Chapter 35
[Play KH DDD OST The Dream]
The last two days of the internships were about as eventful as the first two. Sora went back to the regularly scheduled 90 minutes of medical training with Bubble Girl and Lemillion, a half hour break after that, then another 90 minutes of training Sora's deductive skills with Centipeder. Wash rinse repeat twice in a row and then Sora's done training and does whatever until he needs to sleep.
The only difference this time was that he had painkillers to take and a bandaged hand for the first day, which limited what he could practice on the first day. The second day, he was able to remove the bandages and when he looked at his hand, the only thing on it was a small scar from the surgery. Unless you looked hard enough, or had seen his hand all the time, you wouldn't be able to see it.
During the times he was on break or finished training, he still did his normal routine of sending a message to his offworld friends, texting the other students to keep up with what they were doing, occasionally talking with Mirio or one of the Sidekicks, and reviewing what he learned for the day.
It was late in the afternoon on the final day of the internship, and it was time for Sora to leave. Nighteye, Bubble Girl, and Centipeder came to see him off. The reason why Togata wasn't seeing him off was because he was leaving at the same time as his underclassman, so when both of them were ready to go, Sora said his farewells and walked with the Third year to the station. Once the boys got to the station, before they split off to catch their respective trains, the two had one last chat.
"Gotta admit. Your internship was pretty eventful, huh?" Mirio commented.
"You got that right." Sora agreed. "I learned how to patch people up and I got to use those skills. I learned deduc...deduse...de...uh..."
"Deductive skills?" Togata said.
"Yeah, that." Sora replied. "Man, I can never seem to remember that word. But yeah, I learnt that and kind of used it, back when I figured that Stain would still be in Hosu, and low and behold, he's found and captured in Hosu."
Mirio chuckled at that, remembering that conversation he had with Sora. "That definitely means it'll be useful for you down the line. Oh! Don't forget that you managed to make Sir smile."
"Oh trust me. I ain't forgetting that." Sora stated. "I only wish I had taken a picture to show my friends that I did."
The two boys shared a laugh before they heard the intercom mention their trains coming in, but before Sora left he heard Togata speak up. "Hey. Once you get your provisional license, how about you come back to Sir's for the Work Study."
"You think he'd let me come back?" Sora wondered aloud.
"Absolutely." Mirio confirmed. "Anyone that can make him smile is welcome to work with him whenever."
"Well then, I'll be back there once I get that license." Sora promised. "I'll see you there too, right, Lemillion?"
"Count on it, Light Heart." Togata answered as he walked off.
With that conversation over, Sora went on the train he needed to get on and rode back to Mustafu. He and Izuku met up outside their home and entered together. Aside from Inko showing worry about what happened at Hosu and their 'accidents', there wasn't much drama back home.
The three of them had dinner, talked about what they did the entire week, cleaned themselves up, prepared for bed and really, the only thing that was different was that Sora remembered that he was sleeping on a couch again, so he had to get reused to that.
[Silence]
Once it was morning, the two boys did their normal daily routine to get ready for school and then walked together to U.A. It had been an entire week since they had seen most of the class and while Sora already knew what most of them were up to, both boys were still curious about what their friends did and learned while they were there. Once they got to their classroom and took their seats, they simply waited for the rest of the classmates to show up and socialize.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST I'll become a hero]
The conversations inside the classroom when everybody showed up, were pretty eventful to say the least. First off, Ejiro and Hanta were laughing their guts off, while Sora admittedly struggled not to do the same when he saw Katsuki's hair. Namely the fact that it was neatly combed to the style of Best Jeanist, the Pro that he interned with. I guess that's what happened at that agency.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Holy crap! What the heck Bakugo!" Both Kirishima and Sero said, still laughing at him.
"Stop laughing." Katsuki silently demanded, clearly embarrassed. "My hair's gotten used to this and I can't get it back the right way. Did you not hear me? I'll kill you both."
"I'd like to see you try pretty boy!" Hanta taunted while Ejiro just continued to laugh uncontrollably.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Bakugo roared out, somehow also causing his hair to naturally puff itself back to normal.
"There it goes!" Both boys said while still laughing.
Meanwhile, Mina and Kyoka were talking about something else. "Awesome!" Ashido gushed. "You got to face actual Villains? I'm super jealous!"
"Well I didn't fight." Jiro explained. "All I did was help people evacuate and provide logistical support."
Sora decided to join in on this conversation. "That's still worth plenty of praise, Kyoka." He pointed out. "You helped people who needed you in any way you could, and like Mina said, that's awesome."
"Yeah, and that sounded like so much fun." Ashido added, which combined with Sora's earlier praise made Jiro get a bit flustered.
"I spent basically the whole time training and cleaning the ship deck." Tsuyu stated.
"Wait, what about that time you called me and said you helped capture some drug smugglers?" Sora replied.
"Oh yeah." Asui remembered. "I guess that was a highlight."
Both Mina and Kyoka looked at Tsu and said "Ok. That's cool."
"Right?" Sora agreed. "That's really cool."
"Ok. Ok." Asui said as she was now the one starting to get flustered. "How bout you Sora?"
"Me?" The Keyblade wielder replied. "Well I learned a lot of medical stuff. You know, EMT, wound treatment, basic stuff like that. I also learned some...uh...decuc...de…ah now I remember the word. Deductive skills. Finally, I got it right."
"Deductive skills?" Ashido repeated.
"So if you basically wanted to be a detective, then you got some of the skills required for that?" Kyoka questioned.
"Yep." Sora confirmed. "And I can also patch people up if they're injured."
"Wow. So you learned some pretty important rescue related stuff, huh?" Tsuyu noted. "What about you Ochako? How was your week?"
The four of them looked at Uraraka and noticed that she was a bit more...combative. "I'd say that it was very enlightening." She stated as she got into proper fighting form and practiced a few punching forms.
"I think she found her fighting spirit." Tsu figured.
"Yeah, that Battle Hero must have been something else" Kyoka agreed.
"That reminds me. I did ask her to teach me some of what she learned when she got back." Sora remembered. "But, seeing as she's...practicing, I'll ask her later." The boy then walked away from the girls and walked towards Isuku, Shoto and Tenya, but as he did he heard Denki and Minoru talking.
"After one week, she's like a totally different person." Kaminari noted.
"Different?" Mineta replied. "Don't be fooled Kaminari." He then trembled as he explained to Denki "All women are demons at heart. They just hide their true personalities behind pretty faces."
"What the heck did Mount Lady do to you?" Kaminari wondered. "Everyone at my internship loved me, it was actually kind of great. Now if you want to talk about the ones who really changed, it was those four."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Professor Aizawa Theme]
Sora knew that Denki was talking about him, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Iida, as the entire class ended up looking at the four of them now. "Oh yeah! The Hero Killer!" Hanta commented.
"Glad you guys made it back alive. Seriously." Ejiro said.
Momo then spoke up as well. "I worried about you too."
"You were lucky Endeavor showed up and saved you guys." Rikido stated.
"So cool." Toru gushed. "Just what I'd expect from the Number 2 Hero."
Shoto looked down and then said "Yeah, that's right. He saved us."
Sora knew the truth, but just like his friend, he played along with the lie. "Yeah, otherwise I might have gotten worse than just a hole through my hand at Hosu."
Ochako snapped out of her fighting spirit and said "Wait, you had a hole through your hand?!"
"How did that happen?" Kirishima asked.
"And where is the hole?" Minoru wondered, before Jiro used one of her earphone jacks on him.
"Don't ask him about something like that you asshole!" She reprimanded.
"Hey, it's fine Kyoka." Sora reassured her. He then held out his right hand and pointed at the small scar with his other hand. "I got surgery to close it up. As for how it happened, I was a little too close to the chaos that happened in Hosu."
"Well, at least you're okay." Mezo spoke up, which made Sora's smile a bit wider.
"Did you guys hear the news about the Hero Killer?" Mashirao commented. "Everyone's been saying that he's somehow connected to the League of Villains. Can you imagine how frightening that would have been if that creep had been there if they attacked the U.S.J.?"
"He's scary yeah." Kaminari noted. "But did you see him in that weird video? It's all over the internet."
"I didn't even know there was a video of him." Ojiro replied.
"It keeps getting taken down about as fast as it pops up." Sora explained. "A real blink and you miss it kind of thing."
"Yeah." Denki confirmed. "Stain's a pretty evil Villain, but like super tenacious. He's almost kind of cool. Don't you guys think?"
[Silence]
Sora completely dropped his smile at the notion of that statement, considering that he went through a life or death experience with Stain. Tenya looked shocked at those words. Izuku looked at the electric boy like he was insane and Midoriya even replied "Kaminari!"
Denki then remembered that those three and Shoto had a life or death experience because of the Hero Killer and most likely also remembered that the class rep's brother was one of the previous victims of Stain. He then said "Oh! Dude." before he covered his mouth.
"No. It's okay. You're fine." Iida replied, which surprised everyone. He then looked at his left arm. "It is true that he's quite a tenacious Villain. I understand why people might think he was cool. But instead of helping the world, his beliefs led him to cold blooded murder. No matter his motives, killing cannot be condoned." Everyone was also surprised with how calm he was while speaking as well. "To keep anyone else from suffering like me, well...I promise, I will strive to be the perfect Hero!" Here we go. Now he's really back to normal.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Session]
"Yeah. Let's do it!" Izuku agreed.
"Absolutely!" Sora cheered as he smiled once more.
"It's time for class to begin!" Tenya announced. "Everyone please take your seats!"
As Iida was acting the way he used to, some of the students noted that and while the few who usually preferred the quiet were annoyed, it was still a good thing that this traumatic event didn't affect Tenya in a negative way.
[Silence]
Homeroom and all the other standard courses went on normally, but when it was time for Foundational Hero Studies, something special was planned for today, as the students met up with All Might at Ground Gamma.
"I AM HERE!" All Might announced. "Hope you're ready to return to our lessons! Today, it's Hero basic training. Feels like I haven't seen you in a while. Welcome back! Now then, listen carefully for what's in store. We're going to be conducting a little race. Take everything you've learned from these internships and apply it to this rescue training."
Iida raised his hand. "If it's rescue training, then shouldn't we be at the U.S.J. instead?" he asked.
"Ah. That facility specializes in disasters." All Might answered. "As I said earlier, this is a race, so, prepare! You're about to step into Ground Gamma!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Runaway Battle]
"Inside is an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth, so good luck finding your way around." All Might explains. "You'll be competing in three groups of five, and one group of six. Each person starts from a different location on the outskirts of the model city. I'll send a distress signal, and you do what you must to rescue me. Whoever finds me first wins! But try to keep the property damage to a bare minimum please." He mainly looked at Katsuki when he said that last request.
"Why are you pointing at me?" Bakugo asked, knowing the implications.
[Silence]
"Alright! First group, get to your places!" All Might instructed five of the students while the rest of the class went to a designated screening area in the zone.
The first group competing was revealed to be Izuku, Tenya, Mashirao, Hanta, and Mina.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Threat Incoming]
"Iida hasn't completely recovered yet, right?" Denki pointed out. "He should sit this out."
"Yeah, and everyone in this group has really good mobility." Ejiro added.
"Huh. I'd say Midoriya is at a heavy disadvantage against those four." Momo analyzed.
"That's what I think." Kyoka agreed. "Moving around quickly isn't really one of his strong suits, that's for sure."
"And whenever he uses his powers he always gets badly injured." Yaoyorozu added.
Sora smirked, as he knew better, while Kirishima asked Kaminari "Who's your pick? I'm betting on Sero."
"Ah yeah? Hmm." Denki replied. "I got odds on Ojiro."
"I choose Ashido, cause she's got a super athletic body." Minoru reasoned. Sora did not want to ask how that perv can tell what an athletic female body looks like, because it was easy to guess how.
"I know Deku will be last." Katsuki said.
"Even if he's still recovering, I think Iida's got this one." Ochako commented as Asui nodded.
"I'll root for either Tenya or Izuku, cause I saw a bit of what they learned and it's very good." Sora stated, which had some eyes trail on him for a second.
[Silence]
"Is everyone ready? BEGIN!" All Might announced as he sent the distress signal.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Go Seize it]
Hanta used his tape to lunge himself upwards and swing like he was in a jungle full of vines. Mina used her Acid on her feet as a method to speedily slide over some pipes to cross some open spaces. Mashirao used his tail to propel himself forward and correct his course whenever he was airborne. Iida used his engine legs and perfect running form to speed himself along.
"Look at him go." Ejiro commented. "In a maze like this it makes sense to be above everything else."
"So that means Sero's at an advantage, because he can take to the sky." Shoji stated.
But then everyone except Sora and Shoto were beyond surprised when they saw Midoriya blitz past him, using his Quirk throughout his entire body without injuring himself. Not only that, but he was expertly propelling himself through fast paced platforming and an aerodynamic technique very similar to a certain explosive classmate.
"Whoa. Midoriya?" Both Denki and Minoru said.
"Since when can he do that?" The electric boy questioned.
Sora, Shoto and Katsuki all saw how Izuku was mimicking 'King Explosion Murder's' technique and all had different reactions. Sora was proud, Todoroki was surprised, and Bakugo was of course pissed off.
"The way he's propelling himself through the air..." The Ice user pointed out.
"Amazing. Those jumps..." Uraraka now noticed it too. "He looks just like..."
Everyone, even the other contestants were watching Midoriya get closer and closer towards All Might, seemingly without any issue at all. Many were shocked, others were impressed, one person was pissed, and two were proud. Izuku was doing amazing...and then he lost his footing and fell to the ground, allowing Hanta to overtake him and win the race.
[Silence]
"And it's over!" All Might announced as he held a sash that said 'thanks for saving me' on it. "Thanks Hero, and congratulations!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Closing Ceremony]
Sero put the sash on and celebrated his victory while everyone else who made it after him were in their own thoughts. Except for Tenya, who was wondering if Midoriya was okay. Izuku was fine, but most likely analyzing his own performance and seeing what he needs to improve.
All Might mentioned how they improved and how they should keep training before telling group one to leave the field and group two to get into positions, but not before approaching Izuku and silently requesting something from him.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. Reporting For Duty]
Group two was Tsuyu, Rikido, Mezo, Denki, and Momo. Once they were in place, the distress call was sent and the five went off. Sato and Kaminari were dead out of luck with their lack of mobility and speed. Yaoyorozu fared a bit better with her using her creation quirk to make roller skates to go faster and rope to scale any buildings in her way, but Shoji and Asui easily outclassed the others. It was admittedly close, but Tsu managed to take the victory, thanks to her quirk being perfect for the terrain.
Group Three came in shortly after, and the five competing were Katsuki, Minoru, Koji, Toru, and Yuga. Once the distress signal was sent, it was pretty clear cut. Hagakure and Koda couldn't even compete against the competition, and while Aoyama's naval lazer could propel him forward, it could only do so much. Mineta was perfect for vertical scaling and could also boost himself with his pop off quirk to gain speed, but nothing could compare to Bakugo's almost perfect aerodynamic form that Izuku mimicked earlier. Unlike Deku however, the explosive student didn't mess up his footing and easily claimed victory.
Now came the final group. By process of elimination, the last group to race today is Ochako, Ejiro, Kyoka, Fumikage, Shoto, and Sora. The six students were all getting into positions while the rest of the students decided to place their bets...for second place, because everyone just knew that Sora was gonna win. A few bets were set on Todoroki, a few more were on Uraraka, but Tokoyami had the most bets. Kirishima and Jiro are both really good in certain situations, but something like this was just not their game compared to the competition. Thankfully, nobody was rude enough to bet on who comes in last.
[Silence]
Sora waited at his designated starting point and looked at his right hand, contemplating something. Should he summon Two Become One, or wait until later? If he uses it now, he'll probably get questions and considering how badly he screwed up last time he opened his mouth about the sword, he didn't want a repeat of that, but on the other hand, Izuku didn't get asked too many questions about his new moves, and the reason that he used, being that figured it out during a sparring match could also be applied to Sora as well, making a good excuse as to how he got it.
[Play KH DDD OST Keyblade Cycle]
"And BEGIN!" All Might announced as the distress signal went out.
Ochako used her quirk on herself to do some platforming, Ejiro used his to climb up walls and land on the ground safely if he needed to drop from a high place, Kyoka just ran like a normal person, since that's all she could do, Fumikage used Dark Shadow to get over the buildings, and Shoto used his ice to help him platform and slightly boost his speed while also using his fire to keep warm, as he raced towards the objective.
Sora stood in place and briefly contemplated a bit more, before deciding to summon Two Become One and just go. He focused himself and began to use flowmotion to easily zoom around, over, and through any obstacles in his way. He took the long way though, and while some students were wondering why, Sora had a valid reason. He never used flowmotion with this blade and he had to get himself acquainted with it.
Compared to many of his other blades, Two Become One was much lighter in weight, which made Sora's speed increase very apparent. He had to get used to that, as well as finding the right angles on the blade to latch himself onto objects to correct his course within an instant, without accidentally stopping himself, since this Keyblade is more sword-like than the ones he's used flowmotion with so far. While figuring those out, he was still making excellent progress, but it was pretty close.
Once the Keyblade Wielder got himself accustomed to the increased speed, the slightly different angles required to latch his blade onto objects to correct himself, and the grip of the blade, he swiftly and easily took the victory. Tokoyami came second, Todoroki third, Uraraka fourth, Kirishima fifth, and Jiro sixth.
[Play KH DDD OST Ready to Rush]
"While Young Sora was the one who came first place, compared to what you all showed at the Sports Festival, I can see improvements, big and small!" All Might stated. "Young Kirishima used his quirk more creatively for traversal!" Ejiro was proud. "Young Tokoyami, while still very dependent on his quirk, was just as creative with it while against its very weakness!" Fumikage nodded. "Young Uraraka was able to not get motion sick as quickly as she used to, and just look at that fiery glare!" Ochako, who had finished vomiting a minute ago, had that fighting spirit face on her. "Young Todoroki's ice is just as amazing as it was before, but now he isn't freezing himself in the process anymore!" Shoto looked indifferent. "And while Young Jiro didn't use her Quirk, her cardio has improved very much!" Kyoka was surprised that All Might noticed something like that. That's the number one Hero for you. "You all did amazing! Now keep on improving so you'll be ready for the upcoming final exams!"
"Yes sir!" All six of them replied in unison before they started to leave. But Sora was stopped by All Might before he could go.
[Play KH3 OST Scala ad Caelum]
"I see you've gotten more of your power back." He said. "That's perfect."
"Yeah, it is." Sora agreed. "Is that all?"
"Meet me after school is over. It's about time I told you the full truth about One For All." All Might requested.
"Huh?" Sora replied. "Wait, you want me to know even more about that?"
"Aside from you being able to safely keep it secret, I feel like thanks to certain events and patterns, this might involve you and your connections as well." All Might explained.
"And Izuku?" Sora asked.
"Young Midoriya will be there as well, since this might involve both of you." All Might answered. "He already knows to meet me after school is out, and you both deserve to know the full truth."
Sora was unsure for a second but decided to agree to this arrangement. "I'll meet you where, exactly?"
"The teacher's lounge." All Might instructed.
"Got it." Sora said before he left and caught up with the rest of his class. Whatever is causing All Might to involve him with the secret to One For All and somehow be related to Sora and his 'connections' must be serious. Hopefully he and Izuku can handle whatever it is.
[Silence]
The guys were in the men's changing room all getting out of their Hero costumes and into the school uniform. Midoriya and Sora both exchanged a glance at each other, signaling that they both knew what they were gonna be doing after school while the other students were chatting.
"That was some tough training today, huh?" Rikido commented.
"It's the first class in a while that had me glistening." Yuga started.
"Man, I really gotta work on my mobility." Ejiro said.
"You could also compensate by improving other skills." Fumikage added.
"Still wish I could use my quirk for speed." Denki complained. "I'm jealous of guys like you and Sero."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Among Kosei]
When Izuku was about halfway dressed, Minoru quietly said "Hey, Midoriya, you won't believe what I just found. The jackpot. Someone shawshanked a hole in this wall. A previous generation has given us a gift." The boys who were close enough to hear what he said were surprised while the perv continued to talk. "You know what's next door, right? This looks into the girl's locker room."
"Don't even think about it!" Tenya ordered, knowing what Meneta was planning. "Peeping on them like that would be criminal!"
"Then you'll have to throw me in solitary confinement, cause you can't stop m..." Minoru felt a fist slam onto the top of his head before he could finish that sentence and he soon placed his hands on the spot where he was hit while involuntarily backing up from the peep hole, only taking the poster that covered it with him. "Ah...aaaaah...what the heck was that for?"
Now, a fully dressed Sora was leaning on the wall and he had his back pressed on the spot where the hole was. "I think you already know, creep." The Keyblade wielder sternly said to the pervert.
"When did you decide to just immediately start off with violence, Sora?" Minoru questioned.
"When I realized that words don't work with you." Sora answered. "Now get dressed and get out."
"Ha. You can't stay there forever, and unlike you, that hole isn't going anywhere." Mineta stated.
Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and beamed the locker right next to Minoru, which caused it to open. "I can easily stuff you in a locker and leave you there for a custodian, and you and I both know that your sticky hair won't stop or slow me down. But I am giving you a chance. We can play the waiting game and I'll stuff you in one of these lockers if you tempt me, or you can get dressed, walk out with me, and behave like a normal person."
"Don't pretend to be all righteous. You just want to hog that glory hole for yourself, and act all high and mighty in front of the girls so they don't suspect you." Minoru accused.
Sora beamed a second locker and opened it. This one seemed to have very sweaty clothes. "That's strike two. You either change now, or you're gonna be real cramped up. Your choice." The Keyblade wielder offered. Mineta got the message after that and hurriedly continued changing into the school uniform. "Good choice."
Sora stayed leaning on the wall the entire time until he felt something poke his back. He briefly took his back off the hole and saw one of Kyoka's earphone jack's slightly sticking through the hole. It wiggled for a slight moment before the Keyblade wielder figured out what she wanted. He lightly placed two fingers on the jack and wiggled it as a method of a hand shake before quietly saying "Cover up your end of it please." Any other boy who had a similar idea to Minoru decided not to risk the idea, namely because they saw that Jiro could poke their eyes out if she wanted to.
[Silence]
After everyone, including Mineta, left the locker room, Sora received a verbal thanks from the girls and then the day continued on as per usual. Afternoon classes were just as regular as the morning classes and once those were all finished, school was out. While everyone else in class 1-A left to do their own stuff, Izuku and Sora had somewhere to be together.
Outside the teacher's lounge, Midoriya knocked on the door and said "It's us, All Might."
Sora opened the door and when both boys stepped inside, they saw Toshinori sitting on the couch with a very serious look on his face. "Come have a seat." He said as the boys entered the room and closed the door. The two boys saw a pair of stools across from the table that Yagi was sitting near and they took a seat while he spoke again. "You both went through a lot recently. I'm sorry I wasn't around to help either of you out."
"Oh, no. You don't need to apologize for that." Izuku reassured him.
"Yeah, I know I'm not as strong as I used to be, but I can still take care of myself and help my friends." Sora added.
"But...more importantly..." Midoriya took over. "You mentioned One For All earlier."
Toshinori looked up. "I heard..." he said as he licked the tip of his index finger. "...that the Hero Killer swallowed your blood in the attack."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Forever No. 2]
"Oh. Yeah." Izuku confirmed, which gave Sora a slight shiver. "His quirk made him able to paralyze someone after tasting their blood. Is that what this is about?"
"Do you remember how I gave my power to you?" Yagi questioned. "What I had said that day?"
[Silence]
"EAT THIS!" Midoriya replied with an All Might face and impersonated voice.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Forever No. 2] A.N. Again...
"Wha...no, not that part!" Toshinori explained. "I said the key is in my DNA. That's why you had to swallow the hair."
[Silence]
Sora was a bit confused, as he wasn't present when Izuku did that, but the One For All user immediately understood and freaked out. "Oooohoh holy crap! Don't tell me the Hero Killer has One For All now!" After that freak out, The Keyblade wielder now understood what Yagi was talking about and also was about to freak out.
"No! He doesn't." Toshinori replied. "I just thought YOU might be worried about that, but...I see it didn't cross your mind."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Forever No. 2] A.N. I don't know why they keep stopping and restarting this track mid conversation, but whatever.
"One For All can only be given to another person if you intend to pass it along." Yagi emphasized. "It's not something that can just be taken by force. Although it can be transferred by force."
[Silence]
"Kinda like this. Imagine a girl who likes you, shoving a box chocolates towards you and just telling you 'please you have to take it, I refuse to take no for an answer' or something like that." Toshinori said.
"What kind of example is that?!" Midoriya questioned while Sora was holding back a chuckle.
"The quirk you now have is unique, and...you should know its origin. Both of you should." Yagi states to the boys, making sure they pay attention before he continues. "One For All was derived from another odd quirk, a power that's very old."
"It used to be something different?" Izuku summarized.
"Like, how different are we talking?" Sora asked.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST The Power of Endeavor]
"The name of that different quirk is...All For One." Toshinori answered. "It allowed it's user to take quirks from others, and the user could keep the quirks for himself or give them to someone else."
"What?" Both boys replied.
"You mean...he could steal powers?" Midoriya questioned.
"This was back when quirks were just starting to show up." Yagi started. "Before society had figured out how to deal with the newly powered among them. When quirks first appeared, suddenly it was impossible to say what it meant to be a normal person. Laws and human rights were hotly debated. Civilization's progress stalled. Society decayed."
"If superpowers had never appeared, then humans would be taking interstellar holidays on other worlds at this point." Izuku figured.
"No. The heartless would have attacked and destroyed the vessels you built to leave your world." Sora stated.
"Really?" Midoriya replied.
"Darkness is all around the lanes between worlds." Sora explained. "Unless you've got some serious firepower, speed, and durability, you'd easily get blown to pieces."
"Back to the previous subject." Toshinori spoke up. "During that chaotic period of change, there was one person who managed to rally many people together. He went by the name of his power, All For One. He stole quirks from others, and then...with his overwhelming abilities, he spread his influence across the country. He manipulated people to serve his purposes, and committed evil acts with little resistance. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of Villains and ruled over Japan."
"This guy reminds me of Master Xehanort." Sora grimly remembered the old man and all he did.
"I've seen plenty of rumors about this online sure, but...isn't that all just made up?" Izuku asked. "It's not mentioned in our textbooks."
"Because it's the kind of shameful history people would rather ignore." Yagi pointed out. "Anyway, when a person gains true power, they enjoy showing it off to others."
"How does this all tie together though?" Midoriya wondered. "And what about One For All?"
"I have a very unsettling guess." The Keyblade wielder spoke up. "Did it come from this All For One guy?"
Toshinori nodded. "I said that All For One could give quirks to others, so he made people trust him or submit them to his will by altering their abilities. But apparently, there were many poor souls who couldn't bear the quirks they were given. They became like mindless living dolls, incapable of speaking."
"Just like the Nomus." Sora added, which Izuku also realized.
Yagi nodded and continued with the tale. "Meanwhile, some quirks evolved as they were passed on. Some even combined with other power sets. This evil man had a quirkless younger brother. He was small and sickly, but he had a strong sense of justice. They couldn't have been more different. It pained the brother to see All For One's deeds, so he kept resisting him, and then All For One transferred a quirk to his sibling. One that would allow him to stockpile power. We don't know if it was a gift he wanted to give his brother, or if he just wanted to force him to submit."
"Don't tell me." Midoriya put the pieces together.
"Yes." Toshinori replied. "Even though everyone thought he was quirkless, turns out the brother DID have a quirk, though even he didn't realize this to be the case. He had a useless power that only allowed him to pass on quirks." Yagi spread his arms and concluded his story. "And so, the stockpiling ability, merged with the younger brother's power, and that is how One For All came to be."
[Silence]
Sora and Izuku needed a few seconds to process all that information. A villain that had a quirk used to take away other quirks and force them on others, ended up making a quirk that was essentially its opposite.
"I've always found it ironic, that justice so often spawns from evil." Toshinori pointed out.
"Wait, hold on!" Midoriya spoke up. "I understand how One For All came about now, but this bad guy might be long dead by this point. So why are you bringing him up?"
"Yeah. And while I'm glad that you trust me with your secret, you also said that me and my 'connections' might be related to this." Sora added. "So where exactly does that fit in on this whole thing?"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Surpassing You]
"To answer Young Midoriya's question, one who steals quirks has no limits." Yagi stated. "Anything's possible. There are quirks that halt aging. He probably has something like that. The symbol of evil seemed pretty much immortal. With the state of the world at the time, and the huge difference in their combat abilities, the younger brother decided to entrust this quirk to future generations. Even though he couldn't defeat All For One, he hoped One For All would continue to grow in power, until it was strong enough to stop his older brother. Eventually it was my turn and I managed to defeat All For One. At least that's what I thought, but he survived, and is now back in action as the brain behind the league of Villains." Toshinori walked towards the window. "So now you know. The entire purpose of One For All is to defeat All For One. As it's holder, you may one day have to fight against this great evil yourself, because I failed. I know you didn't expect this but..."
"I'll do my best!" Izuku told his teacher as he stood up and faced him. "I'll do whatever you ask, no matter what it might take. As long as you're with me, I can do anything. I know you'll have my back!"
[Silence]
Yagi looked at his student, very much conflicted, but instead of replying to him, the Pro looked at Sora next.
[Play KH DDD OST My Heart's Descent]
"To answer your question next, Sora." Toshinori started. "During the events at Hosu city, both Nomus and Heartless were causing havoc in the area. While there was hardly any footage of the chaos, the little bits we had showed something rather troubling." Sora paid attention to the teacher as he noted that "Neither the Nomus nor Heartless had attacked each other. They didn't even seem interested in one another."
Sora's eyes slightly widened. "You're right." he confirmed. "And I saw most of the action. While I was there, the Heartless Didn't care about the Nomus, and the reverse is true too."
"Also, remember when you told me and the staff about how the Heartless were attracted to people with darkness in their hearts?" Yagi asked the boy.
"Yeah, and how they'll sometimes ally with people whose darknessess are very powerful?" The Keyblade wielder added, before putting two and two together. "You're thinking that..."
"Unfortunately yes." Toshinori confirmed. "There's a chance that the Heartless on this world have recently aligned themself with All For One. He most likely discovered them when the news reported their attack on U.S.J. Some time after that, he most likely made contact with them."
"And if he's as evil and as powerful as you said he was, then they would definitely ally themself with him for as long as they needed to." Sora stated. "Not only that, but since they can't be killed by anything other than a Keyblade..."
"It would be impossible for Me or Young Midoriya to defeat him ourselves." Yagi finished. "So I'm asking you, as a fellow hero, and as a friend, to help Young Midoriya overcome this great evil and secure the peace that the previous One For All users and myself worked to accomplish."
The Keyblade wielder understood now why he was just as crucial to this as Izuku. While One For All was basically destined to fight and defeat All For One, if this man really had the heartless backing him up, which was very likely, due to all the evidence present, then they would need the help of someone who could wield the Keyblade, and Sora was the only one who fit the description. It was a big pill to swallow, but to be honest, the boy saved the universe three times now. He was pretty confident that he could help keep one world from falling into darkness.
[Play KH3 OST Sora Enters The Dark World -cutscene-]
"I know it's a heavy burden to bear, but..." Toshinori continued.
"Heavy burden?" Sora repeated. "Pssh. even when weakened, I've saved over a dozen worlds from Heartless, Nobodies, Nightmares, Unversed, and sometimes a combination of at least two of those. Those guys are a cakewalk for me, even at this strength. As for this All For One guy, even if he's building up strength, so are we." He wrapped his arm around Midoriya's shoulders as he continued. "And with both of us getting stronger, he won't stand a chance. And his quirk won't work on me."
"How can you be sure of that?" Yagi questioned.
" Because my friends are my power, and that's something he can never steal from me." The boy confidently said. "That and the Keyblade actually chooses who will wield it, and this one chose me."
Both One For All users were not only surprised with Sora's easy acceptance and optimism, but they were actually inspired by it. They both smiled and wholeheartedly agreed with what their Keyblade wielding friend. If they work together, then they'll be unbeatable. After that was all said and done, the two boys left the teacher's lounge, determined to get stronger and save this world together.
When you're asked to stay home alone to take care of some pets for a few days, you get bored fast. Thankfully for me, I cure my boredom by writing, so I wrote this chapter. Now Sora knows about A.F.O. and is willing to help the O.F.A. users deal with him and the Heartless. Another thing to take from this is the fact that they think the Heartless are aligned with A.F.O., and that further helps the Figure stay anonymous. Another thing to note is that Sora also gets more of the girl's respect, because unlike Tenya, he actually physically stops Minoru from being a creep in the locker room. One last thing to get from this chapter is that Sora still has to test what Two Become One can do. Speaking of that, the next chapter is going to not only be that special Two Become One related chapter, but we officially get to start the first School Briefs story. Hope you bookworms who actually read those are happy, and if you're someone who didn't read those books, consider the next chapters a fun new expansion to your MHA canon knowledge. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again. ;)