Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter ten: The legend of All For One
"All For One?"
Both Toshinori and Gran Torino nodded in agreement and confirmation to Izuku's questioning statement. "Yes, Young Midoriya," Toshinori said, "All For One. That vile bastard of a man who is bar none the most terrible villain that I had ever faced."
"He's been around more or less since the Age of Quirks had first began," Gran Torino began to say, "All For One had ended up developing a quirk, which like him is also called All For One. The All For One quirk... it's bar none the most vile, twisted, tainted evil to ever exist in a world where quirks are pretty much everything."
Izuku was a bit nervous, given how much Toshinori and Gran Torino were playing up the level of evil that All For One is at. "...What... what does the All For One quirk do?"
"All For One the quirk allows for All For One the man to steal, hold onto, and redistribute the quirks of other persons as he sees fit," Toshinori explained, "Leaving those he takes from as quirkless."
The green haired boy shuddered at that prospect; a person who could take quirks from other people would totally be up there among the most terrifying and dangerous of villains in a world where having a quirk more or less was a requirement to be acknowledged as an actual person. Given how he had grown up prior to receiving One For All from All Might, Izuku figured that anyone subjected to the evil of All For One would more or less be given a social death sentence.
"You, however, need not worry about All For One trying to take One For All from you, Young Midoriya," Toshinori said, "Given that One For All is wholly incapable of being taken from its current wielder."
Izuku perked up at that, especially since he sort of felt One For All stir within him when Toshinori said that it can't be taken. "Really?"
The Symbol of Peace nodded in confirmation. "It can only be given, if the current holder has the intended recipient consume some of his DNA while willing for One For All to transfer. All For One's power, therefore, cannot take One For All. Basically. One For All is a power meant to counter, and ultimately defeat, All For One."
"Don't go thinking that you're a shoe in to win against All For One now though," Gran Torino said, "You are nowhere near ready to stand up to All For One's vast power and evil, which as previously said has been around more or less since the Age of Quirks first started. Given all of that time, that bastard has been able to build up quite a bit."
Izuku nodded obediently, not wanting to pointlessly risk his life. "...Hang on," Izuku said, "If All For One has been around more or less since the Age of Quirks began, how is he still alive? The Age of Quirks began roughly two-hundred years ago."
"A fair number of the quirks that All For One has stolen over time help to keep him alive well past the point he should have died," Gran Torino explained, "They have extended his life to a length that many would consider to be... unnatural."
Izuku looked a bit rattled, but he tried his best to keep his composure. "And... and you think that All For One has returned."
"Yes," Toshinori said grimly, "Originally, I had fought a vicious and bloody battle against All For One. It's where I got my injury that limits my time per day as a hero, but at the same time I had beaten All For One so bad that I was certain that I had killed him."
"...But you think he survived."
Toshinori nodded in the affirmative to Izuku's statement. "He must have been a bit tougher than I had thought. But there are signs suggesting to me that All For One indeed survived my assault on him, and had returned to try to bring his evil down on everything."
"Like what, Toshi?" Gran Torino asked.
The Symbol of Peace let out a sigh. "...I believe that the first sign was the attack on the USJ by that League of Villains organization. Only All For One would be able to bring together such a force of villains. Not to mention that Nomu monster who has been confirmed to possess multiple quirks."
Gran Torino gave a bitter scoff of a laugh. "Feh. Multiple quirks in one being. Sounds like that crafty bastard's handiwork, alright."
"Then there's the recent incident where Endeavor, Ryukyu, and Mt. Lady were hospitalized," Toshinori went on, "The truth of the matter, which the HPSC does not want getting out, is that Endeavor, Ryukyu, and Mt. Lady were found to be quirkless. Only an incredible stroke of luck in UA getting a hold of a person who can reset things was able to restore the quirks of those heroes, allowing the HPSC to more easily bury things."
"Those heroes had their quirks stolen?!" Izuku exclaimed.
Toshinori nodded once in the affirmative. "But like I said, UA having access to a person who can reset things allowed for Endeavor, Ryukyu, and Mt. Lady to have their quirks restored to them. Although it doesn't change the fact that All For One still has his own copies of the quirks Hellflame, Dragon, and Gigantification. Imagine the damage that can be done by just one person if they were given all three of those quirks by All For One."
The green haired boy shuddered; he could already imagine a person transforming into a winged western dragon, then growing in size to become a GIANT winged western dragon, then cloaking themselves in flames. To think that a combo of just three quirks could allow one person to become such a major threat. "Hang on," Izuku spoke up, "How did UA get a hold of someone who was able to restore the quirks of those heroes?"
Toshinori let out an annoyed sigh. "...Apparently," Toshinori began, "Nezu, along with Aizawa, Hizashi, and Nemuri, were withholding a good bit of information from the rest of the UA staff. Said information included the existence of a young girl named Eri, whose quirk Rewind lets her 'rewind' living beings to prior states of existence. She rewound Endeavor, Ryukyu, and Mt. Lady to the points of their respective existences prior to their quirks being stolen. This restored their quirks."
"Eri?" Izuku said, "My classmate Itsuka and I actually saw Eri." Izuku then proceeded to explain the encounter with the third year UA girl who was carrying Eri while trying to find Aizawa. "You're saying that little girl was able to save the careers of three different pro heroes?" Izuku asked after he had finished explaining the encounter.
"Yes," Toshinori replied, "But Eri's existence is a secret that UA wants to keep a secret. They fear what damage can be done with Eri if folks of ill intent get a hold of her." Izuku nodded in agreement with the Symbol of Peace before agreeing to keep what all he was told a secret.
To Izuku, Toshinori said, "Young Midoriya, I need you to do me a serious favor. Let Gran Torino and I worry about dealing with the possibility of All For One having returned. You meanwhile need to keep your focus on training and continuing to master One For All."
Izuku nodded obediently. "Believe you me, All Might, I don't want to have to tackle actually fighting a villain if I can help it, at least until you think I'm ready."
"With what you got now, you're ready to take on helping a pro hero deal with some minor crooks and lesser villains," Gran Torino began, "Just leave the bigger names in villainy to be handled exclusively by the pro heroes."
Izuku nodded in agreement. "Got it," the green haired boy replied, "I won't go out looking to fight villains on my own. Especially that Hero Killer who I had heard is most likely stalking around the area of Hosu."
...
Meanwhile, at the bar that the League of Villains uses as a base, Kurogiri had brought in Stain the Hero Killer, who walked into the bar through a portal that Kurogiri had made. He wore a red headband, white ninja mask, red scarf, and dark colored suit with torso armor and spikes along the toes of his boots. He was also practically armed to the teeth, carrying more blades than what most would even dream of carrying on their person.
The Hero Killer looked around with an expression of mildly piqued curiosity as he stood before Kurogiri and Dabi. "...So, you guys went through a lot of trouble to get me here," Stain began, "You must want something from me. So let's hear it."
Gesturing to Stain, Dabi said, "The League of Villains, when you get right down to it, want the same thing as you, Stain. Sticking it to this pro hero infested society."
Stain arched a wry eyebrow at Dabi's statement. "Oh? And just how do you and your League of Villains intend to do as I want to do, whelp?"
"That leads to part of why I had brought you here," Kurogiri began to explain, "Dabi, the master's new successor, isn't quite sure how to go about achieving his goal. He hoped that you might be able to give him some ideas, point him in the right direction."
The Hero Killer turned to look back at Dabi. "...So it's not a lack of conviction, but rather a lack of knowing how to go about things. Very well." Stain gestured to Dabi with his right hand. "This society is suffering from an addiction to pro heroes. Like other bothersome addictions, the addition to pro heroes led to the growth of an ugly tumor, a tumor that if left untreated will eventually lead to doom for this society."
Dabi arched a wry eyebrow. "...The addiction is so bad that society is more than willing to not even look at the faults of its heroes." Little did Stain, or anyone else listening in on the conversation for that matter, know that Dabi actually spoke from a bit of personal experience.
Stain offered a bit of an amused smirk. "You seem to get the idea. Good." Lowering his extended hand, Stain went on, "The only treatment for this tumor sprung from society's addiction to pro heroes is to cut said tumor out. The culling of the many fakes who dare to falsely bear the title of hero, fakes who only get away with it due to society's aforementioned addiction to pro heroes, is a grim but necessary step that must be taken to help this society recover its health."
"So kill a bunch of pro heroes," Dabi reasoned, "Although there are probably finer details in that task."
The Hero Killer nodded once. "Like I said, it's the fakes who dare to falsely bear the title of hero who have to be culled. The true heroes, the ones who actually deserve to bear the title, can be left alone, for them being around is also a necessary step for this society to recover its health."
Dabi gestured to Stain. "And who, at least to your standards, qualifies as true heroes?"
"Only All Might qualifies as a true hero," Stain replied evenly, "Every other pro hero is just cheaply trying to imitate the good that the Symbol of Peace has done for society."
Dabi smirked, nodded along in agreement. "...Yeah, I can agree that, at the very least, a certain pro hero who I hate is nowhere near the level of All Might."
Pointing to Dabi, Stain said, "Then start your cutting of the pro hero tumor out of society by killing that pro hero."
Dabi wasn't sure if he wanted to just kill that certain pro hero right away; he hated said pro hero so much that he wanted to see that pro hero squirm and suffer, see him fall into ultimate despair before he decided to deal the hero the killing blow. But Dabi didn't want to risk upsetting a villain as experienced and dangerous as Stain, so for now he nodded along in agreement. "Anyway Stain," Dabi went on, "There's an offer I'd like to extend to you."
Arching a wry eyebrow again, Stain replied, "...Go on."
"Why not join the League of Villains?" Dabi offered, "Having a team at your back can help you, and my fellows and I can stand to learn a lot from someone like you. What say you?"
Stain immediately shook his head. "Sorry, but I work better alone. But I will keep an eye and ear out for how you're doing." Turning to look at Kurogiri, Stain said, "I'm ready to go back to Hosu. My work there is far from over, especially since there's more heroes there than ever."
Gesturing to Stain, Dabi said, "If you won't join us, then at least let us ease some of your burden, Stain." Dabi turned to look at the laptop behind the bar. "Hey boss man, how many of the Nomu can be spared right now?"
"I originally only had three ready," the master's voice replied from the laptop, "But the good doctor had just finished two more. A total of five can be spared to you."
Dabi nodded before turning back to look at Stain. "Here's what I propose. You let the League of Villains' nomus occupy the bulk of the attention of the pro heroes in Hosu, while you pick off a few odd pro heroes from the side. A two pronged assault like that not only will be difficult for the pro heroes to deal with, but it'll let you kill more since most of the pro heroes will be distracted with trying to fight the nomus I'll send to get up in their faces."
The Hero Killer actually considered that plan for a moment. "...Very well. I won't join you guys, maybe just yet, but I will coordinate with you on your planned attack in Hosu. And who knows? If enough heroes fall in that attack, I may even consider taking back my declining of your offer to join your little club." Stain was then supplied with a communication device that the League of Villains would use to contact him when they were ready to carry out the planned attack on the Hosu area. Kurogiri then conjured a portal through which Stain went, returning him to the Hosu area.
After Stain was gone, Dabi let out a breath. "Hoo boy, that was intense. To think that Stain would be so intimidating a presence."
"You stand to learn a great deal from the Hero Killer, my dear Dabi," the master's voice said from the laptop, "If you can agree to get him to join the League of Villains, it will greatly increase the amount of power that you can field. Use the five nomus that I can spare you well when you're able to carry out that attack on the Hosu area."
Although the master of the League of Villains couldn't see it, Dabi gave the laptop behind the bar an affirmative nod. There was still so much that Dabi had to do, so much that had to be covered, for him to see the person who he hates above all others brought down low, especially since said person was somehow able to recover from something that he didn't know could be recovered from. That little bit of news had surprised Dabi, as well as the rest of the League including the master, with the master still trying to figure out how it was even possible.
They were going to be getting answers.
A few days later, still during the internship period, Izuku was back to working under Gran Torino, training to further raise the percentage of One For All that he could use safely. After Izuku turned off Full Cowling, the older pro hero offered the green haired boy an amused smirk. "I think that you might actually end up beating my goal of having you at seventeen percent by the time the internship period is over," Gran Torino remarked.
Izuku looked surprised by Gran Torino's words. "Really?"
"You still won't exactly be at twenty percent," Gran Torino began, "But at the rate you're going, I can now realistically see you being at eighteen percent by the time the internship period is over."
Eighteen percent. Not too much greater than seventeen percent, really it's only up by one point. But it's still more progress, and Izuku will take his victories where he can get them. "...What do you think is the reason I'm progressing as fast as I am?"
Gran Torino shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it has to do with how early you had started training under me to master the power that Toshi passed down to you. Maybe it has to do with how your body is in relatively good condition, the slight bang up your arm suffered during your entrance exams earlier this year notwithstanding. It could be any number of reasons."
Izuku considered what Gran Torino had told him. He also gave extra thought to what Gran Torino said about his lack of being severely hurt. Really, Izuku's only severe injury he's suffered was how he broke his arm punching out the zero pointer during the entrance exams in order to save that cute girl Uraraka, and why did his brain suddenly start thinking about the gravity girl in Class 1-A? Izuku had to shake his head to banish that thought in order to keep himself focused on training.
But focusing on training was going to be hard for Izuku. Partly because he still had trouble getting Uraraka out of his mind, and partly because Gran Torino sudden announced, "Anyway Midoriya, we got a train to catch later this evening."
Izuku looked surprised by what the older pro hero said. "We're going to be using the train?"
"Our goal will be this one little market shop in the Hosu area," Gran Torino said, "The shop sells these individually wrapped things of daifuku, and I'm actually honestly in the mood for some. But the trip to the market in Hosu is actually a cover for someone I wanna try to lure out."
"Lure out?" Izuku asked, "Why go to Hosu to lure out... please don't tell me we're going to try to confront the Hero Killer!"
"Pfft, hell no!" Gran Torino replied, actually laughing a bit at Izuku's sudden surprised exclamation of worry, "We're gonna keep as far from the area that the Hero Killer is rumored to be operating in as much as possible!" Gently shaking his head, the older pro hero said, "I got a feeling that we're being spied on slash stalked. I even had the feeling when we went to see Toshi at his agency a few days ago." Gran Torino pounded a fist into his hand. "...We're gonna see what our 'visitor' wants."
Izuku was a bit worried about how apparently he and Gran Torino were being stalked by someone. If it was just Izuku on his own, he'd probably be caught and killed by now if the stalker had any hostile intent. He was even more grateful that he was currently under Gran Torino's tutelage and watchful eye, given that the older pro hero had picked up on the stalker in next to flat. Izuku, when he got the cue to continue, resumed training to increase the percentage of One For All that he could use safely as Gran Torino watched over him.
And (to Izuku's worry) the potential watching eye of the stalker.
Later that evening, Izuku sat next to Gran Torino on the train as they rode towards Hosu. "Seriously, my boy?" Gran Torino said, "You've never had daifuku?" The older pro hero let out an amused laugh as Izuku nodded in the affirmative. "Well it's a good thing I'm planning to buy a lot! I'll give you one to have you try it. Trust me, you haven't lived until you had daifuku!"
Izuku nodded along, glad that Gran Torino was striking up a conversation about their cover goal. If the stalker was nearby, they'd assume that Izuku and Gran Torino were on a simple errand, without any intent to lure them out. And with the route Gran Torino said he and Izuku were going to take, not only would they have more time to lure the stalker out, but said route would let them avoid the area that the Hero Killer was reported to be operating in.
As the train continued on, Gran Torino spoke up, "So Midoriya, how is school going for you? Any of those other young'ns over there tried befriending you yet?"
Gran Torino's question, Izuku could tell, had two purposes; one, it would help further lower the guard of the potential stalker by making them think Izuku and Gran Torino were simply having a talk about Izuku's school life, and two Gran Torino was actually honestly curious about how things were going for the green haired boy over at UA. Izuku felt a little bit more at ease now, so he felt it wouldn't be a problem to indulge in Gran Torino's question.
"Pretty well, actually," Izuku said, "I actually befriend three of the boys in my class on the first day. I later met and befriended two boys and a girl in the other first year hero course class."
"Cross-class friendship? Huh, that's pretty rare," Gran Torino remarked, "Way on back in the day, when I myself was a young'n still full of piss and vinegar, no one in the class rival to mine wanted to be friends with me or anyone in my class. It was solely all of them versus all of us." Gran Torino gently shook his head. "...A darn shame, too. Why, my girlfriend and I had to keep our relationship secret from our respective classes! Ah heh heh heh!"
Izuku looked surprised at Gran Torino telling him that. "You were dating a girl in your rival class?"
"And why would I not want her as my girl?" Gran Torino went on, "A true rose in a field of dandelions. Of course, after graduation we were free to be together more publicly, and we eventually married." Sighing, Gran Torino said in a sad tone, "Lost her to a lung ailment about a year after I had begun helping Nana work with Toshi. I still have a photo of that woman. I can show you after we finish the run to that store in Hosu for some dai-"
*CRASH*
Gran Torino was cut off when a winged monster of some kind crashed into the car of the train that he, Izuku, and a few others were in, startling all of them. "Izuku, get back!" Gran Torino yelled right before he blitzed the monster with a high speed foot slam, kicking it away into an unoccupied part of the train car he and the others were in. While the monster was writhing in pain, Gran Torino stood up straight, keeping his eyes on the monster.
The older pro hero growled, a mix of annoyance and anger, as he was making sure the monster didn't try anything on his watch. "...It's got an exposed brain," Gran Torino muttered "Just like what Toshi had shared with me about that Nomu monster from the USJ..."
"What do we do?!" Izuku exclaimed, clearly on guard because Gran Torino just identified the monster that crashed into the train car as a nomu, the kind of monster from the USJ attack that resulted in the deaths of one pro hero slash UA teacher and five students.
The winged nomu tried getting up, but Gran Torino kicked it back down. "We keep this one here to make sure it doesn't try anything with any civilians! Help me keep it restrained so we-"
Gran Torino was cut off when a length of capture tape weapon flew out and quickly wrapped around the winged nomu, tightening up to the point there was not even a hint of slack in the capture tape keeping the winged nomu bound, its winged arms bound to its sides. Gran Torino and Izuku looked over and saw Shouta Aizawa, the UA teacher and pro hero Eraserhead, was the one who threw out the capture tape used to bind the winged nomu.
Aizawa, seeing that the winged nomu was now sufficiently bound, turned his attention to Gran Torino before shifting his critical gaze to Izuku. "...You don't seem to have the best luck in the world, Midoriya," the underground hero remarked dryly, "Being in a train car when a nomu crashed into it."
"Hey Eraserhead," Gran Torino said, his tone four-tenths snarling, "Instead of trying to bust Midoriya's chops over something that none of us could have predicted, why don't you instead help me with making sure that monster you got there stays down until we can turn it over to the proper authorities? We can't let it get-"
The bound winged nomu cried out monstrously, cutting Gran Torino off in the process, as it thrashed against the capture tape keeping it wrapped up. Gran Torino rushed it to give it a solid whack upside its head, knocking it out again and making it settle down. Gesturing to the knocked out winged nomu, Gran Torino said, "...Yeah, that."
As Gran Torino and Aizawa kept their focus on the bound and knocked out winged nomu, Izuku looked on in horror at the monster. This was his first time seeing a nomu in person, and it made him feel rather unsettled. However, the green haired boy also couldn't help but cast a gaze at Aizawa. Izuku couldn't help but feel as if the homeroom teacher of class 1-A suspected him of something, for one reason or another.
But that raises the question; what did Aizawa want with him?
END, CHAPTER TEN
Author's notes;
Here, we see All Might and Gran Torino tell Izuku a little bit about All For One, who All Might now has reason to believe has somehow come back. The internships continue, with Gran Torino taking Izuku to a store in Hosu as an excuse to lure out the stalker Gran Torino suspects he and Izuku has, only for a nomu to crash into the train car that they were in. Aizawa then comes out and helps to capture the nomu, only to put Gran Torino and Izuku a bit on guard around him. The business in Hosu will continue into the next chapter, so keep your eyes peeled.