- . My Hero Academia: 180 degrees. -
40.Where Izuku meets All for One and Bakugo encounters All Might
The body of All Might, still clad in the villain's disguise, suddenly rose into the air as if possessed, surrounded by the black tendrils that tightened around him. He floated several meters above the ground as a dense curtain of purple smoke expanded from his body, filling the entire space around him. The wind, unable to disperse it, made the oppressive mist seem even more unreal and menacing.
Strangely, the supposed villains who had previously been attacking and cornering the young students were now helping them find different exits, revealing their true heroic nature.
Izuku had fallen behind due to the extra weight he was carrying and found himself in the middle of the field, suddenly nervous about what might happen at any moment.
"It doesn't seem like toxic smoke, but we can't take any chances," Izuku thought, covering his mouth and nose with one hand as he tried to find the nearest exit, scanning his surroundings.
Shinso arched his eyebrows, also nervous, glancing everywhere, alert to any sudden attack. There was an uneasy tension in the air, impossible to ignore.
Even the unconscious young man Izuku was carrying seemed agitated, his face reflecting a restless sleep.
Izuku flinched slightly when Shinso's hand slipped away from him, but he quickly realized Shinso had done so to stand up with some difficulty.
"I think I can walk," Shinso said briefly, struggling to steady himself. Izuku nodded, relieved, and the two continued moving forward.
Suddenly, a white flash zipped through the black tendrils, hidden like webs in the smoke curtain. Both Shinso and Izuku started in alarm as a mysterious voice began to echo around them:
"Izuku Midoriya... Izuku Midoriya..."
Izuku's eyebrows furrowed even more as he heard his name. Adjusting his stance, he tried to remain alert, keeping his hand over his mouth.
The voice, enveloping and ominous, continued:
"I know you're there... You can't hide... But don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm you. I just want to talk... about your future."
Shinso's expression tightened, and with a determined step forward, he raised his voice:
"Here I am! What do you want?" he shouted, attempting to provoke a response that would let him use his quirk.
Izuku looked at him in surprise, impressed by his resolve and willingness to take his place, though also worried about the consequences.
The white flash continued darting in all directions through the taut black tendrils before the voice resumed, now tinged with a twisted curiosity:
"What an interesting quirk... Brainwashing... I wouldn't mind adding it to the others... It would certainly have many uses... but for now..."
Before Shinso could react, one of the black tendrils detached, taking the form of a snake and moving with precision. It wrapped tightly around his arms, forcing him to the ground.
"Don't interfere!"
Izuku gasped, carefully laying the other young man on the ground before rushing to Shinso's side. He knelt next to him, shaking him gently by the shoulders, but Shinso's eyes now remained closed, and the serpent-like tendril had vanished. The flash of light continued swirling around them, moving so fast it seemed like a mirage.
Izuku's mind raced. He recalled a conversation he'd had with Mr. Yagi and Todoroki some time ago during a night at the beach:
"That man stole quirks as if he were doing people a favor," Mr. Yagi had said, his expression grim. "He was a despicable and manipulative being..."
"...All For One..." The name escaped Izuku's lips in a barely audible whisper. But it was enough.
"Ah, so you've heard of me," the voice replied, almost mockingly. "That makes things easier. Listen, Izuku Midoriya... I'm not here to fight. As I said, I just want to talk... and make you an offer that only a fool would refuse."
Izuku tried to follow the flash's movements, but its speed and brightness were beginning to dizzy him. His eyes ached as he struggled to focus.
"I want to grant you my quirk and, with it... all the quirks in the world," declared All For One, his voice dripping with a cold, commanding authority that left Izuku momentarily stunned.
In the blink of an eye, the flash shone with blinding intensity just inches from Izuku's face. Like the flash of a camera at point-blank range, his vision went black, and in an instant, the world ceased to exist.
...
"What the hell is all this?" Bakugo muttered, balancing himself on the narrow ledge of the wall. His sharp red eyes scanned the chaos spreading across the field: black tendrils writhing in all directions as if searching for prey, and a dense purple mist covering the terrain like a menacing fog.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. His keen gaze focused on a masked figure in the center of the chaos, seemingly the origin of it all. An arrogant smirk tugged at his lips.
"This must be another one of those dumb tests from the new principal... but this one looks way more interesting," he thought as his hands began to crackle with small explosions.
"Hey! What do you see?!" Kirishima shouted from below on the other side of the wall.
Bakugo barely spared him a glance before refocusing on his target.
"You stay there!" he barked authoritatively. "I'll go after the final boss!"
"A video game? What are you even talking about?! Hey!" Kirishima called again, but his friend had already vanished from sight.
Frustrated but determined, Kirishima hardened his arms and began climbing the wall steadily, embedding his hardened hands and feet into the surface with relentless effort.
Meanwhile, Bakugo advanced through the black tendrils, using his explosions to propel himself through the air with precision and speed. Each movement brought him closer to the masked villain, dodging the tentacles that occasionally tried to ensnare him.
"Not a bad idea teaming up with that witch back then," he thought fleetingly, recalling Uraraka's face during the cavalry battle. Since then, he had worked tirelessly to perfect his aerial maneuvering with his explosions.
Still, something felt off. Despite his aggressive advance, the masked figure didn't react, standing motionless amidst the chaos. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a faint green flash darting through the tendrils in the opposite direction, but he quickly dismissed it, hurtling forward with an explosive leap.
"Die!" he shouted, leaping above the figure and circling back mid-air, maintaining his relentless explosions to stay aloft.
The impact caused the villain's white mask to jolt and fall from his face, sliding into the mist until it vanished. But what it revealed underneath made Bakugo's heart stop for a moment.
"All Might?!" he gasped, disbelief etched across his face. His expression morphed into a mix of confusion, pain, and rage.
"All Might!" he shouted urgently, hoping for a response.
From within his consciousness, Toshinori turned to face Yoichi, who had risen from the dark ground and now looked at him resolutely.
"The One for All was born from the determination to oppose my brother," Yoichi said firmly, "and it will continue to do so."
"All Might!" Bakugo finally reached him and, without holding back, delivered a powerful punch to his face. The force of the blow jolted him enough to snap him out of his trance.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! What the hell is all this?!" Bakugo yelled, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and desperation.
All Might, dazed, opened his eyes to find Bakugo's face inches from his own, filled with concern, almost on the verge of tears. But before he could speak, a violent coughing fit overtook him, and he spat blood directly onto Bakugo. His muscular form deflated, revealing his true, gaunt appearance.
Bakugo's face, now splattered with blood, twisted from concern into disgust and fury.
"An impostor!" he roared, raising his fist to strike again. "How dare you?!"
"Wait..." All Might pleaded, raising his frail arm defensively. "It's me... It's All Might."
"Like hell I'd believe you, you cheap knockoff of All Might!" Bakugo growled, launching another punch. But this time, All Might dodged it with surprising ease, floating slightly into the air.
"I'm sorry..." Toshinori said in a broken voice. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you back then... but now you understand why. And even so, I need to ask you for a favor."
Before he could continue, a sharp pain shot through him, and he clutched his side.
The figure's words triggered a memory in Bakugo: the sludge villain incident. His face twisted with rage.
"Stop insisting!" he yelled, throwing himself at All Might with all his might.
Both of them plunged into the void, cutting through the thick purple mist.
...
The air in that empty space was dense, laden with a darkness that seemed to permeate everything. Oppressive and solitary. As if he were adrift in the cold void of outer space.
Izuku couldn't help but fall to his knees, the impact of the oppressive force striking him with brutal intensity. His trembling hands clutched his throat as he coughed, desperate to regain his breath. It felt as though something invisible and intangible was choking him. His tense body shook under the weight of that presence, fighting a battle within to resist.
Before him, All for One appeared suddenly, radiating an overwhelming authority. His voice, soft and almost seductive, broke through the gloom with a tone that pierced deeper than words.
"Think about it, Izuku Midoriya," All for One spoke with chilling calm. "With my power, there will be no limits to what you can achieve. I can see it in your mind: the knowledge to wield every quirk at your disposal is already there. What you've admired from afar for so long is now within your grasp. With them, you can protect everything you love and never lose it. Everything you desire will be yours."
Uraraka's face flashed in his mind suddenly, radiant and warm. He remembered her, laughing with her mouth full of food as she chatted with her friends during a break at her father's construction site. He had watched her so many times from afar, always surprised by the emotions she stirred in him. But that warmth was abruptly replaced by another vision: his future self, years ahead, crying inconsolably as he clutched his chest, his heart shattered.
All for One's smile widened, baring his teeth as he said:
"You'll never have to fear losing her again."
Like snake venom, the words coursed through his being. Izuku's heart clenched, and his resistance began to falter. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed openly.
"No..." he whimpered, his broken voice clinging to that single word as if it could anchor him.
"I understand what troubles you, but this isn't mere selfishness," All for One continued, his tone calculated as he stepped to the side. "Consider this: you could also help free your friend from that quirk he never wanted. The one that keeps him distant from his family and constantly reminds him of his father's past cruelty."
The image of Todoroki appeared in his mind. He saw himself raise a hand toward Todoroki's face, and suddenly, the scar and red streak of hair vanished. Todoroki touched his own face, smiling—completely free and peaceful for the first time—as he said:
"Midoriya,… thank you."
Izuku felt it. The villain's words crept into his mind like snake fangs, sinking deeper with subtle precision. Yet he shook his head vehemently, his hand clutching his hair as though he could physically tear away the doubts invading his thoughts.
He had to rip them out!
"It's also for the greater good, Izuku Midoriya," All for One added, leaning slightly closer. He gently stopped Izuku's hand from pulling at his hair, his voice now soaked with a nearly hypnotic persuasion. "Together, we can free the world from false heroes. From those who seek only to inflate their egos rather than save others."
Izuku recalled Bakugo's face and the cruel words he had spoken at school, the ones that had pushed him toward despair. The scene shifted abruptly, and he saw himself leaping forward, driven by the emptiness he felt after hearing All Might's harsh words.
"Rest assured, you'll make the world a better place, and you won't have enemies. Only victories."
Suddenly, Izuku felt a shift. His breathing stabilized, though his body still trembled, his chest heaving with the remnants of his sobs. Then, All for One leaned closer, crouching to Izuku's level, and enveloped him in an embrace that felt almost paternal.
For a moment, Izuku felt like a small child—lost and vulnerable. He couldn't help but return the embrace with the same desperate need as a four-year-old hugging a father who had been gone for far too long.
Then All for One spoke, his voice gentler, almost human:
"There's no need to fight to win anymore. Your power will be unquestionable. Everyone will have the chance to fulfill their dreams and be happy, and the world will be a better place."
"Will everyone smile... forever?" asked a four-year-old Izuku.
"I swear it," All for One assured him. "We will hold onto our most valuable possessions forever."
The figures of Uraraka and Yoichi appeared, glowing with their own light in the oppressive void.
"And we'll have on our side those we save from their cruel fates."
Todoroki and Shigaraki materialized, both smiling, freed from their tormented pasts and their scars.
"And we'll rid ourselves of our enemies—the ones who are tearing this society apart from its foundation."
Two shadowy figures appeared, their backs turned, their forms strangely familiar.
The appearance of those figures struck like lightning through the fog in Izuku's mind. His head snapped up, his gaze meeting that of a massive, pitch-black serpent.
"What..." he stammered, his voice cracking like a child's before regaining the strength of a young man, "...was that?!"
The serpent tilted its head slightly, intrigued by his reaction.
Izuku clenched his hands, his nails digging into the serpent's skin until it bled. The villain's words collided with something unbreakable inside him. A spark of clarity ignited in his emerald eyes.
"No!" he shouted, leaping to his feet and breaking free from the serpent's coils. His legs still shook, but his voice was firm now. "I won't accept your power or your conditions. Kacchan isn't my enemy! Neither is All Might!"
The darkness seemed to shudder, as if Izuku's words were a burst of light slicing through the shadows. All for One, standing before him, remained motionless for a moment before letting out a derisive sigh.
"It seems you're a fool, Izuku Midoriya," he said, his voice colder, harsher. "You're rejecting the only chance you have to change this world. Without my power, you're just a quirkless child—destined to stumble down a thorn-filled path."
Izuku lifted his gaze, his determination unwavering.
"Maybe I'll have to face those thorns..." he replied, his voice filled with a resolve that even surprised himself. "But I'd rather do that than betray who I am. I don't need your power. What I need is to protect the people I love—with my own strength!"
All for One was silent for a moment before tilting his head slightly, as if acknowledging Izuku's choice with disdain.
"Then, Izuku Midoriya, prepare to suffer the consequences of your decision."
The villain's shadow seemed to swell, consuming the space, but Izuku didn't flinch. His will had returned, and nothing—not even the terror emanating from All for One—would cloud his judgment again.
He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the worst.
"Enough," a voice suddenly intervened.
...
Author's Notes:
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