"Y-You wanted to show me something Melissa?" Izuku stuttered as Melissa dragged him down U.A.'s halls to the Support Lab. "But we have to leave soon!"
"I know!" Melissa assured him, as she rushed down the hall. "I would have given it to you sooner, but I needed to put some finishing touches on things."
Today was the ninth day after the Rapture, and it was finally time for the first group of kids to join the four of them at U.A. High School. Nezu had insisted on going to the Naruhata Convention Center that the children were currently at to oversee the transfer and reassure them about the move. He had also insisted that Izuku come along as a 'learning experience', and Izuku was more than happy to comply. Melissa had also convinced Nezu to let her and Eri come along, pointing out that they had been in the same place for a week and that letting the young girl see some sights would do some good.
However, right as they were getting ready, Melissa had dragged him off in a rush. As they finally reached the door, Melissa grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him in. Izuku looked at her in confusion, before turning back towards the lab he had been shoved into. "Finishing touches on… What? Is that…" Izuku stared in surprise at what appeared to be one of his notebook drawings come to life.
In front of him was a Hero outfit. It was mostly a green jumpsuit but had black armored padding throughout it. There were red armored boots and gauntlets that extended to the knees and elbows, covering and protecting the joints. Despite all the protective arms and armor that were weaved throughout it, Izuku could tell that it was painstakingly designed so that none of it would restrict movement. There was also a red utility belt wrapped around the waist.
But what stood out most to Izuku was the helmet. The part that covered the lower half of the face gave off the appearance of a smile, while the upper half was just two pieces of equipment sticking up like ears on either side, pointing back from the ears at a 45-degree angle. But when Melissa pressed a button on her phone, something snapped down from behind, covering where the face would be in a sturdy green helmet. The smiling mask and bright green coloring made it look almost cute, but the pitch-black visor where the eyes should be gave off an air of danger as well.
"This is just like, no, better than my notes. How?" Izuku looked back at Melissa speechless, and she held up one of his Hero Notebooks bashfully.
"I may have borrowed some of your notes. Is that okay?" Melissa asked tepidly as Izuku continued to stare wide-eyed between her and the suit.
"Okay?! It's better than okay!" Izuku said, finally snapping out of his bewilderment to begin geeking out at the suit. He quickly rushed over to get a closer look at it. "The amount of armor and padding is the perfect mix of protection and mobility! And the reinforced gauntlets for punching tougher targets is an amazing addition! What are these parts for?" He asked, pointing to a cylindrical part that could be moved from below the wrist to over his fist.
"Oh, that? I thought that maybe you could use it to direct your smokescreen through your hands, to cover a smaller area. You could also direct precise wind pressure attacks with it using finger flicks as a precision move." Melissa responded, and Izuku nodded in understanding before kneeling down to investigate the boots.
"And why are the legs so reinforced as well?" He asked as he tapped his fist against the iron soles.
"Well, you've been jumping around a lot during your exercises, and tended to build up Fa Jin in there a lot faster because of it." Melissa pointed out. "I figure you could use that to mix up your fighting style and use kicks some more?"
"I never thought of that!" Izuku exclaimed, putting a hand to his chin in typical brainstorming form. "But All Might doesn't have any kick moves. Maybe I could research other Heroes like Ingenium?" After mumbling a bit, he straightened up and looked at the helmet. Melissa pressed the button again, and the upper half snapped back. Izuku flinched at the movement, but quickly went back to investigating the headgear. "This part is probably most different from my original notes. There are a few design elements that are the same, but what function does it serve?"
"I'm glad you asked, as it's actually the most important part of the suit. Try putting it on!" Melissa said, and Izuku picked up the helmet and put it over his head. She pressed the button again, snapping the cover over his head. The visor lit up from within, and he saw a holographic display against it.
[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]
[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]
[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]
[New Quirk registered…]
"Uhh…" Izuku looked at the text as it appeared several times, unsure of what to do next. There were now seven bars in the corner of his vision.
"Try using Full Cowl. It'll make sense in a moment." Melissa assured him.
"Alright then?" Izuku flexed slightly, lightly calling upon One for All to cover his body for a 5% Full Cowling. As he did the first bar began to fill until a number could be seen.
[Quirk #1 | Output: 1000 AP]
[Quirk #2 | Output: 0 AP]
[Quirk #3 | Output: 0 AP]
[Quirk #4 | Output: 10 AP]
[Quirk #5 | Output: 0 AP]
[Quirk #6 | Output: 0 AP]
[Quirk #7 | Output: 0 AP]
[Estimated time operational at current output: 5 Hours]
"Incredible! It's able to read the amount of power I've put into my Quirk." Izuku stated, watching as the number for 'Quirk #1' went up and down as he ran more and less power through himself. But as he continued his actions, the other six listed Quirks stayed the same. "Huh, the other Quirks aren't changing."
"The other-? Wait, you mean that thing differentiates between the powers given to you by One for All?" Melissa asked in surprise.
"Maybe? Let's test it. Throw something at me!" Izuku said excitedly. Melissa raised an eyebrow in amusement, but suddenly grabbed a nearby bolt on the bench and tossed it at him. He felt the spike from Danger Sense, and as he tilted his head out of the way the AP output for 'Quirk #4' changed from 10 to 100, before falling back down after a few moments.
"It is! This is incredible Melissa! How in the world did you make something like this?" He noticed that she wasn't as happy as he thought she'd be at the praise, and tilted his head, feeling the weight of the helmet as he did so. "What's wrong Melissa?"
"I… didn't make it. My dad did." Melissa admitted, glancing around to make sure no one would overhear them. "He brought it over for All Might, and he didn't exactly get permission to do so."
"Oh." Izuku said, before the implication sunk in. "Ohhhhhh…"
"Yeah, so please keep that function a secret, alright?" Melissa pleaded to him. "I know I shouldn't be using it at all, but if it'll help you not get hurt then I'll take the risk."
"Melissa, don't worry, I wouldn't dare tell anyone!" Izuku insisted as he took off the helmet. "But thank you though, for being willing to help me so much. And thank you for the suit. It's," He felt his eyes tear up. He tried not to cry, but he just couldn't help himself. Melissa took the helmet from his hands, setting it on the bench beside them before wrapping him in a hug. "It's like what I've always dreamed of. With all the support I've gotten from you, you've really made me feel like I can be a real Hero."
"You are a real Hero Izuku. To both me and Eri." Melissa said as she patted him on the back. "And you'll be a real Hero to all those kids today when they see you out there in that outfit. So put on that amazing smile of yours and get out there."
"Y-Yeah, you're right." Izuku said with a grin, wiping his red eyes. He looked over at his Hero Costume for a few moments, before turning to Melissa again. "So, how exactly do I start putting this on?"
"Don't worry, I made a manual this time." Melissa said with a laugh, obviously remembering his issue with the Full Gauntlet. Izuku felt his cheeks blush as he took the manual and began flipping through it.
"Where did those two go?" Eri asked in a bored tone, sitting on the back bumper of the Nezu-mobile.
"I'm sure they'll be here soon. Hopefully." Nezu added with an air of uncertainty. He had an inkling of what Ms. Shield wanted to show Midoriya, but he really expected them to be back by now. Then again, their feelings are likely to be stronger than usual afterwards, and if his understanding of human emotions was correct… "Hmm, I may have miscalculated."
"Miscalculated what?" Eri turned to Nezu.
"Nothing someone your age needs to worry about." Nezu quickly said. Looking back towards the school again, he finally saw the two teenagers approaching. Melissa was wearing her usual uniform, but Izuku was wearing something entirely different, as he had expected. "Ah, so you two have finally arrived. I would have come to see what the holdup was, but I understand young couples like their privacy."
"C-C-Couple?!" Izuku's face turned beat red, and his helmet snapped shut like a clam.
"Nezu!" Melissa gasped scandalized. "W-We just had some issues with getting inside. I may have misjudged his size, so it was a bit of a tight fit to get in."
"Please Ms. Shield, there are children present!" Nezu gasped dramatically, and Melissa quickly realized what she had said.
"The Costume! The Costume was a tight fit! I-, You know what I meant." Melissa sighed, face just as red as Izuku's was under the mask.
"Of course. On an unrelated note, I feel obliged to mention that Recovery Girl kept her medical supplies quite stocked, in case you're ever looking for that kind of protective equipment." Nezu said cheekily, producing exasperated groans from the teenagers present.
Eri, unaware of the persistent teasing the two were under, approached Izuku in his new Costume with wide eyes. "Izuku? Is that really you?"
"Yep!" Izuku pressed a button on the side of his helmet and the top half snapped back, revealing his face again. "Pretty cool Costume, huh? Though it makes me feel like I'm the protagonist in a tokusatsu show."
"What's tokusatsu?" Eri asked.
"It's a kind of popular pre-Quirk era show… How about we watch some when I get back, okay?" Izuku said, realizing that explaining it would probably take some time.
"Okay!" Eri nodded in agreement, before looking a bit worried. "We won't be gone long, right?"
"Of course not. We should be able to get there and back before sundown." Nezu explained. "We'll have the Lunch-Bots prepare a bunch of food ahead of time for our new students. Looking forward to seeing more kids your age?"
"Umm, I guess." Eri said, not sounding that excited at the prospect. Understandable, considering she had only just gotten used to fully trusting the three others present. Melissa bent down and put a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll be with you the entire time. But seriously, everything will be fine!" Melissa comforted the younger girl as Izuku and Nezu made their way into the Nezu-mobile and they climbed into the back. As the vehicle began to move Melissa asked Eri how her training was going, and the girl was quickly distracted from her worries as she told her all about the exercises Nezu had come up with.
As Nezu drove down the empty and silent streets of the outside world, Izuku realized how earie it was. Having spent most of his time after the Rapture within the safety of U.A., he had forgotten the fear on that first day. Of him weaving through shadowed alleys just to reach the supermarket just for some clothes. He could only imagine what it must feel like for the ones even younger than him.
'That's why I've got to get better with One for All. So I can be a Hero to them.' Izuku stuck one hand out of the vehicle, putting the other on his forearm for stability. He balled his fist and pressed a small button on his pointer finger with his thumb, and the cylindrical cover below his wrist moved up to cover his hand. Focusing on the outstretched fist, he tried to call upon Smokescreen in only it.
[Quirk #6 | Output: 100 AP]
As the scanner indicated the usage of a Quirk, purple smoke began to shoot out of his fist. The cover around it made the smoke shoot out in a funnel, before trailing off as they drove away. Izuku couldn't help but get a big grin seeing Melissa's equipment in use.
"Testing your new Support Gear?" Nezu asked, glancing at Izuku's handiwork.
"Yeah! Melissa's ideas were amazing. I've spent so long training to be like All Might that I would have taken forever to think of these additions for my other abilities." Izuku pressed the small button again as he brought his hand back in the vehicle, and the cover retreated back below his wrist. He glanced up at the holographic display, pressing a few buttons on the side near the antenna. "Now, there should be a way to name each Quirk on this thing…"
"Speaking of Quirks, I believe I've discovered what a couple of your undiscovered Quirks may be." Nezu said, immediately catching Izuku's attention from his previous task.
"Really? How did you do that? I figured that most of the One for All users kept a low profile, or weren't obvious with their usage of it like All Might?" Izuku said, thinking back to his own speculation.
"True, it would be rather difficult for the average person to connect the dots. But with my knowledge as Principal of U.A., I have access to enough information to piece together a speculative history of One for All." Nezu revealed, before tapping his phone to a terminal in the Nezu-Mobile's dashboard. A holographic diagram popped up, showing nine individuals with big numbers behind them. Putting the vehicle on autopilot, he turned his full attention to the information displayed.
"Let's start in descending order, shall we? You are the Ninth User of One for All. You started Quirkless, but have received not just One for All, but all the Quirks of the users beforehand due to reaching the supposed singularity. I'm sure you know your own history enough, so I'll just skip along to All Might. He was the Eighth User of One for All, also originally Quirkless. He-"
"Wait, All Might was originally Quirkless?!" Izuku shouted in surprise.
"I believe so!" Nezu declared, before quickly elaborating why. "At the very least, he never displayed any other abilities beyond the strength gathered within One for All. It would be safe to operate under the assumption that he had no other Quirk."
"That… actually makes a lot of sense." Izuku said, sparing a glance at the Quirk's listed in the scanner. There were only seven Quirks listed by it, but there were nine holders of One for All, including himself. And considering that he knew that the Second had a Quirk, that left the possibility of either the Fifth, Seventh, or All Might as the one without another Quirk. He would have to wait to see what else Nezu had to say before coming to a definitive conclusion though.
Izuku glanced up to see Nezu staring at him patiently. He quickly realized that his speculation had not been as in his head as he believed.
"An excellent deduction, Young Midoriya. Now, back to the topic of All Might. I believe he received One for All in the middle of his time at U.A., back before I was the principal of the institution. That would mean he's had the power for close to forty years now, likely the longest time any user has held it according to my findings. The one who gave it to him didn't take long to find. During his time at U.A. he was taught by a Hero known as Gran Torino, who seemed to be at the school only to teach him. While I originally suspected him, All Might's files showed he interned only once with a Hero who apparently died in a Villain attack during it. Yet there is no information about which Villain it was, and the location listed for the fight turned out to be non-existent. This Hero was a woman named Nana Shimura, and I believe she was the Seventh User."
"Nana… that bit about a Villain attack certainly sounds suspicious, but are you sure?" Izuku asked, staring at the hologram of the woman in her Hero Costume.
"Well, Gran Torino only joined after she passed, suggesting some connection. Considering these two are the only Heroes All Might is known to have had significant contact with before he left for America, it would be likely he received his Quirk from one of them. It was actually in investigating the Sixth that I finally found a clue linking her to One for All." Nezu pointed at the Sixth's image suddenly and it enlarged, showing another Pro Hero in the field.
"With the Sixth's Quirk name known, it wasn't hard to find him listed in the old Pro Hero Database. He was a rather average Hero all things considered, but there was a spike in his career when he suddenly began successfully capturing Villains far outside his weight class. This trend continued until he died in a mysterious Villain attack just as shrouded in falsehoods and forgery as Nana Shimura's."
"That's certainly suspicious, but it's not like All for One is the only Villain who likes to cover his tracks when working, right?" Izuku pointed out.
"Certainly not, but it may not have been a Villain doing the covering in these cases." Nezu agreed. "Shimura was reported as being one of the first responders to the scene. The official report states that when she found the Sixth that he had already passed, but I believe that wasn't the case. Shortly after this incident, her performance as a Hero began to spike as well, eventually growing in notoriety until being killed by another mysterious Villain."
"You think she lied about what happened in order to prevent All for One tracking her down," Izuku began to guess. "And then Gran Torino did the same for All Might."
"Precisely. I was able to follow this link of Heroes down once more to the Pro Hero Lariat, real name Daigoro Banjo. He was the Fifth User, and his story is the same as the previous two. It's when we get to the Fourth that things start getting complicated." Nezu motioned to the Fourth User, and the information regarding him enlarge. Izuku could see his name listed as Hikage Shinomori. "If I didn't already have the name of his Quirk, he could have proved impossible to find. The man was such a hermit that it seems the only record of his existence are his birth certificate, his Quirk register, and his death certificate."
"Why was he such a ghost? Was he trying to hide from All for One, maybe?" Izuku guessed.
"Possibly. But there was certainly something strange about the man." Nezu said, face clouding slightly. "Despite living a life away from harm and appearing in good shape, the records for his death say he died at forty of old age."
"Of old age?!" Izuku stared at the scar running down the Fourth's face worryingly. "How is that even possible?"
"I… have a few theories, but they are unimportant right now." Nezu said, deflecting the question. It seemed out of character from what Izuku had know, as Nezu never seemed to fear telling every last detail. But he simply kept speaking, leaving the question in the past. "And then there's the Third, Second, and First. To be frank, I have absolutely nothing on them."
"Huh?" Izuku nearly fell off his chair at the upfront admission. He stared up at the diagram, only to see the three users as nothing more than empty silhouettes. "You must have found something?"
"Nope. The Fourth's lifestyle left little to connect him to anyone. And even with the Third's Quirk, I was unable to find him. There's a good chance that him and the first three User's existed before the Quirk register was even a thing." Nezu said with a shrug. "Besides, I doubt there is anything to find in the first place."
"What makes you say that?" Izuku asked, still wrapping his head around the lack of information.
"Like you said, One for All was likely created with the help of All for One. All Might may have claimed it was a 'Torch of Justice', but there's a high likelihood that it was originally held by someone close to All for One himself, at least for a time. I wouldn't be surprised if the first three User's records were as non-existent as All for One's himself." Nezu said, looking over the data displayed once more. "But with all of that out of the way, I can get back to the original topic at hand, Quirks!"
"Oh yeah!" Izuku suddenly remembered why Nezu had began this lecture in the first place. "I'm guessing you didn't learn what the Second's Quirk was then?"
"No, unfortunately. I was able to discover the other two remaining Quirks however!" Nezu waved a hand, and the diagram moved to the Fifth User. The screen changed to a picture of him swinging up to a building with some sort of black rope of energy. "The Fifth's Quirk was called Blackwhip and allowed for him to create black energy tendrils from his body. He mainly used them to maneuver around and capture Villains."
"Wow, that's such a cool Quirk!" Izuku said in amazement, already thinking of ways he could use it himself. He looked down at his gauntlets after a moment though, looking a bit sad. "Looks like Melissa's going to have to redesign my suit again soon, huh?"
"I'm sure she was expecting that. There's no such thing as the perfect Costume, after all!" Nezu assured him cheerfully, before making another motion with the diagram.
The image of the Fifth disappeared and was now replaced with one of the Seventh. Nana Shimura appeared to be in the middle of the air between two high-rises. However, she didn't appear to be falling to the ground, instead floating there gracefully.
"The Seventh's Quirk is a form of levitation called Float. As you can see it allows the user to suspend themselves in midair, though I imagine One for All will help increase its power, along with all the other ones you've received so far." Nezu explained.
"Alright. So Blackwhip and Float, along with a final mystery Quirk." Izuku confirmed, looking at the information displayed one final time before Nezu minimized it and turned back to the road. As the principal began driving again, he felt a question form. "Speaking of multiple Quirks, would it be a problem to show them off when we meet up with the kids?"
"Fa Jin is similar enough that you can excuse it as another aspect of your strength stockpiling ability, and Danger Sense is entirely invisible in use." Nezu quickly said as he spared a glance over at him. "You may be able to convince them that Smokescreen is a function of the suit, but it's best to keep things simple. You're right to be cautious though. Seeing someone with multiple Quirks is bound to get whatever remains of the government jumpy. We can worry about a proper cover story once the current situation is dealt with. Now relax, we still have an hour or so until we reach the convention center at the edge of Naruhata that they are currently being kept at."
"Yeah, you're right." Izuku said, turning back out the window. He could worry about his Quirk later. All he needed to do today was impress some kids. It couldn't be too hard, right?
Kagome continued to fiddle away at the Doctor's terminal as she had for the past few days, having combed as many of his secrets as he could. She still looked tirelessly for any hints that could help her acquire the power of All for One for herself more easily.
"Kagome, it's time." Nine said, and she could feel his eyes piercing into her back. She quickly locked the terminal and turned towards him.
"Just doing some last-minute reading. Never hurts to understand more about the crazy zombies we're using as foot soldiers." Kagome said casually, reaching down to grab the case All for One was in.
"For all the research you've been doing, you've proven rather ineffective at your work." Nine responded with a squint. "All this time, and you could only prepare a half dozen Nomu towards the cause."
"I told you, most of these freaks are only half built. They wouldn't be effective in a fight," Kagome said, lying through her teeth. While most of the Nomu were half complete according to the doctor, he had the highest standards imaginable. It was likely that even the weakest of these things could tear through a squad of police single-handedly.
But no one else knew how to use the system but her, and she wasn't about to hand over an army of superpowered zombies to Nine. Especially when he was bound to get in her way eventually. It's why she uploaded her voice to all the standby Nomu, just in case.
Nine grumbled at her answer, but eventually relented. "Oh well. They should be enough for our plan regardless. I much prefer working with real people anyways, so we'll just have to find some more people devoted to power like the Purple Oni's."
'Great, just what I needed. More idiots cluttering my workplace.' Kagome grumbled internally as she began to walk out of the lair. But right as she went to pass Nine, he grabbed her by the arm.
"What is that you've got there?" Nine asked, staring at the case containing All for One with suspicion. Kagome hadn't let the case out of her site since acquiring it, and it appears that he had noticed. "Is it for the mission?"
"It is, in fact." Kagome said, and she tried not to smirk too much as Nine's eyebrows shot up. She clicked the case open, revealing a radio set. "I have it set up to monitor the emergency lines, so that we have insider info throughout the operation. I needed it to be mobile, so I reconfigured this case for it."
Another bold-faced lie. She had literally just thrown a radio on top of the case's secret compartment. This case was used by the Doctor to secretly transport Quirk Factors, so fortunately her work was half done. And with it being integral to the plan, Nine had no reason to deny letting her take it anywhere.
"I see, how… useful." Nine said, clearly not entirely buying her story. But before he could lay into her anymore, an alarm on his watch went off and he let out a sigh. "Whatever. It's time to get moving. I hope your research proves to be useful to our cause, Kagome."
With that, the man turned to walk away, and Kagome turned to look back at the terminal. It was becoming apparent that their partnership was becoming less and less useful to the other. Once Nine had the children in his hand and began recruiting more thugs, she would eventually be replaced. And the more he grew in power, the harder it would be for her to acquire her dream Quirk without being stomped down. But she had gained everything she needed from this place.
She unlocked the terminal quickly and opened a window to see the bar at 100%. She yanked out an external storage device plugged into the side and shoved it into the secret compartment along with All for One. Now all she needed was to find a way into the most secure place on the planet. But if all went well, she'd have her one-way ticket there by the end of the night.
She turned off the terminal before she turned on her feet and strode after Nine with a newfound purpose. There was nothing that could stop her now.
If she had waited a moment longer, she might have seen the terminal screen turn back on seconds later.
A moment longer, and she'd have seen the screen glitch as it bypassed the lock screen and went straight to the Nomu Control Program.
In the next moment, she would have seen a sound file be downloaded from an unknown source outside the network and begin to be uploaded to every Nomu within the Doctors laboratory.
And if she had been there to open that file, she would have heard the two lines recorded within it in a robotic voice.
[Capture the current holder of One for All. Begin searching at U.A. High School.]
Next Chapter: The Ninth Day (Part II)