As Izuku walked home the golden light of the setting sun did nothing to lift the greenete's mood. After 10 years of study, of defiantly reaching for a dream everyone told him he'd never reach he was left with nothing.
"Deku!" a voice, Izuku recognized called out shaking the boy from his thoughts and causing him to instinctively flinch.
"K-K-Kaachan," Izuku whispered a greeting as he reluctantly turned around. His body already tensed expectantly, waiting for the pain that was sure to come sooner or later.
Izuku was greeted with the familiar sight of his bully although Bakugo seemed to be gasping for breath. 'He's been searching for me,' Izuku thought as he internally panicked.
"I never asked for your help! As if you could make a difference! I was fine by myself. GOT IT?! You're a quirkless failure with no hope for the future. SO DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!" Bakugo grinned seeing the quirkless bastard who'd tried to rise above his station shaking in those stupid red shoes he always wore.
"No," the response was soft, barely a whisper but Bakugo heard it.
"Huh?" he growled.
"I said no!" Izuku yelled and Bakugo was shocked to see real anger in the green eyes of the boy whose life he'd made a living hell for ten years even if the boy was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. "I-I-I want you to know," Izuku said stammering although his voice became more confident as he began to walk towards Bakugo who seemed frozen to his spot, "th-that it was a quirkless who saved your life. That it was someone lower than those 'damn extras' you're always going on about that saved the almighty Katsuki Bakugo. You say I've always looked down on you Bakugo and you're right, I have, because at the end of the day, you're no hero. You're lower than that pile of slime that you couldn't escape from." Izuku mocked. "At least he had the balls to try and kill me himself. You... you can't bring yourself to even do that. All you can do is, what was it again? Ah, yes, tell someone to 'Take a skydive off the roof.' Is it any wonder you're so weak when you're nothing more than a coward, a villain."
As Izuku finished his rant panting for breath a satisfied grin on his face Bakugo began to move. "Oh, I'm a coward am I?" he asked softly as Izuku's grin died and he began to back away arms out placatingly as his shaking worsened so it looked like the broccoli-headed boy was vibrating. "I'm weak am I?! I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK DEKU!" Bakugo screamed as he launched himself at the greenete who flinched backwards, one arm coming up to protect his head as he waited for the explosion.
When nothing came Izuku looked up and was shocked to see Bakugo struggling in the air. Wrapped around the blond's arms and legs restraining him were black tendrils with prominent red cracked lines. Bakugo was struggling against his bindings but his eyes were firmly locked onto Izuku and the greenete was shocked by just how much hatred he saw in them. Izuku had hoped, deep down, for years that one day he and Bakugo would be able to overcome their differences and become friends again just as they had been when they were children. Now looking into Bakugo's crimson orbs Izuku was forced to finally admit that it would never happen.
A chuckling from a nearby alleyway drew the attention of both boys who turned their heads to look down the dark, narrow alley. Out of the shadows stepped a man in a plain black suit but both boys barely paid his clothes any attention for atop the man's head was an intimidating navy blue, skull-like gas mask with various pipes attached to it. The man's right hand was casually held in the air pointed at Bakugo and it was from him that the tendrils that restrained the boy came, the fingers of his hand transforming into the inky black tendrils.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A bully and one who looks to be using their quirk in public. Hmmm, that just won't do. Tell me boy," the man said, turning his mask in Izuku's direction, "what would you have me do to him?"
Izuku's first response was to ask the man to let Bakugo go but as he opened his mouth he paused. For years Bakugo had been let off with nothing more than a half-hearted warning. Teachers, parents, even the heroes, police, and reporters today had nothing but positives for the boy all because of his quirk. 'It's sickening,' Izuku thought with disgust. 'No one cares that he uses his quirk in public. No one cares that he bullies others, physically hurts them. If I actually jumped off the roof like he said they'd probably give him a fucking medal.'
Casting a glare at the struggling blond Izuku turned to the masked man he didn't know why but he felt the same feeling that he had when he'd finally told Bakugo everything he thought about the boy, that for some reason honesty was the best policy. "He's hurt me, hurt me for years. I don't want you to do anything permanent but if you can make him feel at least some of the pain that he caused me, that would be enough."
For a moment the man seemed to study Izuku, weighing his words; Izuku stared towards where the man's eyes would be under the mask, not blinking. Finally the man gave a nod and Izuku let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Very well," the man said softly. "BOY!" he yelled and Bakugo ceased his futile attempts to free himself to turn his attention to the one who held him captive. "I'm going to release you then I want you to hit me with the most powerful attack you have, by all means feel free to use your quirk. Young man, get behind me," the man addressed the last part to Izuku in a low voice who rushed to obey.
Once the man was sure his order had been carried out the tendrils retracted returning to normal finger leaving Bakugo to drop to the ground landing on his knees. Giving an evil grin the explosive quirk user stood up and casually rolled his shoulders, his eyes locked onto the man who'd so easily overwhelmed him. "I don't know who you are old fart but," turning his palms upwards, Bakugo let out some small explosions, "I'm going to make you regret letting me go."
"Then do it," the man challenged, almost sounding bored at how long Bakugo was taking to do just that.
Giving an evil grin Bakugo held out his left hand while he used his right to make a circle which he held up in front of his outstretched palm. "I've been thinking about ways to use my quirk for years and guess what, you just volunteered to be my test dummy. Try not to die you fucking bastard. AP SHOT!" From the circle came a beam of explosive force that blasted itself at the suited man and Izuku.
Izuku's mind was already breaking down the attack even as he cowered behind the man desperate for cover. 'By focusing the path of his explosions into a single point instead of around his whole palm, Bakugo is creating a concentrated beam which reduces the area of impact, but increases the attack's power. I wonder how strong it is although I guess I'll never be able to test it.' He thought morosely.
The masked man didn't say anything or even react as the explosion flew his way instead just casually holding out a hand towards the blast. "Absorption and Release," he called out as the beam slammed into his hand. For a moment Izuku thought he saw burns appear on the hand before they vanished along with the attack itself. There was a moment of silence as the two boys both wondered where the attack had gone but the man never lowered his hand and a second later proved why.
From the palm of his hand where AP Shot had hit Bakugo's attack appeared only this time it was going back the other way, from the man towards Bakugo and that wasn't all. Whereas Bakugo's attack had been the size of a small tube the attack now heading towards the explosive blond surpassed the boy's size completely and seemed more akin to the size of the large pipes seen at a stereotypical construction site. Letting out a roar of anger Bakugo thrust both his hands forward and desperately tried to fire off explosions to halt the beam. However if his efforts had any effect it was minimal at most and before he could dodge out of the way the massive beam enveloped him.
When the rebounded attack vanished Bakugo was left lying on the street, his school uniform torn and burned, while his body, caked in a layer of ash, was covered in a mix of first and second degree burns. For a moment Izuku froze, heart in his mouth, fearing that Bakugo had died and he was now an accomplish to a murder but a low groan from the supposed corpse in question caused him to sigh in relief.
"Impressive," startled Izuku turned his attention back to his savior and saw the man staring (or at least he assumed so) at the downed boy. "That particular quirk," he explained, clearly for the sake of his sole conscious audience member, "works by absorbing emitter attacks and sending them back with increased power. For the boy to create such a devastating attack that a minor increase could do this, well it's very impressive. I believe I shall be watching this young man quite closely in the future. But first a surprise for later..." the man trailed off as he walked over to the unconscious blond where he grabbed the boy's head in his hand. For a moment Izuku thought he saw a white mist emerge from his savior's hand before it dissipated, absorbed into Bakugou's head.
A low muttering caused the man to turn to his audience and he was shocked to see the greenete he'd just protected writing information down in a notebook that had seemed to appear from thin air while words tumbled out of his mouth a mile a minute. "Absorption and Release is an impressive quirk but it seems to have its drawbacks. If he doesn't know how much damage he'll take from an attack it's likely not worth the risk to just stand there and take it. I saw the burns on his hand so he still takes damage from the original attack, and what about emitter attacks that cause pain to produce, does he suffer pain when he reflects the attack in addition to the pain he gets from being hit by it? Is the pain from the reflected attack more than that the attacker experiences when using their quirk due to the increase in strength or does the pain stay the same? Either way it seems that Absorption and Release goes well with his healing quirk, which leads to the question of if his healing is just an aspect of Absorption and Release to allow him to tank the attacks and damage that comes from reflecting them. Add to that his… tendrils… and… and..."
Slowly Izuku trailed off, turning to face his savior. "You… you have multiple quirks…" he asked/stated clearly stunned by the mere thought of someone with such a quirk.
"Yes," the man said clearly amused. "Come young man, it has been a long day and I have found that facing a demon from your past is best discussed over a cold drink." After buying soda from a vending machine (the masked man had refused Izuku's offer for a drink citing an inability to remove his mask) the two had sat on a bench in a nearby park and Izuku had let it out once again getting the feeling to be honest with the man, a complete stranger. Over the course of an hour Izuku unloaded the story that was his life. Of years of torment, pain, and fear all for standing out. Not in a good way like Bakugo but rather for being useless, quirkless, a freak. He let it all out, only ending with how he'd been saved from death by All Might who'd then promptly crushed his dream saying that he could never be a hero. When he finished the two sat in silence as they watched the moon begin to rise in the now black sky.
"Tell me young man, what makes a hero?" the man asked finally.
"A hero is someone who saves others with a smile." Izuku immediately replied a picture of All Might jumping immeditaley to the greenete's mind.
"And what does your… friend from earlier consider to be the hallmark of a hero?"
Izuku paused for a second thinking, "To him a hero is someone who wins no matter what. Who never gives up or stops fighting, regardless of what they're facing. "
"Each person has their own definition of what being a hero is," the masked man said softly as he leaned back on the bench appearing to look up at the sky dotted with twinkling stars. "My younger brother, he thought that a hero was someone who helped others, whoever they may be."
The two sat in silence for another few minutes before Izuku managed to work up the courage to ask, "What's a hero to you?"
The man was silent for a moment clearly rolling over the answer in his mind, "To me a hero is someone who does what they consider to be right, no matter what others say." 'or whatever the cost,' he added mentally.
"I think I can agree with that," Izuku said a few seconds later having seemingly considered it. "When I confronted Bakugo I finally managed to say everything that I've built up over the years. I don't know why but I did it and that's more than I could have ever hoped for."
"You're welcome for that," the masked man said off-handedly.
"That was you?" Izuku asked, gaping at him.
"One of my quirks…" the man trailed off when he realized that Izuku already had his pen and notebook out, ready to scribble down notes. As he looked silently at the boy the greenete flushed and hurriedly put it away while stammering out an apology only to stop when the man held up a hand.
"It's good to want to take notes, to learn and theorize about the abilites of not only your enemies but your allies. However you also have to realize the importance of internalizing information. I know that you write about heroes in those notebooks of yours, what do you think would happen if a villain got a hold of them and decided to auction off the information." Seeing the boy pale the man was quick to reassure him, "Again it's not wrong to gather information but be careful, anything you write down someone might read so just keep it in your head. Try to do the same with your mumblings, that's not a trait most people would consider desirable and you're revealing your true thoughts. I could easily see you accidentally revealing a weakness of either yourself, an ally, or an enemy. Work to keep it from happening, understood?"
When Izuku nodded his understanding the man continued, "Anyway as I was saying one of my quirks is Inner Voice, all it does is make someone say what they're thinking or believe. The nice thing is it's not their surface level thoughts but rather their honest thoughts, the ones that they bury and it's not considered polite to say that come out. So when that blond kid made his comment I just used my quirk to get you to say what you were thinking."
"But… but why me?" Izuku asked. "There must be hundreds of kids in Japan who get bullied. Who are outcast by their peers; why would you help me?"
"Because you were there," the man said simply, "and how many of those kids are treated that way because they're quirkless?" Izuku didn't respond so the man let the silence return for a few minutes.
"Besides at least one good thing came out of all of this for you." The man said, finally pulling Izuku from his contemplations. "You impressed me today, it takes courage to stand up to someone with overwhelming strength and for you to do so, well it shows that you have promise." The man paused to gauge Izuku's reaction and seeing the eagerness of the bright-eyed boy he decided to continue string him along.
"My quirk, my real one is called All For One," he said quietly. "It's the epitome of quirks and gives me the ability to steal quirks from others and distribute those quirks at will." Seeing the warring thoughts on his listener's face he quickly added, "Most of the quirks I steal are from villains, or people who have committed some sort of crime. After all," he said with a laugh, "the news would report it if a hero lost their quirk all of a sudden." The one sentence caused Izuku to relax just the tiniest but it was enough to confirm All For One's decision, Izuku was worthy.
"I could even give you a quirk. Of course that's only if you want me to," he said snidely as he cast the bait.
"YES! I accept! I mean, please take care of me." Izuku said with a small bow to the suited man having stood up in his excitement. "Um… what quirk would you give me?" Izuku asked with an embarrassed blush.
'And there's the bite,' All For One thought amused. 'All that's left is reeling him in and Izuku Midoriya will be mine.'
"I was going to give you a personal favorite of mine," All For One said casually as he pushed himself to his feet. "A quirk called Air Cannon, it will allow you to shoot bursts of air from your hands like so." Aiming his hand at the top of a nearby tree Izuku watched as All For One's arm seemed to bloat before a blast of air shot from a hole in his hand causing the branches on the tree to shake violently in the sudden wind. "The more air you build up the stronger the blast when you release it, there's more tricks and features but I'll leave it to you to discover them. Would that quirk be alright?"
Seeing Izuku's eager, expectant face was all the answer All For One needed. As he reached out and put a hand over Izuku's face he warned, "However recieving a quirk hurts, a lot."
Then there was nothing but pain. Great, terrible, destructive pain as something was violently forced into Izuku's body. Izuku could feel an empty space deep within him suddenly fill but the process was rough. Izuku's body wasn't meant to have a quirk and he could feel it trying to force the quirk out, reject it. However All For One was uncompromising, unforgiving and he forced Izuku's body to obey his will. The pain seemed to go on for hours but in reality it was less than half a minute before All For One let Izuku go and the green haired boy collapsed to the ground panting and sweating as if he'd just finished a torture session which he could almost admit he had.
"That… was… horrible..." he wheezed and All For One let out a cruel laugh. "Yes my younger brother said the same thing when I gave him a quirk." After giving Izuku a few minutes to recover, All For One asked the boy to show off his new power. "Quirks are like your fingers and toes," he began to teach with Izuku hanging off his every word, "you control it, it's a part of you. However while some quirks can be used instinctively others need to be used delibarately. Air Cannon is one of the quirks that requires intentional use for you to utilize the full potential of it. When I wanted to use it I always imagined a point on the palm of my hand that sucks air in like a vacuum. Then once you have enough air built up you just let it out from the same point."
Nodding his head Izuku held out his right hand - now with a noticeable hole in the palm of his hand - aiming it at the same tree All For One had demonstrated Air Cannon on earlier Izuku did as the man had instructed. He imagined air being sucked into his arm and to his shock he thought he actually felt something. It was weird, not unpleasant, but, strange; like something light and invisible was tickling the inside of his arm. If he had to put it into words it was like when your drinking from an empty cup with a straw, the sucking of air except instead of using his mouth Izuku was using his arm. Shaking the feeling off Izuku waited until his arm had grown to the size of an American football before he stopped sucking.
"Good, now just let it out," All For One instructed, "the air wants to leave, to be free, all you're doing is directing its escape.
With another nod of understanding Izuku let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he imagined the air trapped in his arm escaping through the same hole it'd entered through. It was as if he'd opened an invisible gate and it all came rushing out, however, unlike All For One who'd controlled the size of the air as well as the speed he released it at Izuku just let all the air he'd built up loose at once. Trees shook and fell while branches crashed to the ground as the wind violently impacted everything in the general direction of Izuku's outstretched hand. When all the accumulated air was finally released a few seconds later Izuku and All For One stood in silence for a moment taking in the sight of the park that'd looked like it'd just come through a violent windstorm which it admittedly had.
"I should have probably added the fact that you can control the size, shape, and speed of the air you fire out." All For One added after a moment as Izuku dropped to his knees, shocked at the power he possessed. "Like your friend's AP Shot it can be a beam of concentrated power or a wide range burst like you did just now."
Seeing Izuku having calmed down, All For One reached into a pant's pocket and pulled out a small black card that he handed to the boy. "I have to be going but should you ever need my help or support all you have to do is call me at that number."
"You have a business card," Izuku asked incredulously.
"Of course," All For One confirmed, and Izuku had the strange feeling that the man was grinning beneath his mask, "I am just a humble businessman after all." 'Although my business is quirks and my company was a criminal empire that once covered the entirety of Japan and beyond.' he added mentally.
"Thank you!" Izuku called after the man's retreating back as he walked away. "Thank you for everything you've done for me!" Izuku yelled as he fell to his knees and began to cry, the card still clutched tightly in his hands. He had a quirk. He the worthless, useless, good for nothing Deku had a quirk to call his own.
"You will do great things Izuku Midoriya," All For One called out, and looking up through watery eyes Izuku saw that the man had stopped in front of a portal that had opened up behind him seemingly from nowhere. Izuku thought he saw a pair of yellow eyes from the portal's depths but he quickly focused on the man who had given him so much. "I know you will, and I can't wait to see the things you accomplish. Turn this world on its head Izuku and build the society that you desire. No matter what you do know that you have my complete support and that I believe in you." Leaving the boy sobbing on the ground All For One strode through the portal that closed behind him.
For almost half an hour Izuku sat there in the park, on his knees sobbing. He had a quirk. Someone believed in him, something his own mother hadn't been able to do. All Might may have been right that power was what mattered but now Izuku had a power of his own, something he'd been denied for years for something he could never control. He'd been persecuted, beaten, bullied, and degraded by everybody but now he had the power to show them all that he was not, had never been, and would never again be, a Deku.
It was a ringing phone that caused Izuku to come back to himself and pulling it out he only now realized how late it was. 'Oh, gods, Mom's going to kill me!' Izuku panicked when he saw the time on his phone reading 22:13 and the caller id flashing Mom. Hesitantly opening it up and calling out a hesitant hello he was rewarded with deafening sobs that forced him to hold the phone away from his ear lest he go the way of van Gogh.
"Izuku, Izuku, Izuku…" she cried, "it hurts."
"I know Mom, I know. Don't worry I'm on my way home and then we can discuss my recklessness from this afternoon."
"Wait, that was you?!"
"Yes Mom, it was and honestly it's probably the best thing that ever happened to me."
"No, no, no, no, no!" she sobbed. "Not my little boy, please, no!"
"Mom, I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I'm out past curfew but I have something I need to show you. Trust me you're going to love it."
Izuku was rewarded with the phone line going dead, apparently his Mom had hung up on her end. 'Huh?' Izuku thought, 'That's strange normally it's all I can do to get her off of me. Oh well, I'll see her in a bit.' Before Izuku headed home however he took a glance at the business card the masked man had given him, hoping to find a name for the man who had given him so much. The card was all black and on one side were three words in fancy silver calligraphy followed by a telephone number in the same silver color. Izuku frowned in confusion as he looked at the words, after all wasn't All For One the name of the man's quirk?
As Izuku began the walk home playing with his new quirk by sucking in and shooting off small blasts of air the man who'd given him said quirk leaned back on his chair as he breathed through his oxygen mask. 'Izuku Midoriya, you were everything I hoped for and more.' All For One thought with an evil smile. 'You were so desperate for power, for a way to prove yourself and now you have power but nowhere to direct it. I will give you everything you need just as I have with Tomura and then watch to see if you are the one who will carry on my legacy. However Tomura has Kurogiri so you will need somebody of your own, a lieutenant to interpret your commands and help you on your way. Hmmm, who to choose. AH, perfect.'
With a dark grin All For One picked up a black cell phone from the table beside his chair and began dialing a number. Once he finished he held the small device up to his ear and waited. "Hello," a voice answered when the call finally connected.
"Itachi, how good of you to pick up when I call," All For One grinned. He so liked their reactions when he called his servants for seemingly no reason. The panic and fear as they tried to come up with a reason for his call, some action they may have done that offended him, it was always very amusing.
"Mi… milord," the voice trembled, "it's an honor to hear from you after so long. Tell me is there something you desire from me, from us?"
All For One grinned, "Of course Itachi I never do anything without reason. Now tell me is your daughter ready?" All For One could almost hear the man's hesitation through the phone, "Itachi," he prompted his voice which had been slightly cheerful taking on a dark tone.
"Y-yes milord." The man stammered, "she's ready and knows the truth behind our family's business. She didn't like it but she has grown to accept it and her role albeit with some reluctance."
"Hmmm," All For One hummed as he tapped a finger on the wooden side table, a sound that carried through the phone to his audience. "She shall do," he said finally. "I have found a boy, a potential successor of mine. I wish for her to serve as an advisor to him, a trusted lieutenant if you will."
"Is it Tomura?" Itachi asked before the sound of a hand slapping up to cover his mouth came through.
"It is not Tomura," All For One said after a minute, the man's fearful antics serving to cheer him up. "So the odds of your daughter dying are less than they would be if she was with him. In fact the boy is highly intelligent, I do believe that she will find a like-minded companion in him and vice versa. It's quite clear the boy has the same lack of a social life as she does and both have issues with their confidence."
"Very well…" Itachi said after a minute, "but will she have to give up her, you know, if he desires it?"
"I do not know," All For One hummed clearly knowing but wanting to make the man say it.
"Her virginity!" Itachi yelled, "Will she have to give it up if he orders her to?"
A growl made Itachi freeze in his custom made thousand dollar black leather loafers. "You overstep your bounds," All For One spoke his voice low, dangerous, "she shall be his and he can do with her as he pleases. Unless of course, you have an objection?"
Both of them knew that there wasn't and if there was there wouldn't be for long. "No," Itachi said after a moment, "I have no objections. When will you get her?"
"I will send somebody to retrieve her tomorrow, make sure she is packed and ready to go by noon." All For One said before immediately hanging up.
Setting the phone down on the small wooden table the villain turned back to the screen setup before him. It showed a small living room with an attached kitchen, something a thousand other homes in the city had. However his main focus was on the overweight green-haired woman on the floor trying to claw her way towards a hallway that led to the apartment's entry door. Blood splattered the floor and ran down her face from a cut on her forehead. Her legs were clearly broken, twisted at unnatural angles with bone even poking through her right shin.
Standing above her, admiring his handiwork was a man with orange hair dressed in a beige, pinstripe baseball uniform with shoulder pads. On his right arm he wore a gray, orange, and green gauntlet twice the size of his arm and a plain white mask similar to a baseball umpire's covered his face. Clutched in the man's right hand, tapping against the floor was a metal baseball bat slick with blood. As All For One watched the man drew back the bat before slamming it into the woman's left hand where he was rewarded with a loud crack and an even louder scream of pain.
"Slugger," All For One called, causing the man to step back from the woman as he turned towards a darkened corner of the room where a hidden camera the hero had set up captured the scene, "remember, you can have as much fun with that woman as you want but the boy must see you as the cause when he comes back," he commanded.
"Yeah, yeah I remember what you said. I can do whatever I wanted to the mom so long as I only scare the fucking brat from this afternoon." Slugger said as he took a practice swing, blood flying from the bat to paint the walls red.
"Exactly," All For One agreed, "don't touch the kid but his mother is yours."
"Well I haven't gotten any action lately," the hero said with an evil grin as he tossed the bat to the side, "and she may be a little pig but I've always preferred my women with a little extra meat on their bones." As the pro hero moved to undo his belt and green-haired woman bubbled futile protest All For One muted the screen before closing his eyes. He'd never been a fan of rape but he knew that it made for a decent motivation to a certain kind of villains that were unable to find 'release' on their own or struggled to find willing partners. That didn't mean he had to enjoy it though.
As he waited for Izuku to come home, All For One began to plan his next move. The boy would be crushed and immediately develop a deep resentment and hatred for those involved in his mother's rape and subsequent death. It was critical that he aimed that hatred at heroes and society as a whole a task made monumentally easier by the boy's idol the #1 hero himself crushing the boy's dream. Even if the boy didn't know it, All For One knew from his conversation with Izuku that the boy held a tiny bit of anger for the man who'd crushed his dream of ten years even if the dream, All For One admitted, was likely impossible or at the very least insanely difficult without the assistance of a quirk. Now however the most important thing was harnessing that rage and anger for his own ends, he'd succeeded with Tomura and he'd succeed here. He had to.
Itachi walked through the halls of his mansion passing servants and guards that saluted upon seeing him and who he dismissed with a wave of his hand. He'd learned about the man he now served from his father when he turned 10 just as his father had learned from his father when he turned the same age.
His family's relationship with All For One was a unique one. It had been All For One who'd funded their original business, his money that had let them grow the family company into a supergiant, the largest home good chain and electronics company in the country if not the eastern part of the world. But that wasn't all his master had done. When his great grandfather had gone to All For One as a teenager desperate to be able to pass his quirks to his descendants it had been All For One that'd taken his quirk and fused it with another connecting the man's quirk to his bloodline so all his descendants would have his quirk in some form one way or another.
Itachi knew that without All For One his family likely would never have gained the notoriety, the money, and fame that they now possessed but it was on days like these he wondered if it was all worth it. After all he was basically selling off his daughter to his master. If All For One commanded his daughter to become nothing more than a common whore in the red light district Itachi would have been able to do nothing but hand her over. Such was the fate of those who possessed the quirk Bloodline or at least it's abilities.
Bloodline was a quirk that would pass itself on to the user's offspring with certainty however anything sworn by their blood would become binding. A seemingly useless quirk but when fused with the quirk possessed by Itachi's great grandfather the two had combined into a singular quirk. As a result the family's quirk had become almost synonymous with the family name since the quirk continued on passing through the family for generations. When Itachi had reached the age of sixteen he'd sworn to serve All For One in any way he could just as his father and grandfather had done before him. He'd expected his daughter to do the same when she came of age, putting the family's power, wealth, and influence at their master's disposal.
However now Itachi didn't know. He didn't know if All For One would have his daughter swear to serve him, this potential successor of his, or even Tomura. Itachi shivered at the last thought as he stopped outside his daughter's room, the two large oak doorways reminding him faintly of the wrought iron gate that sat at the end of the driveway. Imposing to all but those that dwelled within.
Itachi had only met Tomura once and it hadn't even been in person. Rather his master had shown him a video of the boy, and that was all that Itachi could call the twenty year old, a boy. In the video Tomura had in a fit of rage slammed his hand on a bar and then grabbed a man by the throat. Itachi had watched with horrified fascination as the man's skin began to crack and fall off as he, along with the bar, decayed into dust. All For One had asked him to produce a custom product to keep Tomura from decaying everything he laid his hands on and Itachi had, reluctantly, made a pair of three fingered gloves for the boy. He'd asked who the boy was but all All For One had said was, "he is my successor, Tomura Shigaraki. You or your daughter might one day very well serve him Itachi."
When he'd returned home Itachi had frantically researched the boy but his search had turned up nothing. There was no Tomura Shigaraki, no records of his existence or even of his quirk. The boy was a complete unknown. If there was some small comfort in this mess Itachi now found himself in it was that at least his daughter would likely not be serving a man likely to kill her in a temper tantrum. She would at least have her life if nothing else.
Taking a deep breath Itachi pushed open the oak doors and paused like always to take pride in his daughter. She was beautiful, smart, intelligent, and carried with her at all times the bearing of a proper heiress. Like all her predecessors she'd refused the family business for public principal but accepted it as a necessary evil. She was his pride and joy and if All For One found some way to hurt her Itachi swore that he would somehow find a way to kill the godlike man he called his master.
Hearing his entrance his daughter turned her head towards him, her onyx eyes lighting up when she saw him. Like normal her hair was tied up in a spiky ponytail and she seemed to be studying if the large pile of books all over her bed were anything to go by.
"Hey honey, how are you?" Itachi asked taking a seat on an open spot.
"I'm doing well Father, how are you?" his pride and joy asked back her onyx eyes flashing with concern, clearly sensing that something was wrong. Itachi was desperate to protect his daughter from the realities of the world, the cruelty some people possessed but he knew that today was the day he finally would have to let her go.
"He called," Itachi said after a minute closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her reaction.
"He?"
"My master," for a moment Itachi could picture it so clearly the way her mouth would open in a small 'o' of surprise before she'd snap it close since it wasn't proper behavior. "He is going to send someone to retrieve you tomorrow. He has a task he wants you to do."
"What is it?" Itachi almost flinched at the coldness in his daughter's voice but he refrained even as his heart broke inside of him.
"He wants you to act as an advisor, a lieutenant to a boy that he considers worthy of possibly succeeding him."
"Tomura?"
"GODS, NO!" Itachi yelled opening his eyes to give his daughter a look of disgust, although the sight of his daughter's cold emotionless face directed his way made him want to cry. "If he had I would have had you on the next plane to America, bloodline oath be damned."
The flicker of surprise that flashed through her eyes made Itachi want to leap with joy, "You would have broken it? Even if it would mean your death." Indeed breaking a promise or oath once it was sworn turned your own blood against you. The blood would heat up within your veins until it boiled and pain would consume your body as it superheated cooking you from the inside out. Only one person had broken the oath to All For One in the past. Only one person was needed as an example to ensure their family's unquestionable loyalty.
"You, are my life." Itachi said simply as he brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "Ever since I held you in that hospital room everything I have done has been for your sake. That is why I'm willing to let you go with All For One's servant to serve the boy. He told me about him and from what I've heard he needs someone to connect with just as much as you do."
For a moment silence descended between the two before Itachi's daughter finally spoke, "Do you think it's the right thing to do?"
"I don't know," Itachi said honestly, "but I do know that if you don't do this you'll never know."
Silence descended between the two as Itachi's daughter thought it over. "Fine," she said after a few minutes of silence had passed. "I'll go, if for no other reason then to at least meet him."
She was immediately wrapped up by her father in a hug, "Ohhh honey, I'm so proud of you. You're finally fulfilling the dream every parent has for their child, you're making your own decisions." Itachi said planting a kiss in her hair. "I love you my little Creati."
"And I love you dad," she said with a laugh as she leaned into his hug.
"I know Momo, I know." Itachi Yaoyorozu said as he pulled his daughter close. "Trust me, I know."
Toshinori Yagi better known as the pro hero All Might collapsed in an alleyway coughing up blood as he transformed back into his true form. Toshinori had spent the entire evening searching for the green haired boy from this afternoon. He needed to know why the boy had rushed in, to know if the boy truly was the one. However luck seemed to be against the hero as he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the boy after the incident.
Cursing overeager reporters in his head Toshinori collapsed to the ground against one of the alley's walls with a low groan as he coughed out blood. He was weakening, fast. Toshinori knew he didn't have much time left, his wound from the battle against All For One had been starting to hurt and his ability to maintain his hero form had been slipping more and more. After today he wouldn't be surprised if he'd lost another half an hour between using it to save the two boys and then using it to search for the green haired one afterwards.
Pushing himself to his feet Toshinori forced himself onwards Chiba was probably a little far but after failing to find the boy in Musutafu he'd spread out searching farther and farther with no success.
His day only worsened when a fist hit him in the side of his head launching the weakened hero back into the wall he'd just pushed himself off of.
"Well, well, well boys. What have we here?" Looking up Toshinori was greeted with a trio of petty thugs.
The leader had some sort of mutation quirk that gave him the right arm of a gorilla and if the pounding in Toshinor's skull was anything to go by he'd been the one to hit him. On the gorilla's right side was a blond man wielding a switch blade while on the other side was a brown haired man with a plotted bush in his hand. 'Probably related to his quirk,' All Might thought.
"Come on man, you know the deal, hand over your wallet and nobody gets hurt. The leader commanded holding out his oversized arm for said items.
Toshinori sighed while it was highly tempting to get up and try to punch some sense into the trio he had nothing. He'd been running on fumes earlier pushing his limits and then surpassing them. Right now One For All was as gone as could be until he passed it on; he was basically quirkless.
Sighing All Might complied handing over his wallet, then his watch, then some breath mints the blond thug had spotted in his back pocket. As the trio of villains briefly argued over what else they should get him to hand over a shouted, "Hey!" from the entrance to the alley caused all four to turn.
Standing there hands on her hips was a girl of medium height with a slim build. She had teal eyes and long ginger hair that she was wearing tied into a high ponytail on the left side of her head. Her bangs were split into three clumps around her eyes, and some of her hair stuck up in large tufts at the top of her head. "What's going on here?" she asked, setting the grocery bag she was carrying on the ground.
"We aren't doing anything here, girly" the villain with the bush challenged, "now run along before you get hurt.
"I can't do that," the girl said and something about the way she spoke caused All Might to look the girl over in a new light. There was something about her, something familiar. "When somebody's in trouble giving help that's not asked for, that's what it means to be a hero."
"Well then, hero," the blond thug mocked as he walked up to stand in front of the girl holding his switchblade menacingly. "Don't complain when you get hurttt!" the last part came out in a high pitched squeak as the man collapsed to the ground. The remaining three males flinched in sympathy as the orangete lowered her shoe from where she'd buried it in the man's crotch.
"That's one," she said nonchalantly as she cracked her knuckles.
With an angry roar the gorilla mutant launched himself forward sweeping his arm horizontally. The girl merely ducked under the attack and launched her own punch which buried itself in the gorilla's stomach. For a moment All Might thought he saw her fist grow as if she'd somehow increased its size but he was distracted by the gorilla being launched backwards tumbling head over heels down the alley.
"S-s-stop!" the third thug the one with the plant ordered. Looking up the orangete saw that the man had one arm wrapped around the throat of the man the trio had been mugging while the other cradled the plotted bush to his chest. "Don't come any closer or-or I'll hurt him."
Holding her hands up placatingly the girl began to move slowly walking towards the side of the alley opposite the man with the bush. "What are you doing?" the man asked, eyes darting around searching for a trap moving to keep the girl in fron of him.
"I'm giving you a way out," the girl said soothingly as she stopped so her back was towards the back of the alley while Yagi's and the man's holding him were towards the entrance and street. "This is your first time doing this isn't it?" she asked, getting a shaky nod in return from Yagi's captor. "Then it's fine," she soothed, "nobody's been hurt, we're all fine. All you have to do is walk away and forget this ever happened." We won't tell the police about you and you can go back to your regular life."
"Really," the man asked, licking his suddenly dry lips as to the girl, his eyes seemed to light up with a newfound hope.
"Really," the girl confirmed, "just walk away, and it'll be like this was nothing more than a bad dream."
"O-o-okay. Okay!" the man said, pushing Toshinori towards the girl he ran dropping his bush whose pot smashed onto the ground sending dirt skidding across the cement.
As the orangete pulled out her phone and called 911 Toshinori came over, the girl's grocery bag in his hand. "Why'd you do that?" he asked curiously though to the girl his bright blue eyes seemed to burrow into her own teal ones, as if he was searching her soul for the last piece of a puzzle.
"Because a hero is someone who tries to help without being asked," the girl immediately responded only for All Might to shake his head.
"No, why did you let the man go?"
The girl sighed, "I know him, or at least I did. That was Mr. Censi, my English teacher last year. My school recently had to make some budget cuts and Mr. Censi was one of those that didn't make the cut. Last year he wouldn't stop bragging about his newborn daughter and I heard this year that his family's struggling to make ends meet."
The girl sighed and kicked a clump of soil on the ground breaking it apart. "The problem is those 'budget cuts' are nothing more than the principal lining his own pockets and paying off the school board so they don't investigate. It's been going on for years now."
"Why hasn't anyone done something?" All Might asked horrified.
The girl snorted, "who would believe some kids. If the teachers laid off complain then they're obviously only jealous of the ones that weren't and if the ones with a job complain, well. They'll soon be seeking new employment."
"Young girl," All Might began.
"Kendo."
"Huh?"
"It's Kendo, my name. It's Itsuka Kendo."
"Well then young Kendo, know that I will make sure this matter is investigated but more importantly I have a question for you. Just now why did you help me?"
Once again Kendo bore witness to the extreme pressure that the man's gaze seemed to hold, "I-I don't know," she admitted softly. "It was like my legs decided to move on their own."
For a moment the man continued to stare at Kendo before his face broke out into a massive grin, "Perfect. Perfect!" he yelled his eyes burning in delight. "Young Kendo, that was the perfect response. While it's true that heroes are people that try to help even without being asked a true hero is someone that does so unconsciously. Who tries to help others both intentionally and instinctively. You, Kendo will be a great hero."
Before Kendo's shocked gaze the thin man disappeared in a puff of smoke and in his spot was the buff herculean form of the #1 pro hero. It only lasted a few seconds before, with another burst of smoke, the thin man returned as blood dribbled from his mouth. "You-you-you're All Might," Kendo said, clearly shocked.
The man grinned, "Indeed, and you Young Kendo are worthy. Worthy of succeeding me as the Symbol of Peace, of inheriting my power."
"You-you're power?"
"My power, my quirk, was passed onto me like a sacred torch. A power to pass on power I was crowned with the quirk, One for All."
"One for All," Kendo whispered softly.
"That's right, a power passed on from generation to generation, it is the crystallization of power that combines the voices of all those who need help with a courageous heart and I believe that you, Itsuka Kendo are worthy of receiving my quirk."
"Why… why would you give me something so great?" Kendo asked looking at All Might with awe.
"I have been looking for a successor," All Might said. As he lifted his shirt Kendo clapped her hands to her mouth horrified to see a large cruel scar that covered the majority of the left side of All Might's chest. "Five years ago an enemy did this to me. Most of my respiratory system was destroyed and my stomach had to be removed entirely. I've wasted away as an after-effect of the surgeries I needed to survive and I can only do hero work for a few hours a day."
Dropping his shirt, All Might looked Kendo in her eyes, "Ever since that day I've been searching for a successor and I believe that you are worthy. But of course," he said with a careless shrug, "it's your decision so what do you say?"
'He's told me so much, trusted me with his greatest secrets. Do I have a reason not to accept? No… not at all! I have no reason to refuse!' Kendo thought.
"Yes… I accept!" Kendo said confidently.
All Might grinned as red and blue flashing lights began to dance over the alley. "A quick answer, I expected nothing less." The #1 Hero said with his trademark smile, a certain greenete having disappeared from his thoughts the moment he found his chosen successor. After all he hadn't been able to find the boy and between a girl with such a useful Quirk almost made to handle the strength of One for All and the greenete, well the boy was only quirkless afterall.
Author's Note:
Hello my loyal demons, I'm back. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out there but I wanted to make sure that I had something really good for you all as a reward for your patience. As such I've updated the previous chapters which should hopefully make them better if the fact that they're almost 1,000 words longer is anything to go by.
As for this chapter well in case you can't tell a TON happened. Izuku's got a quirk I was struggling to choose between Air Cannon, Rivet Stab, and Transforming Arms but overall I feel like I made the right choice, strong but not overpowered. This will not be Izuku's only quirk and is instead meant to tide him over until he gets his main one. On a totally unrelated note Eri's going to be rescued a lot earlier so our sweet cinnamon princess won't be experimented on by the mean bird men.
Also I revealed from the beginning that Momo was going to be in Izuku's harem. I honestly don't think that it's the most unlikely thing for AFO (All For One) to fund business startups in order to control them. Also Momo's main quirk is still Creation but just like One For All it's a combination of two quirks, Creation and Bloodline since I can see someone wanting to make sure such a strong, useful, and versatile quirk was passed on to their descendants.
Finally Itsuka Kendo our resident 1-B chopping machine is getting One For All. I really like her character and I've only seen a few fanfics where she ends up getting it. I just really like the pairing and think that One For All's strength booster goes well with her quirk Big Fist. Now the question is should she be in 1-A? I'm leaning towards yes and just adding Inasa to 1-B to replace her. Inasa is just a really fun character and I just want to see more of him. Don't worry Shinso will get his time to shine and will eventually join 1-A (after all what would happen if a certain grape head accidentally got dusted, or quit, or was publically revealed as a pervet. Ah, Mineta, I'm going to have so much fun with you). *insert demonic grin and maniacal laugh here*
As always please leave a comment I love reading them and they're honestly what keeps me writing and I love to know your thoughts and theories about my stories. Follow, favorite, read one of my other stories do whatever you want.
And until next time this is the full time demon lord, part time Disney lawyer signing off,
-D'yavol Lucifer 3:)
*IMPORTANT NOTICE*
All the coverart for my stories are ones I found online. I am really interested in using fanart provided by you the readers to replace them. If you're interested draw something up and pm me so I can send you the details on where to send it or pm me and I'll give you some details so you can draw one. As I say in my bio if I use it I may add you as an oc in one of my stories! Isn't that exciting!