Izuku scratched his eyes, yawning as he woke up from another bad sleep. The night before had been a interesting one, that was for sure. With a sigh, he walked out of bed, the excitement still in his mind.

Of course, they were not happy. There was something almost rewarding in that: it meant that this was not something they desired, and for that alone he was grateful. For too long he had been suffering at their expenses, and while he had made them pay for it – a lot – it was finally time they truly started to grieve.

With a quick chuckle to himself, All for Deku quietly walked out of his room, making sure to not wake up Toga as he went. Once he had closed the door behind his wife, he took out the phone and started to browse his messages. Being a political leader and a crime lord meant he had surprisingly little time to do what he actually liked.

Most of them were reports forwarded over the night by the various Hero Suppressors Commanders. Compress' mail from Eastern Japan was the most concise. No one had seen the kid, Todoroki and Tailman since their fight.

Western Japan's mail, forwarded by Overhaul, made it clear that there had been no sightings of any kid or of the two. He scrolled through the other divisions, but from Hokkaido to Okinawa, no one was reporting any sightings. Sure, those two in particular were harder to scout than most, but he could hardly imagine Todoroki and Ojiro huddled in a cave or hidden on some small island with someone that looked exactly like him but had One for All.

'Izuku Midoriya, Deku…' He looked amusedly at the pictures he had printed with a power his master collected years ago. He felt a twinge of sadness thinking back at him. All for One had saved his life and given him a new direction in life. The least he could do in exchange was continue his life's work.

Memory Print was a very simple Quirk. Anything All for Deku saw for forty-eight hours was printable in a picture about the size of a regular photo. The only issue was that it only worked on visuals, so sounds, smells and other indicators were not included. Still, for what he needed, was the perfect Quirk.

The first picture showed Izuku Midoriya – well, the other Izuku Midoriya – he was wearing a green hero costume with what appeared to be bunny ears and a metal mask. Metal boots and white gloves with blue marks on the side completed the superhero get up. 'Kid looks like a green rabbit.' He thought.

The second picture showed a Quirk All for Deku did not know. A series of black tendrils, apparently made of shadows, were emerging from his arms, or hands. He also noticed the tell tale signs of One for All, the same bolts of energy that sprouted from Mirio when he used it for the final time at Endoru and almost managed to kill him. All fault of the Vestiges of course. First they had saved Permeation, then they had tried their best to hold him back. Without their help, Togata was inconsequential. Strong, but nothing he couldn't beat.

He scrolled through the mail until he found one from the Ministry for Quirk Registration. There was no known Quirk currently existent with the property to create shadow tendrils of that shape, though there were a number of shadow based Quirks that might look similar. Dark Shadow was at the top of the list, but he dismissed Tokoyami's quirk immediately. There had been no signs of sentience from the tendrils themselves, so they were logically not the same. He replied to start looking in past generations, and moved to the third topic.

The mail from the research team from Detnerat was clear. Any rat experiment had failed to show differences in behavior of the copied Teleport from the original. The current theory of the lead researcher was that it was only One for All's power that allowed it to reach extraordinary lengths. He humbly asked if a copy of One for All could be provided to test.

"And, removed from the project." Izuku decided, quickly sending a mail to the appropriate office at Detnerat. It wasn't cruelty on his part. Any idiot that thought All for Deku would ever give away One for All, even a copy of it, was not someone that was going to research Quirks under his watch. He also sent a mail to Twice to have him investigate his house, in case the guy was in cahoots with some Hero and trying to get One for All to them. His master had always been clear that it was better to feel paranoid than to feel gullible.

'I miss Doctor Ujiko…' He thought with a soft sigh. Finding out his childhood pediatrician was actually All for One's right hand man had been a surprise, but Izuku had quickly learned to like Doctor Ujiko. He was a visionary, and his help had been invaluable. Eraserhead and Present Mic killing him had hurt a lot. More importantly, the Doctor would have never asked for One for All…

'You can feel sadness for a madman.'

'Yet you slaughter others without mercy.'

'Why can't you pity them, yet miss him?'

"Shut up!" Izuku screamed, slamming his hand on the table. One for all went off, and he watched his left arm crack, every single blood vessel popping at the same time, while the unlucky kitchen platform he was about to use to make himself and Toga some breakfast suffered a similar fate, smashed into a pile of granite and wood. Izuku activated his Regeneration Quirk, watching his arm slowly return to normal. He looked up at the room where Toga was sleeping, but apparently it was very well soundproofed, since there was no reaction.

He picked up his phone and quickly sent a mail to arrange for someone to be sent replacing the stuff he had broken and replace it. Shuichi would probably argue he was not his secretary but his bodyguard, to which All for Deku would reply that he would do whatever he ordered or see how life was as a Noumu. Shuichi would then send back a mail that amounted to 'be right there' and get to work. He rolled his eyes. He liked Shuichi Higuchi, his lizard-looking bodyguard, and had even gifted him a new sword for Christmas, but he still thought he was the most annoying Hero Suppressor.

His thoughts were interrupted by another phone call.

"Yes?"

"Sir, it's Eiichiro." The male voice replied on the other side. His secretary from the Hero Suppressor Association, Eiichiro Watanabe, meaning it was either illegitimate business or something he had decided to keep under wraps even from Detnerat.

"Good morning." All for Deku replied "What is it?"

"It's to confirm our results sir." The man replied. Always impeccable, always punctual, always on point. Eiichiro was the best secretary All for Deku could have wished for.

"Continue."

"The analysis on the samples retrieved from the fight scene shows that he shares about 98% of his DNA with you. If we don't consider the Quirk Gene, the two samples are virtually identical."

"Identical… Very well, keep the results secret from everyone, even Atsuhiro."

"Yes sir."

'A better you.'

'Someone that fights for the weak and helpless, rather than for his own selfish motives.'

'He helped Tailman escape. You would have used your companions as a meat shield.'

'Monster.'

"Silence…" All for Deku muttered "Silence!" He shouted this time, clutching his left hand with the right. That was a mistake as he crushed one with the other. Once more, Regeneration restored him to normal.

There was no doubt, One for All was back, and the user was that version of himself. A version from another world… 'Of course you eight would not just quietly fade into nothing. Get out of my fucking mind you Hero scum.'

No response. That was the war he had been fighting with the Vestiges for years. They wouldn't fade. They wouldn't stop. They would only taunt him, insult him, reprimand him and scold him for any reason they could come up with. It had been years since he had slept well, without the nightmares they would send his way.

He sighed. No reason to be worried about them. He had an entire country to run from the shadow, no time to worry for his mental health. Certainly, no intentions to ever give up on One for All.

He left his apartment, deciding by some take out was going to be more efficient. As he walked out, he was quickly flanked by Shuichi. The lizardman stood next to him, sword on his back and at another at his belt, and the two walked away.

"I called the repairman."

"Hopefully Toga doesn't stab him this time."

"I didn't know you believe in miracles, sir. I called one with self-healing. Should be able to handle a few stabs."

"Efficient." He sighed "She is still angry because she hasn't killed Ojiro and now he is gone. Considering the whole Imprisoners debacle two years ago, I can hardly fault her."

"Those bastards." Shuichi shook his head "I really don't get the Heroes. Why do they care if they aren't relevant anymore? Just go back to your normal life."

All for Deku shook his head. "Hell if I know, Shuichi. I gave them a way out, they didn't take it, and I had to create the Hero Suppressors. It's their fault if Japan is fighting a war, not mine." His Master had told him. The Heroes were a pest that would not just disappear if they were outlawed. They would claim they were still justice, and hunt him down. 'What even is justice? The law says they aren't legally acting as Heroes, but of course that's unjust. But hunting down and killing my associates, now that's Justice. Fucking hypocrites.'

It had always been the same with the Heroes. They killed, but were never held accountable for it. They used their powers freely, but if anyone else so much as tried the entire nation would call them outlaws, even for something that didn't matter at all. Liars and deceivers, all of them.

'They used their power for good.'

'You use your powers to make everyone subservient and call it justice.'

'Your Hero Suppressors are deranged villains that are willing to destroy anyone on their path.'

'Monster.'

Izuku slammed his feet down, and his leg cracked, the bone broken, the ligaments snapped. He took another step, his Regeneration kicking in. Shuichi did not comment. He was used to Midoriya's outbursts of power by now. Only him, Eiichiro and the leaders of the Hero Suppressors knew what truly happened. Everyone else had been told some lie about his Quirk requiring the regular expulsion of energy. A useful lie to keep the general public guessing. Most people still treated All for One as a conspiracy theory outside of the Heroes, and he wanted to keep it that way. Officially, his All for Deku codename was a statement on how even the people most called useless would be protected in the Japan he wished to create, and just happened to remind people of an old underground legend.

His thought went back to Izuku Midoriya – the other one – and he wondered if there were others like him. If there was one person from another world with One for All, logically there would be more. If One for All was the Quirk at fault – and that had been the only plausible explanation, since that otherwise would have been far too convenient – logically he could do the same, and reach other worlds. He had One for All, and Teleport. Unless it was a third, unknown Quirk, what the Izuku had told him should have been true for him as well.

'The question is, do I try?'

For once, the Vestiges did not dare to speak.

-x-

"I'm so sorry All Might." Tsukauchi said.

"It's not your fault, my friend." All Might said, sitting down and looking at the screen. David Shield, in contact from I-Island, shared a sympathetic look with his old friend and shook his head.

"We currently haven't made any progress. If our worst theory is true…"

"Don't say it." Toshinori replied, gritting his teeth "Please, David."

"All Might, you know that we have to consider the possibility." Professor Shield replied, "Trust me, I hate it as much as you do, but what other reasons could there be for him not contacting you?"

All Might held his hands together. The idea that Teleport had abandoned the kid in the middle of the Pacific had been considered, but he didn't want to believe it. There was no precedent of the Quirk working like that, so why would it now? Why would it…

"Don't take it as the only possible result." Nezu replied "We will keep searching. For now, we are keeping Midoriya's disappearance under wraps. Only Katsuki Bakugo and we are aware of it."

"What do we do with his mother?" Tsukauchi asked "I'm a detective Nezu. I can agree that we need to not tell about… this discovery" He said, stopping himself from mentioning One for All after glancing briefly at David Shield, the only man in the room unaware of One for All's power "to the larger public, but I can't accept not telling his family."

The Principal of UA nodded "I will call her and inform her of her son's situation. I'll explain we currently don't know where he is. It's something she deserves to know. If she asks how she disappeared, however, I will just say he didn't return to UA after leaving for training. We can't tell her about Teleport."

Everyone agreed, but Toshinori couldn't help but wonder what she would say. The last time they had met, he had begged her to let him look over young Midoriya. And now…

'Where are you, Young Midoriya?'

-x-

Izuku opened his eyes to look up at the sunlight slowly creeping on the clearing. He was down on the ground, with a large blanket over him and only the grass under. Standing up slowly, he noticed that the Outriders were already up, walking around the camp to saddle their horses, dismantle their tents, and preparing to depart.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." A familiar voice said. Ojiro's hand moved toward his face, and he grasped it, standing up.

"What happened?" Izuku asked.

"Uh, must have been a worst punch than I thought. Do you remember anything about your sparring match with Izo?"

Deku thought for a second, and suddenly his memory came flowing bad. The punches, the magic, and the fact he had been utterly defeated.

"Yeah, I can see you are starting to remember." Ojiro commented, giving him a pat on the back "Don't worry too much about it. Izo is more experienced than you and can throw around that fancy magic together with the strength of One for All. It's an unfair match."

Izuku nodded, but kept his mind on the fight. The final blow, the punch through the light image, had left him down on the ground, he assumed, and someone had decided to just cover him and let him wait for the following day rather than wake him up. Made sense, since they were sleeping on the ground anyway.

The fight itself had been… eye-opening, on how much he needed to improve still to reach the level of a proper One for All user. He knew that, technically, because he had met All Might, but All Might only had the strength. The appearance of Blackwhip and Teleport meant he was going to have a larger range of Quirks, and that meant Izo was his first time facing a One for All user with multiple abilities. He could have argued that Izo had used magic rather than Quirks, but there really wasn't much of a difference. If anything, it meant Nana Shimura, who could use both, was even stronger.

"Good morning Izu!" Izo said in that moment, walking up to him, with Todoroki at his side "Nice spar yesterday. You are pretty strong."

"Thank you Izo but… You are a lot stronger." Izuku replied, lowering his head.

"Hey, hey, none of that." The green-haired knight replied with a slap on his back "You are five years younger than me and have probably had One for All for what, a year? Maybe two? Don't try to act like this is your best when it's only the result of such a short time spent training. You have time to grow and develop your own style." He chuckled "I actually have some tips, if you want. Not much about your fighting style, but I think I can suggest a couple tricks with those Blackwhip of yours."

Izuku's eyes lit up "Sure! I…"

"We are leaving then, Izo." Eimor interrupted. The four men looked at him, and he just laughed "Sorry, I think I interrupted something. I just wanted to tell you the girl is with the horses. She doesn't look happy about it, so you might want to go help her." The redhead shook his head "You would think she has never seen a horse up close judging by the looks she throws at it, but that's just absurd."

"Yeah sorry, Isu can be like that." Izo replied "A horse kicked her when she was young and she is still scared of them."

"Eimor didn't comment, and instead just grabbed the man's hand "Well then, I'll see you soon I suppose. Don't get killed on the road."

Izo shook his hand "I won't. Good luck to you and your man. If you need help, send a rider to the capital. I'll do my best to help."

"Thank you, but I doubt we'll need it. It's a warband without a leader." Eimor hesitated a moment "If when you are in the capital you could check on my daughter…"

"I will. And I'm also going north. Want me to check on your wife too?"

"Bah, the Horned Tribe is made of strong people. She can look out for herself. Also, I think you already have your own woman to check after in the Capital, do you not?" He winked, and for the first time Izuku saw Izo actually embarrassed. The man scratched his beard and looked away. Eimor, apparently, knew full well and was having a good laugh about it. "Ah, Izo, you are probably the strongest man in the Kingdom, but your reaction when it comes to her is always exhilarating."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it off." Izo grunted, but there was a smile on his face.

Eimor saluted them all with a handshake, and when it came to Izuku encouraged him, mentioning that losing against Izo didn't make him any less manly. "I should know, I did."

After a while, the Outriders finally departed, leaving behind their five horses and the bags. Izo showed them how to correctly strap them to the horse's saddle, but Izuku had to admit he hadn't paid attention, his mind still focused on his fight.

He was so focused he didn't even notice when he moved on the saddle with Izo's help and the animal started moving. He finally snapped out of his thought when Ojiro nudged him with a finger. And immediately grasped the horse's neck tightly, for the annoyance of the animal.

"You ok?" The blonde Hero asked with a smile.

"Yes, I was just… just thinking about the fight. Even if you two said to not worry about it, it's undeniable this shows the difference there is between me and Izo. And he has even more magic in his pocket. How do I even compare? I only have Blackwhip and Teleport, and I can't really risk using the latter since we don't know if it will go off."

"Uhm… Have you thought about expanding your abilities?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you said you only have Blackwhip and Teleport. Shouldn't you try to get more?"

"I mean, if I could it would be great, but I don't really have any way to force my Quirk to activate. We don't really know what will cause it to activate in the first place, considering Blackwhip and Teleport both activated at seemingly casual junctures. So much so that All Might thought the next would be Float rather than Teleport."

Ojiro shook his head "I'm a man that used to have a tail, I can't really judge your frankly absurd and utterly unfair cheat of a Quirk. But, I was thinking. I have been… Useless for a while. My tail is gone, and there is nothing we can do about it, but I haven't really been as helpful as others. Todoroki saved that village and before that saved you from Muscular and Compress, you and Itsumi defeated the Noumu, Izo fought that hyena thing…"

"You shouldn't feel like you need to help with everything." Izuku countered "There is no reason for that."

"I know, but that's why I have had an idea. And maybe it could help you too."

"What is it?" Izuku asked, curious but worried looking at Ojiro's wide grin.

"Come with me." He pushed his horse forward, past Todoroki and Itsumi. Izuku was more clumsy, but managed to speed up his horse just enough to keep up with the two. He arrived just in time to see Izo's surprised expression and an ecstatic Ojiro with the largest grin Izuku had seen on his face yet, which was saying a lot.

Izo turned around "You are here for the same reason?" He asked. Ojiro nodded.

Deku though for a moment about the situation, then decided to go with it. He could always say he had misunderstood what Ojiro meant if it turned out to be something unimportant. And he did want to talk with Izo about ways to improve as a One for All user.

Izo scratched his head, nervous "W-well, I suppose we should try at least. We will start tonight." And he pushed forward a bit with the horse.

"What did I agree to?" Izuku asked "Not that I think you would trick me, but I'm curious."

Ojiro's smile went from cheek to cheek. "We... We did it…" He stammered, absolutely thrilled.

"Did what?"

"I asked him to teach us some magic. He said yes."