Todoroki's eyes shot open with a start. Looking around, there were several people before him, seated in large chairs. Straight in front of him, a wispy shadow of a familiar figure remained still. And against the wall, two tall men remained silent, their noses to the wall. Where- His thought was left unspoken, and reaching for his mouth, he realized it wasn't there. Looking down, he was nothing but parts of himself, shadowy wisps covering several pieces of his body.
"This isn't right." A female spoke, standing up from her chair. "You aren't supposed to be here." She told him. "The other is supposed to be the holder of One For All."
"-or All?" Todoroki finally managed to say, the fog receding from his mouth.
"Why is Todoroki here?" Midoriya asked as he looked over to his friend, and then down at his hands. Just like with Todoroki, the fog began to dissipate from several areas of his body.
"This is a weird shortcut. It's almost like they both hold One For All!" A bald man towards the back of the chairs stated.
"Or maybe like their minds are melding. No, it's more than that." The younger man next to the familiar wisp stated.
"It's as if he's achieving more of One For All, in a matter of moments. What kind of Quirk is this." The man with a scar across his left eye said. "If it's the work of the enemy, we cannot allow it."
"Where are we?" Midoriya asked, confused by the situation. "I feel like I've seen you all before..."
"Listen, whoever you are, our friend is in trouble. Our only hope of saving her is with these earrings!" Todoroki explained, holding his hand under his ear to show the earring in question.
"What do you think, First?" The female asked, turning to the man closest to the shadowy figure.
Wait... Haven't I...? Midoriya began to think back to the last time he had seen eight shadowy figures similar to the people before him. It was during a dream in his internship, and he had felt a wellspring of power erupting after seeing eight sets of eyes surrounded by similar wisps. When he woke up, it had turned out that he had activated One For All in his sleep, shattering the windows in Gran Torino's home.
"It's interesting, really. To be able to meet the Ninth so soon. And then, there's you, a trespasser in this realm, yet you come bearing no ill well whatsoever." Putting his finger to his chin, he followed by crossing his arms over his chest. "So be it, then. We will allow your minds to meld."
"However," the female of the group spoke, "bear in mind that One For All is a secret that's been passed down from generation to generation. We don't know how long your mind's will be melded, but your individual identity will be entrusted to this secret as well. Is that something you can do?"
"Look, I don't know anything about this One For All business! We need to get out of here!" Todoroki said frantically.
I see now. These are...the previous holders... "Todoroki." Midoriya finally said. "I'll explain everything. If I remember correctly, Bulla and Son separated after an hour, give or take. That should be plenty of time."
"Alright then! Go give that All For One what for!" The bald man told them excitedly as the fog began the roll in, enveloping them both.
"We're counting on you. Until we meet again, Ninth." The female said last before their visions faded to black.
In the aftermath of the battle, All For One was given immediate urgent medical care, before being transferred to the Tartarus Prison. All Might managed to recede into the destroyed buildings with his young cohort, finally reverting to his original form. "Gracious, that took a lot out of me." He said weakly, spitting up a small pool of blood.
"Are you going to be alright?" The boy asked him in his dual-toned voice.
"Yeah, I'll be fine with some rest. Frankly I should be the one asking questions. Just who are you?" He asked weakly, breathing heavily as he dropped to his bottom.
"It's hard to explain. I really wouldn't even know where to begin." He told him.
"Why don't you start with the fusion thing? You're the combination of Young Midoriya and Young Todoroki, aren't you?" His words caused the fused boy's eyes to widen. "Surprised? I kind of figured it out once the battle finished. Your Quirk being exactly like Young Todoroki's, and then your speed and strength nearly matched my own, back in my prime condition, of course. That and your appearance, I guess. It was harder to tell looking at you in the heat of battle."
"So...yeah... I'm the fusion of those two. But it's not quite like I'm them. I don't feel quite like Todoroki, nor do I feel like Midoriya. Does that make any sense?"
"You're asking me?" Toshinori Yagi asked him with a weak laugh. "So in that case, what do I call you in the meantime? Until you separate, I mean."
The thought hadn't even occurred to him. He closed his eyes and thought hard, listening carefully to the reporters sweeping the area for any additional footage and testimonies. "I got it! Call me Triumph!"
"A bit up there, isn't it?" He asked Triumph.
"You think so?" With a nervous laugh, he scratched his cheek and peeked out from the rubble. "It shouldn't matter too much, anyway. I mean, I won't be fused like this for much longer."
"And what it is that's making this happen, again?
"It'll certainly be a conversation to have with Young Brief and Young Son. This is quite the strange scenario." All Might told him. "It may have to be confiscated from them." All Might told him.
"Why would you do that?" Triumph asked.
"You don't seem to understand Young Triumph. Even combining the strength of Young Midoriya and Young Todoroki wouldn't allow him to achieve this level of strength."
"I see... It wasn't merely a combination, it was a multiplier as well... Otherwise I wouldn't be able to use One For All at 100%, or go toe-to-toe with All For One." He followed, holding his fingers to his chin.
"It's too dangerous of an item to allow fledgling heroes to control. It tips the balance in ways you couldn't imagine." Toshinori told him, sitting up from the ground.
"Respectfully, I disagree, All Might." Triumph protested with his eyes narrowed. "These are the personal belongings of one of my classmates. I agree that they're dangerous, but it'd be smart to leave them in their possession."
"Can you guarantee that it's where they'll remain?" Toshinori asked him. His eyes met the fused boy's, and they were deathly serious. "Remind me again how you're in this elevated state."
"Well that's just-!"
"A coincidence? Or a fluke? Or were you going to say it was an honest mistake?" Toshinori continued to press the boy, causing sweat to form along his brow. "We're supposed to be heroes. Although we're human, any mistake we make could be at the cost of an innocent life. We are going to call a meeting and interview Young Brief." Scrambling to his feet, the older man wiped the spouting blood from his mouth. "I guess it'd be beneficial to question Young Son, as well. The two of them are so close, I'm sure the added support will help her, given her situation."
"All Might..."
"That'll be all. Remain here in the shadows until you separate." He directed, holding a hand on his shoulder. "I cannot thank you enough for your help today. But please understand that this is bigger than just us. And return those earrings to their rightful owner immediately."
Clenching his fist, Triumph looked down with a sullen expression, unable to argue. How could he argue? Toshinori was absolutely right. As his teacher emerged from therubble and disappeared into the nearby crowd of evacuated citizens, the fused boy took a seat on the ground and allowed his time to tick away.
Bulla's eyes fluttered open, and her senses began to return to her. Looking up, the faint image of her father filled her vision before her eye opened wide, causing her to sit up with a start. "Hey, watch what you're doing!" Bakugo demanded, tightening his grip.
"Wha... Where...?" Looking around, she could see Yaoyorozu on her left, and Kirishima on her right, holding Pan. Suddenly, recent events flooded her mind. "PAN!" She called out as she shot out of Bakugo's arms, immediately losing her balance.
Tipping over, Yaoyorozu caught her in her arms, helping her stand. "Relax, Class Rep!" Kirishima told her. "She's doing alright!"
"While she was in the hospital, the doctors said she was healing at an alarming rate. We're lucky to have gotten her there when we did." Yaoyorozu explained. "We're happy you're finally awake."
Finally taking a note of the situation, she looked Yaoyorozu up and down. "Momo... What are you wearing...?" Looking around further, she could see that there was a large crowd of people surrounding them, all looking up a large television screen on the side of a building. Taking in the scene playing out before her, Bulla's eyes widened in shock.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you're seeing it here first!" A female news reporter said to the camera, allowing the shaky footage to focus on the battle ahead. A man with a mask and a black suit was battling with All Might, as well as a young boy in black and pink formalwear. "All Might, and what seems to be a protégé of some kind, are engaging with this monstrous villain! It seems like it is taking them both to keep him at bay!"
"Who is that? What's going on?" Bulla asked, blood finally flowing well enough for her to stand.
"We're not entirely sure. But he's strong enough to take on All Might at max firepower." Bakugo explained as the combatants zipped by in a blur of color.
"He's the big bad of the League of Villains." Kirishima told her. "That's what I got from it, anyway. All Might kept protecting you from them all, but with that crazy strong villain, he couldn't get you out of there alone. Hell, the only reason we're here right now is because we leveled the playing field." He said, slightly adjusting his grip on Pan to be more comfortable.
"'Level the playing field'? What does that mean?" Bulla asked before Kirishima's eyes widened.
"It's a funny story, actually..." He answered with a nervous laugh.
"Kirishima? What did you do?"
"Well, you see-"
Before he could finish, Bakugo answered, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he looked towards the jumbo television. "The idiot stole your earrings. We're looking at the results, thanks to that icy-hot bastard and that damned nerd."
Bulla's eyes widened, and the memory of her and Pan discovering the earrings flashed through her mind. Suddenly, her head hung slightly, hiding her eyes. Without saying a word, she approached Kirishima, and in a swift motion, she struck him across the face with an open palm. Stunned, shocked even, Kirishima looked down to see the hurt in Bulla's eyes. They were filled with tears, despite her best efforts to hold them back. Taking Pan into her arms, she began to walk off into the crowd.
"Wha- Hey! Class Rep! I'm sorry!" As Kirishima reached out, grabbing Bulla's arm, she turned with a cold scowl, gritting her teeth. In an instant, her power skyrocketed, exerting enough pressure to break his hold on him.
"Save it! You had no right, Kirishima! You've crossed the line, this time!" She told him, her voice gritting from rage.
"But-!"
"Leave it, Kirishima." Bakugo demanded as he turned his gaze from the television, stepping up to speak to Bulla privately. "I know you want to walk away, but understand this." He said, pointing to the fight ensuing on-screen. "There's a fighter as strong as All Might out there because of those earrings of yours. You owe us an explanation." For several moments, the two glared at each other in silence. "You told me that you'd stop leaving out important details. Or did you forget?"
After another moment of silence, Bulla finally turned away. "Ugh, whatever. Look, I'll explain later, okay? Just- I just- Right now, I need to be alone with Pan." She told him with a sigh, walking off into the crowd.
Quietly and cautiously, Todoroki and Midoriya emerged from the fallen rubble of the surrounded buildings. "Okay, I think it's clear." He said, issuing no response from his classmate as he stared in a daze. "Todoroki?" But to no avail. Carefully, he put a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, lightly shaking him. "Hey, are you still with me, Todoroki?"
Finally, his eyes widened, before falling sullen. "I'm sorry, it's just a lot to process." He apologized. "You, All Might, One For All. You were given nothing, and even at the Sports Festival, without full control of your Quirk, you still-"
"Todoroki, please." Midoriya chimed in, stopping his statements. Looking up to him, his gravely serious eyes portrayed an absolute rule. "You must not tell anybody. Only a handful of people know about All Might and his condition, and even fewer know about me. If this got out, it could very well begin the complete fall of our superhero society. We'll talk to All Might about it later, but for now, we should get out of here."
"Right, I'm sorry. I just... I can't even fathom this. Do you know what my father would do if he ever found out about this?" Todoroki asked him hypothetically.
"That's why you can't tell anyone. You need to promise me, Todoroki!" Midoriya growled, nervous sweats beading along his forehead.
"Midoriya, just how much more have you been keeping from us? It seems like we've have faced one hardship after another, after another. If you think the appropriate thing to do is to leave our friends out of it... Just look at them! This is because we're tied to One For All and All Might!" Todoroki's blood started to bubble. A wave of thoughts and theories flooded his mind, connecting to his father's hatred for All Might and the League of Villains' constant assaults. "How much more is it going to take? How much more do our friends need to suffer for the sake of your secret?"
"Dammit, Todoroki! You're not thinking clearly!" He told him as Todoroki began to let off frost. In response, Midoriya grit his teeth and allowed power to flow through his body. "I told you, this secret could topple the structure of our society!"
"Or it could be the secret to toppling the League of Villains." He responded with a cold glare. "I still remember some of your memories from our time being combined. I have no doubt that you have the spirit most suitable with that Quirk. But as we both know, your body can't handle it, and you're making progress at an alarmingly slow rate. It can't be helped, though. After all, you were Quirkless." Taking a step forward, Todoroki's left side began to steam, and he raised his right hand. "An untrained body can't handle the full backlash of One For All. Something like that, All Might once said to you, correct? While you were locked away in your room, watching that video, I was training day after day, all because of him. And now, not only could I easily surpass him, but I could do so with the Quirk of the hero I idolize most in the world."
"I don't want to fight you, Todoroki!" Midoriya told him in a panic, clenching his fist. "But I have to protect this secret, and the Quirk that was given to me by All Might!"
"So be it." Coldly, Todoroki raised his hand towards, allowing it roar with flames.
"Todoroki, wait!" Midoriya pleaded. Suddenly, memories that didn't belong to him began to flash through his mind. Memories that were both painful, and those that were warm. "Is this what your mother would have wanted?! Don't you remember all those years ago? She told you to stay true to yourself, so that you wouldn't end up like your father!"
"Don't you-!"
"I can feel it! Just like how you felt it with me, I can feel your mother's warmth, the pain from fighting your father, even the burn on my right eye from all those years ago! You were crying to her, just so you wouldn't be like him!" Midoriya continued. "Be the kind of hero that you want to be!"
After a heavy silence, Todoroki lowered his arm, and his powers faded, and he allowed his arms to hang. As much as he hated to admit it right now, Midoriya was right. "Let's go. We have to rendezvous with the others."
"R-Right." He told him as Todoroki walked passed.
"Don't think for a second that I'll just allow this to slide completely. When the time is right, I will expect you to tell the class. Everything." He told him.
"If that time comes, then of course. It'd only be fair."
"Right then. Let's get going." Todoroki told him as the two emerged from the rubble and melded into the crowd.