Chapter Nine:

Hisashi was in a bad mood. Not only had he lost his little brother again, he'd been forced to make ridiculously large charitable contributions because of his brother's antics. He could have wriggled his way out of it, but there would have been reputational damages—and besides, Yoichi had made that commitment while pretending to be All for One, so of course Hisashi had to honor it. That made him feel a bit closer to reclaiming his other self.

Yoichi's behavior had been absolutely infuriating. Pretending that it had been his own idea to dye his hair. Kissing some spiky-haired fool with their body! As if Hisashi didn't get any say in this! Worst of all, pushing Hisashi away using the power his own dear twin brother had graciously granted him.

It was a nagging itch in the back of Hisashi's mind constantly, even when he pursued other objectives. He was brother-less, and thus incomplete. They were twins, two halves of the same whole. Ordinary siblings shared a womb but they shared the same DNA. Like how a person chopped in two would bleed to death, they could not survive separated. Just as Hisashi needed Yoichi, he knew Yoichi needed him just as much in return.

None of Yoichi's behavior made any sense. Hisashi wanted Yoichi to return home, so Yoichi must want to return as well. This was just stubbornness. Or the vigilantes were forcing Yoichi to lie somehow. Or Yoichi didn't know his own mind. That made sense. Sometimes, Yoichi didn't know what was good for him. Sometimes he wanted to do things obviously bad for him like piercing his ears or kissing spiky-haired morons. Yoichi had always been weak and easily influenced. Once back home he would be under the correct influences again and go back to normal. If only Hisashi could get his twin back then everything would return to how it should be. He had a lovely, luxurious room prepared. And a new, more hidden vault as a backup if Yoichi wouldn't cooperate.

Sometimes Hisashi wondered if even the vault would be enough. His stronghold had been broken into once and his brother stolen. Hisashi did not know if he could survive getting Yoichi back only to lose him again. This separation was already unendurable. In every moment that passed, Yoichi was off who-knew-where doing who-knew-what. Hisashi didn't know. It enraged and terrified him. He'd always shared all of his twin's experiences, until now. How much more might Yoichi change the longer they stayed apart?

As the shit cherry on top of the shit sundae, Yoichi's safe return was being delayed by…the lack of Yoichi in his organization. Before, Yoichi had controlled All for One's information network. Hisashi knew everything that Yoichi knew, so he'd thought he'd be able to take over easily but he just…didn't have the same knack for it. Yoichi had been talented at shifting through large amounts of information and assigning the right people to the right places and figuring out which spies were lying. Furthermore, Yoichi had mostly handled All for One's outside contacts and allies. Hisashi's core of people were ferociously loyal to him, but he'd already alienated a couple allied groups. His twin had been the more diplomatic one.

Hisashi would have to learn diplomacy, because he would never let Yoichi near the outside world again. It had been full of bad influences and corrupted his precious little brother. Hisashi would adapt to fill in the holes left by Yoichi's departure. Anything his weaker twin could do, Hisashi could do better. He just wished it would happen faster.

Yoichi had also been the one to always restrain Hisashi's reckless and violent side. At first Hisashi had been quite pleased to have that nagging voice gone. But then a couple operations had blown up in his face. As the culmination of his failures, Hisashi had been grandstanding too much when he'd gone to reacquire his twin. In retrospect, he should have just knocked Yoichi out as soon as he got his hands on him instead of bragging. Hisashi could almost hear his twin's voice in his head telling him that only stupid villains monologued. Lack of Yoichi on his side had prevented him from capturing Yoichi!

After sending off the last charitable check, Hisashi headed to the laboratory. He'd gone over the incident where he'd lost his twin many times in his head. And he'd reached some interesting conclusions to discuss with the doctor.

Hisashi opened the sleek silver door. Rows of white tables rested on the linoleum floor. White crane arms hung from the ceiling over half the tables. The computers filled the back wall. It smelled of chemicals and the corpses stinking up the silver bins to the right. Twirling a lock of hair, Hisashi began, "Doctor, I have an idea about—"

Dr. Garaki whirled around. "Ah-ha! Yoichi, you traitor! Got you!" He sprayed a chemical at Hisashi's face.

Using a metapower, Hisashi summoned the chemicals into a pink-colored ball in his hand. They hovered over his palm, harmless. He raised an eyebrow, his expression saying everything.

The doctor flushed purple, fumbling with the spray bottle. "I-I'm so sorry, master! You twirled your hair, and I thought…"

Hisashi frowned. "What does my hair have to do with anything?" He tossed the ball into a dark hole using a second metapower. There were screams on the other end but Hisashi never paid much attention to where his trash went.

"The traitor would always twirl his hair when he pretended to be you. That's how I could tell you apart."

Hisashi felt a headache coming on. "You could never tell us apart. No one could. Yoichi must have deliberately created a tell so that he could trick you when it really mattered." This explained a fair bit about how Yoichi had obtained the information that had broken them apart. It also made Hisashi wonder just how far back his twin had first gotten suspicious. He'd never imagined his brother would be able to hide his feelings from him for long.

Dr. Garaki looked at his hands as if his world was collapsing. "I…I could never tell?"

Hisashi snapped his fingers in front of the doctor's face. "Focus. I need that brilliant mind of yours back on track. This is important." At the moment Hisashi did not feel like the doctor was brilliant, but he knew the compliment would have the desired effect.

"Yes, master." Dr. Garaki snapped to alertness.

Hisashi said, "The stockpiling power I gave my brother was so weak, the original holder never even noticed it. But Yoichi destroyed the street—and his own foolish body—when he used it. I've been tossing around what happened in my mind. I can only think of one explanation: the ability must have stockpiled power from me. I believe that it copied from one of my strength abilities, perhaps an energy ability too."

"Oh!" The doctor's face lit up at an interesting scientific inquiry. "How fascinating. Yes, I agree with your theory. Why, the traitor might have even copied his own original ability! I wonder if he could give the power to someone else now? This is just pure speculation. I have no idea which powers got copied."

Sometimes Hisashi hated being right. "Could my little brother have gotten all my metapowers?" The notion was repulsive. Yoichi was supposed to be the weak one.

"Definitely not. Maybe if you'd held onto the ability for longer, but you transferred it nearly right away. Stockpile probably couldn't even completely copy a power. Would you say that the traitor's strength was less than yours?"

"He wasn't nearly as strong as my best strength ability." Hisashi could kill people with a punch or kick. "Excellent point, the stockpiling power can't have copied the entire ability. Only a shadow of it." This was a relief. "Ugh, if I had realized that silly little ability had so much potential, I never would have given it up!" The doctor had been researching copying metapowers, but was still a long ways off from success. Dr. Garaki believed the project was so that he could get back a copy of his own longevity power back. Hisashi had always intended Yoichi to be the first recipient. How interesting to think that maybe Yoichi had already picked up extra lifespan from the stockpiling power…there was a silver lining to nearly everything.

Hisashi asked, "Could the stockpiling power be used to transmit immortality?"

"Oh, even more interesting!" The doctor's entire face became animated when talking about science. "We originally assumed this to be a weak strength stockpiling ability, but if it's capable of copying metapowers, then it's almost certainly capable of copying memories and perhaps even consciousness. As your dreams have demonstrated, metapowers themselves hold remnants of the original holders. Yes, I do believe this ability could be used to copy a person. You could use it to obtain immortality by hopping between bodies! I've already done research into this topic. You might be able to transfer your consciousness to a new body by transferring All for One, too. The stockpiling power would make an interesting test case. The trick would be making sure you became the dominant consciousness, not the donor."

That hadn't been what Hisashi meant, but this was even more intriguing. "Will the stockpiling power copy Yoichi's memories and consciousness automatically?"

"Almost certainly. It's copying metapowers because it's copying every part of the holder." Dr. Garaki tapped his fist against his palm as he talked. "Whether your traitorous brother could transfer the power to someone else, and thus move over his mind, is another question. Did he have higher odds of receiving a copy of that power because it was originally his, I wonder? Oh, what I would give to be able to examine him again!"

"It doesn't matter if Yoichi can transfer the power," Hisashi said. "I can take it from him. If I did, could I take my brother's consciousness into my body? So that we would be one person in the same body?" His heart beat faster and his palms felt sweaty as he spoke his dream aloud.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! What a captivating idea!" Dr. Garaki bounced on his heels, his hands jabbing faster. "Would the metapower copy his consciousness or move it? Is it even possible to copy consciousness? Or would stripping him of the power leave his body an empty shell? It could depend on your willpower when you take. If you're stronger, then you could consume the entire person. It would be a fascinating experiment. Depending on the precise nature of the copy and the link you might get only a blurry ghost initially but his true consciousness would manifest after his death. Then you would be able to share your body, though with your unique ability to control your current metapowers you would surely be the one in control." The doctor trailed off, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure why you would want a useless ghost in your head, though."

Hisashi barely heard. His ears rang with triumph. This was perfect. It would be everything he'd ever craved since that day in the hospital so long ago when his sperm donor had dragged him away from his twin, and Hisashi had taken out of an instinct and a desperation to bring Yoichi with him. This was far better than any vault. Better than cameras or trackers or sharing memories with each other. Finally, Hisashi and Yoichi would become one. Nothing would be able to separate them ever again. Hisashi didn't care that the doctor hadn't been certain if it was possible. He would find a way to make it possible. He could rewrite reality with his many powers. All his concerns and fears fell away under a happy haze. If only Hisashi could take Yoichi into his body, then his last weakness would be gone and he'd be invulnerable.

Softly, Hisashi said, "Doctor, make this research into your top priority. I'll bring Yoichi to you."

Soon, brother, we'll be together again. We came into this world together and I'll make sure you stay with me. Forever.

The day after Yoichi got his mobility back, he headed to the gym to resume his training. According to Migraine, he could improve his control over his new power (and decrease the probability of blowing off his limbs) if he built up more strength. Yoichi was eager to gain muscles as fast as possible.

But he only lasted a few minutes lifting weights before he quit. Breathing made his throat hurt. He was afraid he'd drop a weight on his toe. A headache beat a malicious pulse against his temples. He hadn't felt this sick since early childhood. Was it the effects of using his power? Or the effects of having a power at all? Could his body not handle meta abilities?

Determined not to completely give up, Yoichi practiced throwing knives at a bullseye. He'd always liked knives. When pretending to be All for One, he'd kept them up his sleeve to pretend he'd used a metapower to materialize a knife.

The thwack sound as each point hit the board felt satisfying. Yoichi went to retrieve his knives.

Coming down the stairs, Kaiji whistled. "You have great aim."

"Normally I hit the bullseye every time," Yoichi grumbled as he yanked out throwing knives from the target. "I'm in poor condition today." He wanted to challenge Kaiji to another spar, but he knew he'd embarrass himself by offering an uneven match.

Kaiji said, "Forcing yourself to train if you're feeling sick will backfire on you. You'll make yourself even sicker, and then it will take longer for you to recover. Resting is an important part of training, too."

"I know," Yoichi snapped. Those words were true. But Yoichi felt impatient and afraid of what might happen if he encountered his brother again without mastering his power. He pushed back his sweaty hair and moderated his tone. "Yeah, you're right. I'll take a shower, then a nap." His stomach growled. "Maybe a snack first." He'd eaten recently, but the draining of the stockpiling power had also left him perpetually hungry.

"Here." Kaiji held up Gatorade and a package of peanut butter sandwich crackers. "Want these? I can get more for myself."

"You're a lifesaver." Yoichi accepted the snack and sat down on a weight-lifting bench. He took a long drink, then ripped into the crackers like a starving man. Once finished, he easily tossed the wrapper and the empty bottle into the trash can on the other side of the room.

"Damn, it's hot that you do that," Kaiji said.

Yoichi chuckled. "I'll defeat All for One by braining him with an empty plastic bottle."

"I'm serious." Kaiji smiled in a gentle way that transformed his serious face. "You're exceptional. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your brother deliberately kept you in the shadows as his double to prevent you from obtaining more power over his organization than him?"

Yoichi looked away. "I doubt he did it on purpose. He always thought of all my achievements as his own."

"Then he was delusional," Kaiji said firmly. "You're the person who inspired me to defy All for One, even though I didn't know it was you giving that speech. Funny world, huh? You lit a fire under my ass when you told me that if I wanted to save people, I needed to become a real power that people could rely on. I was seriously pissed at you, but I knew you had it right. Because of you, I decided to organize my vigilantes into the current Sunrise."

"Really?" Yoichi blinked. "At the time I didn't get the impression you bought my spiel…"

"I was putting on a tough face. Your offer was quite persuasive, and not just because you looked damn fine in black. The only thing holding me back was that I didn't trust 'All for One' to keep your promises, which I was right about. If you'd been All for One, or even if your brother had made you an equal partner with equal power, then you could have persuaded me to join you. And if Sunrise and All for One's organization were on the same side, we'd already have Japan. Your brother's decision to sideline you was the biggest mistake of his life. I know your brother treats you like an inferior copy of him, but that's bullshit. Yoichi, you're worth a million times more than that pretentious ass. If you're willing, I'd like you to become a strategist for Sunrise."

That might have the most sincere and high praise Yoichi had received in his entire life. His face flushed bright red. "I-I…of course, I'd be happy to accept."

"You're cute when you blush," Kaiji said impishly. Then he stood up, kissed Yoichi on the forehead, and headed for the door. Over his shoulder, he called, "The first strategy meeting will be tonight after dinner."

Yoichi's cheeks burned even hotter. He tried to stop blushing but that only made the blush worse. He couldn't even think up a retort before Kaiji vanished up the stairs.

Stalking upstairs, Yoichi headed for the shower. He muttered to himself, "How dare he turn my line back on me. I'll have my revenge! I'll make him blush a million more times! I'm going to make that man beg for mercy underneath me!"

Walking up behind him, Sanzou said, "I'd like to watch that."

Yoichi jumped a foot in the air. Was he blushing again? Unfortunately, yes. In an attempt to be suave, he flashed a smile. "You could do more than watch." He grabbed Sanzou's collar. "If only you'd be more helpful in making it happen! Kaiji would never be able to resist both of us at once."

"There, there, you've been doing great." Sanzou patted Yoichi's head comfortingly, holding him close as if soothing a child. "Be honest, you're enjoying the chase."

"You're right," Yoichi admitted, leaning into the touch. "It wouldn't be satisfying if Kaiji only succumbed to my charms because you asked him to. You just wait! I'm going to wow him with my competence!"

"Want to work off your frustration making out with me?" Sanzou asked with a wink.

Yoichi's eyes lit up. "Absolutely! Your boyfriend is such a tease, I need to let off steam. Let me shower first, I smell."

After that, Yoichi took a more active role in Sunrise. The vigilantes were still outgunned but they wanted to take a stand against All for One and they wanted to help people. Yoichi figured they could do both by stealing supplies from All for One and distributing them. He taught teams the dress style and codes of All for One's forces in order to infiltrate them. Hisashi was trying to change everything Yoichi knew, but that wasn't easy when Yoichi knew the nitty gritty inner workings of the organization even better than his brother. Hisashi had considered himself above administrative work.

Using locations that Yoichi remembered, Sunrise also launched several attacks on government laboratories and released information about their dirty secrets. During the protests that resulted, the vigilantes protected the protestors.

At first Yoichi found it a little frustrating that his planning style didn't immediately gel with Kaiji and Sanzou as well as it had with his brother. With Hisashi, it had been like they shared thoughts at times. On the other hand, Kaiji and Sanzou brought different experiences to the table. Once Yoichi had time to adapt to working with them, he appreciated Kaiji's battle tactics and Sanzou's knowledge of the underbelly of society.

The mood in Japan was shifting. Everyone was tired of martial law, not just metahumans. Years of passive anger had started to erupt. The symbol of Sunrise spread even further, popping up even in rural areas. Soldiers had stopped getting paid due to disastrous government finances. Quite a few quietly took off their uniforms and deserted. Foreign pressure kept increasing until the government agreed to hold elections. No one expected the current regime could win in a fair election. But no one expected the elections to be fair, either.

The opposition party had promised to illegalize discrimination against metahumans and people with mutations. Sunrise wasn't unreservedly thrilled with their platform of moderation and rhetoric of "both sides started this violence" but they were better than the alternative of permanent military rule. Only a moderate party could win by a large enough margin to stop it from getting covered up. Vigilantes had organized across the country to protect polling booths and the foreign inspectors in charge of assessing the validity of the election.

Finally, Sunrise had promised to protect the March for Freedom and Democracy. It would be the largest protest march in Japanese history, and it would take place the day after the elections. The goal would be to make it clear to the party in power that if they tampered with the results, people wouldn't just roll over and accept it. If it came to that…the vigilantes were prepared to fight. If they could gather enough people then it wouldn't come to that. Already Yoichi's intelligence sources suggested that the prime minster had been looking into which country to flee to abroad.

In the worrying event of a civil war, Yoichi longed to fight alongside his comrades. It didn't suit a hero to remain behind the lines. His brother had never let him fight. He had a new power he itched to try out. But unfortunately, his body still had not adapted well to the stockpiling ability. He'd tried to use it in practice several times. One shot always left him paralyzed. He hadn't been able to summon up as much power as the first time, either. Instead of getting better over time, he'd gotten more tired and coughed more. Migraine was certain the metapower was having a negative impact on his health. To his frustration, Yoichi was probably less useful in combat with his new power.

Also, it wouldn't be a good idea for Yoichi to go out in public with his brother chasing every sighting. Kaiji and Sanzou had danced around saying so, probably secretly relieved that Yoichi was too sick to insist on fighting in the current skirmishes. Yoichi knew they were right. But it was frustrating. His entire life had been restricted by his domineering twin. Now Yoichi was free, but he still had to stay in an isolated location because of his brother.

When Kaiji asked Yoichi on a mission that involved traveling to a nearby base, Yoichi jumped on the chance. Even if it meant pretending to be his brother.

"You don't have to do this," Kaiji kept insisting on the drive over.

"I'd like to get out of the house," Yoichi said, leaning back in the passenger seat and looking out the window. "I told you, I don't have a deep-seated trauma around pretending to be All for One. Not if it's just briefly and to screw over my brother. I'm not clear on why you want to me pretend to be All for One to a government agent, though."

Kaiji explained, "During the March for Freedom and Democracy, a radical faction of the military has a plan to unleash a new test gas that makes people lose control of their powers. They call it trigger or trapper or something like that."

"Holy shit." Yoichi snapped to attention, sitting up straight.

"Yeah." Kaiji exhaled. "I don't think even the military understands how bad it could get if thousands of metahumans lose control of their powers at once. They want to have an excuse to declare martial law extended and ignore the results of the election. But this could be the start of the next five year long riot. We warned the civilian protest leaders but I don't think they believe this gas exists. We can't let this happen. We're absolutely desperate to intercept the shipment. When we fight, we don't normally take prisoners. We have no jails. If people are bad enough, we kill them, if not we don't. But we captured a soldier who guards the laboratory where the gas will be made. We need to make him talk, and fast, before his people notice he's gone. But everyone knows Sunrise has strict rules against torture."

Yoichi caught on. "All for One has no rules against torture. I can bluff."

Kaiji nodded. "We grabbed him from a bar and knocked him out from behind. He doesn't know who has him. With All for One's reputation, people who face him just start talking immediately."

"Got it." Yoichi sobered, aware this would be the most important imitation of his career.

Unfortunately, it went wrong immediately.

The vigilantes had taken their prisoner to a base located even deeper in the forest, located in a heavily camouflaged bunker disguised as a hill. Fake grass covered the top. Just as the base was within distant sight, a blurry figure in a military uniform ran past their vehicle.

Kaiji swore. "Those morons let the prisoner escape." He leapt out of the car. A paralyzing dart shot out of his gauntlet and struck the prisoner's leg. As he fell, he twisted his body to look over his shoulder. A look of relief passed his face as he mouthed, "Gearshift?" Then his eyes closed.

Yoichi and Kaiji exchanged glances of mutual despair. The prisoner had seen Kaiji, and probably Yoichi too. They couldn't pretend to be All for One's forces, and that relieved expression suggested the vigilantes' reputation for softness preceded them.

"I might still be able to help you," Yoichi muttered, gnawing on his lip. "Can I try?"

"I'd never bet against your ability to pull off a miracle," Kaiji said with a fond expression.

They carried the prisoner back and Kaiji scolded the vigilantes who'd arrived too late to help. An interrogation room had already been prepared. The room usually served as an infirmary, but the vigilantes hoped all the scalpels lying around would look intimidating. They tied the prisoner to the doctor's chair. He was young, barely out of his teens, with black hair in a fuzzy crewcut and a patchy beard.

Yoichi dressed in the black trench coat he would have used to pretend to be his brother. But he did not bother to hide his purple-streaked hair. It was too late for that. Instead he let it fall loose and wild over his face.

As the prisoner started to stir, Yoichi leaned down so that their noses nearly touched. "Wakey-wakey," he giggled in an unhinged voice.

The prisoner shrieked and struggled.

Yoichi patted his cheek. "Isn't it too early to start screaming? I haven't even hurt you…yet."

"You really do look just like All for One," the prisoner whispered, entranced. "You're the brother."

Yoichi threw back his head and laughed maniacally. "That's right! I'm the even more unhinged one. My brother used to keep me locked up so that I wouldn't murder all his minions. I can't help it, they make such fun noises with I stab them." Yoichi spread his arms wide. "Ever since the funny little vigilantes took me, they haven't let me use my knives on anyone. What a bunch of killjoys. But they must really dislike you, because they said I could keep cutting into you until you talked." He picked up two scalpels and rubbed them together, making a hideous scraping sound. "This will be fun."

The vigilante twisted his wrists in the restraints. In a shaky voice, he said, "You're bluffing. Everyone knows that Sunrise doesn't torture people."

"But they really, really want that laboratory location." Yoichi grinned brightly. "And I really, really want a new eyeball for my collection! I left all my severed body parts back at my brother's place when I ran off. Hold still, I'm not supposed to kill you this early." Yoichi knew very little about torture but he figured eye pain was scary. A slasher smile on his face, he advanced, raising the scalpel.

"Wait…wait…" The man twisted away. Yoichi raised his weapon.

In the doorway, Kaiji called, "Not yet, Yoichi. He might bleed out. You're not allowed to kill him."

The interruption had been planned between them. Kaiji would be playing the good cop.

The prisoner's head shot up. "Gearshift! You're a hero, don't let him do this!" Kaiji opened his mouth, about to reply. But before he could, the prisoner continued, "Don't trade your ex for someone even more evil!"

Kaiji's jaw dropped. In a voice devoid of any acting, he demanded, "Who the hell are you calling my ex?"

"Everyone knows that you and All for One had a passionate affair before you ran off with his brother." The prisoner actually winked. "You've got a thing for bad boys, huh, Gear-playa?"

Ominous silence fell across the room. A pin could have been heard hitting the floor. Then Kaiji lunged across the room, screaming, "I'm going to kill you!"

Convinced this wasn't acting, Yoichi grabbed Kaiji's waist to hold him back. "Wait, stop, we need him to talk."

Kaiji's hands grazed the prisoner's throat, twitching with eagerness to strangle. "Say that about me and All for One again, I dare you! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

"Ah! They're both crazy! Save me! I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want to know!" the prisoner squealed.

After that, Kaiji and Yoichi were booted out of the interrogation room because the prisoner was too terrified to speak in Kaiji's presence. But he sang like a canary to the other vigilantes.

Sitting on a folding chair outside the base, waiting to see if they would be needed again, Kaiji groaned, "How did unsubstantiated lies about my love life make it all the way to the government?" He spoke in the tone of a damned man contemplating the long length of eternity.

Yoichi sighed. "You'd be amazed at how soldiers gossip."

"If I find out my people have been helping spread those rumors again…" Kaiji's fingers dug into the armrest.

"Hey, at least you got him to talk. You completely stole my thunder."

"You made an amazing villain." Kaiji flashed a small smile. "If you'd interrogated me, I would have told you whatever you wanted to know, albeit not because of fear if you know what I mean."

"Oh-ho." Yoichi grinned. A mischievous idea occurred to him. "So you like it when I talk like this?" His voice dropped an octave.

From Kaiji's sudden tensing up and the dilation of his pupils, he did.

Yoichi got up and straddled Kaiji's chair. His fingers playing with Kaiji's collar, he hummed, "Imagine if I'd been in charge of the All for One organization and you'd accepted an offer of an alliance. We'd have needed to work together very closely, of course, since neither of us could completely trust each other."

Playing with Yoichi's hair, Kaiji said, "My followers would think I was too influenced by you."

"Would they be right?" Yoichi murmured into Kaiji's ear.

"Oh, definitely. It would be entirely too easy for you to seduce me."

Yoichi pulled backward. Tossing back his hair and chuckling, he said, "As if I'd make it so easy for you. Sure, I could seduce you in the heat of the moment after a mission, then you'd regret it in the morning and blame me. Nope. I wouldn't let you tell that narrative to yourself. If you wanted me, then I'd make you beg me for it. We both know I'm worth it. Besides, you'd be lovely if you begged."

Kaiji's breath hitched. "How would you want to be seduced?"

"I'm traditional." Yoichi laughed, so close his breath tickled Kaiji's lips. "Fill the room with a hundred roses. Bring chocolates and a bottle of good wine. Don't forget to offer me Sanzou, too. I'd be counting on you to talk him into it since he has way better judgement than you."

"Like hell, Sanzou gets to pretend to be the cool one because he doesn't blush as easily," Kaiji protested. "He'd tie me up for you if you asked in that tone of voice."

"Flatterer." Yoichi chuckled. "Oh, and you'd better let Sanzou pick out the wine, too. He knows the good stuff, unlike you, you beer-swizzling philistine."

Kaiji kissed a lock of Yoichi's hair. "With two of us heroes, maybe we'd redeem you instead of you corrupting us."

"I'd be good for you if you'd be a little bad for me," Yoichi said, then leaned down and kissed Kaiji like a villain.

Despite Yoichi's ongoing health issues, he asked to go along on the raid to steal the trigger gas. To his surprise, Kaiji thought it was a great idea. Kaiji said it would help cement Yoichi as one of the organization's leaders. Those words gave Yoichi a happy thrill.

Several teams worked together to steal the gas, then transport it to a hazardous waste disposal facility. The employees sympathized with the vigilantes and helped them dispose of the canisters among the other hazardous waste. Afterward, the vigilantes threw a massive barbeque at a bonfire. A conga line danced around the fire, singing boisterously.

Yoichi looked at the dancers with longing, but he knew if he got that close to the smoke then he'd have a coughing fit. The chanting and the lone drummer were already starting to get to his head. Maybe he should turn in for the night? But he still had plenty of energy. He was on good condition today. Adrenaline from the mission buzzed under his skin.

From behind, Kaiji tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, me and Sanzou are headed back home. Do you want to come with us or take the second car back with Migraine, Two-Step, and Sparrow? If you ride with us, we'll make it worth your while." He winked.

This incentive settled the dilemma. Yoichi grinned and tossed his empty plastic cup in a garbage can. "A private celebration sounds like fun."

The drive back couldn't be over fast enough. As soon as the trio got out of the car, Yoichi pounced on Sanzou and kissed his ear, then his lips. Next, he kissed Kaiji's neck. The logistics of kissing two people at once could be difficult, but he was game to try.

Sanzou chuckled and ran his fingers through Yoichi's hair while Yoichi was kissing Kaiji. "I don't know about you two, but I'd like a shower first."

"Me, too," Yoichi admitted. He was sweaty from the mission and smelled like smoke. Also, he had every intention of seeing if this time he could persuade his two loves to take off all their clothing. The chase had been fun, but he had a good feeling about tonight.

Kaiji pointed at Yoichi. "You go last because you hog all the hot water."

Since Yoichi was guilty as charged, he only nipped Kaiji once before agreeing.

Kaiji and Sanzou both took less than five minutes to shower. Yoichi went last, luxuriating under the hot water and letting the last of his headache wash away. He wanted to be in tip-top shape for his planned seduction. He toweled himself off, then slipped into a red silk bathrobe. In front of the mirror, he carefully calculated how much of his chest to show off. Then he sprayed on his favorite amber cologne.

Humming, Yoichi opened the bathroom door. A single red rose lay on the floor. Yoichi picked it up, curious. Was this an accident or…?

A trail of red roses spread down the hallway. It had been on-purpose, then. Fascinated, Yoichi followed the roses to Kaiji and Sanzou's bedroom door.

The bedroom was simple, dominated by a truly giant bed with an end table and two dressers shoved tight against the wall. Today, the entire room was filled with roses. A carpet of petals spread across the floor and the comforter. Vases full of roses covered the end table, the dressers, and a good bit of the floor. There must have been over a hundred roses.

From the bed, Kaiji pointed at a crystal bowl. "I brought chocolate covered strawberries."

"I picked out the wine." Leaning against the wall, Sanzou held up the bottle with a roughish grin. "Only the best for you, beloved."

Yoichi was struck completely speechless. When he'd told Kaiji that he'd wanted to be seduced with a room full of roses, he'd been joking around, playing the part of a spoiled and demanding villain. He'd never thought that they'd actually do it. No one had ever done anything like this for him before. He couldn't convince himself he was worth it. "T-this must have been so much work. Y-you didn't have to…it must have cost so much money…I mean, I was going to sleep with you without all this, I hope you didn't think I was serious…"

"Don't worry about money." Kaiji laughed. "We stole the funds from All for One, of course."

Sanzou picked up a strawberry and stuffed it into Yoichi's mouth. "You're worth it," he said in a firm tone that booked no argument. "Tonight is all about you."

"Oh," Yoichi mumbled faintly, the sweet and juicy taste hitting his tongue. By the time he swallowed, he realized what he should have said instead of making silly protests. "This is amazing. Thank you."

Sanzou took a sip of wine, then passed the bottle to Yoichi. It was the good stuff, the right blend of sweet, sour, and bitter. Yoichi set down the bottle, then kissed Sanzou. The taste of wine on both of their tongues melded together. Kaiji slipped behind Yoichi, tracing the muscles of his shoulders through the silk bathrobe.

Yoichi spun around and licked Kaiji's neck, a featherlight touch deliberately teasing. Kaiji groaned, long and drawn-out. As if offended by his own loss of control, Kaiji grabbed Yoichi and dragged him into a kiss, rough and biting his lower lip. Then and there, Yoichi decided: he would make Kaiji completely lose control tonight.

Sanzou tugged at Yoichi's robe, an unspoken question. Smirking, Yoichi turned around and unbuttoned with smug slowness. Both Kaiji and Sanzou's eyes followed every movement. The robe hit the floor with a thump that sent rose petals swirling. Sanzou swallowed audibly. Oh, Yoichi liked that, seeing the crack in the armor of the implacable vigilante. He planned to make Sanzou lose control, too, though that might take more than once. From their hot gazes, he knew he was the sole focus of their attention. He felt aglow with the power he held over both of them.

Yoichi stepped in close, pressing his chest against Sanzou. After his shower, Sanzou's blue-grey hair hung damp and loose. Yoichi liked that look on him. In the soft light, Sanzou's skin glowed, and he had the muscles and wild wet hair of a sea god. "Time to take this off," Yoichi murmured, tugging Sanzou's shirt over his head. His fingers played with the sculpted chest like an artist's brush. He stroked a sleeve of tattoos running down a muscular forearm, admiring the rising sun peeking over the etched mountains.

Kaiji didn't exactly make it easy for Yoichi to concentrate on seducing, by pressing behind him, lifting up his hair with gentle reverence, and putting a hickey on his neck. Yoichi could feel Kaiji's hardness rubbing behind him and Sanzou's rubbing in front, and it was making him hard, too.

"You're beautiful," Kaiji purred into his ear with such adoration that Yoichi overflowed with feelings.

Whirling around, Yoichi demanded, "Why are you the only one with a shirt, hero? Strip." He followed up his order by nearly ripping Kaiji's shirt off. With a mischievous chuckle, Sanzou slipped behind Kaiji and undid his pants.

Kaiji looked delightfully tousled and already flushed. The scars spreading down his six-pack begged to be sucked and kissed. That way he wrinkled his nose and tried to scowl drove Yoichi wild. He wanted, he needed, he craved like a drowning man craved air.

From behind, Sanzou nudged Kaiji's head back to expose his throat. Yoichi bent down and traced his tongue around a pocketed scar. It made Kaiji moan, and Yoichi laughed in response.

"Shall we take this to the bed?" Sanzou sat on the comforter, his long, muscular legs crossed on top of the petals.

Cheeks red, Kaiji looked up at Yoichi from under his eyelashes. He grumbled, "I brought the roses, I brought the chocolates, I brought the wine, and I brought Sanzou…but I'm not going to beg."

"By the time the night is over, you will." Yoichi put two fingers on Kaiji's chest and, with barely any force, pushed him backward onto the bed.

Yoichi woke up feeling pleasantly warm with two heaters on either side of him. Kaiji's head was tucked into the back of Yoichi's neck, and Sanzou's head was nestled under his chin. The bed was truly massive, easily big enough to fit three people, with cream Egyptian cotton sheets, a fuzzy blanket, and a thick comforter. Yoichi yawned. "I feel nice and comfy. I'm never leaving this bed again."

Kaiji mumbled, "Good, because we were going to invite you to sleep here from now on, boyfriend." His grip tightened possessively on the last word. Yoichi wanted to purr from pleasure.

Sanzou sat up, exposing the lovely marks all over his neck. "I'll make breakfast for us and bring it back here."

"No!" Kaiji and Yoichi cried together.

Yoichi dragged Sanzou back down. "Come back, my hot water bottle!"

Kaiji locked his legs on top of Sanzou's. "No one leaves the bed. We're staying here forever."

Now Sanzou was in the middle, with the other two lying partly on top of him. "At some point you two will get hungry," Sanzou said, amused.

"Then I'll eat you up again," Yoichi mumbled, drifting off into a semi-slumber.

Eventually, Yoichi's rumbling stomach did wake him up. As Yoichi slipped out from under the sheets, Kaiji tried to grab his wrist. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Yoichi said, and Kaiji let go, his head falling back to the pillow with a thump.

Yoichi put his bathrobe back on and borrowed a pair of Kaiji's socks, then slipped out the door. There was an ache in his back and legs, but a pleasant one. He used the bathroom, but headed to the kitchen instead of returning. Yoichi had an evil plan: he was going to make breakfast in bed for Kaiji and Sanzou before they had time to get up and insist on doing it for him. Muhahahaha!

First, Yoichi started a pot of coffee. Then he took down bagels from the shelf and sliced them to toast them. He would have liked to make an elaborate breakfast, but he was working against the clock. He wanted to return before the other two got out of bed. While the bagels were toasting, Yoichi fried some eggs. He buttered the bagels, then arranged three plates and three mugs of coffee on two wooden trays. He left the dirty dishes in the sink to be cleaned up later.

Already Yoichi could hear stirring from the bedroom. He walked as quickly as he could while balancing a tray on each hand.

Poking her head out of the living room, Sparrow called, "I see someone is doing the walk of shame. You're tracking petals on the floor."

Looking down, Yoichi saw that he had smashed rose petals stuck to his legs and feet. That had been fun, but a tad messy. "Yeah, yeah, I'll clean it up later. As you can see, my hands are full."

Sparrow grinned widely. "Oh, I don't mind. Thanks to the three of you, I just won a sizable bet!"

From down the hallway, Two-Step called, "Actually, Migraine put down a new bet yesterday morning. He got closer than you, so he won."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, really?" Sparrow wailed.

Ignoring the drama behind him, Yoichi pushed open the cracked door with his foot and called, "Surprise!"

Two brilliant smiles greeted him.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Yoichis Across the Multiverse Shiver in Fear

Regular All for One: You dare say a vault isn't good enough to keep your brother in? You're a traitor to our kind.

Twin All for One: How many vault breakouts have you lot had across the multiverse?

Regular All for One: …Tell me more about this body merging.

#

Omake: The Gossip Spreads

Former Government Prisoner: I like to think that the vigilantes let me go because they realized they couldn't hold me.

Other Government Guy: Sunrise never keeps prisoners for very long, they always let whoever they grab go, stop kidding yourself.

Former Government Prisoner: I'm serious! I even survived an encounter with All for One's younger brother.

Other Government Guy: Dish the gossip! Is he as beautiful as they say?

Former Government Prisoner: He's gorgeous and completely unhinged. He might not be as strong as All for One but he's several times nastier. It turns out Gear-playa has a type—guys as nuts as he is! I think he switched to the little brother because he was even scarier.

#

Omake: He Got Laid Twice Even

Hisashi: Yoichi could be off who-knows-where doing who-knows-what.

Yoichi: Don't you mean doing who knows who?

Hisashi: I don't get it.

Yoichi: I mean I got laid!

#

Omake: Myth of Consensual One for All Transfer

Kaiji: I consent.

Sanzou: I consent.

Yoichi: I consent.

Hisashi: I don't!

Yoichi: This has absolutely nothing to do with you, brother. Despite what you think, you don't own my body.

Hisashi: They literally stole my money and spent it on seducing you! And yes I do!

Yoichi: Consider it my backpay for all the work I did for your organization.

Hisashi: This is completely incomprehensible, why would I pay a salary to part of myself?

Author's Note: Omake aside, One for All hasn't been transferred quite yet. I promised to end this fic on the transfer and we still have one chapter to go. In this AU One for All is transferrable and unstealable because it stockpiled part of the All for One quirk as Dr. Garaki speculated, not because of a hidden ability of Yoichi's. Yoichi was born with only one quirk, and his brother stole it when they were five years old.

After this we'll have to add enemies-to-lovers to the list of tropes All for One hates. Captain Hero had a romance between the hero and the demon king's daughter and now All for One blames that comic for being a bad influence on his brother.

As I did last time I tried my hand at smut, I'll be posting the uncut R-rated sex scene next chapter. That way you can skip the chapter or read it according to your preferences.

Check it out, chaosverse drew some adorable fanart of purple-haired Yoichi training in the vigilantes' dojo. Delete the spaces to get the link:
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