"You're fight's with me, All For One!" Izuku yelled as he sped forward in a blur of blue, hitting him directly in the face. The surprise almost sent the man tumbling, but he was able to recover before he could fall, but just as soon as he did, the blue streak rushed by him again. This time, striking him in the stomach before disappearing again.
"You insignificant little rat-!" The imposing villain shouted, sweeping his mutated hand across the already debris strewn area, launching bits of metal and concrete everywhere. Dust covered his sight, or it would have if he had any normal type of sight.
Without his eyes, he instead saw the surrounding area like a holographic display, being able to see through walls and things that would obstruct normal vision.
But this little pest was simply too fast for his quirk to keep up with.
'Of all the people to give his quirk to…' All For One cursed, One For All was strong enough on its own, but giving it to a speedster, a speedster who could already move at the speed of sound before getting the quirk, was just asking for trouble.
'But even so, all the speed can't be good for his body.'
Yes, his mouth curled up into a smile. The boy was fast, but everyone had a limit they had to abide by, such was the law of quirks, and if the boy wanted to go fast then who was he to deny him?
"I'm not a rat!" The boy yelled as he blurred to a stop in front of the villain, his knuckles clenched tightly and dripping with trace amounts of blood, "I'm a hero."
"So you say, Hero," He drawled, "But aren't heroes supposed to save lives? Not take them?"
He watched as the little hero's eyes flashed with something he was quite familiar with, agony.
"He didn't give me a choice!" Izuku hissed as he thought back to Shigaraki, how he had been about to disintegrate Bakugou and Jirou, and how he had raced forward, his eyes only seeing a threat and then–
"So you snapped his neck?" All for One tutted, "Surely you could have just moved him away? Disabled him? Killing someone does not seem like the work of a hero to me."
Izuku was silent, but his eyes never left All For One, he knew he was trying to bait him. All Might had warned him after all, that was what he had done to injure him after all. Bait him, get his guard down, make him mad, reckless.
When Izuku didn't respond, All For One only sighed, "Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you're only pretending to be a hero," He smiled, "holding yourself back? Having a change of morals perhaps?"
"There was talk of a vigilante that was too fast for the naked eye many years ago, I suspect that must have been you?" He started pacing around Izuku, like a predator hunting its prey, "but who got you on a leash?"
Izuku said nothing.
"I have done my research on you, Izuku, you were separated from your birth family at quite a young age. Surely they must have been able to reign you in? But what caused you to go so wild in the first place?"
Izuku stiffened, and the villain could see a different look to replace his previous one.
"The experiments perhaps?" All For One stopped suddenly, "The powers given to you that were not yours to have?"
Quick as a lightning strike, something in Izuku changed, and like rolled thunder, he howled. The area exploded in blue light as pure energy arced off of his body and towards the ground, lapping at anything it could touch, leaving searing streaks in its wake.
His hair, once black, now stood up ever so slightly, a blue glow having completely overtaken it.
"It was you." His voice became warbled and layered like there were two of him talking at once, he wanted to heave then and there, just thinking of his time underground made him want to hurl.
"Indeed."
Izuku roared and he was off, blazing around All For One like a hurricane, landing blow after blow on the madman with zero seconds reprieve. Each blow hurt the man, and a bit of blood trickled from his mouth, but he could not stop laughing, each blow being healed the moment they were dealt.
Eventually, All For One tired of his laughter, and once more used a well-timed Air cannon to send the fledgling hero flying back, but not knocking him down, as he landed on his feet. He could see the young boy panting, and he knew he had been right all along.
"It seems even you have a limit, hero."
"Limit?!" Izuku screamed, his grimace warping into a manic type smile that almost sent a shiver down even the villain's spine, he laughed and the arcs of energy grew around him, the ground rumbled, "I've got your limit right here!"
Once again, he blurred from view, and he was briefly stunned by the sheer sound of the sonic boom his every movement had just made in his wake. Yet, he was not worried, for the very moment the hero appeared again, manic and poised to strike him, he stopped.
Izuku looked down slowly, as there were now, many, many spikes piercing multiple parts of his body. Making him immobile, and for the moment, whether it was due to adrenaline or not, he could not feel the pain. But what he could feel, was the accelerated healing rate of his body that was trying to heal around the spikes.
"Pitfall." All For One said slowly, "A quirk that, I must admit, I never had much of a use for, it has such a long setup time, and has such obvious tells. But you," He chuckled, "Well you were too enraged to even notice any of that."
Izuku tried with all his might to break free, the energy still snapping and crackling around his body, which was the only thing keeping All For One from touching him. But that was okay, he had other ways of hurting him.
"Jirou Kyouka."
Izuku suddenly stopped struggling, his eyes took on a dangerous look, "What?"
"Or Should I say, Amy Rose? What with you two taking different names, that's what really kept me from finding my two most successful creations for so long… but that was the problem wasn't it? The reason I had changed to Nomu's, humans just had too much free will, as evidenced by you three."
"Two." Izuku Spat at him, "Shadow is dead, your doctor made sure of that."
And in a way, he was right. As much as it saddened him, he was alive, but he had no memories and was afraid of his own powers. Barely ever leaving his room, a mockery of what he used to be. Izuku didn't hate him for that, but the Shadow he knew was gone.
All For One almost looked surprised, as much as he could without his eyes at least, "My ultimate creation?" He sighed, "I'm glad I killed the doctor when I had the chance, he was always going behind my back, after all."
"What's your point?" Izuku growled.
"You can't escape the monikers you were given boy," He looked at him with a face that could not see, at least not in the traditional sense, "Project Sonic, You and Shadow were so close to being perfect, what went wrong?" The last part he mumbled to himself.
Izuku, for his part, was able to retort, "Well maybe experimenting on children isn't the way to get someone to like you? Although I guess no one would want to have kids with you when you have a face like that, or should I say a lack thereof?"
Izuku would have pat himself on the back for that one if not for the fact that he was in a fight to the death with his captor, experimenter, and mentor's nemesis. Talk about a whole host of problems.
"Ah yes, you always had a quick wit," All For One remarked drily, "Tell me, boy, have you ever had to watch the one you love die?"
Izuku didn't move, he couldn't, but he dared not speak, for fear of what might come next. Maybe, if he said nothing, time would never move and he would never have to live out whatever All For One's words were about to promise him.
"Shadow, originally, was meant with the sole purpose of becoming my next vessel of power, carrying on my quirk and ruling in my stead. In theory," He continued, "To do that he would need extreme stimuli, that's why we let the three of you bond so closely."
Izuku caught on quick enough, they were allowed to bond, they had always known that, they had pitted him and Shadow against each other, and Amy was the level-headed one. So if Amy was removed from the equation.
"But with him out of the picture, I need to move down the list."
His smile widened.
"I wonder what would happen if I did the same to you?"
It was then that Izuku heard the sound of shuffling feet and falling rocks, and suddenly Jirou was jumping forward with her Soundwave Hammer, but she was stopped effortlessly as All For One grabbed her throat.
"Jirou!" He jerked, "Amy!"
The man chuckled, "My, my, what a day for reunions, first I am able to beat All Might into the ground, and now I learn that not only one of my creations is alive, but two! What a momentous day indeed!"
His laugh boomed across the desolate destruction of Kamino ward, and Izuku could only wonder where all the other heroes were. It wasn't like they should have trouble getting here, not unless something was keeping them out.
Jirou struggled in his grip, but even her enhanced strength was not enough to be able to break free from his monstrous grip.
"You know, up close like this…" She panted, "Your head really does look like an egg."
All For One said nothing, only tightening his grip in response.
"What will you do now, hero?" He asked, addressing Izuku, "If you wish to save her, then break free. But if you can't then she will die."
"Stop!" Izuku shouted, he bared his teeth, struggling more and more against the spikes still in him.
"You have only yourself to blame for this, Sonic. Betraying me, ruining Project Silver, and trying to fight me. This is all. your. fault."
Everything around Izuku seemed to slow to a standstill at those words, triggering a memory in him that, in all honesty, he was sure why he had tried to forget it. Maybe it was unintentional, but that wasn't something he could answer.
/
"I feel dirty." Izuku had said suddenly one night to his family, consisting of his mother, Kayama Nemuri, his father Aizawa Shouta, his brother in all but blood, Shadow, and Amy, or Jirou, who was staying with them now.
"Kid?" His father had asked hesitantly, getting the feeling that this wasn't the beginning to a normal conversation.
"I did all those things to survive, but what right did I have to do those things to other people? Why did I think I had the right to play judge and jury?" He spoke as if this was a common thought to him, so nonchalantly and uncaring of the topic.
Aizawa, who was still trying to get used to being a parent– it didn't come naturally to him like it did for Nemuri, or so he thought– sent a quick glance at his wife. And just like people who had known each other for many, many years, she was able to discern everything he was trying to convey.
A moment later, after the room had been cleared, save for him and Izuku, he started talking.
"You know you could control the instincts he implanted in you, right? There was no way to fight that." Aizawa tried to comfort him, but it was like his words had the opposite effect that he was hoping for.
"But I don't have them now! I could have shaken them much sooner if I had just-"
Aizawa gently grabbed Izuku on both of his shoulders, "Kid, we were barely able to get rid of the mental conditioning in the first place, there was nothing you could have done."
Izuku sniffled, he didn't cry, not in front of any of them at least. But some nights he could hear the soft hiccups through the wall, and wanted nothing more than to comfort his son.
"So I'm just supposed to forget?"
"No, I never said that," he said sternly, but not with anger, "but you need to realize that you did the best you could do with the shitty hand life dealt you. You were able to protect them for years, and I'm so sorry we couldn't be there for you, and nothing can fix what happened."
"But I am so damn proud of you, because despite what happened, you made that power yours, and you're using it for the opposite reason it was given to you."
"You're saving people."
/
"No," Izuku heard himself say as the memory faded away again, "I accepted what I did, I moved on, I'm not responsible for your destruction and hatred. Sometimes," Izuku grunted again, his breath coming in small gasps, "Heroes kill, it's an unpleasant side effect, but it happens. Shigaraki could have gone on to kill millions of people, there was no saving him from the depths you dragged him into."
Izuku didn't stop, lest All For One use his silver tongue once again, "I cannot, and will not be blamed for what you have wrought upon the world, I only answer for my own actions. This is my power now, and I'm using it the way I want to."
His eyes flashed bright, "I'm using it to save lives."
Before All For One could even answer his proclamation, Izuku muttered words that Jirou thought she would never hear again.
"Chaos Control."
A snap, a flash, and Izuku was free of the spikes, standing upright a few feet away where he had been, and without a victim to hold, the spikes crumbled to dust.
All For One's smile dropped, "How did you do that? What was that power?"
Izuku shook his head, "Something you won't have to worry about soon."
Surprise grew on the villain's features, "Do you plan to kill me, boy?"
Izuku said nothing, only reaching for the pouch that was tied to his belt, Jirou knew what was inside the pouch, and her eyes widened, "Izuku-!" She tried to say, but All For One threw her to the side, cutting her words off before she could tell him to stop.
Izuku remained calm, despite the actions of the man, "It's alright, this time…"
He pulled the string of the pouch, and a rainbow glow filled the area from within the pouch.
"This time I know what I'm fighting for."
All For One knew not what was within the pouch his creation carried, but the feeling he got just looking at it was filling him with terror he had not felt since the dawn of quirks. So he leaped forward as seven multicolored gems flew out from the pouch, wrapping Izuku in a ring.
He was too slow, and just as he was about to make contact with his body, he was flung back by a pure concussive shockwave. He growled as he recognized it as his other creation's weapon, her hammer that shot shockwaves of pure sound.
But he had not the time to turn on her either, as quickly as he could turn to try and salvage some of his plans. A beam of light shot into the heavens, clearing the clouds in the night sky, the golden light must have been visible for miles around.
And in front of All For One, stood Izuku, entrenched in golden flames and his hair floating with that same golden hue. His eyes had become a deep red while his features had set into a furious scowl.
Jirou, from her spot on the ground, looked on in amazement as Izuku controlled his super form, no more spiraling eyes. He didn't look crazy, and he was completely focused on his enemy, instead of lashing out at everything in sight.
"It's over, All For One, you can't beat me as I am now."
All For One, despite his fear, managed to scoff, "Am I supposed to be scared by another colour change? Please, boy, I've seen much scarier–"
Izuku raised his hand to All For One's chest, and he froze, just as quickly Izuku closed his fist. For a moment, nothing happened, and then suddenly, it was like hundreds of blows were dealt to his upper body all at once. All of them delivered so fast that they did not appear to have even moved.
He sank to his knees, and Izuku strode forward and the ground beneath him seared with the heat of his own aura.
"I can do anything I want now, the Chaos Emeralds let me harness the most primal forces of the universe, I can do anything my mind desires when I'm like this." He spoke calmly, and he could see the intrigue on the man's face.
"If I had that kind of power…"
Izuku raised his hand to his face, his palm open, "Soon, you won't have any power at all."
"Because you're going to kill me?" He asked.
"No, I will make you suffer, and I will make you feel just as powerless as you made me feel," Izuku said with a sharp edge in his voice, and his palm glowed brightly, so bright that anyone that might have been in, or near, the area lost sight of the two for the briefest of moments.
When the light faded, the two became visible once again, and Izuku stood calmly over the collapsed man. Although he looked different now, the man known as All For One seemed to look almost completely the same as he had before All Might had ruined his face. The quirk mutating his arm was completely gone now, and he lay there, unconscious.
Jirou thought he would drop his super form now, but he didn't, only continuing to stand there and look down at the man. So she stood, slowly, massaging her neck, and limped over to him, careful no to get too close. But she found that the heat did not burn her as she got closer.
"Izuku," He did not answer, "Sonic, it's over, you can drop out now." She hated calling him by that name, but sometimes it was the only way to get his attention.
His eyes slowly drifted to hers, and he looked at his hands.
"No, not yet."
Jirou was startled, reminded of the last time he went super, "What do you mean not yet? It's over, he's not a threat anymore, not with whatever you did to him."
"I took his quirks, all of them, and healed his body so he would survive without them." He stated it like it was the easiest thing he had ever done, and maybe it was, "But no, there are still things I need to fix, don't worry, I won't make you forget."
He smiled at her, and before those words could fully register in her brain, everything suddenly went white, and the world knew no more.
—
Jirou jolted awake, in her bed at home. Her first thought was that she had absolutely no idea how she had managed to end up here. The second thing that came rushing in moments later was what Izuku had said before she wound up here.
He said he had things to fix.
She jumped out of bed, and stumbled, only for the sound of blowing wind and the grasp of gentle hands to catch her before she could fall.
"Easy there, Amy, I don't want to have to heal you again."
She looked up and into Izuku's eyes, they were different now, the normal green now held inklings of swirling red in them, and his normally black hair had gold flecks throughout, not overpowering, but definitely, enough to notice it.
"What–" She coughed and stood, "What happened? What did you do?"
Izuku didn't answer at first, and she could see the gears turning in his head.
"I… fixed things." He said slowly, "I fixed Kamino, I made everyone that could have seen the emeralds and the aftermath of them forget about them, I healed All Might's wound, and…"
Whatever he said was interrupted by someone else barging into the room that the two of them occupied.
"Are you two love birds done in here or what?"
Her eyes widened at the sound of the voice, no, the way the voice held itself. How it held itself in a way she thought she would never hear again. Her eyes leapt from Izuku to Shadow, but not the broken and distant Shadow she remembered trying to protect her before Izuku fought All For One. No, this was the Shadow that hadn't had his mind broken, the snarky, confident Shadow that would Curb Izuku's attitude.
"Shadow!" She leaped and pulled him into a tight hug, and he grunted returning the hug.
"Amy, please, can't breathe." He choked out, and she let go of him sheepishly, and she immediately turned back to Izuku.
"You fixed him?"
Izuku shook his head, 'There was nothing to fix, he just needed a guide."
The two brothers looked at each other with wild grins, and Jirou could tell that there was a story there, a story that she wasn't going to hear today. But right now it didn't matter, because they had all come home.
Home.
Finally, though, Jirou's thought's caught up with Shadow's earlier words and she whirled on him, "Love birds?!"
Shadow, to his credit, knew he had poked the wrong beast and immediately held his hands up in surrender.
"It's not my fault you two want to dance around it all the time." He supplied with a small smirk, and gods, wasn't it good to see this side of him again?
Jirou turned to look at Izuku, who was almost wiggling in place, and it made her laugh, because what kind of day had this been at all? It still raised the question of what the world would do with the fact that even though All Might was healed, he would probably still retire if the embers truly had burnt out and if Izuku had only erased the memories of the emeralds and not his victory.
He would be put on a pedestal.
But to her, at that moment, it didn't matter. And the intoxicating feeling of finally being rid of their tormentor, for good, pushed her to do something she had wanted to do for a long while now.
Without warning, Jirou stepped forward and pushed herself up on her tiptoes, to be at an equal height with Izuku, and their lips met. Izuku's eyes widened briefly before he accepted what had been offered to him. The two of them met in absolute bliss, and it just felt right.
Jirou kissed him and she thought he might pull back.
Izuku kissed her and he thought she might realize she felt differently.
Neither of these things was the case, and for the two of them, that was enough.
It took everything in Shadow not to make a snarky comment and ruin their moment, he was genuinely, very happy for them. So to make less noise, he used Chaos Control to teleport just outside the door and walked right into his parents.
He looked at them quizzically, "Have you been eavesdropping?"
Nemuri shook her head in the negative, but Aizawa told a different story, "She dragged me here, she wanted gossip."
After getting over the shock of being betrayed by her own husband to their son, she tried to explain herself, "There is a betting pool going on involving those two!"
Shadow huffed, "Why am I not surprised in the least?"
It felt like maybe, just maybe, things had gained a sense of normalcy once again.
—
One Week Later
—
Izuku and Jirou had returned to U.A. along with Shadow who was undergoing classes to catch up with where they were currently since he had been in such a sorry state for so long, but that was no problem for the "ultimate lifeform" Izuku had joked.
He and Jirou were eating their lunch outside, far away from any of the other students who had been hounding Izuku for various reasons. Their class was more understanding, but he needed the space. He still wasn't used to so many people in one space after all.
Their current topic of conversation had shifted over to the events of the battle.
"So you're keeping the emeralds?" Jirou asked, unaware until a few minutes ago that he still had them on his person.
He nodded, "They're… a part of me now," to prove his point, he held up a hand and one of the emeralds slowly emerged from his palm, spinning slowly for a movement before sinking back into his body, "I tried to send them away, to scatter them across the universe or something. But they wouldn't let me."
"They wouldn't let you?" Jirou asked incredulously because that just sounded ridiculous.
"Yeah, I think they may be sentient," he hummed in thought, "Whatever the case, I have them just in case, and we know I can control them now. So everything should be fine, I don't see myself ever needing them again."
Jirou was the one to nod this time, but it raised another question, "What about One For All?"
Izuku took longer to answer this time "I think it's finally settled in my body, the lightning doesn't hurt me anymore, and the vestiges seemed to have calmed down. I should talk with them soon…" he mumbled the last part, clearly deep in thought, and Jirou realized suddenly that Shadow had yet to join them.
"Where is Shadow anyway?"
Izuku smiled, clearly knowing something she didn't, "Talking with Momo, I believe."
Jirou raised an eyebrow, "Momo, really?"
Izuku shrugged, "She was always nice to him, even when he wasn't really all there," he paused, 'I think he has a thing for her."
Jirou snorted, "Seriously?"
"I guess we'll find out soon, I don't think he'll have the same problem as us."
The two of them laughed and fell into a comfortable silence, letting the sun wash over them and taking in its comfortable warmth.
"I love days like this," Jirou said simply, not expecting a reply from Izuku.
"And I love you."
"I love you too."
