Chapter 42: Life, the Universe, and Everything
Summary:
All for One makes his move.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"You're all confined to the campus until our operation is complete," Eraserhead stated to the assembled students who attended the training camp.
"Your families have been informed, and are on their way," Vlad King added. "The last thing we would want to do is separate you at this time."
"Why are you keeping us here?" Kaibara asked. "That feels like you think we're criminals."
"We have a few reasons, the primary one being that we want to protect you in case the League of Villains tries something else," Vlad King began.
"Didn't most of them get arrested?" Sato asked.
"Not the teleporter or the guy with the hands," Setsuna countered. "And they're the frontrunners of the whole thing."
"The other reason is to ensure that none of you decide to go haring off and attempt to rescue Midoriya on your own," Eraserhead continued. "I know a significant number of you wish to help save him. Unfortunately, we cannot allow that to happen. You'd be placing Midoriya and yourselves in jeopardy if you do so. All of you performed admirably during the attack, but that was a failure on our part to prevent it from occurring."
"You can't be serious!" Eijiro said. "We were so close to saving Mido-bro! How can I look him in the eye if I don't do everything I can to save him?"
"You did do everything you could to save him," Eraserhead said. "What if your interference led to Midoriya being injured or dying? Would that be satisfying to you? How about the inverse? How do you think Midoriya would feel if you ended up dying attempting to save him?"
Eijiro froze in response. Mina hugged him, followed by Setsuna and Tetsutetsu.
"I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying this because, at the moment, you lack the training necessary to perform a task of this magnitude. Every single one of you is heroic, but none of you are professional Heroes. Allowing you to participate without your licenses would be illegal, irresponsible, and downright foolish," Eraserhead stated.
Ochako clenched her fists as she stared at Eraserhead.
"Please listen to him, Occhan, everyone," Izuku said to his girlfriends. "I trust them, and I don't want you getting hurt in the process."
Tears streamed down Ochako's eyes, but she averted her gaze.
"Aizawa-sensei?" Momo asked. "While we may be unable to participate in your operations directly, is it possible to do so indirectly?"
Aizawa's rather creepy smile emerged, "Ask the rat."
"Indeed," Momo stated, determined.
"Ribbit, how are you doing, Izu-chan?" Tsu asked once again, from their gathered place in the support lab.
"Honestly? I endured worse in middle school," Izuku said.
"Given that it's middle school, that's not necessarily comforting," Toru said, hoping to lighten the mood.
"They will likely ramp it up so that they can enact their… plan," Momo said, frowning as she recalled what Izuku was facing.
"I'm going to send them into space," Ochako growled. "Shigaraki and Toga first. They both burned their last bridges with this."
"For Tomura, sure. Toga seemed upset when she was told about it, though," Izuku said.
"Wait, really?" Toru asked.
"Well, her objections centered solely around the idea that I couldn't give hugs without arms," Izuku admitted.
"So the psychopath has some good judgment, it seems," Yui said. "Who knew?"
Nejire burst into the room, "All right, so far we have All Might, Ryukyu, Nighteye, Fatgum, Gang Orca, Tiger, Best Jeanist, Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot, and Endeavor confirmed for the raid!"
Mei looked up from her work, "So does that mean the Big Three will be in on the rescue?"
"Nooooo!" Nejire said, despairingly. "It's terrible! They said the mission's too dangerous for Provisional License holders! I can't go and fly Izu-kun out of there!"
"Nejire-chan-senpai, this is All for One they're facing. All Might came out of his battle with the guy missing most of his torso. You don't want to be anywhere near him!" Izuku said.
"Which means we don't want you anywhere near him either!" Ochako countered.
That was interrupted by Melissa coming in through another door, looking frustrated, "So there's a sprinkle of good news atop a pile of bad. Cathy literally dropped what she was doing and tried to get her squad to fly her out here, but Terrordactyl and the Zoocreeper began attacking Manhattan and both of them are Infrared-level threats so she got called in. And Dad can't get anything from I-Island over here in a timely fashion."
"And the good news, ribbit?" Tsu asked hopefully.
Melissa gave a faint smile, "Dad was able to give me remote access to I-Island's servers with the same clearance I had back home."
"Woohoo!" Mei cried out, "I'll be tearing through those blueprints like a dingo in a maternity ward!"
"And with any luck, they'll tear through the villains with the same ferocity," Melissa said.
Any further conversation was interrupted by a knock at one of the doors. Nejire was closest, so she opened it.
In full costume was Mt. Lady. It was interesting that the Heroine who grew to the size of a building was currently only taller than about half of the students present. "Nezu sent me down here, said you had something for me?"
"Hey, Takeyama-senpai," Yui bowed.
"Kodai-chan!" Mt. Lady exclaimed, not expecting to see her first intern when she arrived. "What's going on? And you're not texting?"
"Been improving," Yui said.
"Good to hear. Sorry about your crush getting kidnapped," Mt. Lady said.
"Mm. Boyfriend now," Yui said.
"Wait, really?" Mt. Lady said. "Congrats! And that means I win the pot!" She looked thrilled, until she remembered, "Wait, Gang Orca showed a picture of him with the frog girl at his aquarium to stake his claim… Kodai-chan, is he two-timing you?!"
"Ribbit, we're polyamorous," Tsu interjected, her tone sad.
"Oh, good, that's fine then," Mt. Lady said. "Wait, that means Shishido wins the pot. Damn it."
"So that's why Gang Orca was angry about Shishido that one time," Tsu said, putting a finger to her cheek.
"There's a betting pool on our relationships?" Momo asked, a little horrified.
"Hey, the media and fan forums don't have a monopoly on shipping people," Mt. Lady said.
"Less talky, more babies!" Mei interrupted, taking two calf-high platform boots and placing them on the table. They were the same purple color as Mt. Lady's costume.
"Umm, not that I don't appreciate it, but I haven't been able to find boots that can transform alongside me," Mt. Lady said. "At least, none that won't bankrupt me. And I think crafting a DNA-infused garment takes longer than we have."
"Oh, these aren't that high-tech," Mei said. "Just your standard steel-toes and orthotic soles. Yui's the real MVP for these."
"Quirk evolved," Yui stated, grabbing the boots. "Pardon me," she apologized as she grabbed Mt. Lady's wrist, her fingers glowing. She then touched each boot with all five fingers, then pressed her fingers together, causing the boots to glow with her signature lavender light. Nothing appeared to happen.
"Kodai-chan, what did you just do?" Mt. Lady asked. "Shouldn't they grow or shrink?"
"They should now be keyed to your size and grow alongside you," Momo said.
"Wait, you can do that?!" Mt. Lady said, feeling like she just found the cure to a thousand of her headaches.
"Mm. Told you, Quirk evolved," Yui shrugged.
"We have to test it!" Mt. Lady said.
"Outside!" Melissa said.
It didn't take long for the Heroine and the students to make it outside, where Mt. Lady put on the shoes (which fit perfectly, oddly enough) and grew to her giant form. As promised, the boots grew alongside her. Laughing with happiness, she shrunk back down, and embraced Yui in a big hug.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she babbled. "This will make Hero work so much easier for me! If you want a work study position, my door's open! Same if you need experience as a sidekick!"
"Mm," Yui nodded.
"Let's start by focusing on the mission," Ochako said.
"Oh, absolutely!" Mt. Lady said, "Your boyfriend is as good as saved!"
Mei got a manic glint in her eyes, "Well, since that was proven to work, I have a few other babies that you could possibly try…"
Mt. Lady began to sweat, "Should I be worried about that?"
"If Izu-kun's life weren't on the line, I'd tell you to run," Yui said. "Now? Endure it."
Mt. Lady sighed, "Not like I can usually afford good support gear…"
All for One was practically giddy.
Search was settling in nicely within his hoard of Quirks. Removing it from the girl was child's play. Few Quirks could resist his will for even a brief moment. Speaking of which…
The ninth holder was being held. No food thus far, just enough water that he wouldn't die of dehydration but not enough to truly slake his thirst. And bloodletting sessions courtesy of Himiko Toga. Just enough to help weaken his will.
And so, he decided he'd start prodding for weaknesses. The Heroes were no doubt on their way, but All for One could take them, evade them if need be. And if All Might came… oh, that would be a wonderful rematch…
Still, that was something to look forward to, he had business to take care of. So, he had Kurogiri teleport the ninth to his chambers.
Once he did, he activated one of his favorite Quirks, Imposing Theme, a Quirk that caused everyone in the area to subconsciously fear him, as though there was a terrifying orchestral tone announcing his presence. It was subtle, but it was a wonderful Quirk to make his presence that much more effective.
Doctor Garaki was visible on screen, ready and eager to start the next phase of the process, whether that was physical torture, or modifying the boy for his new purpose.
(He was so proud of Tomura for that idea. This was why he kept minions occasionally, he needed some new perspectives to stay fresh after a century.)
With a swirl of black fog, Kurogiri stepped into his master's chambers, carrying the child still bound to his chair. Search scanned his physical form, revealing the pain from being restrained in the chair for hours, the aches from his capture, the hunger and thirst, combined with the fatigue from blood loss. The boy was beginning to weaken. It would probably take more pushing, but All for One knew that now was the perfect time to plant the seeds in his hostage.
The ninth holder blinked, adjusting to the lighting of the chamber, noticing the imposing figure of All for One, seated among his medical equipment like a king on his throne, clad in a suit and black, imposing helmet.
And the boy looked at him flatly.
… What. Wasn't he scared?
No, the boy was shaking with nerves, but he was expecting this. All Might must have coached him well. "So, little Ninth. I suppose you already know who I am?"
"I do. Hello, Mugen Shigaraki," the ninth holder said. "I'd bow, but that's a little difficult right now."
All for One was so thrown off that Imposing Theme cut off abruptly, like a record needle scratching.
"How do you know that name?!" All for One asked, his tone a touch of anger overwhelmed by genuine confusion. Most people didn't know that name. Garaki didn't know that name!
"Family secret, passed down from Yoichi-jii-san," The ninth holder stated.
For a second, All for One wondered, how the hell did Yoichi have a kid? He'd spent decades meticulously pruning the branches of his family tree to ensure only he remained! Was he able to do it in secret? Was he a sperm donor? Even if that made sense (and it wouldn't, Yoichi was less a man with health problems than a collection of health problems walking around like a man), that wouldn't explain the familial connection! The only non-online friends Yoichi ever had were those two pests who… freed… him…
Oh, that made more sense, "So, you can communicate with the vestiges of your predecessors, then, boy." His tone was derisive.
"Not all of them," the ninth said. "Shizuku Kendai and Hitoshi Marubashi didn't make it in the transfer…"
There was an awkward silence, before the ninth clarified, "Power Stockpile and Bonding."
"Oh, those two," All for One said dismissively. "Power Stockpile kept trying to latch onto All for One. No real surprise it took that Quirk instead. Had to go through my collection with a fine-toothed comb to ensure it didn't lift anything else. Didn't really need the soulmate Quirk, but I'm always loath to part with any jewel in my collection, no matter how cheap or tarnished…"
The boy glared, but was silent.
"You know, child, young Tomura has his little vendetta against you, but it doesn't have to be this way. If you give me One for All, I can spare you the torment that he wishes. I'm even willing to propose a trade. Since One for All is now an amalgamation of nine quirks, I'd be happy to offer you any nine you may wish. I have the means to copy Quirks, so any Quirk you wish, I can provide. Plenty of them have no use for me at the moment, as I am now…"
The ninth looked confused, squinting in the poor lighting, "Wait, you're still injured? Didn't you steal Overhaul from Chisaki?"
All for One scoffed, "So, apparently All Might learned from Shimura's folly and chose an apprentice with a brain. Overhaul came with… complications. In your hands, though, it could be a formidable weapon. I have plenty of others I can give you as well. Paralyzing Glare. Lightning Breath. Why, if given the time to make a replica, I could even give you Search…"
Emerald eyes widened, "Ragdoll…"
"Miss Shiretoko's Quirk has been of great interest to me for a while. One of the many things I love about this society. Your pro Heroes are like a buffet. It's quite a wonderful Quirk. Yours, if you want it," All for One offered.
The boy scowled, but didn't respond.
"You know, I don't have to be nice about it. Young Tomura said we would amputate your limbs after taking One for All, but it doesn't have to be in that order. We can make this very slow, very torturous. You can spare yourself that.
"And I know you can hear me, my wayward little brother. You and your little followers. You know what I'm capable of doing. You can prevent it. If you fight, you'll be prolonging the pain. Just give in and accept it when it comes, and the boy will be spared," All for One stated.
The boy still said nothing.
All for One decided to probe his connection to his brother's Quirk, hoping to speak to his old nemeses directly.
Luckily, his helmet concealed his expressions, hiding his flabbergasted shock. Because he couldn't access One for All. What the everloving hell?!
Trying to compose himself, All for One said, "Dr. Garaki, show our guest that we're not bluffing."
"Right away, my Lord!" Garaki stated.
The boy blinked in confusion, looked at the screen next to All for One, and blurted out, "Dr. Tsubasa?!"
The rotund, bespectacled man stopped in his tracks, looking at the ninth.
"Oh? That's an identity I've not used in years… Ah, you must have been one of my patients!" Garaki giggled as he looked more closely at the boy, "Right, I remember you now. Quirkless. The last one I've seen in a while. Too enamored of the enemy to seriously consider for recruitment, but had minimal possible use as a template to experiment with combined Quirks. Shame I didn't have anything useful prepared before I had to abandon that identity."
The ninth holder growled out, "Your grandson, Tsubasa! What happened to him?!"
Garaki paused, "Hmm, which set of grandchildren was it? Going from that age group… Ah, right, the winged boy! Used him for a Nomu! One of the ones we sent with Tomura-kun to the USJ!"
The ninth looked shocked, tears rolling down his eyes.
All for One grinned. There was a vulnerability. He rose from his throne and approached the boy, "Oh, I remember young Tomura telling me that you fought the winged one! What a lovely reunion of childhood friends! I believe they had some of them locked in custody, but some were killed in the fray. Tell me, did you kill your old friend?"
The ninth shook his head, tears still flowing, a choked sob in his throat.
All for One's grin widened. The boy's will was weakened. And he needed to see what his defenses were like. Even if he couldn't steal One for All just yet, he would test the waters. He'd done this before, with no repercussions.
He placed his gnarled, misshapen stump on the ninth holder's head, the holes on his palm touching the boy's forehead, crimson and black lightning sparking as he attempted to take back his property.
Nezu frowned while drinking his twelfth consecutive cup of tea. Few of the people who knew him well would stay near him if they knew that. Nezu knew he was flying too close to the sun, but desperate times require desperate measures.
And these times were desperate. Villains had invaded his sanctuary a second time, threatened his pupils and absconded with Midoriya. Midoriya! All Might's successor and stepson! Nezu's personal student, protege, and beloved pet!
He knew not to refer to Midoriya as such outside of the confines of his own head. Humans would be so touchy about that. But what better term to use for an individual of another species that one trained and cared for personally? Humans, the good ones at least, treated their pets like a combination of children and siblings! Would anyone look at Koji Kouda's love for his rabbit as anything other than wholesome? And yet, if Nezu were to claim such affection for Midoriya, that would be "inappropriate" or "crossing a boundary" or "questioning the unwritten rules of interspecies interaction that human society obeys in order to properly function"...
Oh, he was rambling internally. Twelfth cup of tea. It came with the territory.
Not to mention that he couldn't show too much displeasure right now. However angry he was at this situation, this was another one of his students. One who was, in his own way, as much a victim of Nezu's newfound nemesis as Midoriya was.
Nezu rode in Eraserhead's scarf, flanked by Vlad King and Detective Tsukauchi as they entered the room holding Yuga Aoyama and his parents. The boy looked concerned, while his mother and father had expressions of outrage tempered with fear.
"Thank you for waiting!" Nezu said cheerily, popping out of the scarf with an expression of cheer. "I hope you've found your accommodations welcoming!"
The elder Aoyama man said, "We are diplomats. You cannot hold us like this, nor prevent our dear Yuga from leaving campus."
" Au contraire! " Nezu stated. "Firstly, diplomatic immunity applies to law enforcement, not to school policies. Were Yuga to leave, it would still result in him losing his enrollment in U.A.'s Hero course. Secondly, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the French government, and we received a temporary waiver of your diplomatic immunity in regards to this case."
Both parents flinched. Yuga merely stated, "Monsieur Nezu, I will do what you ask if it will help rescue Monsieur Midoriya. I was unable to aid my classmates, stuck in remedial lessons as I was. I felt relief and shame in equal measure at that fact. I will do what you ask."
Tsukauchi gave no indication that the statement was a lie, so Nezu gave a sad smile, "I appreciate your candor, Aoyama-kun. Now, onto the issue. Power Loader personally inspected your support belt prior to the camp. Immediately upon returning here, he did so again. He found that the belt, while outwardly identical, lacked a smudge marking on its internal components that Power Loader accidentally made during the inspection. Furthermore, it contained a very sophisticated GPS transmitter."
Yuga looked utterly shocked and devastated. His parents, however, had excellent poker faces, "The belt's creator sent us a new one the day before the summer camp, claiming the previous model had a manufacturing defect," his mother said. "We replaced it while Yuga was bathing."
Tsukauchi gave no indicator of a lie, but the statement was vague enough to count as a lie of omission, so Nezu continued, "And who is this creator? Bespoke support items such as this typically identify all of those who had a hand in making it for liability reasons. Searching the companies listed for this item turned out to be like chasing a ghost. Several support companies were named, but none of them listed any individuals who could be responsible."
"I do not know the belt's precise creator," the father said.
"You put quite a bit of trust in this company, then," Nezu said. "Given how important this belt is for your son's physical wellbeing."
There was silence. Nezu decided now was the time to drop the bombshell, "Monsieur and Madame Aoyama, when we subjected you to full body scans upon entering U.A., they included complete X-rays. We did the same to all of our students, including Aoyama-kun, upon their return to campus. Tell me, Aoyama-kun, do you know the physical symptoms of Quirklessness?"
Now, finally, the elder Aoyamas visibly looked frightened. Yuga, for his part, looked confused, " Mai, non. What does that have to do with my belt being compromised by villains?"
"A lot. The benefactor of the League of Villains is a man who can give and take Quirks. The Nomus that they use are created by splicing multiple Quirks into a single individual," Nezu said, beginning to drink a thirteenth cup of tea. "Now, human biology has changed drastically since the Dawn of Quirks, but there is one known constant correlation, the presence of two joints in a person's smallest toe and the lack of a Quirk.
"This isn't one hundred percent accurate. Among the first generation of Quirked humans, about half of the individuals with Quirks still possessed the second joint. In the second generation, that dropped to nearly a quarter. By the third generation, the second joint was eradicated. And, of course, heteromorphs muddy the waters even more, but their Quirks tend to be obvious. However, there is a consistent trend. If two people with Quirks, who lack the second joint in the pinky toe, give birth to a person who possesses that second joint and that person does not show signs of a Quirk by the time they are four and a half years old, the chances of them naturally developing a Quirk are, for all practical purposes, zero."
Yuga looked stricken, " Non, ce n'est pas possible! "
Vlad King sighed, before placing a holographic projector on the table in front of them, "I'm sorry, Aoyama-kun. This is the X-ray of your foot compared to those of your parents. It clearly shows that you possess the joint that they lack."
Yuga started to tear up, " Maman, Papa… pourquoi?! "
His mother began to cry as well, "Yuga, mon tresor… Je suis désolé! " She wept as she embraced her son.
"We… All for One let us be for so long that we had almost forgotten our debt to him. He reminded us over a year ago. He told us to convince Yuga to join U.A.'s Hero course. He told us while… while he was disposing of a subordinate who failed him," The elder Aoyama said, the memory causing him to shiver.
"Did All for One give a similar threat of violence when providing you the new belt?" Tsukauchi asked.
The man nodded, "There were two packages. The first contained the belt. The second, a freshly severed human tongue."
Nezu nodded, "So you obeyed his commands under the threat of violence. The textbook legal definition of duress."
The parents looked at Nezu with disbelief, while Yuga continued to weep.
"The only issue we truly had was compromising the location of the camp and thus endangering our students," Nezu said. "Obtaining a Quirk from someone else isn't a crime." Technically, that was true, but that would likely change if anyone believed that was possible. In any case, no need to punish Yuga for this.
He'd need to call in Hound Dog, though. This was going to be a lot to deal with.
All for One was not expecting this.
He expected to be dragged into the liminal space linking the two Quirks. That always happened whenever he tried to use his titular Quirk on a holder of One for All. But it never was like this…
The space of One for All previously resembled a hunk of rock floating in a void of shadows, trying to isolate and hide from him, small enough to contain the wreckage of the vault he threw Yoichi in.
Now? The Quirk resembled a castle flying in the sky, tethered by eight chains of multicolored lightning. And above the castle, like the sun in the sky, was the glowing core of One for All.
Where All for One previously had to fly out to reach the other Quirk, now, there was a glowing portal between both Quirks, about two hundred meters in width and height. On his side, the harsh red and black lightning lined the portal's dimensions. On the other, the white and green lightning of One for All illuminated them.
Standing on the other side were seventeen figures. In the center was the boy, the ninth holder, with All Might standing behind him, a massive figure made of golden fire. Yoichi stood smugly between Laser Disc and Fa Jin, and the others who held the Quirk stood beside him.
All for One was shocked to see the other eight figures standing among them. All girls around the ninth holder's age. A girl who could manipulate gravity. A girl who could manipulate mass. A living prism that was transparent by default. An energy beam cannon. A frog mutant. An eyesight mutant. A girl with a tiny energy stockpile. And a matter replicator.
And those Quirks were overshadowed by the fact that all of them had One for All coursing through their bodies as well!
All for One activated Search, to see what was going on, and was shocked. Bonding was working on them, linking the girls to the ninth, using the prior vestiges as their medium.
Almost as soon as he activated Search, its vestige, dressed in the costume of the Hero Ragdoll, ran towards the portal. Before All for One could react, Blackwhip sent out one of his tendrils and grabbed Search by the hand, pulling her across the threshold. All for One flew towards the portal to intercept them, but was stopped before he could cross into the other Quirk's space, like a bird hitting a window.
Search cried out, "Thank you!" before she became unmoored, flying out of Blackwhip's grasp, drawn into the core of One for All, which pulsed once she came close, and grew stronger.
Once that happened, the collection of vestiges in All for One surged out towards the portal.
All for One sent out rivets to try and corral the Quirks, but All Might surged across to the other side and punched him in the face. His collection, his beautiful collection, was leaving him! Other members of One for All's entourage surged inside to grab Quirks. Others, like Laser Disc and the creator girl, were using long ranged attacks to destroy Quirks at range!
No, he couldn't keep this up! At this rate, they'd destroy or abscond with some of his most valuable possessions! They could destroy Life Force! Or even All for One's namesake Quirk!
He shut down the connection and returned, wheezing, to the waking world.
"My Lord?!" Garaki shouted, concerned.
All for One said, "Kurogiri, return him to Tomura!"
"Yes, master," Kurogiri obeyed, engulfing himself and Izuku in mist and disappearing.
All for One returned to his seat, reconnecting from his portable life support to the more helpful stationary machines. "Garaki, prepare an Upper Tier or High-End Nomu to send to me."
Garaki said, "Sir, we only have a limited supply…"
"That wasn't a request, Garaki," All for One said sternly, and the doctor complied, rushing to find one.
All for One went over the chaotic haze that occurred while trying to steal from… from Kyuseishu. Luckily, he hadn't lost Eidetic Memory, and he could replay the events exactly, dissecting it as though he were going over a movie scene frame by frame.
When he was finished, he scowled. He lost thirty four Quirks in total, including all three copies of Super Regeneration. Two of them were destroyed by the eyesight girl, who had a gun produced by the creation girl.
The last one made it through to One for All.
Including Search and Super Regeneration, eleven additional Quirks were now in the possession of his enemy. Ironically, two mutant Quirks All for One prepared to inflict on Kyuseishu for Tomura's plan were taken. One of his most useful mental abilities, Quirk Understanding, was taken. A few other Quirks were lost, but that paled in comparison to his new nightmare.
Kyuseishu took Overhaul. The Quirk that he lost so much to obtain was now in his enemy's arsenal.
Kurogiri returned with a black-skinned Nomu. All for One took the creature's Quirks, needing only Super Regeneration but wanting to replenish some spaces of his lost collection. Without the Quirks within it, the corpse fell over, unmoving, and began to dissolve. All for One dismissed Kurogiri, and mulled over his options.
How were there eight additional vestiges in One for All? How did he miss the Quirk going through all of those… wait, he recognized those Quirks. The Sports Festival! Antigravity was the third place winner! Creation, Eyesight, and Frog also reached the third round! So they were Kyuseishu's classmates, but how did…
Bonding.
Bonding was accidentally given to Yoichi before All for One took Quirk Understanding, when his ability to identify the Quirks he stole was much more limited. He hadn't given Bonding a second thought since taking it. He thought the Quirk was teleportation, then found that it increased empathy between two lovers, useless to him. Was it possible it could actually teleport? Or do more? Particularly after growing in One for All over the decades?
One lover increased to eight. Eight additional wills to fight to take the Quirk. Was taking One for All possible at this point? And after the loss he just incurred, was it even worth it?
Despite all those misgivings, All for One had wanted this for way too long. He had another option. He'd cultivated Tomura's hatred over the years. Such hatred still had the potential to override the wills of all seventeen individuals tied to One for All.
And if that was insufficient, then One for All would die with its ninth holder.
"How the hell are we not dead?!" Isamu asked, shocked.
"Presumably, he wants One for All badly enough that that little altercation wasn't enough to earn us a death sentence," Hikage surmised, surprisingly calm.
"Everyone, calm down, ribbit," Tsu interrupted. "Is Ragdoll in here with us, ribbit?"
There was silence.
"So wait, why is her vestige not in here with the others?" Nejire asked.
A vestige is only formed within ONE FOR ALL when a previous host of ONE FOR ALL passes ONE FOR ALL to a new host. When ALL FOR ONE transfers a new Quirk into ONE FOR ALL, the vestige of that Quirk is absorbed into it and eradicated, as previously happened to POWER STOCKPILE and BONDING.
"What on earth was that?!" Izuku asked.
QUIRK UNDERSTANDING is an Emitter Quirk first held by Ken Konokoshi before it was stolen by Mugen Shigaraki using ALL FOR ONE. QUIRK UNDERSTANDING allows the user to know the exact capabilities of their Quirk, what it can do, how it can grow, and what needs to be done in order to grow properly. In its original user, that previous description was the full extent of the knowledge granted. When taken by Mugen Shigaraki and later Izuku Midoriya, who possess multiple Quirks, QUIRK UNDERSTANDING can be applied to any and all Quirks possessed by that individual.
"Well, that's… convenient…" Toru said.
"Focus!" Ochako said. "Let's start by figuring out exactly what we've got in here. Anything that can help you escape? Quirk suppressors have limits and something here might break them!"
Quirks taken from Mugen Shigaraki include SEARCH, QUIRK UNDERSTANDING, SUPER REGENERATION, BLOOD BANK, SURVIVOR, MULTITASKING, SHOCK ABSORPTION, SPRINGLIKE LIMBS, SMOKE MANIPULATION, DIAGNOSIS, and OVERHAUL. Three Mutants, two Transformations, six Emitters.
"Wait, Overhaul was one of the Quirks we took from All for One?!" Momo cried out, scandalized.
"Now I'm really glad they're not leaving vestiges," Ryouji mumbled.
"As excellent as this is, I believe the point is moot," All Might stated. "You see, the raid on the League's hideout will begin soon."
Izuku blinked, "How soon?"
"About a minute, give or take