When my eyes open, I stare up at a familiar wood ceiling.

I'm in my bedroom at the bar.

As comforting as the sight is, I wish physically I was just as comfortable.

My joints flare and muscles ache. I feel like I have been twisted and contorted into a ball of yarn and unraveled again. Which is true. I did not use my quirk at all, but Mr. Compress bound me into one of his marbles. One of the replicas Twice made of Dabi found me in the dormitory, and he notified Mr. Compress. Whatever has ensued since then, I have no idea.

Groggily, I lift myself up. I still feel so feverish. Nausea accompanies the feeling. Fluffy pillows cushion my head and back, and a blanket warms my feet. There is water and painkiller tablets on the nightstand, which I take gratefully. My movement alerts Toga, who I did not notice earlier but was sharpening her knives in a corner seat.

"Oh, you're awake! Finally. I was getting bored. Thought I could cut you up a little to get your blood circulating," she squeals as she bounces out of her seat.

"That actually would have helped," I groan. "But I'm also on my period, so I'd rather not lose more blood than necessary. I'm sure you understand."

"That's right! You did smell of blood when you got here, but I couldn't see any wounds on you. So much happened. We caught that guy, Bakugou Katsuki or whatever his name is, and I made friends. All of us made friends."

"Please elaborate." And so she tells me all that occurred. The arrest of the three villains I disliked, the disappearance of the noumu, and the escape of the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad. The students from both classes put up quite the fight. Tokoyami-san had briefly been trapped into a marble but managed to escape. However, the mission was a success. The Vanguard achieved their goal and received the action they craved. Shigaraki will have recruits he can rely on. Toga tells me that Bakugou-san is being kept in restraints in the bar area, interrogated and persuaded by the League. For a moment, a wave of pity washes over me. His encounter with the Sludge Monster and his behavior at the Sports Festival rings like bells in my head, but the next moment, I suppress it. You knew from the start, Selene. Do not lose focus.

Someone calls from downstairs, and Toga pouts. "Talk to ya later, Selene!" she waves before leaving. I cannot help but smile a goodbye in return.

I flop back down on the mattress, desperate for some sleep. But just then, a voice echoes. And it is not from downstairs. "Good morning, Selene. How are you feeling now?" the voice calls out.

I whip my head toward the origin of the sound. It's coming from a monitor with a blank screen. All for One. But why is the monitor in my bedroom? "Good evening to you, too. How long have I been unconscious?"

"Just the entire night," he responds.

The entire night! I nearly tumble out of the bed. My fever must have been really severe for me to rest for so long. Perhaps that's why even after having hours of rest, I still feel so sore. "I should … I should go downstairs. Check on everyone." I start to lift the covers, but All for One stops me.

"Selene, stay for a while," he orders. "Everything is fine, and there is something I have to discuss with you. In private." This will take time. Puzzled, I do as he says. Just as I pull the covers up, he asks out of the blue, "What do you know about All Might?" My confusion and suspicion only rise. Still, I tell him all that I know. Things that even he already knows because I have said them before: All Might's diminished strength, his bravado, his camaraderie with Midoriya-san. "And what do you know of his quirk?" All for One inquires when I finish.

I answer, "Very little. Impressive strength, speed, durability, and agility. There is no name for his quirk."

"There is a name," he counters. "One for All. A quirk designed to combat me."

I'm curious now. Is this a play on the chiasmus: all for one and one for all? My mind runs. "All for One, your ability allows you to take in others' quirks and pass them on, all by your will. So an ability to counter that would require the accumulation of quirks as well. Fight fire with fire, poison with poison."

He affirms what my deductions. "One for All can be passed down, similarly, depending on the owner's will. At least, that is what I thought until now."

"What do you mean? What changed?"

The words he says next stun me to my core. "All Might passed his quirk onto Midoriya Izuku, declaring him the heir of One for All. But there are two. Someone stole the quirk. You stole it, Selene."

The accusation terrifies me. "W-w-what are you talking about?" I cannot even hide the horror from my voice. "Me? My ability is to create and manipulate the natural elements. One for All is unnatural."

All for One's calm demeanor only intensifies my fear. "It is unnatural, but so is your quirk, Selene. Your true quirk. Absorption."

This time, I do tumble off the bed, landing in a messy heap by the bedside. I think I knock my head against the nightstand, which only confirms that this is all a reality. There were only a select few who knew the truth about my abilities. Half of them are my abusers, and half live on an island in a different continent. So how could All for One have known? I deny the allegation as I rise to my feet. "That is not my quirk. The legal records even state so." I struggle to keep my voice even.

But All for One tuts. "Legal records can be easily manipulated. You, of all people, should know. Your true quirk is absorption. It is why you mysteriously develop injuries on your body and why you suffer from arthritis. With each quirk absorbed, an incision appears. Each time you use any of those quirks, an arthritic flare follows. Dare to correct me, Selene. Just because I remain silent does not mean that I do not watch."

There is no point in denying now. Rather, lying may worsen the situation. "H-H-How did you know?"

He laughs patronizingly. That irritates me. "Like I just told you, I watched. I observe Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and everyone and everything that passes through the doors of the League of Villains. Mind you, you were excellent at maintaining your lie. But in moments of solitude, when you thought no one was around, you revealed your true colors. Summoning a diary out of thin air, amplifying your senses, escaping into the dreams of others, releasing sleeping gas, producing venom and acid, generating small explosions from nitroglycerin, hardening and unhardening your body, healing bruises and lacerations, creating jewels from thin air. Shall I continue the list? There were times you even tested Shigaraki's and Kurogiri's quirks. I was always watching, even when the monitor was turned off.

"You absorbed the quirks of all your classmates and teachers. During the U.A. Sports Festival, you looked so visibly ill because of the multitude of quirks being implemented. During the Apprehension Test, you fell to your knees because of the overwhelming power of One for All. I understand why you never tried to test the power. And months before, during the recommendations entrance exam, you pointedly did not look at any of your competitors in fear of hurting yourself before the examinations." He chuckles at my ever-growing expression of dread. "Yes, Selene. I know everything that happened to you before Shigaraki welcomed you into the League of Villains. I had my eye on you since you first came to Japan. I had already had my suspicions about you and your abilities. I sent spies and informants to report to me about you. In fact, I was the one who persuaded Giran to pretend to be your chauffeur and bring you here."

I cannot help it anymore. My knees buckle beneath me, making me land unceremoniously on the floor. My breath comes erratically. My pulse beats like a stampede. My head pounds like a drum. Both hands reach up to steady my heart. "L-l-long ago, I said … I said that the League should use me as its pawn. I was … I was more useful than any noumu. But I was wrong. S-s-so very wrong. I was always a pawn. Before I even knew it, I was a pawn." I look up at the monitor. A plain screen hiding the face I had never seen but saw everything about me. What must that face look like? Is it smirking? Gleeing at my mental crisis? Lucifer Morningstar was a liar. A trickster, a con artist, the most cunning of all. But no. Because even Lucifer once had a master, and it was God. I am not cunning. I am a fool. The fool of fools. "A-a-and you were so confident that I would agree to join the League? I thought … I thought I was the chess player, but I was nothing more than the minister pawn. You were the chess player. The mastermind. You against All Might. Villainy against heroism. Shigaraki, Kurogiri, all the recruits, and I … we were just instruments at play." Perhaps I should rage at All for One. Curse at him. Tell him I am leaving, never to return. Shatter the monitor to pieces. But I do none of that. Maybe it is the shock. Maybe it is the fever. Maybe it is the sense of utter defeat depriving me of any will to fight. Ultimately, I clap. Slowly. Loudly. "You've known the truth about me for so long. Why did you wait until now to tell me? And what will you do with me?"

"If you expect me to tell either Shigaraki or Kurogiri to kill you, then you are mistaken," he replies with all seriousness. "A quirk like yours and mine is rarer than a diamond. Infinitesimal to ever appear. Killing you would be a loss. Instead, I want you to do what you have always been doing: keep this a secret."

I do not understand. Do not I pose a threat to the League and All for One because of my quirk? Even if they will not kill me, will they not keep me captive for the rest of my life? I urge All for One to explain.

"You should have let me finish earlier," he scolds. "Keep this a secret from everyone except Shigaraki and Kurogiri. The three of you have known each other since the creation of the League of Villains. A bond of trust and blood connects you."

I let out a pitiful laugh. "Blood I can believe. But trust? It is too late to tell them now. Shigaraki will disintegrate me before I can even begin to reason with him." Something All for One said earlier strikes a nerve. I harden my tone of voice. "You had been watching since I came to this country. You sent spies to the school I attend. Espionage on the spy. How ironic! Tell me that you removed your spies from there. Tell me that you removed your spies from the Hanada mansion. Tell me that you trust me."

He says nothing for a long time, which only confirms my fears. Then, he speaks. "After your birthday, I had all my informants withdraw. I had planted a series of tests for you. The U.S.J. attack was the biggest one. And you passed all of them with flying colors. But I still had to check on you from time to time. That is when I examined your behavior here at the League's base. I even heard about your therapeutic discussions with Kurogiri, which was utter boredom. At my age, teenage drama seems dull."

"Still, that means you doesn't trust me. Quite frankly, I do not either."

"What I trust is your ability to be diplomatic in any tricky situation," he retorts. "You have a way of telling people just what they want to hear. Your mannerisms, your words … you know just what role to play to persuade anyone. Do the same with Shigaraki and Kurogiri when you tell them the truth. And tell them, soon." So this is all a gamble on my ability to smooth-talk my way out of a painful death? No quirk will save me from those hands that can decay anything with a touch. When I tell All for One as much, he chuckles that same condescending chuckle. "They won't kill you. You've proven to be useful, just like the minister pawn. Manipulate them correctly, and you'll live. Goodbye, Selene. Rest well. You'll need it."

I start to protest, but the monitor shuts off by itself.

No, not by itself.

All for One snapped the connection.

I climb back into bed, but sleepiness evades me.

His words seem like an omen.

A very bad omen.

…

In which drawer did I put those sleeping pills?