AN: Sorry it took longer, I was working on a new fic that was exclusive to AO3, Mystery Heroine Theater. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and please Fave, Follow, and comment,
Izuku was sprawled on the ground with blood coming from his mouth. Soon, everyone started to panic at the sight.
"Midoriya!" Shouted his classmates in concern, gathering around the unconscious boy.
Silver, however, remained calm, went through the crowd, came up to Izuku and checked for a pulse. "He's alive, however, we need medical attention now."
Aizawa had already got the medibots ready as they came up to the unconscious boy with a stretcher. The students soon got out of the way as the robots were heading toward the downed boy.
"What the hell was that, Silver?" Aizawa growled as he rounded up to the sketchy old man. "Did you know something like this could happen?!"
"No, no. I did not. In fact, I did not account for that at all." Responded Silver as the medical bots loaded Izuku onto the stretcher.
"Well let's hope he doesn't end up like Jerry." Commented one medical bot while wheeling out Izuku.
"Who's Jerry?" Vlad King asked, unsure of what the bots were talking about.
"A poor unfortunate soul." Responded the other medical bots, nonchalantly and cryptically, much to the adult's consternation.
Izuku's mindscape
Izuku's vision was blurry as he heard what he thought was the sound of cards shuffling.
"Hit me." Said a gruff voice.
"Got it." Said a more whimsical voice.
THWACK
"I meant a card!"
"I fold." Said a third voice.
"Royal Straight Flush!" said the gruff voice.
"We're playing Blackjack." Said a female voice.
"Oh hey, the guest of the hour has arrived." Said the whimsical voice.
When Izuku's vision cleared, he was dumbfounded.
What he saw was seven figures gathered around a card table but five of them were featureless. However two figures were more defined. There was a bald man with a gruff appearance who was currently rubbing the goose egg on his head. The other figure was a muscular but curvy woman with raven black hair. Currently she was muttering about a bad streak.
"... You're cheating, I know it." The woman grumbled under her breath.
What caught Izuku's attention however was the person who was dealing the cards.
At the head of the card table was a bright yellow human-shaped being who was mostly featureless with the exception of a giant toothy grin on their face. "Come sit down." He then had a chair appear at the side of the table.
"Take a load off and relax, my friend."
Izuku was hesitant for a moment but then took a seat. He looked nervously between the two people that were sitting next to him.
"Hey, brat. Daigoro Banjo's the name, but my hero name is Lariat." the gruff man said, who honestly could be mistaken for Marv.
"My name is Nana Shimura, but I was called Valor." Answered the woman.
"Well, might as well introduce myself, but for now you can call me…Sunny." the Yellow figure now known as Sunny said. "I appeared before your other 'guests' once you ate the fruit that contained me."
Izuku turned to Daigoro and Nana. "Are you the predecessors of One for All?" He asked them.
"Aren't you sharp, brat. Yup, and I'm the fifth user." Answered Daigoro. He then looked at his cards and groaned.
"... And I'm the seventh user, Toshi's mentor." Nana said with some reluctance.
"Wait, you're All Might's mentor!?" Izuku nearly shouted. "He didn't really talk about you! ... You-you're kidding me?! After all I-wait... calm yourself." He had to take a few deep breaths as Sunny gave Nana a new hand.
When she saw her hand she put her cards down. "Hold."
Sunny then revealed an ace of spades and a king of clubs. "Blackjack."
"Mother-" Nana slammed her hand on the table. As soon as the room started to shake, Izuku felt his chest cave in and he fell to the ground.
"Nana, be gentle. How do you think he's in his current predicament right now?" Sunny chidled, who was reshuffling the cards.
"Fine..." grumbled Nana. "I apologize about that kid."
Izuku nods, rubbing his chest from the phantom pain, idly wondering why Nana hitting the table made him felt it.
"Good. Now we can move on with the game , thoughI believe it's time for you to wake up." Said Sunny.
Izuku is surrounded by a white light as everything becomes blurry.
U.A. Medical Wing
Izuku's vision began to clear up as he saw a familiar ceiling pattern of the Medical Wing at U.A.
"Wh...what happened…" He spoke out weakly.
He looked around and saw a digital clock. The time read 10:30 PM. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Was he really out for 8 hours?
He also saw that it was night. He leaned back on his pillow and looked at the ceiling. 'So those seven people that were playing cards were the past users for One for All. But Sunny is still the bigger mystery that appeared. Just what exactly was that fruit I ate?' Izuku thought to himself as he decided to close his eyes to go into a dreamless slumber.
Kamino
In the bar, Stain currently had bandages wrapped around his chest with his shirt off to the side. Stain was dead silent as he remembered what that wrenched man said to him. 'A disappointment!? Just what the hell does that fake know!?'
"First order of business…" Kurogiri started while cleaning a short glass.
"Who was that man with the pigeon?!" Stain demanded, his pride just as smarting as his body.
"He goes by the name, Night Hunter. He's a dangerous man you had no chance of beating." Said a voice. The two men turned to see a middle aged man lighting a cigarette in his mouth.
"What do you know about him, Giran?" Asked Kurogiri.
Giran sat down at the bar and blew out some smoke. "He's a high ranked freelancer. He does his job and it gets done."
"So, what?! What could he do that I can't!? I've purged the world of fake Heroes!" Shouted Stain.
"It's obvious, he doesn't waste his time going after low ranking Heroes and prefers to be off the radar."
Giran then presents a couple of pictures to Kurogiri.
One photo had a dead man, likely 40s, business suit, balding, and also most peculiar: a single puncture wound. "Yama Shin, DA for criminal prosecution."
Another photo had more bodies. Most of the corpses had black robes. What's more, they looked like a savage animal mauled them to death. "Creature Rejection Clan."
The final picture had a headless corpse sprawled out on the street. "Don Shiba, former head of the Shiba crime family."
"What the-you mean he did all this?!" Stain's eyes widened as he saw the photos.
"Like I said, he is efficient and he made a name for himself in the criminal underworld." Said Giran blowing smoke into Stain's face.
Stain coughed into his hand before pulling a blade on Giran. "I doubt you'll keep your tongue for much longer." Threatened Stain. "My cause is just to weed out those damn fakes!"
"Unlike you, Stain, Night Hunter made progress in his work. What's a few dead Heroes going to change? Nothing." Said Giran without any fear.
Stain soon started to feel pain since he's still recovering and put away his blade. "Consider yourself lucky. I'm not working for the League for insulting my cause." He said firmly. "You're lacking conviction, it's no surprise you praise a butcher who has no true goals."
"Then I'll bring you back to Hosu then." Said Kurogiri, who then created a portal for Stain.
The mad vigilante gave one last glare at the pair before he went into the portal.
"Master Shigaraki will not be pleased that Stain turned down his offer."
"Of course he won't, when isn't he pleased?" Giran sardonically remarked. He was about to walk out when a sinister smile adorned his face. "So why not find a better replacement then?"
Kurogiri glanced at Giran. "Are you suggesting that we should recruit the man who beat Stain?"
"What do you think?" Responded Giran. "Night Hunter may be pricey but he is definitely the kind of guy who can help organize that overgrown brat's team. Quality over quantity."
Kurogiri picked up a glass mug and started to clean it. "I will consider it, however Master Shigaraki gets the final say in the matter."
The next day
In Class 1-A, it was oddly quiet and not just because of Izuku puking blood yesterday. Izuku, Shoto, and Iida were nowhere in the class at the moment. Soon, Aizawa came in and noticed that everyone was silent.
"Alright, class. Let's go over what to do today and address the elephant in the room." Said Aizawa with a tired sigh. "After talking with Silver on how Devil Fruits differ from Quirks, we're going to need to change most of the course schedule as a result."
The students who have eaten Devil Fruits looked confused as they wondered what they had in store for them now.
"Aizawa-sensei, what would the schedule be now?" Asked Momo.
"Well I'll have additional lessons on Devil Fruits and something the geezer called Haki as part of your course."
"Sensei, what about what happened with Midoriya and where is Silver-sensei?" Asked Kirishima.
"Midoriya is fine and will be absent for today. As for Silver, he should be coming by to look at his condition." Answered Aizawa.
The door then opened and Silver came in. They were about to greet him but stopped and stared in shock. A giant syringe cane was sticking out from his left shoulder, but the old man didn't seem bothered by it.
"Don't worry about this, I have taken worse hits from Recovery Girl." Silver assured as he pulled the cane out almost like one would remove a leaf, ignoring the blood spurt that came with.
"Wait, Recovery Girl stabbed you with her cane!?" Exclaimed Kaminari.
"Nah, she threw it like a javelin. Third time today."
"Wait, the third time?!"
"Yes, that's what I said."
"Why would Recovery Girl do that?" Toru asked as she bounced in place.
"Well, she's still pissed about students at U.A. eating Devil Fruits. Can't say I blame her with the expletives she yelled at me on the first day." Silver explained as he took out and held a cloth on his shoulder over the puncture wound.
"Recovery Girl? Cursing?" At this point, Silver was starting to get annoyed with the questions, so he threw up his free hand to stop the kids.
"Look, as much as I want to play 20 questions, I want to cut to the chase." Silver held out small packets for everyone in the room and began passing it out. "Let's make it clear that Devil Fruits and Quirks are like apples and oranges. While they are both powers, they operate very differently."
"How so?" Ochako asked, looking at her fingerpads briefly.
"That would be what the extra class will be for, Mochi. I will fill everyone in on what to expect."
She nodded in response, waiting for everyone else to be present. The door soon opened with Shoto walking in. "Apologies for my tardiness." Shoto said, bowing his head to Silver in apology.
"No you're just on time, Gemini. Just take your seat and read the pamphlet" Said Silver, waving him to his desk.
Shoto sat at his desk and found the pamphlet that read 'Devil Fruits for Dummies' in bold letters.
Shoto got to reading the pamphlet while Silver explained how the class will work. Shoto browsed the pamphlet as he was dumbfounded by a few notable things he was reading.
'Turning anyone they touch into a living toy and have people forget about you, becoming a weregiraffe and a full giraffe, turning your body into butter? Just how do any of these powers make sense?' Shoto thought to himself.
Shoji raised his hand which Silver noticed.
"Do Devil Fruits operate on an escalation scale?" Shoji asked.
"Not traditionally but some fruits can be more dangerous than others. Devil Fruits don't necessarily get stronger with age, rather it is the user's imagination that makes the fruit powerful."
"Wait, so Devil Fruits have less limits than Quirks in this case?" Asked Mina.
"Well some fruits do have specific weaknesses and limits to them, so it varies. However, I will go more in depth by tomorrow when Midoriya and Iida return."
Before they could say anything, the bell rang and signaled the next class.
"Oh, one thing I need to mention. The extra class will be a joint class with 1-B." Silver called out. Behind Silver, Aizawa had been asleep the entire time
Medical Wing.
Izuku was laying in bed while Recovery Girl was checking his vitals. Normally the Youthful Hero was friendly but Izuku can tell she wasn't in a good mood.
"Reckless idiot…what was he thinking, leaving something that dangerous in plain view." She muttered.
"I'm sorry." Apologized Izuku.
Recovery Girl looked up. "Oh, not you, dearie. It's... was my idiot ex-husband I'm upset with. He knows better than anyone how dangerous those fruits are."
Izuku was confused. "Wait, Silver-sensei was your husband?"
The Youthful Hero sighed. "Yes, he was my husband, but that's a story for another time."
"Oh... I don't mean to pry." Said Izuku looking guilty.
"It's alright, it's between me and him. Now, I need to take your vitals to verify if you're truly alright."
They soon heard the door open and Silver walking in. Izuku noticed that Silver and Recovery Girl didn't make eye contact with each other. No one said a word.
It was intense silence until Silver broke the ice. "We can save the talk for later, I wanted to give the kid a heads up."
"Make it quick then." Recovery Girl said as she walked out of the room.
Silver soon sat down on the chair next to Izuku. "Alright, I want to know if anything strange happened while you were unconscious."
Izuku leaned back to try to remember. "I remember that there were 8 people playing cards."
"8 people?" Silver asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Were they all the past users of One for All?"
"Well technically there were 9 of them and only 8 of them were playing cards. One figure wasn't as solid and kept phasing in and out. That may have been All Might."
"Wait, 9?" Silver put his hand to his chin and was thinking. "Can you describe what the other 8 figures looked like?"
"Well 5 of them were covered in shadows so I couldn't see but the other 3 I could see. A muscular woman named Nana and a big guy with goggles named Daigoro."
"That covers 8 out of the 9, but the last figure?"
"The last figure was humanoid with no barely any features to him but a giant smile and a joyful disposition. He claimed he came from the Devil Fruit I ate."
After a minute he came up with a thought. "Alright, Green. I'll explain what might have happened to you." Said Silver. "Devil Fruits are sometimes said to have a mind of their own and what may have happened was that the Fruit's soul and the souls the souls connected to One for All. I'm not a hundred percent, but it's mostly a theory."
"Wait... are you saying that the previous user of the Gomu-Gomu no Mi have connected to the predecessors of One For All?" Asked Izuku.
"To be honest, I think the being you talked to was the fruit itself."
"Wait what?"
"Some Devil Fruits are sentient to a degree. I'm not a hundred percent sure but it was mostly based on rumors." Silver then handed Izuku the pamphlet he gave the Heroes course students. "So this is new territory for me as well."
"Sounds like something out of an anime."
Silver snorted as he got up. "Yeah, it does. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you'll leave here by the end of the day. Take care, Green."
Miodriya took a breath and laid back in bed.
U.A. Cafeteria
At the table 1-A sat at, it was still quiet. "Uh... so does anyone want to say a thing?" Sero said.
"What can we honestly say?" Momo replied. "I'm still trying to understand the limits of my new ability and so far I'm stumped by its endless possibilities."
"I'm just wondering how 1-B is handling this." Commented Mina while putting her hand under her chin. Tsu, Koda, and Sato nodded in agreement. "It's like dealing with a whole new playing field."
"Yeah but now I need a new Hero costume." Said Toru who is still getting used to being visible.
"Maybe the Support Department can help." Suggested Shoji.
"Well I know that. It's just going to be a pain to pick the right cute outfit."
"I believe cuteness should be the last thing you're thinking about."
"Oh, come on! How else am I gonna stand out?!"
Tokoyami was oddly silent.
"You seem quiet there, Tokoyami." Asked Sero. "Did something weird happen?"
"Yes, Dark Shadow has not made any contact with me since I ate that fruit." Answered the bird-headed boy.
"Wait, that's possible?"
"Dark Shadow does have a mind of his own and I'm concerned."
"Oh... I see."
Soon Dark Shadow emerged from underneath Tokoyami's shirt. "Dark Shadow, why are you hiding?" Asked Tokoyami in surprise.
"Sorry, Fumi, I was having fun with the new roomie," Said Dark Shadow happily.
"Roommate?" The raven-headed teen raised an eyebrow at this piece of information.
"Well, after you ate the fruit, this thing that looked like me appeared! We were both pretty surprised, but we talked it out and then played some Twisted Metal 2!"
"Wait, Twisted Metal? How did you know the other liked gaming?"
"Oh, sorry Fumi, it's time for round 2!" Before Tokoyami can say anything, Dark Shadow retracted back inside him, and Tokoyami swore he heard the game for a second
"... that was a thing," Sero quipped.
They soon heard footsteps behind them as a few Gen Ed students were looking smugly at them. "Huh, not so mighty now." Said one girl in the group. "I knew Suiseigan was strong but I didn't think he'd manhandle the Hero Course students and make them look like chumps."
Bakugo stood up and glared at the girl. "That blind bastard got lucky!" He yelled out with venom.
"Nice way to cope with your loss. And what about the girl from recommendation that got ringed out within a second."
Momo was saddened a bit, wanting to say something. Before she could, a plastic water bottle was thrown and hit the girl that was insulting 1-A. "And I would like to point out that using my victory at the Sports Festival doesn't give you the right to insult others, Togeike." The rest of 1-A turned to see Zato, along with Shinsou, walking up to his classmates with an annoyed expression. "Now, you're just embarrassing our class." The blind student stated.
Tokeike then stormed off along with the other students. Zato then turned to the rest of 1-A. "I apologize about Togeike. She's pretty jaded about how much your class had the spotlight."
"Oh... are we really that hated?" Ochako asked the pair.
"Nah, it's more envy than hatred." Responded Shinsou. "But... I will admit, it gets a little out of hand."
"Thanks for defending us." Said Momo.
"Not a problem. Is it OK if me and Hitoshi sit with you?"
"You can take a seat." The pair sat down.
"So, I take it you're curious on what its like eating a Devil Fruit?"
"Yes, it's a whole new experience for some of us."
Zato took a small breath, then explained. "Eating a Devil Fruit can be like getting a Quirk. It's the same yet its not."
"So are Devil Fruits hereditary?" Asked Kirishima.
"No. Devil Fruits have a much different system. Say I had a child, no matter what, they wouldn't inherent the Devil Fruit I ate."
"So... how does it get passed on?"
"When the current user dies."
This left an involuntary shiver in them. "But…"
"While it is morbid, Devil Fruits have a life cycle. They appear, some one eats it, they gain its powers, and when the user dies, it reappears until the next person eats it."
"So it's like the circle of life?" Kaminari inquired, scratching his head in thought.
"To a degree."
"There was something else i wanted to know, kero. '' Everyone soon looked at Tsuyu."What's Haki?"
Zato was silent while Shinsou glanced at his friend. "That's another playing field... if you have the time to sit and listen. However I can try to summarize as quicky and accurately as I can."
Everyone leaned in, especially Bakugo and Shoto, taking interest.
"Haki is using your willpower and manifesting it to either predict your opponent, create invisible armor, or if you're extremely lucky, overpower other wills with your own." Explained Zato.
"Wait, you're saying it's like ki?" Asked Mina.
"Kind of. Although i don't believe its like the one from Dragon Ball."
Mina snapped her fingers. "Damn."
"But overcoming wills is a good consolation prize."
"Overcoming will?" Questioned Shoto.
"Yes. You can overcome other wills with your own. But it's rare. It's said those who that particular ability, are destined to become great leaders, rulers, or conquerors."
This tidbit of information caught Bakugo's attention. 'I think these extra lessons won't be such a waste after all.' He thought to himself.
"However, that particular haki is rare and cannot be learned." Stated Zato.
"But it's powerful, right?" Asked Shoto.
"It is. You felt it during Midoriya's fight with Hit."
"You mean that weird feeling of dread that came from Silver-sensei that caused all those villains to faint was conquerors haki, Kero?" Said Tsu while she had her finger on her chin.
"That does sound like the effects of Conqueror's Haki. Meaning Silver and Midoriya have it. The latter seems to be untrained in it, though."
The group heard the bell ring signaling the end of lunch.
"Oh, class calls." Said Kirishima.
"Very well, I wish you luck." Said Zato.
"Same with you and Shinsou."
With that said they headed back to class.
U.A. Support Invention Laboratory 2
Most of the support students were working diligently with making a few adjustments to the Heroes Course support gear.
One student in particular was making a mini dress with a few fake gemstones on it. "I hope the invisible girl likes the dress." Said the student as he was sowing a few more stitches into the dress.
Soon everything stopped when a loud mechanical sound echoed through the room and then a giant crash.
"HATSUMEIIIIII!" Everyone heard Power Loader screaming a particular students name.
When everyone looked to see what happened, there was a giant vehicle on the table that had two large turrets on it.
"HOW!?" The student working on the dress yelled incredulously, though in the process of his reaction to the mad scientist of the class's latest attempt to give Maijima-sensei gray hairs, ended up accidentally tearing it in half. He then looks down in horror as he needs to repair the dress.
"Ingenuity! And an extra new power!" Mei crowed to a incensed Power Loader who looked ready to blow.
"That doesn't explain the turrets, Hatsume!" He argued while pointing to the large guns.
"They're just a bonus. They even have heat seeking nets to capture baddies. And as a plus I got my jet boots working without them exploding!"
"You're not helping at all!" Power Loader growled out who was getting increasingly stressed by the second.
"No explosions! That should definitely count!" Pointed out Mei.
Power Loader stormed off. "That rat bastard better give me a fucking raise and dental because I'm not paid nearly enough for this! Why did that old idiot let you eat that cursed fruit?! More a curse to me at this point…"
All the other students could only stare and gape at how incensed Power Loader is before he left the room and every student looked at Mei.
A horrific feeling came over them, almost as if they were staring at a foreign entity in human skin. Mei soon began to cackle as she started to feel the power and possibilities come to her.
One student picked up her cellphone and hit a number on their speed dail. "Mom pick me up, I'm scared."