Chapter Text
After the shock that was seeing Toshinori back to his prime (and the ever-concerning implications of just how damn high Midoriya’s pain threshold was), they were happy to start the next chapter, rather than spend all that much time thinking about it. Besides, they needed to finish this set of chapters, and it didn’t hurt that this one, like the last few, would probably be focused on down time with only tidbits of crucial information.
Akira-san had insisted on making them all dinner as well. He didn’t make Katsudon, but a massive stir-fried meal that Izuku enjoyed quite a lot. After they finished, Toshinori came to collect him for the meeting with the pro heroes.
…
If I’m going to sit around in an endless void while in a half-rendered version of my cell, at least the chair should be fancy. His uncle replied. At any rate, don’t let him bother you Izuku. We don’t watch but sometimes we get... glimpses. If we’re caught unaware.
“Sorry...” He mumbled.
They immediately got distracted from watching, as Akira’s generosity caused them to drool. Mirko’s foot stomped repeatedly on instinct, as though someone had scratched her ears (something which no one had dared do as soon as she had entered puberty). And she was not alone in her reaction- Hound Dog’s tail wagged fiercely at the sight, and even those without animal quirks showed interesting reactions, such as the Todorokis’ campfire scent growing more potent. Though as the meal was shown only briefly, they quickly recovered in time to hear about the meeting. Immediately, Nezu straightened, his prodigious mind ready to absorb all the information as always.
Aoyama groaned aloud at the reminder of the fact that his counterpart had still not revealed himself. Honestly, at this point, he was just making things unnecessarily hard on himself. Had he just revealed himself right after Midoriya left, then things might have worked out for him. After all, with All for One distracted (in all the wrong ways) by his son, maybe he’d be able to rescue his parents and stand against him. But now, with Izuku at his side and almost certainly only days away from the final stand, things weren’t looking up for him.
Thankfully, Magnus took pity on him. “You know Yuga, if you hadn’t come here, eventually your classmates would have found out. Tooru and Midoriya would have stumbled upon you talking to your parents. And instead of casting you out, they’d use you as the key point of their plan- pretending to have you betray them so that they could lure the League into a trap.” He turned to Monoma. “You actually have the starring role in that plan- copying Kurogiri’s quirk to scatter the villains into different zones so they can’t work together, and then doing the same thing you did at Jakku by copying Erasure.”
“But how would I be able to lie to him?” Yuga asked in confusion. “He has a lie-detecting quirk like the detective’s!”
“You have Shinso to thank for that. He used his quirk on you to make you say it, and being under its effects made the words genuine enough that he believed it.” Yuga looked at Hitoshi, tears in his eyes, before sprinting at him and catching him in a hug.
“Merci, mon ami!” he said as Kaminari joined the hug. “Thank you both for helping save my parents!”
“But I didn’t- oh, alright,” Denki replied with a blush across his face as Yuga kissed him on the cheek. He looked at Hitoshi, noticing a similar blush on his face. A silent conversation passed between them, ending with a nod as they agreed to discuss this later during the break. Neito smiled to himself. He’d voiced his hope for that during the chapter right after All for One had merged again, and now it looked like his dream was coming true.
Before the meeting started, Toshinori and Izuku were left alone again. And while it was nostalgic to see that Midoriya couldn’t wrap his hand around his bicep anymore, the admission of loneliness struck a cord with them. “You’re not wrong about the Greek tragedy part, Toshinori-sensei. This is just like that one singer who lost his wife, or maybe Hercules,” Tetsutetsu said sadly. All Might just nodded. He might not have lost a lover, per se, but he had lost far too many loved ones to villains, including his own mother.
And as though the mood couldn’t possibly get any worse, the possibility that Hisashi’s existence was planned made them recoil. It made far too much sense- he was a conniving bastard, and for all that it was possible for him to activate a quirk instinctively when he was on death’s door, it was all the more likely that he’d done it deliberately. Everything he’d done with Shigaraki had been calculated, designed down to the last detail. Why wouldn’t he do the same to make sure that his wife and son would come when he called? But then Toshinori pointed out the flaw in that plan, the one thing that All for One couldn’t have accounted for- falling in love with him. And now they realized just why he was being so hesitant to kill- Hisashi’s love was paralyzing him, preventing him from acting against the foes he loved so much.
“Wait a minute, Magnus, you told me that it wasn’t purposeful when I asked exactly this! Were you lying to me?” Toshinori asked.
“I didn’t lie to you. I said that he planned it but couldn’t stay conscious long enough, and that’s exactly what happened. It just so happened that his subconscious took control of the quirk after that, overriding any plans with his own emotional priorities.”
“Okay, that makes sense, I guess. I was worried about-”
“Oh, don’t worry about me being an unreliable narrator,” he interrupted with a coy smile and a wink to nobody in particular. Toshinori just blinked and turned towards the screen, choosing not to comment. After all, none of this mattered to their own situation. All for One hadn’t been split in half, so far as they were aware. There was no other half around. And yet, they were completely invested in how this all would pan out. At least, until the other version of Kudo made his ill-timed comment.
“I wouldn’t say that to him! He’s a kid, a damn zygote, to borrow what Nana’s friend says,” Kudo said with a scowl. “If I said anything like that, it’d be where he couldn’t hear. And I’m saying if, so don’t think I do that all the time.”
“But you totally do,” Hikage deadpanned, evading every attempt to shut him up with the ease only Danger Sense could provide. Screen Midoriya explained the whole vestige situation to a very concerned Toshinori while Shoto stared at Kudo, irritated that he’d asked about the whole ‘Bunny’ thing, especially since he wasn’t supposed to see anything. Yeah, being a ghost had to suck, but watching the two of them like that was crossing a few lines.
“And that’s why we have the chairs. Well, that and some things from my brother kind of rubbed off. Before things got all weird between us, we were living in luxury. But yeah, after everything, sitting in a big-ass throne offsets the fact that the inside of our quirk is just a more ethereal version of my prison cell.”
They reached their destination, a meeting room. Gathered around the tables were several pro heroes, as well as many of Izuku’s teachers. There were still some empty seats so they must be waiting on more people. They sat together, and directly across the table from them were Touya, Hawks, and Endeavor. Touya sat between them. He and Hawks had been talking quietly but he smiled as Izuku sat down. “Hey, kid. How are you feeling?” he asked, reaching across the table to ruffle Izuku’s hair.
…
“We go home.”
The two of them finally arrived at the meeting room, where Endeavor, Touya and Hawks were already waiting. Touya greeted the two of them, commenting on Midoriya’s pain tolerance and idly mentioning that he’d like to get into tattooing and piercing himself as a job. Most of them missed the implication of just what piercing of Touya’s Keigo missed, save of course for Hawks himself, Midnight, and some of the older pros. Out of all the students, surprisingly it was Kendo who visibly blushed, obviously knowing just what he was referring to. Tetsutetsu looked quizzically at her, but didn’t ask any real questions… yet. Maybe later, afterwards.
The Principal’s arrival signaled the start of the meeting, and immediately things were not good. Every single hero paled as it was confirmed that Cathleen Bate, All Might’s American protégé, had been killed in action fighting Tomura Shigaraki. But even as their heads bowed in mourning, their minds whirled with the revelation that she’d managed to weaken him.
“I’d surmise that she did pretty damn well for herself, without All for One’s influence making his identity so difficult to pin down. Using his name probably worked wonders, even if it wasn’t enough to eliminate him.” Professor Shield stroked his beard, his mind whirling. “I wonder… how did she manage to deal such damage to him?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a ploy she pulled off with her dying breath. Maybe something with New Order itself,” Melissa agreed, tying her hair up subconsciously.
“It was just that.” They looked at their host expectantly. “She gave the order that New Order revolts against other quirks, knowing that Shigaraki would inevitably take it hoping to strengthen himself. He managed to destroy her vestige and the quirk with it soon after, but a significant number of his quirks were obliterated in the process.”
In the silence, Nezu’s counterpart confirmed much the same thing, before adding on that his body was still about a week’s worth of work away from being physically completed. They continued on in silence, watching their counterparts make much the same plans as they had been for the League and the Nomu this whole time. It wasn’t until they mentioned that that singular quirk-erasing bullet was not the last one that they were forcibly reminded of the one possible wrench that might be thrown in their plans.
Hatsume turned to a specific page, rereading through her notes from the Hassaikai arc before nodding solemnly as she confirmed that there had been four bullets taken, and only one had been used. Shigaraki had asked the Doctor to replicate them before he had managed to get the MLA under heel, handing two of them over as he did so. Given how thorough the pros had been during the raid, it was probable that any successes were destroyed then. That meant (at least in her mind) that at least one of the original bullets was unaccounted for.
The discussion shifted to Shigaraki and All for One, and Midoriya took point. It was risky, relying on his reluctance to harm the people he’d cared for, but it was viable. Besides, it helped that the people he genuinely cared about were all skilled, even if they were comparatively young. It was unlikely that they’d be able to talk him down as Screen Midoriya suggested, but it was at least vaguely possible that they’d win one way or another. What was far more likely, of course, was the possibility of catching and reusing the bullets. If he went up against Shigaraki, Midoriya could likely use Blackwhip to grab it, or Gearshift to slow it down enough that it fell out of the air (something that would admittedly require a lot of training, but goddamn would it be effective).
Finally, everything came down to planning. And the answer was simple enough- Hisashi was hopelessly in love with Toshinori. If he came over and set a time and date for battle to be fought, then he’d do it, with no questions asked as long as Toshinori resisted his attempts at seduction. All Might sighed, knowing that at the very least he wouldn’t have to go through this nonsense when the time came. He had been listening to what the angel had said to Aoyama-kun, and the simple genius of the plan appealed to him.
It was late in the evening. The meeting had ended. They’d come up with a few decent plans, and now Toshinori stared up at the set of all too familiar metal steps leading to the Midoriya apartment. Once upon a time, it had been his favorite place in the entire world. A safe haven. A place to simply be. A place to love. He glanced behind him. In a car parked within view, Hawks, Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and Touya sat watching him. Just in case things with All for One didn’t go as planned...
…
Toshinori didn’t look back.
With a smooth transition, they were back at the same apartment that they had only just rescued Izuku from. Thankfully, Toshinori had made sure to come with backup, so there was little real risk of him trying anything. Though nonetheless, it was still Hisashi- there was always a chance of something going wrong. As Toshinori walked in, they were able to see the apartment through his eyes, hearing his thoughts about all of the little things that were kept in meticulous order. It was no wonder that Midoriya hadn’t been able to resist going to bed once he was here- everything here was designed to appeal to him specifically.
The sight of Inko’s shrine brought a brief wave of sorrow, though it was far less than it had been. Izuku had gotten revenge on Akane and Hisashi had taken care of Garaki, so her murder was avenged. Any thought of the version of her that had lived and loved in this universe would always bring a bit of grief, but not enough to bring tears. Those who knew her had already grieved for her and healed from the wound of her passing. Izuku barely even registered the emotional burden of her death, instead focusing on his mentor kneeling before his shrine. The two of them had agreed that they would be honest with her about One for All and all it entailed, and he intended to keep that promise.
The small amount of nostalgia for better times that settled in as Toshinori asked her about Hisashi’s darker nature dissipated quickly as All for One chimed in, leaning on the doorway, his eyes raking over Yagi and seemingly groping every inch with glances alone.
“Is that what it looks like when I measure you all?” Hatsume asked bluntly, and while most people hesitated to answer, a few people managed to get over that.
“I know that you’re a very tactile person, Mei-kun,” Tsu answered. “I’d prefer if you’d not touch my boobs, but I understand why you do, ribbit.”
“I have no issues with you groping my pecs, Dreads. But anywhere below the belt is off limits. Kiri might get there in a few months, once we’re comfortable.”
“You’re just excited. I know social cues are difficult sometimes. For the life of me, sarcasm took years to be able to recognize. Tensei made so many suggestions as jokes that I took completely seriously. Thankfully, I grew out of that, and you’ll get better at that stuff too, Mei-chan.”
Hatsume blushed, but noticed something off with the audio. As she turned towards the screen, her eyes zoomed into Hisashi’s lips, noticing an obvious animation mistake with his lips that synced perfectly to it. She was about to point it out when she realized that he was probably being absolutely filthy. And by the look on All Might’s face, he was deeply relieved not to have to hear what he was saying. Despite Hisashi’s attempts at seduction, All Might stood strong and kept focused, telling him only what he was supposed to. Hisashi looked surprised at his son’s reasoning before nodding approvingly, still with that disgustingly lovesick grin on his face.
There was another, much more noticeable animation mistake this time around. They went from being at arms’ length from each other with Hisashi’s hand on his collar to about a foot closer with Hisashi’s hand fixing Yagi’s collar. Toshinori raised his eyebrows, but from his quick glance, he couldn’t see anything. And hopefully, there was nothing important in that scene, because he for sure wasn’t about to watch it. He wanted as little to do with this crazed son of a bitch. Clearly, so did the other version of him, as he left without even acknowledging his words of love. Any chance of that happening was doomed now, at least between them. Hopefully, there may be another one day. After all, the two of them had fallen in love after Mrs. Midoriya had died, so it was more than possible to have more than one love of your life.
Izuku watched his friends and classmates as they trained. They had a week, and there was still so much to do. He and Kacchan were training together. Izuku was armed with several foam bullets about the same size as the quirk-erasing bullets. He and Kacchan were running around the same stretch of field. Izuku was using Gearshift and Tracking to try and shoot Kacchan, while Kacchan was attempting to use Pull to snatch it out of the air, and they were doing pretty good.
…
Izuku tightened his grip, fisting at the back of Shouto and Ochako’s costumes. “I promise, with my whole heart, I’m not going to die.”
The next scene was mercifully something that was more uplifting. For all the years he had spent honing Explosion into a weapon and tool in his life, Katsuki had adapted well to using Pull. It wasn’t really all that much of a surprise, given his academic ranking in the class. Midoriya only had the advantage over him because of years’ worth of familiarity over which to observe and build a psychological profile. And speaking of Midoriya, the two of them were working to practice the use of Pull on foam pieces around the size of the quirk-eraser bullets, just like they had mentioned during the meeting. Of course, it was more difficult than something thrown normally, as for realism he was using Gearshift to speed it to the speed of a real bullet.
Unsurprisingly, Bakugo was able to catch it, though he swore a bloody streak a mile long about just how hot it was. He dropped down to talk about quirk theory, having found the hole in his story about needing exposed fingers for Pull. But of course, a few people were more interested in the support equipment he was using- Hatsume, Melissa, David, Power Loader, for example. Sero, oddly enough, was another. “Kind of reminds me of Doc Ock from Spider-Man. Looks very similar to his mecha-tentacles.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was an inspiration,” Hatsume admitted. “Fiction tends to have damn good ideas. It’s implementing them that takes real imagination sometimes. For Uravity, I combined the idea for Spider-Man’s webshooters with Batman’s grapple gun to make something that would work with her quirk perfectly. And Sato’s new IV suit- completely ripped off Bane from DC wholesale. Helps that no one’s about to sue me over using pre-quirk comics as inspiration for hero gear.”
Screen Katsuki finished his conversation, heading off to go talk to Hatsume and get his gear adjusted. Izuku sat down next to Ochako, who was looking at Iida in the way they were used to seeing her give him in real life. And catching on to her feelings, the two of them discussed the subject, completely unaware of just how different things were in this other universe. Tenya looked at his girlfriend, smiling down at her. He knew that she was a little bit insecure about their relationship, even if she wasn’t as jealous of his friendship with Ochako. Tentatively, he leaned in kissing her on the cheek. That wasn’t too much, right? The trio had done more than that in front of everyone, after all.
The conversation turned from a discussion of feelings to gentle ribbing of Tenya. And honestly, he could see the humor in their imitations of him. Sure, they weren’t exactly on the mark, and he was certain that he didn’t do the arm chop nearly as much as they were making out, but he could easily be wrong. The other version of him approached, and the teasing continued, a warm feeling blossoming in his stomach. He loved having people he could joke around with, at least people who weren’t his family. Though were they not his family? By blood, no, but by choice? Definitely, yes, by this point. His entire class was like an extension of his family. He would die for them or kill for them just like he would for Tensei.
Though as they continued, he had to wonder just what would happen to his counterpart and Uraraka’s as the war began. Not admitting their feelings could lead to just as much of a tragedy as had happened during the summer camp- or worse, one of them dying outright. He shook himself, focusing on the Dekusquad gathering together and teasing each other. Tenya looked Shinso-kun dead in the face, snickering as he blushed.
That joy lessened as Midoriya acknowledged the very real possibility of death. But as always, Ochako-chan came around and lifted the mood up. Tenya was near tears as his friends called him by his given name, happily giving them the same privilege without a word. After all, Mei already called him that. Shinso got his revenge by calling him ‘mom’, but Tenya felt no offense. ‘Honestly, with this class, it feels accurate a lot of the time. My classmates are… excitable. It takes a lot for me and Yaomomo to keep them focused. Thankfully, Tsu and Midoriya do their best to help, and Bakugo keeps his friends in line when it’s time to buckle down.’
As the chapter ended with all of them declaring that they would not die, hoping that that promise would give them the strength of will to push through and survive, the foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach worsened. “I feel like they’re hinting at something terrible in the future,” he said quietly as they marched out of the theater.
“Whatever it is, it can wait,” Sato answered kindly. “You shouldn’t spend the rest of the week worrying about it. What you should be worrying about is training. If I’m right, then Eraserhead-sensei will take stuff from the latest arc and use it for our training sims.”
“It had better not be something like fighting Lady Nagant,” Tetsutetsu groaned. “There’s no chance my steel can stop her bullets forever. And I’d prefer not to spend time with Itsu- Kendo-san in the hospital of all places.”