Chapter Four:
Izuku's head shot up. Hisashi stood blocking their way back home, the flashlight on the ground casting sharp, scary shadows on his furious face. His black trench coat swirled behind him. It was impossible for Hisashi to have walked up behind them without them noticing. The forest was so quiet they would have heard his breathing, much less his footsteps. He'd teleported out of nowhere. How had he known to come? How much had he heard?
"Dad?" Izuku wet his lips. "I'm sorry I snuck out. I was antsy and couldn't sleep. I asked Eighth to take me on a walk, please don't blame him." At least Hisashi hadn't seen them attempt to go through the barrier. Surely they could still talk their way out of this.
In the past, Hisashi had never been thrilled by his son's curiosity about the barrier at the end of the world. But he'd never been this angry either, a maniac grin on his face and his fingers forming into claws. Somehow Izuku didn't think he would get off with an annoyed lecture this time.
Izuku leapt in front of Toshinori. "Dad, please, you're scaring me." Toshinori opened his mouth to say something, but Izuku silenced him with a glare, mouthing, "Trust me." He had a bad feeling his eighth tutor might make everything worse by claiming responsibility (and incriminating them both.)
"Step aside," Hisashi said coldly. His eyes glowed like lava leaking out of a volcano, casting murderous light on the trees. The air around him seemed to blur and hum. He'd never before seemed this inhuman.
Izuku shook his head. The unreality of this situation raised goosebumps down his arms. "Dad, please."
Hisashi stepped forward. An invisible hand pushed Izuku aside. He fought against the force. Though it did not harm him, it held him fast. He could do nothing except watch helplessly as Hisashi lifted up Toshinori by the throat and slammed him into a tree.
Izuku let out a horrified squeak as Toshinori's back cracked against the rough bark. Leaves fluttered down. Toshinori choked and gurgled, clawing at the hand on his throat. His eyes rolled backward. A thousand pleas tried to emerge from Izuku's lips, but no sound came out. His voice had been paralyzed like the rest of his body. He could only stare in horror.
Sharp nails drove lines of blood into Toshinori's throat. Hisashi hissed, "It's always you, isn't it, Eighth? The perpetual thorn in my side. The fly in the ointment. Now you've even turned my son against me. Will you ruin my paradise in here, as you destroyed my businesses and arrested my allies outside?"
Izuku wanted to tell his father that he'd never turned against him. He'd only been exploring the barrier as he'd done many times before, a little mischief, nothing special except this time he'd nearly succeeded. He wanted to scream that he'd never forgive his father if he killed Toshinori. Oh, gods, surely murder was only a plot device in his books. He could not imagine anyone ever dying in the real world. Death did not touch their perfect, beautiful house. But Toshinori's legs had stopped kicking and his eyes showed their whites. Izuku felt terrified out of his mind. A hero would do something. But he couldn't even move.
Leaning nearly close enough to touch Toshinori's ear, Hisashi hissed, "I felt the moment you broke my barrier, you buffoon. You still have One for All. Ah, I see now! It's because you never picked a successor. You still have my brother's power protecting you. That's why I can't control you as completely as the others. Give it to me!" Hisashi's face twisted, becoming covered in darkness, the faint outlines of horns on his head. "Give One for All to me!"
Toshinori's eyes swirled. Barely, he brought up his arm and pushed. A sole green spark danced on his fingers, not strong enough to do any good.
"You DARE attack me in my own paradise?" Hisashi punched Toshinori in the face, slamming him against the tree. He collapsed to the ground in a spray of blood.
Red droplets hit Izuku's face, mingling with the tears running down his cheeks. A tiny bit of blood slipped into Izuku's lips.
In that moment, Toshinori seemed to lock eyes with Izuku, though it was difficult to tell in the darkness. Izuku would swear he felt a hot spark run straight down his throat. It tingled as if something had taken root inside of him.
Very slightly, Toshinori smiled.
"I hate that smile of yours." Hisashi raised his fist. Darkness bristled down his arm. Izuku had an intuition that if the blow landed, it would kill Toshinori. He struggled and screamed silently until his throat broke.
"STOP!" Yoichi screamed, his voice crackling with power. Under Izuku's astonished gaze, Yoichi appeared out of nowhere, floating in the air. Yoichi wore only his pale blue pajamas. He didn't even have shoes. But his pallor had transformed into an angelic light. Green lightning ran down his body, crackling at his fingertips. His voice echoed as he snarled, "We had a deal, All for One. If you kill even one of my successors, then the deal is broken. You'll lose me forever. Is that what you want? Have you finally picked your hatred over your twisted approximation of familial love?"
Hisashi shook his head, and the anger fell off his face, replaced by concern. "Of course not, little brother. Our deal still holds. I merely had a moment of anger. If I lock this fool up for a while, and work on his mind, I'll be able to erase his memories. Then he'll give me his quirk willingly. This long game will finally be over. As I promised, I won't kill any of your precious stupid pawns."
Izuku watched in twisted fascination. Both his father and uncle had transformed into people he did not recognize. He had no idea what was going on. Even if he'd been able to speak, he would not have uttered a word. Instead he absorbed everything he heard for later processing.
In an inhuman voice, Yoichi growled, "Heal him." Bits of light seemed to be flaking off his skin.
"Ugh, if I must." Hisashi grabbed Toshinori's head. Light flowed from his hands, and the blood faded off Toshinori's face.
With this, Yoichi collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Hisashi caught his little brother, cooing, "There, there. Isn't it easier when you don't fight me? You have little enough left, little brother, for you to waste your meager power defending such a fool." A glowing archway appeared in the air, opening to show Yoichi's bedroom on the other side. Hisashi carried Yoichi through and tucked him into bed. Then he returned to the forest and picked up Toshinori much less gently, holding him up by his hair. The Eighth seemed unconscious. "As for you, a bit of solitary confinement will destroy what's left of your mind and memories." Hisashi opened a second portal and tossed Toshinori through.
Izuku only briefly got a look at the room on the other side, barren of furniture with round stone walls. He memorized every detail. The narrow high-up window showed the cliff and ocean. This must be the Western Tower.
The second magical door closed. Hisashi dusted his hands. His gaze fell on Izuku. In spite of himself, Izuku flinched under the piercing red stare.
Hisashi walked over and picked up Izuku. Even now, Izuku could not move. Hisashi crooned, "My dear child, you've caused a great deal of trouble. How should I handle you, hmm, Izuku?"
Izuku could only glare futility as his father carried him back into the house. He tried not to be afraid.
Once in Izuku's bedroom, his father stripped off his shoes and coat and tucked him into bed. His body shook slightly, the aftereffects of the cold. His mind raced even faster, struggling to understand what he'd seen.
Uncle Yoichi had…done what, exactly? Transformed into an eldritch creature? Made a deal with Dad to protect the other tutors? It made sense—not the supernatural part, none of that made sense, but if anyone could force a concession out of Hisashi, it would be Yoichi. Hisashi only ever listened to his brother. Even Izuku got treated like an idiot child.
Izuku's entire world had rocked at the foundations. It felt like his fantasy books had come to life—in a horrific way. Hisashi said that he had been summoned by the barrier getting breached. Then Yoichi had been summoned, somehow, by Hisashi striking Toshinori. Nothing else could explain it. Hisashi could apparently heal people but had never once used this to help Yoichi. Cruelty or because Yochi's headaches weren't natural or some of each? Regular Yoichi probably did not know anything. He wasn't that good of an actor. At this point, Izuku was 100% certain all his tutors' memories had been manipulated, based on how Yoichi had seemed to switch between two personalities with two different sets of knowledge.
But compared to these world-shattering revelations, Izuku felt the most pain at the destruction of his illusion of a happy family. He'd always known that his dad didn't much like the other tutors. But he'd never in a million years imagined the people he cared about were hostages, part of some mysterious battle between his father and uncle. The bruises on Toshinori's throat had proved Hisashi would not hesitate to cross the line to violence—or maybe even murder—without this mysterious deal holding him back. The pain in Izuku's heart was nearly physical. He'd believed his home and the people he cared about to be safe and content. Now it appeared for his entire life, he'd been trapped inside a snow globe with glass walls disguising the prison.
The other tutors hadn't known, Izuku felt sure of that. This explained a great deal about the blank spaces in their memories. They appeared to be under a control even deeper than amnesia, preventing them from speaking and perhaps even thinking anything hostile to Hisashi. Judging from Yoichi's collapse, it didn't seem like he had much control in this place outside preventing physical harm to the others. Izuku decided to withhold judgement on Yoichi since he didn't know what deal his uncle had struck and why. But his father's lies were deliberate and unforgiveable. Izuku felt like he didn't even know his dad any longer.
What the hell was meant by All for One and One for All?
Izuku didn't realize he'd spoken out loud until his father answered: "Those aren't terms I ever wanted you to hear outside The Three Musketeers. When I'm in this place, I'm not All for One. I'm only your father."
"Or are you my jailor?" Izuku asked bitterly. Sensation had come back to his body. He sat up. "You owe me answers."
"Ugh, how easily both you and your uncle turn against me on the word of a stranger with stupid-looking hair. You have no idea what I've done to keep you safe. I made certain you'd never face hardship, pain or danger during your childhood. Not like my brother and I. You'll never know how I've protected you." A shadow passed across Hisashi's face, quickly replaced by a sly smile. "And I prefer it that way."
Izuku's heart hammered. He flinched away, his back hitting the bed board. He understood his father's meaning clearly—his memories would be erased. "How many times have you erased my memories before?"
Hisashi laughed loudly. "Don't be paranoid! It's never been necessary before. Though I suppose I should have realized it would only be a matter of time. Your uncle got rebellious around your age, too."
That was a relief—if Izuku could trust the claim. Wetting his lips, he said, "If you're going to erase my memories, then it wouldn't do any harm to explain everything to me. You got angry because I believed a stranger over you? Well, you never even gave me a chance to hear your side. Tell me."
"I think not." Hisashi snorted. "Only stupid villains monologue. Hold still, ducky." He reached out a massive hand. "I think I just need to take your memories this time. It doesn't seem to have gotten quite bad enough for me to impose commands."
Commands?! What the hell did that mean? In a panic, Izuku lunged off his bed, running for the door. His father's hand grabbed him first. Even knowing it was futile, he tried to kick. Red lightning arced down his body, freezing him. It didn't hurt. Not at first. Then the light arced into his head, and he screamed.
"It will be over soon," Hisashi murmured. "Relax. I'll get you a new comic book series afterward."
In his pain, Izuku had a moment of clarity. It always would have ended like this, with his father erasing his memories and controlling him just like the others. Hisashi hadn't even tried to reason with or persuade Izuku. Because Hisashi preferred it this way, with himself in total control, no need to even justify his actions to any lesser people.
Small choking sounds emerged from Izuku's throat. Red overwhelmed his vision. Then a single green spark danced before his eyes. The pain vanished. Light filled him, leaving him warm and comfortable.
Hisashi didn't seem to notice the change. He gently lowered Izuku back into bed and tucked him in again.
Izuku had the wit to pretend to be asleep. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady while his father kissed his forehead, then left.
After his father closed the door, Izuku kept waiting, terrified that at any moment he might forget. But nothing happened.
The green spark had protected him. Izuku felt certain it must have been the same energy that had prevented Toshinori from entirely losing his mind and nearly allowed him to leave. Somehow, back at the barrier, the power had transferred over to Izuku. Perhaps when he'd swallowed the blood.
Then what would happen to Toshinori without his power?
Izuku longed to race straight for the Western Tower, but he needed a plan first. His father would surely be on high alert for disobedience. Even the green power had not completely protected Toshinori from memory loss. Maybe it had only worked because his father didn't know it was there. Izuku did not want to test his power against a second, more serious attempt at controlling his mind.
The entire night, he could not sleep for fear he would lose his memories when his lost his consciousness. Instead, he kept tossing around ideas and plans in his head until eventually he collapsed.
Izuku woke up to a silver of light falling over his eyes. He groaned.
Hisashi stood at the window, opening the curtains. "Rise and shine, ducky. Your uncle is feeling ill, so I came to wake you up and take you to breakfast."
Izuku felt certain that his father was watching him for any hint of memory. He'd prepared for this. Widening his eyes, Izuku asked, "Uncle Yoichi is still sick? Is it serious?"
"I'm afraid so," Hisashi said. "I blame the nasty germs carried in because I allowed someone foreign into our house."
Izuku nearly choked at the unjust accusation. It took all his effort to keep his tone light. "Dad, don't be a jerk. Uncle Yoichi is sickly. It has nothing to do with Eighth."
Triumphantly, Hisashi said, "It most certainly does. Eighth is sick as well. He must have brought over a disease. I've had to isolate him since he's contagious."
Oh, so that would be the excuse for Toshinori's disappearance and confinement. Izuku said, "I'd like to check up on both of them." He knew his father would not allow him to see Toshinori, but it would have looked suspicious not to ask.
Sure enough, Hisashi said, "Eighth has the others to look after him. We can bring breakfast to your uncle." Belatedly, as if he'd forgotten his own cover story, he said, "As long as you keep a distance from Yoichi so you don't get sick, too."
Izuku nodded, because he believed he would have agreed without his memories. He would have been disappointed, but his father keeping him from his tutors was nothing new. Funny, how Hisashi's hatred seemed starkly obvious in retrospect. Why had Izuku been so clueless, justifying it as indifference when it was much darker? Had it been too hard for him to see the strangeness of the world because he'd always lived in it?
Throughout his morning routine, Izuku kept yawning. His father asked, "Are you tired?"
"Yes, it's odd because I got a good night's rest," Izuku chirped. Surely that wouldn't be a suspicious answer? Hisashi knew Izuku had been out late, but supposedly Izuku didn't remember it. Trying to cover up his exhaustion would have looked stranger. But Izuku suspected his voice had been too cheery. Although better than his blunt and overly dramatic uncle, he was no award-winning actor. Fortunately his father was not the king of empathy and perceptiveness either.
As they went to the kitchen, Izuku managed to stay calm. The two of them brought a tray of eggs and cinnamon rolls to Yoichi's room.
Yoichi greeted them with a smile, setting aside his comic book. "It's too kind of you to make my favorite cinnamon rolls." He coughed, wetly.
Hisashi ran and put an arm around Yoichi's back. "Don't try to talk. You'll strain yourself. I brought tea, too."
"Thank you," Yoichi murmured, resting his hand on top of his brother's.
This confirmed Yoichi did not have his memories. For one thing, Yoichi would not have been able to fake the affection in his eyes or tolerate the grip on his shoulder. For another, Yoichi looked awful. He'd turned nearly as pale as his hair, which hung stringy and greasy around his face. His voice had a rasp. The tip of his nose reddened as he coughed again.
Hisashi brought up a cup of tea to his brother's mouth. This meal proved smoother and easier than the morning routine, because Hisashi fussed too much over Yoichi to pay any attention to his son. Izuku didn't have to act, just sit quietly. A million questions for his uncle itched in his throat, but he could not ask them in front of his father and the current Yoichi wouldn't know the answers.
After Yoichi had finished eating, his eyelids sagged. Hisashi said, "We'll leave you to nap. You need to rest and build up your strength."
Izuku swallowed down a million things he wanted to say. "I hope you feel better soon, Uncle Yoichi. Let me know if Dad fusses too much, and I'll distract him." He tacked on the second sentence at the last minute. It was what Izuku always said when his uncle got sick. It would have looked suspicious if he didn't make a light-hearted jab at his father's overprotectiveness. Even so, his heart raced and his palms sweated.
Yoichi laughed. "Big brother does such a wonderful job looking after me. I'm grateful."
Cold ice lodged itself in Izuku's heart. Seeing that slack-jawed, stupidly adoring gaze, he feared Hisashi had done worse to Yoichi than take his memories. Was this what his father wanted to do to Izuku?
It killed Izuku to wait, not knowing what might be happening to Toshinori. But he did not dare act before his father let down his guard. From what he'd seen last night, he was fairly certain his father had been bound not to physically harm any of the tutors. In retrospect, it seemed obvious that if Hisashi could have killed Kaiji and Sanzou, then he would have a long time ago. So Izuku bided his time until Hisashi left on another of his mysterious trips. This did not take long. His father was always busy. (With what? Izuku wondered uneasily. He'd been wondering a lot lately.)
As soon as Hisashi had left, Izuku tried to see if he could get through to the others at all. He targeted Nana during his music lesson. She'd been the closest to Toshinori.
Fidgeting at his piano, Izuku asked, "Could we visit Eighth? He must be lonely, stuck by himself and sick. I'm worried about him."
Nana brushed back a stray lock of her hair. "I'm worried too, but your father has good reason for the quarantine. He doesn't want you to get sick, too."
"Good reason my ass." Izuku snorted. "Dad let me visit Uncle Yoichi. He's being completely unfair. He's always treated you and the other tutors like outsiders. Doesn't it bother you?"
"Family must come first," Nana recited. There was a slightly hollow note in her voice. Izuku marveled that he'd never noticed it before.
Izuku leaned forward. "To me, you and Eighth are family. I love everyone. That's why I want to see Eighth—to see Toshinori Yagi."
Nana gasped. "Your father won't like to hear you say any of that."
"Who cares?" Izuku took Nana's hands. "You're always brave and fearless, except concerning my father's orders. Won't you help me? Please?"
Nana's jaw muscle twitched. Her face twisted as if under a great strain. After a long pause, she said, "Family must come first. Your father's orders are absolute. I'm sorry, Izuku." In a rush, she added, "But we couldn't have anyway, only En has a key that can open all the interior doors."
Izuku's shoulders slumped. He lied, "I understand. I'll wait for my father to return and ask for his permission."
"That's for the best." Nana's smile came back. "Your father always knows what is good for you." Her tone held a sing-song note.
If even Nana couldn't push past whatever mind-control Hisashi had her under for Toshinori's sake, then Izuku knew it would do no good to even ask the other tutors. Besides, Nana had given him the information he needed—where to find the keys.
Each of the tutors had a different chore, except for Yoichi who was considered too sickly. (Or, more likely, too favored.) En had the responsibility of vacuuming and dusting mansion. Izuku suspected that must be why his sixth tutor needed access to all the rooms. Hisashi's confidence in his control must be great indeed, to let one of his hostages have a skeleton key.
Izuku waited until night, when the halls would be empty. Hisashi was gone, and En always went to the balcony to watch the stars as soon as it got dark. In his house shoes, Izuku crept into En's room. The keys were easy to find, hanging on a board by the door. The skeleton key was even marked. Izuku snatched his prize and climbed up the stairs to the Western Tower.
Tutors two through seven waited for him at the top of the stairs. Quietly, Nana said, "I was afraid you'd try this, Izuku. I gave you a chance to do the right thing. It's not too late. We didn't tell your father yet. You can turn around and go back to your bedroom."
Izuku's heart sank to his stomach. Perhaps he should have realized Nana would see through him. She knew him better than his father. Yet she'd already give him a great concession by not tattling right away. That made him hope she might be fighting back. He said, "Or you could go with me to help Toshinori. Please! Dad imprisoned him. This is wrong."
Six pairs of chillingly emotionless eyes looked back at him.
Kaiji said, "You must never rebel against your father."
Sanzou said, "You must never speak against your father."
Hikage said, "You must never hide from your father."
Banjo said, "You must never be angry at your father."
En said, "You must always be honest with your father."
Nana said, "You must always put family first, and your father above anyone else."
In eerie unison, they chorused, "These are the rules, Izuku."
Legs shaking, Izuku stumbled backward. His heel hit the edge of the top stair. He'd never been afraid of his tutors before. He loved them and knew they loved him in return. But the blankness of their gazes terrified him.
Izuku could not give up. If he did, then surely his father would control his mind like the others. He knew better than to believe the tutors would hide his rebellion after his father returned. They weren't capable of keeping secrets from Hisashi, unfortunately. One more time, Izuku tried, "Please, I'm worried about Eighth."
"We care about Toshinori too," Nana whispered. It sounded more human that her other rantings, at least. "But he's safe here. All of us are safe." She held out her arms to Izuku, as if offering a hug.
"I don't want to be safe," Izuku said. "I want to be free. Please, let me past. Fifth? You hate rules. Second, Third, I know you don't like how my dad treats Uncle Yoichi. Sixth and Fourth, you're too kind to do this." He found nothing he could reason with in their blank eyes. He gripped the banister at the top of the stairs. "Let me past, or I'll throw myself down the stairs!"
That finally removed the blankness from their eyes. "No, kid, please," Kaiji cried. "Oh, fu—fuuuu—" Even now, he couldn't swear. The others added their pleas. Banjo tried to bribe him with a new art easel.
"I'll do it!" Izuku cried frantically. It was a bluff. He watched emotions war on their faces—their love for him with their orders. Hopefully they'd been ordered to protect him above all else. When he put one foot behind him, into empty air, they took him seriously and cleared a path.
Izuku stumbled forward, key in hand, wary of any attempt to stop him. He whispered, "I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for all of you. If you had your memories, then you'd understand." With shaking hands, he got the key into the lock and opened the door. He had to get inside. The others had no key. Once he locked the door, they wouldn't be able to follow him. Then what? Izuku didn't know. Maybe he'd be trapped in the tower with Toshinori until his father returned. But at least he'd be able to talk to Toshinori. At least this wouldn't all have been for nothing.
En lunged, hands outstretched. With a mad, pained cry, Nana grabbed En's arm and pulled him backward. She'd bitten a cut into her lip.
Izuku had no time to wonder what had happened, no time to thank Nana for her sudden and unexpected help. He darted through the partly opened door and slammed it, locking it behind him.
The Western Tower was normally used as a reading room. Bookshelves filled the walls from floor to ceiling. A window let in a view of the starry night sky, the water below, and the distant barrier. In terms of furniture, the room held only an end table and an ottoman couch. Toshinori dozed on the sofa with his legs hanging over, and Izuku felt a brief flash of anger at his father for sticking Toshinori in a room with no bed. The couch didn't even fit his body. "Psst," Izuku hissed. He didn't know if his tutors had a way to contact his absent father, so he wasn't certain how much time they had.
Toshinori leapt up in a flash. "My boy, how did you get in here?"
"I stole a key." Izuku held it up.
Toshinori swept him off his feet in a hug. "You're amazing."
Izuku blushed. "Since you aren't singing my father's praises, I take it that you haven't been brainwashed."
"The embers of One for All have protected me, at least so far. And since you still have your memories, I take it I was successful in transferring One for All to you?" Toshinori watched Izuku closely. "I'm sorry, I didn't have time to ask for permission."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Izuku said firmly. "I'm glad you saved me. Whatever you sent me, that green energy, it stopped my father from controlling me. What is One for All?"
Toshinori hesitated, biting his lip. "Please try to understand, I'm not sure of anything right now. My memories are in fragments. Using One for All triggered something inside of me, and my sanity and past started to come back. But it's all jumbled, and I can't be completely certain everything is accurate. Some of my story feels like something from a comic book. I don't know how much All for One has tampered with my mind." His chest heaved with the force of his breaths. Seeing Izuku looking at him worriedly, he managed a tentative smile. "I'll do my best to explain quickly."
"That would be a good idea," Izuku said. "I don't know when my father will return."
"If he has an alarm on my door, it might be very soon," Toshinori said.
Izuku hadn't even considered that horrific possibility. "Uh, I don't think Dad would bother? He has confidence in his control."
"The All for One I knew was paranoid." Toshinori took a deep breath. "Remember the comic book we made together? That was the story of my past. I'm the main character, and your father was the villain."
"Oh." Izuku took a moment to digest this. He'd read enough isekai manga to roll with it. After all, when speculating about the universe outside his world, he'd often wondered if the stories in his books could be real. "You're even cooler than I thought."
"Thanks." Toshinori exhaled. "I lost to the villain, though." A gleam entered his eye. "Perhaps it's not over yet."
"That's the spirit," Izuku said. "Then Nana must have been your mentor in your world. But she didn't actually die?"
"I saw All for One let lose an explosion on Nana, but I never actually saw her body. It means so much to me, to see her here. The one bright spot in this madness. She doesn't look a day older. Let me start at the beginning." Toshinori pressed his fingers together. "I come from a legacy of eight heroes, each of whom became your tutors. The first holder of One for All was All for One's brother, so I am not surprised to see him here, too. You, on the other hand, were never mentioned in our stories. Before coming here, I believed my predecessors to be dead. Perhaps we are all dead. Maybe All for One has trapped our ghosts inside his mind."
"No, that can't be possible." Izuku felt disturbed. "This place is real. I grew up here."
"True, that's evidence in favor of this being a place created by All for One's quirks." Toshinori paced the narrow room. "But what I saw last night, what Yoichi turned into—I don't have a rational explanation for that. Maybe the war I inherited was secretly a battle between two eldritch creatures. Maybe All for One is a real demon king. Maybe there's a scientific explanation instead, and we're inside virtual reality. Maybe All for One trapped us all inside his head, like how he absorbs quirks into his mental landscape. Maybe you're a quirk, not a human child. Maybe my real body is dead and I'm stuck here forever. Maybe there's a quirk that explains all of this—quirks can break reality. I don't know. But I have a way to get you out."
Many questions hovered at the tip of Izuku's tongue, especially about him being at least half eldritch being or a sapient quirk (WTF?) but his mind narrowed to focus on that last, very important point. "We can escape?" He'd been trying not to think about the consequences when his father returned, having come too far to back out. This news came as a great relief.
Toshinori said, "Using the power of One for All, I broke the barrier around this world. The embers after I passed on my ability to you will suffice to do it at least once more."
"That's great," Izuku said.
"I don't know what world will be on the other side. I don't know if my memories of a Japan full of superheroes are accurate or if All for One tampered—"
"I don't care," Izuku interrupted. "I've always wanted to see what's outside this world. If I wanted to stay safe, I never would have defied my father. But I want to live. No matter what might be outside, I still want to get out. Let's do it. How do we escape this tower to reach the barrier?"
Toshinori smiled sadly. "Only one of us can pass through. Only the current holder of One for All possesses the power to leave this place."
"How can you be certain without trying?" Izuku demanded.
Toshinori shrugged, the gesture barely perceptible. "I know it. I know it the same way I know how to use my power. I'm not sure where the knowledge came from in my shattered memories. Perhaps once I knew which of my mad theories is correct. At the least, I know this world can only be destroyed and everyone inside freed by defeating All for One. And I know that only the current holder of One for All can defy All for One's rule and leave this place."
"Then we defeat my dad and leave together," Izuku said stubbornly.
"You can't, not here, where he has absolute power. He can only be beaten on the outside. You have to go, Ninth." Toshinori swallowed. "If I stay here, I'll lose my memories. I can already feel it happening, old memories vanishing as fast as new ones spring up. But I'll be safe here. All for One can't harm me. That's his deal with Yoichi."
"I can't leave you," Izuku said wildly. "I can't abandon everyone. We should all escape together, all nine of us."
"There's no other way," Toshinori said. As if to punctuate his words, the sound of frantic voices came from the hallway. "He's coming. We're out of time. I'm sorry I can't explain more to you, but please, trust me."
Before Izuku could reply, Toshinori lifted Izuku up by the back of his shirt. His body swelled up. With one punch, he completely shattered the window. Then he threw Izuku out.
Fighting the wind, Izuku twisted his body, looking behind him. As he shot through the air, he saw the door to the tower splinter. Toshinori grinned, a mad triumphant expression of unflappable hope, and shouted, "I leave everything up to you, Ninth!"
As Izuku hit the barrier, his body went through. Green sparks danced a maelstrom around him, obscuring his vision. Where would he end up? What if Toshinori's story had only been a comic book? Anything could happen. Whatever might be on the other side, Izuku wanted to believe it was something worth fighting his father for.
In the last moments before his world faded away, Izuku vowed that he would return one day to free his family.
Author's Note: As for the truth, I'll let the readers decide.
FYI, I've decided to host a Bonus Round for my Three Weeks of Trioholders contest. Details are on my tumblr, delete the spaces to get the link:
tumblr.
com/
aimportantdragoncollector/734277736012627968/three-weeks-of-trioholders-announcement