"You want to do what?" All Might asked, his eyes wide and fixed on Izuku's own.
"I want to tell my friends about One for All," Izuku repeated.
"Can I ask why you're making this decision right now?" All Might continued his questioning.
"I'm not. I've been thinking about it since that night in Kamino. Ochako, Hitoshi, Tsu and Katsuki were there, All Might. They had to have heard how All for One was talking to me. They had to have heard what I admitted to the Vanguard. They already know most of the truth, I just need to give it to them straight. The reason you kept One for All and All for One a secret for so long was because it could jumpstart a shift in the way people perceive power, and Quirks in particular. If something like a Quirk, as personal as they are to those who hold them, can be given and taken with a single touch, what does it do to the image we have of them? The value we've placed on Quirks as a whole is that they're unique to each person, and that your specific Quirk is something that only you have. It's why they're called that. They make us special. If you can just be given the power of the number one Hero, or if Quirks can be swapped around as easily as that, what happens to that value? Do they become cosmetic? Do they become worthless if not for the most powerful Quirks that exist? That was why you did it, All Might …" Izuku rambled.
"That's not why you did it, though," All Might said, a look of understanding on his thin face.
"I did it because of All for One himself. I did it because I knew what he could do to them if I dragged them into our fight with him. We have the unique ability to resist him, and that caused his downfall, but they don't have what we have. They're normal, and that meant that they were completely vulnerable to his power. I never told any of them the full truth because there was averygood chance that they'd end up Quirkless, if not dead. Nobody deserves to have something so personal be ripped from them. They've worked too much to have it all taken away just like that," Izuku admitted.
"Now that he's locked away, though?" All Might asked.
"I think it could be safe. It'd definitely be the least of what they're owed after my stunt at camp," Izuku said, looking out the window as the car pulled up to the dorm building.
"I was told about that," All Might said, his eyes lighting up in recognition. "You scared your classmates a good deal with your sacrifice play. What made you do it?" he continued.
"I don't know if any one thing decided that I'd do what I did. I think it was a snowball of anxiety, exhaustion and desperation that narrowed my view of the situation into the two choices I thought I had at the moment. In my mind, I could either offer myself up and save the others, or do nothing and regret it later. I chose to act. In hindsight, it was going back on a promise I'd made to Ochako, and the orders of Tiger. It was against everything I'd said to those who'd placed their trust in me, and that isn't fair to them. I just … panicked when I thought that there wasn't much else I could do. I have to apologize, and explain to them exactly what's been happening with me," Izuku said.
All Might didn't say anything more after that. He just nodded and let Izuku have the silence he'd probably not get much of for a while. Izuku knew that he'd not hear the end of this from Katsuki, and that he'd probably get some remarks from Hitoshi about being stronger than he let on. After all, at the end of the day, Izuku had more power than All Might within him. He couldn't truly handle that power, but it was there, and he could turn it on at a moment's notice. Izuku's true worries were with Katsuki, though. How would he react to hearing the truth? Katsuki knew that he'd gotten his power from someone else, but he still thought the blond was on edge around him ever since he'd not answered his questions about his Quirk. Katsuki had known the vague truth for the longest, ever since the Sports Festival, and he'd had a lot of time to think about it, so he was likely to accept it the easiest, but there was a small chance that he'd lash out when Izuku told him the full truth. That small chance was what Izuku was worried about, but it wouldn't do him any good to sit around and think about things thatcouldhappen.
When the car pulled up to the dorms, Izuku slid out with ease. He'd gotten used to moving around with one arm, and was almost nervous about getting it back in a few days. He'd worked out a physical therapy appointment with Recovery Girl, and would have to go to subsequent appointments for a few weeks until he was as able as possible with his right arm, but Izuku almost felt a connection with the cast by now. He'd not been in a cast the other times he'd broken himself, and this was new and strange, but not an unwelcome period of recovery and healing. Izuku believed that he'd carry this with him, even if he retained his full strength. It was an experience, and he was going to make sure that it informed his decisions from here on out.
Izuku and All Might walked into the common room of the dorms in a comfortable silence. The dorms had been built a few weeks ago, and everyone had acclimated nicely, at least from what Izuku knew. He was aware that Tsu had nightly video calls with their siblings, and that Ochako had been a little down after seeing her parents for the first time in ages. Everything had gone smoothly with the transition to a dormitory system, though, and everyone was okay.
When he made his way to the lounge area, where most of the class was hanging out together, sans Katsuki and Todoroki. Izuku still didn't quite know how to get Todoroki to come out of his shell, but he didn't seem to want to even engage in smalltalk with anyone in the class, let alone get closer with anyone. It was looking like Todoroki just didn't want to be helped, even if Izuku knew how he could help and wanted to give it. At least he'd be able to help others, others who wanted and needed help. Tenko came to mind, but he focused on the present. He needed to do this.
Izuku walked over to the group of students, All Might behind him. He watched as the conversations of the disparate friend groups ceased at the sight of his shrunken form. Izuku knew that in the aftermath of All Might's fight with All for One, his true form had been exposed as he'd been forced into it on a permanent basis. The era of All Might had come to an end, and that was still a fresh wound for a lot of people. Endeavor was the number one Hero now, and by the way Todoroki had almost exclusively exited his room to eat and shower, that wasn't a good thing. At least before he would begrudgingly do things like sit at a table with some other students, but now he was completely isolating himself. It was a less extreme but similar situation for most of the class, silencing themselves to awkwardly look at All Might's skinny body every few seconds as he stood over them, so tall yet so thin.
"Hey, everyone," Izuku said, waving his good hand.
"How was your trip?" Ochako asked, turning away from the game of cards that she and Hitoshi were playing at one of the coffee tables.
"It was … good. I feel like it was a good first step," Izuku said. He'd told all his good friends about where exactly he was going, as he didn't really want anyone to make a lot of noise about a sixteen year old going to the highest-tech prison in Japan. "I need to say something, though. To you two, Tsu and Katsuki specifically," he added.
Ochako and Hitoshi shared a look, and stood from their spots opposite each other. Izuku shot them both a serious expression, knowing they'd respect it. The two of them approached him, and he nodded to them grimly.
"Do you know where Tsu is?" Izuku asked, already knowing that Katsuki would be in his room, probably doing the required reading before next semester started.
"Up on the roof, winding down from their call with Samidare and Satsuki. The wind blowing past helps them relax," Hitoshi said.
Izuku sighed, feeling bad that Tsu had to go through the separation from their family that was clearly affecting them. He took a deep breath in, deciding that they could do this on the roof and pick up Katsuki on the way. Sighing in anticipation of Katsuki's difficulty, Izuku thought about the perfect way to convince him to come with him and not yell or complain. The four of them walked toward the elevator in silence, but he could tell by the way they fell behind for a brief moment that Ochako and Hitoshi were trying to figure out what was going on.
When the elevator opened back up on the floor that Katsuki's room was on, Izuku stepped out into the hall and looked back at the others to tell them with a gesture pointing up to head up to the roof without him. Izuku thought there was a better chance of Katsuki agreeing to come with him if All Might wasn't there with them. Way back when Katsuki had deduced the nature of Izuku's sudden Quirks, he'd threatened to tell All Might about it, thinking it would put their relationship as mentor and student in peril. He'd unwittingly been making empty threats, but he'd really thought it was the perfect blackmail. That was worrying, and he needed to get Katsuki into the right mindset to hear what he was going to say.
The metal doors closed again at the press of All Might's finger to the button for the roof, and Izuku sighed. He walked over to the third door from the elevator and sucked in a harsh breath before knocking. Izuku's knock was met with silence for a split second before a muffled crack kind of sound, likely Katsuki slamming whatever he was holding down onto his desk or something. A small snicker and smirk had to be suppressed in the moments before the door opened, blowing air into Izuku's face as it whipped away from him and revealed a snarling Katsuki.
"What the fuck doyouwant?" Katsuki asked, standing over Izuku with the few inches he had on him.
"We need to have a talk about my Quirk. The truth this time, no more misdirections and half-truths," Izuku admitted.
"About time, asshole. You getting your nerd squad in on this, too?" Katsuki asked, narrowing his eyes at Izuku.
"Myfriendsare on the roof waiting for us," Izuku said, giving Katsuki a look at how he'd referred to Ochako, Hitoshi and Tsu.
Katsuki didn't bother with replying. He just set off, walking toward the elevator. Izuku immediately began to follow him, speeding up his natural pace to keep up with the aggressive walker that Katsuki had always been. It reminded him of old times, sort of, with Katsuki leading the charge and Izuku trailing behind slightly. Those were the times before everything had gotten complicated and awful, and Izuku found himself smiling at the pang of nostalgia. His smile shrank into a smaller, hesitant one when he remembered who else was on the roof.
"All Might's up there too, Katsuki," Izuku said, finally getting himself to walk by Katsuki's side. It was hard to move too fast with his arm in the cast, but it was almost fully healed so it didn't randomly ache or hurt too much if it was jostled anymore.
Izuku could've sworn he saw Katsuki's shoulders rise. It had been a touchy subject for Katsuki, too, how All Might had won against All for One. It hadn't been a pretty victory, with All Might's true form being exposed and the loss of the remains of One for All. It had told Japan that their unstoppable Heroes could be beaten. It showed them the ugly truth of what the profession of Heroism did to people. It had told the country that even gods could die. That was a shock to many people, but the biggest shock that Izuku had seen was Katsuki. He hadn't said a word for days, and when he bothered to come out of his room, he'd look tired, like he wasn't sleeping. Izuku guessed that his mandatory counseling session had come on one of those early days, because Katsuki had gotten better over the next few days. He knew how much Katsuki respected All Might, so to see the end of his career when he'd been at the battle that had ended it had to have put a strain on him. Katsuki had likely felt that he should've done more, just like Izuku felt. He hadn't talked to him about it, but maybe they should after the truth came out.
"Whatever," Katsuki mumbled, approaching the elevator and pushing the call button a little too hard to be called indifferent, which betrayed the expression on his face.
The two boys stepped into the elevator, leaning against the cool metal on either side. Izuku tried to meet Katsuki's eyes, but he simply stared at the floor, save for pressing the button that would take them to the roof. Izuku sighed, knowing that this was likely going to be hard on him.
He remembered the day All Might had deemed him worthy of One for All like it was yesterday. He'd had a rough day at school, Katsuki had told him to kill himself and burned his notebook. He didn't hold it against the boy now, but at the time it had been devastating. Izuku would never actually do it, but it messed with his head back then and made him wonder if it could ever be worth it. He'd decided it wasn't, but Izuku had never forgotten what Katsuki had said to him. Izuku had left school with a determination to not feel bad about what others said about or to him, but he'd immediately been attacked by the Sludge Villain. He'd almost died, but All Might had saved him and tried to detain the Villain properly. Izuku had latched onto his leg when he'd leapt off and ripped the Villain from his containment. It had been to ask if someone Quirkless could be a Hero, to which All Might had said no. This was where he'd learned about All Might's true form, seeing him deflate and then getting a look at how being the Symbol of Peace for decades took a toll on him.
All Might had left after that, but not before he told Izuku to prioritize and aim lower. That had left Izuku in a kind of funk, and he'd wandered the streets on his way home. Izuku had eventually come upon the scene of the same Sludge Villain attacking Katsuki, with All Might nowhere in sight. He'd had to do something, even if the Heroes at the scene tried to stop him. He'd used everything at his disposal to buy a little time for Katsuki, and allow him to breathe inside the Villain's liquid body, which had worked for a moment or two. Izuku had almost been attacked again, but All Might appeared in his buff form and had beaten the Villain in a single hit. Izuku had been scolded by the Heroes, who'd been content to sit and watch Katsuki die just because their Quirks had no obvious use in the situation, checked for injuries, then sent on his way. While walking home, Katsuki had caught up to him and screamed at him for getting in the way. At the time, Izuku had agreed, but looking back on it, Izuku had every right to intervene. Heroes were doing nothing, Katsuki was dying and Izuku could've saved him. He was pretty sure the few seconds he bought the blond to breathe had literally saved his life, if not prevented brain damage from the lack of oxygen in the brain.
After getting chewed out by Katsuki, All Might had appeared and offered him One for All, deeming him worthy of the power after running in to save Katsuki despite having no powers at the time. That had turned out to be wrong, but he'd had no offensive ability. All Might had called him a Hero already, and Izuku had cried. The rest of that day was a blur, but he'd basically gone home with the plan to meet up at Dagobah Beach the next day to start training his body to receive One for All. That day had replayed in Izuku's head at several different points, almost daily at the start of the semester. It was the one day that had decided his trajectory for the rest of his life, and Izuku couldn't have been more grateful. It was also probably the worst day of Katsuki's life. He'd almost been killed, and he'd had to be saved by Izuku of all people, and he'd clearly hated that. It was probably going to be hard to talk about this with Katsuki, but they needed to do it.
The ding of the elevator brought Izuku out of his musings. He turned his attention to the door to see it opening, revealing Ochako and Hitoshi sitting on either side of Tsu, looking out at the view of UA's main building a five minute's walk from the dorm. Izuku had been up here once to get the feeling that had escaped him when he'd been told not to use any of his Quirks while he was healing, including Float. He'd come up here to feel like he could still use Float, the same as he occasionally used Smokescreen to trace shapes in the air with the mist it produced, so that he could feel like he wasn't just wasting his time. It wasn't training, but he was using Smokescreen, and that was more than enough for Izuku at the moment. He snapped out of those thoughts and stepped onto the cement of the roof along with Katsuki, hearing the doors close behind them. He almost started thinking about how strange it was to have the elevator even able to go to the roof in the first place, but it was likely for evacuation. Nezu covered all his bases.
"Hello," All Might said, startling Izuku when he realized that the older man was standing to the side of them.
"Hey. Everyone's here," Izuku said.
"Alright. Let's get started, then," All Might replied.
At that, Hitoshi, Ochako and Tsu all rose to their feet and turned to face the group near the elevator. Izuku began closing the distance between them, All Might and Katsuki following. As the two trios met up, Izuku took note of Tsu's apparently improved mood. They were clearly cheered up by Hitoshi and Ochako's presence, and Izuku felt himself crack a small smile at that. He'd kind of have to take over from here, though.
"Get started with what?" Ochako asked.
"You didn't really explain why we're all here," Hitoshi added.
"It's to do with what happened at Kamino. We were all there. All Might knows the full truth, but you guys only got parts of a bigger picture. That's what I'm here to fix, by giving you everything. You all know bits and pieces, so why don't we all agree on what youdoknow?" he said.
"Well, we pretty much know the basics, I think. Your power was created at the dawn of Quirks, by the Villain that All Might fought at Kamino. It was passed down through the ages for the purpose of fighting this Villain, and it was eventually passed down to you where you used it to do all you have this year," Hitoshi said.
"Okay. Does everyone agree on that?" Izuku asked, turning around to look at each and every person that wasn't in the know. They nodded, even if Katsuki huffed in annoyance as he did. "Well, that's only half the story. You might have figured it out, but that Villain's name was All for One, and he's my father," Izuku admitted.
Hitoshi sighed, holding his head in his hands. Ochako and Tsu remained silent, but tensed as they frowned. Katsuki, on the other hand, swore under his breath. It was telling that they'd all managed to come to the same conclusion, and were just having it confirmed now. It was good that they didn't immediately stop trusting him because of this, but that wasn't the end of the story.
"His brother, my uncle, was weak. His own invisible power was to pass on his current abilities, and it mixed with the Quirk All for One gave him to get him to submit, a power stockpiling Quirk. It became the power I wield today, One for All. It was passed down through the generations, collecting power until it reached its most famous user," Izuku continued.
All eyes immediately turned to All Might. Katsuki, as opposed to just staring at him with wide eyes like the others, spoke. Izuku could've sworn that he'd lunge and attack, but he just stayed where he was and glared at All Might.
"You're fucking joking," he said.
"He isn't. It's true," All Might replied, meeting Katsuki's eyes dead on.
Katsuki took a step back and clenched his fists. He looked back at Izuku and grimaced. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, reading each other. Izuku could see anger in Katsuki, but he could also tell that he was thinking logically. His calculating eyes bore into Izuku's own, and the two of them looked away after a moment, Katsuki in realization and Izuku in shame.
"It was that day with the slimy bastard, wasn't it? When he ran out like an idiot and almost got himself killed," Katsuki said, frowning at the reminder of that day.
"Yes. I saw that he had the spark of a Hero in him, and I offered him One for All in order to help him achieve his dream," All Might said.
Katsuki clearly went to say something else, but stopped himself. He looked down at the floor and breathed deeply. Izuku thought he saw him shaking, but that quickly stopped as Katsuki regained control over him. He looked back up at All Might with teary eyes. Izuku almost moved to comfort him, but knew that he'd appreciate it more if he didn't.
"It was because he was Quirkless, right? I had a powerful Quirk and he didn't, so you wanted to even the playing field. After all, we both fought that fucker. If we were equal in power, was there ever a chance that I could've gotten it?" Katsuki asked.
Izuku was stunned by the question. He'd not truly thought about a scenario where anybody else had gotten One for All. It was his unique nature that was able to bring the vestiges' Quirks to light, and if anybody else had gotten it, they'd have succumbed to the premature aging it induced in most Quirked users. All Might hadn't known that, but he'd have discovered it earlier if it was anyone else who'd inherited the power. Izuku supposed that someone was lucky that it was him who'd received One for All.
"No," All Might finally answered.
Katsuki said nothing. He just turned his stare back to his feet and stayed silent. Izuku had to move on. He turned to the others as Katsuki processed his realization.
"So, that's how I got One for All. A funny thing happened when I did get it, though. I started manifesting the Quirks of past users," Izuku said.
"Is that what those other powers are?" Ochako asked.
"Yeah. Blackwhip belonged to the fifth, Float to the seventh, Danger Sense to the fourth and Smokescreen to the sixth. I only have the second's and third's powers to go now. One of them is Fa Jin, which I've talked about as a hypothetical technique. The other, we still have no clue about," Izuku said, letting out a huff of frustration about it.
"Alright. All Might never used any of these Quirks, so why has this happened for you alone? If One for All collects Quirks as well as physical power, you'd think they'd be there from the start, y'know?" Hitoshi asked.
"You'd think so, but it's due to my real Quirk. The one I was born with," Izuku said, bracing himself for Katsuki's reaction.
Katsuki immediately snapped his attention to Izuku, his eyes wide and angry. He stepped closer to Izuku, making the smaller boy step away as he turned his bad arm away from Katsuki. The blond's hands crackled with his Quirk's explosions, small and jittery in his palms. The two looked at each other for a moment as Katsuki calmed down, his eyes narrowing as he continued to glare at Izuku.
"What Quirk?" he asked.
"Because my father is All for One, I was born with a mutation of his own power. It's useless on its own, and my biology reflects his as a first generation Quirked person, so it looked like I was Quirkless. He made sure no further studies were done to uncover that lie. I didn't know about it until Kamino, Katsuki, I promise," Izuku said, watching as Katsuki calmed down and stopped using his Quirk.
"Explain," Katsuki said quickly.
"It's pretty simple. My Quirk allows me to safely hold a number of Quirks. The Nomu are what happens when someone doesn't have this ability. It's this unique power that allowed me to use the past users' Quirks as my own. Functionally, I have eight Quirks. I can only really use five of them at the moment, but they're there. That's why this is all happening now, instead of with any of the other users," Izuku said.
"Well, we always knew you were stronger than everyone else in our class, but this is something else. I mean, you're literally a juiced up version of multiple different Heroes all rolled up into one. This is starting to get unfair, man," Hitoshi said, a sly smirk on his face.
"It is unfair, and I wish there was a way to change that, but there isn't as far as I know. Unless the second's power is gonna be something like sharing power, there's no way for me to even things out. I'm sorry," Izuku said.
"We don't actually blame you, silly. It's just a joke, not anything serious," Ochako said, waving his concerns away.
"Right. I just feel bad for not telling you all sooner, and I guess I want to make it up to you anyway I can," Izuku admitted, sighing as he let the tension in his shoulders melt away.
"Yeah, that won't be necessary. You've done more than enough for all of us. I think it's about time we started doing things for you, like Kamino," Hitoshi said.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked, shifting his gaze between the other students.
"It's true. You've brought us all together, and made us better friends than we could've been if we didn't have you as a binding agent. You've helped us in ways that can't completely be described, so we have you to thank for everything," Tsu said.
Izuku felt himself tear up as he saw Ochako and Hitoshi nod along to Tsu's statements. He needed to stop expecting people to want things out of him. It felt like he'd not been doing enough, but Izuku was aware that the friends he'd made were friends with him because they liked his company, not because he could do things for them, which he'd done anyway. Izuku had lived his life as something to use as a tool to vent aggression with, and to have people who loved him now felt off. He supposed that was the change that had affected him most these past months. He had people that were upset when he was hurt, laughed on the rare occasion he joked and wanted him to succeed.
He smiled as he realized that this was what One for All had given him above everything else. It really was what the Quirk did in the first place. On the surface, it gave the user the power of everyone that had used the power before them. But, on a deeper level, it forged bonds. It created links between people and allowed them to rise higher than they could've hoped to soar alone. Those were the bonds of One for All that Izuku had come to value, the ones that the power had allowed him to forge. He'd saved Ochako with Blackwhip and Hitoshi with Float when the two Quirks had awakened. He'd connected with Tsu over their difference from the norm, and with Katsuki, just having a Quirk, having that power had changed their dynamic for the better. One for All had given him this, and would continue to give him a good life in the future.
That was the real power of One for All. Change. It allowed people to change both themselves and the world around them for the better. Izuku promised not to waste that power in the future. He looked around at his friends. Katsuki was arguing with Hitoshi with Tsu trying to moderate, Ochako watching on with a wide smile on her face. All Might was supervising, a distant happiness that Izuku could practically feel from the vestige in him. Izuku smiled so wide it began to hurt, knowing that he had a family now. Things would be alright. If not, they'd get through it together, sharing power the traditional way, through their bonds with each other.
Izuku was happy, truly happy, for the first time in a while. Maybe ever. Before, he'd laugh and smile, but there was always something in his way. Quirklessness, All for One, Tenko, the Vanguard, One for All breaking him after every use,something. But, he'd wrapped those things up. He was free from everything at that moment, and Izuku was truly happy. Things had gone right, and he was all the better for it. Izuku couldn't find words to describe what he felt, so he settled on happiness. He couldn't wait for school to start again.
End of Arc 10: Fever Pitch