Izuku flipped reverently through the pages of the sketchbook that might belong to Bit Weasel. He'd stared at all of these pages a dozen times over. The very last picture--there were a few dozen blank pages after it--always captivated him. He couldn't help but stare at it; all of his problems faded towards nothing in the face of the sorrow this image conveyed. It seemed to have been done from memory as it was scant on details although everyone was recognizable. All the MLA high command were there: Destro, Bit Weasel, Switcher, Fractal, Tripswitch, Arch, Cloud Viper, Influx, Epona... Perhaps a dozen others, only some of whom Izuku knew, crowded around them. One of them was the young woman whose eyes Izuku had closed, the woman he had found dead on the battle field at Utapa. Everyone was smiling... not a weapon in sight, but plenty of cheer. Arch was almost certainly dead when this was made, as was Influx, and Kuma--Tripswitch--might well have been dead, too depending on her fate.
"I hate everyone," Izuku whispered, closing the book and setting it aside to protect it from his tears. Chris, Kuma, Rafael, Alexey, all of them. He hated them for... for being the MLA. He hated them for making those choices which ruined their lives, led them all to such misery, and got them and countless other people killed. He hated them for it because he cared about them, because he wanted them to have lived long, happy lives. He wanted the fantasy in that sketch to be reality. "Why didn't you all just ally with the Meta Separation Movement, create the Rebel Isles a decade earlier and go live there? You could have been happy! There would have been no war, no misery, no bunker full of ghosts, no field of vultures at Utapa! I hate you! I hate you!" I miss you. I'm sorry. I wish everything had gone differently for you. I wish we could have been friends.
These pictures, these thoughts, these feelings, were his dirty little secrets. Hopefully Tsukauchi wouldn't uncover any of them when they met tomorrow.
Aizawa escorted Izuku to the principal's office after school. Nedzu's desk was heaped with papers, but Izuku could see dozens of buttons--of every shape and size--peeking out from beneath the piles of loose leafs. It was terrifying to consider what all of those switches might do.
Nedzu sat behind his desk, paws steepled and expression grim. It was nothing in his face or eyes but rather the tilt of his ears that gave away his dark mood. All Might had taken a place in front of one of the ebony bookcases, arms crossed. Tsukauchi stood across from him and Sir Nighteye was also there for some reason. This room... was a dream and nightmare. Fortunately Nighteye's glasses-augmented glare--the number one hero's former sidekick did not look pleased at all and his expression was one of the tamest--was enough to keep Izuku's fanboy tendencies in check. Izuku shrank back behind Aizawa as the underground hero closed the office door and locked it. His teacher gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
"I believe we all know the reason we are here," Nedzu began. "Usually I would offer tea, but this situation is perhaps too serious for tea." Aizawa visibly balked. Okay. This was really, really bad then.
"What do you know about All For One, Midoriya?" All Might asked. He didn't sound... accusing, but Izuku had never heard the number one hero speak with such grim anger.
"Nothing really," Izuku shook his head, "just the name," and some potentially wild inferences.
"As a review of the context," Nedzu broke in, "Midoriya Izuku disappeared for eight days last year. He returned having gained a variety of skills. There has been no explanation for this phenomenon as of yet. Up until recently he had absolutely no memory of this time. He has now had two dreams depicting memories from his missing week, though my understanding is there is little useful information. Is this all correct, Midoriya?"
"It is," the greenette nodded.
"What was said about All For One?" Tsukauchi asked. "And what did you infer from the context? Tell us exactly what was said first and then discuss any inferences and why they were made."
Izuku, who had brought the appropriate page torn from his coded book of dream notes, read the brief conversation out word for word and then moved on to his conclusions. "I infer that All For One is a human trafficker and worse and that the individual who used me that week was an enemy of All For One, not an ally. I should also mention that Stain, who fought me to a standstill during my missing week, mentioned that I was looking for "revenge" but gave no further details. I presume that the individual who possessed me was seeking vengeance against All For One, probably for a kidnapping or a murder."
"You believe All For One is still an active force?" All Might demanded.
Izuku wilted under the force of the number one hero's glare but soldiered on. It wasn't directed at him, after all. He didn't think it was, anyway. What if he were completely wrong about
everything? What if All For One were a good guy? A hero? One of All Might's friends and Izuku had been involved in threatening them? Killing them? What if--if-- "The individual who possessed me was absolutely convinced that All For One was still active, and whoever it was had powerful connections in the underground, the kind that can get people new identities or fast tracked through immigration services in the US. The possessor was methodical, planning ahead for a variety of eventualities including the possibility of serious injury during this confrontation. If they were convinced All For One is still active, I am also convinced that All For One is still active."
Aizawa glowered at All Might, Nedzu, Tsukauchi and Nighteye as the four individuals in the know exchanged glances. The other heroes were conducting full conversations with their eyes and body language with a vocabulary that Izuku could never hope to decipher. Aizawa clearly didn't like this at all. Izuku didn't like it much, either... "What I am about to say is not to be repeated to anyone at anytime," the principal stared at Izuku and Eraserhead in a decidedly menacing way, beady eyes hooded. "You will not discuss or hint at this knowledge save among this group of five people, understood?"
"Yes," Aizawa and Izuku said together.
"Good. All For One is the name of an individual as well as the name of his quirk. He has existed, amassing power, since before the dawn of the age of heroes. His existence is classified at the highest level. Technically he would have a triple-S rank, but assigning a rank to a villain like him seems pointless. All For One has the ability to strip quirks from other individuals and use them for himself. He also has the ability to give these quirks away again if he pleases."
Aizawa swore at this explanation. Quite violently. In multiple languages.
A variety of things clicked abruptly in Izuku's brain. "Oh my god," he said aloud, all eyes in the room turning to him as he processed this information. All For One was definitely the Soul Stealer. Taking into context the things Izuku said at the MLA bunker, it seemed it wasn't a person or a body that Izuku's kidnapper wanted back from All For One, but rather someone's quirk. All For One was almost certainly the "monster" at Utapa, too, and the Japanese government had made some kind of deal with the villain to fight for them, a deal to defeat the MLA once and for all and who knew what they had given to this potentially all-powerful maniac in order to turn him mercenary on their behalf? Did anyone in this room know about that? Could Izuku impart that information? It could be incredibly important. How would he bring it up? How would he explain the source? What would he say when Tsukauchi started asking follow up questions?
"Midoriya?" asked Nedzu carefully. "Is there something you suspect that we may need to know?"
"Yeah," he whispered, "but I can't explain to you... I wouldn't be able to give you a concrete reason for why I think it." That much was true. It shouldn't set Tsukauchi off.
"Say it anyway, Midoriya," Nighteye demanded sharply.
"First off, I think the person who kidnapped me was chasing after All For One seeking revenge for someone having a quirk stolen," he explained. That was a more normal thing to mention first. Now he would try to pass off the rest of his information in a casual way. "Second, is there a chance, I mean--would the Japanese government have--" he bit his lip to keep from stuttering. He should just say it. "I think the Japanese government may have worked with All For One, off the books, during the Meta Liberation Army War."
He had not passed that off as casual information. Nighteye was staring at him as if he had two heads, Aizawa as if he were incredibly suspicious--which he was--Tsukauchi in mild horror and Nedzu with intense interest. He didn't dare look at All Might. "You said you can't give a concrete
reason," Tsukauchi said slowly, "but can you give me some idea of where you're coming from?"
"The term "Soul Stealer,"" Izuku said, because he had in fact seen that in a document once, not just in his visions, hadn't he? Or he could at least claim he had and it shouldn't read as a lie because he thought he had seen it. "I think that was what the MLA called All For One, and there was something... I know a lot about the war. I'm just interested in that time period and just a lot of... disjointed puzzle pieces together make me think this might have happened." Was that going to read as true under a lie detector quirk or not? Sooner or later something was going to give here. They were going to find out. Maybe he should just tell them? Maybe he should just get it over with today but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He was too frightened of what they might say, what they might do.
Izuku finally caught the number one pro's gaze. All Might was staring at Izuku with such barely restrained fury that he seemed to have become a different person entirely. Yeah. Today was not the day to explain what was really going on in Izuku's head. The greenette cringed and Aizawa subtly shifted to stand in front of him. "Despite evidence that must be very circumstantial, you are absolutely convinced this is true," Nedzu said, cocking his ears and twitching his nose, "aren't you?"
"Yes," Izuku confirmed. There had to be a link between all of Izuku's dreams and current events; he was just sure this was it. "I'm not totally sure why I'm so sure, but I'm sure."
"Could this be some sort of residual memory, like your reflexes?" Aizawa suggested. "You know this because the person who possessed you knew this?"
"It could be," Izuku replied.
"Has that happened to you before that you know of?" Tsukauchi asked, "knowing something that you would not know but the individual who possessed you might?"
"I mean, I speak English fluently and I never learned," Izuku replied, skillfully dodging the heart of the question. "And I know things about heavy machinery repair and first aid that I really shouldn't."
"Could this be true?" All Might asked Nedzu, almost growling. This was just so scary, Izuku wanted to get out of here right now.
The mammal considered. "Yes," he decided. "Given what I know about the politics at the time, it could well be true. It would not surprise me."
Something else clicked abruptly. "I wonder if Kurogiri worked for All For One," Izuku whispered.
"What?" Nighteye demanded, this time more confused than angry.
"One of the attackers at the USJ, a manipulator of warp gates," Aizawa filled in.
"He recognized me," Izuku said. "Plenty of other people have recognized me, but it would make sense..."
"It would indeed make perfect sense," Nedzu said grimly. "Especially given what we know about the other attackers at the USJ."
"It's too bad we don't know who was possessing you," Nighteye muttered, "or if they survived their mad quest for revenge against that monster. If they're still alive, they could be immensely helpful."
"How?" Aizawa said before Izuku could ask the same question.
Tsukauchi answered in the hero's place, "All For One is... any potential enemy of his, provided the individual or organization has significant power and is reasonably sane, should be treated as a potential ally unless they firmly prove themselves to be the kind of person that can't be worked with."
"The fact that this body snatcher kidnapped me to use as a battle slave for a week wouldn't disqualify them?" Izuku raised an eyebrow.
Tsukauchi exchanged awkward glances with Nighteye and All Might. "Well... you know the most about this individual. Should they be disqualified?" Nedzu asked.
Izuku considered this. Presuming that possession was really what had happened, that he was really Izuku and not someone else with memory damage... if he were someone else with memory damage then they were essentially asking Izuku if Izuku thought Izuku could be worked with. "No. It shouldn't disqualify them. They gave me back in the end, traded a potentially immensely valuable favor to make sure I survived being shot, and also arranged for the people that shot me not to die
of their injuries... presuming they didn't... torture them for information afterwards but I don't think that happened, I don't think they would do that. They insulted Stain, said he was killing people over nothing and ought to be ashamed of himself... I... if they're still alive, they should be considered a potential ally." It was immediately obvious just how dire a fight against an individual who could steal quirks would be.
"The kidnapper is almost certainly an MLA revivalist," Aizawa pointed out, "given that your possessor introduced himself to Stain as a Switchblade, a term typically used to refer to Destro's body guard during the MLA war and nowadays to any leader or leader's bodyguard in neo-MLA factions. Would it really be safe to work with someone like that?"
"Mm... probably, provided interactions were tightly controlled," Nedzu decided. "But the point is moot. The individual who kidnapped Midoriya is either dead or went to ground a year ago, correct?"
Tsukauchi nodded. "We did find two other people who reported having lapses in memory around the time Izuku went missing, both before he vanished, but the individual with the longer gap was only missing two hours of memories and did not seem to do anything unusual during this blackout. It's unclear whether any of this is related. There are plenty of drugs, alcohol the most obvious of them, which can have that effect." They found others? Apparently they didn't think it useful enough information to talk to Izuku about it, though. And it was quite possible more people than they found had experienced the lapses; Izuku hadn't noticed his gap until it was pointed out to him, after all, and he had been missing for more than a week. An hour or two... might not raise any alarms at all.
The conversation devolved rapidly into heated arguments interspersed with wild speculations and riddled with names, protocols and jargon that Izuku was not privy to. All Might scowled ferociously and said few words. Izuku darted out of Nedzu's office the moment he was given leave by the mammal. The arguing likely carried on for several hours more.