In an open, desertic, completely taken over by a deep pitch of night fied, Dark Shadow was in ecstasy.

No matter how strong, how fast, how big or how tough the enemy was, nothing could defeat him in the darkness. Dark Shadow had grown exponentially in size, fueled by both the darkness itself and the despair of his poor host, Fumikage Tokoyami.

The raven-headed boy mind went through an so deep, so maddening and so disturbing torture that he ended up unconscious, leaving the enemy to fight against the most terrible form his dark quirk could take.

For Dark Shadow, that was perfect.

GYAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! SO, WEREN'T YOU CRAAAVING FOR SOMEONE STRONG TO FIGHT!? WEREN'T YOU?! — the berserk demon roared, attacking the villain with his huge claws — WHY DON'T YOU MOVE ANYMORE, WORM!?

That heavy shadowy mass tortured the villain, who had long since lost the ability to speak. With no eyes, no jaw, broken bones and bruises all over the body, the individual had no rest for a second. The body of quirk's enemy was like a broken, fragile doll.

The more the villain agonized, the more Dark Shadow punched and clawed their limbs, causing the ground to shake at a frightening pace.

I'M GETTING BORED… STOP PRETENDING TO BE DEAD, I CAN SENSE YOUR PETTY DISGUSTING LIFE — he hurls the half-dead body against a boulder, furious — GET UP AND FIGHT, WEAK! — and he gives another hit...

GET UP, WORM — and another...

GET UP! — and one more...

...

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP!

GET UP! — at this point, the pieces of what was left of the boulder were bathed in blood and mutilated parts of the villain. The last glimpse of that individual was the scarlet eyes of the demonic creature glaring at them with fury...

And finally, after the long hours trying to survive against that insane creature, Gigantomachia had his rest.

In the distance, another voice is heard.

— What a magnificent show… — A man walks slowly towards the massacre place. — It is always an honor to witness your decline, Yatagarasu. — He claps his hands in a slow, sarcastic applause. That person was much, much smaller than Dark Shadow in physical size.

But not in presence.

Someone who walks and talks so stilly towards a psycho demon, after witness such power and cruelty, certainly is not afraid to die. Not here.

The person's voice reverberated in a low, commanding tone, loud enough to draw the attention of the colossal creature in front of him.

Dark Shadow had no idea who that man was. Yatagarasu? What name is that? No one had ever called him like this... Either way, the quirk isn't caring about which name he is called for. All Dark Shadow wants at that moment is destruction.

HAH, CAME TO HAVE FUN IN THE PLACE OF YOUR LITTLE FRIEND, MANURE!? — He throws the dead man's head towards the alive man, who grabs it without difficulty.

He holds the dead skull with a certain melancholy, stroking the remnants of what should have been the corpse's hair — You did a good job, son... Now, rest — and in a two-finger flick, the head disappears.

The man of heavy presence is All For One, nothing less than the most powerful villain in the world. Gigantomachia, the giant creature that was maimed and killed by Dark Shadow's claws, was one of his most powerful minions.

There, no one was afraid of anyone. All For One feared no mere quirk, and, while in the dark, Dark Shadow feared nothing. A battle was inevitable.

You're a good grabber, interesting... — the creature says with a macabre smile forming in its beak — then grab this, trash!

And just like that, countless arms emerge from the dark mass, rushing towards villain number one.

Each of the swift arms guided by sharp claws, all of them bathed in at least a little of the giant's blood, proudly displaying how much fun Dark Shadow had torturing Gigantomachia that night.

All For One just saw several black and red blurs heading towards him, and then...

They suddenly stop.

— How aggressive...

[Dual Paralysis: Allows the user to stop the enemy from moving with just a glance. However, the user must also stand still.]

This is just one of the countless quirks that man has.

— Yatagarasu... The Messenger of The Heavens... The Sun's Tripedal Crow… Countless titles… We have met so many times…

You bastard… FUCK OUT WITH COWARD TRICKS! — he protests, trying to move — WON'T YOU FIGHT, PRAGUE!?

— Ironic… The Symbol of Protection craving for such a cruel massacre… — the man spoke in a cold and calm tone, unshakable, looking at the mutilated limbs on the ground — How fun…

YOU PIECE OF SHIT... YOUR DEAD ASS FRIEND WAS MORE HONORED — the demon spits acidic saliva, in a failed try to fight with his beak, since it was the only part of his body he could move — IF YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING, LEAVE!

— Honor, huh? — He laughs — You talking about honor gets me nostalgic... The Number One Vigilant has always tried to honorably destroy me... Since very ancient times...

GRRR, SHUT THE FUCK UP, SMALL FRY — Dark Shadow didn't understand, but hatred for this guy grew disproportionately in him every time the other spoke.

— You've tried, tried, tried, and failed, failed, failed... Over and over... And now you come down to this: an mere quirk controlled by a equally mere young adult.

The man gives a macabre smile, his voice rises in a terrifying tone.

— Madden, torturing and killing one of my children with all the pleasure in the world, without even realizing that it's destroying every single one of the heroes you so claimed to protect!

I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! — The feeling of not being able to move was agonizing. Dark Shadow didn't remember who the man was, but an immense desire to end his life was boiling deep down his core.

— Not even if I torture the Symbol of Peace for 100 years, I'll get a result as satisfying as yours, Symbol of Protection!

YOU WILL DIE, EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOU WITH ME TO THE BOTTOM OF HELL; YOU ARE WORSE THAN A WORM, WORSE THAN GARBAGE, WORSE THAN YOUR SHITTY DEAD CHILD!

He tried to move, the shadow's hatred growing like never before. All For One was something disgusting and repulsive that deserved to die, and Dark Shadow was about to remember why.

— You can't defeat me... Never could... Garasu, you were destined to fail from birth...

Finally, the man moves, thus releasing the hate-filled creature. He'd receive every attack with open arms.

ALL FOR OOOOOONE! — Yatagarasu remembered.

— Because... Since my first days of life, I've been graced with divine protection…

All For One was about to be hit by a rain of fierce, sharp claws and strong fists...

They were already close, he had no chance of escaping...

He was about to die...

But something miraculous happened.

An ancient power has awakened on the man.

The ancestral quirk, which gave rise to all others...

A long time ago, in QingQing, China, the world's first baby with a special power was born... The ability was…

[Light Emission]

Allows the user to emit an intense luminescence through their skin...

A power that is harmless to many... But it is Dark Shadow's greatest weakness: light.

Within seconds, the dark quirk retreated into the host's unconscious body.

All For One found himself in front of Yatagarasu's receptacle, unconscious. Fumikage Tokoyami was unmoving, unable to bring Dark Shadow out in that state.

But that wouldn't stop villain #1 from having his reunion.

— Poor kid… — one of the evildoer's finger stretches, becoming and kinf of a black bar and with red stripes around it — Living in a symbiosis with Garasu mustn't be easy…

The bar is stuck brutally in the unconscious boy's torso, making him agonize.

— Rest, boy...

[Forced Quirk Activation]

GYAAAAAAAH! ALLFY, please forgive me… Forgive me! I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it! — Dark Shadow begged for forgiveness, his eyes were now yellow and formed a tearful expression.

The quirk, now tiny and weakened, completely changed personality in bright places.

— Hahahahaha, of course…

Y-y-y-yes, I knew you'd understand! You know me, Allfy! The darkness, it… It messes with me! That's it... That's it... P-please let me go back now, will you? This light, it also messes with me… — The shadow was desperate, all he wanted was to get out of there.

— I understand… The darkness messed with you to the point of forcing you to kill my son in the cruelest way possible, taking away his right to forgiveness… And now…— All For One talks in a slow pace, prolonging the time of his speech, only to torture the shadow quirk more — The light messes you to the point of making you beg for this same forgiveness… Of which you were unable to conceive…

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY… That was… It was in the past! I changed, look! — Dark Shadow open his arms, showing his small and harmless claws — Quirks change, Alffy. Y-y-you have a lot, you must know how we work, right? Right? Right?

— Sure… How could I hold a grudge against such a long-time friend, Garasu…?

Yeah… THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT! I KNEW, YOU NEVER DISAPPOINT, ALFFY… NOW... P-P-PLEASE LEAVE ME NOW, YES? - Dark Shadow is in panic, unable to decipher if the other was being ironic or not.

— Don't be like that, come on… We haven't seen each other in a long time… Why don't we celebrate this touching reunion, our beautiful act of forgiveness and understanding with a hug? — The man opens his luminous arms as he invites the quirk.

Dark Shadow sees that with sheer terror. Memories of ancient times, of a place from the past begin to invade his mind... Times when he was worshiped by a kind society... Times when he protected all people... Times when he had honor and glory...

In that terrifying explosion of light, Dark Shadow caught a glimpse of an old symbol, which mirrored his image in those great times.

The ancient Age of Yatagarasu

Unfortunately, it has come to an end… The fateful day the Sun fell on Earth… With its endless heat and an incandescent, blinding, murderous light… Ripping the life out of every thing it touched…

Forcing the Symbol of Protection to face it alone, ending in a tragic and sad end.

NO…. NO…. NO... I BESE YOU... HAVE MERCY! LET ME BACK! YOU SON OF A BITCH! I HATE YOU, YOU'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING... YOU'VE... TAKEN EVERYTHING OUT OF ME! WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME!? ALLFY YOU TRASH, DAMN, PLEASE RELEASE ME, TRASH… PLEASE YOU WORM!

Forced Quirk Activation did not allow him to return. He was in despair, in a duality between hate and fear, his desperate eyes took on an orange hue.

— Calm down, Garasu… All I want from you… Is a hug… Just like old times…

The luminous All For One embraces the scared quirk, and quickly a large smoke begins to rise from the dark matter's body.

Dark Shadow, who just a few minutes ago had sadistically enjoyed killing a monster with his bare hands, was now agonizing with an intense burning sensation in every inch of his body.

That was the worst hug anyone could even consider receiving in their life.

A deadly embrace… That transmits a scorching heat… Intense… And murderous…

GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

"Hey, villain."

"You craved hard for this quirk, right?"

"I brought it to you."

Now, TAKE THIS!

A demonic voice is heard in the distance.

...

Final Notes:


Yatagarasu is a real mythological asian creature.

Got inspired to post this after (spoiler warning) see Tokoyami and All For One on the same place in the manga.

(spoiler finished)

This is an part of an bigger fanfiction I am not sure I'll be motivated to start and finish, and "the demon" at the end would be an oc. Hope it was cool to read! ^^