Toshinori watered his houseplants while taking sips of whiskey. Plenty of doctors had warned him about drinking, but there were times only alcohol could calm his nerves. Young Midoriya's story wouldn't leave him alone.

I heard a voice.

And the voice had managed to push the mild mannered Midoriya to the brink of doing something that couldn't be undone.

He couldn't blame young Midoriya even if he had crossed the line. Toshinori knew first hand how skilled the originator of One for All was at pushing his successors buttons. He had to applaud young Midoriya for controlling himself enough to stop himself. Already the boy had done something he had failed at.

There was a pain in his gut and with the pain came memories he'd rather forget.

A section of the city had turned into a war-zone. It looked like someone had ripped open the gates of hell. The night was filled with the howls of monsters he'd later learn to call Noumu. Dark abominations with twisted bodies to match their broken minds. All of them were wielding multiple Quirks and even the top heroes of Japan were at the end of their ropes dealing with them.

Toshinori couldn't spare time to help his brothers in arms. Not when someone else needed him.

"… Toshi… help…"

They were the last words of Nana Shimura before her phone had gone dead. It was selfish for a hero to look away when others needed him, but Nana would not have called him for help if the situation wasn't dire. He couldn't leave his predecessor and mentor to fend for herself.

He raced towards Nana's hero agency and had long since left Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye behind. Nana had to be okay. Even if she was just using the remnants of One for All she was still a top-class hero with years of experience under her belt. She had to be okay. She had to be! Even now no villain could match her! Right?

It was worse than he'd feared when he finally arrived at Nana's agency.

Multiple bombs seemed to have gone off in the building. Even worse than the damage was the silence. There was no one calling for help. There was just…

Music?

Someone was playing a guitar. Toshinori ran inside… and stopped. Nana's colleagues were lying on the floor bloody and broken. Some terrible force had thrown them around like ragdolls. Quick look at the closest man's pulse confirmed his fears.

"Nana!"

The music became clearer as he approached Nana's office and singing started accompanying the playing. A baritone that flowed smoothly like oil.

"Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

I've been around for a long, long year

Stole many a man's soul to waste

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ

Had his moment of doubt and pain

Made damn sure that Pilate

Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guess my name

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game!"

Toshinori broke through the wall into Nana's office and the playing seized.

A man holding a guitar was sitting on Nana's chair and had hoisted his feet on the desk. He looked like a college sports hero who had become a businessman and achieved everything he dreamed of while staying in shape. The black suit and white shirt were simple, but expensive. His dark hair was cut short, he had a strong jawline and the looks of a movie star. He couldn't have been more than thirty, but there was something terribly old about him.

The man flashed him a boyish grin.

"Hi, Toshinori. There was a door you know."

"Who are you?! Where is Nana?!" Toshinori screamed.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? You are Toshinori Yagi, aren't you?"

Toshinori circled the man. All of his instincts screamed him to be careful.

"How do you know my name?!"

"Nana Shimura kept repeating it. And what you would do to me when you got here. As for where she is… that's a tricky one. Few pieces are in the hallway and staircase. I think she left her right arm and leg in the cafeteria. You probably ran past a few bits on the way here. As for her head... I've got it right here."

The man kicked over a trashcan and... something rolled out. Toshinori fell on his knees. This… this couldn't be happening. Nana… Nana couldn't… she couldn't be… dead. This… this had to be some kind of a sick joke. It had to be!

"And who am I? You can call me All for One. Or Sensei. Whichever you prefer."

All for One got up and put down his guitar carefully. For some reason none if it seemed all that important anymore. Nana was dead. He had failed.

"Tonight, I'm here to put an end to an old family feud that has gone on for far too long. When my enemy is weak, and her student is still wet behind the ears."

He'd heard stories of All for One. The archfiend of Japan who had ruled its underworld for over a century. More demon than man. He'd always thought that Nana had been exaggerating All for One's reputation.

When All for One smiled, he saw the monster from Nana's stories that all other villains paid tribute to. It felt like seeing a black worm digging out of a fresh apple.

"Bet you wish Sir Nighteye was here right now, don't you? Worry not. I can tell you what the future holds. After I've ripped out your guts and strangled you with them, I'll hunt down your sidekick and take his Quirk. Then I'll throw a week-long party full of blow and prostitutes."

All for One lunged at him like a huge predator and suddenly Toshinori was fighting for his life.

Like his pet monstrosities, All for One wielded multiple Quirks and all Toshinori could do was stay alive. Every time he managed to block anything All for One threw at him, the monster switched to another Quirk. Slowly a few things became clear. All for One had years even decades of experience, but next to no formal training. He fought like a heavyweight who'd only faced boxers from the feather class. He had a ton of power, but wielded it like a mace when a rapier would have served better.

A sharp hand pierced Toshinori's gut and he realized that All for One hadn't made an empty threat.

"Can you hear me there, brother? You double-crossing fucker. This time you're not running crying to mom." All for One said.

All for One grabbed hold of something in Toshinori's stomach and twisted. The pain was too much for him to even scream.

"Beg. Beg and I'll make this quick." All for One said.

A voice erupted in Toshinori's head like a volcano and burned away the pain.

"Kill! Kill this monster! Are you going to let him get away with this?!"

Toshinori remembered the way Nana smiled. How her voice sounded. How she liked to joke. How much she meant to him and all the things he'd never dared to say. He thought about how he'd never see her again. Because of this beast!

"No!" Toshinori shouted.

Toshinori grabbed All for One's arm and crushed it. All for One had no time to scream when Toshinori punched him through a wall. All for One should have been dead, but one of his many Quirks saved his life. The voice in his head was pushing him beyond his limits and even the limits of his Quirk. A one-sided battle turned into a clash of earthquakes when Toshinori had madness on his side. He ran right through All for One's attacks. Nothing mattered except that the monster perished.

None of All for One's arrogance remained, and he trampled everything around him like a mad animal. Toshinori quickly lost count of his wounds and didn't care. If he had to die, so be it. If he was the last wielder of One for All, so be it. But he would not go quietly into the night and he would not go down alone.

When he broke All for One's other arm, he had enough time to scream. It almost overpowered the howls in his head.

"I want to talk to him."

One for All wasn't just echoing in his head anymore and started using Toshinori's mouth. For a moment the first user of One for All took control and pushed Toshinori in the back of his own mind.

"You're right, brother. No running to mom now." One for All said.

Fury and hate twisted All for One's features. One for All laughed in his brother's face and gave the reigns back to Toshinori.

Toshinori took a firm hold of All for One's leg and swung him like a club. He bashed the beast's face into every flat surface he could reach until the pain in his stomach became too much to ignore.

All for One was a tough old bastard. Even with wounds that would have killed a dozen men three times over he got back up, but he was no longer handsome. His face was a bloody ruin that finally reflected his monstrous soul.

All for One let out a roar of pure hate and suddenly madness wasn't just Toshinori's ally. Both of them had thrown aside all self-preservation and unleashed all their powers. Nothing mattered except killing the other man. They fought until the building collapsed around them.

Toshinori brushed the wound on his stomach that had never fully healed. It had taken days to dig out All for One's corpse and Toshinori had been there when they'd cremated the monster. The revenant of One for All had fallen silent that day as well. The ghost could rest in peace when his hated brother was finally dead.

So why had he spoken to young Midoriya?

All for One was dead and his century old feud with One for All's successors was over. He'd seen to it himself. So why was there this gnawing doubt in his gut?

Toshinori's phone started ringing and Tsukauchi's name flashed on the screen.

"Hello Tsukauchi." Toshinori said.

"All Might, where are you right now?" Tsukauchi said sounding frantic.

"At home. What happened?"

"We have a report of you doing… heroics. We've got three perps in intensive care and I'm not sure if they'll make it." Tsukauchi said.

"You think it's a copycat?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be right there." Toshinori said.