"Quiet, brats. Today's a big one for you, so don't make it any longer for me."
Immediately, Class 1-A was silent. Izuku met Ochako's eyes across the classroom as she smiled, and he couldn't help but be infected with her enthusiasm. She'd agreed to eventually accept All Might's Quirk yesterday, so she'd been walking on air all day, even more so than usual. Her pure elation had everyone else assuming it was because of how well she'd done in the sports festival, and she'd let them believe that. Everyone who spoke to her had ended that conversation with a smile, though, so Izuku was okay with the lie. It didn't help that Ochako had a brilliant smile, one that made his stomach squirm whenever she pointed it at him, so he was willing to be a little selfish and keep her smiling like that as long as possible, just for his own satisfaction.
Looking back to the front of the classroom at Aizawa, Izuku just barely managed to take his eyes away from Ochako. Their teacher looked absolutely exhausted, and might have fallen to the ground and passed out on the spot if he didn't have the podium keeping him upright. He swept his eyes over the class, nodded, and spoke again.
"As you know, the sports festival is televised. It shows people just how well we're training you, and allows them to be confident that the next generation of heroes are going to be just as good at protecting them, if not more so, than their predecessors. However, the purpose of the festival is two-fold. Heroes also tune in, and the festival has long since been transformed into a method of recruitment for hero agencies wanting to see just what you're capable of outside the structure of the games we broadcast," Aizawa said. A ripple of tension surged through the students at that, each boy and girl hanging on Aizawa's every word to hear what came next. "As such, we have a draft. Hero agencies can put in a request for a specific hero course student and invite them to a week-long internship with their agency, during which classes are suspended. You'll gain real world experience, though you'll be treated more as guests at whatever agency you go to, rather than real heroes, or even sidekicks. Now that the sports festival is over, the draft has been taken, and I have the results."
Izuku felt every muscle in his body tighten as he thought about it. Real world experience with actual heroes? That was so far beyond their mock battle training sessions. He wondered if anyone else thought it was a crazy jump in scale, but kept quiet. He wasn't sure that he was at a place with his power where he could be going out and using it on the streets, but if he was just going to be a guest at whatever agency he went to, then it was fine, right? Would he fight real villains? Would he be saving real people? Izuku thought all the possibilities couldn't possibly fit in his head, but his mind just kept getting fuller and fuller, until a stack of paper was dropped onto his desk. It looked like Izuku had missed Aizawa's explanation of how many offers everyone had gotten while he'd been caught up in his own thoughts.
Flipping through it briefly, each paper had dozens of names of heroes and their agencies on them. If every single sheet of paper contained that number, then he had thousands of offers! Izuku looked back up to the front of the classroom and saw that Aizawa had projected the number of offers, and Izuku had indeed gotten over four thousand. He'd won the sports festival, sure, but he was far from the most impressive fighter there. Todoroki had gotten second with three and a half thousand offers, which made sense considering that he was the single most powerful person in their class and had had no reservations about proving that during the festival. Izuku had only beaten him because Todoroki had limited himself, using half of his Quirk to the extent that it was actively hurting him, and then went to the extreme in the other direction and defeated himself by superheating himself from a state of freezing cold too quickly right at the end.
Ochako was at third, with over two thousand votes, and he looked over at her with a wide smile to see that she was tearing up a little bit staring down at her own stack of paper. She'd offered up the hardest challenge for Todoroki during the festival, and almost beat him, if her Quirk's limit hadn't stopped her from getting a final charge in. Izuku was so proud of her, and he knew that she was proud of herself, which was the most important thing. He didn't think he could stand by and say nothing if she'd downplayed her achievements to herself after all she'd done to crack Todoroki's exterior, which Izuku had later gone on to shatter, building off of Ochako's initial efforts. In fourth was Yaoyorozu, with just under two thousand votes. That made sense to Izuku, as she had been a formidable opponent and was probably the closest second to Todoroki—the two of them were the ones who'd come the closest to really defeating him. Some of the other students had a couple hundred offers, and another five or six of them had a dozen or so, but the others had no offers at all. Izuku felt bad for thinking that way, but it was probably earned. Only the sixteen that made it to the final tournament really got to shine and show what they were made of, so it made sense that they were the ones who got scouted over the others.
"You have to have come to me with your choice of hero agency by the end of the week, as you're heading off on Monday. If you don't, I choose for you at random," Aizawa said with a grin out of a horror movie. Izuku frowned at that thought, and wondered if it would really be so random if Aizawa was in charge. He'd probably put Todoroki with Endeavor just because there was bad blood there, literally. "But you can do that in your free time. The real focus today is tangential to your internships. If you're going out into the field, and people will recognise you as heroes-in-training, you need—"
"Code names!" a voice said from the door.
Izuku looked over to see Midnight, 1-A's art history teacher, leaning into the classroom by hanging on the door. His classmates cheered, but Izuku kept quiet. For all his wanting to be a hero, he'd never put a lot of thought into what his hero name could possibly be. He didn't have a Quirk that easily translated into a hero name, like some, nor did he think he had any distinctive physical characteristics to name himself after, omitting his miraculously colour-changing hair. Really, going from green to blue, and then to white? He wondered if people thought he dyed it. Keeping himself on track, Izuku wondered about a hero name as little whiteboards and markers were passed out to each student to workshop on.
Destructo? Lame. Sand Calamity? Too edgy. Decimator? Subtle. Decay? Who'd use that name? It wasn't even what his Quirk did. Plus, it was too similar to Deku, and he was never going to hear that name again if he could help it. Disintegrator? Too similar to Decimator. Breakdown, because he broke objects down into nothing? Too much thought needed to be put into that for it to make sense. Izuku thought back to the times he'd heard or read heroes talking about their own names. The most prominent memory was way back when he was five or six, watching an interview with Best Jeanist, where he explained that he thought of hero names not as a cool alias that sounds powerful, but as a wish, a promise the hero made to the people they're protecting. Izuku liked the sound of that, but what was his wish? What was Izuku's promise? Could he even make a promise like that when he was still just a kid? He thought about that, but didn't think he was going to get a real answer until he heard some examples from his classmates.
There were a few names his classmates came up with that Izuku thought were horrendous. Aoyama's I Can Not Stop Twinkling was a trainwreck from start to finish, Ojiro's Tailman was painfully boring, and Ashido's original pick, Alien Queen was too niche, but at least it had personality, unlike the name Midnight gave her instead, Pinky. There were names Izuku did like, such as Kirishima's Red Riot, a tribute to his idol, Crimson Riot, Tokoyami's Tsukuyomi, named after god of the moon, and Hagakure's Peekaboo. There were names that he didn't feel any particular way about, like Jiro's Earphone Jack, which was just her Quirk's name, and Sero's Cellophane, but he did end up changing his mind and liking Kaminari's Chargebolt, even though it went exclusively for coolness. Then there was Todoroki's Shoto, and Iida's Tenya. What the hell was that? Midnight even called them out for it. Todoroki didn't bother to defend his choice, but Iida said something that caught Izuku by surprise.
"I haven't earned the name I wish to call myself by yet."
It sent a jolt through Izuku, and by the looks of it, the others knew exactly what he was talking about. Everyone in Japan knew by now that Ingenium, the name passed down through the heroes in the Iida family that currently belonged to Iida's older brother, had been attacked by the villain Stain, also known as the Hero Killer. It had happened on the day of the sports festival, apparently, but all eyes had been pointed at them, so it had only become a big story afterwards. Iida had the most terrible scowl on his face when he said it, like he was trying to keep himself from saying what he really wanted to say, but didn't offer any more explanation, and simply went to sit back down. Izuku followed Iida with his eyes, and could feel the tension in the way the boy held his shoulders, different from the normally uptight way he went about things. He wasn't tense because he wanted to excel, he was tense because he was angry. The way his jaw was shut tight, the way his hands trembled around the marker and whiteboard, and his absent yet sharp glare at nothing—it all told Izuku a story of the turmoil Iida was feeling inside of him at his older brother's tragic defeat.
There were even rumours that Ingenium would have to retire, and that meant that the family name would pass down to Iida, that he would be Ingenium. Izuku figured that was what he meant by him not having earned his preferred name. He wanted to take the name, so why didn't he? Did he not think he was good enough? That was nonsense. Both in academics, and in hero training, Iida was one of the best in the class. Or maybe it was just self-doubt making him think things that weren't true about himself. Izuku could relate to that one. Should he reach out to see if Iida was okay? They weren't that close, but Izuku could see that he was struggling. Was it even his place? He'd stepped in with Todoroki, even if that was at Ochako's request, so why should he start respecting boundaries with Iida? Izuku made a choice. He'd talk to Iida sometime before they went off to their internships. He looked like he needed help, and Izuku was committed to honouring the promise he made to Ochako, to be the best hero he could be—heroes helped everyone, they didn't ignore someone because it was convenient for them. He'd do it, but first he had to figure out this stupid hero name!
Ochako loved everyone's hero names! They were all so suited to everyone that she couldn't help but grin every time a new one got unveiled. Some were simple, or straightforward, or just a joke or pun, but Ochako saw it as a way to get a closer, deeper look at her classmates, like she was getting a real showcase of their personalities in the form of a name. Kaminari, who went for awesomeness above all else in heroics, Shoji, who was succinct but thoughtful in Ochako's experience, Jiro, who had no dramatic flair whatsoever, Kirishima, who seemed to set a standard and not let himself fail to meet it—they were all concentrations of her classmates' core identities. How could she not love them?
She got a bad feeling, though, when Todoroki chose just Shoto as his name. Ochako had been keeping an eye on Todoroki from a distance ever since the sports festival. It had been her that had first reached out to him, though Izuku had done the most difficult part in actually sealing the deal and getting him to use his fire in spite of his trauma. Ochako could see it on his face, clear as day, that he was still hurting. Before, Todoroki had been aloof in an intentional way, like he was trying to appear as if he didn't care about the trivial school things that were going on around him, and only truly came to outward focus during combat training. She could tell that he was still listening and watching during their classroom lessons, though, because he'd frown if Kaminari or Sero made a reference to a manga, or tilt his head in something like confusion when some of the less fortunate among them, Ochako included, would explain to Yaoyorozu that her experience was really different than the average kid's when she mentioned a concept unheard of by anyone not in her income bracket. He paid attention to the people around him, but just pretended to be detached and uncaring.
It was different after the festival, though. Now he really was getting lost in his own head. It was only the second day back, but already Ochako could tell that he was in his own world more often than not. He stared at the back of Izuku's head with a perplexed look on his face, and when he thought she wouldn't notice he did the same to Ochako. He was confused since being forced out of his comfort zone for just a moment back then, and was looking for an answer. Ochako could feel the turmoil tearing him up from across the room. Would he use his fire now that he'd broken through that mental block with some help? Or was he not strong enough to really overcome the impossibly deep wounds inflicted onto his heart during his childhood? Ochako knew he was strong enough to overcome his past, but she thought it was possible that he didn't. Sure, he was the strongest fighter in their class, what with his Quirk and all, but the first step would always be the hardest with this sort of thing, so she knew, because Todoroki had already mustered the strength to use his fire even for a brief moment, that he could gather the strength to take a few more steps out of his father's shadow. She just had to convince him of that, somehow.
She didn't have time to do that right then, though, because she was being called on to present her hero name. Ochako had done a lot of thinking about what kind of alias she wanted to go by, even since she was a little kid. She'd decided on Uravity years and years ago, but hearing everyone else's names, that felt a little … childish? Definitely too soft for her new fighting spirit. Ochako wanted her name to represent her in her totality—her dream, her aesthetic, her power, everything. Uravity sounded like a hero that sold a lot of plushies, and was popular with kids under twelve. And that was fine, really! She did want those things, but ever since the USJ, there'd been an itch under her skin. She didn't want to just be those things. Seeing Izuku hurt himself for her at the USJ had started it, but watching everyone train so hard for the sports festival and give it their all when she was still held back by her lack of firepower and small limit when it came to her Quirk? It just made her whole body feel wrong, like she wasn't doing all she could to become a great hero. She'd been infected by Izuku's—the whole class's—willpower, drive to win and determination to prove what someone could achieve with an unsuitable power. Ochako wanted it too, now, to be a hero who always won and saved everyone, in addition to her goal to allow her parents the comfort they always sacrificed for hers. That was why she'd accepted All Might's power just yesterday, and why she was going to put Uravity away. She had a new dream, she was a new Ochako, and so she needed a new hero name.
"Cosmo," she said, holding up her whiteboard with just that written on it.
She grinned out at her classmates, and saw Izuku's face light up from the back. She'd had a feeling he would like whatever she picked, but he stared at the writing on her whiteboard as his eyes glazed over, the telltale sign that he was thinking hard about something, so Ochako got the impression that he liked it beyond it coming from her. That thought of which had her looking at anyone except Izuku to avoid blushing at that reminder of his fondness for her.
"Cosmo? Like a cosmonaut?" Midnight asked with a quizzical eyebrow raised.
"Kinda! The word cosmo means the world. I want everyone to know that if I'm on the scene, they're gonna be just fine. The whole world will know that I'm there to keep them safe, so they'll never have to worry as long as I'm around. That's the kinda hero I wanna be," Ochako explained. She laughed at the other reason she'd picked the name. "Plus, I kinda have a theme going already, so I think it'd be weird if I didn't have something space related."
"Very well. That name's more than acceptable. Well done," Midnight said, gesturing for her to return to her seat.
Ochako basked in the short round of applause that followed her presentation, just like all the others. She knew it wasn't for her name specifically, but it felt nice to get an applause, especially after she'd totally wiped out at the sports festival and passed out before she'd been able to win against Todoroki. In the end, it hadn't been an attack that had taken her out, it had been her own weakness. She was going to fix that, though, as All Might had spoken about yesterday. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him again, but hopefully there would be plenty of opportunities before the internships started to work out a real training plan for her bulking up to accept his power. She still felt giddy whenever she thought about what had happened. She was also mortified. She couldn't believe she had agreed to take on the number one hero's power! She couldn't believe Izuku had turned it down, and even told All Might to choose her instead! She had to repay him somehow. Ochako almost had repaid him on the spot, but had been too nervous to actually do it. She'd do something for him, and soon, that was on the same level of the sheer awesome boyfriend move he'd pulled off for her. That was a promise.
Izuku was the last person to present. He'd looked lost for most of the name-choosing portion of the lesson, but when he'd seen Ochako's, something in his expression had looked like it clicked then and there. He strode to the front of the class, a hard look on his face, and set his whiteboard on the podium with force, as if he were shouting without words. Ochako saw the name and must have made a face that silently asked what the point of the name was, because she couldn't relate anything about him to the word he'd chosen. He swept his eyes across the class, those vivid green eyes that always looked so intense, and they stopped to meet Ochako's own. A jolt flew up her spine from her tailbone to her chest, and she couldn't help the shock that had her eyes wide and focus honed in on Izuku's confident, determined, impossibly certain expression, like there was nothing he'd been more sure about in his life. Ochako wasn't going to lie to herself—it was a good look for him.
Sure, she liked his softer side, the empathy and kindness he was capable of but didn't seem interested in showing anyone but her, the way he'd sometimes get too flustered to speak so he'd stutter and stumble over his words, and the way he'd blush bright red when she showed her affection for him through physical touch. That was all very cute. The part of Izuku that really struck Ochako was the part that came alive in do-or-die moments. The determined look on his face when the two of them locked eyes before he ran off to fight beside All Might at the USJ, the burning intensity in his eyes when he faced Todoroki and won the sports festival—those were the times when he was the most confident, the most sure of himself, and he looked the most like himself in those moments, like his round features sharpened somehow and he looked like a much older boy, and he was never more handsome than he was in those moments—in this moment. Ochako smiled and knew her face was all red, but didn't really care, to the point that she almost missed what he said to actually explain his choice of hero name.
"Breakthrough," Izuku said with a fierce grin on his face.
"Do you just like the word, or …?" Midnight asked. She clearly didn't get it.
"Well, it's simple. There's no villain I won't beat, no wall I won't bring down, no barrier I won't break through in order to save a life. That's my promise, my wish, my identity as a hero. I won't stop until I've helped every single life that I can, and nothing so stupid as a limit is going to get in my way," Izuku said. He moved his gaze over to Todoroki for just a moment, but it seemed the boy got the message based on the puzzled frown that briefly showed through the passive expression on his face.
Ochako's cheeks hurt from grinning so much at all her friends' and classmates' names, but this one was her favourite so far, so she couldn't help it. Was it because Izuku was her favourite? Maybe. Did that matter to her? Not at all. She believed that he could do it. She'd help him get as close to that goal as possible, just like she knew that he'd help Ochako with her wish. She was so excited to see how they'd grow and get stronger together. She believed that everyone in their class could achieve their goals. Except maybe Mineta. Something wasn't right with that boy.
She looked down at her stack of papers, the requests from thousands of different hero agencies all across Japan for her specifically to come and spend a week with them. It was flattering, but she had one name in mind when she started scanning the first page, and luckily she didn't have to wait to find it among the sea of agencies. The requests looked to be sorted based on the rank of the lead hero at the agency, so that meant he was right at the top, the first name she saw.
All Might.
Katsuki came to consciousness already sitting up. The last thing he remembered was running at Deku's pathetic excuse for a mother. It was a wonder how he ever called her Auntie. He hadn't been impressed with Deku's performance in their fight, so he'd been wanting to offer up some motivation for the lazy bastard. How could he claim to have beaten a villain if the villain was only putting half their focus on fighting? It was infuriating, how Deku wanted to pretend he wanted peace. It was almost like he'd deluded himself into really forgetting what he'd done, what he'd looked like when he'd murdered all their friends all those years ago. Katsuki refused to accept that answer, though. Deku wasn't getting away with all he'd done scot-free.
Then, darkness. He had no idea how much time had passed, clearly enough to be moved to some filthy bar that smelled like a window hadn't been opened in years. It was well-lit, though, and Katsuki looked around sluggishly, not really processing anything through a fog of lethargy. His body wouldn't respond to him, even though his mind was still ready to fight after confronting Deku about all the shit he'd put Katsuki through with his two-faced villainy. He was about to spark up his Quirk to break out of his haze, but realised that his Quirk wouldn't work. He couldn't even twitch his fingers, though he could move his neck and head. What the hell?
"Oh, you're awake. Good," a deep, crackling voice said. "Finally, the noob wakes up," a second voice, lighter and shaky, said at the same time.
There were people in the room with him, Katsuki realised. His eyes widened as he looked to his left, and registered the shape sitting on the stool next to him at the bar. The man was tall, with shaggy white hair and red piercing eyes that met Katsuki's own and caused a shiver to run down his spine. Those eyes looked right through him, like they already knew everything there was to know about him and had found nothing noteworthy. A scar across his right eye and over the left corner of his mouth were the only other abnormalities about the man's face, which would've been noteworthy if his eyes hadn't been so horrifyingly knowing. The man wore an expensive-looking suit, something Katsuki had seen when visiting his parents at work a few times. Just who was this guy? He wasn't anyone Katsuki had ever seen before, not even on the news. Was he responsible for bringing him here? Had Katsuki been kidnapped? No, he was too strong for that. What this bastard had done was interrupt his confrontation with Deku, and Katsuki would make sure he knew that had been a mistake.
"Who the hell are you?" Katsuki yelled.
Katsuki tried to stand up and back away from the man, but his whole body wasn't just tired—he was frozen below the neck. He couldn't move a muscle. The man laughed, and looked away from Katsuki to the other side of the bar, and Katsuki suddenly realised there was another person there with them. A man made out of mist, wearing a very fancy vest and armoured neck brace, stood opposite the two of them. He was polishing a glass—probably the only clean thing in the space. The mist man's glowing yellow eyes, tracing upward an inverted flow of tears, narrowed at the laugh. It was rich and deep, but a wheeze underlined it, like a smoker's cough. The white-haired man looked back at Katsuki who stopped struggling against the invisible bindings at the penetrating gaze.
"I've been many things. A merchant, a thief, a vigilante, a terrorist, a hero, a villain. People have always tried to fit me into their boxes, but they couldn't comprehend me. They gave me names to understand me—an Extraordinary Child, the Merchant of Quirks, the Boogeyman, Master—but I have a name, one that should be eminently understandable for you, Katsuki Bakugo," the man said. Katsuki kept himself from showing the shock that ran through him at the fact that this man knew his name. What was this about? He noticed the other voice, the high and shaky one, coming from the same man, like two people were speaking at once from the same mouth. "That depends, noob. I can be all the things in the world, anything you can dream of. A lot of people have called me a demon, a king, a Symbol of Fear. Tenko Shimura is a name I once went by, as is Tomura Shigaraki, but I'm a different person entirely now, the lord of the underworld." The voices synchronised for a brief moment as the man looked down at Katsuki, and said, "You may call me All for One."
Katsuki said nothing. As the man—All for One, according to him—spoke, the rigid tension keeping Katsuki's body completely still lessened and, at the end of his little monologue, went away entirely. He could move, and he did. Katsuki immediately leapt from his chair and ran toward the nearest wall. The vibe that white-haired guy sent at him every time their eyes met was not good. Katsuki wasn't scared of anything, not even close—and this wasn't even fear—but he got the feeling that if he sat down and heard the villain out, then bad things would happen. Katsuki thrust his hands out and flexed his fingers at the wall. It was time to show these nobodies how they'd screwed up trying to pull something with Katsuki Bakugo. Except, nothing happened. He willed his Quirk to trigger, but not so much as a little crackle of fire erupted in his hands. Katsuki stared at his hands, wondering what the deal was. The paralysis had worn off. He could move again. So why wasn't his Quirk also back? Katsuki's mind slowed to a stop as an idea began to form.
"I'm so sorry, Bakugo," the white-haired man's deeper voice said. "Not to brag, but …" the manic one laughed.
Katsuki whipped around and stared at the white-haired man. He lifted his hand up, which had a shallow hole in the palm, and a few pops and crackles of Katsuki's Quirk ignited out of the black circular dot. A few red blemishes appeared on All for One's skin, which Katsuki had only suffered from a few times in his life when he'd pushed his Quirk far beyond its limits, but which immediately healed over, unlike Katsuki's experiences with overuse of his power. All those thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind, though, as he processed the fact that this man just used his Quirk. Katsuki surged forward, all higher thought leaving him as he succumbed to a primal rage.
First, Deku defied him and managed to pull off his lie, even getting All Might, Katsuki's hero, on his side somehow. Then, he'd managed to win UA's sports festival and get the recognition that rightfully belonged to Katsuki. He was the natural born hero, he was the gifted one, he was the teachers' favourite! That's how it had always been, until UA. Then, everything went wrong, and it was all Deku's fault. Katsuki's dream had been ripped away from him and turned into a villain's ruse. That seriously pissed him off, and so he went to Deku's house to finally put an end to their beef and get his life back. Hopefully, whatever messed up brainwashing Deku used on everyone to make them like him would wear off if he wasn't around to maintain it. But then these bastards had screwed that up for him. But then they had somehow taken his Quirk away, the one thing he had left. The thing that had made him that natural born hero, the thing that had given him his birthright as the next All Might! They were going to die, just like Deku.
His body wouldn't move, though. It wasn't the same as before, either. His body was trembling, and his mind wouldn't focus on any one thought. His face felt tight, and his hands shook as he stood before All for One and his lackey across the bar. Katsuki, for the first time in his life, was panicking. He didn't know what to do. If these people could somehow take his Quirk, then what could he do? They had his power, the thing that made him strong, so what was he now? Was he nothing? Even Deku had a Quirk. Was he less than Deku now? Katsuki's chest hurt with how hard he breathed, and his whole body felt far away, like he was a spirit floating up above himself. He couldn't be a hero without a Quirk. He was nothing without that dream.
"Izuku Midoriya," the two voices said at once. All for One smiled down at him. "He's the one you hate, yes?" the lower one asked. "He's your nemesis, right?" the frantic one giggled. "I could give you the power to destroy him, and then some, if you agree to stay by my side after your work is done and your dream is reclaimed," they both said in unison once again.
Katsuki regained his breath. Were they saying what he thought they were saying? He almost didn't register the name used, but when he did, he bared his teeth in a scowl. Deku. This wasn't even about him, was it? It was about that bastard. Katsuki was done being used by Deku, for Deku, or because of Deku. He went to refuse, but he realised something in the instant before he spoke. Could he ever hope to get his Quirk back if he didn't go along with whatever this All for One wanted with Deku? Without his Quirk, could he ever hope to reclaim his dream, as All for One said it? All for One needed Katsuki for some reason, and Katsuki needed All for One. Looking into the man's eyes, Katsuki could tell what All for One wanted him to do. Katsuki was going to do that anyway, so he might as well suck up to this guy to get his Quirk back, plus whatever extra power he was talking about. Other Quirks? Impossible, or so Katsuki thought. He'd thought it was impossible to take a single Quirk before today, so that showed what he knew. Katsuki let a ferocious grin onto his face and stood up straight, the itching in his hands subsiding for now.
"Alright, Scarface. I'll gladly wipe that scum off the planet. If you'll give me my power back, and only my own. I'm better than him by myself, you got it?" Katsuki said.
"Very well, Katsuki Bakugo," All for One's deep voice said with a chuckle. "Got it, brat," the higher voice grumbled. "Welcome to the war effort," they said at once.
All for One held his hand out, the one that had used Explosion, and Katsuki stepped forward. The white-haired man stood over Katsuki, as he was a few inches taller than him, and put his hand on the top of Katsuki's head. Red and black crackles of energy pulsed around the two of them, and searing hot pain flashed through Katsuki's body. His hands were hot, like his fingerprints were getting burned off, but he ignored the pain. He ignored the laughing of All for One, the two voices joining each other in ecstatic joy. The hurting lasted for an instant, like a flash of lightning, and Katsuki stumbled back when it was done, catching himself on the bar. The slick sweat his Quirk produced, which Katsuki hadn't missed until he'd gotten it back, made his hand slide on the wood of the bar until he gripped it more solidly. He looked back up at All for One, whose glowing red eyes still gave the impression that he was less than an ant beneath the boot of the demon, the king, the boogeyman All for One.
"The war effort?" Katsuki asked as he popped a few explosions off in his palm to make sure he had his Quirk back.
"Of course. I did say that I was once a revolutionary," the deeper voice said with a grin. "Obviously. It's always the same, generation to generation," the other one mumbled. "Natural heroes like yourself are oppressed by the weak, who want to appear strong. I know what he did, Young Bakugo, and how he hurt you," the deeper voice said.
Katsuki completely blocked out what the second voice was saying. "You know, do you? Prove it."
"I'm familiar with the menace that is Izuku Midoriya. He murdered, in cold blood, every single one of your friends at only six years old. I can only imagine how his evil grew with age," All for One said, grimacing. Katsuki's eyes widened as he looked at the only other person he'd ever met who saw the truth. The aftershocks of pain from All for One giving his Quirk back vanished completely as he focused on the man's words. "Then, going on to harass and abuse you, like the freeloading liar he unfortunately became. Midoriya turned out to be detestable scum, and the world rewarded him for it. He stole your life, Young Bakugo, and he must face justice for his crimes. And you, as the victim of his manipulations and vile deeds, must be the one to deliver it. You are karma, you are justice. Katsuki Bakugo will depose him from his throne, which was built on lies and innocent peoples' bodies. You will take his place as All Might's favourite, the top of your class at UA, and the heir to the Symbol of Peace. You may even inherit great power from me, just like he has from All Might. He chose Izuku Midoriya, and now I'm choosing you. Will you help me make your dream a reality?"
Katsuki's fingers tingled, but for a whole different reason than before. It wasn't his Quirk, or the lack thereof, but excitement, anticipation, and determination. Katsuki was starting to like this guy. The only person he'd ever met who agreed, and saw just how evil Deku was, how intentional his manipulations were, and how he'd ruined Katsuki's life just because he was wise to the bastard's tricks. All for One got it. He understood Deku, understood Katsuki. Another grin broke out on Katsuki's face, and he met his benefactor's eyes once again. The ancient, primordial kind of knowingness in his eyes wasn't disturbing to Katsuki after feeling his power and being reassured by All for One. The cursed knowledge in those eyes was at his back, by his side, and he could finally end Deku. Katsuki remembered something that All for One called himself before, and barked out a laugh.
"Alright then, Master. Game on," Katsuki said.
All for One grinned then, something coming alive in those ancient, dead eyes, and Katsuki knew this would be the thing that turned the tide against Deku. Izuku Midoriya would die, and Katsuki Bakugo would be the one to bring justice to the world at last, and free their hero society from Deku's evil. Soon, he'd have his dream come true. Soon.
Author's Note: And that's it for the first chapter of this new arc of Decimation! Getting out ahead of it: I'm going to be using the multi-POV style for this fic going forward. I initially only thought of having the dual POVs of Izuku and Ochako, but I quickly realised that Katsuki's version of events were important, what with him siding with some pretty big players in the game, and that those three really are the main characters of the coming story arcs, even though Katsuki's not exactly a hero here. Also, writing from the perspective of someone so warped as this fic's Katsuki is kinda fun. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, but thanks for reading regardless! See you next time!