A/N: Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. Welcome back to Incident Zero, everyone!
This fic's hiatus was necessary for me, although to say I enjoyed it would be a stretch. I can't begin to count the number of times I've seen an author's note from someone I was enjoying which says "shit, real life threw X Y and Z at me, sorry about the delay"- I really feel that at this present time. Two of my grandparents are on the decline with Alzheimers and we've had to put them into care recently; trying to sort out selling their house on top of that has been a minefield. Add on top of that some hellish exams in January and having a car accident this week, and, well… real life is all fun and games, eh?
On a positive note, I was able to post some more stuff during this fic's hiatus. Decay updated after months away (Decay, more like Delay, am I right) and I posted a new RWBY fic, 'Light a Candle, Curse the Darkness'; please go and check those out. And on AO3 there's two more one-shots, although fair warning that neither are what I'd call PG-13… oops. Genshin Impact made me embrace writing in a way that would make Midnight proud, and my bank balance is regretting discovering waifu gachas.
And hey, Pokemon Legends Arceus is incredible. I'll probably write for that in due course. My bank balance did not regret that.
Anyway, long time away, and probably a shorter chapter to get us back into the swing of things. I hope you enjoy!
(***)
Izuku didn't know what had woken him, but the first things he could hear were the low hum of machinery, and a rhythmic beeping of something beside him.
One eye cracked open, slowly, followed by the next. It took more effort than he thought it might have done, feeling like his face had been glued shut; it took a couple of blinks to shift the rheum that had gathered, and the weird sensation he felt as the dust shifted made Izuku feel like he had been turned to stone. That, combined with how dry his tongue was in his mouth, the surface feeling like sandpaper as he breathed in and out… it was enough for Izuku to grimace in displeasure as he lay on his back, staring at the off-white tiles of the ceiling.
This wasn't the USJ anymore, that much was clear. The ceiling was a lot closer above his head, for starters, and the air was… fresher. The USJ had been slightly dusty, as was to be expected with a facility designed to mimic disaster and ruin, but this place was clean. And the surface he was lying on was a lot more comfortable than the hard earthen floor of the USJ; his hand was down at his side, and his arms felt unbearably sore, but Izuku was slowly able to clench his fingers down and feel something soft beneath him. Sheets… a bed.
Izuku breathed out, putting the pieces together. This was the UA medical wing: the bed, the humming of machines around him, had to be where they sent students who had been hurt. That beep… was him. His heart, beating slightly quicker now that he had woken up. The fact that they had been so worried about his condition that they had set up some kind of heart monitor to keep track of him…
Something in Izuku's gut twisted as he realised just how concerned people must have been about his wellbeing. He and Tenko… had both been beaten. And now he was here, with a monitor like that trained on him. They must have been afraid that the injuries inflicted on him by Doctor Garaki's Nomu could have… no. That didn't bear thinking about. Izuku could hear the beeping accelerate as that treacherous thought threatened to stir up panic in him, and he took a deep breath, trying to focus away from that. Bed sheets. Ceiling tiles.
The part of Izuku that found Quirks so fascinating proved a valuable distraction at that moment. The ceiling tiles were discoloured in some places and damaged in others- clearly replacing them hadn't been high on the priority list for anyone- and he gladly used that to try to tear his mind away from the dark thoughts of before, to calm himself down. If he tilted his head slightly to one side, the back of his neck felt stiff and tense, but he was able to see more. The ceiling tiles above the empty bed next to him looked slightly singed around the edges, like something had set fire to them but not caught hold. None of his classmates had any form of fire-based Quirk… it must have been an upperclassman. Maybe their Quirk had run out of control?
Izuku felt his heart rate slow, as the beeping's change of pace confirmed, and winced as he flexed the fingers on his other hand. That was sore too, but not unbearable, and as he tilted his head the other way that was more manageable than he had expected as well. Nomu had… Izuku grimaced as the scream of the abomination flickered in his mind for just a second. He had been hit by something that punched like a truck, repeatedly, until he blacked out. He was surprised that so little seemed to be broken.
The real test came when he sat upright, and that was when he felt something. Too late, the memory of his ribs cracking under the force of the impact shot through his head, and a brief shout of angry nerve endings was enough of a reminder of Nomu's punch. It wasn't unbearable, and strangely it didn't feel like anything was broken as he sat up, but there was enough of a twinge of pain to make him hiss a little, making sure he remembered what had been inflicted on him.
Someone had… done a good job. Izuku had only once broken bones before in his life, when Tenko had urged him to try using Air Force by placing his hands on a thick concrete pillar at their old hideout- the pillar hadn't budged, and the recoil had broken two of his fingers. His mom hadn't been amused; Setsuna had. The feeling now, sat in this hospital bed on his own, was the same soreness he had felt in the days after, when his fingers had been strapped together in a cast.
"I'm… okay." His voice felt slightly hoarse as he said that out loud, and he swallowed to try to clear his throat a little. "I think…"
The bed next to him was empty as well, the only signs of life being a jug of water, two glasses, and a vase of kaleidoscopically-coloured flowers that seemed too bright for the room. Someone had taken great time to arrange them, one bright yellow sunflower surrounded by several hibiscus and several other flowers Izuku couldn't name. He would have to find out if the UA staff put them there for everyone, or if one of his class had delivered them for him; Tenko and Setsuna wouldn't have known what to do, but if it was a gift, he needed to thank someone. It was hard not to smile as he reached for the sunflower and gently ran his fingers along one of the petals… even if it came away in his hand afterwards.
Gentle sunlight filtered through the window, but it was amazing how quiet it was in the hospital wing. UA had reduced in size since Incident Zero, of course, so it wasn't as packed a school as it had been in the old days, but even so Izuku couldn't hear much going on outside. Perhaps someone in the Support Course had been enlisted to make sure that the rooms were soundproofed, to give those in need of recovery a chance to shut out the outside world and benefit from the peace and quiet.
Now that he was properly looking at his own arms, Izuku could see something new. Whoever had helped him in the aftermath of the USJ, whatever they had done, they had worked miracles to leave him feeling the way he did. It was a surprise he hadn't been left with more scars than the one which ran up the inside of his forearm, a blemish from the bottom of his thumb to just below the elbow. If that patch of slightly mottled skin would be the price to pay for what he had been through, then he would gladly pay it, and wear that reminder for the rest of his life.
Izuku closed his hand and opened it again, gripping down on his own palm for a second, and breathed out deeply. He… had failed. There was no escaping that fact. He hadn't been strong enough, when everything was at its worst. Nomu wasn't human, far from it, but that couldn't be used as an excuse for the fact that he couldn't protect his friends. They weren't here in this hospital wing now with him, sure, but that would have been the doing of someone else helping them recover… when it came to the root cause, all of them had been hurt because somebody had come after him, and he hadn't been able to deal with that himself.
He wouldn't allow that to happen again.
It was wider than that, and Izuku knew that. His whole class had been made to suffer in the attack, targeted as a group simply because of who he was. The holder of All For One… now that dangerous people like the Doctor knew who he was and where he was, it had painted a target on him and caught so many people in the crossfire. But Izuku… couldn't face that, right now. Sooner or later he would have to decide whether he wanted to tell his class about All For One, and that was a slippery slope; he would then need to tell Midnight, the Principal, the rest of the staff. And if they told the Commission as they would be required to do… Izuku didn't know what future would lie in store for him that way.
It wasn't brave of him to run from that problem, and the dishonesty felt like a kick in the guts. Especially so, given that he couldn't practice what he preached when he told Himiko that her Quirk wasn't what defined her. But right now, Izuku needed to take things one step at a time, and that definitely wasn't the right first step to take.
"This Quirk… is nothing but trouble." Izuku stared at his finger-tips, watching hollowly as several of the malevolent black sparks he was used to ignited, triggered by his subconscious. His lips felt dry as he spoke. So dry. "I wish-"
Drink. They left water for you.
Izuku looked over to the table and was midway through reaching for a glass when he realised what had just happened. When he remembered what he had seen, in the darkness of his mind as he lay unconscious. It… had changed. It no longer sounded like his own thoughts. The voice was different, now. The voice… was his. "... So that wasn't a dream."
You don't have to speak aloud, you know. Before, it had been barely a whisper in the back of his head, an errant idea, a brief moment of discord often drowned out by everything else inside his head. Not anymore. Now, it was just loud enough for it to cut through the fog and sound like somebody actually trying to talk to him. If it were any louder, it would sound like someone was actually present in the room with him. Be mindful, Izuku. If you'll pardon the pun… your own thoughts are more than enough for our purposes.
Izuku was about to respond, but paused at the last second. He didn't like the idea of playing along to this, but if it saved someone hearing him speak out loud… 'You didn't answer my question.'
Good. Good. The voice of the vestige of All For One chuckled, and Izuku felt a cold shiver run down both his arms in response. But you are right, I did not answer. I rather thought the answer was obvious, when you could hear me.
Izuku took a deep breath. So it hadn't been a hallucination. The vestige of All For One had survived, and talked with him on the beaches of his mind. Izuku now had a phantom to menace him at every turn, a voice inside his head that wasn't his own. Someone watching him, whatever he did. 'It's just… hard to believe, that's all.'
No, I understand. You've lived a lot of years where all I've been is a stray thought. If the vestige had been visible, Izuku knew he would have smiled at that moment. Near-death experiences do tend to sharpen the mind.
Izuku steadied his hand as he tried to pour a drink of water without his passenger seeing him shake. The Quirk he played host to was alive, and the remnant of Japan's greatest supervillain that lived inside his head had gotten stronger because of his failures. He couldn't allow him to grow stronger again, but now he was there, apparent in Izuku's head. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'
My dear boy, what could possibly go wrong? Izuku couldn't help but gulp at the strange feeling all of a sudden, the claustrophobia that seemed to hit him like a wave. The worst part of all wasn't the lump in his throat at hearing the vestige say that, however. The worst part was the cold feeling on his shoulders, the pressure pushing down on him… a quick glance told him that he was still alone, and that he couldn't see anything, and yet he knew that no matter how irrational it was, he could feel two hands resting on top of his shoulders. As if ready to congratulate him… or push him off a precipice. I did tell you that I am here, didn't I? You and I have the opportunity to grow a lot closer, because of all of this.
'You know I-I don't want to.' Izuku hated that his nerves made him stutter even when he was speaking inside his own head. Hated that the way his hand slipped ever so slightly, the bottom of the jug making a loud chiming noise as it hit the surface of the table. Hated the way that he could almost hear the smirk of the vestige, confirmation that his little moment had not gone unmissed. 'I want to do my thing. Have my own life-'
If you're worried I intend to crop up during your little moments with Himiko, relax. There's plenty of things I'd rather not see through your eyes.
Izuku nearly spat his drink out. 'That's n-not-'
I know. But allow an old man his fun, won't you? The pressure remained on Izuku's shoulders as All For One spoke. Didn't you remember, anyway? I support your attempts to rise to become Number One. I wouldn't interfere in those. I simply want to be right behind you as you do so, to revel in that glory a little… hm.
Izuku didn't like the sound of that laugh. 'What's so funny?'
Oh, that. Your classmate Tokoyami talks of revelry, doesn't he? And now his vocabulary influences my behaviour. The chuckle was louder this time. Imagine what fun we could have if I had a version of his Quirk. Dark Shadow… I have very rarely seen sentience in the Quirk of another. Wasted potential, if you ask me.
Izuku bit down a shudder at the thought of All For One emerging from him like Dark Shadow, but saw an opportunity even as the vestige suggested the most horrible things to him. 'It's a shame you never found a Quirk like that before All Might defeated you, then.'
Oho! So much fire in you! Anger I did not expect, to bite back at me so readily! Izuku really disliked how much pride he could hear in that eldritch voice. I may yet make something of you in my own image after all-
'I'll do everything to be in All Might's image, not yours. I'll prove I can be a Hero to everyone like he was.' Izuku clenched his fist, his eyes drawn for a split second to the scarring at the base of his thumb. A reminder of what he'd been through… and what he would have to overcome, if his dreams stood any chance of becoming reality. 'And I'll make sure your legacy is condemned to be forgotten. I promise you.'
Such aggressive feelings. Let the hate flow through you, my boy! There was a weird sensation on one of Izuku's shoulders. He knew nothing was touching him, and he could see nothing still, but it almost felt like the pressure lifted for just a second, a faint tap on his shoulder. Almost like the ghost was patting him on the back. Still, I'm curious. You sound so certain that I do not have that kind of ability to call upon. Is it not beyond the realms of possibility, with as long a life as I have lived and as many sights as I have seen, that I might have acquired such a Quirk after all?
'It's not. But you… you could have used it, all these years ago, if you had.' Izuku shook his head, looking down at the single broken sunflower petal that had fallen on top of the bed sheets, lying discarded and broken. 'You said that you hadn't expected to be trapped when you passed All For One onto me. About how me being Quirkless stopped you from taking over. If you had had that sort of Quirk… you would have used it by now to try to talk to me more. Rather than being a passenger… you could have appeared to me. Tried to influence me.'
You seem to forget the rather important detail that I died, the vestige mused. I was forced to give you my Quirk in order to try to survive. I was weakened. My body was broken beyond repair, and my Quirk was nearly crippled just the same. Perhaps I simply didn't have the strength to awaken that sort of Quirk. Perhaps I still don't, even after the good Doctor gave you a lesson in what my power is truly capable of.
'Or maybe you never had it at all.' Izuku heard his devil's attempts at playing devil's advocate, but didn't give them a second thought. 'You… you were there, in the background, all this time. I might have started unlocking the Quirks in All For One on my own, but there were times I… I-I did things without thinking. Maybe some of that was instinct… maybe some of that was you.'
Clever boy. All For One's acknowledgement was enough confirmation for Izuku of what he had been thinking. My second coming would have been a lot less enjoyable if I had found somebody less gifted with intelligence than you. Maybe I do see a little of myself in you… other than the obvious, anyway.
'It's not clever.' Izuku wasn't prepared to accept praise. 'It just makes sense.'
A little less modesty every now and then couldn't hurt you, Izuku. The phantom grip on one of his shoulders seemed to tighten, just briefly. Still, it's interesting, isn't it? You've gained so much from me, but you were a bright spark even before I took root in the back of your head. I wonder… if things had been different, and our fates hadn't been intertwined that day, what might you have become? With a brain like yours… I don't think you would have been the Deku they claimed you were, after all.
'I… don't want to talk about that. Not now.' Years and years had passed since Izuku had seen Bakugo, long enough for the insult to have lost its edge, but hearing All For One utter that word meant that it still stung. 'So you were reacting. Activating Quirks whenever you thought they were needed.'
Me? Interfering in things to keep my host and chosen successor alive? Perish the thought.
Izuku breathed out at the almost-sarcastic response, confirming what he had thought. 'You did it during the Quirk Apprehension Test. Boosting… you activated it more than once?'
It may seem that way, but would you believe me if I said that I activated four copies of the same Quirk? Kinetic Booster's effects stack… I almost pitied my opponent on the day that I discovered that. Talk about a one-sided fight.
'Why… do you have four copies of the same Quirk?'
They came from four different people. I found it remarkable that in different, unrelated individuals, they could each acquire a Quirk which was practically identical. I simply had to have each one, when I realised that.
'I… I don't even know what to say to that.' Izuku realised that they were getting away from the point. 'So you've activated those. And then the one in Combat Training, when Dark Shadow hit me… Impact Recoil, I think? And you activated it again when Nomu hit me the first time… although I don't know why you were helping me against your friend and one of your Nomu-'
Izuku, do you ever listen? What did I just say? Izuku found it weird, how the frustration he could hear in All For One's voice sounded almost parental. It was like whenever his mother used to tell him and Tenko off for any accidents that happened in their old warehouse base. Our situation is what might be described as unique. Given that you hold my Quirk and given that I am currently confined to my own Quirk as a lingering spirit guide, my survival entirely depends on your own. I have died before… I would rather not die again.
'But that just proves it, doesn't it?' Izuku turned to the side and dangled his bare feet off the side of the bed, wincing ever so slightly at the tight feeling in his chest and the slight pain just beneath his shoulder blades. Whoever had put him in the bed had stripped him out of what remained of his Hero costume, opting instead to wrap him in a white nemaki with the UA logo stitched in gold onto both sides of the chest. His costume instead was draped into a nearby chair- what remained of it, anyway, tattered and shredded by Nomu's assault- and seeing those ripped sleeves and damaged boots with his own eyes was enough to make Izuku feel a pang of sadness. Tenko and his mother had spent so long on that. 'You were picking what Quirks to activate. Even before Nomu did… what it did. You had a say in what I got to use from within All For One.'
And regrettably, that didn't include anything to allow me to project myself to you. All For One hummed in agreement, a strange noise when it sounded somewhere between the real and the ethereal. Still… at least we can talk properly, now.
'I… don't want to hear anything from you.' Izuku placed one foot down, gingerly, on the tiled floor beside the bed. No scorching pain greeted him, much to his relief. 'I just want you to leave me alone.'
Now, Izuku, you and I both know that's not the way this is going to go. Izuku felt the strange and unreal pressure on his shoulders increase, almost as if someone was pushing down hard on his shoulders to make him uncomfortable. Make a point. You're stuck with me, as I am you. The least you can do is try to be polite. Try to make this work in your favour.
'How much of it is going to be in my favour?' Izuku scrunched his toes against the hard floor, feeling how cold it was underneath him. 'And how much of it will be yours?'
… Yes. The smugness was unbearable, but as Izuku moved to stand up, the vestige kept talking. Oh, don't be so reluctant, young man. I even got you a gift for when you woke up, after all.
'A gift?' Izuku was wary now, looking down to his hands, fearing that the black lightning of All For One would spark up without his input and reveal something terrible to him. 'Um… you mean a Quirk?'
… My options for gifts are rather limited beyond that, Izuku. Given my current state. Izuku had to admit that that was a fair point. But not just a Quirk. I had a little while before you woke up to occupy myself, so I thought it best to try to understand what you had acquired at the USJ. Just in case I could get it ready for you when you awoke.
Izuku froze. Occupying himself? The vestige… was awake, while Izuku was not. What did that mean? 'You were… a-awake all this time while I was out-'
If you're worried about what I got up to in your absence, you needn't worry. I've been stuck here just as you have- as much as I would love to tell you that I've spent a whole week impersonating you to your friends, I have not.
"A week?!" The shock of what he had just been told made Izuku briefly forget to keep quiet, shouting that out loud before he realised what he had done, and slammed a hand over his mouth. 'What do you mean, a whole w-week?!'
Well, close enough to one. I told you Recovery Girl wasn't here anymore, didn't I? They've been treating you as best as they can, but they couldn't manage to heal you as immediately as she might have done.
'H-How do you even know how long I've been like this?' Izuku was struggling to process what he had just been told. 'Y-You shouldn't know anything about what they've been doing, if I've been u–unconscious the whole time!'
I've spent most of your youth counting the days and minutes of imprisonment. What's one more week? All For One made a strange noise, a huff somewhere between amusement and pride. You might not be in the moment, Izuku, but I've been sitting here, listening. It's been a busy time for them here in this hospital wing. It appears that the rest of your class survived their ordeal, although not entirely in one piece.
'They made it…' Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. If that was true about his class… 'What happened to the Doctor? To a-all those villains?'
It appears that he escaped, along with Kurogiri. Most of the rest were captured, including that charming brat Mustard… I haven't been able to work out what happened to Nomu, however. It seems it was defeated, or you wouldn't have been able to wake up here in one piece. Beyond that, it's a mystery to me what happened.
'Someone saved me…' Something in the vestige's words before made Izuku jump slightly. 'You said not in one piece!'
The Doctor's planning caused them all sorts of difficulties. Even after successfully defending themselves, several of your class ended up joining you in here for injuries sustained in the attack, as well as both of your teachers. Thirteen lost an arm. Midnight was shot. Both Shimura and your dear Himiko suffered at the hands of Nomu too, although you knew that anyway.
'Are they o-okay-'
So concerned about your friends, rather than your own wellbeing. It would be admirable if it didn't border on self-destructive, given how important it is to me that you don't sacrifice yourself along the way. Izuku was about to complain, but the vestige plowed on before he could interrupt. Your friends are alright. Shimura had injuries almost as bad as yours, but he seems to have healed quicker. Maybe it's a latent side-effect of his Decay Quirk. Some kind of subconscious regenerative capability?
'His Quirk doesn't affect him, though.' Izuku frowned at the suggestion from his spirit companion. 'Tenko, he… he can use Decay on whatever he touches, and that doesn't damage him whenever he activates it.'
But as you say, it doesn't affect him. Shimura could place five fingers down onto his own leg, but Decay wouldn't rip him apart. Immunity to his own Quirk must arise from somewhere. All For One hummed, and Izuku felt the pressure on his shoulders lighten. Isn't this fun, Izuku? Great minds, thinking alike. You've always had an interest in what makes people tick, how best they can use the powers at their fingertips. Quite literally, in Shimura's case. I quite enjoy speculating like this; you do, too, even if you can't admit that to yourself just yet.
Whatever Izuku could have answered back with, he knew that his tormentor would claim victory. All he could do was ignore the vestige, and try to move on without giving him the satisfaction. '... You said about Quirks from the USJ. That you… unlocked one for me?'
And you haven't even said thank you for it, yet. Talk about a lack of respect. It was disturbing to hear a former supervillain like All For One admonish him like a father. You don't even call me sir, or master.
'You're not my master. You never will be!' Izuku flexed his fingers and willed All For One to spark into life for just a second, just so he could show the man inside his head that the cursed Quirk he had been given responded to his commands. 'And you're not the one in control here, All For One!'
No… not yet. The pressure returned on Izuku's shoulders, claustrophobic and crushing. Still… you should really call me something. You are All For One now, Izuku. It lives in you. You were given my life's work, and over a lifetime of your own, you moulded it to your own use. I am not the Quirk that you wield.
'You're tied to it, though.' Izuku bit the inside of his own cheek, thinking. 'You called yourself Shigaraki, before.'
My old name. A lifetime ago. His companion laughed, without any genuine humour behind it. I suppose there's no chance of you calling me Sensei, is there? No matter how much I have to teach you.
'... Shigaraki.' Izuku made up his mind, and subconsciously swallowed as he thought about that name. It would do, to distinguish between the Quirk he was trying to master and the vestige he was stuck with, but it still felt so wrong that this supposed demon lord of history had a name like anybody else. 'You… which Quirk did you unlock?'
Ah, the right sort of question. The pressure on his shoulders did not abate, but at the very least, Shigaraki seemed to take the hint and move on. Not the one that you took from dear Kurogiri. You and I need to have words about that. You hurt him.
'He hurt my friends! He was trying to hurt Himiko-' Izuku paused, thinking about Shigaraki's words. 'There's… he's a Nomu too, isn't he? When I used All For One on my mom… I found her Quirk, and pulled, and it was mine. But when I used it on Kurogiri… it was like static in my head. So much… i-interference. Just like Nomu.'
The more Quirks an individual possesses, the more chaotic the experience is when using our power. Izuku didn't have time to correct Shigaraki calling it that. Kurogiri was my handiwork as much as the Doctor's. Built to be a perfect servant, a sum greater than the whole of his parts. His Quirk was one I designed myself, you know.
'Designed?' Izuku didn't like the sound of that one bit. 'It's not… you combined Quirks? Is that why that felt so… weird?'
A delicate balance. One completely upset by your actions, no matter your intentions. I can't even begin to fathom what you dragged out from within Kurogiri, nor the mess you will have left him in. Shigaraki's disappointment was palpable. At least Kyudai will have the resources to fix him… if that Nomu of his is anything to go by.
'You called it that Nomu of his…' The gravity of that wording was not lost on Izuku. The fact that the Doctor was an old associate of Shigaraki made him a dangerous individual to deal with anyway, but that casual slip of the tongue told him that the Doctor had the ways and means to make his own Nomu. Even without the power of All For One to help him down that dark path, the Doctor could manufacture living weapons, and had made one powerful enough to nearly kill him and his friends. If that was just one example of what he could make… 'You had no hand in making him, didn't you? I remember before, how the Doctor called him his handiwork…"
No, he's not one of mine. But he was an impressive specimen, nonetheless.
'Right… but also, you said that Nomu. Before, in my head, you said about the first Nomu you ever made. Like it was one of many, and like the D-Doctor's Nomu isn't the only one he made… how many more are there?
Who knows? The good Doctor never liked to sit on his hands when there was an opportunity to learn, and push the boundaries of what is possible. I expect he will have kept himself busy since Incident Zero, and made a few more besides the one you tested yourself against. The vestige sounded so nonchalant describing a man who had likely built an army of bio-engineered weapons since Incident Zero, and who could unleash them upon Japan with a tap of his cane. You may discover some that you like, you know. He likes variety.
Izuku shivered at the thought that the Doctor might return to offer him a selection of Nomu, some macabre attempt to lure him away from his dreams and to the legacy he held dear, and pushed past that image in his head. 'I didn't get its Super Regeneration Quirk. T-Tenko, he… he lost and then it just grew back like it was nothing. But when I tried to use Air Force on it-'
Air Cannon.
'Air Force…' Izuku refused to accept the name change, especially when he knew that the homage to All Might made Shigaraki's ghost unhappy. 'It still stood up through me hitting it with Air Force. Shock Absorption must still have been in its system. Which means… I t-took something else?'
Well remembered. I don't quite know the specifics of what Kyudai put together, because I've never had a Nomu with access to a Quirk like Super Regeneration before. There was a snort from the vestige. I could have done with a Quirk like that when I fought All Might. I might not have been forced to endure your teenage years again if I had.
'But you saying that you don't know the specifics… you recognise some of what he used?' Izuku asked. 'You must have done, to work out what I'd taken.'
Quirks can be fascinatingly complex at times, but some are so simple that they border on rudimentary. Kyudai and I had some Quirks which we could always consider adding to a Nomu to bulk it out, unless some extreme reaction would be caused with one of the more… challenging ingredients. Izuku felt something inside him just then, a brief spark that seemed to spread from his core and travel down the side of both his arms and legs. Muscle Augmentation is one of those versatile base Quirks.
'Muscle Augmentation…' Izuku mulled over the thought of that briefly, tensing and untensing his left arm. He wasn't exactly the tallest or bulkiest member of the class… a Quirk which built his muscles would raise plenty of eyebrows unless he was able to manage or limit the Quirk. 'I might not be able to use that.'
You're worried that sudden muscular expansion might arouse some suspicion. Understandable. If it makes you feel any better, it's a pretty simple Quirk to limit.
Izuku blinked. He had been expecting Shigaraki to offer tips - why else would he have unlocked the Quirk for Izuku if he did not intend for Izuku to put it to use - but he had expected his passenger to not care about exposing the truth of All For One. To hear Shigaraki had thought of ways for Izuku to use it in ways that might not make people question Izuku's powers… that was unusual. 'Y-You think I can limit it?'
Of course. Muscle Augmentation is a Quirk which can be triggered; the reason that Nomu's muscles were so gigantic was, I imagine, due to the trigger being permanently flicked on by the Doctor. Izuku missed his chance to jump in and say anything about the torture which must have been carried out for the Doctor to discover that he could do that with a Quirk. You can control how much of it you deploy, and when to deploy it. Deploying it whenever you wish to activate Air Cannon, for example-
'I could store more energy in my arms and launch a bigger blast, if Air Force is boosted by Muscle Augmentation as well as Kinetic Booster…' Izuku actually had to admit that this could work. 'And if I train myself in a gym, constantly applying small amounts of Muscle Augmentation to myself so that I can push harder… I can naturally build up more bulk over time? Would it work that way?'
I suspect it might. I've only ever relied on it for what Shimura would call burst damage, but passive build-up of Quirk use over time… that could provide you with enough extra bulk to make a difference. Shigaraki paused in his head. You've recognised that you need to train harder, then?
Izuku gulped, even as the pressure on his shoulders completely lifted off. 'Y-Yeah… I lost. No matter what I tried, I couldn't beat Nomu, and others got hurt because of that. I… have to do better for them.'
You have to be better for yourself, Izuku. Izuku felt a strange sensation, as if he had just been prodded by the spectre. To master All For One, you must master all of what you can do. Over-reliance on one Quirk makes you weak, and unable to adapt, and if you're the new bearer of my Quirk, I cannot accept either of those things.
'That… means I've got to be stronger, too.' Izuku rubbed at his bicep, recognising how skinny he was in comparison to his attacker before. 'Endeavor has Hellflame as a Quirk, which gives him good range with his flames, but he has techniques like Flashfire Fist for if he gets into a brawl with somebody.'
Exactly. You have plenty more resources at your fingertips, more than Endeavor ever will. As I said before, I won't mind if you truly are determined to rise to the top and become the new Number One, because supremacy by any name is still supremacy. But holding back could cost you… and if I am not able to step in, next time you may not be saved.
'I'll… I'll do what I can.' Izuku shook his head, taking a deep breath out. 'But I can't… I'll tell people in time, but I can't tell everyone, not yet. There's no way that revealing All For One to everyone will end well, not so soon after we were all attacked.'
Izuku, I don't give a damn whether you tell anyone about All For One or not. Shigaraki laughed, hollowly, a noise which seemed to echo in Izuku's head. I think you're an idiot for keeping it a secret, and you're only setting yourself up to fall harder when the truth comes crashing out in front of the world. You cannot escape the fact that this Quirk makes you a target, and anyone around you potentially collateral damage.
'... I-I guess-'
Now I understand why you can't tell anyone about little old me. I'm different. The damage you would do to your friendships if you told them that my spirit was a voice inside your head… Izuku felt cold as the vestige said this. They will think you have gone mad, or fear you because they wonder when I might appear. I don't think you want to end up alone again, Izuku.
'No, I don't. And I don't like the way you said that, but…' Izuku swallowed some pride. 'You're right. I can't tell them about you. I won't. You're… my burden to bear, alone.'
I'm your problem. And I'm glad you and I see eye to eye on this. Shigaraki paused. I don't agree with your stance on our Quirk. But I accept that training yourself and becoming stronger doesn't necessarily have to go hand-in-hand with revealing All For One to everyone; the chances of succeeding in the way that you hope are slim, but nothing is beyond the reach of the holder of All For One.
'You'll… accept my decision, then.'
Reluctantly. If you truly are so stubborn that you want to continue to hide, then fine; I can't and won't stop you whatever I say, so I may as well accept it. But as long as you aren't hiding from what needs to be done, and you actually commit to getting stronger in order to master this Quirk of ours… that's all I can ask, in reality.
'And that's what I'm going to do.' Izuku willed a small burst of All For One into his hand, the black sparks fizzing out into nothingness. 'This power can be used for good. I know it.'
We shall see, Izuku. I look forward to watching you try, at least. Still… you're not going to do much sticking around in a hospital wing, are you?
No. No he wasn't. Izuku leaned forward, and picked up the remains of his Hero costume from the chair, and wincing at the way it looked. He'd need to get proper clothes as soon as he could, and he'd need to get his costume repaired; there was no way he could go out in this, and no way he would let Tenko's hard work and his mother's hard work go to waste. "I… really need to get this fixed."
"Oh! Midoriya! You're awake!"
"Gah!" Izuku had not been expecting a person to turn up, having not heard the staff door to the hospital wing open, and nearly jumped out of his skin at the girl's voice behind him. The new arrival was tall, taller than he was, and had blonde hair that was longer than Himiko's. She was older, but it took Izuku a second to figure out that what she was wearing were Support Course overalls, embroidered with UA's logo. He hadn't met anyone from the Support Course yet, or anyone from the senior classes, come to think of it. "I-I'm sorry, is it okay that I-"
"No, no, it's fine! I'm glad you're awake!" The newcomer composed herself, and smiled at him, her eyes shining from behind her glasses. Izuku couldn't help but detect an accent… somewhere outside of Japan? "Honestly, after what you went through, I think everyone will just be relieved you're up and raring to go! How are you feeling?"
"I… a little sore." Izuku rolled his shoulder, and winced slightly. "I'll get used to it, though. I… I wasn't expecting to be able to do any of this when I woke up."
"You were hurt pretty badly… but it's nothing we couldn't fix."
"We?" Izuku paused, a little unsure what she meant. "You're… Support Course, right? What about the nurses?"
"Yeah, they're around, but… a lot happened at the USJ, right? They kinda got overwhelmed, and…" The girl looked sheepish. "It's not quite as easy for them as it was for Recovery Girl."
I told you she wasn't around.
Izuku ignored Shigaraki's smug voice inside his own mind. "I… wow. You came here and volunteered? What about your classes?"
"They're not important when people needed our help! Come on, I had items I could use to fix broken bones and help treat people so…" The girl waved a hand, struggling to put it into words for a second. "I just… I just didn't want to sit back and do nothing if there was something I could do, you know? You guys might be the ones training to be Heroes, but… I just wanted to help someone. Be their hero, for a change."
"Your items must be incredible for them to make me feel like this," Izuku said, bending and unbending his arm in awe of how much of a recovery he had made. "How… what do they do?"
"Trust me, it would take hours to explain, and you've just woken up, Midoriya! If you wanna talk more about them, come by the Development Studio sometime in a couple of days. I never mind having someone to talk to about what I make, just… get yourself back to normal before worrying about that sort of thing, alright?"
"Still, I… I guess that makes you my hero, then?" Izuku smiled, genuinely grateful to the person who had looked after him. "T-Thank you. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that enough to you for what you've done."
"It's just what we do, right? We help in whatever way we can, so… you get back out there and save some people and we're even, Mister Hero." The girl looked him up and down, and raised an eyebrow. "The nurses would probably tell you to stay put until they've checked you over, and made sure you're okay to leave."
"Right, s-sorry." Izuku made to put down his costume. "I'll-"
"I'm not one of the nurses." Izuku looked up in surprise, and saw something sparkle in the eyes of his new friend. "Your friends are outside here, waiting. They've been here every day since they were cleared to leave, and won't leave until they get to speak to you. Just… don't push it, and go and talk to them, okay?"
Izuku's eyes widened, and he nodded frantically, gratefully. "Thank you! Thank you so much! But what about-"
"Your costume? I'll sort this out." The girl picked up his costume with so much care, folding it into as neat a bundle as she could while she spoke. "Give me a few days, and I'll have the original fixed, along with an upgraded version, alright? I know this one's homemade, but maybe I can make you one that's got a few more tricks and a little more protection!"
"O-Oh, okay!" Izuku was a little reluctant to let it go, given the sentimental value and how his mother would most likely want to fix it herself, but he couldn't say no when the senior was being so helpful. "I'll come… and ask for you?"
"Sure! Just ask Power Loader if you can talk to Melissa, and I'll make time for you whenever!"
Melissa… English-sounding name.
Izuku tried to ignore Shigaraki. She'd given him her first name… now her accent made sense. Melissa was a foreign student, so perhaps it would make her feel more at home if he was less formal. "Okay! And you can call me Izuku too, Melissa. If that's okay?"
In that moment, there was the strangest sensation, almost as if Izuku's tongue felt heavier than normal. Judging from the way Melissa's eyes widened, she hadn't expected it too, and Izuku nearly panicked. "Oh, o-okay! Wow. I didn't know you spoke English, Izuku?"
He… didn't. Not really. His English was very limited, a few bits picked up from his father before he had lost him at Incident Zero. Which meant that there was only one explanation for why he had apparently spoken in perfect English, and one explanation for the slight hum around Melissa's voice as she replied to him. She was speaking English back to him, and he could understand her… 'Shigaraki?'
Consider this helping in a cultural exchange.
Izuku inwardly groaned, but didn't try to ask his passenger any more questions in his head in case Melissa thought he was weird. Instead, he tried to simply make the most of it, and bowed his head to the Support student. "I… I picked some of it up from my father when he worked away. I'm… sorry if my accent is bad!"
"No, no!" Melissa laughed, still in English, still with a slight hum around the edge of her voice. "You probably think mine is worse! But… this is great! Nobody on the Support Course can also speak English, you know? I think you and me are gonna be good friends, Izuku."
"I h-hope so!" Izuku bit his tongue, and looked down at the costume in her hands. "I'll… see you soon?"
"Yeah, definitely!" Melissa grinned, and thankfully when she next spoke she had switched back to Japanese. "I'll leave you to it, but… hope it all goes well with your friends!"
"Th-thank you!" Izuku waited a second for his new friend to make her move, waving her off as she headed towards the staffroom door, and then turned his attention back inside his own mind. 'Okay, what was that? You… made me speak English. My English is terrible-.'
I was only trying to help. I haven't had the chance to deploy Multilingual for you before- one of my favourite Quirks acquired in my previous life.
'Multilingual?' Izuku shook his head in disbelief. 'I… why do you have a Quirk like that?'
What? You think I would witness a Quirk that allows its user to speak and understand any language on the planet, and not want that? Shigaraki sounded amused. You don't seriously think that I chose all of the Quirks I took based on combat application.
'No, it's just… not very…' Izuku was struggling. 'Villainous? I… don't know how to describe it.'
Why stop at being Japan's demon lord, when I could become… Mr Worldwide? Shigaraki was clearly enjoying himself. The chance to use it and grow my empire beyond Japan showed so much potential… communication is what sets us apart from the animals after all, Izuku.
'Just… don't activate that without warning me.' Izuku gave up, and felt himself sag as he shuffled over towards the door, wishing that someone had left him his shoes. 'Please. I'm worried enough about getting arms the size of Nomu's.'
Practice makes perfect. Shigaraki seemed to snort to himself. Still, that's a discussion for another time. I'll try to leave you alone while you're with your friends. There will probably be a lot to catch up on.
'Huh? What do you-'
A week is a long time in this society, and the last time you were conscious, the Doctor had just poked a hornet's nest. Anything could have happened.
'Maybe…' Izuku paused, one hand over the door handle. He and his friends had been lucky to make it out of the USJ alive, and he was lucky to be in one piece. UA would come under fire because of the attack, no matter how little it could have done to prevent Kurogiri from warping a horde of villains in, and people would be asking questions about how someone had managed to gather so many villains without a single Hero catching on. On top of that, there was still the question about what had happened to the Doctor and Kurogiri; if they really had escaped, they would be out there, plotting a return and looking for more opportunities to get to Izuku. If Shigaraki was correct, they even had more Nomu to throw at him, and their boldness would encourage others to come crawling out and try their luck in the future.
Nothing would be easy. The spotlight would be thrown onto UA more and more, and particularly his class. People within his class might question why he and his friends were singled out, targeted by a fanatical scientist and his inhuman companions who talked of a 'master'. And now, on top of this, he finally understood the nature of his Quirk, a Quirk with untapped reserves of power that were only now coming to the surface. A Quirk with a resident vestige, a serpent in his ear, watching his every move. All For One… was a disaster waiting to happen.
He had to train it, master it. He had to become stronger in every way possible, while somehow keeping such a terrifying secret away from prying eyes. And somehow, he had to learn to reach a point where he could open up to others about it, to trust them and earn their trust in turn, to get them to accept the truth. The weight of his task made it almost impossible… but he had to carry on, somehow, and try. Every bit of good he could do in the world, all the people he could help… he couldn't give up now.
The task was daunting, but as he opened the door, he knew that three people waited on the other side who he could count on until the end. Whatever the odds, whatever cost it would have… he knew they would face it all together, to come out on top. To go beyond.
He couldn't wish for better friends.
"Hey…" Three heads, hanging and staring at the floor, shot up to stare at him as he spoke up, nearly choking as he saw them again for the first time since the USJ. Tenko, Himiko and Setsuna had all made it… and so had he. "I… I'm okay."
"IZUKU!"
He couldn't have been more happy to see their faces again.
(***)
A/N: Easing ourselves back into it with the devil on Izuku's shoulder, and the hint at a tearful reunion. Just the way we like it.
Last arc, and the USJ, meant that Izuku finally got to meet All For One, and speak with him. That was a big development in terms of their relationship, the distant voice in the back of Izuku's head rearing its head and being recognised- now, Shigaraki has found his voice, and even if he won't always be so loud, he won't go anywhere. I'm sure that having a dissenting voice in his head wistfully reminiscing about the days of being a demon lord won't have any negative effects on his sanity.
There's so much more to come for Izuku and co, obviously, and there's some big things ahead this arc for a number of people, but for now I wanted some focus on our main man and his spirit companion. The best way to get back into the swing of things for me, after quite a tough time, was obviously Vestige for One content, and on that front I hope you enjoyed, because I love writing him.
Next chapter, I'm going to start going back to shouting out one person each post- I like the idea of spreading some love and positivity during these hard times. For now, thank you for all your support and patience in letting me coming back to this after my hiatus.
If you enjoyed this, please favourite and follow the story, and please please review because I love reading them (just don't flame, yo. Criticism which is not constructive is not worth my time or yours). Please feel free to check out my other works, and please come and join the Ignite to the Call Discord where you can discuss Incident Zero in its own channel, and find some lovely people: the join code is XXXXXXXX.
Until next time, ya boy, out.
