Chapter 11: Secrets Revealed

RING! RING! RING!

Sorahiko Torino groaned when he heard his phone go off.

He may have been retired these days, but that didn't mean that the telemarketers could interrupt his sleep this early, dammit! Of all times, it had to be one in the afternoon…

Grabbing the landline, he growled, "I'm not interested in whatever yer sellin' –"

"Gran Torino, it's me!"

"Eh? Toshinori? What in the blazes are you –?"

"Please tell me you disposed of All For One's body!"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?!"

"All For One's body! When I was still unconscious from the surgeries, please tell me that you and Mirai burned it after I passed out from my injuries, I'm begging you!"

"What? There was no corpse when we found you!"

"What?! No, no no, no…"

"There was no corpse! Nighteye and I thought you blew the bastard to smithereens!"

"Oh, no…"

"What's going on, Toshinori?"

"He survived, sir. All For One survived."

Sorahiko could feel herself getting even older the second he heard that.


Mirai Sasaki, better known as Sir Nighteye, ran through the open entrance of UA.

This was a disaster of epic proportions. When the phone call came in from Gran Torino, he immediately thought the worst possible option, that his prediction came true.

It was actually something that was somehow worse.

All For One was alive. Toshinori never destroyed the bastard completely, he just assumed that he and Torino dealt with his body while he was under. And Mirai, the idiot he was, didn't ask Toshinori what happened to the body and instead WENT ALONG WITH HIS ASSUMPTIONS.

And now, six years later, they were paying the price.

Walking through UA's halls, his eyes fell upon the people he was looking for: Toshinori, Gran Torino, Principal Nedzu, and Detective Tsukauchi. Perfect.

"I take it that Recovery Girl won't be joining us?" he asked.

"She has her own matters to attend to," Nedzu said. "However, we will have a few of the UA faculty in attendance for this meeting. They've already been briefed on the existence of the legendary Quirk Bogeyman, but nothing regarding you-know-what."

"Understood," Mirai said.

"All right," Gran Torino huffed. "Let's get this over with."

Mirai couldn't agree more.


"Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about the League of Villains. We've made some progress, but we can't find anything on Tomura Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Dabi, Megethos and the Icemen duo. We've searched our records for individuals within their age groups with the appropriate types of Quirks, but so far, we've come up empty. So either they're not citizens of Japan, or took extra steps to keep their identities hidden. Hard to find, either way."

Nedzu listened quietly as Tsukacuhi finished up the "official" police investigation. Sure, they may have been slightly helpful, but the truth was that politics could always get in the way.

Don't get him wrong, the police were an essential ally, especially Tsukauchi himself, but there was always pressure from the Hero Public Safety Commission to focus more on Heroes rather than the other emergency services. Hence, budget cuts and so-so investigations.

Both Nedzu and Tsukauchi knew that it was bullshit, but they had to play it safe. After all, it would only be a matter of time before the old bitch of a President either keeled over or was removed by some scandal, and when that happened, there was a good chance that someone who was more friendly to Nedzu's ideas would take her seat.

But for now, all they could do was suck it up, and make do with what they had.

"So, what you're really saying is we don't know anything," Vlad King grunted.

"We've gotta track them down," Snipe said, his shoulder still bandaged.

"There was only one Villain arrested in the aftermath of the USJ attack, that Nomu character," Tsukauchi continued. "So far, they haven't said a thing, much less talked, or even blinked."

"And with that out of the way, we should now focus on my part," Nedzu said, as he walked over to the whiteboard, and pulled up a PowerPoint slide. Most of the UA staff was already familiar with his little rivalry with the HPSC, so they were already expecting his own investigation.

"Thanks to the testimonies of both the teachers and the students who were at the USJ, I have been able to figure out a couple of the identities of the League of Villains, or at the very least, have a good guess for most of them," the white-furred mammal said.

"For the sniper that was distracting Eraserhead, and then shot at Snipe, given her description and how her Quirk would work…" Nedzu said, as he pulled up the first mugshot. "I can safely say that her real identity is Kaina Tsutsumi, the former Pro Hero, Lady Nagant."

The principal didn't say anything, but the way he saw Eraserhaead's eyes slightly widen at the photograph was more than enough for Nedzu to confirm his little theory.

"Isn't she the one that was locked up in Tartarus for killing another Pro?" Midnight asked.

"As far as we know in terms of official statements, yes," Nedzu said. "The HPSC has a tendency to cover things up, and this could be no exception. However, the end result was the same: She was locked up in Tartarus, and was said to have died there nearly eleven years ago."

"Then explain the dead woman shooting at my husband," Ms. Joke grumbled.

"The official statement was that she died from food poisoning, and her body was shipped off Tartarus to be cremated," Nedzu said. "Chances are, All For One faked her death by either bribing or threatening the guards and cooks, and then helped her escape."

"That would certainly explain the multiple Quirks…" All Might grumbled.

"Moving on, we also have two other cases," Nedzu said, as he revealed two images of a blond man and a man with long greasy hair. "These two are Toya Setsuno and Deidoro Sakaki. I believe these two to be Larceny and Punch Drunk, respectively."

"How do you figure?" Sir Nighteye asked.

"Punch Drunk called out Larceny by his last name during the USJ, with both Yaoyorozu and Jiro confirming it," the white-furred mammal said. "Aside from that, their Quirks registrations match the ones for their civilian identities, as they do for most average civilians."

"I see…" Gran Torino murmured. "Any other punks we know of?"

"One more," Nedzu said, as he pulled up a photo of a girl in a middle school uniform. "This is Himiko Toga now called Carmila. Eraserhead was investigating the case of her disappearance over a year ago before the trail went cold, and instantly recognized her at the USJ. She confirmed his suspicions, and then proceeded to attack him alongside Shigaraki."

"What did you find?" All Might asked.

"The official report says that she attacked a fellow student and sucked his blood with a straw, before fleeing the scene. Several minor new channels caught wind of this and interviewed the locals, saying that she was a perfectly normal girl before she snapped. Frankly, I have my suspicions," Nedzu said. "Tsukauchi, mind investigating this one for me?"

"Sure thing, Nedzu," the detective agreed.

"What else do we know?" Midnight asked.

"One more thing," Nedzu said, as he pulled up a photo of a broken wing. "Punch Drunk had this wing-like support gear on his back, allowing him to fly around like a giant house fly. Fortunately, Yaoyorozu created a shotgun and fired a bullet into the support gear, breaking a part of it off. And before you ask, yes, she had trained with firearms extensively before UA."

"We should still probably get her registered…" Snipe grumbled.

"Indeed. Anyway, Punch Drunk seemed distraught over his destroyed toy, before Larceny told him that "Hephaestus" would make Punch Drunk a new pair," Nedzu said. "Forensics inspected the missing piece, and found this logo on part of it, taking the photograph I'm now showing."

The Pro Heroes in the room all looked closer, to see that the logo was one of a hammer, with a capital "H" in the middle, which most likely stood for "Hephaestus".

"So, we also have an unknown individual responsible for supplying the League of Villains with top-of-the-line support items," Eraserhead groaned. "How wonderful."

"If my theory is correct, then this individual is also responsible for deactivating the alarms inside the USJ," Nedzu said. "None of the other Villains could do that, with the exception of All For One, but he would have to have an extremely powerful Quirk to pull that off."

"Is there anything else we know about?" Sir Nighteye asked.

"I currently believe that Nomu is an artificial being," Nedzu said. "Uraraka heard All For One say that "the Doctor" would be mad at him for losing Nomu after All Might defeated them, implying that the creature was man-made, and that it took an awful amount of time to make it."

"Anything else?" Gran Torino asked.

"One thing, and I hate to say it, but… I believe there's a traitor among us."

Nedzu waited for the cacophony of denials and outrage to the idea to subside before he continued speaking. "I know it is an awful thing to think about, but it's the only thing that makes sense. How the Villains knew when the trip to the USJ would occur because they stole the schedule during the break-in is one thing, but everything else? No."

"They knew the Quirks of each individual student. They sent Asui to the Flood Zone to freeze her and to prevent Kaminari from using his Quirk. They knew how to avoid falling for Shinso's Quirk. They sent Tokoyami to the Fire Zone because that's where his Quirk would be the weakest. There was now way for them to know all that UNLESS there was a traitor."

"They knew about Eri," Eraserhead spoke up.

Ms. Joke turned her head immediately towards him. "What?"

"Emi, they knew about our daughter. Shigaraki used that information to keep me in line, saying that he didn't want to see her cry just because I got killed by him. He knew."

As the green-haired woman stared, mortified, Nedzu continued speaking.

"I'm not saying it was someone in this room. All I'm saying is that someone, whether they be a teacher or a student, in UA High is a traitor. We can't investigate it now, lest we alert the League of Villains. All we can do right now is maintain our vigilance. That is all. Meeting adjourned."

The majority of the teachers began to leave, All Might included, before he was stopped.

"Yagi, wait a moment, please."

The skeleton-looking man turned around. "Nedzu?"

"I think you should tell the children the truth."


Walking up the steps, the brown-haired girl turned the key, opened the door, and –

""OCHAKO!""

was grabbed into a massive bear hug by her parents.

"We were so worried about you!" her mother cried.

"Don't ever scare us like that again!" her father yelled.

As she was wrapped around by this bear hug, she thought back to why she even became a Hero in the first place. Not the new reason All Might gave her with One For All, but her very first reason: To make lots of money and give her parents an easy life.

She would have been able to do it, no problem. She would have become a Rescue Hero, and made lots of money for them. But that was before what happened in Deika. Before, as grim as it was, her parents were now drawing in money, and she lost her reasoning.

But with All Might, she now knew she wanted to save others, with a smile like All Might's. But now that she thought about it, was this the right way to go? To now have to deal with some arch-nemesis that managed to throw All Might into the concrete. Was it worth it?

Would it be worth it to die a Hero, even if it would hurt those she left behind?

She didn't know, and for the first time in a while, she was scared.

And so, she cried into her parents' arms, without them ever knowing the real reason why. Ochako walked silently into the classroom this morning.

Ochako suppressed the memory as she sat down at her desk.

After spending her weekend crying her eyes out with her parents, she spent most of it in her room, thinking over what All For One said back at the USJ. That their two Quirks, and thus, each other, were linked. How All Might's current state was because of society.

How… She had to rely on others.

Everyone else was silent as well. There were no conversations to be had, except minor ones, but even those lacked the usual joy from the week earlier. At least everyone fully recovered over the weekend. She sat down at her desk, as Iida told everyone that the day was about to begin.

Opening the door was Aizawa-sensei and… All Might.

He was in his buff mode, smiling like always, but… all of the students in 1-A now knew that it was nothing more than a facade. Ochako wondered, Why is he still wearing it?

"Good, you're all here," Aizawa-sensei said before he looked over to his colleague. "Before we begin, we have something to tell you all, something that has to be kept secret… All Might?"

The Symbol of Peace nodded, before steam erupted from his body.

Less than a minute later, he was the skeleton they all saw at the USJ.

"Six years ago, I fought against that Villain from the USJ," he said, lifting his shirt to show everyone his injury. "I lost my stomach and one of my lungs in the process. Ever since then, my power has been on a time limit. One that decreases each time I overuse it."

No one said a single word.

"The truth is, kids, that I'm probably gonna be forced to retire by the end of this year. I wanted to pass on the knowledge I had accumulated, and to make sure that you would all be ready to stand up for justice when I no longer couldn't. That's the real reason why I joined the UA faculty," he continued, before bowing. "I apologize for my deception."

"All Might, you don't have to bow!" Iida broke the silence.

"Yeah," Kirihsima agreed with the spectacled boy. "You've been keeping the country safe while in that state, and for the last six years?! THAT'S SUPER MANLY!"

"Not to mention, you protected us at the USJ," Shinso added.

"Even if you've gotten old, you're still our Hero!" Kaminari said.

"Yeah, you're still All Might!" Sero said.

Thank you for still having faith in me." The old man smiled, as he stood up. "Now, Principal Nedzu has decided to hire on my civilian identity, Toshinori Yagi, as a member of the UA Staff, so, whenever I'm in this form, call me

Tsu raised her hand. "All Might… er, I mean, Yagi-sensei… I have a question, ribbit."

"Yes, young Asui?"

"Tha Villain that exposed you said something about "One For All," and he also called Ochako-chan your successor," the frog girl said. "What was that about?"

The shriveled-up All Might stiffened. "Uh, well, you see, um, that was –"

"All Might."

Ochako looked directly at her mentor, her expression serious. "No more secrets."

Her mentor was silent for a few moments, as he gazed into his successor's eyes. Seeing that she wasn't backing down, he sighed. "This never leaves this room. Understood?"

The entirety of Class 1-A slowly nodded.

"Very well then," he said, as he turned back to the students. "One For All is a transferable Quirk, one that stockpiles power, and becomes stronger with every new user. It originated back during the Dawn of Quirks, and has been passed nine times in the last two hundred years. I… was born Qurikless. Everything you ever saw me do as All Might was with One For All's help."

The room was quiet for about ten seconds, before everyone exploded.

"WHAT?!"

"YOU WERE QUIRKLESS?!"

"HOLY HELL!"

"THAT'S SO MANLY DUDE!"

"Alright, calm down, you brats," Eraserhead-sensei hissed, activating his Quirk.

"But wait, what does that have to do with Uraraka?" Hagakure asked.

Yagi gave them a soft chuckle. "Over ten months ago, I came to Musutafu, and stumbled across a young woman who rushed in to save a stranger her age from a Villain, risking her own life. I made her my successor. I was the eight user of One For All. Young Uraraka… is the ninth."

Everyone stared at Ochako, who ended up blushing a bit. "Eheh…"

"Wait, does that mean, you're gonna be as strong as All Might?!" Sato asked.

"No way, didn't you hear Yagi-sensei? She's gonna be even stronger!" Sero said.

"I'M SO JEALOUS!" Mina squealed.

"So… I take it that your "Quirk evolution" was just a lie?" Shinso asked.

"Yeah… sorry about lying to you," Ochako said. "Same to you, Yui-chan."

"Mm." Yui simply nodded her head, and said, "It was understandable."

Bakugou and Todoroki said nothing. They just stared at Ochako.

"All right, if we're done, let me make this very clear: If any of you spill the beans about ANY of this, from All Might's state, to Uraraka's second Quirk, you will not only be expelled, but also face criminal charges," Aizawa-senei said, his eyes glowing again. "Do I make myself clear?"

"""YES, AIZAWA-SENSEI!"""

"Great," he said, immediately dropping the scary act. "Now that All Might is done sharing national secrets, it's time to tell you that the Sports Festival is two weeks away."

And just like that, the class resumed acting like cheering children.

"LET'S GO KICK SOME ASS!" Kirishima shouted.

"Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the Villains snuck inside?"

Ojiro agreed with Jiro. "They could attack once were all in the same place."

"Apparently, the administration thinks that this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever," Aizawa said. "Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel just because of a few Villains."

"Aizawa's right," Yagi said. "The Sports Festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world. If you wanna go Pro one day, then this event could open a path for you. One chance in a year, three chances in a lifetime, no aspiring Hero can afford to miss this Festival!"

"That means you better not slack off on your training," Aizawa-sensei hissed.

""""YES, SIR!""""

"Young Uraraka," Yagi whispered. "Meet me in the Teacher's Lounge after school."

Ochako couldn't say anything before her mentor puffed back up and left the room.

"Oh, by the way, before I forget, we'll be going back to the USJ tomorrow to finish up your rescue training," Aizawa added. "That's all for homeroom. Hope you enjoy English class."

"HEY, KIDS!" Present Mic shouted, walking into the class. "Hope you're ready!"


With All Might's confession and One For All's reveal out of the way, the majority of the school day went on as normal. Well, as normal as it could be for a class that learned that the greatest Hero ever was on a time limit and had already passed on his Quirk to his successor.

But those were minor details, and everything else went perfectly fine!

Well… except for the one thing that happened at the end of the day.

"Uhh… why the hell are you all here?" Shinso asked.

Outside the door of Class 1-A was an ocean of students, the majority of them from other classes in the same grade. "Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" Iida asked.

"Why are they blocking our doorway?" Uraraka asked.

"They're scouting out the competition, idiots," Bakugou stated. "We're the class that survived a real Villain attack. They wanna see us with their own eyes. Now, move it, extras."

"BAKUGOU, YOU CAN'T WALK AROUND CALLING PEOPLE EXTRAS JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE!" Iida yelled, as everyone else stared in shock.

"So this is Class 1-A," an unfamiliar voice said.

Getting up towards the front of the crowd was a student with messy black hair, large red eyes, and freckles. "I was told you were impressive, but seeing you up close is even better!"

"Who are you?" Kirishima asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the kid apologized, flashing them all a smile. "I'm Mikumo Akatani, from Class 1-J of the Department of Management! It's nice to meet all of you face-to-face!"

"Oh, so someone from the Business Course…" Kaminari said.

"Yeah, exactly!" Akatani answered. "I've always been a big fan of Heroes, and while I'm not interested in declaring war, I still can't wait to face off against you at the Sports Festival!"

"WELL, I'M NOT!"

Everyone turned around to see a kid with silver hair and long eyelashes shouting. "I'M FROM CLASS 1-B! WE HEARD YOU FOUGHT SOME VILLAINS, SO I CAME HERE TO SEE IF IT WAS TRUE! I CAN'T WAIT TO KNOCK YA OUT OF THE FESTIVAL!"

Bakuogu merely ignored both of them, along with the rest of the crowd.

"Hey, aren't you gonna say anything, Bakugou?" Kirishima asked.

"These people don't matter," the blond simply said. Remember your goal…

"HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

As Bakugou left the class, everyone else was still discussing matters regarding the Sports Festival. "Well, you heard Aizawa-sensei. Better get training," Tokyoyami said.

"Yeah, good call," Sato agreed with him.


It was now late in the afternoon, when most of UA's students would be going home right now, but not Ochako. She had business to attend to at the Teacher's Lounge.

"It's me," she said, opening the door, to find her mentor on the couch.

"Come have a seat," he said, quietly.

Ochako noticed that he seemed a bit… different. Sure, he looked all sad and depressed back when he revealed his true form to the class earlier today, but this was… something else.

"I'm sorry for not being able to defend you back at the USJ."

"Oh, no, you don't need to apologize for that!" Ochako said. "More importantly, you said that you wanted to see me after class. Something concerning One For All, I'm guessing?"

"You should know its origin," All Might said. "One For All was derived from another odd Quirk, a power that is very old. The name of that Quirk is… All For One. It allowed its user to take Quirks from others, and the user could keep the Quirks, or give them to someone else."

"I know about that part," Ochako said. "Back at the USJ, he told me about it."

"I figured as much, but he didn't tell you everything, did he? Well, I'm going to," All Might said. "Back when Quirks were starting to show up, and before society knew how to deal with the newly powered among them, it was impossible to say what it meant to be a normal person. Laws and human rights were hotly debated, civilization stalled, and society decayed."

"Yeah, we were taught all that in middle school," Ochako said.

"Yes, but not all of it," All Might said. "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, and committed evil acts with little resistance. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of Villains and ruled over Japan."

"What does this have to do with One For All?" she asked.

"I'm getting to that part," All Might said. "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. 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 was giving his brother, or if he just wanted to force him to submit."

Ochako's eyes widened at the realization. "Don't tell me…"

"Yes! Even though everyone thought he was Qurikless, it turns out the brother did have a Quirk, though even he hadn't realized this to be the case. He had a useless power that only allowed him to pass on Quirks! And so, the stockpiling ability merged with the younger brother's power!" All Might said, spreading his arms dramatically. "And that is how One For All came to be!"

Ochako was silent, as she suddenly realized that the Villain back at the USJ was aware of One For All, or even about what it was to begin with, or how it worked. He wasn't insane, he was actually there, he was the one responsible for creating that Quirk in the first place.

"I've always found it ironic that justice so often spawns from evil…"

"Wait, hold on!" Ochako said. "I understand how it happened, but All For One is still alive! He was there at the USJ, how is that possible?! How is he not long dead?!"

"One who steals Quirks has no limits. Anything is possible," the No. 1 Hero said. "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 differences between 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 that One For All would continue to grow in power, until it was strong enough to stop his older brother. And then, it was my turn."

"So… now you know. The entire purpose of One For All is to defeat All For One. As its holder, you may have to fight against this great evil… because I failed," All Might said, as he stood up. "I don't have much time left as the world's Symbol of Peace, soon I'll have to put that title to bed. And All For One has noticed that. Someone has to step up and keep the people safe."

Looking out the window, he said, "I gave you my power for one reason, because you will be the Hero who will take my place! This Sports Festival is something that the Pros… no… the entire country will be watching very closely… I want you to think of this Sports Festival as your debut! Ochako Uraraka, I want you to introduce yourself to the world, and proudly say: I AM HERE!"


Young Uraraka left the room shortly after, to head home.

Toshinori sighed as he watched her leave the UA gates through the window. It wasn't fair to put this sort of pressure on a child, but time was running out, and he had no choice.

"You didn't tell her everything."

Toshinori turned to see his old mentor was in the room with her.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"You've always been predictable, trying to shield people from the ugly truth," Gran Troino said. "But my previous point still stands: You didn't tell her everything about All For One."

"I couldn't burden her even further…" Toshinori whispered.

"I know," Gran Torino said. "What we discovered that dreadful day six years ago will probably stay in the back of our heads for a long while. Speaking of which, anything?"

"You too, huh?" Toshinri said. "No, I still haven't found anything on the poor kid..."

"A shame," Gran Torino huffed. "A real damn shame."

Toshinori nodded in agreement. That memory of what transpired shortly after he bashed that monster's skull in would continue haunting him for the rest of his life. All For One was an evil bastard, yes, and he deserved what happened to him, but…

No child should be shaking their father's unmoving body, begging them to wake up.

Not even that poor, green-haired child from all those years ago…


Author's Note: Things have just gotten more interesting, haven't they?

As everyone is now heading back to classes for the semester, I would like everyone to know that weekly publications will still be happening, so no need to worry! Now that this is out of the way, let's see what everyone's been commenting on in the last chapter…

Norisu Ninja: Correct on that prediction, Class 1-A now knows everything… mostly! And don't worry, you're gonna see more of Midoriya without even knowing it!

Knightmare Lord: That's a surprise twist for later!

DragonWhite04: Alright, enjoy your short-term victory.

EmilMobile: Don't worry, I'm sure Shoto is gonna be too busy with the reveal that Touya is alive to even focus on his older sister. And I think I kinda knew about Geten and Touya being the Ice Climbers in my subconscious, but it never came into my active mind until you brought it up. Hope you enjoy this chapter and all the future ones!

VinHD15: Gadl you agree, I'm gonna now add this joke into a future chapter.

Hoshi_Rosethorn: Welp, now you know how Uraraka's two closest friends reacted. Shinso is somewhat bitter, I guess, but Yui is as stone-cold as ever. And you were also right about Eraserhead and Ms. Joke now being more protective of Eri! Anyways, I hope you look forward to what happens next, because it's gonna be a doozy!

That's all the comments for this chapter, now for the closing remarks…

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!

That's all for today, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

- Ernalore