Chapter Ten:

Yoichi, Kaiji, and Sanzou lounged on the couch, watching a movie. Kaiji had his legs on Yoichi's lap. Sanzou leaned on Yoichi's shoulder. Yoichi was braiding Sanzou's hair. All three of them barely paid attention to the movie, which was a rather cliché romcom.

"You have lovely hair," Yoichi said, his words muffled by the hair pin hanging from his mouth. "You should let me give you more different hairstyles." He slid in the pin to pull back Sanzou's bangs.

"I like something that keeps my hair out of my face in combat," Sanzou said. "You can have control over my hair the rest of the time, as our resident expert."

"Don't go near my hair," Kaiji grumbled. "I like my spikes."

Sanzou whispered, "The spikes are natural. Kaiji actually tried to smooth them down several times or hairspray them into submission but they kept coming back."

"I like my spikes!" Kaiji said loudly. Yoichi giggled.

On the TV screen, the hero delivered a love confession. "Aww, how sweet," Yoichi said even though he could no longer remember the characters' names or why their love was star-crossed. He kissed Sanzou's cheek, then kissed Kaiji's knee. "I love you two."

"I love you more." Kaiji lunged up and kissed Yoichi passionately on the lips.

"Mmm," Yoichi sighed, breaking free long enough to say, "No, I love you more."

"You're both idiots," Sanzou said. "You can't measure love, and if you could then I'd love you both the most."

Sitting on the other side of the room playing a game on her phone, Sparrow said, "Ugh, must you three ooze happiness and PDA all over the house? You're just rubbing it in my face that I didn't win my bet on when you three would finally bang."

From the other room, Migraine called, "I agree! You're going to make me regret that I helped you hide all those roses in my office."

There was a brief silence except for the couple making out on the TV screen. Then Sparrow said, "Wait, if you knew about the roses then does that mean you cheated to win the betting pool?"

In a sheepish voice, Migraine said, "We didn't have any rules against insider information."

"You cheated! Give me my money back! Hey, Two-Step, Migraine cheated!" Sparrow leapt out of the room and ran after Migraine.

A loud chase around the house ensued. Meanwhile, Yoichi tilted his head backwards and kissed Sanzou, while Kaiji kissed his way up his arm. The movie played, utterly forgotten.

Yoichi wouldn't have missed the March for Freedom and Democracy for all the world. He'd played a big part in ensuring that it would go smoothly, even if history would never know it. Also, the vigilantes were on-guard for another attempt by the military to interrupt the protest.

This would be an exceptional historical moment. The fate of Japan hung in balance on the first elections in a decade. As expected, the incumbent prime minister and his party had suffered a defeat by the largest margin in Japanese history. It remained to be seen if he would leave peacefully. But that was what the march intended to ensure. Also, they were going to remind their newly elected officials that they expected real change.

This was the largest march Yoichi had ever seen in his very protest-filled life, and had the highest participation of non-metahumans. By now everyone knew that the first few people born with powers hadn't been a fluke, and they would have to learn to live in this strange new world. Enough babies had been born with unusual appearances, and enough people had grown weary of the chaos, that there was a big push for a peaceful resolution and a new, untainted government.

The opposition party had publicly posted their plans for a huge bill that included illegalizing discrimination against metahumans and people with mutations, regulations for the use of metapowers, and a new team of professional heroes. If the election results got upheld, it was virtually guaranteed to pass. Yoichi knew that his brother would say that peace would come at the risk of massive restrictions on metapowers and shuffling ongoing discrimination under the rug. Hisashi had a point about that, unpleasant though it felt to agree with his brother about anything. Sunrise also had huge concerns that the government planned to follow America's lead and offer hero licenses to only a tiny number of vigilantes, then turn them against their former comrades. But the bill was better than nothing. They had to remove the military from power, or nothing in Japan could ever change.

The march expected 400,000-500,000 people. They got closer to 600,000 thousand. On the bright and sunny Saturday morning, the streets overflowed with people dressed in comfortable clothing. They carried signs, picnic baskets, and water jugs. Many wore headbands with the letter M on the front—a symbol of defiance against the hateful people who branded metahumans. It was impossible to tell who was metahuman and who wasn't, since not all powers were visible. Also, some metahumans dyed their hair and hid mutations, whereas some of the participants with naturally black hair had dyed their hair or put on wigs as a show of support. Standing in a white tent handing out water bottles, Yoichi estimated that perhaps a fourth of the protesters had unusual hair or eye colors.

Reporters with cameras lined the sidewalk. The giant crowd radiated heat and a steady yammer of chatter. Laughter drifted off people pressed so closely they were almost embracing. A sense of unity and excitement infected the air. The smell of sweat and sunscreen clashed with the earthy scent of the water station. Yoichi took deep breaths, breathing through his mouth. He shuddered to think of what could have happened if the trigger had been released in this massive crowd.

The vigilantes were on-guard against further attacks. Sunrise had bussed in members from around Japan as volunteer marshals for the march. There were about 8,000 marshals total, identifiable by their golden armbands. Gold had become the color of the metahuman rights movement, after the glowing baby believed to be the first metahuman.

Kaiji was optimistic that the military would not dare attack the march, because A) They had wanted to make it look like the metahumans started violence on their own and avoid the blame; B) Their sheer numbers; C) Their leadership seemed to have given up after getting crushed in the election too badly to hide it; and D) Because Sunrise had collected evidence of the plan to sabotage and threatened to release it if anything went wrong. Certain important politicians would not be able to flee abroad if they got charged with war crimes first.

Most of the vigilantes carried concealed weapons, against the organizers' orders, just in case. Kaiji did not think that All for One posed any threat to the march. Yoichi was inclined to agree. Although Hisashi did not want a peaceful resolution with the government, he wanted to see the anti-metahumans triumph even less.

Speakers lining the street crackled, and the crowd's voices lowered to a murmur. The first speaker began: "I commend the courage of everyone who came today—"

An extensive sound system allowed the organizers to maintain order over the march and projected the speeches across the crowd. As the leader of Sunrise, Kaiji was one of the ten speakers on the program. He would be currently standing on the steps of the shrine at the end of the street, waiting for his turn. Sanzou led a team of vigilantes keeping an eye on military movements on the other side of the city, just in case. Yoichi had been assigned a position near the end of the march because his ability let him move quickly in case communications were cut off and he needed to deliver a warning. Other vigilantes with speed or teleportation powers (such as Two-Step) had also been placed in positions around the perimeter.

Yoichi listened to the speeches with half an ear, eager for his hero's turn. He'd helped write Kaiji's speech.

A singer started the Japanese national anthem. She didn't even need the sound system—her metapower allowed her to project her voice for miles around.

Sensing someone approach, Yoichi held out a water bottle on reflex.

Hisashi said, "Hello, little brother."

Yoichi's head jerked around fast enough to give himself whiplash. The water bottle crashed to the ground.

Hisashi stood with his hands in his trench coat pockets. Despite the sweltering heat, he did not sweat. He seemed to glow with joy. It had filled his eyes with maniac energy. Hisashi was at his most dangerous when he got like this: infused with determination and crackling with the power to turn his fantasies into reality.

"Ah, Yoichi." Hisashi took Yoichi's head between his hands. "It's a joy to see you again. Even if you ruined your hair, your face is still the same." He obsessively ran his fingers over the lines of Yoichi's nose and cheekbones.

"Let me go," Yoichi hissed. Every muscle in his body screamed to throw his brother off, but he feared to start a fight at the march. Every protester had been carefully instructed not to start violence. With the marshals tense and afraid of an attack, what if one wrong move triggered a chain reaction?

Hisashi smiled darkly. "Nuh-uh, my foolish little brother. Defy me, and this march goes up in flames. Do you have any idea how many people in this march owe me favors? So many people who didn't want a metapower, or did want one, or who wanted a different one. If I send out word to my dear 'friends' that they're under attack by the military, then they will immediately believe me. I could even have the soldiers in my pocket fire on the crowd first. From there, it will turn into a bloodbath."

Terrified, Yoichi froze, letting those fingers continue to wander his face and brush his eyelashes. "Hisashi, please. I know we've had our differences, but we started All for One because we both believed in the same cause! We wanted to protect metahuman rights! Why would you sabotage your own side?"

"But it wouldn't be me," Hisashi said as if explaining himself to a child. "The violence would be started by radicals in the military. I would be happy to welcome those seeking revenge into my organization."

"Please, I don't love the new prime minister either, but this bill is important!"

"Your precious bill will be a half-assed attempt at appeasement that will expect metahumans to hide everything we are." Hisashi pulled Yoichi into a hug, tucking his head under his chin. "Shhh, shhh, I'll let you have your silly little march if you come with me. Whether this historic moment succeeds or fails, it's entirely based on what you do next. That's how much you matter to me. My dear brother, you're more important than the fate of metahumans or all of Japan." Hisashi spoke jubilantly, offering up his threat as a valuable gift. A gift that made Yoichi want to throw up, thinking of how many innocent people would die because of him.

Yoichi's shoulders sagged. His knees went weak. Only those strong, deadly hands held him up. Tears stung his eyes. If he fought back, then he would endanger the crowd of protesters. Hisashi could slaughter everyone on this street with lamentable ease. Then he would not hesitate to destroy this entire march. And Japan's last chance at a peaceful transfer of power would be gone.

The song ended. Static came from the speakers, then Kaiji's voice. "I'll be honest, this is my first public speech and I hope I don't mess it up."

Yoichi closed his eyes, to stop the tears and to soak in what might be the last time he heard his hero's voice. He would not be the one to mess up Kaiji's speech. This time, he would protect his heroes. He asked his brother, "What do you want me to do?"

Hisashi smiled and stroked Yoichi's hair, benevolent when he got his own way. "Follow me."

Yoichi followed. He did not make any attempt to communicate or leave a message. He could not risk the carnage his brother might create. Presumably, Kaiji and Sanzou would not need any hints to know who must have taken him. Yoichi prayed that his heroes would be able to save him again. His hands shook. An empty pocket of air had formed under his chest. He could not imagine going back into that dark vault again. If only his own life had been at stake, he would have died first.

On the other hand, Hisashi was nearly skipping with glee. He dragged Yoichi by his arm into a black car parked illegally less than a block away.

As the car started, Yoichi did not fasten his seatbelt. He would rather go through the windshield in the event of a wreck.

A few blocks later, Hisashi stopped the car and turned his head. His grin spread horrifically wide. "I ought to take you back to the laboratory and let the doctor examine you—but no, I can't wait any longer. Besides, no one but us two brothers should be present for this momentous occasion."

"What are you talking about?" Yoichi demanded. "Aren't you taking me back to the vault?" He felt ashamed of the small flicker of hope he felt. Even now, he was so terrified of the vault.

"No, of course not, I never meant to leave you in darkness forever. You knew that."

"I didn't." Yoichi swallowed. A nicer prison would be easier to escape…and easier to hold onto his sanity.

"The vault didn't work." Hisashi waved a hand dismissively. "It was good to have you in one place, but it simply wasn't secure enough. I have a better idea."

Oh, no, even more secure did not sound good. "What are you doing next, going to put me in a coma?" Yoichi tried to fill his voice with mockery but it came out like a frightened question.

"That wouldn't be safe for your health, little brother—" Hisashi said in a patronizing tone.

"I'm the older brother. There's only the two of us, what's the purpose of lying? Do you believe your own lies at this point?"

"I'm going to transfer your consciousness into my body." Hisashi smiled as if his words made sense.

"You've gone insane." Yoichi spoke with shock and a hint of fear. When this mad idea didn't work, what would his brother do to him? Moreover, someone with All for One's power would be a danger to the entire world if he'd lost his mind.

Hisashi grabbed Yoichi's cheeks with both hands. "It's the perfect solution! We won't have this maddening separation between us any longer. No outside influences will ever be able to taint your mind again. We'll be one, as we always should have been. I'm happy, so you should be too! Smile!" Hisashi's fingers dug into Yoichi's mouth, forcing the ends upward.

"That's impossible," Yoichi slurred.

"Based on the doctor's research, it's more than possible, it's reality. That silly little stockpiling ability became so much more when it passed through me. It's copied your original power and absorbed some of mine as well. The trick will be for me to take your entire consciousness instead of only a hazy vestige. I won't wait for you to die, and I could never hurt your body." Hisashi pressed their foreheads together. "I practiced a few times on prisoners. I've mastered the art of ripping absolutely everything out when I take their powers. Their minds and memories don't transfer, so they simply die, but that's because they don't have stockpiling."

Yoichi started to get a bad feeling. He still didn't believe any of this but he believed his brother had killed several people trying to do what he was about to do to Yoichi.

On second thought, he didn't want to die. He wanted to return home to his heroes. Yoichi struggled, but he was too late. Lightning crackled on Hisashi's palms, and the world ended.

Darkness surrounded Yoichi on all sides. He could not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste. It was as if he floated in a void, except there was no "him" to feel the sensation of floating. He did not know how much time passed. Would he remain trapped forever in endless screaming nothingness?

Shadows slowly receded down Yoichi's body. It was a huge relief to have a body. The shadows stopped at his neck, leaving him able to blink and speak, but he couldn't move from the neck down. Nothing except more shadows stretched out as far as the eye could see, a rolling and shifting ground. Hisashi stood amongst the swirling storm, still wearing his trench coat, untouched by the shadows. To his shame, Yoichi felt relieved to even see his asshole brother instead of the unending nothingness.

"What…" It took Yoichi a moment to speak around the dark tendrils caressing his throat. "Where…is…this?"

"It worked!" Hisashi plunged his hands into the shadows, picked Yoichi up, and spun him around. "This is the territory of my mind, my darling brother. Here is where I keep and control my metapowers. Ah, yes, I can feel your mind. I can feel your terror and your frantic thoughts. You can conceal nothing from me." Hisashi's expression was rapturous. He licked his lips as if savoring the last drop of a delicacy. "Look, your hair is perfect again." He played with a lock of hair, now turned entirely white. "I can change your appearance, as I can control everything here according to my will. Don't worry, you'll adjust to the shadows and be able to move with time. I'll build you a beautiful mental palace to live in forever." Leaning close, Hisashi whispered into Yoichi's ear, "You're finally part of me again."

Pure horror consumed Yoichi's mind. Hisashi's ugliest delusion had turned into reality. Yoichi would be trapped forever inside his brother's mind, a plaything with no power. He would have no freedom, no privacy, no bodily autonomy, not the smallest hope except that he would die when his brother died.

"But I'll never die," Hisashi said, unfortunately confirming that he hadn't been merely fantasizing about reading his brother's mind. "I can use this power to hop between bodies. We'll be together forever."

An eternity stuck with no one except his brother stretched out before Yoichi. His mind could not wrap itself around the horror. This had been what Hisashi had always wanted. Yoichi would truly become an extension of his brother.

No.

With the only muscles he could move, Yoichi bit down on his brother's hand. Hisashi yelped and recoiled.

"Like hell!" Yoichi screamed. "I'm not a part of you! I refuse to be nothing except your double or your shadow! I'm Yoichi Shigaraki, and I'm my own person!"

Green lightning crackled down Yoichi's body, chasing away the shadows with a brilliant, blinding light. The viridian sparks lifted up Yoichi's hair and illuminated his eyes. He felt nearly about to explode with the energy racing down his nerves. It felt like the first time he'd used his power, except magnified tenfold. If his body had been flesh and blood then he feared he would have gone up like a torch.

"I order you to stop!" Hisashi screamed. Red light erupted from his hands and wrapped around Yoichi. "This is my mindscape. I have all the power here. Your resistance is futile, my poor little brother."

"You're wrong! My ability stockpiled part of All for One. Even if you can take my power, I can refuse to be taken. Your ability was originally half of mine. I should be able to control this space too." Yoichi put action to his words and fought with all his willpower. A roaring tide of green rose up in response.

Red and green met like two crashing waves. Where the light touched, Yoichi felt his brother's mind. Now Yoichi could feel his twin's thoughts as Hisashi had been able to read his own. Hisashi's mind was a swirling mix of rage, determination, disbelief, need, and a maybe a touch of fear.

I need you, my twin, my beloved brother, my other half, Hisashi's mind sang. You need me, too. You've always needed me. We share the same soul. Come back to me.

No, Yoichi said firmly, and pushed back against the mind intruding into his own. A part of me will always love you, Hisashi. You're my brother. I hope that someday you feel complete on your own, find more people to love, and become a better person. But I won't sacrifice myself to your twisted codependency. This perfect world of yours would make me miserable and destroy me. I don't need you. I hope if we stay apart then someday you'll realize you don't need me, either.

Those words struck like a dagger straight to Hisashi's heart. Pain and unacceptance overwhelmed his emotions. He screamed. In his grief, he faltered.

The green exploding off of Yoichi overwhelmed the red. Blazing light consumed Yoichi's vision. He woke up.

Sunlight struck Yoichi's eyes, dancing though the windshield. He squinted. He once again sat in his brother's car. Hisashi's hands covered his face. Yoichi pushed his brother off. Hisashi did not fight. He fell sideways with a semiconscious groan.

Yoichi threw the car door open and ran. He did not know how long his brother would remain unconscious. In a physical fight, he couldn't win. Yoichi desperately feared being dragged back to a laboratory and tortured until he no longer had the will to fight off his brother's possession.

In a daze, Yoichi retraced his steps to the white tent. Hadn't he left his phone there? Where was his phone? He needed help…

Kaiji already waited in the tent. He grabbed Yoichi and pulled him into a hug. "Yoichi, what happened? I was terrified when we lost contact with you."

"It was my brother, as you might have guessed," Yoichi mumbled into his lover's shoulder. His legs felt shaky, either an aftereffect of the mental battle or shock. "I have to get out of here. Hisashi, he…I can't understand how, but he…he tried to take my power, and when he did, he wrenched out my entire mind with it. He wanted to trap me inside of him forever!"

Kaiji's eyes widened. He seemed to instinctively realized this was not the moment for skepticism or dark humor. "I brought a car. We'll get you back to the base, right now. No, let's get you out of the city. We can ask the others to pack up your stuff and ship it."

"That's a good idea. I…I'm scared." Yoichi's throat choked. "I saw a nightmare worse than death. And I barely escaped. It's all because of this stockpiling power, it copied my memories and even my own self. I wish I never had it forced on me!"

"We're going to protect you." Kaiji placed a hand on Yoichi's neck. "Me and Sanzou, we'll keep you safe." He pulled Yoichi into a kiss.

Yoichi relaxed into the sensation of human contact, grounding him and reminding him that he was no longer trapped in the shadowy realm. A spark passed between their lips, and Yoichi jumped back. "Wha—?"

Kaiji looked down at his hand, green sparks dancing down his arm. "Did you just give me your metapower?"

"Theoretically, I could have, I obtained a partial copy of All for One, that's how I fought my brother off…" Yoichi winced. "I'm sorry?"

"No need to be sorry. If this will make it harder for your brother to steal your mind, then I'm all for it." Kaiji took Yoichi's hand. "Come with me."

"Just like old times," Yoichi murmured, and followed his hero.

The trio settled into a small cottage in Kyoto. It was located on the outskirts of town and protected by countless cameras and traps. The march had passed peacefully and without any incidents. The media called it a great success. And although precisely how much the march had influenced events would be difficult to say, martial law had ended and the new prime minister had been sworn into office.

As expected, the new Metahuman Emergency Bill had cracked down on vigilantism. Kaiji had turned down an offer to join the professional heroes. He said that life as a government dog wasn't for him. Sanzou had not been asked to join. Sunrise had entered a sleeper mode, ramping down activity while waiting to see the effects of the new laws and All for One's reaction. A handful of vigilantes had joined the heroes. Many more had quit. Most of the vigilantes had been ordinary people trying to make a difference, they'd never wanted to sign up for a lifetime of work as unpaid police. Kaiji believed Sunrise still needed to exist. He'd watched the new government rug-sweep the old atrocities in the name of peace, and he worried about how much would actually change. But people were tired. They wanted to believe they'd won so they could all go home.

The remaining members of Sunrise had retreated to their bases and returned to their day jobs, but they would be ready when they were needed again. Occasionally they handled small requests from old clients, carefully avoiding the eye of the law and not even wearing their badges. Yoichi, Kaiji, and Sanzou had discussed plans and agreed it would be better to let All for One and the new government battle before deciding how to intervene.

Selfishly, Yoichi needed a bit of time to rest. He had not anticipated how badly his final confrontation with his brother would haunt him. He often awoke from nightmares about being consumed. Though he knew it was irrational, he felt plagued with guilt for hurting his twin. Hisashi's last agonized scream of abandonment echoed in his memories. Yoichi would change nothing about his choice. But he did often wonder if everything could have turned out differently if only he'd pulled back from their codependency sooner.

Kaiji and Sanzou held Yoichi through the nightmares. They distracted him from his dark musings with games and movies and kisses. Sanzou made Yoichi's favorite meals. Kaiji sparred with Yoichi until he fell down exhausted and could sleep without dreams.

Money was tighter now the vigilantes weren't robbing organized crime. Sanzou picked up a construction job in town. He said that it was a sign of progress that they hadn't rejected him for the brand on his forehead. He also said that the hiring agency had subtly told him most white-collar jobs remained closed off to him for the same reason, no matter the laws against discrimination. Kaiji was too busy running Sunrise for a fulltime job, so he worked parttime as bouncer. Neither of them had asked Yoichi to get a job. Even though Yoichi had also been managing Sunrise, he felt guilty about not bringing in any money. All three of them knew any job that brought Yoichi into contact with the public would be dangerous. All for One had eyes all over Japan. They had talked about fleeing overseas, but Kaiji would not leave Sunrise in its current state of transition and besides it was difficult for metahumans to get passports.

Instead Yoichi rustled up some old contacts to obtain interesting information and started freelance journalism. He was a little too good at it, seeing how the government had raided the news sources who employed him looking for his identity three times now. As if Yoichi would give out his real name or address. On the bright side, the controversy and excitement had let him start a bidding war for his articles and made him a hefty sum of money.

Months turned into a year. After tucking away a cushion of savings, Yoichi decided to spend his earnings on a new hair dye job and tattoo. He'd already planned what he wanted. Then on Sanzou's advice he'd waited six months to make sure he was certain about his first tattoo.

Yoichi had thought long and hard before picking a design. He adored the idea of a lover's tattoo, but he was not yet ready to stamp someone else's name on his skin after years of feeling like his brother's possession. Even something symbolic of the three of them felt a bit too close to ownership. Perhaps someday, but Yoichi wanted to feel comfortable as his own person before he considered that idea again. He'd looked through many beautiful designs of a tiger or dragon, a classic. Yoichi had always liked tigers and dragons. Unfortunately, Hisashi had always liked them too, and that association was an automatic no. Yoichi had briefly considered something symbolic of his rescue by his heroes before having a mild panic attack at the thought of putting a permanent reminder of the vault on his skin. He'd poured over online articles full of beautiful tattoos, but none of them had any personal meaning for him. None of them seemed worthy of putting on his body forever. For a full month Yoichi had sold himself on the idea of a small Captain Hero tattoo, a cute memento of his favorite comic. Then Yoichi had realized that if Hisashi ever got a tattoo, it would definitely be a Demon King, and they would have accidentally gotten matching tattoos. That design went straight in the trash can.

Finally, Yoichi had hit upon the perfect idea: a number one made of green lightning. It would symbolize the first wielder of One for All, as he'd decided to name his former power. Even more importantly, it would mean that he was one person now. His own person. Not a mere extension of his brother. And he would put it on his wrist, so that he could always look at it and remember who he was.

Yoichi stepped out of the hair salon with bright pink hair. He tipped down his sunglasses and winked at the waiting car. "Do I look good?"

Kaiji smiled as he got out of the car. "Fabulous." He pecked Yoichi on the lips.

Sanzou stepped out the other side and kissed him, too. "The color suits you. Look, we match." He waved at the three of them with red, blue, and pink hair.

Yoichi snorted. "We're the cotton candy trio. Should I start calling you two my blue raspberry and my pink strawberry instead of my heroes?" He wore glasses to hide his eyes and a heavy scarf. Being out among people after so long made him a tad jumpy. But at least he was no longer coughing or struggling to breathe. Passing on his metapower had improved his health at an astonishing rate. It was one of many reasons he felt glad he'd given his ability to Kaiji.

The trio weren't totally clear on if Hisashi could steal Yoichi's mind by stealing the ability from Kaiji instead. They'd consulted Migraine, who said that it shouldn't have been possible in the first place, then said he thought that maybe Yoichi's mind would only be passed into his metapower after he died. In other words, Yoichi was not completely safe. He'd never be as long as his brother hunted him. At least now Yoichi no longer had the power, he didn't have to live in a constant state of terror that his brother would pounce on him and steal his mind.

In fact, Yoichi realized that he hadn't thought about his twin in several days. It was a new record. Though he felt a bit guilty, he also felt happy. His new life and his lovers had brought him greater happiness than he'd previously believed possible. Yoichi had a small optimistic hope that maybe Hisashi would also become healthier and less codependent given some time apart. He knew it wasn't very likely. But he could hope.

As he started driving toward the tattoo parlor, Kaiji asked, "Sanzou, how long will the tattoo take? Will Yoichi need to rest afterward?"

Sanzou said, "For a small one like this, probably only an hour. It'll be a bit sore but nothing debilitating."

"Good," Kaiji said. "I made dinner reservations for us tonight at a fancy Italian place. I'm even going to dress up in a suit."

Turning to look at Yoichi, Sanzou said, "I picked out the suit for him. Would you believe he wanted to wear pinstripes? I nixed that and found a lovely dark grey one. Oh, and I got a couple new outfits for you to try."

Yoichi chuckled. "You two spoil me, my heroes."

"Our beloved villain is worth it," the two of them replied in unison.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: My Preferred Ending

Hisashi: I finally found my brother! Hey, who is this tattooed and pierced punk with pink hair?

Yoichi: (Thinking fast) I've never seen you before in my life, you weirdo goth.

Hisashi: This is clearly not my brother, my brother is a sweet, innocent child. Get away from me, imposter.

#

Omake: The All for One Wins Ending

Hisashi: I've finally succeeded in stealing my brother's quirk with his vestige inside.

Kaiji: I'm in here too.

Sanzou: I'm in here three.

Yoichi: And we're all going to make you miserable with PDA!

Hisashi: Author, are you sure this is the ending where I win?

#

Omake: The Canon-Compliant Ending

All Might: (Talking to Izuku) The First One for All user was a great hero. He immediately saw through the evil plan when All for One deliberately arranged conflict between the government and rival groups of metahuman extremists.

Yoichi: (Inside the Void) Oh, crap, that was my plan, not my brother's.

All Might: All for One also once staged a protest outside one of his buildings to prevent a government raid, using the peaceful protestors as shields.

Yoichi: No, no, that was me pretended to be All for One. In my defense no one died! The protest went off without a hitch.

All Might: To say nothing of All for One's extensive blackmail network. He had dirt on nearly every member of the Diet and he used it to obtain government secrets and steal taxpayer dollars.

Yoichi: That was also me. Was I responsible for most of my brother's greatest accomplishments? Cool! I mean, oh no.

#

Omake: In Which Hisashi Continue to be Oblivious

Hisashi: Why do people call the brother thief Gear-playa? Did he cheat on my brother? Dare I hope that Yoichi will dump him and return to my arms chastened about his poor taste in lovers?

Gigantomachia: …Lord, I cannot lie to you, but if I answer your question then I know you will kill me. I would die for you without hesitation, but I have calculated you still need my services. Therefore, you should ask Garaki.

Hisashi: But Garaki sent me to ask you!

#

Omake: The Plot Hole Filler

Yoichi: Why does All Might think that I'm the younger brother? Didn't my successors pass down the truth?

Kaiji: You're the older brother?!

Yoichi: Huh, did I never tell you? I guess I was too embarrassed at not being able to control my little brother.

#More realistically, a lot of information got lost from the days of the early holders #If All Might didn't even know Yoichi's name then he couldn't have known it meant First Son

#

Omake: Advice Over the Centuries

Yoichi: Big brother, why do you keep trying to use hatred and force to steal my old quirk? If you beat one of my successors mostly to death then they'd probably give One for All to the first passing hero. You could arrange for one of your agents to be passing by pretending to be a hero.

Kaiji: Why are you giving advice to All for One? He's the enemy!

Yoichi: I'm sorry, it's an old habit. It's not like he can hear me from the void. I just can't help it, I used to stop my brother from carrying out all his most stupid plans. Now it's insanely frustrating to watch him screw up without me.

Years later:

Yoichi: Aargh, Hisashi, don't get in a fist fight with All Might! The number one hero specializes in those! Just hold All Might in place by taking a bunch of hostages. No, you're not listening to me…you're getting your face ripped off…

Many more years later:

Yoichi: Hisashi, what the hell? There's no way you could provide resources for all of Japan with just your quirks. Your plan is to destroy society but you have no real explanation for how this leads to you being in charge afterward. You really should at least frame someone else for crashing the economy if you want to come out looking like a savior.

#What if All for One could hear everything Yoichi was saying #But he refused to listen to his foolish little brother so that just encouraged him to make even worse decisions

#

Omake: The Yoichi Lives a Century Later AU

Hisashi: Ah, so you finally return to me, brother.

Yoichi: The stockpiling quirk you forced on me GREW INTO THE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD! Haha, you tried so hard to shaft me off with a weak one but I cultivated it until it became strong.

Hisashi: See, I gave you a good quirk and you even finally admit it.

Yoichi: Don't try to gaslight your way out of this one! Smash!

#

Omake: Kaiji Will Never Live It Down

Kaiji: I haven't accepted Izuku yet so I won't give him my quirk.

Yoichi: Hey, Ninth, do you want to hear the story about Second's past love affair with All for One? You don't have to take my word for it, there's countless historical evidence.

Kaiji: You lying fiend! As it turned out, I hooked up with someone even more evil than All for One!

Author's Note: Please check out the beautiful animatic that Possiblycringe (tumblr) / BucketOfMud (Ao3) / Popsicles (discord) drew for me as a prize for Mina May. It's so beautiful! This is the perfect ending for my fic, since it shows Yoichi's transition from a double to his own person. I just love the expressions and the pose at the end. Final Yoichi looks very cool and also happy! Warning for flash, delete the spaces to get the tumblr link:
tumblr.
com/
possiblycringe/719970745347964928/heres-the-second-place-prize-for-mina-may-thank

Also here is a backup discord link of the one above doesn't work:
media.
discordapp.
net/
attachments/
920441556866039878/1117973304142221402/I
MG_1346.g
if?width=886&height=664

In addition, Melatien drew fanart of pink-haired Yoichi inspired by the final chapter. I adore it, his hair and eyes are so pretty! Delete the spaces to get the link:
melatien.
tumblr.
com/
post/722656002449752064/the-devils-double-chapter-1-katydid

The omakes are not necessarily fic canon. I'll let the reader decide where this story goes from here. I've written this such that it could be considered a canon-compliant prologue, assuming the vestiges lied to Izuku and whitewashed Yoichi's past. Or this could be an alternate universe where Yoichi will escape his brother and live a long, happy life. A very long life, since One for All stockpiled immortality for Yoichi and anyone he shares his quirk with.

I've stamped my card killing Yoichi enough times to get a free coffee, so I decided not to write his death again. I don't think I can top the ending of "Justice Born From Evil." The bad ending/canon ending for this AU would be All for One accidentally killing Yoichi trying to merge with him, and then hunting down all his successors still seeking out his brother's vestige. If this AU is considered pre-canon then it casts a whole new light on Yoichi encouraging Izuku to save Tomura Shigaraki. And All for One grooming Tomura to look like Yoichi, then taking over his body becomes a level creepier. I also think that if Yoichi used to be in charge of strategy, then this explains a fair bit about why All for One's plans got dumber over time.

Or, if you prefer the good ending, then you can imagine that this AU ends differently from canon and Yoichi, Second, and Third survive. They fled Japan and lived happily away from All for One's influence. I've gotten so attached to them that I think I'll pretend that myself.

For the normal ending, I have an entire AU imagined up where Izuku is born into a future where Hisashi and Yoichi continue to struggle over control of Japan. This AU is Dad for One, but Hisashi doesn't know about this upstart punk is his son and wants him dead, whereas Yoichi wants to recruit him. Izuku ends up starting his own villainous organization with the Dekusquad as his loyal lieutenants to continue the family tradition of being cool villains.

This chapter works well as an ending to this story, but I will be writing on more smut chapter. Then I will be writing oneshot epilogues for both the good and normal endings. I'm not going to bother writing the bad ending because that's just canon. Yoichi and the trioholders deserve to live, and Izuku deserves a chance to also wear The Coat. I will probably post the good ending epilogue in this story, but the normal ending stands alone so I will post it as a oneshot called "Friendly Fire Isn't."