All Might simply couldn't help but stare. As anyone would if they saw a teenager being held up by four mechanical arms. "So are those...comfortable?"
"The arms? Yes actually." Izuku answered. "I put padding on the inside so the metal wouldn't dig into my flesh or break my spine. It's actually pretty comfortable."
Nezu, All Might, and Izuku were riding down the elevator back down to Izuku's secret lab, which was now fully rebuilt.
"Actually how are you feeling All Might?" Izuku asked. "Any possible long term effects of the power-draining?"
"Besides the obvious loss in power, I find myself feeling a little sore from time to time." All Might said. "But other than that I'm fine."
"I'm glad that both of you were able to recover as well as you did," Nezu said. "Disregarding Midoriya's current state of course."
"Honestly I think my condition isn't all that bad," Izuku said. "I've been told that these glasses suit me pretty well actually, and to be honest, that's the only compliment I've ever gotten on my looks."
On that somewhat depressing note, the elevator dinged and they made it to the bottom floor.
"Ah perfect," Izuku said, exiting the elevator, this is what I needed to show you.
Izuku gestured to the enormous tube-shaped container that was glowing with multi-colored energy.
All Might looked at it in aw, as he got a strangely familiar feeling from the tube. "Is that-"
"Yes, this is One for All," Izuku said. "All the power that was obtained many generations of heroes, is now stirring in this container. It's actually a little overwhelming to think about."
All Might kept staring at the tube, feeling as if the energy was...beckoning to him. He walked over to the container and slowly placed his hand on it.
He could feel the energy already, it was warm...familiar. Like an old friend.
"Nana." All Might muttered.
"What was that?" Izuku asked, not hearing what the hero had said.
"Nothing." All Might lied. "It's just this energy it feels...alive almost."
"Well, that's because it is," Izuku said.
Both All Might and Nezu gave Izuku a shocked expression, although it was hard to tell with Nezu.
"Well, it's not alive in a human, or Nezu sense, but rather in a robotic sense, and not like Sukui robotic, but more like an A.I. in a movie," Izuku said. "It even has something like programming and directives."
"Would you mind explaining a little more about those?" Nezu asked.
"Well, I haven't figured out everything since I only just figured out how to look into One for All's biodata," Izuku explained. "But there are a few things I have looked into. Firstly, the reason for the lab accident is because One for All was actively resisting the extraction."
"But One for All has never resisted transfer before." All Might pointed out.
"Yes but this wasn't a transfer into an organic host. This was an extraction into a mechanical container." Izuku clarified. "The quirk's semi-sentience fought against the unnatural transfer into an artificial vessel. And so it not only attempted to cling onto All Might, but it also made a last-ditch effort to jump into another vessel."
"You're referring to yourself," Nezu said.
"What?" All Might said, barely understanding any of this.
"You are correct," Izuku said. "I was, for a few seconds, the ninth wielder of One for all. Or rather, the eighth and a half wielder."
"WHAT?" All Might shouted, now very bewildered.
"Interesting," Nezu said. "Does this happen to have to do with your body's weakened state?"
"Well I don't have any confirmation of that, but that's probably the case," Izuku said. "Although I do have a theory on why that happened."
"Please explain." Nezu urged.
"Well, you know how All Might deflated after his fight with All for One?" Izuku asked, getting a nod from the two heroes. "And you know how we explained that by saying that it was because of the surgery even though that didn't make any sense?"
"What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?" All Might asked.
"Yagi, you can't just lose muscle mass like that after a couple of surgeries, and even if you could, you would have lost a lot of things within that muscle mass, like nerve endings and veins, also your bones might not even fit in your body," Nezu said. "By all means what happened to you is a complete mystery. We just shrugged it off and said it was the surgery because we didn't have any explanation for it."
"Yes that is correct, I also found it curious how he manages to regain his buff form." Izuku continued.
"Oh that's easy, it's just like those people you see at the pool who try to make they're fat look like muscle." All Might explained.
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Well, firstly I'm not even sure if that works. And secondly, that would be a redistribution of weight. You don't have any weight to redistribute, you're literally creating muscle out of nothing. Which should be impossible unless you have a quirk that allows you to do that."
"Oh." All Might said. I feel really dumb right now.
"So all these questions lead me to another question," Izuku said. "Where does One for All, get its power?"
There was a short pause as both Nezu and All Might considered the question.
They both knew that One for All gained its power after transferring from user to user, but neither of them knew exactly where that power came from. Nezu had wondered about it a few times, but could never come up with an answer.
Seeing as the two were stumped, Izuku continued. "One for All gains power as it goes from user to user, meaning that either the users are somehow generating power for the quirk, or it's stealing power from them."
"Interesting," Nezu said, finally starting to get it. "So you think that One for All is taking power from each user and giving it to the next user."
"Yes. I theorize that during the process of giving One for All to the next user, One for All's stockpiling aspect takes hold and leeches power from that person's body." Izuku explained.
"But I didn't pass One for All on when I became like this." All Might pointed out.
"Yes, but you were very, very close to death," Izuku said. "It's possible that One for All viewed you as a lost cause, and tried to take as much power from your body while you were still alive."
"That would explain the deflation, One for All sucked so much nutrients and energy out of Yagi, that his muscles deteriorate at an accelerated rate," Nezu said.
This had to be the most bewildering day of All Might's life. Not only were these two on a level of understanding that he was simply not on, but he was also learning that everything he had learned about his condition was wrong.
"Yes exactly," Izuku confirmed. "And so when One for All jumped into me, it made me a user, and much like with all users, when One for All leaves you, it takes some of your body's energy. Hence my weakened body."
"And it's possible that due to the artificial nature of the transfer and the quickness of it moving from your body to the machine, it's possible that it took more from you then intended." Nezu theorized. "Ahh, thank you Midoriya. These mysteries had been bothering me for years."
"Well, they are still just theories." Izuku reminded him. "Ones that we'll find out more on as I analyze One for All. But for now, I think we should move on to the project."
"Ah yes I suppose we should," Nezu said. "Please tell how much progress you've made on the new symbol of peace. I understand if you haven't been able to progress much, considering that you've only just gotten your hands on the quirk, and you've been busy with your arms and figuring out the nature of One for All."
"Well…" Izuku paused as he tried to figure out how to phrase what he was about to say. "I wouldn't say I've made a lot of progress, but I haven't made significant progress. Come look."
Izuku brought Nezu and All Might over to a table that contained a bunch of tools as well as two sheets of metal.
Izuku grabbed one of the sheets with his metal arms and showed it to the two heroes.
"This is Ultraninium," Izuku said. "It's a new metal I've created that's rather weak. It's maybe about as strong as iron." Izuku said, before crushing the metal with his arms. "While it may be rather weak by itself, it serves an important function."
Izuku picked up the other sheet of metal, and once again attempted to crush it. However this time it was much harder, as the metal proved much more resilient, taking much longer to crush.
"You see, according to my calculations, if I created a new android using a significant amount of One for All energy, it would simply explode. No matter what type of metal I used." Izuku explained. "So I had to create a new metal that was strong enough to handle all that power, which would not necessarily be impossible but it would take a long, long time. So I thought that since One for All can empower people, that perhaps I could make a special metal that could absorb the power of One for All, and use it to strengthen itself. When the metal is empowered with One for All, I call it Plus Ultraninum.
"Clever," Nezu said. "But should you have crushed like that? It had valuable energy inside it after all?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about it all that much," Izuku said. "The energy won't leave it's vessel until it's either transferred or its vessel is completely destroyed. And even if it's vessel is completely destroyed, the energy won't disperse. Rather it will just jump onto the next closest vessel, most likely a living thing."
"That's good!" All Might said. "We won't have to worry about losing energy permanently."
"Yes, but that news also has some negative connotations," Nezu said, using his serious voice. "If what Midoriya says is correct, then what we previously thought about One for All being unable to be stolen is incorrect, and if you managed to completely destroy a user, then you would gain their power."
A thoughtful expression crossed Izuku's face, as he pondered what Nezu just said. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about that. As even if someone gained One for All's energy, that doesn't mean they would be able to necessarily use it. While I can't confirm it, I have a theory that if anyone were to use One for All with ill intent, One for All would not activate due to its own programming."
"Well until you can confirm that theory we will have to be extra careful about who hears anything about this project," Nezu said. "No one says anything about this project to anyone. Even if someone already knows about One for All, you can't tell them about any of this. Understood."
Izuku nodded, but All Might seemed hesitant.
"What about Recovery Girl or Gran Torino?" All Might asked. "Or-"
"Yagi," Nezu said sharply. "I don't need to tell you how much damage a villain could do with even just half of One for All. You need to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this project. No matter what."
All Might hesitated for a moment. "...I guess...I have no choice."
"Good. Now is there anything else you need to report on Midoriya?" Nezu asked.
"Yes!" Izuku said. "There is one more, very important thing I need to tell you about. It doesn't relate to the symbol of peace project necessarily. But in my opinion, it could be even more important."
"More important than creating the next symbol of peace?" Nezu asked. "I'm curious about what that could possibly be."
All Might didn't say anything but gave Izuku a curious look.
"Well while I was wondering how exactly One for All gained its energy. I also ran some experiments to see if I could feed it energy." Izuku revealed. "And I can."
All Might's eyes widened and Nezu seemed to be visibly excited.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Nezu asked.
"Yes, I can increase the amount of power in One for All," Izuku confirmed. "And given the nature One for All's energy, I can use the energy in multiple projects. And due to how friendly One for All's energy is with organic matter, I can even make machines that can be used on humans. Maybe I could save people from some serious injuries or diseases."
"That's great!" All Might cheered.
"Indeed that is fantastic news." Nezu's tone did not match his words, leading Izuku to believe that there was a but coming. "But. I believe for now you should focus on fully figuring out how One for All works before we move on with any projects."
"Why?" Izuku asked. "I think I have enough of an understanding to-"
"We can't approach this with only, enough, of an understanding. We need to have a complete understanding of what we are dealing with before we do anything important, or dangerous." Nezu interrupted. "If we can get a full understanding of what we are dealing with then we need to take that opportunity. When it comes to something this powerful and important then we need to take steps to make sure we don't have any more incidents. Because the next time something explodes, you may not be as lucky as you were last time."
There was a short pause as what Nezu said sunk in.
"Now, is that all you wanted to show us Midoriya?" Nezu asked.
"Yes, sir," Izuku said.
"Good. You've made good progress Midoriya. Please learn more about One for all and then report back to me." Nezu said.
"Yes, sir," Izuku repeated.
"Also shipment C has arrived." Nezu. announced.
Izuku cringed. He personally hated this project in particular. It wasn't that he hated the thought of bringing back the dead. It's the fact that he wasn't bringing back the dead, but rather making replicas of them, is what he hated.
What's worse is just how desperate some of the government officials were to have their loved ones returned to them. Even after he told them that he couldn't restore the ones without intact the brains, they just handed him a list of personality traits and memories that they knew that loved one to have and sent him on his way. Fully disregarding the fact that what they gave him was not enough to make a full android.
Izuku sighed. Even so. I need to start production. When I get the bodies I can just get them into the automatic system and them I don't have to look at them again. Just need to start production.
"Thank you, sir, I'll begin production as soon as I can," Izuku said.
"What's shipment C?" All Might asked.
"Nothing you need to be concerned about." Nezu dismissed. "Now Izuku I have one last thing to inform you of."
Izuku gained a curious expression. "What?"
"It's about a contest to see who would be your assistant," Nezu said. "A winner has been selected and they will be seeing you tomorrow."
"O-oh. I see." Izuku said. "Well, it would be nice to have some help with the school's projects."
"They do have a bit of an...eccentric personality. Are you sure you can handle it?" Nezu asked.
"Well, I've handled Kacchan for all these years. I'm sure whoever this person is can't be too bad." Izuku said. "Right?"
The next day.
Wrong. Izuku was wrong. Very, very wrong.
When he came back to the lab the next morning, he found a girl sleeping on the floor of his lab.
"Oh, good morning Midoriya," Nezu said, walking up behind the young scientist.
"S-sir. What is this!?" Izuku asked him, going up to inspect the girl on the floor. "W-wait a minute. I know this girl!"
Suddenly the girl yawned and began to open her eyes.
"Wha-oh! Midoriya!" The girl known as Mei Hatsume shouted, immediately getting to her feet and looking at Izuku's new arms. "Those arms are amazing! And they don't seem to require any manual controls either!"
As Mei gushed over Izuku's robotic appendages, Nezu and Izuku spoke.
"I see you are familiar with ." Nezu said. "Good, after all, she is your new assistant."
"Her?!" Izuku shouted. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. When we talked she was so passionate about making things, and she did show a level of understanding that far exceeds that of most people our age.
"W-well I guess it's fine she seem-she's straddling my arms!" Izuku suddenly shouted.
Mei had begun trying to take a closer at the arms and started climbing on them, putting her in a very provocative position.
Suddenly that arm began to malfunction, whipping around until it eventually sent Mei flying off.
"Ouch!" Mei said as she landed on her butt. "Man those things are strong! How much can they lift!? What's their grip strength!?"
"I'm sure that having Hatsume here will teach you both very important lessons. After all, you do need some more exposure to the opposite gender, besides your mother and daughter." Nezu said. "This will be especially effective considering that she will also be living here."
"WHAT!?" Izuku shouted in shock.
"Yeah, I got here early to unpack my stuff!" Mei said, gesturing to a mattress on the floor with a toolbox next to it.
"Hatsume we asked you to move into the dorm we set up for you. Not the laboratory." Nezu said.
"But I want to land on something soft when I pass out." Hatsume protested. "How am I supposed to land on my bed when it's not even in the same building?"
"But you didn't even fall on the bed." Izuku pointed out. "And why is she moving into the dorm anyway!?"
"Well she asked permission to do so and I thought it was a good idea," Nezu explained. "So we got her parent's permission and moved her luggage to the school."
Izuku's face was bright red and he was gasping for words. He didn't dislike Mei in the slightest, but she was far too non-caring about her modesty for Izuku's liking. It didn't help that she was incredibly...developed, for someone their age.
But still, I guess it's good to have an assistant as competent as her. Izuku thought.
After regaining his composure. Izuku turned to Mei, having his arms put him lower to the ground as to not accidentally look at her chest.
"W-well it's a pleasure to work with you," Izuku said, extending his arm for a handshake.
"The pleasure is all mine!" Mei said eagerly, shaking Izuku's hand. "Also can you take off your clothes?"
Izuku promptly regretted his existence.
Nezu smiled as he watched Mei tried to explain the purely scientific reason she wanted Izuku to strip, all while Izuku tried not to pass out from the sheer amount of blood rushing to his face.
While on paper putting these two together may not seem like the best idea, Nezu knew better.
Firstly Izuku needed to learn to be around females that weren't related to him or robots. And Mei needed to learn modesty and restraint.
After dealing with Mei any other woman would be easy to handle, with the possible exception of Midnight. And Mei would eventually learn that if she wanted to get anything out of Izuku then she would need to stop causing him to pass out, and thus would need to start changing her behavior.
Secondly, both Izuku and Mei tend to neglect their health in favor of work. And while on paper it might sound bad to put those two together as they would only encourage their workaholic behavior, there was one factor that made this work. Izuku was a massive hypocrite. While he didn't care much about his own well being most of the time, he did care immensely about others. If Mei kept overworking, Izuku would stop her. And if he wanted her to stop working, then he would need to stop working. Plus Inko and Sukui would also help in that effort.
All and All Nezu was happy with this result. Who knows, maybe after learning from each other, these two could one day become something close to normal human beings.
….
Nah that will probably never happen.