"Would you be willing to take my Quirk?"

Silence.

"You… y-you can't be serious, Tensei!" Tenya spluttered. "You only just found out it's possible a half hour ago! You can't really be ready to just give your Quirk away!"

"I'm not THAT irresponsible, Tenya! Have at least aLITTLEfaith in me." Tensei scoffed. "It's something I'll need to consider more before I make a final choice. Even if I tend to make hasty decisions, I'm not just going to jump into this with no thought. Not to mention the absolute chaos a patient just up andmisplacing their Quirkwould probably cause in a hospital. I'm just considering my options."

Tenya released a weary sigh. "I suppose I can't fault you for that."

Tensei nodded. "Maybe some time in the next few days, after we're released."

Tenya went very, very still.

Silence permeated the room. Next to Izuku, Toshinori shifted uncomfortably in his seat. For his part, Izuku felt almost detached from reality. In what world would Tensei Iida,Ingenium, want to give Izuku his Quirk? From the sound of it, Engine was making things difficult now that Tensei was wheelchair bound, but to give up his Quirk so readily? To hand over something so intrinsic? It boggled Izuku's mind.

"Why?" Tenya grit out, voice unsteady.

Tensei heaved a deep, exhausted sigh. "For several reasons. The most immediate being that Engine and a forcibly sedentary lifestyle are wildly incompatible. Or are you going to tell me that lying there isn't driving you nuts too?"

"Surely you could do SOMETHING to address that!" Tenya responded. "You can still use your arms. Couldn't you-"

"What, set myself up on a treadmill and just constantly roll myself to burn off energy?" Tensei cocked his head to the side. "Would it be a rollmill? I guess the wheels on this thing still have tread… regardless. While that would be an option, though I'm using the termvery generously, it would be a miserable experience. Quirk suppressantsmightblunt the effect, but even ignoring the psychological side effects, those don't mix well with Mutations long-term. The last thing I want is my Engines rotting in my arms."

Tenya blanched at the thought. "But… to give up your Quirk…"

"Makes it real." Tensei said, sadly. The elder Iida rolled his wheelchair around until he sat next to his brother, and extended a hand towards him. Tenya released the sheets he gripped with one of his own trembling hands and clasped it. Unable to muster words, he nodded as tears gathered behind his glasses.

"I'm sorry, Tenya." Tensei whispered. "Even if I keep it, my time as a hero is done. The odds we could convince some miracle worker from another country to come in and magic up a new spine for me may as well be zero. If there was someone like that to be found, I assume All Might would have already tracked them down to put himself back together."

"I won't lie, I certainly looked for such a person." Toshinori agreed soberly. "Regrettably, I have yet to find one that doesn't have horrifying drawbacks."

"What kind of drawbacks are you talking about?" Izuku asked, morbidly curious. "They must have been awful if remaining in your condition was the better option. Did they run the risk of making it worse?"

"Well, the best option I found amounted to Necromancy, so 'make my health worse' would have been an understatement." Toshinori chuckled as Izuku gaped at him. "She was a European doctor who could graft corpses together almost seamlessly, then reanimate the body. If the brain was less than a minute dead and everything went smoothly, it would regain control of the body. Otherwise, it would be a puppet, if it successfully reanimated at all. The fact that she was a doctor rather than some horror movie villain was no small relief."

"...and that was theBESToption you found?" Tenya asked, horrified.

"The most likely to result in a complete recovery, at least." Toshinori sighed. "I wish I was able to offer a better option, Young Tenya, but I don't know of any. For as varied as Quirks are, some abilities simply don't exist yet."

Tensei nodded. "So, for the time being at least, I think giving Engine to Midoriya might be my best option. I still need to think on it, like I said." Tensei paused, then sheepishly glanced back at Izuku. "That is, if you're willing. I don't think we actually gave you a chance to say anything."

Izuku shook himself to recover from the nightmarish thought of a zombified All Might, then turned his attention back to Tensei. "Well, my gut reaction is to say yes. If you're really that uncomfortable and I can do something to help, I'd be more than happy to. But there would be a pretty big problem. While the Quirks from the previous users apparently have some kind of off switch, Boon doesn't seem to."

One for All pulsed once in agreement.

"I mean, it's a mutation Quirk. I don't really know what turning it off would do to a person. Maybe it would be like what happens when Shota uses Erasure on me." Tensei considered, then frowned as he raised an arm to look at it. "Though I guess I'll be finding out, for all intents and purposes…" His eyes landed on the metal pipe extending from his elbow. "...Ah."

"Yeah." Izuku grimaced. "If I suddenly have those, then people will start asking questions. Luckily, none of the other Quirks have especially hard to explain traits, and the glowing eyes from Boon can probably be explained as a lingering effect of One for All, given my eyes glow a bit when I'm using Full Cowling."

Tensei nodded, then crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. From the small movements of his mouth and the flicking of his eyes, it was clear he was thinking something over. His eyes momentarily landed once again on Tenya, and a small smile twitched to life. "Well, I can think of a few ways around that."

"Oh?" Izuku leaned forward in his seat, curiosity piqued. "Do tell."

"The first is something I was going to suggest to Tenya for his own Quirk at some point." Tensei started. "The visible part of our family's Quirks are mufflers, which can be removed. The first time you do, they grow back over a month, and the process strengthens the Quirk pretty dramatically. It's quite painful to remove them, but after that it's not so bad. Pulling them out again doesn't make Engine stronger, but the mufflers still grow back."

Tensei stopped for a moment, then scratched the side of his head. "Actually, I think I still have my original set laying around somewhere as a keepsake. I could probably figure out a way to rig them up so it looks like I still have Engine…"

"So I could just keep removing them, or possibly file them down, and keep my elbows covered." Izuku nodded, albeit hesitantly. "That could work. Elbow braces would be completely believable, given my history of arm related injuries…"

"But that's an awful lot of hurtles to ask you to jump through." Tensei acknowledged. "You'd be putting yourself and your secret on the line to help me. Which leads into the second option I can think of, one that would probably be a whole lot more believable…"

Tensei looked at his brother, then back towards Izuku. "You said that you could probably give Quirks to other people, right? Would you be able to give Engine to Tenya?"

Tenya's face went slack at the idea, eyes wide behind his glasses. "I… Your Quirk? You want Izuku togive me your Quirk?"

"Of course!" Tensei smiled at his brother. "If it's going to anyone, I'd like it to be you. That way I can help you and keep you safe, even if I can't be there myself."

Tears spilled down Tenya's face as his mouth twisted up, a clear attempt to keep it together. He squeezed the hand Tensei had left in his grip, and gingerly tugged his brother forward. Equally careful, Tensei leaned down, and the two embraced in as close to a hug as they could manage.

"It would be the greatest honor of my life, Tensei." Tenya whispered wetly. "Ingenium will carry on, and we'll save people together like we always dreamed."

From the way Tensei's shoulders trembled, it was the elder brother's turn to cry.

Izuku had to surreptitiously wipe at his eyes as the scene unfolded before him. Next to him, Toshinori looked stricken, and it took Izuku a moment to realize why.

'He said that people who received Quirks from All for One often ended up as puppets… It might not be possible to do this for them.'Izuku realized, then felt awful.'Maybe it's different with One for All? The previous users had Quirks, so maybe it works differently?'

It was then Izuku noticed One for All pulsing rapidly, an overlapping staccato thrum that showed no signs of stopping. It rolled through him, more intense than he'd ever felt before.

"Are you alright, Young Izuku?" Toshinori asked lowly.

"The Vestiges are pulsing up a storm. I don't think they're even really trying to communicate at this point." Izuku murmured. "Let me find out what's going on before… we give them an answer."

Toshinori glanced at the brothers, then nodded.

Izuku tipped his attention inwards once more as the barest trace of One for All began to flow through him. The process was faster this time, and Izuku was almost immediately in the thick of it.

"It KILLED me!" Hikage snapped, far louder than Izuku had heard him speak before.

"That was One for All, along with all the abnormalities that came with it." Bruce responded coolly. "Given how compatible they should be, it's probably a fantastic fit."

"I'm well aware." Hikage bit out. "But how many of All for One's goons who sought out the resistance were 'probably a fantastic fit'?"

"In fairness…" Yoichi hesitantly interjected. "Quirk Bestowal has proved different from All for One, even in its new state. There was a clear difference between Boon's transfer and One for All's."

"That's true." En said. "But I wouldn't ignore the fact that Boon also seems to have a pseudo transfer component of its own. That may have eased things."

"Fair point." Yoichi acknowledged. "Though the subsequent transfer from the Nomu felt pretty similar. It hasn't settled in fully yet, but I'd put that down to the condition it was in when it arrived. I think Quirk Bestowal might handle things better when it's not trying to transfer itself at the same time."

"Uh…" Izuku faltered when the Vestiges went suddenly silent, evidently startled by his voice. He continued after a second, taking care not to let himself mutter. "Should I take this as a veto on giving the Quirk to Tenya?"

"Yes!" Hikage responded quickly.

"No!" Bruce said at the same time.

"It's complicated." Yoichi sighed. "There's a lot of baggage that comes with the idea, regardless of its viability."

"Some of which is the fact that One for All wasslowly killing most of us." Hikage growled.

"WHAT?" Izuku yelped. "AM I DYING?"

"NO!" A clamor of voices washed over him.

"You're not dying, Izuku." Nana spoke again after a moment, her voice tired. "And if everyone could get themselves under control, maybe we can explain everything without needlessly worrying you."

"I apologize, Nine." Hikage let out a harsh breath. "This is… sensitive, to me."

"Which is completely understandable, Hikage." Daigoro said in a somber tone. Izuku almost didn't recognize his voice, it was so far removed from everything he'd previously heard from the man. "Nobody wants a repeat of what you went through."

"I know." Hikage sounded more like his usual self. "Yoichi, if you would?"

Yoichi sighed, but acquiesced. "As you know, those who received Quirks from my brother often suffered complications. As Eight put it, they became little more than puppets."

Izuku nodded, which Yoichi seemed to pick up on. "Which is obviously not something I want to happen to Tenya. I thought it might be different here, given you all had One for All in addition to your natural Quirks, but I'm guessing that may not be the case."

"You weren't entirely wrong. Even those who retained their faculties after receiving my brother's'gifts'suffered complications born of incompatibility, or simple carelessness on his part. Few survived more than 10 years, last any of us were in a position to track." Yoichi sounded understandably disgusted at the thought. "When One for All transfers, it's… hard for me to guide. When that difficulty intersected with someone who already had a Quirk… it caused problems that didn't become obvious until the long term, which Hikage was the first and only of us to suffer."

"I died of old age at Fourty years old. I had One for All roughly eighteen years." Hikage said. "The scars on my face were the first sign, in retrospect."

When Hikage didn't elaborate further, Daigoro continued for him. "He didn't really connect them to One for All at the time. Then, when his body started failing, he just thought he'd picked something up from living in the woods for so long, maybe ate a bad mushroom. We'd known each other a few years at that point, and he managed to make his way to my family's house." Daigoro sounded momentarily wistful, then sad. "He passed One for All to me, told me what he could, then died a few days later. The doctors thought he was in his 90s."

"That happened because you had two Quirks?" Izuku asked, quietly.

"That happened because of a combination of factors." Bruce amended, though Izuku couldfeelthe heated glare Hikage shot him. "Theoretically, having two Quirks shouldn't be too harmful to a person, so long as they don't conflict. We managed to capture one of All for One's upper echelon at one point, and they had two Quirks that had been meshed far better. He was one of All for One's favorites, so the bastard probably took special care plugging the new Quirk in. He theoretically could have lived a full life without complications."

"Theoretically."Hikage stressed.

"The point being, having multiple Quirks isn't necessarily a death sentence. It's highly reliant on how well integrated they are, and their complexity…" Bruce started to push onwards, but begrudgingly stopped as Yoichi brought himself to the forefront.

"Given I had all of nine chances to improve my skill in guiding the transfer over the course of all these years, I thought the impact on lifespan was simply a limitation of my Quirk." Yoichi said. "But after feeling how easy it was to integrate Boon and whatever the Quirk from that Nomu is, I think it's more to do with the transfer of One for All itself."

"That was transferring in." En pointed out. "The mechanisms for transferring out could be more in line with what we've previously experienced."

"So what we need to do is test it." Bruce stressed. "None of us went blank from receiving One for All. Nana survived 14 years with One for All without noticeable drawbacks, despite how much more powerful it was. If we don't try it at some point, we're ignoring a tool that could completely shift the balance of power in this conflict."

There was a lingering pause in the wake of Bruce's point. Izuku was at a loss. He didn't want to run the risk of hurting Tenya, but the majority of the Vestiges, including Yoichi, seemed to think the possibility was viable. Was that worth the risk?

"Daigoro? Kudo? Any thoughts?" Yoichi asked.

"...I don't like that our options consist of ignorance or experimenting on a child. But I think trying would be better than ignoring the possibility." Kudo said after a moment, though he didn't sound particularly happy about it. "As far as testing goes, the Iida brothers seem like the ideal opportunity. I can't think of any other people who'd have Quirks even a quarter as compatible as these likely are. The only other person in the know who isn't too old to risk would be Eight's detective friend, and Lie Detection doesn't seem especially compatible with anything on offer."

"I don't like it either, Hikage. It was horrible seeing what happened to you, and even worse once I got here and realized what caused it." Disgoro spoke softly. "But I agree that we need to know. Yoichi thinks it'll be safe, and if anyone would know, it's him."

"...Ok." Hikage released a sigh. "Be careful about it, Nine."

Izuku hesitated for a moment. "If we do try it, we'll be as careful as humanly possible. Tensei suggested it happen in a few days… so we could probably do this back at UA. With Recovery Girl keeping an eye on everything and running tests, I can take the second Quirk back the moment we find anything problematic." Izuku said. "Is that acceptable to everyone?"

The Vestiges agreed with varying levels of excitement or reluctance, but it seemed a consensus had been reached. That done, Izuku tiredly released One for All and opened his eyes. The Iidas had settled themselves, though the glistening of tears on their faces told him it was a recent development. Toshinori was looking at him curiously. "Well, Young Izuku?"

"They think giving Tenya Engine would work, but it won't come without risks. If we go through with it, we'll handle the transfer at UA, with Tenya under observation by Recovery Girl." Izuku began. "As it turns out, the passing of One for All hasn't been an entirely harmless process…"

The reactions to Izuku's revelation had mostly been within expectation. Toshinori was horrified by the knowledge that Nana may not have lasted much longer, regardless of All for One's attack. Tensei had grown hesitant, reluctant to put Tenya's wellbeing at risk no matter how many precautions they took.

Tenya, on the other hand, had defied expectation. Despite his own rebuke of Tensei's hasty decisions not long before, he'd almost immediately said he still wanted to take the chance if Tensei really wanted to give up Engine. Tensei, in turn, had momentarily tried to play the responsible one… to mixed success. The two resolved to spend the following days discussing the choices, and get back to Izuku once they'd been released from the hospital.

Shortly thereafter, someone knocked on the door. Izuku had opened it, which revealed a bored Gran Torino and a mildly terrified nurse, there to take Tenya for physical therapy. They'd said their goodbyes, Izuku had resisted the urge to slip Tenya or Tensei some of Boon, and they'd left.

Or, well, tried to.

"Ooooooh yeah, they're definitely out there." Torino grunted as he stepped back around the corner. He'd acted as reconnaissance, and it was apparently a good thing he had. "Could see several news vans in the lot. More than a few suspiciously vigilant people standing around the main exit. The vultures are circling."

Toshinori signed, then glanced around. After a moment of searching, Torino gestured down another hallway, and the two set off in that direction. Izuku followed, trying to figure out where they were going, until…

"The bathroom?" Izuku asked, somewhat confused.

"I'm going to change real quick, to make it easier to get out unnoticed." Toshinori said, then gave an apologetic half smile. "Sorry, I should have thought to suggest you bring a change of clothes. I didn't consider the possibility reporters would come after you."

"Uh…" Izuku blinked, then looked Toshinori up and down. He wasn't carrying a bag, and the pockets on his jeans didn't look especially full. "Wait, did YOU bring a change of clothes?"

Toshinori smirked, and discretely inverted the collar of his shirt. On the opposite side, the shirt was a forest green instead of the bright red outside. "Reversible clothes. Not the most comfortable, but great for looking just different enough people dismiss you. This set just happened to be sitting out when I went to change."

Izuku nodded, mildly impressed at the subtlety. Toshinori stepped into the bathroom, then returned a few moments later. He now wore the shirt with its green side outwards, black slacks with a nondescript belt buckle, and a baseball cap with a gray man-bun poking through the back opening.

Izuku gaped.

"Collapsible hat in one of the interior pockets. Has the fake hair built in." Toshinori huffed a laugh as he strung a disposable mask over his mouth. He reached into a pocket of his slacks, then withdrew another disposable mask. He handed it to Izuku, along with the jacket he had slung over his shoulder. "Put these on. Probably want to invert the jacket and roll it up a bit."

Izuku quickly put on the mask, then examined the jacket. Inside was a soft fabric lining, and when he tugged a sleeve inside out he found the cuff looked like that of a sweatshirt. Testing further, he found that the jacket's collar folded down, and that a hood was tucked into the lining. Once finished, it looked like a perfectly normal, if quite oversized, hoodie. He rolled the hems up, and the end result looked relatively passable.

"Oh, this is fun." Izuku grinned up at Toshinori.

"Isn't it?" Toshinori smiled right back. "Granted, I could live without it beingnecessary, but-"

Torino cleared his throat, still in the same outfit he'd been wearing. "Shouldn't we be going, you two?"

"Yes, yes. Spoil sport." Toshinori huffed. "We'll pick you up at that coffee shop we passed a few blocks from here."

Torino grunted an affirmation, then trotted off in the direction of the stairs.

"What's he doing?" Izuku asked as he watched Torino go.

"If people did any amount of looking into you after your encounter with Stain, the fact that you're interning with Gran Torino would be easy enough to find." Toshinori said. "So he's going to take off from the roof, get their attention. We'll go out the side and work our way around. Between the outfit change and the distraction, we should be able to get to the car. If they've somehow found that, I guess you get a piggyback ride."

'...I know I shouldn't, but I kind of hope they find the car.'

One for All pulsed.

Izuku blushed in embarrassment, then narrowed his eyes.'I thought you said you weren't always watching.'

One for All remained suspiciously quiet.

To Izuku's mixed relief and disappointment, the reporters hadn't found the car. They'd had little trouble slipping through a side door, something the staff was apparently used to heroes doing, and worked their way around the building. While some bystanders had paid them more attention than Izuku was strictly comfortable with, the sight and sound of Torino shooting off from the roof had proved the more interesting sight. By the time attention might have fallen back on them, they'd safely made it to the car, and Toshinori had gotten them onto the road.

Izuku leaned back in his seat and let out a long, relieved sigh. Toshinori chortled from the driver's side, then nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry they're already after you, my boy. They're tenacious creatures, but their attention span is relatively short. Hopefully they'll lose active interest in a week or so."

"Here's to hoping." Izuku said, eyeing the hospital in the rear view mirror warily. "Do you think they'll go after Tenya when he's released?"

"I'm sure they'd love to." Toshinori grunted as he took off his mask at a stop light. "But I'm equally sure Iidaten has plenty of experience extracting people from such situations…"

Izuku glanced at Toshinori as his voice trailed off. He found the man staring in surprise at the mask in his hand. A car behind them honked, which startled Toshinori, then he started driving again.

"Is something wrong?" Izuku asked.

"...There's no blood."

Izuku blinked, processing. He glanced at the mask, still hanging from Toshinori's hand. "Now that I think about it, you haven't been coughing…"

"No, I haven't." Toshinori said, stunned. "I've felt like something was off for a while now, but just put it down to Boon making me feel less awful than usual. But I haven't really coughed since you gave me a chunk. Or at least badly enough that it brought blood up."

"Well, you haven't spent that much time as All Might. How much do you think that affects things?"

"Considering my current limits, I'd still have expected issues after a half hour. I haven't gone much over that, but I would still usually have seen something by now."

Izuku let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "So do you think Boon extends your limit, helps mitigate your health issues, or both?"

"Frankly, I don't know. We'll have to run some tests." Toshinori gave him a wide smile. "But either way, this might let me make it through more than one class without having to rush off at the end! I might even be able to squeeze more heroics into my day!"

"Let's actually try to figure out what it's doing before we get too excited." Izuku said, though he knew he wasn't fooling anyone.

Toshinori smirked knowingly, then dramatically rolled his eyes. "Fine then,Torino."

He froze.

"Shit!"Toshinori hissed, swerving to turn rather than continue towards Might Tower."I forgot about Torino!"

"I'll say something nice at your funeral."

Luckily, Torino had been feeling merciful, and Toshinori was spared. Mostly.

If his expression had been anything to judge by, promising to let Torino drive his car might have hurt Toshinori more than just letting Torino beat him half to death would have.

Once they'd made it back to Might Tower, Izuku had excused himself to his room and flopped into his tattered bed. For a time, he'd just laid there, trying to grapple with… everything that had happened. When he'd accepted One for All from Toshinori, he'd known he was signing up for something far beyond the normal hero experience. In retrospect, though, he hadn't known a damn thing.

Granted, he'd have made the same choice with just as little hesitation even if he had, but still.

Izuku sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, trying to let his body relax. It did, marginally. Unfortunately there was still a tension that hadn't faded, and likely wouldn't for a while. What had happened in the past two days was too much to just let it roll off so easily, especially when some of it was as of yet unresolved.

Izuku eyed his phone, half way hoping he'd get a message so he could keep putting that impending resolution off. Unfortunately, the universe didn't see fit to send him such a lifeline. The phone remained inert, displaying only the reflection of the twin gold embers within his eyes.

'Fine. Let's get this over with.'

Izuku gently tugged on One for All and let himself sink into the power. Once again confronted with the flowing network of energy, Izuku picked out the line of gold amidst the braid and reached out to it.

"Hello, Deku." Kinenkō's voice reached him. "It seems you managed to single me out, somehow?"

"Hello, Dr. Kinenkō." Izuku responded. "And I think so? You're able to tell?"

"I'm still in my office, so it's an easy conclusion to reach."

"Your office?" Izuku asked. "The one you and Tenya were in when I first entered the Vestige Realm?"

"No, that was something of his own creation, I think." Kinenkō responded. "He said it looked how he always imagined his office at Iidaten would look once he graduates. He kept finding things just where he expected them as well, like he'd organized everything and simply forgotten about it somehow."

"Well, that's certainly interesting. I wonder what's responsible for…" Izuku trailed off. Now that he'd made contact, he felt something… odd. He'd almost missed it, but he had the sense of standing at the edge of something. The feeling was disconcerting, given that he could still feel himself laying on his bed if he let his attention drift outward. Intrigued, Izuku pressed forward ever so slightly.

'It's almost like the keyhole…'

"Deku, are you doing something-"

With a momentary feeling like the ground falling out from under him, Izuku stumbled into a brightly lit room. The walls were a pale blue, with white trim where they met the dark oak flooring. There were a few seats along one wall of the office that looked a newer version of the ones he'd sat in at the hospital, while a bookshelf and filing cabinets dominated another. At the opposite end of the office sat a large L shaped desk, covered in various organizers, cups of pens, and two computer monitors. Behind everything was Doctor Kinenkō, who looked as startled as Izuku felt.

"Uh." Izuku said intelligently. "I guess I can get in here, apparently. Sorry for the intrusion"

"That would seem to be the case." Kinenkō responded in kind. "So far, only that Yoichi fellow seems to be able to interact with me here, and that's been rather hit or miss."

Izuku gave a contemplative humm, then did another quick once over around the room.

Kinenkō cleared his throat.

Awkward silence.

"You can have a seat. If you'd like." Kinenkō offered hesitantly, voice stilted. "And, er, if you're not ready, you-"

"No. We need to talk, I'm just… not great with confrontation." Izuku absently rubbed an elbow, grimacing. "If I don't commit now, I don't know how long it'll take me to work up the nerve again."

"Well then. Let's address the elephant in the room." Kinenkō rolled himself out from behind his desk, the wheels of his chair clattering over the floor, then swiveled around to face Izuku.

Izuku bit his lip, but nodded. He lowered himself into one of the chairs, which was surprisingly comfortable. After a final span of silence, Izuku braced himself and spoke.

"Why did you use Boon on me, back in the building?"

"I wanted you to be able to keep helping with the evacuations. I didn't lie to you, Deku." Kinenkō heaved a sigh. "But… That wasn't my only goal."

Kinenkō clasped his hands in his lap, the fingers squeezed tightly together.

"I was in bed when that Nomu thing smashed through the wall. It stepped on my leg, and I couldn't get myself to the hole it left before the ceiling came down. I don't think I could properly describe the pain I was in even if I wanted to." Kinenkō swallowed hard. "Between the pressure that chunk of concrete was putting on the worst of the wound and Boon, I couldn't even pass out, much less die. I don't know how long I was like that, but by the time you got there, I had a ranked list a dozen entries long on what I thought would finally kill me."

"That's horrifying." Izuku whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"You." Kinenkō pointed firmly at Izuku. "Don't have a damn thing to apologize for. I… just wanted to give you context. I wasn't exactly in my right mind, but I still made the choice to use Boon on you, even though I knew it would kill me.BecauseI knew it would kill me."

"So I was right." Izuku curled in on himself slightly. "You used me to kill yourself."

"Yes." Kinenkō stared at one of the plaques on the wall. "Yes, I did. I was hurt, and you were there, and I just wanted it to end. I've been alive for a long, long time Deku. I may not look it, but I'm over 90 years old."

Izuku blinked at Kinenkō, surprise poking its way through the myriad other emotions fighting for dominance. "I thought you were in your mid 60s,maybea graceful 70."

"You wouldn't be the first. In fairness, part of that is just good genetics." Kinenkō shook his head. "But with the way Boon was enhanced, you probably have quite the lifespan to look forward to. I hope you do better with it than I did. I thought I was doing well, but in the end I was just a lonely, bitter old man with nothing to look forward to."

"Is that why you let yourself die?" Izuku asked. "Because you didn't think you had anything left for you?"

"I didn't lie when I said I would die there either. It was simply a matter of when and how. I told myself that using Boon on you could at least be one last effort to help someone, but in reality…" Kinenkō's face fell, and his gold rimmed eyes lowered to the floor. "I just wanted the pain to end, and didn't care how. It could have been a random civilian at that point. I wouldn't be there to see the consequences, so I didn't care what they'd be so long as I was free of the pain."

Kinenkō stood from his chair, lowered himself to his knees, then bowed his head to the floor. "I cannot possibly apologize enough for the distress I put you through, but I will try regardless."

Izuku shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he inspected the man before him. Kinenkō's back was hunched and rigid. His fingers pressed into the floor, the knuckles white. He trembled slightly, be it from emotion or simply the discomfort of holding his position.

Izuku lowered himself from his chair, and carefully encouraged Kinenkō upright. As he did, the two made eye contact, and Izuku could see the harsh redness around the gold. "I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit."

Kinenkō stared at Izuku as though he'd grown another head. "I beg your pardon?"

"If you genuinely hadn't cared, you wouldn't have talked to me. You'd have just done it the moment I was within reach, and I wouldn't have had any idea what happened. I can't say I'd have handled itwell, but I also probably wouldn't have pieced together what happened."

Kinenkō rubbed his hands over his face, then leaned back on his heels. "You dropped from the upper floors with the Aikawas in tow, then dragged yourself down to try and help me. I didn't realize you were a first year student at the time, but I could tell you were young, and that made me hesitate. I felt awful, thinking about how it would hurt you… but not awful enough that I could convince myself to just deal with the pain until something finished me off."

Izuku absently rubbed his thumb over the scars on his right hand as he thought back on the past two days, and everything they'd brought with them. Some of the worst moments in his life so far had happened in quick succession, and even the high points were extremely overwhelming. Even if Tenya would likely recover and Kinenkō would live on, the memory of what happened to them still left him nauseated and shaky at times. But, even then…

"I'm glad it was me." Izuku said quietly.

"How can you possibly say that?" The odd look Kinenkō had given him before was nothing compared to the flabbergasted expression he wore now. "I wastherewatching how it hurt you before I died, and I saw some of the aftermath from in here."

"It did hurt. It was an awful, horrible experience that will probably stay with me for the rest of my life." Izuku shrunk in on himself yet again, though there wasn't much smaller he could go. "But, of all the people who could have found you… I'm probably the only one who could give you another chance at life. And without your help, the fight with Stain could have gone so, so much worse. I'm pretty sure Boon's interaction with my blood messed with how long the paralysis lasted, and without using it on Tenya…"

Izuku's took a shuddering breath, then wiped at his eyes. "I wish that all that never happened. But it did, and there's no use wishing for a better outcome." Izuku met Kinenkō's startled eyes. "It happened to me, and because of that, something good was able to come out of it instead of being a pure tragedy. I was able to save lives. I'll be able to save more in the future, with your help. In the end, that makes what I experienced worth it to me."

"You seem alarmingly willing to forgive what I did to you." Kinenkō eyed Izuku warily. "My judgment may have been impaired, but I still actively made a decision I knew would hurt you badly."

"You're not entirely forgiven, at least not yet. But I won't let my misgivings stop me from turning this into something good." Izuku hesitantly extended a hand towards Kinenkō. "Let's save the people who need to be saved, Kinenkō, rather than mourning the things we can't change."

Kinenkō stared at the hand like he thought it might bite him for a moment. He hesitantly reached forward, paused at the last second, then tentatively clasped Izuku's hand.

"I would like that a great deal, Deku." Kinenkō gave him a sad smile.

Izuku's smile mirrored Kinenkō's, and he nodded. "As would I."

They shook hands, somewhat stiltedly, then returned to their respective seats. Izuku released a relieved sigh, a little more of the tension leaving him. They let the calm quiet linger for a time, which let Izuku mull something over.

'If Kinenkō has his own little realm, and it seems like Tenya did as well, I wonder…'

"If you wouldn't mind, I'm going to try bringing Yoichi here. I have an idea I'd like to run past you both, and I think getting him in here would be a good proof of concept." Izuku said. "If you'd rather we just speak to him instead of physically bringing him here, I understand."

"I don't have anything against that. There's really nothing in here to hide, unless he's going to smuggle dubiously accurate patient information into the world somehow." Kinenkō paused for a moment. "Or try to beat my high score in Mahjong."

"...you have Mahjong? Wait, your computerworks?"

"Solitaire too. As far as the computer goes, I don't have a way to access the internet or anything. If I go digging through the files, I can find things I expect to find, but it's incomplete. There are fewer files than I know there should be, but I can't remember what exactly the missing ones were." Kinenkō shrugged. "The games work fine, though, as do some functions of my organizational programs. Considering how absurd many Quirks are, yours even more so than most, it coming with classic games installed doesn't seem that outlandish."

Izuku shook his head, bemused. "I'm going to see if I can drag Yoichi in here now. I don't want to keep Toshinori waiting too much longer."

At Kinenkō's nod, Izuku turned his attention outward. His hunch paid off, and he could sense the energy of One for All around the bubble that was Kinenkō's office. Izuku carefully reached out for Yoichi's line of power. The moment he made contact, it felt like he'd just poked a hole in a dam. In a surge of energy, Yoichi popped into existence in the chair next to Izuku with a startled yelp.

"Uh." Izuku blinked. "I was expecting that to be harder. Were you already trying to get in?"

Yoichi hummed in agreement, eyes drinking in the room around him. "I was, yeah. Have been since I felt you manage to do it. I think I could probably bridge the gap on my own, now that I've felt what it's like. Reality in One for All seems… alarmingly malleable, now that I've poked at it enough."

"That's good to hear!" Izuku said, his smile growing. "That's actually part of why I brought you here…"

Once Izuku had emerged from his bedroom,farlater than he'd intended and extremely careful not to let too much excitement show, he and Toshinori had begun their testing. Izuku had collected the entirety of Boon, then evenly split it between himself and Toshinori. At half capacity, both found themselves more than a little antsy. But while Izuku forced himself to try to relax and adjust to the energy, it was All Might's turn to test his limits.

The Symbol of Peace cautiously doing simple stretches and exercises was an odd sight. But the genuine joy on his face when twisting in a certain way was merely uncomfortable rather than agonizing had brought a smile to Izuku's face.

Another lap of the penthouse office completed, Izuku tossed himself onto a couch. It was far and away the most comfortable couch he'd ever sat on, par for the course with basically everything All Might owned. Unfortunately, no amount of comfort could let Izuku fully ignore the sheer volume of nervous energy coursing through him.

Izuku flopped onto his side, momentarily considered another walk, then sighed. Much as it would help, he needed to get used to the energy while he wasn't moving. He couldn't exactly spend his classes wandering around once he returned to UA. He'd have plenty of time to wear himself out later, but he needed to make some progress on living with Boon before then.

'I'm gonna go nuts.'Izuku thought as he glared up at the ceiling, as though it were at fault for his circumstances rather than him. Desperate for a distraction, he pulled his phone from his pocket and punched in his pin.

A half read article on Quirk Metaphysics that he'd started before his last lap was quickly set aside, the interesting material just a bit too dry for his current state. He pulled up one of his favorite heroics compilations, but quickly found the fights only urged him to move even more. A clip of the Wild Wild Pussycats led him down a brief detour into funny cat videos, which was moderately better, but still lost his interest after a few videos.

With a groan, Izuku levered himself upright and stalked out of the living room, heading towards the sound of metal clanking.

'I'm just going to see how Toshinori's doing.'He rationalized.'I'm not going for another walk. That's definitely not what's happening.'

Thankfully the Vestiges didn't call him out, because he was having a hard enough time convincing himself.

He found All Might on one of the various exercise machines, carefully pushing on a bar to lift a completely stupid amount of weight with ease. "How's it going?"

"I'd say it's going quite well!" All Might sent him a wide grin. "An hour and a half in with light activity, save for the occasional villain, and I'm only now starting to feel the strain of holding this form. I'd guess I could hold it for a bit over two hours before I start having serious issues. It'll be less with heavier exertion, but I'll take it!"

"That's amazing!" Izuku smiled widely, though it dimmed after a few seconds. "We should probably check to see if you have any issues after I take Boon back, though."

"That would… probably be wise." All Might sighed. "It would be unfortunate if I've just exhausted myself for the rest of the night."

Reluctantly, All Might extracted himself from the machine, then extended a gold-marked hand towards Izuku. Izuku flashed him an apologetic grin as he clasped the hand, then gave the power within a gentle tug. The return flow was gradual and smooth, rather than the torrent it had been the previous times, which he hoped would ease any issues the withdrawal might cause.

All Might's brows drew together slightly, then he preemptively plucked a handkerchief from his pocket. As the last of Boon trickled into Izuku's now jittery hand, All Might frowned contemplatively. He looked over his body, flexed slightly, then twisted carefully. He winced and aborted the maneuver, shaking his head. "Ah, there it is."

All Might released a slow breath, and with it shrank down. The end of the breath turned into a single harsh cough into the handkerchief. On it, Izuku could see a small streak of blood, but nothing as extreme as he often saw from one of Toshinori's fits.

"Well, I'm inclined to call that a success! I felt mostly fine for a second after you finished taking Boon back, but that twist wasdefinitelya bad idea. If I hadn't done that, I may have stayed in better condition for a bit longer." Toshinori said cheerfully, eyeing Izuku as he started shifting from foot to foot. "From the feel of things, I probably have about ten minutes left in the tank, which lines up pretty well with my estimate."

"Fantastic!" Izuku exclaimed with a bit more force than intended, then noticed he'd started pacing. He made himself stop walking, but found that complete stillness was beyond him as his foot began to tap and his hands fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. All things considered, however, it was already a marked improvement from the previous night.

Toshinori extended a hand, one eyebrow raised, and Izuku quickly reached out to siphon 15% of Boon back into him. A bit of tension in Toshinori's shoulders eased, though he cocked his head at Izuku.

"You're still looking a bit jittery there, my boy. Are you sure you-"

Izuku shook his head vigorously. "I'm planning to give Torino about the same amount. That'll hopefully be the right amount to both keep me sane and let the two of you sleep."

Toshinori frowned. "You should get some rest as well, Young Izuku. You've been pushing yourself hard."

"I don't feel especially tired, which lines up with something Kinenkō mentioned. Sure, it might be a long night, but I have to get used to Boon as soon as possible. I can't exactly keep foisting chunks of it on you and Torino forever."

"I suppose that's true, though you could just refresh me during the school day." Toshinori offered. "But… I guess I shouldn't let myself become too reliant on it either. As good as it feels, you'll need to use Boon to help people in the future, and that means I can't be hoarding a piece of it because it soothes some aches."

"If anyone's earned some relief, it's you." Izuku countered, jabbing a finger in Toshinori's direction. "It's not like I can't pull it back if I need it. Though… I guess it might be problematic if I did that and it caught you by surprise."

Toshinori hummed in agreement. "It's something that we'll have to play by ear. But until the day you can hold all of Boon without it driving you up a wall, don't hesitate to ask for some help. I certainly won't be complaining."

"Thank you."

"Gladly. Now, I don't know about you, but I think this success calls for some dinner!"

Behind Toshinori, Izuku saw Gran Torino's head poke through the exercise room's doorway.

"Someone say dinner?"

Izuku's earlier conversation with Kinenkō and Yoichi had borne far, far more fruit than he'd hoped. He had quickly secured their cooperation after he'd explained the rough outline of his plan, and they'd subsequently began to experiment.

Their catalyst had been their attempt to figure out what, exactly, made Kinenkō's computer work. It had seemed an almost impossible task, until Yoichi sat down and began poking at it directly. Almost immediately, he'd made headway in a rather unexpected way.

Yoichi had found scans of old comic books. Specifically,hisold comic books. The files had familiar wear and tear, small doodles he'd made in the margins, the same missing pages, etc. That had suggested a very important piece of information.

Whatever they were seeing was likely drawn from the memory of the Vestiges. That theory had quickly expanded to include Izuku when he'd successfully pulled up pages from his notebooks.

The next major development had come from Izuku himself. He'd mulled over what Kinenkō had described from Tenya's initial arrival, and decided to test a hypothesis. With great focus, Izuku had opened one of the filing cabinets and looked inside. Just as he'd hoped, he found a limited edition Silver Age All Might figurine, pristine in its box, with All Might's signature in silver marker on the side. Kinenkō was quite sure that the cabinet in question had contained records of previous surgeries the last time he'd opened it.

The confirmation that the Vestige Realm was actively malleable had been like dropping chum in a tank full of sharks. After they'd managed to do it once, the three of them had begun pulling open drawers left and right, finding everything from food to long lost car keys. Many attempts failed or weredubioussuccesses, especially those created from muddier memories, but the fact that it worked at all was astounding.

Then, Yoichi had managed to skip the middleman and conjure a copy of his favorite comic book directly into his hands. After that, Kinenkō had opened his office door, which had previously led to a hallway that faded to darkness at either end, and found his once again intact apartment on the other side. Then, after a great deal of focus, Izuku had managed to achieve their greatest achievement yet.

He made a new realm.

Technically, Tenya and Kinenkō had achieved it before him. But Izuku had been the first to do sodeliberately. It had been a far more difficult process than anything he'd created before, but he'd managed to carve out a foothold in the void beyond Kinenkō's realm. Once he'd done that, the realm had unfurled around that point as if by its own volition. But rather than a room, it had become a replica of Dagobah beach from the morning he'd received One for All.

It was just as he'd remembered it. The chill ocean air. The sound of the gentle waves. The golden light of dawn glinting off the water and casting the world in a hopeful warmth. He'd just stood there for a time, in awe, before he pulled Yoichi and Kinenkō in after him. They'd been just as dumbstruck as he.

By that point, Izuku had spent far more time in the Vestige realm than he'd intended. It was agony to stop testing the limits of what he could do in the realm, but he still had a plan to enact. A plan that would likely work much, much better thanks to what they'd just discovered. With great reluctance, Izuku had confirmed that his co-conspirators knew what they needed to do, then pulled himself back into his body.

It had been torture to spend the rest of the day idling, as had keeping his attention away from One for All to avoid tipping certain individuals off. Once Toshinori and Torino finally went to bed, after Toshinori had quintuple checked that Izuku didn't want company all night, things had gotten easier. That was largely because Izuku could finally start trying to wear himself out.

Izuku wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow with a slightly shaking arm, then brushed damp strands of hair from his face. He was mostly pleased with his current condition, but exhaustion was unpleasant even if it was the goal. It might not be necessary for what he intended, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

With care, Izuku crept from the exercise room and into his bedroom. Hopefully they'd be asleep by now, as that was an important factor in Izuku's goals for the night.

With growing skill, he flickered on One for All and brushed against two of the chords within.

'Status?'

'Mostly set up in here.'Yoichi responded.'The grouches were happy enough at the idea of some peace and quiet, so they're willing to cooperate.'

'Excellent. Kinenkō?'

'I think we're just about good to go.'Kinenkō said a moment later.'It's hard to tell for sure without being invasive, nevermind that I've never actively tried to do this before.'

Izuku nodded, then carefully rolled himself onto his bed. Even as he did, he could feel Boon revitalizing his tired body.'Ok, probably now or never. Here it goes.'

With a flex of his will, Izuku quickly delved into One for All, then pressed further. A moment later, he stood before the thrones. Only two of them were occupied.

"Hey, Izuku. Glad you could make it!" Yoichi waved to him, posed in his throne with an exaggerated nonchalance that made Izuku huff a laugh. Next to him, the swirling mass of energy that was Toshinori's Vestige sat impassively, as it always seemed to.

"Yeah. Waiting was rough, but if it works, it'll be worth it." Izuku glanced around. "Didn't do any renovations?"

"For all that this place isn't somewhere with many positive memories, it's still important to me. I think that's why it took this shape when everything appeared." Yoichi looked at the crumbling structure around them solemnly. "The others can do what they choose with their realms, but I think I'll keep the core of One for All like this for now." A small smirk flickered across his pale lips. "Well, mostly."

Izuku glanced around again, but still couldn't see anything out of place.

Yoichi grinned widely, then pulled something on the side of his throne. With a thunk, a red cushion swung up from beneath the throne to support Yoichi's legs, and the tall back reclined. "I always wanted one of these. Now I can read my comics on something more comfortable than the floor or a wooden stool."

"A reclining throne." This time, Izuku laughed outright. "Just make sure nobody's behind it when you do that, it looks like the top was moving pretty fast."

"If any of us could be taken out by that, we wouldn't have made it this far." Yoichi snorted.

"You probably have a point, there." As Izuku spoke, he gave a gentle tug on Boon, and Kinenkō appeared next to Yoichi's throne. "Any new developments, Kinenkō?"

"I think we're ready." Kinenkō said, though he sounded distracted. "I'm keeping the process from starting for now. Once you give the word, I'll let it run its course."

"Fantastic." Izuku smiled excitedly. "Well, shall we?"

"By all means!" Yoichi matched Izuku's smile. "Let's get this party started."

Izuku broadened his focus, connecting to each thrumming line of power within One for All, save for Kudo's and Bruce's.

'Everyone! I know you're all probably exploring what you can do with your realms, but I'd appreciate you all coming back to the core for a moment.'

It didn't take long for the previous users to return. Hikage appeared almost immediately, quickly followed by En. A few moments later, Daigoro appeared with some manner of drink in hand and a wide smile on his face. He lifted his glass in Izuku's direction, then quickly drained it.

Last to arrive was Nana. While she'd obviously tried to pull herself together, Izuku could immediately spot the tear tracks that ran down from reddened, puffy eyes.

Izuku blinked, caught off guard. "Nana? Are you ok?"

Despite her obvious distress, Nana gave Izuku a smile that was small and sad, but nonetheless genuine. "My realm took shape as somewhere extremely important to me, but that came with…painfulmemories. They don't outweigh the good, but… it was kind of a shock to the system. I'm glad I get to see it again."

En reached over from his throne to give Nana a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. She patted his hand gently in thanks, then shifted to sit more upright in her throne. She swiped a finger under each eye, cleared her throat, then glanced towards the empty thrones. "Are they protesting something again, or are they just slow?"

"They're sitting this one out." Yoichi replied. "Though it's not a bad thing, in this case, so please don't hold it against them."

Nana raised a brow, but nodded in acquiescence. "Then I suppose we should get to whatever this meeting is about."

The collective attention of the Vestiges shifted to settle squarely onto Izuku's shoulder's.'Right. The public speaking part.'He took a settling breath that completely failed at its only job, then began.

"T-thank you all for coming. I'm sorry to c-call you away from your newfound freedom, but I think this will be important."

"We were stuck in the dark for several decades." Daigoro said. "If anything could teach me a little patience, it would be that."

Izuku nodded in the large man's direction, then continued, slightly more relaxed. "I was lucky enough to meet you all yesterday, despite my short time with One for All. For as absolutely crazy as things have been since, you've been helpful and supportive. I can't thank you enough."

Four smiles of various intensities came his way, as well as a nod from Hikage.

"But, had things gone differently, I might not be the one who got to meet you all first. I wasn't the one who made One for All what it is today, who put it on track to make this possible in the first place." Izuku smiled as he saw realization dawning, and gave Kinenkō a nod. "Which is why, hopefully, the person who really earned this meeting will be arriving shortly, along with a guest who's just as deserving in his own way."

Izuku turned his eyes skyward.

Above him, golden light flared. Rapidly, a vaguely familiar room began to form in the sky. Initially, Izuku wasn't sure why he recognized it, but eventually it clicked. The furniture was new. The walls were brightly colored and intact. The checkered tile floor was clean and polished until it shined. It was the same room Torino had punted Izuku around when they'd sparred in his apartment, but it looked to be nearly thirty years newer.

At its center, Torino stood in his complete hero costume. He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, then peeled the mask from his face. He shot it a confused look, then glanced around. He froze for a moment, then wandered over and poked a rocking chair with his foot, sending it swaying back and forth.

"What the hell is this?" Torino griped as glared at the room around him, then eventually glanced upwards. He squinted at the darkness, then the up-side-down structure hanging in his sky. "Weird ass dream. Shouldn't have… taken… those…" Torino trailed off, blinking rapidly as he looked closer at the room below him.

"Nana?" Torino whispered hoarsely.

"Sorahiko?" Nana gaped upwards.

For a moment, everything was extremely still. Then, in a flash of movement, Nana was pressed against some kind of barrier between the two spaces. Torino had likewise reached the barrier, hands and face pressed against an invisible surface as bursts of air kept him aloft.

"It's good to see you, Nana." Torino said roughly between blasts of air. "It's been too long."

"No kidding!" Nana laughed wetly. "You look like shit, Old Man!"

"Oh, you asshole!" Torino cackled as he fell back towards the apartment, his merriment depriving his Quirk of the air it needed. Even so, he landed with the ease of long practice, then turned his attention towards Izuku.

"You could have warned me I was getting an invite, Zygote." Torino said gruffly. Despite the tone, Izuku could clearly hear the tremble in his voice.

"What, do you not like surprises?" Izuku asked. "I think it's fair, after you tenderized me this morning."

"At my age, surprises like this can give people heart attacks." Torino snarked, but he smiled broadly as his eyes flicked back to Nana. "Eh, would have been worth it."

Izuku smiled back, but inwardly was growing worried. Toshinori still hadn't appeared above them. There weren't any signs of another room forming either, nor could he spot Toshinori in Torino's apartment. Izuku glanced at Kinenkō, wondering if he'd been wrong about Toshinori being asleep, or the theory that multiple people could appear at a time. However, Izuku found the doctor wasn't looking at the sky. Instead, he was staring towards…

The shroud of roiling energy that made up Toshinori's Vestige was changing. Condensing. Golden fire pulled in on itself, transmuted into something solid. Something human.

Toshinori sat on his throne, clad in his Gold Age costume. He was in his smaller form, but his face looked starkly different. His eyes weren't sunken, nor were his cheeks. On further examination, the costume didn't hang off of him anywhere near as badly as it did when he'd seen him earlier in the day. While it was still loose, the figure beneath filled it out much more than the gaunt body Izuku had last seen the costume on.

Toshinori blinked, shook his head slightly, then glanced around. His eyes turned wary as they swept over the past users, then shifted into confusion as they settled on Izuku.

"I-I would l-like to formally introduce most of you to Toshinori Yagi, the Eighth User of One for All and the world's Symbol of Peace." Izuku pushed through his surprise and smiled radiantly as he gestured towards Toshinori with all the grandiosity the occasion called for. "All Might!"

Toshinori blinked, then shook off the lingering fog of sleep. "Young Izuku? What's going on here? Where am- OOPH!"

Nana slammed into Toshinori like a missile from on high. His throne reclined violently with a mechanical thunk, which let both slide up its ridiculously long back and tumble to the ground behind it. All Might shot up from the floor, half crouched and visibly alarmed as he tried to assess what kind of attacker had latched themselves onto his torso like a hyper aggressive koala.

When Nana looked up, tears flowing freely, Toshinori went completely, utterly still. Realization dawned on his face like the first rays of sun after a century of night.

"...Nana?" He whispered in a tone that bordered on reverence.

"TOSHI!" Nana wailed as she buried her face in his chest. She hugged him even tighter as her body shuddered with the force of her heaving cries.

All Might collapsed to his knees as he shrank down, arms wrapped tentatively around the master he had lost. He just stared for a moment, seemingly unsure what to do. Then, the dam burst. He gathered Nana tightly in his arms, buried his face in her hair, and sobbed.

"Nana! Oh, god, NANA!"