A/N: The big sick :(
Vomiting my life away sick
Guess it's still showtime though
Three months had passed since Ochako got her blessing.
That was what she had taken to calling what was undoubtedly the most important moment of her life: the day she was blessed by a god. Was it unhealthy to deify a random stranger, regardless of how good their quirk was and how much they helped you? Yes. Did Ochako know this? Also yes. Did she care? No.
Two months ago, Ochako would lie awake at night pondering whether or not she had gone insane. What would Izuku think if he finds out she's become obsessed with him? What lengths would she go to satiate her desires? What would other people think of her when they find out about her obsession?
Ochako simply decided to just accept the insanity, constantly letting her mind wander to thoughts about her god. Sometimes she'd find herself in need of a fresh change of underwear. Other times she'd have an impromptu prayer in a back alley. She even freely sacrificed the money that would've gone to five of her meals to build a little shrine.
And if Izuku didn't like it? Well, she could change.
After all, what right does she have to determine how her god is worshipped?
If Izuku wanted something crazier, then she'd gladly wind up in a straight jacket to prove herself. If Izuku wanted something subdued and laid back, then she'd gladly give Izuku the space he needs. But as of now, she had the freedom to be as crazy as she wanted.
She had no friends to drive away, she was living alone so her parents couldn't get concerned, and Izuku wasn't around to guide her down the right path. All she cared about was whether or not her insanity drove her to villainy. Izuku doesn't like villains. She'd tell herself whenever villainous thoughts entered her mind, such as scouring the internet to find where he lived or using her quirk to "accidentally" cripple a few of the bullies at school.
Regardless of her obsession, she still had a debt to be paid, first and foremost, and right now the only way she knew how to repay him was by improving her quirk and working to become a hero. A lot had happened in three months, and her quirk was starting to shape up into something rather powerful. What once was a meek touch-activated anti-gravity quirk now worked more like a telekinesis quirk, simply using the finger pads to designate a target.
Thing is, that wasn't all this quirk could do. While this particular trick was extra hard on the stomach, Ochako had found that she could also change the mass of things affected by her quirk.
Ochako had been hitting two birds with one stone, helping with unloading trucks as both a means of training her quirk and getting enough cash to renew her phone plan, among other things. Her parents were, of course, elated about the news of Ochako manifesting her quirk.
Of course, she had to leave out a certain deity, but she didn't mind. Nobody would dare believe that God came back to Earth unless they saw it with their own eyes. As she lay on her bed, her mind drifting off to sleep, she replayed the events of the day of her blessing in her head. Something always bugged her, something that just didn't feel right. Something about Izuku's bullies.
The word "Deku" always swirled in her mind as she thought about that day. It was based on the word "dekunobu", meaning "worthless", but the shortened version just didn't strike her as an insult. Hell, it sounded cute! It didn't help that the kanji for Deku was derived from the kanji for Izuku, which made the nickname feel all the more amazing. But she knew what pain nicknames brought.
She once ran into some ash-blonde dickhead who called her round-face and that horrible nickname stuck for two years until people dropped it. A part of her wanted to change its meaning, to transform the nickname into something to spite the bully, but a nickname like that had little room for interpretation.
Then, like a meteor crashing down to Earth, it struck her. Deku sounded like "dekiru", or "you can do it!". If Izuku helped save her from worthlessness, then she'd help break him free of any lingering doubts in his mind! She giggled to herself as she thought of how Deku would react. If he didn't like Deku, she could always use Dekiru instead.
All that mattered was that Deku-sama was happy! "Heh. Dekiru, Deku!" She began to chant in a sing-song voice. "Dekiru, Deku! Dekiru, Deku! Dekiru, Deku! Dekiru deku dekiru deku dekiru deku! Dekirudekudekirudekudekirudeku!" Ochako giggled absentmindedly as her hand wandered between her legs.
Tonight was gonna be a good night.
--
Tonight was a terrible night.
Under any other circumstances Izuku might've liked the idea of being curled up in a ball in All Might's arms and having his back rubbed by the number one pro hero, but now it just felt like a horrible joke.
Everything happened so fast. All Might and the detective came in with yet another doctor with a mind reader quirk to further scan him for any links to All for One. So far, so good. But then, a purple portal opened up and a tall lanky man with pale blue hair stepped through, immediately lunging for Izuku.
All Might tried to attack, but several portals made sure to keep him out of the fight. All that Izuku remembered was that when he dodged, the villain hit his mother instead, disintegrating her chest.
Everything else became a dull haze as Izuku felt the essence of every quirk in the entire neighborhood and pulled. When the fog in his mind had cleared, all Izuku cared about was the fact that not enough of the villain's bones were broken. A few ribs, broken hands, and a snapped leg weren't enough.
After giving back the quirks of all except the villain and his now-deceased mother, Izuku couldn't help but sob. He felt her quirk pulsing through his body as if the spirit of his mother was trying to comfort him from within the quirk itself.
Then, he felt that one villain's quirk, decay. It pulsed with a different energy, one of hatred, malice, and pain. Izuku knew that quirks tended to pick up traits from those who use them, and you could tell a lot more about a person through their quirk than mere words ever could.
Izuku did not like Decay.
It was a similar sensation he felt as he wielded Explosion; pure rage, malice, and eye-twitching frustration in its purest form. As great as Explosion was, the sensations he felt were just so strong that it repulsed him. He wanted to destroy it.
As Izuku sobbed into All Might's chest, he reached within himself, grabbed Decay, and started to squeeze. Izuku never knew if he could destroy a quirk, never even saw the point of trying, but now wasn't the time to rationalize. Eventually, the quirk began to crack, its light beginning to flicker before it shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Strange energy filled Izuku as he did this, his mind suddenly becoming more acutely aware of everything.
The temperature of the room, the sounds of the vents, the feel of All Might's hug. Most of all, Izuku just felt more powerful! Huh… so sacrificing a quirk gives me a generic boost to everything? But wait, is this only temporary? And what if I accidentally absorbed the personality of that bastard's quirk into my own? Does this boost affect my other quirks? "Muttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermutter-"
All Might half wanted to snap the boy out of his muttering spree, but decided against it. Tonight was gonna be a long night. The detective walked up, a concerned look on his face. "I'll need to take him back to the station for proper questioning, but I did manage to find out that this villain was sent by All for One to kill Izuku."
All Might's eyes widened.
"Do you know why?" The detective shook his head. "Once he figured out my quirk he kept his lips shut. We'll need to get someone with a quirk that forces a response to our questions." All Might sighed, looking down at the boy. "I was powerless to help him… dammit if we had been more careful-" "We did what we could without raising suspicion. The fact that the villain attacked when we were having one of these meetings proves that they had no idea of our involvement."
All Might couldn't help but grit his teeth at that. Both he and the detective knew the real reason: the higher-ups were simply too ignorant to approve of organizing a safehouse. It was a growing problem, really, the ignorance and corruption of the Hero Commission and police. All Might wished he had paid some actual attention in Hero Law class. Maybe he'd be able to form his case instead of giving it to a lawyer who'd miraculously obtain a few million yen and go into retirement.
But that problem could wait. Right now, he was holding the shivering and sobbing form of a newly made orphan. "Still, I owe him a parent."
--
Kurogiri was glad that he had convinced Shigaraki to put hidden cameras in his clothes and stream video and GPS coordinates to him instead of being there in person. There were plenty of quirks that could replace Decay, but Warp Gate? Teleportation quirks were already powerful, but portal quirks were invaluable. The ability to transport any number of people or things from one place to another with zero drawbacks was a power that didn't need to find its way to Master's rival.
As the van containing Shigaraki made its way to the nearest station, Kurogiri silently thanked Shigaraki for coming up with the idea of swallowing the GPS tracker beforehand in case the police found the cameras. All he needed was to wait for the right moment to drop a warp gate beneath Shigaraki's feet, and they could return to Master. Kurogiri's misty body shuddered at the thought of how All for One would react.
They had been stalking Izuku for the past three months, watching his every move, and yet they hadn't noticed the routine visits from the police and All Might himself? Kurogiri silently cursed Shigaraki for not taking the extra precautions and bugging the young rival's home. They could've taken advantage of the situation and somehow frame the rival for all of Master's crimes.
Instead, they pushed the rival further into the hands of the enemy.
If All for One could still drink, he could've downed a gallon of ethanol and still not felt drunk enough to deal with the news. Using an emotion reader quirk, he could sense Shigaraki's unwavering rage burn brighter than it ever had before, and Kurogiri's absolute fear and disgust with the outcome. At least both of you are smart enough to know you messed up.
"Shigaraki." All for One spoke, earning a look from his pawn. "I hope it goes without saying that any further failure will not be tolerated." Shigaraki's hands slowly crept up to claw at his neck, his eye twitching. "Forgive me, sensei, but I didn't know All Might would be there, nor did I know that damn brat could take quirks from a distance!"
"Those are excuses." All for One declared.
"Now, I have half a mind to let you remain quirkless," that earned a flinch from Shigaraki, "but as of now, we need to be at our strongest. Come forth, both of you." All for One gestured to both Shigaraki and Kurogiri, keeping his hands outstretched.
The two pressed their heads into his palms, the sensation of something new entering them. "Shigaraki, I have given you Disintegration. It is a short-range fire quirk that behaves similarly to Decay. Kurogiri, I have given you Projection. It allows you to project a copy of yourself at any location, meaning you'll be able to utilize your portals effectively without putting yourself at risk of having Warp Gate stolen."
Both of them bowed in response before Kurogiri took the two to the bar. All for One groaned. He wanted to level the entire country. Of course, the brat could steal quirks from a distance! And the icing on that cake was the fact that All Might just got hard proof that the boy wasn't his asset.
If All Might helped the boy accumulate more power… All for One shuddered at the thought, his mind not even daring to think of what would happen if he gave the boy One for All. He had acquired billions of quirks, easily enough to shield him from the boy long enough to steal Transfer, but if that boy had One for All to guard his quirks, then he was doomed.
The name of the game was to defeat the boy swiftly and safely, but what was the swiftest and safest way? He thought to Nomu, his perfect creation meant to kill All Might. Maybe, just maybe, he could make some modifications to deal with this threat… Not the most elegant of solutions, but it didn't matter.
Subtlety was a small price to pay for a secure future.
