A rival is often born from the seeds of one's own self-doubt, watered by the need to prove one's worth.
4 May 2169
Izuku waited in line at the convenience store, in his hand was clutched a copy of the May edition of the JP Heroes Magazine.
A lot had changed in the four months since that day. The review of Eri's placement with the Midoriyas had come and gone, with no other family available or willing to care for her, she had become a permanent member of the family.
Izuku's training with All Might had begun in earnest, leaving him with aching muscles and a rapidly increasing control and understanding of his quirk, Overhaul. He had quickly found that he didn't have the same control or stamina with the quirk that Overhaul had boasted, at least not yet.
Eri had also started her own training, hers with Eraserhead, helping her to gain a semblance of control over her quirk and the confidence to not be afraid of it.
Finally reaching the front of the queue, Izuku quickly paid for his magazine and exited the store, out onto the street where he immediately began flicking through his purchase.
Here it is, the jumbo interview with All Might they promised in last month's issue! I know I could just ask Mr. Yagi all these questions, but I'm still a hero nerd at heart.
Izuku turned the page as he ducked into the main street of the Tatooin Shopping District, his shortcut to the bus stop.
An article on the latest hero debuts, I can't wait to get home and make notes on them all.
"That you, Deku?"
Izuku stilled, for the barest moment he was back on that day, in that alleyway with Overhaul. Focusing on what his therapist had told him in their sessions, Izuku took a deep breath. He turned around to see Katsuki Bakugo, his classmate and former friend, flanked by Noburu Yubi and Kuchi Same, his lackeys.
"You're spoiling my view, get outta my way." Bakugo drawled, his eyes burning into Izuku.
When they were four, he and Izuku had been close, the best of friends. Then Bakugo's quirk had come in, a flashy, impressive quirk that everyone raved was perfect for heroics. Instantly, Bakugo had started insisting on playing Heroes and Villains every day, and Izuku had been the villain every time, chased around the neighbourhood by Bakugo and his explosions. That was until their parents found out and put a stop to the rough play.
But Bakugo had changed after that, distance had begun to grow between him and Izuku. By the time they were seven, their friendship had completely ended, helped along in no small part by his diagnosis of quirklessness.
The next six years had been ones of deafening indifference towards Izuku, he may not have joined in with the bullying, but he had seen it all and done nothing. And then Izuku had come back after the winter holidays with a quirk, a powerful quirk.
A flashy, impressive quirk that everyone raved was perfect for heroics.
Since then Bakugo had begun to pay more attention to Izuku, not bullying him like the others had done, but being competitive, constantly trying to prove his quirk was better than Izuku's, to put Overhaul down.
Izuku straightened. "That's not ni-"
"Don't care." Bakugo interrupted, shoulder-checking Izuku as he passed him, the magazine falling from the green-haired boy's grip.
Yubi extended his fingers to snatch the magazine out of the air before it landed in a puddle. "Whatcha reading, Midoriya? Heroes Magazine?"
Since Izuku had come back to school with Overhaul, his classmates had totally flipped their opinions and completely changed their behaviour towards him, sucking up to him instead of looking down at him.
It was exhausting, Izuku had always been quietly jealous of how others had flocked to Bakugo, but now he understood why it annoyed the blond-haired boy so much.
Same took the magazine from his fellow lackey. "I guess you'd still want to be a hero, since you're such a shoe-in with a quirk like yours, even if it came in so late."
Izuku saw Bakugo stop in place, vibrating with anger.
Wheeling around, Bakugo snatched the magazine from his lackey. Holding it in his hands, the blond-haired boy activated his quirk and exploded it, before throwing it at Izuku.
"Don't go thinking you can become a hero, Deku!" Bakugo barked, glaring at the green-haired boy. "You've only had that damn quirk five minutes, I've had years to train mine. It's stronger than yours by leagues!"
Izuku snatched the magazine out of the air before it could hit the ground, meeting Bakugo's gaze without looking away, just as All Might had taught him a hero must do to a villain.
"Strength doesn't make a hero." Izuku stated calmly, even if he felt like cowering and running away. Activating Overhaul, Izuku allowed it to repair the magazine to a pristine condition.
Bakugo's eyes blazed with indignation, stepping closer. "You think just because you got a flashy quirk all of a sudden you can be a hero? Don't make me laugh!"
Small explosions began to crackle around Bakugo's palms as he stepped forward again.
"You've spent your whole life eating the dirt, this new quirk doesn't change that. You're still just a useless Deku."
Bakugo punched his palm as he exploded it, as if to emphasise his point, before turning and beginning to stomp away. His lackeys hesitated for a few moments but quickly scurried after him.
Izuku released a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding in, suddenly very shaky.
"What's with the smoke?" Same queried.
Looking up, Izuku followed his classmate's gaze to see a large plume of white smoke above the top of the adjacent building.
Yubi shrugged. "Maybe a fire?"
"A villain!"
"Someone catch him!"
A vaguely humanoid cloud of the same white smoke burst out of a side street, turning away from Izuku, Bakugo and the lackeys.
"Where's my bag gone?"
"I can't see a thing!"
Izuku stepped forward slightly. "We need to call a hero."
"Let's get outta here, Katsuki!" Yubi urged.
Same backed away. "Yeah, this looks like trouble."
"Nah, I'll win." Bakugo announced. "I'm not running away with a villain on the loose, I'm gonna catch him!"
Yubi started. "Don't joke about this sort of stuff, Katsuki!"
"I ain't joking, you damn cowards!" Bakugo punched his palm. "This is just an extracurricular on my path to UA!"
"We should wait for a hero." Izuku stated. "You're not authorised to use your quirk to apprehend a villain!"
"You can stand back and watch me take this guy down." Bakugo declared, crouching down. "See, this is the difference between a future hero like me, and an eternal Deku like you."
Bakugo ignited both his palms and exploded into the air after the smoke villain, the gap quickly closing.
"You're not going to get me, you brat!" The smoke villain yelled behind himself, his cloud suddenly expanding in all directions.
Izuku squinted, his eyes stinging as the smoke cloud enveloped him and Bakugo's sidekicks, completely obscuring his vision.
"A good blast should blow away your stupid smoke!" Bakugo roared from somewhere within the cloud.
Trying to cover his eyes with one arm, Izuku raised his opposite hand and activated Overhaul.
Silica? How is the smoke cloud made of silica? That's because it's not smoke, it's sand, quartz to be exact!
"Bakugo, it isn't smoke, it's sand!" Izuku shouted, but just as he did, a sudden crash of thunder drowned him out.
Thunder? But the sky was clear a second ago.
"Woah, is that a kid going after the villain?!"
Izuku aimed towards where the voice came from, charging blindly in that direction until he suddenly broke out of the sand cloud. Looking up, Izuku saw the sky was beginning to darken, unnaturally quickly.
"This is the showstopper!" Bakugo yelled as he exploded towards the sand villain, his right palm angled towards him, ready to release a blast.
Before Bakugo could reach the villain, the sky turned pitch-black, purple lightning crackling across it, a great gale of wind blasting down the street, buffeting everyone.
Bakugo activated his quirk, aimed towards a light post, grabbing it with both hands and clinging onto it against the wind. Izuku hunkered down, using Overhaul to reshape the ground to encase his hands and feet, anchoring him.
"Help! I can't hold on!"
Izuku turned his head to the source of the voice, catching sight of where Same and Yubi were holding onto another light post. The former was securely attached to the post, using his quirk-enhanced bite to do so. Yubi, however, was using his finger extension quirk, but as the wind continued to increase in ferocity, his fingers stretched further and further, slipping from around the post one by one.
Releasing one on his hands from their anchor points, Izuku slammed his hand down on the ground, just as Yubi lost his grip, a wall sprang up from the ground, catching his classmate.
And then, as soon as it had come, the storm vanished, the sky clearing, the wind dying down to nothing.
Clear skies again? Did I imagine that?
Reverting the ground back to its original state, Izuku straightened and turned to see Bakugo frothing with anger as he landed in a puddle.
"Kacchan, are you okay?" Izuku questioned, moving towards the blond-haired teen.
"Don't call me that!" Bakugo snapped as he stood up, looking in all directions. "Where did that smoke bastard go?"
"Maybe we should leave it to the heroes?" Izuku offered.
"No, that trash villain ain't getting away from me!" Bakugo barked. "Ya hear me? Get back here so I can beat the crap outta ya! I don't care if ya quirk can change the weather!"
Crouching down, Bakugo ignited his palms and blasted off in the direction the villain had been going before the storm hit.
Izuku reached out. "Wait, Kacchan, his quirk, I think it's…"
But it was too late, Bakugo was gone.
Izuku sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Why do you never listen to me, Kacchan?"
"He's mad, going after a villain who can alter the weather like that!" Yubi huffed, bent double and shaking slightly. "He's just bolted!"
Could that villain have changed the weather as well? He could be a binate like Bakugo, they're really rare, inheriting both of their parent's quirks, which they can use together.
"Katsuki's strong, he'll be fine." Same replied. "But what do we do?"
"I'm going after the villain too." Izuku straightened, taking a deep breath, before setting off after Bakugo at a light jog.
"Really, Midoriya too?" Yubi questioned. "That's a dangerous villain, you know?"
Izuku didn't respond, rounding the corner as he spotted a few drops of mud on the ground.
"No villain gets away from me!" Katsuki bellowed as he sprinted down the street, periodically using his explosions to propel himself.
A smoke quirk like that isn't great for a clean escape, it should give him away.
Out of the corner of his eye, he finally saw it, a plume of smoke in the distance.
Gotcha!
Pushing his quirk harder, Katsuki rounded the corner, only to find a bunch of younger kids crowded around a small fire.
"Hey, want a baked sweet potato?" One of the kids asked, poking the fire.
Katsuki ignored the kid, propelling himself into the air, aiming at the wall of the alleyway. Turning, Katsuki used his quirk again, using the wall behind him to launch himself higher, towards the opposite wall. Repeating this manoeuvre again and again, Katsuki finally reached the top of the walls and beyond, hitting the roof running.
This villain can't have gotten too far, heading up top should help scope out the area, and when I find him, I'll chase him down with my quirk!
Reaching the edge of the roof, Katsuki began methodically checking every street he could see from his vantage spot.
Him? What the hell does that Deku think he's doing!
Katsuki balled his fists at the sight of Midoriya racing around at ground level, checking each street and alleyway on his path.
How dare that weak bastard think he can beat me to finding this villain!
At some point over the winter holidays, Deku had changed, returning to school looking like he aged two years with a quirk and, as Katsuki had heard from his mother, a younger sister his parents had adopted.
The old hag had even been floating the idea of arranging a playdate between Katsuki's youngest cousin and Deku's new sister.
But the biggest change had been the way the Deku behaved, no longer flinching and jumping at any remotely loud noise. The sheep that were their classmates had even taken to fawning over Deku, telling him his quirk was perfect for being a hero.
No! It's my quirk that's perfect for heroics, not that weak, untrained quirk the Deku has!
"Crawl around in the mud, where you belong." Katsuki growled, glaring down at Deku. "Hopeless."
Forget about him, I'll prove I'm better than him when I find this villain and he finds jackshit.
"Where are you?" Katsuki groused. "If it's a heteromorphic quirk, then he can't turn it off, so he should be obvious. But if that's the case, he should be sticking out like a sore thumb. Could he be hiding somewhere?"
Katsuki replayed his encounter with the villain in his mind, trying to pick up on any clues he may have not noticed. The clouds around the villain's body, the way his smoke had made Katsuki's eyes sting.
Reaching up, Katsuki rubbed his eye, taking his fingers away to find a light coating of a white, granular material in the corner of them.
Those clouds aren't smoke, they're sand!
Katsuki activated Explosion and rocketed from the rooftop, landing on the next one over.
If his quirk really is a heteromorphic sand quirk, then that rain from the storm should have turned him into a pile of mud.
There he saw it, a pool of mud, slowly inching its way into an alleyway, a trail of emptied purses and wallets behind it. Reaching the edge of the rooftop, Katsuki stepped off into thin air, allowing himself to fall for a second before igniting a series of explosions to slow his descent.
Hitting the ground on one knee, Katsuki launched himself into a run with a burst of his quirk, sprinting towards the alleyway he'd seen the mud pool sneaking into.
Rounding the corner, Katsuki slowed to a halt at the sight of the mud pool innocently hiding against one of the walls, attempting to look inconspicuous.
"Looks like that bastard got away." Katsuki barked, making sure the mud villain could hear him as he began walking down the alley.
Gotta wait 'til I'm close enough.
Nearer and nearer the mud pool he got, Katsuki itching to unleash his quirk on the villain.
"Take this!" Katsuki yelled, suddenly turning his body and bringing his heel down on where he thought the villain's face should be.
Roaring with pain, the mud pool reeled backwards, taking a humanoid shape as he clutched his nose.
"Whad the fug is wrong with you?" The villain bellowed, voice filled with indignation.
"I couldn't find ya after the rain cuz you turned to mud." Katsuki growled. "But I gotcha now, ya sandy goon!"
The mud villain began to grow in size, reaching six feet. "I waz sure I'd ged away in dis form! Dab you, kid!"
Katsuki snorted at the villain's distorted voice, undercutting any menace he was trying to project.
"It's over, small-timer. You're gonna regret showing your face in my town." Katsuki declared as he let small explosions pop in his palms. "You should be glad to be taken down by the future No.1 Hero!"
"Don'd make me laugh, brat." The mud villain retorted, before his broken nose liquidated and reformed, completely healed. "You're no All Might."
White-hot rage thrummed in Katsuki's veins.
"And you're no Toxic Chainsaw." Katsuki snarled, dropping into a fighting stance.
The mud villain raised one massive arm, silt dripping from it, and swung it at Katsuki. Igniting his palms, the blond-haired teen launched himself into the air, dodging the attack. Twisting in the air, Katsuki brought his palm down towards the mud villain's arm and released another explosion.
Mud splattered in every direction as Katsuki landed back on the ground, looking up in time to see the mud villain's other arm coming directly towards him, with no time for him to dodge this time.
Damn.
The arm slammed into his face, it felt like he was hit by a truck. Katsuki tumbled backwards, his ears ringing.
"That's gonna leave a mark!" The mud villain taunted.
Katsuki growled, stumbling to his feet and charging at the mud villain as he swung his muddy arm again. Two spikes suddenly shot up from the ground, skewering the mud villain's arm and holding it in place.
"His quirk is sand-based, like I thought."
Looking to his right, Katsuki felt his rage building at the sight of the damn Deku, his hands pressed to the ground, red energy crackling around the point of contact.
"What the fuck do you think ya doing, you useless Deku!"
Midoriya looked directly at Katsuki. "I'm the Deku that just saved you!"
"I didn't need saving, ya hear me!" Katsuki roared, bringing up his palm and releasing an explosion into the villain's side, forcing him to stumble backwards. "Don't you dare ever do that again!"
Katsuki stood up, readying himself to go on the offensive.
"BUSTER SHOT!"
A blast of compressed air slammed into the mud villain, splattering him against the wall of the alley.
"Vile villain who dares to menace the innocent, I will bring you to justice!"
The mud villain had been knocked unconscious, his body losing its form as he slumped into a puddle against the alley wall.
"It's Airjet, the Buster Hero!" Deku gushed.
Katsuki rolled his eyes. "A hero?"
The hero touched down, dressed in silver armour, including a visored helmet, over a red jumpsuit. On his back was a bulky jetpack and cannons on each forearm. "I received a report that two civilians were chasing down a villain, but you're kids? How unexpected! Those uniforms, you're from Aldera Junior High, right?"
Midoriya nodded his head vigorously.
"You okay? That's quite the shiner you've got there." Airjet noted, pointing to Katsuki's aching face. "I think I should probably get you seen too."
"Not a chance!" Katsuki barked.
"I can fix it." Midoriya reached out and touched Katsuki's face before he could bat his hand away.
A crackle of green energy danced around Katsuki's peripheral vision before the pain in his face vanished.
Katsuki seethed. "I didn't need you to do that!"
"Neat, your quirk can heal." Airjet complimented. "How versatile."
"I nearly had him!" Katsuki snapped at the hero. "You stole my thunder!"
Airjet laughed nervously, removing his helmet as he did. "Sorry, kid, I can't resist buster-ing any villain I see, I guess you and I kinda alike."
"We're nothing alike!" Katsuki roared. "This was my moment, the one where I prove I'm going to be a hero!"
"You want to be a hero, eh?" Airjet reached inside his armour and produced a business card, holding it out to Katsuki. "Here, take this and give me a call, I'm sure I can arrange some intern work for you at my agency. It won't be glamorous, but it will start getting your name out there."
Katsuki hesitated, glaring at the business card before snatching it from the hero. "Whatever."
"What about you, greenie?" Airjet questioned, waving another business card. "You interested?"
Midoriya looked flustered. "I really appreciate it, but I don't really have the time for it, sorry. Can I still have the business card?"
"Sure you can." Airjet smiled, releasing a small blast of air from his palm, sending the card fluttering towards Midoriya, allowing him to pluck it out of the air.
"Now, you two should head off, this guy's a dangerous criminal, been hoping to catch this guy for months." Airjet mused, before looking towards the villain. "Haven't I, Darude?"
With that, Katsuki turned around and stomped away, heading home.
Izuku stared down at the sand villain as Airjet used his air cannon to suction the villain into a clear cylinder.
If that villain had the ability to turn into clouds and change the weather, then why didn't he transform? And he definitely wouldn't have fled on foot like that if he could.
Izuku raised his head and looked up at the sky.
Then what caused that sudden storm?
Sighing, Izuku shook his head before turning around and walking back the way he came.
I wonder what happened to my magazine?
Turning the corner, Izuku pulled his backpack higher.
Kacchan must have worked it out as well, he may be a nasty guy, but he is kind of amazing.
Izuku started, hearing a noise behind him. Spinning around, the green-haired boy looked back and forth for the source of the noise, but saw nothing. Shaking his head, Izuku turned back and continued walking, heading for his bus stop.
I probably shouldn't mention this to Mum and Dad, they've been super overprotective since the Overhaul incident.
He heard it again, the noise behind him.
Izuku turned, looking more intently this time, checking every shadow for any sign of someone, but yet again there was no-one there. Shrugging, Izuku wheeled back around and froze in place.
In the middle of the alleyway stood a young, white-haired man, his posture somewhat slumped, dressed in rumpled clothing.
"I need it."
The sound of thunder echoed through the air, a harsh wind starting to blow.
Izuku backed away, disturbed by the slightly vacant look in the man's grey eyes.
"Give it to me."
"Are you okay?" Izuku queried. "Do you need me to call an ambulance?"
The man shook his head. "I need you to give it to me, I need you to give me your quirk."
"Give you my quirk?" Izuku questioned. "T-That's not how quirks work."
The white-haired man didn't reply, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Izuku took another step backwards, tensing his body, ready to run.
"No. Stay." The man's eyes turned indigo.
Instantly, Izuku felt an invisible force acting on his body, freezing him in place.
A paralysis quirk, he hasn't made any movements or gestures, so non-somatic. Quirks like this don't tend to be too strong, the effect should only last a few seconds.
Within a few moments his arms started to quiver, the paralysis was starting to end. Suddenly, the man launched himself at Izuku, tackling him to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Izuku demanded, quickly realising that the man had his hands by the wrists, held in the air.
So he couldn't use Overhaul.
Panic filled Izuku, terrified at the idea that he was going to be killed by this man, and One Over One would claim another victim.
"Please, don't!" Izuku grunted, trying desperately to free him. "I don't want to hurt you!"
But the white-haired man paid him no heed, before his eyes began to glow yellowish-green.
Izuku screamed, ribbons of yellowish-green energy starting to rise from his body, flowing towards the man's hands.
He could feel it, inside he could feel a hand pulling at Overhaul, pulling the quirk from his body.
CEASE!
Instantly, the world turned into an endless black space.
Izuku found himself standing in this void, in front of him was the white-haired man. But between them was a woman, one Izuku didn't recognise.
She was tall and young, her hair also white, a slightly lighter shade, and down to her shoulders. She had a presence to her, one that was somewhat familiar to Izuku.
She felt similar to All Might, not the aura of sheer power he put off, but a quiet feeling of legacy, of carrying a burden.
"You will not harm him." The woman spoke. "This child is protected, begone."
With the flick of her wrist, Izuku's protector banished the white-haired man from the void.
"Take heart, my descendant." The protector said reassuringly, turning to face Izuku to reveal green eyes identical to his own. "We will meet again."
With that, the void dissolved into a whirlwind of multi-coloured light, and just as it did, Izuku saw another figure, with his back turned to him.
Kai Chisaki.
And then it was all gone.
Blinking, Izuku found himself back in the real world, the white-haired man still clutching his wrists. The yellowish-green energy between them turned a silvery white, flowing in the opposite direction for a few seconds before exploding outwards, sending the white-haired man flying backwards, hitting a fire escape, and finally landing on a trash can.
Izuku crumpled, relief flooding his being as he felt Overhaul settling back into place within him.
The white-haired man stumbled to his feet, a wild look on his face as faint purple lines began to creep up it. "You destroyed it, it's broken!"
Turning away, wind whipped around the man before lifting him into the air and out of sight within a few seconds.
Izuku pushed himself to his feet, looking to the sky as purple lightning split it in two.
Weather control, paralysis and some kind of quirk stealer. Three quirks, that's not possible, binates are rare, but triumvirates are impossible.
Clearly, that last quirk, that man must have used it to steal at least one of the other two quirks.
Those purple cracks, his body can't handle all those quirks. I need to tell All Might about this.
Pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket, Izuku quickly inputted the No.1 Hero's number and pressed dial.
"I am answering the phone like a normal person!"
"All Might, it's Midoriya." Izuku hesitated. "I've just been attacked, the man, he tried to steal my quirk."
Deafening silence came from the other end of the line.
"All Might?"
"Meet me at the beach as soon as you can."
Twenty minutes later, Izuku found himself standing on the sands of Dagobah Beach. Four months of hard work had hardly touched the amount of trash littering the beach. Izuku often wondered if more was being added faster than he could keep up.
Sand whipped past Izuku, revealing a worried All Might, dressed in his garish yellow business suit.
"Young Midoriya, are you okay?" Yagi questioned as he deflated and rushed over to Izuku. "Your wrists!"
Izuku looked down at his wrists, they had been red but were now fading to a mottle of angry purple bruises.
"I'm okay, it's just a few bruises." Izuku assured him. "I've had worse injuries."
A sharp look told Izuku that his reference to Overhaul killing him wasn't appreciated at the moment.
"Can't you use Overhaul to heal them?"
Izuku shuffled nervously. "I haven't tried, I don't know what that man did to me. What if he's changed how the quirk works? What if I turn my hands to dust or something?"
"It'll be fine, Young Midoriya." Yagi spoke reassuringly, before crouching down to pick up a seashell from the sand. "Here, try it on this first."
Hesitantly, Izuku activated Overhaul, watching as the shell turned from calcium carbonate to aluminium. Breathing a sigh of relief, Izuku overhauled both of his wrists, returning them to an uninjured state.
"Young Midoriya, please can you tell me what happened? Spare no detail." Yagi implored.
Hesitating for a few moments, Izuku nodded. "School had just finished, I went to the convenience store on my way home, to get May's JP Heroes Magazine, and then when I was on my way to the bus stop, that's when a sand villain showed up, stealing people's bags."
"So this sand villain is the one who tried to take your quirk?"
"No, he wasn't, just as he was passing us, a storm came out of nowhere. I had to use Overhaul to stop myself from being blown away." Izuku answered. "And the storm vanished and the sand villain was gone. Kacchan, one of my classmates, he wants to be a hero, he's got the perfect quirk for it. He decided to go after the villain, but he thought the villain had a cloud quirk."
"So you went after your classmate, didn't you?" Yagi questioned, one eyebrow raised.
Izuku nodded his head abashedly. "I did, I followed a trail of mud, since the sand villain turned to mud in the rain, and I found them, the villain had injured Kacchan and was about to do so again. I used Overhaul to immobilise his arm."
Yagi pinched the bridge of his nose. "And did you not think to alert a hero?"
Izuku held up his phone. "I submitted a report to the Hero Network as I followed the trail, that's why Airjet turned up just after me and knocked the villain out with a single blast!"
"Oh, thank goodness." Yagi muttered exasperatedly. "So he detained the villain and sent you on your way? What about your classmate's injury?"
"I healed it, and yes, Airjet sent us home." Izuku assured him. "Kacchan went first, I stayed for a minute or two because I was trying to figure out where the storm had come from, not the sand villain, obviously."
"So, then you left?"
"I was a couple of alleys away, I heard this noise, and then he appeared in front of me." Izuku explained. "He was saying how he needs my quirk, sounded like he was desperate for it, he didn't seem all there, really. I tried backing away, but he used a paralysis quirk and tackled me. He must have been watching me for a while because he knew my quirk executes from my palms because he held my hands in the air, holding onto my wrists."
"He was the one who did that to your wrists?" Yagi questioned, his fists clenching. "Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?"
"No, I'm fine, good as new." Izuku shook his head. "That when he tried to take my quirk, I could feel Overhaul being pulled out of my body, and then I was in this black void, across from the man who attacked me, but there was also a woman there.
Izuku paused, wracking his brain on how to phrase what he wanted to say next.
"She kinda felt like you, this woman, not like All Might, not the power, but you, Mr. Yagi, like a quiet strength honed over decades of use." Izuku continued. "She told my attacker that I was protected and then she banished him. Next thing I knew, I was back in the alleyway, and the attacker was sent flying by his quirk backfiring. He ran away, that's when I called you."
"Young Midoriya, the man who attacked you, who tried to take your quirk, what did he look like?" Yagi questioned, a note of fear and desperation bleeding into his voice.
"He had white hair, grey eyes." Izuku answered. "No noticeable scars, but just before he fled, he had these purple cracks on his skin."
"What about when he used All-, when he used that quirk on you? What colour was the energy?"
Izuku frowned. "Yellowish-green, his eyes too. How do you know that there was energy?"
"It's not him, thank goodness." Yagi sighed, his shoulders slumping with tentative relief. "I hoped to spare you this knowledge, Young Midoriya, if only for a few years."
Yagi walked over to the abandoned pickup truck and removed his suit jacket, hanging it on one of the wing mirrors.
"Have you ever heard of the Merchant of Quirks?"
Izuku nodded his head. "That's a myth, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid not." Yagi crossed his arms. "He's gone by many names over the years, the First Demon, The Scourge of Honshu, He Who Waits, The Horned One, The Butcher of Kakegawa, but the name I've always known him by is All For One."
"All For One?"
"He was born during the dawn of quirks, his birth quirk is what allowed him to live as long as he did, also called All For One, not very creative, I know." Yagi responded. "The quirk allows the user to steal other quirks from anyone they touch, it can also transfer the stolen quirks to anyone. He used it to amass power during the Fall of Japan and the Darkest Days that came after them."
"Then the man in the alley, that was the Merchant of Quirks? This All For One?"
"No, it can't be. All For One is dead." Yagi shook his head. "When you asked Detective Tsukauchi that question the day we met, if I would have killed Overhaul if that had been the only way to save Eri. When he said yes, All For One is the reason why. I killed him, four years ago."
Izuku hesitated for a long time, before asking. "Do you regret it? Killing him?"
"No." Yagi admitted. "Not for one second. I'd like to say that my reasons were completely altruistic, but that would be a lie. He killed my mentor, when I was eighteen, right in front of my eyes. I still see it some nights."
"Unfortunately, sometimes a life must be paid for a life." Izuku stated. "That's what Detective Tsukauchi said that day, at the police station. I didn't believe it then, but now, I understand it. Overhaul wasn't lost, he didn't need someone to reach a hand out to him, he just wanted to watch the world burn. All For One sounds exactly the same."
Yagi chuckled humorlessly. "Isn't the mentor the one that usually hands out sage advice? Anyway, where was I? Right, until recently we were under the belief that, despite his long life, All For One never had any biological children, in case any of them inherited All For One and decided to usurp him."
"So this guy is a descendant of All For One?" Izuku questioned.
"That seems likely." Yagi answered. "We didn't know it was even a possibility until recently."
"Recently?" Izuku repeated. "As in?"
"The Overhaul incident." Yagi admitted. "We tested your DNA sample against a sample from All For One's remains, as both your quirk and his are meta-moded."
"And it was a match?"
"That was the first time we've ever got one." Yagi answered.
"What, what is he to me?" Izuku questioned, feeling one of his hands shaking.
"It's distant, a four-point-six percent match, most likely he was your great-great-great-grandfather, on your paternal side, in fact, your grandfather is his most senior patrilineal descendant." Yagi explained. "We've managed to track down over a hundred descendants."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Izuku demanded, looking up at his hero, surprised at how angry he sounded.
How angry he was.
"I was worried." Yagi answered, trying to be placating. "You were already so scared about One Over One overwriting Overhaul, I didn't want to give you another reason to hate your own quirk, not that this should be reason to hate your quirk."
"You should have told me!" Izuku shouted.
Why am I yelling?
"Young Midoriya, I—"
"No, it wasn't fair for you to withhold that from me!"
Yagi teetered slightly. "I know, M-Midoriya, I'm sor-"
The No.1 Hero stopped mid-sentence, before his mouth burst open, ejecting a gout of blood onto the sand. Swaying, Yagi stumbled forwards before collapsing onto the beach.
"Yagi!" Izuku exclaimed, dashing to his hero's side and dropping to his knees.
Yagi was unconscious, but no more blood seemed to be coming out of his mouth. With great effort, Izuku hooked his arms under Yagi and lifted, rolling him onto his right side.
That revealed blood soaking through the left side of Yagi's white shirt, staining it bright red. Gripping the shirt, Izuku tore it open.
What the fuck?
Izuku fell backwards onto his rear, pushing himself away from where a massive knot of scar tissue engulfed nearly the entirety of the left side of Yagi's chest.
-Origins Arc-