10 May 2179

Izuku bit into the bread roll, chewing mechanically as he stared down at his broken finger.

He'd set it the night before, stuffing his mouth with the sleeve of his gown to stop himself from biting his tongue. The gown had since been ripped up and used as a blanket, replaced with the grey jumper and tracksuit bottoms that had been pushed through a slot in the door.

The violent purple bruise had lessened slightly, but still, everytime Izuku accidently banged it or forgot about it and tried to use it the pain returned tenfold.

He'd been spoiled up until now. Every time he'd broken a body part with One For All either Recovery Girl or Hyper Regeneration had healed him in a matter of minutes, hours at most.

It had been over a day now.

Izuku's whole body suddenly stiffened. He couldn't move.

The cell door opened, and seconds later Kurogiri entered, pushing a wheelchair in front of himself.

A warp gate opened under Izuku and he felt himself fall, just for a moment, before he landed in the wheelchair.

Whatever quirk that was freezing his muscles deactivated, his limbs falling limp. Restraints whirred into life, clamping his arm and legs to the chair.

Grunting, Izuku pulled with his left arm, trying to free himself, but it was in vain. If anything the restraints seemed to get tighter.

Glancing up at Kurogiri, Izuku watched as he turned his back to him, closing the warp gate he'd used to move Izuku.

Calling on One For All, Izuku concentrated it into his fingertip, aimed at Kurogiri, and flicked.

Nothing happened.

"Don't bother Izuku, all that would get you is another broken finger and a very pissed off Kurogiri."

Izuku knew that drawl.

All For One.

Izuku turned his head to see a tall, well-dressed man, his head covered by a black, metal helmet with pipes that reminded him of a spider's mouth.

In one hand was a finely crafted, ornate cane, the other was raised and in its palm was an eye, glowing red and focused on Izuku.

"Hello, son."

"Dad?"

The words slipped from Izuku's mouth before he could stop them.

All For One looked to Kurogiri. "You may leave us now."

But Izuku paid no mind to Kurogiri's departure, his eyes focused on All For One's hand.

Erasure.

"Mr. Aizawa's quirk, you took it!" Izuku yelled, pulling on his bindings. "You took Quirksmith!"

All For One closed his palm. "Oh relax, Izuku, I did nothing of the sort. Quirksmith is still there, I just added a quirk of my own to dampen it."

"Dampen it?" Izuku questioned. "If you had a quirk that dampens other quirks the user possesses then it would have dampened your quirks as well, you couldn't have used All For One to give it to me."

All For One laughed darkly. "Oh, you are astute, you know your quirk physics. The quirk used to dampen other people's quirks, within a certain range."

All For One gestured towards the wheelchair, it started moving, following the villain as he left the cell.

"Where was I, oh yes, I gave the dampening quirk to you while you were unconscious and used another quirk of mine, Forced Quirk Activation, to make Quirksmith alter it." All For One continued, walking at a pace that made Izuku convinced the cane was just for show. "I couldn't have you breaking out before we got to have a father-son chat."

"You turned the quirk's effect back on the user and removed the trigger." Izuku stated, glancing at All For One. "I can't even use Quirksmith to alter or denature it."

"Correct." All For One turned a corner, the wheelchair still following behind. "Until I decide to take that quirk away, all your other quirks are barred to you."

"Except One For All."

All For One flinched, ever so slightly, and Izuku did not fail to notice.

"So it would seem, that quirk has always been unruly." All For One hissed. "Almost like it has a life of its own."

"Shame it doesn't, it'd at least be more interesting to talk to than you." Izuku spat back.

All For One laughed. "That was good, funny, I liked it. A refreshing change of pace, normally when I meet people they either want to kiss my ass or piss themselves in fear. Except All Might, but he's too much of a boy scout for any good mid-battle banter."

"You're American."

All For One stopped in his tracks, turning his head to look back. "You really have grown up to be so perceptive, I thought it would take you much longer to figure it out."

"The rest of the time, you're pretending, aren't you?" Izuku queried. "Playing the stereotypical villain."

All For One shrugged, resuming his walk. "It's good for intimidation. And as a reward for figuring it out so quickly, you get a bit of my backstory. A family history, as it were."

They turned another corner, the corridor was wider now.

"I am Japanese, my father, your grandfather, was an ambassador, went all around the world when we were young, I was born in America, your uncle in China." All For One explained, his tone almost wistful.

"Or maybe you're pretending." Izuku spoke. "The friendliness, the casual attitude, telling me about your childhood. Trying to make me lower my guard."

"Perhaps." All For One replied, the jovial tone gone from his voice. "Maybe it's the face I keep in a jar by the door, but you can't be sure of that, can you?"

"Eleanor Rigby." Izuku said. "You know that song's about being lonely, right?"

"I do, it's one of my favourite songs." All For One replied, before sighing. "I'm over a hundred and fifty years old, Izuku, pretty much everyone I have ever known is dead, and they've been that way for a long time. It's lonely, an empty battlefield, because everyone else has fallen."

"I prefer Blackbird." Izuku paused, scared to ask his question.

"You can ask it if you want."

"How many at your hand?"

"More than I'd like."

Izuku didn't have a response to that, there was no way the Merchant of Quirks, the First Demon, ever felt regret.

He was a monster.

And yet he was also Izuku's father. The man Izuku remembered comforting him when he was sad, and smiling when he was happy.

"Was it all a lie?" Izuku asked, his voice shaking. "With me, with mom?"

All For One turned to face him, the confusion clear in his body language. "Pardon, Izuku?"

And then it struck him, it seemed so obvious. He should have heard it straight away.

"You're not Hisashi Midoriya." Izuku uttered. "You're not my father."

All For One's posture stiffened. "Of course I am Izuku, your doting father ."

Izuku shook his head. "No, you're not."

"You're misremembering things, Izuku, you were a child back then-"

"You're pronouncing my name wrong."

All For One paused, before bursting into laughter. "Wow, now that is a rookie mistake on my part, I guess I was just so eager to meet you. So, how about I wipe your memory of this conversation and we start from the top."

Izuku struggled in his wheelchair, desperately trying to free himself.

"Fine, you get to remember, I'd only get bored of pretending eventually." All For One sighed.

Slowly, Izuku stilled, watching All For One carefully.

All For One rolled his shoulders. "So, I wonder who convinced you I was your father? Gran Torino? Yourself?"

Izuku didn't respond.

All For One chuckled. "All Might, of course. I suppose he cross checked our little fight six years ago with when Hisashi Midoriya went missing. That makes sense."

Still Izuku didn't speak, staring at All For One, his eyes dark.

"And then there's Hisashi Midoriya's rather slim file, popping up out of nowhere to marry your mother, and the similar quirks, Flame Breath." All For One chuckled. "Of course that great big oaf would come to that conclusion."

Izuku found his voice. "He's not an oaf."

"Yes, he is, a great big moron." All For One sounded like he was rolling his eyes. "Do you know why he's wrong? I'll tell you, because if I was your father, I wouldn't have left a couple of loose ends like you and your mother lying around, I'd have killed you both myself."

Izuku flinched, the dark aura around All For One making him recoil.

The darkness receded.

"But he wasn't actually far off."

Izuku's head shot up to All For One, eyes trained on him.

"What was it, 2130? 2135? No, it was 2133, I remember now." All For One continued their walk. "I was getting rather sick of the lack of good help, the first few of the Series I Nomu were still a year or two away, so I decided to make my own help."

"Clones, perfect copies, mind, body and quirk." All For One explained. "I put them through rigorous tests, whittling out the defects, the weaklings, until two remained. The victor of their battle would be granted a place at my right hand side. A title. Ichigata."

"The one who attacked me."

"Correct, however, the night before their little duel I woke up to a knife in my back and one way trip to a garbage barge off the coast of El Salvador." All For One paused. "And when I finally got back home I found one of the clones missing, and the other in my seat, pretending to be me."

"Ichigata killed his clone and tried to kill you?"

"Worse, it was the other one who tried to kill me, the weaker of the two." All For One bared his teeth. "They betrayed me, both of them, in different ways. The clone that stayed, I made him Ichigata, I rewarded him and yet he tried to usrp my throne again, so that time I found a new use for him."

"An attack dog." Izuku stated.

"Correct." All For One affirmed. "As for the other one, his betrayal stung far more, he turned against me, joined up with En, and Nana Shimura after him."

"He fought alongside her for years, at first I thought it was ruse to trick her into giving him One For All when the time came." All For One's hand tightened around his cane. "That I could have understood, but no, he even helped her in her decision, choosing All Might, but she did give him something else, a name, her father's name."

"Hisashi." Izuku realised. "He's my dad."

All For One nodded. "And in a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say I'm also your father, an exact genetic copy of me created you, thus you are my child. One of the Children of All For One."

But Izuku wasn't listening, he felt a wave of emotions rush through him, joy, relief, hope.

His father wasn't a monster.

His father had chosen not to be a monster.

To fight All For One.

And then it dawned on Izuku.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Izuku questioned hotly. "You've killed him, haven't you?"

"Alas, not yet. Hisashi went to ground after my little disagreement with All Might, lost his trail three years ago in a Bolivian jungle."

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, a small fit of laughter bursting from his lips.

"Glad you find it funny."

Izuku glared at All For One. "Just glad he's not in the hands of a monster like you."

"You should be far less worried about your father's safety and a lot more worried about your own."

"You won't kill me."

All For One's step faltered.

"What makes you say that?"

"If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it already." Izuku said. "Besides, you want One For All, and I have it. I won't give it to you."

"Who said you have a choice." All For One muttered under his breath, before chuckling. "You're good, and you're right, I can't kill you. Not yet."

A black spike of energy shot out of All For One's back and buried itself in Izuku's shoulder.

"But until then I can make you hurt."

Pain surged through Izuku's body, every nerve, every fibre felt like it was on fire.

And then, it stopped, instantly, like it had never been there.

"W-What was that?"

All For One replied. "A quirk, what else? One I picked up a few years ago, think the Cruciatus Curse."

"Cruciatus Curse?"

"Exactly, from Harry Potter."

Izuku shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"You know Eleanor Rigby, but not Harry Potter?" All For One queried. "You are maddenly inconsistent."

Izuku didn't reply.

They fell into silence, rounding a few more corners before stopping at a massive door, larger than any Izuku had seen at U.A.

"Here we are, we've finally arrived."

"Why not get Kurogiri to send us right here?" Izuku asked.

"A walk is good for some exercise, for me, not you obviously." All For One answered. "Also, Kurogiri isn't just a taxi service on my beck and call, he is a person after all. Well, actually he's a Nomu, but that's besides the point."

"Kurogiri's a Nomu?"

"My favourite one too." All For One retorted, before tapping his cane on the floor.

The massive doors began to open, revealing a lab filled with large vats, indistinct shapes floating in them.

"Welcome to where the magic happens."

All For One entered the lab, a flick of his wrist resuming the motion of Izuku's wheelchair.

Izuku focused on the nearest vat, trying to make out the shape inside.

A Nomu, its skin was a pale yellow, like the Bark Nomu from the USJ attack, it had clawed hands, talons on its feet.

And yellow wings folded behind its body

Izuku recognised them.

"Tsubasa?"

"I see you recognise your old friend." All For One drawled. "Well, less friend, more merciless bully."

"You're a monster." Izuku felt hot, stinging tears crawl down his face.

"You cry for him, a nasty child who took his impotent rage out on you, on an easy target?" All For One questioned. "I thought better of you, you're just as weak as All Might and the others who came before him."

"He was a child." Izuku stated, his voice hollow. "Empathy isn't weakness, it's humanity, clearly you've lost yours."

"I destroyed it, it got in the way." All For One snapped back. "And don't get any grand ideas of rescuing that thing , it's just a mindless beast now."

"I guess you two have got that in common."

Once again the pain surged through Izuku's body, he felt himself bite his tongue, the taste of copper filling his mouth, but he refused to cry out.

The pain ceased.

"Do you enjoy this or something?" All For One questioned.

"More enjoyable than listening to you drone on and on."

"Clearly, you do."

The pain returned, but not for as long this time, only a few seconds.

"You know, you might find this one interesting." All For One stated, stopping in front of another vat.

Blinking rapidly, his vision blurred by the pain quirk, Izuku stared into the tank, quickly making out the shape of a human torso.

And only a human torso.

With All For One's face, around the same age as Izuku.

"A clone?"

"Of a kind, yes. Jusangata, Type-13." All For One answered. "Completely brain-dead, created that way, Doctor Garaki grew it to replace the organs of mine that All Moron damaged."

"That's disgusting."

"No more so than farming animals, in fact this is just a mindless slab of meat, it feels nothing at all." All For One spoke, his tone condescending.

"You don't know that." Izuku stated. "It's impossible to know how another person feels, you can't just use people as organ harvesters."

"I think you'll find I can and I have." All For One replied.

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

Izuku glared at All For One. "Why keep them alive in this state, it's clear they'd die in an instant without life support, and you're never going to heal them or help them. Why do you keep them alive, just to suffer for your amusement?"

"Them? I think you mean it. It's a brain-dead piece of garbage, but you know I tend to hoard a little, I just can't let go of something I might find a use for later."

Izuku continued to glare at All For One, his fists tightening, paying no mind to the pain from his shattered finger.

"Besides, it's not like I've done nothing to help." All For One drawled, smirking as he got Izuku's attention. "See there, in its chest."

"Stitches, recently done."

"Correct. Doctor Garaki and I felt like a little experiment, you know, just for fun." All For One explained. "Whilst you were asleep we borrowed, well, more like took, something from you."

All For One strolled towards the tank, staring into it.

"We took your heart, and transplanted it into this thing." All For One continued. "We were curious to see what would happen to this thing. It started healing, slowly mind you, nowhere near as fast as you."

"You cut out my heart?"

"Relax, your body grew a new heart thanks to Hyper Regeneration." All For One retorted. "I'm curious to see how much this clone will heal thanks to your heart. And, of course, if it keeps healing, it will make a perfect organ bank in perpetuity."

Izuku felt sick, at the idea of the depraved science All For One clearly found fun, and his own, admittedly unwilling, role in it.

In this torture.

"I was wrong. You're not a monster." Izuku stated, turning his head to look at All For One. "You're worse, monsters kill and maim because that's all they know, but you, you do it for fun. It's a choice you've made, to be evil."

"A life this long, you get bored, I need to keep things interesting."

Izuku's fists somehow tightened further, blood dripping from his broken finger. "I understand now, why they call you the First Demon."

All For One shrugged. "Oh, you haven't even seen half of it yet. I've done worse, and guess what, I'll do worse, because you will fail, just like your predecessors."

"I'm tired of waiting!"

More shouts reached Izuku's ears, there was an argument taking place.

And maybe it would be the opportunity Izuku needed, to escape in the heat of the moment.

All For One sighed. "Right, I had nearly forgotten about this, come along, Izuku."

The wheelchair jerked back into motion, following All For One once again, into a larger space, free of vats.

"Don't worry, Overhaul. I'm here now."

In the center of the room stood a dark-haired man, in his mid-twenties, dressed in a suit and fur-lined bomber jacket, but, most bizarrely of all, a red and gold plague mask.

"We were supposed to be meeting half an hour ago!" Overhaul hissed, his voice filled with a strange mix of apathy and entitlement.

"As you can see I had another guest to entertain."

Overhaul's intense eyes focused on Izuku. "So you're the one who kidnapped that hero-in-training?"

"A quirk like his, I couldn't help myself." All For One shrugged. "In fact, he's to be part of today's show."

"Zenrei, they brought the girl."

A chill ran down Izuku's spine, he knew that voice. He'd heard it in his nightmares for years.

You should probably give up.

He has no quirk.

Doctor Ujiko.

There he was, he hadn't aged a day since Izuku had last seen him, almost twelve years ago.

But that means...

"Your own grandson." Izuku growled. "You turned your grandson into a monster!"

Izuku pulled on his bindings, the metal creaking and bending.

Metal coils shot from All For One's palms, wrapping around Izuku's body, forcing him tight against the back of the wheelchair, and gagging him.

"Now, now, now, we'll have none of that." All For One spoke, his tone mockingly chiding, flaring his dark aura with every syllable. "A child's place is to be seen and not heard, especially whilst the grownups are talking business."

Silence fell over the room, the henchmen Overhaul had brought shuffling nervously, bar one, a muscular man with light brown hair and a black mask, like a wrestler, except for a distinct curve to it.

Another plague mask, Izuku was starting to detect a theme.

"So where were we?" All For One queried. "Oh yes, the girl."

"Eri!" Overhaul barked.

A small girl, no older than six, with lank, greasy pale blue hair and a large horn from her forehead stepped out from behind the wrestler.

"Come here, Eri!"

The girl, Eri, flinched at Overhaul's voice, but stayed still, her eyes falling on Izuku.

Izuku recognised those eyes, he'd seen them in the mirror for a long time.

The eyes of someone who'd lost hope.

"Eri!" Overhaul snapped, removing one of his gloves, careful to make a show of it.

Eri squeaked and darted forward to Overhaul's side.

Overhaul pulled his glove back on. "Good."

Izuku felt sick to his stomach, this bastard was using violence to control Eri, a child, either against her, or others.

He hadn't missed the way Overhaul had pointedly looked at him when making his threat.

"Excellent." All For One stated, looking down at the young girl, his mask clearly scaring her. "So her quirk, Rewind, it does what you say does?"

Overhaul nodded, before snapping his fingers.

"No! Please don't, I wasn't, I couldn't!"

A man, bloodied and beaten, was dragged towards the center of the room and deposited at Eri's feet.

"Overhaul, please, let me make it up to-"

The words suddenly went silent, the beaten man's mouth moving, but no sound coming out.

"There we are, I hate grovelling." All For One spoke, lowered his hand.

"Thanks." Overhaul drawled. "Eri, use your quirk on him."

Eri shook her head, curling in on herself, wrapping her arms around her body protectively.

"Eri, use your quirk!"

The young girl shook her head again, more vigorously this time, her body braced for her punishment.

Izuku felt his heart break, the poor girl was used to this, this was routine. The kind of horrors she'd been forced to witness and partake in, it was nauseating.

"Is her quirk touch-based?" All For One questioned.

Overhaul nodded. "Yeah."

A force suddenly pulled on Eri, pressing her hand onto the beaten man, before a tendril of black metal, glowing red, pressed against her shoulder.

Golden energy shot from Eri's horn, channelling down her arm and into the cowering man.

He soundlessly cried out in pain, his voice still silenced by All For One, and then he was gone, just a pile of clothes, slowly soaking up fresh urine.

All For One released Eri, the girl slumped backwards, sobbing.

"The quirk is as you said." All For One acknowledged.

"Good, come, Karada." Overhaul beckoned.

Another man, not quite as muscular as the wrestler, came from the back of the pack. This one wore a plague mask like Overhaul, but smaller, with a strange blue hat that looked like bunny ears.

"Our deal, the quirk for the girl." Overhaul stated.

"I actually had an idea." All For One admitted. "An alteration to our deal in fact."

Overhaul stiffened, his henchman preparing themselves to fight.

"Now, now, you'll still get what you want, no it has to do with my young friend over here." All For One assured. "Midoriya here has a copying quirk, a very powerful copying quirk. Permanent."

"And?"

"I have him copy the girl's quirk and I give it to your friend, Karada, wasn't it?" All For One explained. "That way I get to keep the girl intact and you get your willing test subject that doesn't keep running away, so, do we have an agreement?"

Silence fell whilst Overhaul carefully regarded All For One, slowly flexing and releasing his hands.

"We have an agreement."

"Excellent. He is quirkless, as you said?" All For One gestured to Karada, the large man kneeling before him.

Overhaul grunted affirmatively.

All For One snapped his fingers, Izuku's wheelchair lurching forwards, in Eri's direction. "Now, Izuku, touch her and copy her quirk."

The coils shifted, puppeting his body out of the chair, reaching down towards Eri's prone form.

Izuku fought against his bonds, trying to free himself.

"Relax Izuku, you can still copy while your quirks are suppressed, it doesn't block that part of Quirksmith, I made sure of it." All For One stated. "In fact I made you copy a great many quirks while you were unconscious, even left you a few, not that you can use them right now."

Izuku's hand touched Eri's forehead, a rush of warmth flowing through his arm. It moved up, into his forehead where he felt a short horn grow.

"And now." All For One laid his hand on Izuku's shoulder, his other on Karada.

Izuku felt a dark, roiling power reach into his quirkspace and wrap around Rewind, Eri's quirk, and pull. His screams were muffled by his gag, the pain as he tried to hold on the quirk almost making him pass out.

All For One won, the quirk ripped from Izuku's grasp.

Izuku slumped to the ground, his body felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending screaming in pain.

Opening his eyes, Izuku watched as a horn, much shorter than Eri's, grew from Karada's forehead.

Karada stood, admiring the horn, Izuku recognised his expression.

It was the joy of finally having a quirk. Except it was twisted, a dark reflection based on torture and death.

"Go, Eri, you're no longer needed." Overhaul ordered. "You're All For One's now."

Izuku felt white-hot rage surge through him, disgust and horror at how Eri was being treated like an object.

A slave.

"Go, Eri." Overhaul barked again, removing his glove and raising his hand as a warning.

But still Eri didn't leave Overhaul's side, instead standing and looking up at him, fear in her eyes.

Even after everything Overhaul had done to her, Eri was still afraid to leave him.

Overhaul sighed. "I suppose I have to teach you this lesson one final time."

Izuku pulled on his bonds with all his might.

They refused to budge, he couldn't afford to use One For All, he couldn't save Eri with his entire body broken.

Looking up, Izuku saw the soulless eyes of All For One's mask boring into him, a voice suddenly echoing in his mind.

"Go ahead, show him what it's like to be powerless."

Raising his hand high, Overhaul brought it down towards Eri, tears streaming down her face.

Energy surged through Izuku, he felt his broken finger start to heal.

Quirksmith, all of my quirks, they're back!

Izuku exploded into motion, shattering the coils binding him with ease.

I have to protect her! No matter the cost!

Izuku's left arm exploded into a shower of blood and gore.

Overhaul raised his eyebrows. "You'll have to be faster than that, brat."

"That was just a distraction."

Overhaul's left arm exploded into a shower of blood and gore.

Clasping the stump of an arm, Overhaul dropped to his knees, howling in pain and shock.

Izuku didn't move, standing protectively in front of Eri, Hyper Regeneration dulling the pain as it slowly healed his arm.

"You bastard!" Overhaul hissed, touching his other hand to his stump, the exposed skin covered in hives.

Overhaul charged at Izuku, only for a translucent barrier to appear in front of him.

"That's enough of that." All For One drawled. "Kurogiri, please show our guests the door."

Portals opened under Overhaul and the rest of his henchmen, and in an instant they were gone and the purple smoke receded.

Like they were never there.

Shifting his body, Izuku moved to place himself in between Eri and All For One.

"I won't let you touch her."

All For One sighed. "You don't have a choice, I control that suppression quirk. I allowed you your quirks back, and I can take them away again."

And then, Quirksmith was gone again, the pain in his half-healed arm increasing tenfold as Hyper Regeneration was suppressed.

"There's always a choice." Izuku stated, raising his right arm. "To do what's right!"

Izuku channelled One For All into his finger, at the absolute maximum he seemed to be able to access with the quirk suppression in place.

One For All: 60%...

"Delaware Smash!"

Izuku released the energy, flicking his finger.

A blast of concentrated air shot at All For One.

"Tch, child's play." All For One clicked his fingers, another wall of condensed air materialising to protect him.

The attack bounced off the air wall, dissipating harmlessly.

Damn it, I need to focus the blast more!

Ignoring the pain from his broken first finger, Izuku gathered One For All into the absolute tip of his middle finger and flicked.

This time the blast was much more contracted, and far faster. With a sound like the crack of a whip, the air wall shattered, the remnants of the attack buffeting All For One.

"Not bad." All For One said. "My turn."

All For One raised his arm, palm aimed directly at Izuku.

"Air Cannon. Springlike Limbs. Kinetic Booster."

All For One's arm swelled up, the sleeve of his suit threatening to tear apart. "This is but a taste of my power."

A cone of compressed air rocketed at Izuku and Eri, a warped copy of the Delaware Smash.

Directing One For All into his fingers and thumb, Izuku hunkered down and dug them into the concrete floor, using his body as a windbreak for Eri.

Izuku felt his digits shatter, two of them for the second time in as many minutes, but he refused to give up.

Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the wind died down, Izuku sagging forwards, his entire body screaming out in pain.

Before he could fall on his face his foot found purchase, digging in and forcing his body to straighten up again.

"Is that all you've got!" Izuku yelled defiantly, clenching his bloodied and broken fist.

All For One chuckled. "I was wondering why All Might picked you, you seemed far too analytical and underhanded for a brute like that. But now, I see you have the same asinine refusal to give up, the inability to let go of a lost cause."

Izuku's wild eyes bored into All For One.

"You could have left the girl behind and escaped by now. Did you even think of all the lives you could have saved in the future if you just abandoned this hopeless waif?" All For One questioned. "How shortsighted of you."

Izuku heard a muffled cry, turning to watch black ooze pouring from Eri's mouth.

"No! Eri!" Izuku lunged forwards, reaching out for the young girl.

His hand grasped empty air.

Izuku dropped to his knees. "Eri."

"Pathetic." All For One hissed scornfully. "Kurogiri."

A portal slowly opened behind All For One as Izuku pushed himself to his feet.

Turning back to face his enemy, Izuku's eyes shone with rage, his fist clenched. "Bring her back."

"No can do, as I've rather superbly been distracting you from, we're currently moving out of this little secret base." All For One explained, gesturing around them to illustrate the massive laboratory was now empty, not a single vat remained.

Izuku steadied himself, preparing to launch his body at All For One.

"Apologises, but that little confrontation with Overhaul has compromised this place, plus those Pro Heroes sniffing around the beach." All For One continued. "So, enjoy, the place is all yours, for the ten minutes or so it takes for it to flood."

Izuku charged at All For One and the portal behind him, every footfall sending shockwaves of pain through his body.

The portal closed.

Izuku slammed into the ground and slowly came to a halt, looking up at the blank, featureless grey concrete above.

"I failed."

An explosion rocked the facility, followed by the sound of rushing water.

It was underwater. Izuku was underwater, stranded and waiting to die.

And then Izuku remembered something All For One had said.

"-those Pro Heroes sniffing around the beach."

The beach.

If All For One was worried about Pro Heroes at the beach, then that meant the beach couldn't be far away.

Closing his eyes, Izuku focused on his memory of All For One saying those words.

His head turned to his left when he mentioned the beach, only by an inch, meaning that's the most likely direction.

Pushing his battered and bleeding body to his feet, Izuku propelled himself forwards, forcing one foot in front of the other.

Exiting the lab, Izuku quickly located a stairwell and headed down, following the water flowing from the floor above.

If I blow an escape hole in an unflooded section of the water will just rush in, washing me away and making it unusable. I need to do this on a floor the water has already filled.

Wading deeper into the facility, down three floors, Izuku found the water was up to waist height, and rising rapidly with each passing second.

Pushing his way through the water, Izuku found the outside wall, in the direction he hoped land was in.

He was in a large atrium, filled with somewhat out of fashion furniture, now floating away. Clearly this had been somewhere All For One had entertained guests in the past.

Back when he ruled Japan from the shadows.

But Izuku didn't have time to admire the decor, the water was now up to his chest, he didn't have long before he would be submerged.

Placing his back against a large pillar and bracing himself with his legs, Izuku raised his right arm.

With a flick of his ring finger a blast of compressed air smashed into the outside wall.

Biting back a cry of pain, Izuku watched a small crack appear in the wall.

Again!

He used his pinkie this time, the purple bruise darkening, blood dripping into the water.

The crack widened, but the wall refused to give.

Aiming at the wall once more, Izuku took a deep breath as the water finally filled the atrium.

There was no going back now, Izuku doubted he had the air to get back to the stairwell.

Izuku fired another wave of One For All's power, using his middle finger for the third time.

White hot pain burst from the finger, nearly making Izuku release his breath.

Raising his hand Izuku saw a stump where his middle finger had been.

And still the wall refused to give, the crack was massive now, on the cusp of failure.

I can't use my fingers again, I'll destroy them.

Making his decision, Izuku released his breath, water flooding into his mouth.

With a muffled scream, Izuku charged One For All into his thumb and flicked in on the corner of his mouth.

A blast, far more concentrated than the previous ones, smashed into the wall, finally forcing it to crumble.

It's nighttime.

The murky water gave no hints to how deep Izuku was, he just had to hope he wasn't too deep.

Kicking his feet, Izuku positioned himself against the outside wall, his lungs screaming at him, the corners of his vision blurry.

Gathering One For All into his legs, Izuku kicked off with every last ounce of strength he had.

Streamlining his body as much as he could, his now broken legs flapping behind him, Izuku rocketed towards the surface.

And then, Izuku breathed fresh air.

Soaring into the night sky, Izuku saw a familiar sight stretched out below him.

Mustafu.

Home.

A sea of lights and buildings that was getting a lot bigger, a lot faster.

Izuku was falling, his legs trailing uselessly behind him.

This is just like the Entrance Exam, I'll use a Smash from my arm like I was going to do before Uraraka caught me.

Izuku's eyes zeroed in on Takoba Beach, a small amount of rubbish had already accumulated in the two weeks since he'd last had a chance to clear it.

I'll head for Takoba, the last thing I want to do is put anyone at risk with this Smash. This way the only stuff that gets damaged is dumped junk.

"And my arm."

Aiming his body towards the beach, Izuku focused intently, waiting for the right moment.

Now!

"DETROIT SMASH!"

11 May 2179

Tenya pulled up the hood of his rain jacket as he stepped out of the train station.

After his talk with Ms. Midoriya, he'd decided he couldn't sit around, that he had to at least do something to help.

Tenya had managed to convince Tensei to assign him to a search party as a civilian volunteer.

For the last few days Tenya had been allocated to a forest not far from the Ingenium Agency, but today he'd been transferred.

Tenya looked up, checking the sign.

Takoba Beach.

That was where Tenya was assigned for the day, only a short distance from where Midoriya lived.

Readjusting his raincoat, Tenya turned the corner.

In front of him was a large beach, trash littering it, stretched as far as he could see in both directions.

A cordon blocked off the entrance, guarded by a police officer and HPSC official.

Crossing the road, Tenya made a beeline for the entrance.

"Sorry, kid, the beach is closed right now." The police officer spoke as Tenya approached him.

Tenya shook his head. "Apologises, my name is Tenya Iida, I'm a civilian volunteer. I have been assigned here today."

The official looked him up and down. "ID?"

Producing the card, Tenya handed it to the official as they produced a tablet.

Scrolling down, the official looked between the tablet and the ID, before handing it back to Tenya.

"You're on the list." The official confirmed, holding a laminated sheet out to Tenya. "This is your map, I've highlighted your search area, and be careful of the junk pile there, it collapsed last night, it's off limits."

Tenya nodded in understanding. "Of course, I will steer clear of it."

"Excellent, my contact number is in the top right, if you find something or need some help." The police officer said. "Off you go."

Tenya bowed to both of them, before hurrying through the barrier as the police officer opened it for him.

Following his map, Tenya walked down the beach, passing a number of other civilian volunteers as well as a few Pro Heroes, like Death Arms and Mount Lady.

"Thanks for the help."

Tenya looked up, finding the speaker to be Kamui Woods, sitting on top of a dumped truck engine.

"Mr. Woods, I-"

"Call me Kamui, Mr. Woods is my father." Kamui Woods interrupted. "Actually, All Might is my father."

"Really?"

"I'm kidding, Iida." Kamui assured.

"Oh, apologies." Tenya bowed to the hero.

"Iida, you don't have to, nevermind." Kamui spoke.

Tenya frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"You look just like your brother." Kamui explained. "I've teamed up with him a few times now."

"Right." Tenya bowed again. "I should be getting to my search area, thank you for your time, Mr. Woods, I mean, Mr. Kamui."

"Sure thing, stay safe!"

Kamui dropped down from the engine, heading off towards Mount Lady and Death Arms.

With that, Tenya turned, resuming his walk to his designated search area.

Something pulled at the back of Tenya's mind.

Kamui Woods' voice was familiar, like he heard it before, but he just couldn't place it.

Passing the collapsed junk pile, Tenya found his search area, a mostly empty section of beach, the next person was over a hundred metres away.

A quiet bang reached Tenya's ears, startling him.

Looking around, Tenya searched for the source of the noise.

He heard it again, slightly loud this time.

It was coming from within the junk pile.

Had someone got trapped when it collapsed?

Was it the wind?

Edging closer, Tenya called out. "Hello, my name is Tenya Iida, is someone in there?"

Another bang echoed in response.

"If you're trapped, bang twice!"

One. Two.

Pulling out his phone, Tenya read off the HPSC offical's number, calling it and placing it on loudspeaker.

"Hello?"

"This is Tenya Iida, search area Vermilion-Hawk-81. There's someone trapped in the junk pile."

"Shit, kid, stay where you are, we're on our way! And stay on the line!"

"I understand." Tenya affirmed.

The banging resumed, far more frantically.

"It's Morse code!" Tenya realised, drawing a marker and flipping his map over. "They're banging in Morse code!"

H-E-L-P-M-E

The banging paused, Tenya waited to see if it was over.

I-I-D-A

Tenya's blood ran cold, they knew his name.

I-T-S-M-E

The marker fell from Tenya's grasp.

I-Z-U-K-U-M-I-D-O-R-I-Y-A

Tenya's feet moved before he realised, clutching his phone as he found an opening into the junk pile.

Dodging a low beam, Tenya crawled under another, kicking sand in every direction.

"Have you gone in? Get out of there, you idiot!"

"I can't!" Tenya barked back, heaving himself forwards. "It's Midoriya!"

Standing, Tenya turned a corner.

The phone dropped into the sand.

"H-Hey Iida, I know, I look a bit rough."

Tenya stared in horror at Izuku's mangled form, his left arm was missing, his right hand was twisted, the middle finger gone.

Both his legs were broken, splayed at unnatural angles, his cheek had a rip on it, as if something had burst out of it.

"Oh god, Midoriya." Tenya scrambled forwards, pulling off his raincoat and placing it over Izuku's shivering and soaked body.

Next came his jumper, Tenya bundled it up and applied it to the stump where Izuku's arm had been.

"I-Iida." Izuku coughed, his shattered left hand reaching out to grasp Tenya's. "I need to give it to you."

"Give what to me?" Tenya questioned.

"The quirk." Izuku gasped, his chest rattling with every breath. "One For All."

"One For All?" Tenya repeated, frowning. "Like All For One? The First Demon?"

Izuku nodded. "It's the antithesis of All For One, a power gifted from person to person. The first c-cultivates the power and passes it on to the next, who refines it and passes it one again."

Izuku coughed, blood issuing from his lips.

"A crystalline network of power." Izuku suddenly drove his hand down, taking Tenya's with it, and impaling it on a glass shard. "It's yours now."

Tenya pulled his hand away, the glass had gone through the palm of Midoriya's hand, only just managed to scratch the surface of his own.

"Tell All Might I gave you One For All." Izuku instructed. "And, I need you to promise me something."

Tenya nodded.

Izuku's speech was starting to slur. "You have to save Eri, he has her, All For One has her. Promise me Iida, promise you'll save Eri."

Tenya nodded. "I promise."

Izuku smiled, before his body went limp, his eyes closing.

Tenya choked back tears, head bowed.

The junk pile over them was suddenly ripped away, revealing the hulking form of All Might.

"Izuku!" All Might exclaimed, tossing the junk clear and bending down towards Midoriya. "Wake up! IZUKU!"

But Midoriya didn't stir.

Tenya collapsed back, against a dented fridge, staring down at his bloodstained hands.

Paramedics arrived next, rushing past Tenya and All Might.

"There's a weak pulse, it's thready, but it's there!"

Tenya raised his head, a spark of hope stirring within him.

"I need a helicopter unit here now!" One of the paramedics ordered. "Contact Recovery Girl and Med-X, get them to meet us at Mustafu General Hospital!"

Tenya watched as the paramedics moved Midoriya onto a stretcher, immobilising his neck before they did.

What felt like seconds later sand was blasted in every direction, the helicopter whipping it up as it touched down.

"I'm sorry, All Might. There isn't room in the helicopter, you'll have to meet us at the hospital."

And then, with another miniature sandstorm, the helicopter was gone, and Izuku with it.

Tenya was left alone, with All Might.

The towering man was watching the helicopter's trajectory, his trademark smile gone.

"Are you okay, Young Iida?" All Might queried, his voice giving away that he was barely holding it together. "Your hand, you'll need that seeing to. How did it happen?"

"Midoriya." Tenya looked up at All Might. "Midoriya gave me One For All."