"I'm Yuuma Mochizuki. It's nice to meet you!" Said man held his hand out for Toshi to shake as he delivered a tired, albeit polite smile. "I hear my quirk has given you quite a bit of trouble."

Toshi grins back, catching the proffered hand in a solid grip. "Toshinori Yagi. And that it has."

Toshi sits as the other man goes around the room introducing himself to the other meeting attendees. Nighteye and Toshinori—in his civilian form, of course—are present for the meeting, as well as Nedzu and Young Izuku. Out of the entire group, it seems that Young Izuku is the most excited for this meeting. Toshi smothers his laughter with a light cough as we watches Young Izuku practically vibrate with the need to ask his quirk analysis questions.

Of course, they're on a mission, so Young Izuku must focus on asking questions relevant to getting Toshi home. So the first question out of his mouth is just that.

"Unfortunately, you have to make the decision to go back in order for my quirk to ware off," Mochizuki states. "The moment you are ready, a light will glow from your chest and you'll be transported back. That's why I encourage my clients to have something with them that would remind them of why they're coming home. Like a locket or an object that holds nostalgic meaning."

"He's said that he's ready to go home—why won't the quirk ware off?" Nighteye asks, resting elbows on the desk in front of him and resting his chin on folded hands.

Mochizuki grins. "It's one thing to say it, and another to mean it. He has to be ready, he has to believe that he needs to go home, whether it's because he's needed more there or because there is no place here for him."

Mochizuki's gaze wanders over to Toshi and Young Izuku. "If there's something keeping him here, he'll just have to fix whatever's broken before leaving."

"And you can't force him to return home?"

"No. He must want to go home himself."

ooo

It's been a long week of preparing and sleepless nights, but it will all be worth it. In a few hours, the plans he's developed—the seeds he's planted—will grow to bear fruit. He's gathered his pawns, he's explained the details, and he's gained the approval of his master to follow through with this endeavor. Now, all he has left to do is keep his pawns in line while they execute the kidnapping of the Hero Blogger: Deku. And once they have him, they'll be able to use his analytical skills to find the newest successor of One for All, and maybe even unlock the secret of why there are suddenly two All Mights walking around. It's easier to say than do, however, and Tomura is learning that first-hand as he deals with the individual who he holds as his wild card.

At the beginning stages of planning, Tomura wanted to use one of Master's Nomu as the ace up his sleeve. Surely, having such raw power at his fingertips would tip the scales in his favor. However, Master thought differently and refused to provide a Nomu on this particular mission.

"It is, after all, a stealth mission," Master had said. And, unfortunately, Tomura understood exactly where he was coming from.

So. His wild card.

Unfortunately, that title falls solely on the Hero Killer's head. Also unfortunately, Stain wants nothing more than to kill Deku rather than capture. Tomura's made it very clear what the objective of this mission is plenty of times, and has extracted Stain's "promise" of keeping Deku alive. However, Tomura can tell by the look in Stain's eye that if given the chance, Stain will go in for the kill rather than following Tomura's demand.

He'll need to keep a close eye on Stain, will have to be present wherever that insane man goes. But that was part of the plan, anyway, so Tomura isn't too put off by the fact.

The young man takes a deep breath, calming his nerves and excitement for a goal almost reached.

This will work. This will work.

So, with determination strengthening his conviction, he steps into the meeting room where his team awaits orders to start the mission.

ooo

Toshi doesn't have to intervene much anymore. The former members of class A naturally flock to Young Izuku whenever they're in the room, and his boy is always the first to be greeted whenever All Might arrives. The relationships that Toshi worked so hard to cultivate between his son and the UA Alumni were finally solid enough for Toshi to comfortably believe Izuku will be taken care of.

He watches Young Izuku from across the room, laughter lighting up his face. He can remember the moment he met the young man; how heartbroken the boy looked behind his soft smile. He's so much happier and there's a light in his eyes that wasn't there before.

Toshi's done all he can for his boy—or, at least, this version of his boy. And if he's being honest, he wouldn't feel too guilty going back to his own home.

They'd had many meetings up to this point; they've spoken with Mochizuki himself about his quirk and what is needed to activate his trip back home. They all understand the mechanics and what to expect when the trip begins—slight shimmering of Toshi's for before his body slowly fades into nothing—but Toshi was faced time and again with the fact that he needs to be the one to want to go home. To feel ready.

And he thinks… he thinks he might just be ready.

After they found out everything they needed about the quirk, Nedzu, Nighteye, and Young Izuku changed their prerogative to tracking down and capturing All for One. With Toshi's help, they were able to confirm where All for One is hiding and where the majority of the Nomu are. Soon, they will act on the plan that the blogger and heroes are working on, and they'll be able to defeat the centuries-old monster safely.

The former Class A still has their rotation to protect Young Izuku and Toshi, but the job has become more of two-on-one hang out time with Young Izuku. Most of the time, rather than making rounds on the already hero-patrolled grounds of the school, they talk quirk theory and Young Izuku gives them free analysis on their quirks and recent villain fights.

Perhaps, he thinks as he watches his boy smile brighter than the sun, one more talk with Toshinori and I'll be ready to go home.

He watches as Young Todoroki and Young Bakugo fight over who gets to have Young Izuku sit beside them until they settle on squishing the poor greenette between them.

Yes, Toshi nods to himself, I need to go home.

ooo

It's the middle of the night, and Young Izuku has already gone to sleep. Toshi sits on the common room couch, in deep thought of how he wants to break the news to his boy. He's just finished the conversation with Toshinori, has made sure that his boy will be taken care of. And he had the added benefit of having 4 of former Class A present for the conversation, who were in the middle of changing their shifts. Young Bakugo and Young Todoroki showed that they would definitely… comfort Young Izuku when Toshi leaves. Young Tokoyami and Young Asui were already on their phones informing the rest of their former classmates. All that was left was to tell his boy that Toshi is leaving.

Toshi knows that Young Izuku will be okay. He's surrounded by people who love him, and he once more has the support of All Might himself. Young Izuku is doing amazing things, and he will be safe in the hands of the heroes of this world. With the information Toshi was able to give them, there's no reason for quirkless, sickly Toshi to hang around and add an extra body to guard. If these young heroes can focus their efforts on Young Izuku and the League, Toshi is sure they'll be able to fix up these problems soon.

At least, that what he keeps telling himself. Is he really comfortable with leaving? He knows he can't do anything else for the group, but does he really think he can comfortably go without seeing the seeds come to fruition? Toshi has always been terrible at leaving well enough alone…

Suddenly, a chill runs down Toshi's spine. Toshi spins to survey the room around him, squinting through the dim lighting and dark shadows. Long moments pass as nothing catches his attention. Just as he begins to relax his tense muscles, he hears it—the faintest creak of floorboards, as if someone is slowly making their way down the hall above him.

Toward's Young Izuku's room.

Toshi sprints, taking the steps 3 at a time to get there faster, fearing the worst. And the worst is what he gets, when he sees young Izuku grappling with the Hero Killer. While Young Izuku looks to be handling himself quite well, giving as much as he got, Stain has knives in both hands and was able to pin the young man down to the floor beside his desk.

Swiftly, Toshi enters the fight, ripping the Hero Killer from Young Izuku and landing a solid punch on Stain's cheek. The man goes down heavily, and Toshi wastes no time pinning the man down in a hold and turning to Young Izuku.

"Give me something to tie him up with!"

Young Izuku scrambles to find a suitable rope or tie or something as Toshi lifts the Hero Killer's head from the floor, only to bring it back down so that he can knock the villain out. Before Stain's head makes contact with the floor, however, a black portal opens beneath them, and the two men fall into the ground.

Toshi finds himself falling into a dark, musty room, lit only by a lamp settled outside the metal bars bisecting the room. The former hero is knocked onto his back, and a sharp pain radiates from his cheek. Suddenly, he can't move.

He lies there, struggling to get his limbs to obey his commands, as Stain stands above him. The other man stares at Toshi, as if he's weighing a decision.

"You," he begins, words slow and dangerous, "are All Might."

Toshi's blood runs cold. How…?

"You fight despite your own declining condition to save as many as you possibly can," Stain continues. "You are truly the greatest hero."

Another swirling vortex opens up in the room, and out steps Shigaraki, four fingers wrapped around Young Izuku's neck while the fifth hovers dangerously over clammy skin.

Terrified green eyes meet Toshi's as Young Izuku is man-handled into a metal chair and strapped down by his wrists, ankles, chest, and waist. Toshi can only hear the cell doors open as footsteps approach him. Someone lifts him up and places him on another chair similar to the one Young Izuku is in. Toshi's chin rests on his chest, and he is unable to see anything but his lap as they strap him in.

"What did you do to him?" Young Izuku rasps, voice angry and vindictive.

"Silence yourself, you fake," Stain hisses back. "Don't pretend to be heroic when you—"

"That's enough," Shigaraki interrupts. "You've done well, Hero Killer. You may leave."

There's a pause, and then a frustrated growl before the cell door can be heard closing and light footsteps retreating.

"Kurogiri," Shigaraki speaks up again, "why don't you bring a drink for our guest, Deku?"

ooo

"Was it the League?" Toshinori asks, voice betraying his panic.

Sir Nighteye sighs, fingers massaging at his temples. "Yes. The two on guard confirmed that they were ambushed by Toga and Twice. There are signs of struggle in Midoriya's room, so we can guess there was at least one more involved in the kidnapping. Both Toshi and Midoriya are missing."

Toshinori's fists clench, brow furrowing in worry and determination. "We have to get them back."

Nighteye nods. "Luckily, Toshi has given us good intel on the League. Everything that he's told us has checked out, and we've already begun getting heroes together to pull off a heist. We'll just have to speed up those same plans and complete the mission earlier than we thought."

"Young Togata and I will fight All for One together," Toshinori replies. "With both of us using One for All, we might have a chance of defeating him for good."

ooo

"Just think about it," Shigaraki says lightly. "All those people who don't believe in you just because you don't have a quirk… well, we can show them just how powerful you can be. On our side, you'll be seen as an equal. Your talents will be celebrated. And we'll tear down this oppressive 'Hero' society brick by brick, change the world with your help."

Placing the severed hand back on his face, Shigaraki rises from his own seat and exits first the cell, then the room.

Toshi'd finally gotten movement back in his limbs about half-way through Shigaraki's speech. He tried to twist his hands out of their bindings, but nothing he did got him any looser. All he can do now is sit and hope for the heroes to arrive.

Oh boy, he thought to himself. I never thought I'd find myself in this situation.

Young Izuku looks to Toshi with wide eyes. "You have to go."

Toshi coughs, droplets of blood dribbling down his chin. "What?"

"You have to go!" Young Izuku repeats, looking slightly frantic. "This is the League! The people led by All for One! Toshi, the longer you're here, the more danger you're in!"

"I can't just leave you," Toshi argues back. "You're in danger as well; what kind of hero would I be if I just abandoned you?"

"A smart one," his boy retorts. "Look, the heroes know everything you told them. And there's no way the League would kidnap me just to kill me afterwards—especially if they want me on their side. I'm safe for now. But you… you need to leave now."

They're quiet a moment, determined gazes unwavering as they stare each other down.

"I'm not leaving you."

ooo

"When the fuck are we going to rescue them?" Young Bakugo demands, hands slamming down on the conference table they're converged around.

All of the young heroes on the security detail are present, including Nighteye, Young Togata, Nedzu, and Gran. Their faces blatantly display their concern over their new friend. And, surprisingly, it seems that Young Bakugo and Young Todoroki are the most affected.

"We must be patient," Nighteye explains. "If we move too fast, we can overlook something and put everyone at risk. We need to make sure we have all bases covered before we go in."

"I thought you said Toshi's information was correct," Young Todoroki presses.

Nighteye sighs. "We were able to verify the majority of it. But we still aren't sure where the main boss is. If he isn't accounted for and confronted immediately, this will all be for nothing."

"Nighteye," All Might speaks up, "I agree with Young Bakugo and Young Todoroki. It's dangerous to leave them with the League for much longer. After all, who knows what All for One is planning now that he has another All Might in his grasp. We need to move quickly if we're to save Young Midoriya and Toshi."

"Are you suggesting we just jump in without regard for the possible repercussions?"

"Of course not!" All Might folds his arms across his chest. "What I'm saying is we've been given great information—not only from Toshi, but from Young Midoriya as well. Have you not noticed the, frankly, amazing quirk analysis he's been doing for all of these young heroes?"

All Might puts a notebook on the table, labeled LOV. "He's been working closely with Toshi and I to make sure we're as ready as can be to face these foes. We already have everything that we need to make a quick rescue and ensure everyone's safety. So, why are you hesitating?"

Pursing his lips, Nighteye refuses to make eye contact with anyone in the room. He steeples his his fingers in front of his face as he takes a deep breath. When All Might sees the barely suppressed fear in Nighteye expression, he feels he understands exactly why Nighteye is so hesitant to make a move.

All Might decides to take over the meeting and switch it into assigning groups for the upcoming raid. Nedzu, in full support of All Might's decision to begin preparations, chimes in with the plan previously detailed between Nighteye, Young Midoriya, and himself. As All Might reads the analysis out of Young Midoriya's notebook for the room, Nighteye remains quiet—even as all the other heroes exit the room after a lengthy discussion of the plan and the command for all involved to be ready early that evening.

All Might, Nighteye, and Young Togata are all that remain once the conference room empties. And for a heavy moment, no one speaks.

Taking a sharp breath, Nighteye drops his head into his hands. "I'm sorry; I'm not being very rational with this mission. It's not like me to not take advantage of the information present; and seeing as there's so much that has been given to us, it's the most optimal time for us to make a move against All for One."

Standing up, All Might makes his way around the table and places a comforting hand on Nighteye's shoulder. "This is about the prediction. The one Toshi told us about."

Nighteye cringes at the statement.

"Mirai," All Might sighs, "you've known that this is fight has been inevitable. One for All exists to stop All for One. This is not something you could have ever prevented. Besides we all know that our realities are different; just because one reality dictates something doesn't mean that it'll happen in another."

Young Togata takes this chance to stand up from his chair, fist raised in front of his chest in a pose of determination. "And with both of us wielding OFA, I'm sure we have a better chance of defeating All for One! I wasn't seen in that prediction, was I?"

Nighteye's lip twitches. "Well, no, but—"

"But nothing!" Young Togata continues. "Our chances are already better than the other worlds'! We can't just do nothing because we're scared of what might happen. We would be very good heroes if that's how we did things!"

Sighing, Nighteye slumped back in his chair. "You're right. You're both right. We've been working all these years to make sure One for All was passed down to a successor to continue as the next Symbol of Peace. Lemillion's been training, and All Might's been phasing himself out slowly…"

Young Togata nods. "Even if this is All Might's last battle, I'm ready to take up the mantle. No matter what, we'll be okay!"

Grinning, All Might nods in agreement.

Letting out a deep breath, Nighteye gives a small smile in return. "Alright. Well then, we have a lot of work to do before the mission begins tonight."

ooo

Young Izuku is visited twice more by Shigaraki, each conversation playing out quite similarly to the first. Each time Shigaraki leaves the cell after said conversations, he is that much more irritated by the lack of progress he's made with Young Izuku.

And each time they're alone again, Young Izuku begs Toshi to leave this universe.

Toshi continues to refuse adamantly, of course. But even he is feeling the rising danger as they wait for them to acknowledge who Toshi is. They've got to know about his true form, and there's a reason they brought him along instead of knocking him out while they abducted Young Izuku. Toshi feels that leaving him alone for so long is just a tactic to make him anxious and paranoid.

"Please, Toshi," Young Izuku begs softly, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were hurt because of me."

"My boy, I'm not leaving; we're getting out together," Toshi gives Young Izuku a determined smile. "Now, I know you're concocting some sort of plan to escape in that head of yours—care to clue me in on it?"

Young Izuku sighs, pursing his lips. Finally, after a moment of deliberation, he nods and begins scooting his chair as close to Toshi as he can. Realizing that he doesn't want to be overheard, Toshi does his best to maneuver his own seat so that they are sitting close enough that they'll be able to whisper and not be overheard.

"They want me on their side," Young Izuku begins with the obvious, "and it looks like Shigaraki is getting impatient with the whole 'persuasion' thing."

Toshi scoffs. "I have a feeling the next time he comes in here, he won't be as amicable as he's been."

Nodding, Young Izuku hums in agreement. "I think that I need to act sympathetic to their cause."

"Well—" Toshi blinks. "…I guess that'll work."

"It's the easiest way! We know that the heroes are coming. We just have to stall."

"There's only so much stalling we can do," Toshi mumbles, brows furrowing in worry.

"Well, we have a lot of odds stacked against us, Toshi. We're restrained, we're surrounded by villains, and we're quirkless. Unless you know how to get out of these chairs, we can't even try to break out!"

Toshi looks at his own arms, cuffed to his seat with thick metal clasps. "I can't see myself breaking out of these without my quirk. And even if I had my quirk, it's likely that these cuffs are quirk suppressors."

"So we have to wait and stall. That's out best plan right now."

Sighing, Toshi lets his chin fall to his chest. "Okay. We stall for the heroes."

And that's what they do. They do their best to reorient their chairs to where they were at before and sit in tense silence while they wait for their captors to return. However, Toshi is anxious over what the next encounter will be like—after all, Shigaraki has always been quite the volatile character when it comes to his ideals and plans.

He finds that he was right to worry, because when Shigaraki enters the room once more, Kurogiri follows right behind him.

"My master," Shigaraki drawls as he opens the cell door and steps inside, "wants to have a chat with you and your… friend. Kurogiri, here will escort you to him."

Kurogiri steps forward. "I will retrieve you once your conversation ends."

Before they can blink, they're warped into a dark room. Toshi can see that there's a large wood desk in front of them, and a plush rug beneath their chairs. A dim lamp shines in the corner of the room, barely illuminating anything. The walls are stark white and bare, making the room feel bigger and colder than it really is.

On the large leather chair behind the desk sits All for One himself, appearing relaxed as he reclines in the seat. The mask on his face hisses as it assists his with breathing, and his is more of a jumble of scars and barely healed skin than anything. Toshi can hear Young Izuku gulp at the sight before them and can't suppress the urge to do the same.

"Ah, you must be the Hero Blogger: Deku," All for One starts. Despite the severe disfigurement on his face, All for One has no problem portraying his smugness using his body language and tone alone. Like Young Izuku has already changed his allegiance to the Leave of Villains. Like he's already squashed the heroes despite their best efforts. Like he's already won.

"My Tomura has told me a lot about you," he continues, smarmy and condescending. "You're such a talented young man; it's too bad those talents are wasted on those who don't respect you as you should be."

"Of course I'm respected by the heroes," Young Izuku defends, sounding slightly offended.

"Oh? They certainly don't give you the credit you deserve, and they don't seem to compensate you as much as the heroes who use your hard work. And they don't even pay for the schooling you do. You struggle to make ends meet and pay off debts that only grew when your poor mother passed. Can you really say they respect you?"

For a moment, Young Izuku is quiet, furrowing his brows as he stares hard that the bottom of the desk. "I asked them to keep quiet about who I am. I don't want everyone to know my identity, and I don't want to just be handed everything."

All for One Nods, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his desk. "Ah, you're a humble young man. While they may claim to be doing only as you asked, I want to make you aware that they are… taking advantage of your kindness. You can certainly be compensated a lot more—at least given a bit more credit—since it is your information that ensures success in the missions you've been a part of.

"Actually, if we look at the basic trends," All for One rests his chin in an upturned palm, "a little over 97 percent of the missions you've taken part in had a 100 percent successful with no casualties, minimal property damage, and followed your timeline exactly as you'd predicted. The 3 percent that failed were largely in part due to egotistic heroes who refused to follow your advice and made a mess of things.

"Although, you still had back up plans that ultimately got things back on track. You're truly a gift, Izuku Midoriya. I just wish they'd see that."

Young Izuku purses his lips, still scowling. "I do just fine."

"But you should just be fine. You should thrive. And that's what we want for you, here at the League."

No one speaks for a minute. The only sound that fills the room is the sound of the villain's ventilator mask, and the ticking of a clock somewhere out of sight. Toshi doesn't know if he should say something—do something—but figures he might make the situation worse if he decides to force himself into a conversation that he really has no part in.

Moreover, Young Izuku made it very clear that they shouldn't speak unless spoken to, and to keep their cards close to their chest. Instead, Toshi spends his time sending the fiercest glare he can at the supervillain.

Sighing, All for One leans back in his seat again. "I have a… proposal of sorts for you. Judging from your blog and your studies, I can tell how interested you are in quirks and how they work. I am an avid quirk scholar myself, and I fund a team of researchers to help me learn more of the applications of quirks, their strengths, drawbacks.

"My Doctor seems to be a fan of your work, and has been chomping at the bit to get you into his lab and help his studies. I believe you'd be a great addition to the team. With us, there will be no limitations to what you can do; you won't have to beg for funding from a school board or fight with other researchers for supplies and tools. I'll provide for everything you can need and more. All I ask is that you help me with a few small projects, and the rest of your time is yours to do with as you please."

Young Izuku peers at the man from beneath his bangs. "And what makes you think that I'll accept your offer?"

"The world of academics is quite rigid in its processes, is it not? Rules and regulations that keep you from looking into what's important—what's needed. You wouldn't need to worry about that here."

Young Izuku hums, tapping his foot lightly.

"Just think about it," and that smug look is back on All for One's non-existent face. "And if it means anything, we'll never leave you in the dark on important matters."

The foot-tapping stops. "…What does that mean?"

Inexplicably, Toshi's heart rate rises. He has no clue what All for One is talking about, and it looks like Young Izuku doesn't either. It makes him slightly nervous, this unknown that is put forth. Toshi can only hope that it isn't something disastrous that the hero commission is keeping from them, but when it comes to them, even All Might can't expect full honestly.

"Why, it means just that, Midoriya. Heroes always keep secrets, always keep important information that mean everything in a situation like this, don't you think? In fact, the person who's keeping the biggest secret is sitting right next to you."

There's pure confusion on Young Izuku's face. "…Next to…?"

"Isn't that right, All Might?"

Pure disbelief covers both Toshi's and Young Izuku's faces as they turn to stare at each other with wide eyes. They don't know.

They think Toshi's been keeping his identity a secret from Young Izuku. All for One thinks that he has them both in the palm of his hand with the 'sudden reveal' of crucial information. It's this that they've been waiting for. This can turn the tides.

It's in that instant, they they both silently agree to play it up.

"I-Izuku, I—" but Toshi is cut off by Young Izuku himself with what he thinks it he best performance the young man has made in his life.

His brilliant boy looks at him, with brows pulled together and eyes glinting in a way that Toshi knows means he's coming up with another plan.

Young Izuku's voice is soft and faltering. "All… All Might?"

All for One lets out a dramatic sigh as he stands up from his seat, leaning down to prop himself up on the desk with his hands. "What a disappointment, that you can't trust those closest to you. Such important information withheld… This is the respect that I was speaking of."

When no one speaks, the villain continues. "Think over this, Young Deku. We will talk again soon."

A portal opens and brings them back to their empty cell.