothing traumatic happens again. The thing responds to his instincts and thoughts, if he continues on the path you set him down it should stay asleep. That's what we need, keep him sane and it'll be okay. There are people out there looking for him so they can wake it up, keep that from happening no matter what, understand!?"
There wasn't even a chance to respond before the very world crumbled into darkness and she woke up sweating with a blue light blazing off her like a star. Her head darted to one side when a hand touched her. Izuku was standing by the bedside, concern etched into every part of him.
"You okay? You were having a nightmare."
Hana didn't say a word, only tracking every bit of humanity on his face. Billions of questions battered inside her skull as she held his gaze, yet there also came a calming emotion the longer they looked. Izuku laid a hand over hers which she squeezed. This man needed her like she needed him, and for that she realized anything was worth it when this feeling in her heart burned the fear away. They swore unto death to stay and stay she shall. They shared a kiss as a bundling sense of excitement engrossed her more and more. It would seem like her dream of adventure was answered and he'd be with her every step of the way.
"I'm more than okay now."