"They were here!" Kiruka shouted as she walked up and down the room, "Right under my nose, and I didn't even notice! Great job Kiruka, you truly deserve the role of a Founder."

"If I might, miss Kiruka, I believe you are worrying yourself a bit too much." Izuku Midoriya, announcer of the tournament replied, "The JTO will take care of the issue."

"Oh yes? And how?"

"Well for starters, since we know all Izukus are main targets, we will give them bodyguards, and…"

"I refuse." Revenant immediately interrupted from his seat. Everyone, including Deku, turned toward him. The pale version of the teen stared at the others, then scoffed, "I refuse to be escorted around like some VIP." He repeated.

Deku sighed. What had happened the night before was still fresh news for most of them. While they hadn't been informed earlier, apparently because the JTO wanted time to make sure the situation was under control, he had noticed how, the night before, a few of the bodyguards of the Yuuei Grand Palace had followed him and Captain Kamino as they returned to Heights Alliance. According to Izumi, she had also been followed by one of the JTO's guards, though he had claimed it was just because two girls could use protection in case something happened. Of course Fuyumi had immediately challenged that, but there had been no problem getting back to the building.

Then, the following morning, every Izuku Midoriya had been told about the incident and brought to the meeting room where they were sitting right now, a large office Izuku assumed was usually for the JTO's officials to meet and discuss.

"Why?" Argali asked, before Kiruka or the Announcer could, "I think having a guard or two could help."

Revenant shrugged, "Simply put, I'm not letting anyone stand in front of my room at all hours of day and night, not to mention follow me around. You can do what you want, but if you try to saddle me with them, I will just slip away."

"It's not a matter of if you want or not-" Announcer started, but Zombie coughed.

"I agree with Revenant. I don't need to be hidden behind some bodyguards. If they do come after me, I will just take them down."

Announcer sighed, and Kiruka slammed a fist on the table, "You realize you aren't dealing with just this one attacker right? There is a whole organization behind him."

"And? The Multiverse is vast, and I'm sure there are a lot of Izukus that aren't me." Revenant replied.

"I'd like to see them try and come to my world." Zombie added, "Might be a sight to behold."

Kiruka sighed, "I suppose then I can't convince you to pull out of the Tournament, right? The League can protect you."

"Mister Yotsubashi would be rather displeased with the League for that." Announcer pointed out, "Izukus are a big attraction."

"And I don't remember ever agreeing to cooperate with the League anyway," Revenant added.

"You know, Izukus are usually likable, but you are insufferable. Would it hurt you to listen to others?"

"A psychologist told me I have developed a strong distrust in authority figures. Frankly, considering every authority figure I've met in over a year tried to kill me, experiment on me, or both, I'm inclined to say 'yeah, duh'." He smiled, leaning back on the table, and Kiruka took a deep breath before turning to the others.

"What about you?"

"I need to win this thing." Zombie pointed out, "And I agree with Revenant, I never agreed to work with the League. I'll take the risk if it means getting a chance at my prize."

"I… sort of agree with them." Captain Kamino added, "My reward is something I covet deeply, so I can't just let go of the chance."

"I want to get stronger." Izumi said, surprising Izuku, "I've seen a lot of potential in this Tournament, so I'd prefer to stay."

"As much as I'd like to see Kendo, I owe to Nemoto to at least try and win this Tournament." Argali replied, "If it wasn't for him, I would have never found her."

"I'm on the side of both." Usagi replied. Despite not being a Midoriya by name, the Princess had been invited too, since it wasn't clear if the enemy's target were just people called Midoriya or any descendants of Izuku.

Kiruka turned to Deku, who looked down. "If Izumi is staying, and everyone else is too, I can't really leave."

"Safety in numbers too." Revenant pointed out, "If we stay together, we can protect each other. The more of us you take away, the more defenseless those that remain will be. Frankly, if I'm keeping around anyone, it's Zombie. We work well together."

Zombie winked back at his other version, tossing him a cigarette that however Kiruka caught mid-toss. "Don't give cigarettes to a minor!"

"Spoil sport." Revenant grumbled, before Announcer coughed in his fist, calling everyone's attention back to him.

"As much as I'm sure we all enjoy the verbal banter between Miss Yagi and Revenant, I think we need to discuss security. Does anyone want bodyguards?"

"I don't think I need them." Usagi replied, crossing her arms.

"I'm not against the idea but it would feel odd." Argali said.

"I'm used to bodyguards so I can deal with them." Cap said. When everyone looked at him, he just looked down, "Uhm, my dad was always worried, so he surrounded me with guards whenever I wasn't in public. It was a bit overwhelming at times really..."

"Wow, so much for the Captain America image." Zombie snarked. Captain Kamino seemed to take the comment in stride.

"I'm the leader of a gang, I'm used to having underlings." Izumi replied, "If they do what I say I can deal with them."

"I guess I can deal with guards, if they aren't too invasive…" Deku decided.

"Alright." Announcer clapped his hands together, "I will pass everything to the boss. We will make sure they aren't too in the way, alright?" With that, he stood back up, taking with him a small stack of papers he had been scribbling on the entire time, most likely his report. Feel free to use this room to continue your meeting."

Kiruka watched him go, then turned to them, "I need to go check on the other Wanderers to see if we missed someone being attacked. Just… take some time to consider my offer of taking you to the League. It's the safest place right now. Later today I will come around and we will talk some more, so we can plan for the future." With that, she walked out. Revenant opened his eyes, following her leaving and then seemingly trying to listen to her steps.

"Alright, she left." He said after a moment, casually pulling up a piece of paper from a nearby stack and a pen from a pile of them. "So, anyone here goes to UA?" He asked, while writing something on the paper, before turning it toward them.

This room is bugged.

Izuku and Izumi made to say something, but Zombie covered their mouths. "I did." Argali replied, "Now I teach there."

"Nice. What's your specialty?"

They don't believe we shared everything. They are right.

"I teach Hero Class. A sheep is pretty useful to carry students that go overboard around. Not that they do it for long." Argali chuckled, "I might not be Mister Aizawa, but I definitely make sure they understand the risks of Hero work. I still think Mister Aizawa gave better explanations though." The emphasis on explanation was very light, but enough for Revenant to pick it up.

Meanwhile, Zombie had let Deku and Izumi go, sending a questioning look to Revenant.

There are two accomplices, a man and a woman. They mentioned a plan. I ran into them while I was taking a stroll at night, the other day, but I didn't get to see them.

Izuku read the paper, his eyes went wide, and he looked at Revenant. "Uhm, I went to UA too actually. I… wonder if miss Yagi did, maybe we should involve her in this conversation once she is back."

Revenant seemed positively impressed for a moment, before he scribbled something more down.

"I guess we could ask once she is back."

We can't be sure about who is in the enemy camp. Kiruka might be fine, but she also might be their best spy. And the JTO might have spies from this True League for All. I'm only trusting you six because you were either attacked, helped fighting the enemy, or are completely new to the Multiverse. I say we work on our own.

Izuku didn't need the look Zombie sent him to know what 'trusting' meant in the context. Revenant trusted them at sword length, not an inch closer. He wanted their help but wasn't going to let his guard down. His logic about possible accomplices worked for anyone present too, really, it only made it less likely. From his perspective, they were the closest thing to accomplices he could find.

"I've never been to UA." Captain Kamino commented meanwhile, "I'm not really aiming to be a Hero. I just wonder how the school works. I hope they teach how to cooperate."

"They do." Izuku chimed in, while Revenant scribbled a new reply on the paper. "It's fairly important to work well with your classmates and plan ahead."

Our best plan is to work in teams of two. Izuku and Izumi, Me and Zombie, Cap and Argali seem good match-ups. Usagi could team-up with someone else we can trust.'

"That's good. Ah, you know, I wonder if Huanli, Fuyumi and Shinomori also went to UA." Kamino added.

"Not Shinomori most likely, he opted to not face All for One and instead train in solitude." Izumi said, "And I think Huanli is homeschooled really."

"No idea for Fuyumi." Argali added.

Good ideas.

In that moment they heard the door opening. Quickly, Revenant folded the piece of paper and put it in his pocket, just as Izuku walked in. The Announcer looked around, fixing his sunglasses on his hair. "You guys alright?"

"Sure. We just talked a bit about UA."

"Ah, right, most of you come from a world where it's a school, right?" He chuckled, "Almost weird to think about. Anyway, we are going to organize for the guards…"

"Ah, actually," Argali interrupted, "I thought of something. Why not put us all in the Yuuei Grand Palace? That place is already well guarded, and that way you won't have to position personal bodyguards around us all the time."

The Announcer thought a moment, "Mh, a valid point, I suppose. I will see what I can do. The Grand Palace probably won't argue since you are all Top 64 fighters, and it's true that putting you all closer to each other will make guarding you easier." He nodded, probably already thinking of the logistics, "If there is nothing else, since I see miss Kiruka left, I suppose I can let you go too. Don't wander off on your own." He added, looking at Revenant, who just shrugged it off. They all stood up, preparing to leave, but before they could, the Announcer stopped them. "Also, Revenant, can I see that piece of paper you put in your pocket?"

The teen smiled, "Why?"

"Instinct."

He shrugged, and pulled out of his pocket the paper, handing it over. Announcer unfolded it and then grimaced, turning it toward them. "This just says 'Fuck the JTO' several times in both English and Japanese."

"What can I say, that psychiatrist was spot on." Revenant replied, walking out of the room, "And is not like I wrote it to show it to you."

Izuku and Izumi both stared at the teen. Once they were a fair distance away, he moved his wrist and a different piece of paper seemed to appear out of nowhere in his hand. "Really, misdirection is not hard to call out."

Zombie started to laugh, while Izumi looked sincerely impressed. He didn't miss though that Argali and Captain Kamino were looking at the Izuku with a slight hint of worry in their eyes, and could understand why.

There was something unusual about this version of him. Not malicious, definitely. Just... unusual in a way that made him worry.

-x-

The following two days proved less eventful for the group of Midoriyas in the Arenaverse. The time spent training for the upcoming matches saw them train together, along with Huanli, Shinomori, Kiruka, Fuyumi and sometimes other fighters, like Chojuro Kon.

Deku tried to reach out to some of the people that had been eliminated from the Tournament, but unsurprisingly most of them refused. They had plans, they weren't interested in fighting an enemy so far off into the Multiverse, or simply didn't think it was a battle they could win. All for One was, apparently, a name that commended fear in many parts of the Multiverse.

Meanwhile, he was focusing hard into learning to use Float. Kiruka guaranteed that her method had worked a few times, but as she mentioned, it depended a lot on the peculiarities of his own version of One for All. All she could do was attacking him from high up and try to push him into a corner, in hopes the Quirk reacted to the perceived danger.

"It's not going to be long now." She explained, "The Vestiges so far are staying quiet, because you aren't ready yet, but you are getting closer and closer. Blackwhip, Teleport, Danger Sense. That's three out of six, Izuku. Sooner or later, they will come out to talk with you properly, more than quick glances or the occasional meeting sponsored by a supernatural entity."

"What will they say?"

"I don't know." She replied, sighing, "Back when I first had my real meeting with the Vestiges, I… wasn't in a good place. Do you know who I am?"

"Kiruka Yagi, you introduced yourself as that."

"I did." She nodded, "Tell me, who is Kiruka Hasaki in your world?"

"A Villain called Slice." He replied.

"Another one..." Kiruka sighed, "Sometimes I'm a Hero, but so many, so many times I'm a Villain. I get why Mariah always feels bad about being All for One."

"I've met a Villain version of myself, maybe two, I don't think you should beat yourself down for it…"

She turned to him with a smile, "You are sweet Izuku, but the truth is that I've been through many hundreds of Universes at this point. I'm a Patroller and one with excellent control of her own Quirk, so that's to be expected. I'm also one of those that can dedicate the most time to the League, which is an excellent bonus. I know how often I'm a Villain." Kiruka looked up at the sky. It was late afternoon, the day just before the first sixteen fights of the Qualifiers. Izuku, who had to fight the day after, was taking the time to train, like Huanli, Izumi and Usagi were doing until just a bit earlier.

Revenant, Captain Kamino, Argali, Izumi… they were all fighting the following day. And while some of them seemed to have a strategy – Revenant certainly did, if asking Deku to create all those items was any indication – others were less sure. Argali had been knitting of all things, though Izuku wasn't sure how that would help against Ryukyu. Captain Kamino had gone running, making a few hundred laps around the Arena, and then spent the rest of the day in the Gym. No one had seen Zombie or Revenant since that morning. 'So much for staying together at all times…' Izuku muttered. Then again, maybe they were together, or close enough to react if something happened to the other.

But what stuck out the most to him was that none of them were Villains. While Zombie had refused to share his story, saying that 'it's a boring sob story you don't need to hear', he had assured them he was no Villain, and Revenant seemed to believe him. Everyone else was either a Hero, a UA student, or in Captain Kamino's case a pre-Hero System Hero, as far as Izuku was concerned.

So why did the True League for All hate him that much? And as Kiruka had assured, they did, they despised all of them incredibly. Those were the news she had gotten from the League, at least, and there was little point to doubt them. Not when one of their assassins had almost murdered Argali just for being a Midoriya.

Izuku looked up. Sometimes he wished none of this had ever happened. That he was still back home, worried about only one dangerous criminal on the loose.

He closed his eyes, standing back up. "Can we train some more, Kiruka?"

"Sure. Something up?"

"I need to get stronger." He said. 'I need to save everyone.'

-x-

"Where are you going, Deku?" Bakugo asked. All for Deku sighed. He had put on Izuku's gym clothes, waited for early in the morning, and snuck out of the dorm before Tenya Iida or Katsuki Bakugo would normally wake up.

Apparently, not that morning. His friend from long ago had basically ambushed him just a few hundred meters from heights alliance, where the road Izuku habitually ran on – the same one that led to the gates – was surrounded by trees.

He beat back the idea this was a trap. While this world's Izuku and this world's Bakugo were closer than he had ever been with the man, there was no way that they were close enough for him to notice something was wrong to the point he would organize an attack on Izuku. Most likely, it had something to do with misplaced pride or that weird desire to make himself useful the Bakugo of his world had never showed. Just to make sure, he scanned the woods with one of his Quirks, but no one else was in there.

"I'm just running, Kacchan!" He replied with a smile, "I didn't sleep that well and it's too late to try to, so I've decided to go for a quick lap or two and then take a shower, so I'm ready and awake for the coming day."

"Really? Mind if I join you?"

'Yes.' "Uhm, are you sure?"

"I was just going out to train a bit either way." He replied, and Izuku did notice he was wearing a black tank top and short pants that were made to exercise.

All for Deku nodded, "Alright, sure!" He put on the same smile, and Bakugo grunted, starting to run next to him.

For a while, neither spoke, All for Deku busy thinking of a way out. They made it a fourth of the way before one of the two broke the silence. "You are being quiet today, Deku. Something wrong? Not feeling like talking with me?" Bakugo asked.

All for Deku grimaced. Of course, from what he had glimpsed of other people's memories, this Deku tended to run his mouth a lot, like he would in his younger days.

'He is what you could have been…'

'Look at what you became…'

The voices of One for All almost caught him by surprise, before he pushed them back. He had to do that a lot, and it was starting to get hard to keep focus. Another reason to leave. Spinner had worked out everything important, and once he got out of there he could get to work.

"I'm sorry Kacchan, I've just been thinking about… well, everything. The League of Villains, All for One, the Multiverse… It's a lot."

"And then you came back and started acting like a little bitch. Where did you put Blackwhip, uh? Forgot it in the Multiverse?" Bakugo spat, and All for Deku grimaced. Blackwhip was a sore spot. He hadn't found a similar Quirk, so he had to sell the story that One for All was not working properly. Thin ice. Another reason to leave fast. He had collected every information he could at UA, examined the school's defenses to compare it to the ones from his world – they were better, unsurprising since in this world UA was preparing to the worst-case scenario of facing the Paranormal Liberation Front if need be, unlike back home – and collected info on the various Heroes that could intervene in the conflict.

"I told you Bakugo, One for All has been acting weirdly." He replied. Bakugo had always been oh so dismissive of everyone's difficulties. He didn't have any, so why expect the others to?

Bakugo went back for a moment, probably stopping himself from just cursing, before sighing. "Your annoying Quirk was always weird, but you aren't even trying anymore." Bakugo replied, and All for Deku held back a sharp reply. His point of view was understandable, another proof of his success at faking his identity. With a sigh, he kept running next to Katsuki.

They stayed quiet for a lot more. Then Katsuki spoke again, "So, this All for Deku and this Hizuku… What were they like?"

"Hizuku was a good person. His daughter came with us when we jumped again, and is around here. All for Deku…" The man in question remained quiet for a moment, "I don't think you want me to tell you what he is like. Hopefully you never meet him."

"Really? Why?"

"He is a dangerous man. He probably would steal your Quirk and kill you." Izuku replied, finding it rather weird to talk about himself in the third person. Nonetheless, it was expected.

"Ah! Nah, I would blow his fucking head off!" Katsuki replied, and Izuku's blood boiled. He could have shown him then and there who he was dealing with- no, that was a dangerous thought. It was the pride Izuku had learned to crush whenever it wasn't needed.

"He is too dangerous Kacchan. And he is in another world. You couldn't catch him either way."

"He is." Bakugo nodded, "Still, what the fuck could happen to you – or him, whatever – to make you end up like that?"

The truth was, All for Deku had pondered the same thing on his own, though the other way around. Was the difference really only a different intersection? He had gone left, Deku had gone right, and so one became the conqueror of Japan, the other the Heir of the Number One?

Tomura Shigaraki seemed to suggest more. Back in his own world, Tenko Shimura's father never held a big grudge against Heroes. Maybe because his mother died a bit later in life than the Nana of this world had done. Maybe just because he was raised slightly differently. Point was, Tenko Shimura never murdered his entire family. He never became a Villain, never took the place of All for One's heir. Years later, another child had his heart broken enough for All for One to snuck in, and Tenko would go on to fight that child and die for it.

All for Deku wasn't just a carbon copy of Izuku up to the age of sixteen. The Izuku of this world was less willing to talk back, more prone to stammer and cry through a conflict, until he got more confidence. It was the dilemma of nurture and nature. Did he become All for Deku and the other become Deku because they were different from birth, or were they the same at birth and then were shaped differently by different experiences?

"I really don't know." He just said, and it was the truth, "Maybe I could have turned out like him if I had lived a different while."

"So, like if All Might hadn't saved you from the Sludge Villain?"

All for Deku frowned. So that how it went here. He could imagine it, a young version of himself trapped in the sludge, All Might saving him but being impressed with his spirit… Yes, it did make some sense. "I suppose." He just replied.

"Then I'm glad he saved us both." Bakugo replied.

The explosion came out of nowhere, but before it even impacted him his very body started shifting. His appearance as a sixteen years old vanished, cracking and bending as his Quirk was…

'Erased.' He looked around. They were back where they had met up at first, the road surrounded by trees. But as he watched, UA Teachers emerged from the woods. He grimaced. "How?"

"You called me Bakugo earlier, you fucking idiot. And then you didn't even remember what the Sludge Villain incident was like."

He had. Fuck. He had let his thoughts slip to his tongue for just a moment. "That was enough?" He asked. No point in denying it. He was a twenty-eight years old, lean man wearing the clothes of a sixteen years old muscular teen. There was no way this could look normal.

"You moron, I smelled out the way you were acting days ago. It was just a matter of putting the theory to the test."

And he had slipped. "What if you were wrong?"

"Deku isn't a little bitch like you. But if he actually took the blow, Professor Aizawa could have punished me, and I would have taken it." He replied, and All for Deku grimaced. This stunk of the kind of plan Nedzu would come up with.

He felt his own body still strong, despite the burns from the explosion. Good, then his physical modifications were still around. He wasn't as extremely modified as Tomura Shigaraki was going to be once the process was complete, but he had gone through their share of modifications. Amplified strength, stamina, physical resistance were common things he shared with Alien King, after all.

Still, fighting wasn't an option. Eraserhead and Bakugo might have been one thing, but this was more. Hound Dog, Ectoplasm, Vlad King, Midnight, Present Mic… they were good Heroes, and he was currently just a slightly enhanced human. He could take a beating, but one sniff of Midnight's Quirk and he was out.

Which meant, Eraserhead was his target. Take him out, and All for One would be back.

He prepared himself, then saw something with the side of his eye and dodged out of the way. A moment later, where he once had been, were a crater and Miruko, grinning wildly. And then he felt the heat of hellfire.

'Well, this makes things more challenging.'

-x-

"The hard part really was moving the students without him catching on. We had to wait for the last moment to move 1-A, after he left." Nedzu mused, "Aside from that, while I found the situation itself unfortunate, he wasn't much of a challenge, really. We knew that he would go jogging – Izuku, after all, does the same thing, and he had to keep up the act – and he would have to accept Bakugo following him to not raise suspicion. Then we just waited for his signal that they were coming and prepared the ambush."

"Why not just ambush him from the start?"

"Mostly to make sure we could get 1-A out of the way, but I will admit I also hoped Bakugo would not send in the signal at all."

All Might nodded. Yes, he had hoped that too.

He had truly hoped that.

"We couldn't call in the entire Top Ten. The HPSC wouldn't allow it on such a fanciful theory." Nedzu continued, most likely trying to distract his old friend, "But we have two of them that can sensibly come to UA without raising suspicion. After all, Miruko goes wherever she wants, and Endeavor's son is here, so nothing would raise an alarm if he decided to come here. I would have involved Kamui Woods and Edgeshot too but having the Lurkers at UA would have been harder to explain to both the Commission and anyone that might have noticed."

All Might nodded, feeling his heart clench as they watched through the cameras the man that had pretended to have been his student dodge out of the way of Endeavor's flames. 'Young Midoriya…' Where was his student then? Where was young Izuku in all this?

"You took a risk trusting young Bakugo on this. It would have been hard to explain to the teachers why you asked them to ambush a student, and we didn't exactly have hard proof." All Might pointed out.

"I wouldn't say so. Young Bakugo's points had been something I was wondering too, reviewing Izuku's… All for Deku's training. Such a loss of control over one's Quirk was unthinkable, not in someone as hardworking as Midoriya, and so I specifically asked Aizawa to never use his Quirk on Midoriya, in case my worst doubts proved right. He told us about the Multiverse, after all, and once I reviewed everything about his story, I didn't see a fault in believing it, not if it explained the many unknowns of his situation. The opinion of Bakugo and Todoroki was merely the last push I needed to work in that direction. In addition, it would have been more dangerous to let him be. Acting now, we have the chance to take him down."

"All for Deku… That seems so wrong."

"It is, isn't it?" Nedzu mused, pouring himself some tea as he carefully kept an eye on the monitors.

"You think he will escape?"

"I certainly hope not." Nedzu replied, "But I can't use my robots, just in case. If I swarmed him, he might be fully covered from Eraserhead's Erasure, and then we might give him the chance to win. Begrudgingly, we shall depend purely on the human element for this."

"It's a rush against time then. If he frees himself from Erasure…"

"Oh, I took precautions. One of our students is gifted with an exceptionally good Quirk to give us a chance at victory, after all. I would have preferred to not involve any of the students, but even I couldn't come up with a better plan with the people I had at my disposal." He looked at All for Deku, the man with short green hair that looked o so similar to one of his students. Unacceptable. "Check, 'All for Deku'. I will have you spill out everything about your world and where our Deku is."

Yagi grimaced. Was it really possible to take down All for One without One for All?

He had to hope so.

-x-

'One minute and thirty seconds.' All for Deku punched Hound Dog, sending the Heteromorphic man flying in the trees, before dodging a kick from Miruko by a hair's breadth. In his pocket, his hand slid on the phone, hoping he was pressing the right buttons. He knew full well what was going on.

They were using Monoma.

Eraserhead's eyes closed, in his world, every minute and sixteen seconds, give or take a few instants. He was willing to bet that going beyond the minute and thirty seconds like right now would have been exceptionally hard even in another world… but involving Monoma meant they could push that limit indefinitely. All they had to do was make sure to not blink simultaneously.

He looked around. To ambush him, they hadn't been able to summon as many Heroes as they would have needed, which was probably why they had involved a few students. Still, this was setup well. Nedzu had done his homework when it came to choosing his fighters, or had been lucky enough. Eraserhead alone was a treasure, a man capable of putting him in a difficult spot.

Present Mic's soundwaves made him the least dangerous opponent. Friendly fire was a thing, even with his Support Gear, and all Izuku had to do was keep someone between them to make him hesitate. That was probably why the attack always came from the bushes: he was guarding Aizawa. It hadn't been hard to figure out, but he couldn't act on it.

Midnight was trying to trap him with her gas, but Izuku just kept himself at range. He wasn't cornered by any means, so he could keep himself out of the way. The woman had friendly fire issues too, and Izuku was making full use of it.

He felt a hint of pain in his shoulder and looked at where Snipe had just shot him. He gritted his teeth, unable to retaliate, and then saw Ectoplasm's clones charge him. He punched one and deflected a kick from another, before grabbing a stone and smashing it through the face of a third.

Miruko's kick passed once again inches from his head, his instincts the only thing that kept him alive. Miruko and Endeavor were the real danger. They were both more than capable of killing a High-End Noumu, and with his Quirks out he wasn't as strong as those. The last thing he wanted was being burnt alive by Endeavor, if he could avoid it.

Unfortunately for them, they had made one glaring mistake in their plans. They had ambushed him near the trees to catch him by surprise, but those same woods would be their undoing. He could tell they knew – why else would Ectoplasm and Miruko both be so focused on keeping him locked, as Hound Dog had been before he presumably knocked the UA teacher out?

He took a deep breath. Pain for victory was acceptable.

He rushed forward, knowing full well he would be hit by Miruko's attack that way. Instead of dodging, he let her hit him. He felt his ribs shatter and was fairly sure one or more of his organs had just popped like balloons. No wonder the woman was capable of killing several High Ends in Alien King's world.

Unfortunately for them, he had taken the kick on purpose, jumping as he was hit. Neither Miruko nor Ectoplasm had expected him to try and take one of the woman's attacks, and their reactions were just a second too slow.

Endeavor's wasn't, and All for Deku shrieked as a Flashfire Fist immolated him and the trees around him before he had any real chance to vanish in them.

He felt his skin dry, crack and break, his back arching in pain, his eyelids trying desperately to close and protect the orbs. Burning alive was painful, oh so deadly painful.

But it was an opportunity he would take if it meant victory. He kept walking, ignoring the burning hellfire scorching his muscles, one step. Another, another. He should have been dead, but his modified body, the body the doctor had created on All for One's orders, didn't care. The ground was growing hotter, the heat emanating in all directions. He looked utterly desperate, his hands aimed at Endeavor only for the fingers to fall off, burnt to a crisp, but still not stopping. 'Burn me more. More. More. More. I just… need… to keep… moving…'

The more Endeavor burned, the hotter the flame surrounding him was. The stronger the heat emanating from him. The brighter the light of the fire engulfing him. All he had to do was keep moving. Keep burning. Keep moving. Keep burning.

Because the more he burned and shined, the harder it was to look at him without the eyes suffering from it.

Something clicked, the slightest feeling of change. Eraserhead and Monoma had removed their eyes from him for a fraction of a second, the heat and light too strong for them to endure.

It was going to last an instant.

Air Cannon would make it enough.

A smile that was all bones and burnt flesh emerged on his face, and then everything was upturned.

-x-

"Endeavor!" Aizawa had shouted, but the other Pro couldn't hear him, of course. The roaring flames surrounding his body and emanating from him were probably covering any other sound, including his warning.

The heat and light were too much, and soon enough he ended up having to close both eyes. He had held on barely longer than Monoma had. Without thinking, seeing Monoma with his eyes already closed, he grabbed the teen and threw both to the ground.

The explosion came suddenly, compressed air lashing out in all directions, Endeavor's fire giving way as the wind erupted outward eradicating the trees and slamming against the walls of the nearby buildings. He was sent flying away, until he impacted a tree that had been upturned by the sudden attack, but that didn't stop him. Once he was sure Monoma was safe. He was, though he seemed unconscious there was no sign of a grievous injury, so he handed him over to one of the surviving Ectoplasm clones – or was that the actual Ectoplasm? – that had rushed to help both of them.

He immediately turned around, but the scene he found was horrible. Most of his colleagues had been sent flying to, some knocked unconscious – hopefully unconscious, at least, some giving signs of broken bones. Nemuri had injured her leg, holding an exposed fracture that made Aizawa wince.

He tried to look for All for Deku, but he found it hard, because he was moving. The instant the alternate version of his student – and wasn't that hard to swallow – had regained its Quirks, it had started to Teleport around the field and…

"Hello, Aizawa." A voice made him turn around, only for a fist slamming in his face. It hurt, and more importantly it completely smashed his goggles, the fragments hitting his eyes and making them burn and water. Then someone grabbed him.

"Now, let's get rid of that Quirk of yours-"

"Die!" An explosion sounded and Aizawa recognized the voice. Bakugo, who was supposed to run away after his first attack and let them handle it, of course hadn't, probably just rushing to put on the gauntlets of his Hero costume if the vague shadows Aizawa could see through his watering eyes. He heard All for Deku just take the blow and turn toward Bakugo with a sudden snarl and didn't even think, grabbing the extended arm and pulling the student out of the Villain's why while at the same time hitting the man with a kick. The man just took it, but before he could do anything else Miruko jumped in, laughing wildly as she kicked again and again. Eraserhead blinked, finally opening his eyes, and he noticed All for Deku suddenly shift, moving from punching Miruko in the chest – something that made her bleed from the mouth and fly off, a vision Eraserhead never thought he would see – to suddenly jump at him with a snarl.

'I really am his only weakness right now.' He thought, desperately keeping his eyes open. The moment he blinked he was either dead or losing his Quirk, neither option being something Aizawa coveted.

It was surreal. The man in front of him, less than thirty, was the strongest opponent he had faced, and he still somehow looked enough like his student to make the whole thing as absurd as it was dangerous. He was glad transformation Quirks were a thing, or who knew if even he would have been cold enough when faced with the problem child so suddenly?

Endeavor rushed in, heavy footsteps resounding on the field. The Pro Hero punched Midoriya squarely in the chest, sending him flying back with a large, charred circle of his abdomen burnt off. The man coughed, standing back up once more. What the hell was he?

"Ugh, this is why I never fight alone." He commented, seemingly immune to the pain of having part of his body completely burnt off, "And why Eraserhead is a priority every time. I should have taken the Quirk when I had the chance, but I relaxed too much. Fucking Nedzu…"

"Endeavor!"

"I know!" The Pro Hero rushed forward, a spear of fire forming in his hand. Eraser watched the fire weapon stabbing through All for Deku, and then burst into flames. Without hesitation, Endeavor moved his hand, and punched forward, the Flashfire Fist fanning the flames of the spear.

All for Deku shouted, and then Aizawa felt his eyes starting to close. Fuck. He willed them to stay open.

'Come on. A bit longer…'

Aizawa gasped, as a sharp blade passed through his back and out of his abdomen, clutching the wound as he collapsed to the ground. The wielder of the blade was… Shuichi Higuchi?

An older Shuichi Higuchi, at any rate, his hair having taken a shade of grey as he grew older, a few scars on his body that the pictures of the Highuchi they knew didn't have. He turned the blade around, to finish him, but Bakugo used an Explosion to send him away. At the same time, Endeavor shouted something – Aizawa was too injured to truly understand it – and then there was another explosion. Like a bomb going off, they were all thrown away, sent flying off like dolls.

"About time, Shuichi." All for Deku said as the dust settled.

"I'm sorry, sir, it took a while to convince them." He replied, and let a number of large pearls fall on the ground."

"It's all good. We were supposed to have a meeting, but I suppose trial by combat will suffice." He replied in a casual manner. Eraserhead opened his eye and looked at them both. "Oh, bad move, Aizawa."

The pearls weren't pearls, they were Compress' Quirk. The moment Aizawa looked at Shuichi Higuchi, the copy of Compress' Quirk went inactive and they opened, revealing an assortment of people that, from their behavior, were clearly Villains. Some, after a moment, he recognized, some he didn't. It didn't matter, because they were reinforcements for the other Izuku at the worst time.

An alarm blared and robots started to swarm the place, but the assorted Villains moved on the offensive. He looked around. There were at least thirty, maybe a bit more. Maguma Iwata, Dusty Ash, Curator… A lot of the high-ranking Villains that weren't involved in the conflict between the Heroes and the Paranormal Liberation Front, assorted together to suddenly face off against the UA faculty.

"Get out of my way you extras!" Bakugo shouted, knocking the closest opponent unconscious. Aizawa, standing back and clutching his wound, looked around. Curator had turned into his animalistic form, a gigantic humanoid sperm whale that was crushing robots and tanking absurdly well Endeavor's fire… no, he was regenerating. He spotted All for Deku for the briefest of moment, and realized he had just touched the man, before he started to suddenly be able to recover from his wounds.

"He gave away the Regeneration!" Aizawa shouted, trying to be heard over the sound of combat.

"Are you ok, Shouta?" Mic asked, walking up to him. One of his arms was clearly broken, but aside from that the man didn't seem in bad shape.

"This is going to shit, Yamada." Aizawa replied, "We lost our opening. All I can do is this!" He looked at Curator, and the man suddenly reverted into his human form, right in time for Endeavor to nail him with a Flashfire Fist and send him impacting to the ground with bonebreaking strength. Curator remained unconscious, even as Shouta looked away and suddenly the man's flesh and bone fixed themselves.

Yamada shouted toward a Villain that charged the both of them, and in response the Villain just charged through, his body turning and twisting in a large mass of stone that covered him completely. Aizawa stared at him, but the man didn't turn back. Somehow… no, he had been given an Heteromorphic Quirk and the power had simply kicked in, turning him to stone that covered his whole body, covering his ears and making him a perfect counter for Hizashi and him.

Not for Bakugo though, as the teen jumped in and, both hands together, created a massive explosion that threw the Villain out of the way. Aizawa didn't miss his moment and grabbed the man by the leg with his capture tape, throwing him against the walls of UA. The wall, of course, held, an attack like this far below what would be needed to breach it.

"Come back here, you fucking bastard!" Bakugo shouted, trying to open his way.

Aizawa made to call for him, but he suddenly felt his leg buckle. Yamada caught him, and Shouta pressed on his wound.

Blood was gushing profusely, and he felt his vision waver.

'Fuck…'

And with that, Eraserhead blacked out.

-x-

All for Deku took a deep breath. His usual fighting style, whenever One for All wasn't involved, was what he called 'Chess playing'. Oh, he could fight directly, but he wasn't Alien King. He was a not raised to be a direct combatant at all times, and while he wouldn't shy away from it, he saw no point in doing so when he could do what he liked more.

Quirk distribution among his allies.

A Wind Quirk to Dusty Ash, to disperse Midnight's gas and help her choke Ectoplasm's clones with her ash. Then, he passed the Air Walk Quirk to Maguma Iwata so he could fight Endeavor from the sky. Spinner was alright. Most of his Quirks were to block detection, enough to sneak into UA. The other Villains would make do with some enhancement-type. He quickly rushed to Curator just to pick back up his own Super-Regeneration Quirk, and watched the man. With a sigh, All for Deku started healing him with the Quirk he stole years ago from Recovery Girl.

He groaned. This had been a mistake. His original plan to enter UA had been to just collect enough information on the state of Japan to put together a plan. The meeting with All for One was an advantage he had not expected, but nonetheless, it had gone rather well. But then he had grown complacent, thinking he could trick everyone. It had been a bit too long since he had to play a role, apparently.

And now this. Where had he messed up so badly? No, that was a dumb question, most likely it was with One for All. Sooner or later they were bound to question it, and most likely had drawn the logical conclusion. Just a day too long, most likely. He should have snuck out the night before. Why hadn't he?

"Nevermind. Let's just get out of here." He opened his hands, and activated Double. Twice's Quirk exploded into activity, creating two clones of All for Deku, who in turn started creating more. "Alright, Sad Man's Parade: Fortissimo." He said with a hint of amusement, "You guys try to sell your skin hard, and make sure to not steal any Quirk except Aizawa's. Don't want to lose them."

The doubles nodded, but immediately after five of them burst like bubbles, and All for Deku cringed. Yes, that was why he didn't use Double too often. One for All tended to act up within the clones too, and when it did those same clones exploded. But to buy him time, they were all he needed.

Once there were enough clones around, to the Heroes horror, he pondered the idea of staying, but shook his head. He had gotten some extra help, but this wasn't his kind of fight. From what he had learned of Alien King, he was the one that would love this. Moreover, there were reasons to keep the Heroes alive for now. Their alliance on the PLF relied partially on their offer to support them in their fight. Removing Pros before the time was right was a rather absurd thing to do.

"Warp Gate." He said, thinking about Alien King to open it on his side, "Plus, Warping Mud." He added. His own allies started to be covered by black sludge emitting from their mouth, while he himself just stepped through the shadow portal.

"You bastard!" A voice called, and he turned to see Bakugo rush him, "Come back here and fight like a man, you bitch!" He shouted, making one of his clone's heads explode.

All for Deku pondered the idea for a second, then chuckled. "Man, you really are just the same, uh? Goodbye Dynamight, try to not die before my Clones run out." He paused, "Oh, and by the way, Deku is still in the Multiverse. Guess he is too scared to come back, but don't worry. You got a better version."

There was a snarl, and an explosion that reached for the portal, but before it could All for Deku stepped through, walking right in the middle of a conference room where Alien King and a lot of other Villains were, and smiled. He was almost naked, he realized, so he activated Fiber Master to rearrange his tattered clothes in a thin shirt and short pants. Not exactly elegant, but enough to sell the image that he was in control.

"So. Let's share some news." He announced.

-x-

"That was… unexpected," Nedzu said, looking around the battlefield that the west side of UA's gardens had turned into, a clear look of deep displeasure in his eyes.

"I'm surprised he let us go so easily." All Might commented with sincerity. He knew full well what All for One was capable of. Surprisingly, no one had died in the encounter, though Eraserhead had risked to, and Miruko, Hound Dog and a few others had to be rushed to the hospital due to the internal damage they had taken from the enemy's blows. Endeavor had gotten off relatively lightly, all things considered.

Then again, it seemed clear All for Deku had not aimed to kill. That was the only explanation here. He looked at Nedzu, who was certainly thinking the same. "I believe there is a reason for it." Nedzu finally said, "And I think I know what it is."

"I'm all ears."

"He wants us to be enough of an enemy to pose a threat." The Principal explained.

"Why?"

"If he had killed us all today, something he could have done the moment our ambush failed, he would have taken out the Number One, the Number Five, and many more important Heroes, but the only one he seemed interested in removing from the equation was Aizawa, for rather obvious reasons. That would have been a big blow to both public opinion and the Hero system, but we would have also managed to rally around the remaining Top 10. He doesn't want that. If tragedies build up slowly, they won't crack the system as easily. But if a single, big tragedy happens, he can destroy the whole thing in one move."

"Are you guessing?"

"Mostly, admittedly, but finding logic in the illogical is what I prefer. He might have another agenda, but if so, it has to do with pieces of the equation that lay in other universes."

All Might grimaced, "The Multiverse is real then."

"Undoubtably so. Fascinating, isn't it? I so hope to get the chance to know more about it."

All Might took a deep breath. A Multiverse with other All for Ones out there?

He really couldn't agree with the Principal.

-x-

"It's time." Shoto said, looking at the hall of the League for All. Along with him were Bakugo, Mariah, Jiro and Mel. Itsuka Kendrick, the Amazon and, surprisingly, Ironblood would accompany them too, but only serve as reinforcement in case things went wrong.

"Are you sure you want to come, Mariah?" Jiro asked again.

"They are after me." She answered, fixing some of the vines that formed her hair one last time, "If I show them I'm afraid, I might as well give up now."

"There is a difference between showing strength and putting yourself on the line like this. We aren't their target, yet, but you are." Jiro replied, and Shoto could tell how worried she was for her friend. The two were clearly close.

"I'm not staying here. If they wish to kill me, I will show them what it takes."

Todoroki shivered. She sounded a bit too much like All for Deku.

(xx)

A chapter, this one, that went through several more rewrites than normal (a whole extra day of it, as you can guess, and I bet reading through it you will be able to guess why).

First, some aftermath, that includes:
Revenant from Locked in Digital by Rogue Druid
Usagi from The Green Scar by Pro-man and the Green Scar Worldbuilding Thread by Quantum01
Captain Kamino from Kamino's Ward by tunafishprincess
And many more as they discuss the attack of the night before.

And then we move at the attack of today. Or well, two days later really. A timeskip is expected, after all, from time to time.

All for Deku's fight at UA was something that was coming for a while, since Bakugo found out. It stems essentially from his underestimation of how much the people from this universe believe in Izuku essentially, assuming they won't have expectations about him.

Then again, it also shows why All for Deku is dangerous. This was Miruko and Endeavor working with the UA teachers to fight him, and he almost killed several of them. He didn't mostly because Aizawa was there. More importantly, unlike Shigaraki and Alien King, All for Deku's main skill is juggling Quirks between his allies. He will freely switch powers as needed and take them back when they aren't. If Alien King is a fighter, All for Deku's style is more akin to a general. Or a Pokémon player, whichever metaphor you like most.

It was an interesting challenge to write. See you next week.