Author's Note: Do you ever think 'fuck it' and just do something because you can? Well, that's what this is. I've decided that I'm going to be returning to my old update schedule because I've just hit a milestone in my writing of this fic. I've just finished Act 2B, which is now what I'm referring to what was Act 3 as. Now, the structure is Act 1 Act 2A Act 2B Act 3. This is how it was in the structure I'm drawing from for this, so that's how I'll refer to it as well. That being said, enjoy!

It had been too long since he felt the warmth of One for All pulse through him, Izuku being glad to have it back. He was always just a bit too cold for his own liking, and that had been because the usual warmth he associated with One for All had been dormant. Now, though, he felt it streaking through his body, filling every part of him and washing over every muscle.

He was standing in Aizawa's apartment - or Eraserhead's, since that was what he was supposed to call him during the internship - while he trained, spreading the power of One for All evenly throughout his body. It had been tough, but he had figured it out. He had started out at one percent, and worked up to his safe limit, seven percent, as he trained on. That had been five hours ago, and after taking breaks, that meant that the sun was starting to set, and the night was taking over the sky.

Izuku looked down at himself, seeing his slightly glowing skin and the green lightning that was flickering around him. That was a new effect of One for All, and Izuku guessed that it some of the excess energy he wasn't using at just seven percent leaking out and manifesting in the real world as the green lightning, since it needed to be expelled somehow, and he wasn't channelling it into his body, so it had to go somewhere. It pulsed around his body, occasionally striking the ground around him.

Letting go of the power, Izuku felt it leave him as he relaxed his body, letting it drain of One for All's power. It was a great feeling to finally get somewhere with One for All, as he had barely been able to use his basic Super Strength, as well as Blackwhip, Float and strategize during battle at the same time. Training to keep One for All going all the time will help him get a better handle on the Quirk as a whole, and if he can learn to turn this new technique on and off without thinking about it, he'll be able to focus on his other Quirks and battle tactics, lowering the amount of things he had to think about in battle from four to three. If he can learn to fully get Float to be an unconscious thing, that'll be two. It looked to Izuku that Blackwhip would always have to be a conscious effort, as he had seen what happened when he simply let it do what it wanted.

Eraserhead walked into the door, smirking when he saw the last sparks of lightning dissipate. The two had worked on developing the new technique, which Izuku really thought he ought to name. That could come later.

"Hey. Looks like you're getting the hang of it pretty quickly," Eraserhead said, setting down his phone on the dresser to his left.

"Not quite. I still can't hold it at my safe limit for some reason. It's like my muscles are cramping up and I can't move when I hit seven percent," Izuku said, rubbing his right arm, which had the worst of the cramps for some reason.

"Well, maybe you should work up to it. Start it up at one percent," Eraserhead said.

Izuku obeyed, firing up One for All using his new technique at one percent. The lightning flickered around him, but it was weak, only a few bolts escaping him every few moments. He found that the intensity of his lightning aura scaled with the amount of One for All that he had used. He couldn't wait to see what it looked like when he could use one hundred percent.

"Good. Now, go to two percent," Eraserhead said.

Increasing his percentage slightly, Izuku felt the heat permeating his entire body increase as well. It was like he was wearing a heated blanket, manifesting One for All as a sort of cloak or cowl. As the lightning danced around him, Izuku came up with a name that he thought sounded good for this new technique. He'd have to run it through Eraserhead when they were done.

"Three percent," Eraserhead said, and Izuku responded by increasing the percentage once again.

It was at this point where the strength boosting effects of One for All really started to make themselves known. Izuku had worked out that each percent added, roughly, his own strength at the highest level possible without One for All into the mix. That meant that, approximately, one percent was twice Izuku's strength, two percent was three times, three percent was four times and so on.

"Four."

Izuku increased his output to four percent. He was well aware that it wasn't an exact measurement of how much of One for All he was using. He didn't even think that his current maximum output was on par with All Might's maximum, even in this state. He still broke when he used one hundred percent, so he was dampening the effect by not having a strong enough force. It was like a feint, only a half-hearted blow that couldn't really impact as strongly as it could. Once he started being able to withstand the higher percentages of One for All, that was when he was going to be able to deal some real damage.

"Five."

Increasing his output to five percent, Izuku felt something settle. It was like he was getting closer to something, but he didn't know what. It must have meant that he was getting it right, and that the vestiges were close to returning. Izuku cracked a smile at this, but didn't say anything, in fear of the power slipping in him getting it wrong again.

"Six."

Letting One for All increase to six percent, Izuku felt that 'right' feeling intensify, and he knew that this was it. This was what Yoichi had talked about, when he said 'the right way to use One for All'. It was meant to be used in conjunction with normal physical abilities, not as a substitute. It was a part of him now, but he had been thinking about it like a tool that he could just turn on and off, discarding it when it wasn't needed. That was hampering his ability to use the power effectively, and this was the right way to go about it.

"Seven," Eraserhead called out.

"I think I've hit the perfect percentage for this new technique," Izuku said, making sure that the power didn't slip.

"I know that. Seven percent," Eraserhead continued.

Izuku, not getting what Eraserhead wanted, obeyed anyway. He increased the percentage to seven percent, immediately getting a cramp in his arm that hurt like hell. The lightning around him spiked, and his arm swung to the side due to the cramp. Izuku felt One for All release from that arm, and he looked over to see the air in front of his arm had been displaced by the force of his swing. It knocked over the few things that were in the apartment, and Izuku immediately shut off the power.

"Like I thought," Eraserhead said, nodding and grabbing his phone from the dresser, it almost having been knocked over by the gust of wind.

"What?" Izuku asked, grabbing his arm to massage it, the cramp lessening somewhat.

"You've gotten your safe limits mixed up. Your safe limit for quick bursts is seven percent, but using that power for any longer than a moment starts to overload your body. Six percent is your real safe limit; it's able to be used for longer periods of time, so that's the thing we should be focusing on," Eraserhead said.

"Right," Izuku said, his arm finally relaxing and his cramp vanishing.

"All Might was right when he told you that, while you can contain the power, you rushed to do so. With such a long journey ahead of you, it's best to focus on the individual steps, rather than leaps and bounds," Eraserhead said, looking at his phone.

"Okay," Izuku said, letting himself take a small break.

It was almost completely dark now. Eraserhead was an Underground Hero, who worked primarily at night, if one couldn't tell by his costume and aesthetic, so now was around the time when he'd usually go out for patrol. Izuku was kind of on the fence about patrol. On one hand, he wasn't nearly confident enough with his new technique to use it in the field, and he was still unsure about his other Quirks. They hadn't returned, as Izuku had been trying to summon a small Blackwhip the entire time he had been resting. On the other hand, it was the first real Hero work he'd be able to do, and he was eager to see what it was like on the streets as a Hero.

"Where'd you go?" Izuku asked, trying to make the deafening silence at least bearable.

"The police station. I've been working with them on a case, and they had a breakthrough. We might help them, if they make a move within the week," Eraserhead said, noticing the way that Izuku perked up at the news.

"Really? You'd let me participate in that kind of thing?" Izuku asked.

"If I deem it safe, yes. If I think it could present even the faintest possibility of injury to you, or worse, then absolutely not," Eraserhead said, frowning.

"Oh," Izuku said, huffing out the last of his breath as he stood up straight.

"Now, for your other Quirks," Eraserhead said, his eyes drifting to Izuku's hands.

"I haven't been able to summon Blackwhip. Maybe the vestiges are still conflicted," Izuku offered.

"What's your usual method of communication with these vestiges?" Eraserhead asked.

"I usually talk to them in my dreams. There have been a couple of times when they've manifested in the real world, but they've never been physical. Just in my mind," Izuku explained.

"Well, maybe you'll get a visit tonight," Eraserhead said.

"Yeah," Izuku sighed.

The two stood in silence for a moment, while Izuku thought about what he would say to the vestiges once they did talk again. Did they still trust him with their powers? Did they still trust him with One for All? Would they ask him to give it back to All Might? Was that possible? Izuku guessed there was only one way to find out, and he didn't like what the results would be if it was possible.

"Now, let's spar," Eraserhead said, getting into a fighting stance.

"What? You seriously expect me to fight you?" Izuku asked, clumsily getting into one of the basic stances he'd learned in All Might's classes.

"I do. I don't expect you to win, but I expect you to fight," Eraserhead said, cracking a small smile.

Izuku steeled his nerves for the task. He powered up with One for All, bringing it to his new safe limit, six percent. It felt good, like something was right. He figured that was what that feeling was earlier, the feeling of something just … clicking. It was probably him hitting his natural limit, and his body being aware of that. His mind, though, had pushed past that, and that was what was causing his issues.

Eraserhead lunged at him, appearing in front of Izuku in an instant. Izuku leapt back, his Super Strength carrying him into the air and to the corner of the room, where he pressed up against the wall. Izuku wondered how Eraserhead was so fast, probably rivalling ten percent of One for All just with his regular speed. It wasn't a Quirk, so how did he manage to train himself to be faster than regular humans could hope to achieve.

Come to think of it, Izuku had a similar question about how Eraserhead manipulated his binding scarf, almost seeming like telekinesis if one didn't pay attention properly. It was clear that it was just him finely manipulating the scarf with his hands, but it almost looked like magic from far away.

"Cornering yourself? That's not very smart," Eraserhead said, smirking.

Izuku braced himself for an attack. Eraserhead leapt at him, throwing his scarf out in front of him to wrap around Izuku's arm. He saw the scarf snaking around his arm and closed his fist around it, firmly grabbing the scarf. Izuku took this opportunity to move to the side, dodging Eraserhead's attack and launching himself to the right, still grabbing onto the binding scarf.

Eraserhead landed on the wall, bracing his landing with his legs. Izuku jumped toward the wall on the other side of the room, dragging the binding scarf with him. He landed in the same way that Eraserhead did, finding that it greatly softened the landing. He'd have to use that. He gave the binding scarf one final tug, feeling a large weight shift at the other end.

As Eraserhead was pulled off the wall and into the air toward Izuku, he realized what the boy had done. He had put him in the air, where he couldn't change his trajectory, only block or attack. Izuku, on the other wall, turned back and looked him in the eye, before launching off the wall and rocketing toward Eraserhead.

Izuku was on him in the blink of an eye, winding his fist back for a punch. Eraserhead saw this and, following his self-imposed rules, didn't activate his Quirk. Instead, he pulled his binding scarf all toward one point, right in front of him. It was a massive collection of dozens of layers of cloth, laced with carbon fibres and metals. It would block the punch, but it wouldn't negate the impact entirely.

The punch landed in the centre of the makeshift shield, and Izuku recognized it as his Blackwhip Shield, only made from Eraserhead's binding scarf. He was impressed with both the quick thinking and the ability to compile the scarf so quickly, once again being amazed at how quickly Eraserhead could judge a situation and react. He really was one of the best Pros out there.

As the punch connected, the air around the two was thrown about by the force, and a small blast of wind blew back both of them. Izuku and Eraserhead both landed on the ground, both expecting the other to attack first. Izuku was well aware that the only reason he was still fighting was because Eraserhead hadn't used his Quirk for some reason. Maybe that was what he was testing? How well Izuku used his Quirk in combat? Since not many other Villains had Quirks that affected, or just outright cancelled other Quirks, it made sense that he may have been assuming the role of a Villain, attacking Izuku with just his other abilities to simulate another Quirk, maybe the binding scarf as a grappler type Quirk.

"That's good. Now, can you keep up without your Quirk?" Eraserhead asked, his eyes flashing red and his hair standing on end.

Izuku felt One for All vanish. Eraserhead had used his Quirk, and now he was defenceless. That was the real testament to his Quirk's usefulness in almost any situation as a Hero, especially an Underground one. Izuku readied himself for an attack, and saw Eraserhead flick his wrist as the binding scarf began to move.

He saw everything play out in slow-motion, almost, as the binding scarf got close enough for Izuku to act out his plan. He grabbed the ends of the binding scarf and made sure that they couldn't move, seeing the surprised expression on Eraserhead's face as he tugged. Izuku yanked hard on the binding scarf's ends, using his still considerable strength to pull Eraserhead off the ground.

Izuku, despite having no access to his Super Strength, had still trained to be at the peak of fitness for a boy his age. He could lift a refrigerator, he lifted All Might while in his heroic form, so this was a piece of cake. Eraserhead was lifted by his tug, being yanked toward him through the air.

Eraserhead tried to correct his trajectory to the side, but Izuku saw this and leapt up to meet him, the two clashing in the air. Izuku, having his hands busy, attempted a kick at the man, but Eraserhead got to it first, knocking the air out of Izuku's lungs with a swift blow to the chest with his knee. The two fell back to the ground, Eraserhead's face shifting from shocked to smug. Eraserhead landed on top of Izuku, pressing his knee into the boy's chest, keeping him down.

"Ah! You win," Izuku said, struggling for air.

"Do you see what you did wrong?" Eraserhead asked, lifting himself off Izuku.

"Fighting you?" Izuku asked, wheezing out a laugh.

"No. You're a good strategist, Midoriya, but you're too focused on being the next All Might. You only went for punches, and when you went for a kick, it was too slow. You need to be the best, most well-rounded Hero you can be. We don't need another All Might. We need you, at the best you can be. I wholeheartedly believe that," Eraserhead said, smiling under his scarf.

Izuku thought he was going to cry. He didn't know why he didn't. He just stood up and nodded, but faltered when he felt the drain of battle. This was more than that, though. It was weirdly strong, like the tiredness he had felt after the run in with the thief with Ochako. It was strange. He was intensely tired, and felt like he could drop any second.

"Hey, are you alright?" Eraserhead asked, blinking his Quirk away.

Falling to the ground, Izuku was only stopped by Eraserhead catching him, propping him up on his side. Izuku felt like he had when All for One was draining his stamina during the Sports Festival, like he was on the verge of passing out.

"I don't know what's happening to me. Help," Izuku said, before everything went black.

Izuku awoke in the vestige realm. The familiar black mist swirled around him, parting to reveal the vestiges. They were all there, even the half-there-half-not All Might, and Izuku smiled brightly. He knew he had passed out, but he didn't know why. He stepped toward the vestiges, looking for answers.

"It's good to see you, Izuku. We knew you'd get it right, eventually," Nana said.

"Uh, yeah. Do you all know why I passed out?" Izuku asked.

"You passed out?" Yoichi asked.

"Yeah. One minute, I was talking to Eraserhead, then I just … dropped," Izuku explained.

"That's strange," Shinomori said, stroking his chin in thought.

"Very," En said.

"What could this mean?" Nana asked.

"It's possible he just passed out from exhaustion, but we can't take that chance," Yoichi said, the other vestiges agreeing.

"Listen, kid. The important thing is that you have your Quirks back," Lariat said.

"Quirks? You mean that I'll have Blackwhip and Float back when I wake up?" Izuku asked.

"Danger Sense, too," Shinomori said, ruffling Izuku's hair lightly.

Izuku was excited about that. That meant that he was halfway through manifesting the Quirks inside One for All. He looked around at the vestiges, and they were clearly proud that he had come so far. He smiled, letting himself be proud of his own progress. It really was like he had found a new family with the vestiges, and it almost distracted him from Inko. Hopefully, he'd be able to unlock the other Quirks as fast as possible.

"Hey, kid," Nana said, running her fingers through Izuku's hair.

Out of all the vestiges, Izuku had probably missed Nana the most. It was only natural, she had a sort of calming aura about her that none of the others, barring probably Yoichi, oddly, did. It was a motherly feeling, and Izuku couldn't help but be drawn to it. It was similar to the feeling he had when he had spoken to his mother back when he had first gotten One for All and had thought he'd failed the entrance exam for UA.

"Hey," Izuku said, leaning into her touch.

"We missed you. You're a lot more fun to talk to than grumpy old Hikage," Nana said, smirking as she whispered.

Izuku laughed, but stopped. Old? Shinomori didn't look a day over thirty, so why did she call him old? Assuming that all the vestiges appeared as the age at which they died, that meant that Shinomori had died young. That meant that all of them had died young. Even Nana, who looked to be the oldest by a long shot, barely looked over forty. That didn't bode well, not one bit.

"What's wrong?" Lariat asked, still laughing at Nana's jab at Shinomori.

"None of you got to grow old, did you?" Izuku asked.

The atmosphere in the vestige realms changed drastically. Before, it was jovial, and welcoming. Now, it was darker, and the vestiges all had looks of shock and conflict on their faces. Even Nana pulled away from Izuku, who felt colder all of a sudden.

"No. We all died young. There's a reason for that," Yoichi said.

"All for One, right?" Izuku asked, making many of the vestiges' eyes widen in shock.

"Uh, Izuku-" Lariat went to say.

"He's the one that ended all of your lives before you were ready. He killed all of you in trying to take One for All?" Izuku asked, looking at each of the vestiges.

"You have it wrong," Shinomori said, head hung low.

"What is it?" Izuku asked, taking a step back from the vestiges.

"All for One only killed Yoichi, Daigoro and Nana," Shinomori said.

"Wha-? How did the rest of you die?" Izuku asked, looking at each of the vestiges.

The vestiges all exchanged a look. Izuku knew what that look meant; it meant that they weren't going to tell him. He deserved to know. They couldn't just keep it from him, especially when the only common thread between all of them was the fact that they held One for All. It could come for him too, whatever they were talking about, and he deserved to defend himself against it.

"What is so bad that you can't even tell me?" Izuku asked, looking at Nana.

"We're sorry, Izuku. You're not ready for that truth, yet," Nana said, smiling sadly.

"Fine. Don't tell me. Wait for it to kill me, too!" Izuku said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"It won't," Yoichi said.

Everyone, including Izuku, froze at that. All the vestiges looked at Yoichi like he had spoiled a surprise, or told a secret he wasn't supposed to. Whatever had killed them couldn't do the same to Izuku? What did that mean? Was it something that they did that killed them? Was it something that Izuku didn't do or have?

"Whatever. It's fine. If you'll tell me in the future, then I guess I can handle not knowing now, if it's not going to do me any harm," Izuku said, not fully believing his own words.

"Thank you, Izuku. We only want to protect you," Nana said, trying her best to smile.

"I know that. I just … wish I could be at the finish line already," Izuku said, looking at the ground.

"You'll get there, Little Hero. We believe in you," Nana said, cupping the side of Izuku's face with her hand.

"I-" Izuku tried to say, but was cut off.

"We know. You don't have to say it. We love you, too," Nana said.

"Right. It's just that you've all helped me through some really tough times. You, especially, right after I left home. You were there for me, even when you didn't need to be. I want to thank you," Izuku said.

"We've been wanting to thank you, too," Daigoro said, a rare show of sincerity from the man.

"Huh? Why would you thank me?" Izuku asked.

"You allow us to help people, even from here," En explained.

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked again.

"One for All is not just the accumulation of power; it's the culmination of a whole line of peoples' efforts, hearts and minds, all put toward one thing; helping others. You allow that to keep going, so, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you," Yoichi said, smiling sadly.

That was when it hit Izuku that the vestiges were all dead. He knew it, but he had never quite processed that he was practically talking to ghosts. Eraserhead had joked about it before, but it took Izuku until now to realize that they had all been killed, murdered in some cases, possibly all cases, and they were only alive within his mind. In a way, they weren't even really alive, just parts of them manifesting in a different way.

Izuku looked down as he felt himself suddenly lose his balance. He was fading away. He'd wake up soon, and then he'd have to say goodbye to the vestiges for who knows how long. Izuku remembered what had brought him to the vestiges in the first place, his mysterious fatigue.

"Will you all try to figure out if my fatigue has something to do with One for All?" Izuku asked, looking at each of the vestiges.

"We'll try," Yoichi said.

"Thank you," Izuku said, the misty transformation crawling over his face and finishing.

Izuku woke up in bed, which was weird, because Eraserhead's apartment only had one. He sat up to see that there were two now, and that Eraserhead was currently awake and standing in the middle of the room, clipping some things, probably smoke and flash grenades if Izuku recognized them correctly, to his belt. He turned to Izuku and hummed in acknowledgement.

"Did you sleep well?" Eraserhead asked.

"Yeah, why?" Izuku said, feeling oddly well rested.

"You'd better have slept well, considering you left me no explanation as to why you just collapsed," Eraserhead said, grimacing.

"I'm so sorry, Eraser. This has happened before," Izuku said, standing up.

"When? How many times?" Eraserhead asked.

"Once before. On my day off after the Sports Festival. I was just … insanely tired all of a sudden, and I felt like I was gonna pass out. Today, I did. I don't know if this is a side effect of One for All, or a lasting effect of All for One's attack," Izuku explained.

"All for One's attack?" Eraserhead asked, tensing slightly.

"He tried to invade my mind during the Sports Festival. That was why I slowly just … broke down over the course of the day," Izuku said.

"So, that's what happened," Eraserhead groaned.

"Yeah. I'll deal with it later. The vestiges will probably get back to me before we can find a medical reason for there to be something wrong," Izuku suggested.

"Right. For now, we're going out," Eraserhead announced.

"On patrol?" Izuku said, perking up at the thought.

"No, not yet. We're going to a gym that I trained at during my time at UA," Eraserhead corrected.

Izuku smiled brightly at the news. He wondered what Eraserhead was like during his days at UA as a student. Was his hair shorter? It sounded crazy, but he couldn't really picture the man with shorter hair. It was just the image Izuku had of Eraserhead in his mind, and it always included his long, probably very tangled hair. It always included his goggles, the two features being the most iconic things about him.

He suddenly had a strange, overwhelming urge to move. It was so strong that he physically reacted, swinging his arm up in response to the feeling. Izuku felt his hand close around the handle of something, and looked over to see his own hand, holding the case with his Hero costume in it. He stared at it, stunned at how he had reacted to Eraserhead throwing it to him, without even seeing it. Then, he realized what this was.

Danger Sense.

"So, that's Danger Sense?" Eraserhead asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I guess so. It must have some kind of influence on the central nervous system, because I felt it in my whole body. Shinomori, as well as all the records, said it was just a stabbing sensation in the brain until you moved out of the way, but just now, I felt a kind of need to move, to do something that I wasn't doing, without knowing what I wasn't doing. That's incredible!" Izuku mumbled.

"Yeah, incredible. I'm glad that Danger Sense is working for you, now, but we still need to train your other Quirks. Danger Sense seems, from your description, to be more of a passive ability, rather than one you need to train. If your body reacts on instinct like that every time, though, we may need to work on resisting that," Eraserhead said, walking toward the door.

"Right," Izuku said, opening his case only to frown at what he found inside.

They had changed it. Probably the work of Hatsume, but that was fine. The costume, while retaining the same basic design, was now a darker, forest green, instead of a teal color that it had originated as. Now, instead of white, the highlights were black. He was lucky that they had kept the red in his belt and his boots. The gloves were red now, too, though he didn't know if he liked that change. The cowl was the same, which reminded Izuku of the name for the new technique he had come up with the day before.

"I thought of a name for my new technique when using One for All, by the way!" Izuku said, walking toward the bathroom door.

"What is it?" Eraserhead asked.

"Full Cowling. Pretty good, huh?" Izuku revealed.

"It's okay," Eraserhead said, turning away from Izuku as he closed the door to the bathroom.

In under five minutes, he was back in the room with Eraserhead, in his new suit. It felt good, a little stiff, but that's just because he hadn't worn it in yet. The two shared a look, and they headed out. This was going to be fun.