Detrametal - All Might is... well, this answer might both answer and not answer the question in... uhm... question. Kind of. It's complicated and more of a theory. And yeah, Stain retiring is kind of ... weird, when you remember him in canon.
InfinityMask - Yeah, women in this fic are... uhm... well, you don't want to make them angry.
DragonB0b - In more ways than one, let me tell you that much.
Darkpaladin89 - Their duo is the worst, because she can heal the injuries that he gave you, letting him repeat the situation once more :v
naruto30 - Maybe xD
TheGreatBubbaJ - The horror.
AdrianVnz - He is the Big Good, but... also a walking reminder that good doesn't mean soft.
(***)
What Aizawa didn't tell Emi (because he didn't think that it was THAT important) happened soon after the Hero Killer Stain got the verbal promise of Sir Nighteye working for an amnesty for him.
Because, surprisingly enough, Gran Torino finally erupted.
"Toshinori!" The old man shouts. All Might looks back at him, shivering only slightly. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Do you want the list chronological or alphabetical?" Eraserhear deadpans from his seat. "It'll take us a while either way." The look that Sir Nighteye gives him can only be properly summarized with the words 'big mood'.
"What do you m-mean, sensei?" All Might is brave. Inko is somewhere in the building and she'll save him if needed.
"Ruining HPSC is one thing, those jackasses had it coming." Gran Torino shoots back. "But now the public knows that you were threatening people with bloody murder, that you've met with LADY NAGANT of all people… no offense, but you are still a wanted killer."
"No offense taken." Lady Nagant shrugs. "It's a fact."
"Did you trade your sanity to the Devil in exchange for meeting Izuku or what?" Gran Torino asks, while glaring at Yagi Toshinori. "Because ever since you've met him, you're growing increasingly unhinged."
"The old man's speaking the language of gods." Mr. Compress mumbles from his seat. Gran Torino glares daggers at him for a second before turning his attention back to his old student. Who, frankly, looks confused.
"Uhm, sensei?" All Might asks. "Do you remember the times when we met for the first time?" Decades have passed since. Very eventful decades. Merely saying those words makes nostalgia hit All Might like a brick.
"Of course I do, you dolt!" Gran Torino snarls. "I'm only faking dementia when it benefits me." Good to know.
"The times of chaos." All Might replies. He feels surprisingly confident about it. "With powerful villains tearing through the country. Where people capable of fighting Endeavor like an equal were much more numerous than after we've cleaned the country. And after the heroes decided that they could be a bit more laid back about training than in the past."
"Yes, yes." Gran Torino replies, sounding impatient.
"Rampage punched through some skyscraper in Tokyo, killing hundreds of people, for no other reason than because he was bored." All Might says. "An atrocity that was… honestly, shit like that was happening rather regularly. Especially as we had no Tartarus, so escapes were much easier. And then, like a week later, you run into a highschooler. A quirkless highschooler that says that he dreams of becoming a hero so powerful that he would deter all those villains from even TRYING to commit evil deeds."
"Your point being?" Gran Torino finally has enough waiting.
"Sensei, which part of that makes it sound like I ever had any sanity to trade?" All Might asks, looking at his old mentor quizzically. Gran Torino finds himself staring at his old student with an open mouth. Because, honestly, that was a very valid question.
(***)
"Alright, time out." En decides to speak in the depths of One for All. "Because what Yagi just said brings some very valid points to light."
"Valid points?" Yoichi asks back.
"I vaguely remember all of us freaking out when the idea of transfering the quirk to Yagi "Chaos" Toshinori was first brought up by Nana." En replies. "I, myself, was freaking the fuck out. But I think that by the time Nana joined us here, Toshinori had managed to prove his… uhm… dedication?"
"... more like 'managed to prove his possession of an extreme desire for brutal dismemberment of All for One'." Hikage helpfully adds from the side. "Which made us all realize that he fits right in."
"... yeah, that." En agrees with the hermit while Yoichi is busy nodding fervently in the background. "The thing is, we didn't exactly ask Nana the big question. Why the hell did you think that it was a good idea?"
"Well, it worked, so why's the point in asking?" Nana replies in a hurry. Even if they weren't underground heroes (plus one hermit and one technical pre-hero vigilante with more secrets than the rest of Holders combined), they would spot the dodge easily.
"I think…" Daigoro decides to speak. "... that we would like to know the answer."
Nana starts shrinking in her seat under the combined gaze of several long dead heroes, hermits and vigilantes.
"Uhm, the thing is…" She manages to speak. "... we were all fighting AFO from the shadows for decades. Baigoro was the closest thing we had to a surface hero, and we all know that his surface was… uhm… quite underground. Then also me, but I was doing ninety percent of the stuff away from cameras too. But it clearly wasn't working very well. So I decided to… uhm… try changing the game?"
"Changing the game?" Baigo asks, his brow raised.
"Yeah, like… fight him openly, like a surface hero versus a villain, build-up popularity and support while doing so, becoming someone around whom other heroes could band-up to defeat the demon lord's lackeys and…" Nana tries to continue but she is suddenly interrupted.
"... wait a second." En seems to have realized the truth the fastest. Then again, he was secretly a big weeb while alive. "You're trying to tell me that you gave the One for All, the one and only weapon powerful enough to end the most powerful and dangerous villain ever to a random highschooler BECAUSE HE WAS GIVING YOU SHOUNEN PROTAGONIST VIBES?!"
Silence in the One for All. Nana continues to shrink visibly. But while doing so she, reluctantly, nods.
"... oh my god." En starts shrinking in an almost existential horror as well. Daigoro and Hikare stare at Nana with open mouths. Yoichi is absolutely unreadable.
"How could you be so irresponsible?!" Daigoro finally recovers his ability to speak. "We could have lost everything and…"
"Oh my God!" Yoichi suddenly perks up on his throne. "Nana, I love you!"
Then he realizes what he just said as all the eyes in the room turn towards him. And he joins the 'shrinking in horror' team.
"Uhm, I m-mean, like, non-romantically!" He tries to save himself. It's not going to work.
"Dude, Nana is probably the only person who didn't realize." Daigoro sighs. Nana looks at him in shock. "And for as much as I respect your taste, because falling in love with the mature, muscular yet clearly feminine and kind woman that almost beat your brother to death in front of you is completely natural, I'm going to need some explanations here."
It's not like sex is an option when they're all dead, but if Yoichi gets some fluff and hugs out of it… well, he probably deserves some after spending so much time as… well, if he didn't die a virgin, Daigoro Banjo is going to be extremely surprised.
"U-hm." Yoichi somehow shrinks further. "T-the thing is, he was treating this as entertainment. My brother, that is."
He is trying to NOT look at Nana. Who, in turn, looks frozen speechless. Wow. It only took them, what, thirty years to get here? Good fucking job, Daigoro says in his mind. No wait, he's the one who has done at least 80% of the heavy-lifting on this.
"We know." En cuts in. "We're getting close to the 30th Holder, if AFO wasn't sandbagging it the whole time, he'd have found a way to steal the quirk or end the line at some point. He, as established, wasn't an idiot."
The only thing he wasn't aware of was the fact that at some point in time, One for All was going to mature and grant its Holder the sum of quirks of their predecessor. Hopefully taking AFO off-guard. Said predecessors were supposed to be doing the damage control, keeping AFO's empire in check to the best of their abilities while taking advantage of AFO treating it like a game.
It was going to happen at least a century ago if passing the stockpile too often didn't weaken the stockpile, delaying the Singularity.
And then, All Might, the last of said predecessors, somehow managed to murder the demon lord. A fact that they were still deeply confused about, to be honest. Happy, but confused.
"Yes, he was treating it like a game, but think about this." Yoichi says, still doing his best to look in any direction except for the one where Nana is. "What was the standard playthrough of said game?"
"He waited until the Holder 'matured' enough to be entertaining." En replies. "Then attacked them. If they transferred the quirk first, he killed them. If they didn't, he opted to cripple them so that they were forced to transfer it after successfully escaping the battle, that he actually let them do so that…" En freezes for a second. Then his eyes suddenly grew wider. "Oh. Oh shit."
"What?" Hikage Shinomori decides to ask. Only a second before Daigoro Banjo opened his own mouth.
"The injuries he inflicted upon All Might." En says, the hero finally realizing what Yoichi meant. "They were supposed to be crippling enough to force him to retreat and transfer the quirk. But All for One didn't realize that he was fighting a shounen protagonist after a decades long hell training montage overseas."
Nana lets out a choking sound in the background. She realized it as well.
"Every past hero was a 'serious' one." Yoichi says, in his eyes the stars. "Most of them, most of us, pretty much underground heroes like Eraserhead. We would have done the logical thing. But that was exactly what All for One was prepared for. But he didn't prepare for All Might deciding to risk everything, the entire history of One for All, on a heroic second wind while being near-lethally injured in front of an enemy that was almost unharmed. That's why he didn't block the first attack in time and got combo'd into a demon lord-flavored paste before he could get All Might off him."
All for One needed time to call upon his stored quirks. It wasn't a long time, but it required some concentration. That's why he enjoyed the whole intimidating routine. The Air Step +monologue while having the high ground. The personal attacks (often planned and executed for years in the background, what he was planning to do with Tenko probably a part of something like that directed at All Might) to make the Holders freeze for a moment or two. Etc. etc.
But with All Might's savage flurry of blows coming out of nowhere, he failed to switch to a better quirk-combination or even call upon his various regeneration or resistance increasing quirks before he technically no longer had a brain.
"... wait a moment." Daigoro cuts in. "Are you telling me that we could have ended him DECADES ago if we just… acted stupid?" He seems to have problems computing the idea. When Yoichi nods, he decides to elaborate. "Oh my god."
Alright, less elaborate and more 'let out a vaguely religious expression of shock'. Almost the same thing, really.
"Wait a second." Shinomori decides to cut in. "I have a theory."
"Oh no." En sighs. "Are you sure that you aren't a distant ancestor of Shoto Todoroki or that gas kid from 1-B? Because you seem to share their love for weird theories." Either that or he was simply VERY intellectually bored after spending a lot of time in a forest.
En is mostly using humor as a coping mechanism for the revelations that were just unloaded on him. Yes. But in the meantime, it works.
"The One for All doesn't 'pick up' complex mutations as quirks, right?" Hikage ignores him while looking at Yoichi for confirmation.
"Yeah?" Yoichi replies, looking at Hikage questioningly. "The Seventh Holder, I think, is Miruko's distant ancestor. But the One for All reads them as quirkless."
"... Probably for the best." Nana mumbles to herself. "I just imagined Toshi developing rabbit ears and… ugh."
"Toshinori aside, I think that it would fit Izuku a lot." Banjo comments. "He is already super popular among the girls, can you imagine him, but as a half-rabbit? Not only some additional fluff for the girls to enjoy but also the libi…" Yoichi smacks him with a newspaper.
Actually, to be exact, Yoichi conjures a bunch of rolled newspapers above his head. Lariat gives their landlord a betrayed look.
"The thing is, we know that sometimes you get more abstract complex mutations." Hikage ignores the event. "Toga is an example. Vampires do not exist, but she clearly has vampire complex mutation. Unless, of course, I was right all along and she's actually a kitsune mutant."
"Dude, we had that talk already." Lariat replies with a tired look.
"She is more carnivorous than human average." Hikage replies with a signature smug look of superiority on his face. "Her quirk can be summed up as 'illusion' and that's very complimentary for a kitsune, besides they were shapeshifters to begin with. She is also rather heavy into love stuff, and in folklore kitsune can be very obsessive about the people they love. Not to mention having cat-like eyes for some reason and fox eyes are very similar if not identical to what felines have. One day, when she grows older, she's going to sprout her first tail and then you're all going to have to apologize to me."
"... I don't remember kitsune drinking human blood." Banjo mumbles to himself. "Now get to the point."
"Alright, so didn't you notice how many qualities All Might and Izuku share?" Hikage decides to do just that? "We're continuously joking about them being shonen protagonists, but what if they actually have a 'hero'-themed complex mutation?"
Silence in the One for All. The people other than Hikage are looking at each other with a combination of confusion and worry on their face.
"Uhm, man, don't you think that…" Lariat decides to take one for the team.
"No, no, listen to this." Hikage ignores that entirely. "They both have clear leadership qualities that make others band up around them. They are both leaders more than bosses, always leading by example. They seem to share the deep need to make people around them happier and safer. They have the willpower of steel, because let's be real. What Izuku went through would have broken a lot of adults. But he ignored all of that. And when he finally broke for a moment after that rooftop thing… he was about to become a villain, but we both know that he would do that with helping those that were dealt bad cards in life. Like other quirkless and so on. Because even after it, he still wanted to help people more than anything else, and the only thing changed was that he temporarily lost the faith in heroes being able to help him in that."
He finished his lecture. The looks on the faces in the room grow much more confused and worried.
"That's… VERY far-fetched." Lariat, once again, decides to be the straight guy on this. "You should know that much and…"
"Wait." Yoichi wakes up. "You know how complex mutants sometimes get complimentary quirks?"
"Y-yeah?" Nana manages to speak. Then she realized whom she spoke to and both of them briefly freak out.
Lariat sighs. She was married for YEARS. She was dead for YEARS. She shouldn't react like that, what the hell? Unless… wait. She didn't have a (much better concealed) crush on him but didn't say a word because of, dunno, his status as an ancient ghost or her being dead or something like that?
He sincerely hopes it's not like that, because then their time spent in the One for All is going to grow very, VERY weird.
"I didn't actually mention it, I think." Yoichi manages to continue speaking. "But Yagi actually had a quirk the whole time. One that he was born with."
"He WHAT?!" Nana actually raises her voice. Lariat, in the meantime, lowers his jaw.
"It's a meta-quirk." Yoichi quickly says, he seems to not enjoy Nana freaking out over him like that. "Like the one I used to have before One for All was created. They don't do anything on their own and I think that they do not do anything to the whole toe joint thing. There was a reason why All for One thought I was quirkless." It's a white lie, really. There was more than that for a reason, but it's ancient history now. His past has become an uplifting myth and let's keep it that way. "I can't even absorb it into the One for All because it's already carrying one in its core."
"That sounds mostly useless." Hikage admits. "What's that quirk doing and why are you talking about it right now?"
"I named it Mastery." Yoichi replies. "Basically speaking, if AFO got to him first and gave him a quirk, he would have instantly mastered it. Not to mention probably re-awakening it in an instant while developing some complimentary mutations for an increased output. I actually tinkered with it a little, enough to keep it useful for One for All without merger. The reason why Toshinori could use 100% One for All right off the bat is actually due to that."
"... that sounds an awful lot like a complimentary mutation for a hero complex mutation." Hikage says slowly.
"Not quite." Yoichi replies. "What makes it sound an awful lot like a complimentary mutation for a hero complex mutation is that its secondary adaptations seem to improve learning speed for both physical activities and academics. There is a reason why Yagi managed to master so many skills in the US, and it's NOT his murderboner for my brother that acted as perfect motivation."
"Oh." Lariat is the first to recover his ability to speak. "Oh shit."
It's basically some sort of EXP points acquisition +500% or something like that. Yagi Toshinori was basically a standard isekai fantasy shonen protagonist summoned to slay the demon lord the whole time except without the isekai fantasy part and summoning.
"What are the chances of it being the truth?" En speaks, having finally recovered from his shock.
"50/50 at best." Yoichi admits. "It would have to be a VERY unique complex mutation. And in this case, the changes appear mostly about personality. In all honesty, we're hitting the nature versus nurture dilemma here. Yes, it was Inko that was bringing Izuku up, but we all know that she's actually rather kind. I mean, unless you threaten her family. Him growing up into a smaller copy of his father proves nothing, especially as his heroic qualities truly bloomed AFTER they met. So it could be simply hero fanboyism coupled with good upbringing and then getting an idol very close to you."
He has a point. Most of the hero students from his class could be convincingly described as 'hero' complex mutants, at least those less divergent from human biology. Yaoyorozu was probably the best example here.
Then again, Izuku didn't inherit Mastery. The rate of quirk inheritance for complex mutation-complimentary quirks was lower than for normal quirks. He also didn't get his mother's quirk, which made sense, because it didn't feel complimentary enough for such a complex mutation.
In the end, as Yoichi stated, it was a solid 50/50.
If they tried to go to a court with evidence for the crime this flimsy, they'd probably be laughed at.
"... Inko is pregnant." Nana suddenly announces. "Twins. Toshinori is the father."
This time everyone in the room starts to shrink.
(***)
"Well, that was an… eventful day, wouldn't you say?" Rikiya Yotsubashi announces to the people gathered around the table in front of him.
They are all on the highest level of the Detnerat Company headquarters in Deika City. The highest leadership of the Meta-Liberation Army. Its present Grand Commander, his personal assistant and the First Advisors.
…you truly love understatements, don't you?" Chitose Kizuki, the executive director of the Shoowaysha Publishing, says. "I'm extremely curious to find out what we're planning to do now."
"Probably complain." Skeptic decides to be snarky. "We were preparing the HPSC downfall for years. A solid half of what I did as the board member and de facto head of the Feel Good Inc. was wiretapping their members' phones to gain more data about their crimes. Now, this happened."
Feel Good Inc. was the country's biggest telecommunication company. Truly, a crucial element of the Meta-Liberation Army longgame. Especially as at this point most of its managing cadre and a lot of its regular workers were members of the Meta-Liberation Army.
"Don't worry about it, Skeptic!" Re-Destro smiles. "Yes, it came a bit too early and way more smoothly than we hoped for, but… it's all within the constraints of our plan. Isn't it, Trumpet?"
"Absolutely." The head of the Hearts and Minds Party smiles from his seat. "We've always shown ourselves as being moderate critics of the hero system. Now that the corruption in its midst was revealed, all the polls indicate the sudden spike in popularity of our political platform. Less than we'd get if the HPSC collapsed like we've planned, but…" The politician shrugs.
"No use crying over spilt milk, I get it." Re-Destro agrees with him. "The preparations for the Liberation Festival are continuing as planned. Yes, we're behind the schedule, thanks to how the Kamino Ward played out. However, we had plan B to follow in case of that, so it's no big deal. I'd say that the HPSC' fall will actually make things easier."
He glances at one of the men by the table.
"Correct." Slidin' Go, the present Number Eleven Hero, replies. "With Hawks out of the ranking, I'm going to slide into the Top Ten. It'll make spreading Destro's message among the heroes even easier, especially as without HPSC' paranoia against the critique of the system I'll be able to work much more openly."
No one even bothers to entertain the pun.
"Besides, Hawks' little revelations just changed the atmosphere significantly." Curious comments. Slidin' Go nods. Yes, it will make recruitment much easier. Of course, some potential troublemakers will straighten themselves up, thinking that the system just cleaned itself of what was bothering them in it, but…
The current biggest priority potential recruit seemed to have been tilted in the MLA favor, to begin with. Re-Destro was looking forward to succeeding.
"We also know for sure that neither Sir Nighteye nor Nedzu suspect that we exist." Slidin' Go adds. "They wouldn't involve me and three more of our comrades in their little honor guard if they suspected anything. They really planned the whole thing well, I must say."
"Did they?" Re-Destro asks. When the eyes converge upon him, he continues. "I monitored their activity, mostly thanks to Skeptic's electronic surveillance. For years. I believe that I know not only what they can do but also what to expect from them. The HPSC downfall certainly included both of them, especially as Sasaki was there in person while Nedzu was the one to gather most of the participating heroes. But I suspect that there was a third person involved in the operation planning."
"Really?" Trumpet asks, with a worried frown on his face. "The heroes got themselves a third strategist to equal you? That's a bit…"
"Oh, not yet an equal, if my little theory is correct." Re-Destro smiles faintly. "You see, one of our comrades is a teacher in one of the smaller hero schools out there. After a recent provisional hero license exam he shared a rather delicious morsel of information with me. Apparently Eraserhead let it out that a certain student participating in the exam was Nedzu's personal student. With a specialization in quirk warfare, but we all know that smarts can be applied in more than one way."
"A student?" Skeptic asks, eyeing the Grand Commander questioningly from behind his long hair. "A second-year? Isn't that a bit…"
"First year apparently." Re-Destro leans back in his chair. "And before you ask, he and his class crushed the exam. Now a fun coincidence - I asked our dear 'friend' in Jaku about him. Imagine my surprise when he turned out to be the newest Holder of One for All… and a son of All Might."
"... that's an increasingly interesting series of… coincidences." Trumpet admits. Especially as they all know for all his chaos, All Might is smart. Very smart. He mostly specializes in combat tactics, yes. But other than that, he was practically a polymath. Not as much as Re-Destro, but…
"So my theory is that we have a budding young genius out there." Re-Destro adds. "A wildcard that is learning from Sir Nighteye and Nedzu. With a mindset different enough to occasionally inspire them to take a different route. And while I have the other two thoroughly dissected, ability and personality-wise, he is… an element of unpredictability. In fact, I suspect him of being the reason why the Kamino Ward ended that way."
"... are we going to kill him?" Geten finally speaks. As always, he is blunt to an extreme.
"Oh, no no." Re-Destro smiles. "I watched enough movies to know how this would end. An assassination attempt would fail, someone close to him would be wounded making things personal for him, Sir Nighteye and Nedzu would realize that we exist, things would go downhill from there."
Some chuckles from the audience.
"He's still too young and inexperienced to become a threat to us now that we know he exists." Re-Destro replies. "And we remain undiscovered. We have time - so let's be patient about it. We're going to monitor him for now, so that I'll have him properly analyzed by the time he graduates. Slightly alter our plans for the next stage to compensate for his existence and the potential chaos factor that he is. Perhaps even use him for the Endgame. Of course…" He smiles. "... we'll mysteriously forget to mention all of that to our friends in the Paranormal Liberation Front."
Smiles. The warlike ones. They were almost there. It wasn't going to end like Kamino this time.
"Time to plan a proper and cohesive response to the HPSC' downf…" Re-Destro decides to switch the subject for a moment, but that's when his phone rings.
Doofenshmirtz Evil incorporaaated! jingle playing off his phone makes everyone present in the room look at their leader. With looks that can be only summed up as 'really?' Re-Destro ignores them all.
"Oh, looks like my daughter is calling me!" He smiles. She was on vacation overseas, mostly because he wanted her to be a safe distance from the mess to come. "The meeting is postponed. I'll be back with you in ten to thirty minutes."
Skeptic and Geten groan in unison. It's going to be at least an hour, isn't it?
(***)
I've recently wrote chapter 62. It includes Aiko's quirk reveal. Stay tuned for more. Also the Kitsune mutant is just that, a theory (also I credit it to my bro Grayashura), but it's almost surprising how much it feels logical especially for the canon Toga, huh ;) And... well. Let's just say that the 'All Might's Mastery explains his omnidisciplinary training' is going to... set up a mood for quite a moment.
And also, naturally, welcome our dear Re-Destro & Co. Chapter 52 of 75 chapters long story is one hell of a moment to introduce the true Big Bad (although honestly it's more of a Greater Scope Villain for the whole thing). Beats up Overhaul being revealed in chapter 20 of Cure to Evil.