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The giggles of a child cut through the air, dragging Toshinori from the fog of unconsciousness.
High-pitched, but clear and bright; the little boy’s laugh filled the air. Just like the smiles and cheers and giggles and shrieks which followed Toshinori wherever he went. When he whisked citizens out of danger… when he defeated so-called mighty villains in seconds… when he simply smiled his All Might smile.
But… Toshinori couldn’t have made the child laugh if he was asleep. And why would a child stand before his unconscious body?
Toshinori shoved the remaining tendrils of fuzzy exhaustion from his mind. He opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes!
No. Toshinori’s eyelids refused to budge. How ridiculous! Toshinori- All Might, the Symbol of Peace, the number one hero!- could open his eyes.
I’m not this tired, he scoffed. Certainly, this is no match for me. Open up your eyes, Toshinori!
His eyes, heavy from drowsiness, remained shut.
Pain spasmed in his head, but Toshinori remained utterly still and silent, not flinching or crying out. Because he was a hero! He could deal with a pesky headache. But- a chill overcame him for the barest second- even he flinched on reflex when afflicted with torture this severe. His head pounded, every inch of his brain screaming in protest. Agony rattled his skull and split into pieces, writhing and clawing like a beast.
Toshinori grabbed his forehead with his hand, willing the torment to disappear.
Toshinori grabbed his forehead with his hand.
He- no.
His hands, just like his eyelids, refused to obey any commands. Glue pinned his arms to his side; a monster of a force bound him and chained him in darkness.
Take a deep breath and smile, Toshinori ordered himself. Remain calm. You can defeat the foe that caused this.
Toshinori’s breathing remained steady, but not because he steadied it. In spite of the situation, the lurch of his stomach, the chill in his body and the clawing beast inside his head, Toshinori’s breathing remained at perfect intervals. His breaths never became rapid or shallow, nor could any amount of force slow the air passing through his nostrils.
What force could prevent the invincible All Might from controlling his own breathing? And how did Toshinori plan to defeat this foe without access to his famed strength?
“Do you have a single thought in that thick skull of yours, Toshinori? You can’t solve every problem with a punch.”
Gran Torino’s advice- accompanied by a smack, as always- echoed in Toshinori’s brain, followed by an internal bitter laugh. Choice words filled his thoughts- words Nana would surely scold him for saying.
Oh, Nana. What would she say if she saw him now? Utterly defeated because of… because of…
Static buzzed between Toshinori’s ears.
How did he end up here? Toshinori dove through his mind, searching, clawing through a mess of fragmented thoughts and blurred memories, but the beast in his head roared with protest. Immoble lips and tongue prevented a groan of pain from escaping Toshinori, as the monster ravaged his brain matter, numbing everything but the thrashing and banging and tearing beneath his skull.
Fight it, the hero ordered himself. His ears rang.
It hurts… Did something just explode…? The noise… the agony… that would explain it.
…so much… His stomach roiled with nausea.
…but I must… Bile rose in Toshinori’s throat, but a foreign hand shoved it back down.
…endure…
Toshinori sunk back to the muddled verge of unconsciousness, his mind bare of thoughts but full of screams.
And, for the second time since the nightmare began, giggles pulled Toshinori from murky depths. Chatter and squeals filled the air, muffled by Toshinori’s (unknown, concealed, treacherous) surroundings.
He couldn’t grasp the words- his pounding head rejected comprehension- but the mumbling soothed Toshinori. As he listened to the little boy, the pain in his head ebbed away, bit by bit.
Toshinori relaxed. Thoughts wormed their way back into his head.
This is perfect, his own voice whispered to him. So peaceful… no reason to worry… calm… this boy is all that matters.
The boy! He could be in danger. After all, a villain immobilized Toshinori- All Might- himself. (And only one villain ever compared to the strength of the Symbol of Peace.) He needed to save the boy- the child.
But… to think of him as all that mattered? What on earth? And what could ever lead Toshinori to think of this situation as perfect and peaceful?
A chill climbed up his spine. (But no shiver followed. The cursed immobilization even prevented his hair from standing on end.)
Enough. Toshinori squashed his fear like a bug beneath his giant fist. I will defeat this foe. I will save this boy. And I will figure out how to move! I promise it, for I am THE SYMBOL OF PEACE!
He focused on the boy again (for it was all he could do without attracting the ire of the beast in his mind), and listened.
Something- could that be wrapping paper?- tore, accompanied by a gasp.
“Thank you, Daddy!” the boy squeaked. “I’ve done so much research- did you know? You must know, oh thank you! And I can use this in so many ways to defeat enemies…”
The boy’s muffled musings quickened. Toshinori strained his ears, but he could only pick up a few words: “caught,” “potency,” and “heroes.”
“Please tell me I’ll have a chance to use it soon!” the boy begged, at last returning to an audible volume.
A man- the boy’s father, surely- let out a low, rumbling laugh.
“You’ll see, my little prince.”
Toshinori’s stomach lurched. That voice…
Obviously. Who else could stand against Toshinori except for him? The villain- murderer, brute, monster- who killed Nana? His mentor, his mother in all but blood, died by All for One’s hand as he laughed.
Nana flung Toshinori from danger, smiling regardless of her inevitable demise. He screamed out for his master, his voice tearing his throat as Gran Torino pulled him from the battle. On her orders.
“It’s your turn,” she said. The words echoed in Toshinori’s ears every day; for every act of heroics he performed, Nana’s voice drove him. Toshinori must take up not only her mantle, but the weight of the world.
And while Nana’s voice filled his days, All for One’s consumed his nights. He woke up in cold sweat, panting, heart hammering in his chest, the vision of Nana’s blood on his wicked hands. Nana, turned to a ragdoll. And All for One, standing over her, donning a grin as he taunted her in her last moments.
I failed you, Master, Toshinori realized. I let him capture me, and now I can’t even move. And he has a child with him… the poor boy must be a hostage, unaware of All for One’s villainy.
“Hey, Daddy?” the boy questioned- and why did he call the villain his daddy? What on earth had All for One done to the child? “Um, I’m just wondering… what’s the occasion? Not that I’m not grateful. I love all the gifts and I’m so happy they’re mine. But it’s not my birthday, or Christmas, or any holiday, really, or even my half birthday… So why are you doing all this for me?”
“Oh, oh, baby,” All for One cooed.
If Toshinori was capable of moving, he likely would have shuddered, gagged, or punched All for One in the face. Who was he kidding? He’d do all three. How could such a soft sound emerge from the heinous creature’s throat?
“I don’t need an excuse to shower you with gifts. You deserve everything you want, and I will give it to you.”
“Thank you, Daddy!”
You foul beast! Toshinori snarled. Promising everything he wants? Manipulation and cruelty! I despise you, All for One. Maybe I failed just by getting into this situation… but I won’t give up yet. I will avenge my master, rid the world of your evil and save that boy!
“You still have one gift left, my little prince,” All for One murmured, chuckling. “What do you think it is?”
“Hmmm, I don’t really know! But it sure looks huge… way too big to be All Might merch.”
Toshinori braced himself for All for One to lash out at the boy for his suggestion, but the villain only sighed. Good. The child remained safe.
“Open it,” All for One ordered. “It’s not quite All Might merchandise, but I’m sure you’ll love it nonetheless.”
Delicate footsteps approached Toshinori, and the tearing of wrapping paper resumed. Directly above him.
There’s no way…
Toshinori forced energy to his muscles, struggling with every fiber of his being. He needed to move. He needed to fight! What did the twisted man intend with this? The pain in his head exploded, returning with full force, rattling his skull and ripping him apart with savage claws. A sledgehammer slammed into brain (again and again, insistent), and gongs blasted against his ears.
He fought regardless.
“Wow, a box, just what I always wanted!” the boy teased as he pulled away the last of the wrapping paper.
“Open the box, my child,” All for One scolded lightly.
A second’s pause. Then-
“EEEEK!” the boy screeched. “NO WAY! IT IS ALL MIGHT MERCH! IT LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!”
A tiny finger poked Toshinori’s side, and warmth spread from where the boy touched him. The child ran his hands through his hair tufts, babbling incoherently with joy.
Just like when the boy spoke earlier, Toshinori’s headache faded when he touched him. Was this the boy’s quirk? To ease pain?
“A life-sized All Might figurine,” marveled the child. “It’s so realistic, too! His skin feels so real, and his hair too! Look, you can even see veins in his skin! Oh, and his costume, it looks just like the real thing…”
All the while he spoke, the boy prodded and poked All Might like a particularly interesting zoo animal. And, though uncomfortable, the contact dulled the pain in Toshinori’s head.
“He’s far better than a figurine, my little prince. I’ll show you.”
The poor boy squeaked, stepping back.
All for One cleared his throat, smugness radiating off him, and ordered, “All Might, sit up.”
After all the effort, all the agony Toshinori shoved into movement, his body at last stirred, with all the ease of a fish in water. But under the command of All for One, rather than himself.
Toshinori swore mentally, his thoughts racing. Yet his body remained perfectly calm; relaxed muscles, steady heartbeat, and perfectly timed breaths.
I’m going to kill you, Toshinori hissed.
“Wow,” the little boy gasped. “How’d you do that? Is he a robot? Are his orders linked specifically to your voice? Or is this a quirk? No. Way. Is he real!?”
Yes, I’m real. And I’m going to help you, I promise. I am here to help you… I just have to figure out how.
“Yes, my son, he’s real. And he’s all yours. I got him just for you.”
Toshinori waited for the boy to recoil from the villain, as he realized the horrifying truth: the monster before him stole a human’s free will and treated him as a possession, and the boy himself was in terrible danger. But instead of screaming or gasping or fleeing, the boy squealed and cackled.
His footsteps raced towards All for One, who joined in the boy’s manic laughter. Did… the child jump into the villain’s arms? Could this be an act to gain All for One’s trust and escape later? No. A chill consumed Toshinori at the resounding howls of boy and man. The boy’s cackles, he realized, held no difference from All for One’s beside a higher pitch.
The boy called All for One “Daddy,” and All for One called the boy “son.” Could it really be the truth, rather than a manipulation by the vile villain?
Finally, the laughter waned, and the boy gushed, “Oh, thank you so much, Daddy! This is the best gift ever. The best piece of All Might merchandise: the real All Might! I love you so much.”
Merchandise. The boy viewed him as merchandise. All for One’s son, just like his father. But what else could he be, raised under the wicked influence? Toshinori’s heart ached for the boy. He still needed saving, but in a different way… could Toshinori handle such a task? So different from an attack or disaster or threat.
But… the boy needed help. Toshinori promised to save him with a smile, even as his facial muscles refused every command, even when the boy joined the most heinous creature ever to exist in his maniacal laughter to celebrate ownership of another human being, and even if the child deemed the monster he called father a human, Toshinori would save him anyway. Right?
I won’t fail. I can’t afford to.
“Since he sat up when you told him to, does that mean you’re the boss of him?”
All for One chuckled. “No, my little prince. We’re the boss of him. He’s entirely under our control; he will obey every command you give him, just as he obeys me.”
“Woah,” the boy uttered.
“Go on,” the monster encouraged his son, “Tell him to open his eyes.”
With a guffaw the boy demanded, “Open your eyes, All Might!”
Light flooded Toshinori’s vision, but rather than blinking to adjust, his eyes stayed wide and staring. He attempted to survey his area, but his pupils remained fixated directly before him, centered on the form of All for One.
The world spun, and phantom pain surged through Toshinori’s stomach. His lung throbbed. And, for a second, the room faded to a decimated city, with rubble and distant screams. Blood coated All for One’s claws, but Toshinori still rushed to attack him-
Torment flooded into his head, and the memory disappeared in an instant. Just like a wild animal fleeing from a threat on instinct, Toshinori dropped the memory the second he experienced pain. Cowardly. Pathetic, even. But at least he scrounged some information before his failure.
Wrapping paper littered the hardwood floor and expensive leather furniture of a sitting room. A stack of gifts towered in the corner: a pile of books, containers of poison, several notebooks, a collection of intricately decorated knives, and a gleaming laptop.
How dare that wicked creature shove weapons into a child’s hands? Did he expect the boy to kill for him? (Had he already forced him to?)
The child.
His grin, wide and deformed, shined with too-sharp teeth. His eyes- soulless, blank, and as barren of humanity as they were of pupils- narrowed in on Toshinori’s. A shark smiling at a delicious morsel. Wretched and cruel, the boy could almost have been the one to kill Nana.
Muscles demanded to form a fist and swing and fight and annihilate All for One’s second coming before he had a chance to become just as much of a monster as his father. But the immobilization kept Toshinori rooted.
And… oh. Oh, no, no, no. He nearly attempted to murder a child. For once, Toshinori thanked his horrible still body.
How old was the boy? Nine? Toshinori looked closer, at last noting the differences between father and son. Though they shared similar cheek-and jawbones, the child’s face was rounder, and his eyes larger. Freckles dotted his face, surrounding his tiny nose, another contrast to All for One. And while the same white curls shadowed both faces, the boy’s hair hung far longer, with bangs sweeping over one eye. And were his roots a different color? Blue? Green? Black? Toshinori attempted to squint, but his eyes denied the request. (Something in the back of Toshinori’s brain itched at the boy’s appearance. Had he seen him before? But how? When? And what failure of a hero would forget an endangered child?)
“Good morning, All Might,” All for One taunted, interrupting Toshinori’s scattered thoughts.
He adjusted his grip on his son, pulling him closer and ruffling his hair. The boy clung to his father’s chest, still fixated on the hero before him.
“Daddy,” he whined, tugging on the sleeve of his father’s suit, “All Might isn’t smiling.”
“Well, we can fix that quite easily, can’t we?”
Nodding, the child slipped from his father’s arms and approached Toshinori. All for One trailed behind him, and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder when he stopped inches away from Toshinori’s box.
“All Might, smile.”
Toshinori’s lips stretched upwards.
The boy frowned and prodded his face. He stretched the skin around his lips, surveying Toshinori from every angle.
How low I’ve sunk. Nana told me that those who smile are the strongest, but here I am, smiling, prodded by a child I failed, and sitting in All for One’s presence without even trying to attack him.
“You’re doing it wrong,” the child reproached, lip quivering. “Show more teeth! Your smile isn’t big enough, and your eyebrows are too close to your eyes. Ugh, your eyes. They’re completely devoid of emotion! And the wrinkles around them are supposed to be point eight centimeters.”
Pouting, the boy turned to face his father.
“Daddy, what did you do to All Might? He’s all dead inside.”
“I just made him more complacent,” All for One sighed. “Malleable. Controllable. You know what this alleged hero would do if I let him keep free will… but Daddy loves you very much, my little prince, and I wanted you to have your favorite hero.”
“He’s acting like a nomu,” the white-haired boy pointed out.
A nomu. Was that a person? A group of people? Or, Toshinori regarded the small child before him, a toy?
Toshinori froze (well, he was already frozen), his brain turning to darkness like a shuttered house with its power cut. Could the nomu be people just like him, turned to puppets by All for One? Did others wake up, paralyzed except when following the orders of monsters?
Please, let this not be true. Oh, how pathetic of him, to beg and plead in the confines of his own mind rather than fight!
But the pain in my head whenever I attempt to resist-
No, Toshinori, shut up. You are a hero. You do not fear pain. How dare you use a measly headache as an excuse to submit to All for One?
“He’s not a nomu,” All for One assured.
He pulled the boy close to his chest and ran his giant hands through the child’s soft white curls. The boy snuggled against the villain’s chest, eyes closing halfway. Toshinori bit back a snarl- but of course it didn’t matter, with his lead mouth glued in a dead smile.
“Or at least, not entirely.”
“Daddy! Nomufication ruins the quality of All Might merch.”
Aah, yes. The kid once again referred to Toshinori himself as merch. But at least he protested against…“nomufication.” (Toshinori owed the wretched villain an extra smash to the face for whatever that was.)
All for One’s hand froze on the boy’s head. “Yes, yes, of course. That’s exactly why he’s not a nomu. I didn’t give him more quirks, nor damage his brain function. Not that he had much of a brain to begin with.”
The boy crossed his arms and stuck his pouty lip out further. All for One sighed.
“I’m kidding, my little prince. He’s not a nomu. However, I admit I did use a few steps of the nomu creation process combined with a handful of quirks to alter his brain. He now lives to serve.”
A snake coiled in Toshinori’s stomach, twisting and tightening his insides.
“So, he really can only obey orders,” the boy murmured, staring at Toshinori. In spite of their locked eyes, the boy’s gaze wandered far away. “Can you even hear me, All Might?”
Toshinori stared blankly.
Yes, I can. I just can’t acknowledge it, kid.
“Are you disappointed by your gift, my little prince?” All for One chuckled. He returned to stroking his son’s hair.
“No, not at all!” the kid insisted. “You got me my favorite hero. You went through all this work for me. It must have taken you so long; All Might’s been missing for months!”
What?
Months? He went missing for months, and spent all the time under All for One’s thumb, as the monster warped Toshinori into a tool- a toy- for his wicked schemes. Did anyone know what happened to him? Only Gran and Mirai knew of his mission to kill All for One. Did they know he was captured, or did they believe him dead?
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Gran, Mirai.
How did Japan fare without its pillar? Without All Might there to save the day, how many innocents died? Worse yet, how many would die by his own hand if Toshinori couldn’t break All for One’s binding over him?
Blood splashed across his vision. Civilians screamed. Building toppled. Cities collapsed. The world plunged into darkness. All for One, sick as he was, would surely send Toshinori to slaughter the people he devoted his life to protect.
“So, he won’t be like this forever then?”
Toshinori jolted back to the present. Screw him for getting distracted during an important conversation!
“No. As time passes, All Might will regain a level of autonomy.”
So whatever mind control business this is will fade! Over time though… I will have to put all my strength into overcoming the manipulations immediately!
But, a nagging voice whispered, if I could beat the control so easily, why would All for One allow me in his base, by his son?
“Though he now requires orders for the simplest of actions, he will eventually learn how to act on his own. All instructions given to him will work as training until he is able to operate independently- assuming he is consistently supplied with more data from us.”
A ghostly punch slammed into Toshinori’s stomach. His head reeled.
Toshinori swore internally. I need to break this control now. I can not allow All for One to train me.
The villain’s words tasted foul.
“How?” the tiny boy leaned closer to All for One, eyes wide. He salivated as he demanded answers.
“I’ll spare you the complicated drivel for the moment, but I’m sure I’ll be answering many of your questions later,” mused All for One.
He booped the boy’s nose, and the two shared a smirk.
“All that must be known at the moment,” the villain continued, this time staring directly into Toshinori’s eyes, “is that I combined an immobilization quirk with a mind control quirk. All Might can only break the immobilization when following orders from us.”
“Tell me how!” the boy exclaimed, bouncing in place. “How did you create conditionals-?”
“Later,” All for One reminded the boy.
The child ducked his head, hiding his immediate blush with long, white bangs.
“Sorry,” he muttered, avoiding eye contact. He curled in on himself, and Toshinori cursed whatever All for One did to make his son react that way. (But he also raised his son to thank him for giving the boy a mind-controlled human, so could Toshinori really be surprised by All for One’s bad parenting?)
“Now, now, there’s no need to apologize for your sharp mind. We just need to ensure the finer parts of the control remained between the two of us and no one else,” All for One glanced at Toshinori, tilting his head and smirking like a cat with a mouse trapped beneath its claws.
Toshinori’s fingers longed to curl into fists. All for One intended to keep information from Toshinori to prevent him from inevitably breaking free of his control. He lorded the knowledge and power over the hero, knowing that Toshinori couldn’t trust a word the man said. Probably a tactic to force submission: manipulate information to convince him that he could never escape.
“Oh,” the boy murmured, following his father’s gaze to peer at Toshinori with hungry eyes. “What else can you tell me now?”
“Well, at the moment, my quirks rely on All Might’s own brain to determine if he’s following orders. When he’s directly instructed by either one of us, and we are sure to use either the name All Might or Yagi Toshinori, he will understand that we desire for him to fulfill a certain task. The quirks will force him to obey, but quirks are unable to think. They can only force him to do simple physical actions. However, we can train All Might himself to better understand what we want. His mind will provide the information required for more complicated orders. Additionally, the quirks will search his brain, so whenever All Might knows we require anything from him, he will be encouraged to comply, even if we don’t tell him directly. If All Might knows, or even thinks, we would be displeased with an action, he won’t be able to perform it.”
The words garbled together, but All for One’s blade of a tongue sliced Toshinori regardless.
“Wow,” the boy said, hands twitching. “That’s so cool!”
He approached Toshinori again, and gripped his chin with chubby fingers. As he surveyed Toshinori’s smile from every possible angle, something dark clouded his eyes. His face morphed into a scowl; he stared at the hero like a piece of scum on his shoe.
With each second the boy glared at him, Toshinori’s head pounded a decibel louder.
Then, the boy grinned. The smile distorted his face, pushing his features to extremes. Coppery bile rose in Toshinori’s throat (for only a second before the quirks puppeteering him forced it back down).
The world faded away to reveal Nana’s shattered corpse, with the boy standing above her, perfectly replicating his father’s smirk. Emerald eyes illuminated the battlefield (the room, Toshinori, keep it together!) with bloodlust.
Could Toshinori really save this boy?
Shut up, the hero ordered himself. I can do this. If I can’t save him, how could I call myself a hero, let alone the Symbol of Peace? And the first step is breaking free of this pitiful attempt at mind control!
Screw his failures at moving! Toshinori focused on the thrum of One for All. Strength and power flowed through All Might’s veins, filling every inch of his body, from his ears to his muscles to the tips of his toes.
The brilliant, honed power of One for All overshadowed any other quirk! One for All would break the immobilization for sure!
Before Toshinori even attempted to move with his power, a waterfall of pain crashed into him. This time, the agonizing claws of the monster spread from his head to the rest of his body. Fire- scorching, burning, blistering fire- bore through his bones, replacing the buzz of One for All.
Black spots pounced across Toshinori’s vision, blurring his world. The room, the boy and the villain morphed into slush, swishing around his empty head. Light attacked his eyes. Voices slammed against his skull. Living became agony.
“ₜₕₑᵣₑ ₐᵣₑ ₜᵂₒ ₜₒₒₗₛ ᵂₕᵢᶜₕ ₚₑᵣᶠₑᶜₜₗʸ ₜᵣₐᵢₙ ₜₕₑ ₕᵤₘₐₙ ₘᵢₙᴰ,” a man explained, distant and garbled.
Darkness tugged at Toshinori, and he allowed it to envelop him. Sight, sound, taste, touch, smell- all of it disappeared. The tiniest fraction of his pain ebbed away with the loss of consciousness.
Toshinori sat, utterly still, and just as dead to the world as the world was to him.
…
PAIN!
…
PAIN!
…
Pain…
…
Toshinori floated… somewhere. Somewhere dark and cool, full of nothingness.
A hand grabbed his arm. Toshinori flinched- or at least, he would have. But his fixated body refused to comply.
“Toshinori,” a woman called out to him.
The voice brought pain. Toshinori ignored it.
“Toshinori!” she yelled again.
Too much pain! An image of a dark-haired woman- the speaker?- fluttered between his eyes, but he ignored that too.
“TOSHINORI!” the woman begged, voice cracking.
Nana…? How?!
Toshinori’s eyelids fluttered, and he gasped. He could move! Or not…
Black mist pinned him in place, curling over his body and pouring in his mouth. But his eyes obeyed his commands!
Toshinori stared at Nana, who floated in the midst of a void with her black hair flowing around her. She gripped Toshinori’s arm, eyes narrowed and filled with unshed tears. What sort of a wonderful dream was this?
“Mfffastfffer,” Toshinori attempted to speak, his blue gaze focused on the beautiful, whole form of his mentor. She wore her hero costume. The black suit, the yellow gloves, the white cape. Everything about her- the mole on her chin, her dark half ponytail, her gleaming gray eyes- remained exactly as Toshinori remembered, minus the gaping, bloody injury All for One inflicted on her.
“Good, you can hear me,” Nana smiled. “We’ve been trying to reach you.”
We? Toshinori blinked.
“We’re here to help you, Toshinori. Your attempts at resisting have been admirable, but we must make sure to end this mind control now. Let us fight for you; we can combat All for One without worrying about pain.”
Nana’s fingers dug into Toshinori’s arm, her eyes misty and clearly disappointed by Toshinori’s failure to remove All for One’s control himself.
“The others are fighting the foreign quirks. They sent me to speak to you, and I finally broke through.”
Nana must have been talking about Toshinori’s predecessors in One for All. Were they all here, in this abyss? But they were dead! Did they share Nana’s contempt for Toshinori’s failure? They all fought valiantly, while Toshinori cowered away from the barest hint of a headache.
I need to wake up, Toshinori struggled against his foggy bindings. I need to leave this place and fight alongside them.
“Toshinori, what are you doing?” Nana questioned, narrowing her eyes.
The void blurred and flickered to red for a fraction of a second.
“Don’t leave, Toshinori. Don’t wake up. You need to stay here, outside of All for One’s control. We can’t protect you otherwise.”
Toshinori’s heart stung. How far had he fallen (or had he always been so pathetic and never realized?) to have beloved Nana demand he cower behind her again?
He could stay, of course. Stay in the cool air, where Toshinori floated weightless, protected instead of protecting, all with Nana beside him. But only a coward would ever choose such a path.
Truly pathetic.
Unless… How could Nana speak with him if she was dead? She appeared from nowhere, right after the despicable All for One hijacked Toshinori’s brain. Then she told Toshinori that everything was taken care of and he didn’t need to fight.
Toshinori narrowed his eyes at the woman, studying her features for any irregularities.
He resisted Nana’s- or the Nana imposter’s- touch. All for One, the sick, twisted villain, surely delighted at the idea of using Nana’s image to keep Toshinori complacent. He snarled against the dark mist smothering him.
Nana clung to him, drawing him close to peer into Toshinori’s shadowed eyes. Did Toshinori’s own mentor- who stood before him miraculously- consider him too weak to fight? (And could she be right? Was Toshinori a failure?) Or did All for One create a fake Nana to keep him joyously imprisoned while his body committed atrocities?
He thrashed, picturing the wooden floorboards and torn wrapping paper of the room he awoke in. Wake up, wake up!
“Toshinori, listen to me! Stop it!”
Nana shook the hero’s blond form.
The world flashed again, this time with glowing scarlet tentacles- veins?- snaking through smoke. Toshinori froze.
Nana glanced around, her smile gone. She turned back to Toshinori and cupped his face in her hands.
“Stay still,” she ordered, her voice a hoarse whisper. “We can’t let the hole get any bigger.”
This time, Toshinori obeyed. Those blood-red tentacles were the manifestation of All for One’s quirk. The hole, Nana called it. All for One broke a hole into the realms of One for All. And Toshinori’s stubborn resistance widened the monster’s access.
Unless All for One intended this to be an elaborate ruse? But how could he replicate Nana so well? Her motherly touch, with calloused hands. Her wide smile, with the slightest quiver that took Toshinori years to decipher, and the unshed tears pooled in her eyes kept from shedding by will and love.
Somehow, someway, One for All must have stored memories of its users. Flickers of their consciousness. Vestiges.
And Toshinori put all his predecessors in danger of dying a second time.
Please forgive me, Nana.
Toshinori attempted to apologize, but his muffled voice turned his sentiments to mush.
Failure.
“Indeed.”
The voice cut through Toshinori’s consciousness (unconsciousness?) like a knife. All for One spoke into his head. Did he employ some sort of mind reading ability along with the mind control quirk? Or did he break into the void?!
Toshinori craned his neck, searching for another flash of red eyes.
“Toshi, listen, stop.”
He was moving. Just what Nana told him not to do seconds earlier. Like a fool.
The void burned red. Lightning flashed, shattering spider-web cracks in the misty darkness, each filled to the brim with growing, slimy, bulbous white eyes. Out of the haze strolled a smirking All for One.
Toshinori snarled. What has he done? He ruined everything, doomed everyone! Nana, the other one for all holders, the whole of Japan and the little boy.
“Thank you for your idiocracy, All Might- or should I say, Yagi Toshinori. You aren’t a hero anymore, after all.”
Nana stepped in front of Toshinori to shield him. (Why? He deserved this. He caused this! He should be the one to suffer, not his beloved mentor!)
“Leave here at once, All for One,” she growled, dark eyes flashing. The hero lacked her customary smile.
Cackling, All for One extended his arms and tilted his head. “And you’re going to stop me, Shimura? You couldn’t even stand against me when you were alive.”
Toshinori screamed with rage and lashed out. HOW DARE HE?
A second figure appeared between hero and villain, right hand raised to stop Toshinori’s rampage. His feeble twitches, more like, but even with the mist constraining him, the man pictured his hands wrapping around All for One’s throat until his grin turned to sputtering gasps… then nothing.
“Leave here at once, brother,” the stranger insisted. Brother!
His pale hair hung limp around a gaunt frame, and bangs covered one of his emerald eyes. Toshinori flinched. Could it be a coincidence that All for One’s brother and son both adorned the same hairstyle?
All for One approached the man- the first user of One for All, who turned the quirk forced onto him by the villain into a legacy meant to end his tyranny- with eyes aflame, and lips stretched into a face-distorting smirk.
“Little brother,” the monster enunciated, ignoring all previous statements, “You have returned to me at last. My little brother.”
“Eff you.”
“Now, now, that wasn’t a particularly heroic thing to say. Nor was it even clever.”
Scowling, First waved his hands through the air, and squirming black mist- identical to what trapped Toshinori- rose up from the void. It surrounded All for One, consumed him, and dragged his colossal form away from the heroes.
Was it really that easy? Toshinori blinked to clear his vision, but the mist still imprisoned All fo-
“Yagi Toshinori, realse me now.”
The demand echoed through Toshinori’s mind. Sharp and grating, thunderous and hissing, clear and warped.
An order.
Trembling, Toshinori battled with the agony rattling his skull. He focused on the mist and begged for it to stay put, visualizing more and more coming to surround the villain. The void mimicked Toshinori and shook with each passing second. Nana and First surveyed the land, eyes darting, as they waved their arms to call more mist to imprison the villain, but they blurred into nothingness as the beast in Toshinori’s mind ravaged every nerve in his body with razor-sharp, burning claws.
The fog dissipated. All for One approached once more, grinning wider.
No.
Nana pulled Toshinori closer to her, still firmly fixed between him and the monster he himself released.
Five more figures- blurred and disguised by smoke- sputtered into existence, forming a barrier. A wall of innocents between death and a shattered legacy. As if driven by one mind (perhaps they were), the users of One for All raised their arms to wield the surrounding fog.
They drug All for One into the sky, to the hole where his eyes appeared, and fraying tendrils quivered as they awaited the monster’s departure.
Nana placed her hands over Toshinori’s ears in an attempt to block out any of All for One’s future orders to free him or- or… eliminate the vestiges in his mind. Toshinori scrunched his eyes closed and leaned in to the touch.
(He was an adult now. A pro hero, and the alleged number one at that. Nana shouldn’t have had to sacrifice herself again. All his predecessors placed themselves in danger for him, and he didn’t even know most of their names! Why?
Yet he allowed Nana to comfort him, even if he could never hope to deserve the care. He was just a coward. A spineless, pathetic and useless coward to his very core, regardless of his years mocking Nana’s legacy with his farce of heroism.)
“What have you gotten yourself into, Yagi Toshinori?”
Toshinori jolted at the words, eyes darting for the source. Yet, just as when All for One ordered his release from the mist, every word echoed inside Toshinori’s own skull from deep within his core. Inescapable. Shiveres crawled up his spine like spiders.
“How can you consider yourself a hero when each of your attempts at heroism fails? Doesn’t it grate every fiber of your being to paint yourself as a protector, while leading the sheep you can’t shield to the slaughter? Give up on your fantasies, Yagi Toshinori. You were never a hero- if you were, wouldn’t you have saved your beloved mentor?”
Wide, blue eyes stared at the monster behind layers of mist, form trembling even when cemented by the swirling substance. The words scraped into Toshinori’s core as an outside source corroborated the guilt he lathered upon himself every day.
“How can you bear to smile in the face of tragedy? Do you not care for the victims? Have you no sympathy for their plight?”
No… that certainly wasn’t right. Nana told Toshinori that the strongest people were those who smiled. (But Toshinori certainly was not strong… look how quickly he succumbed to All for One!) Nevertheless, a smile from a hero guaranteed reassurance. Right?
“Shut your mouth,” one of the predecessors snarled. Mist concealed his appearance, blurring the outline of his spiky hair.
Another user- this one, a bald man who maintained a heroic grin- added, “Get outta here, All for One. You can’t ruin a real hero’s heart.”
Meaning Toshinori wasn’t a real hero, because All for One already sunk his claws into the darkest, hidden corners of his being.
“Perhaps you enjoy the illusion of feeling strong. Even with your constant failures, the public still hangs on your masquerade of valor. They cheer for you, blissfully unaware you watched your master die without lifting a finger to help her.”
Because she demanded Gran remove him from the battle scene! But if Toshinori fought harder against the hands dragging his flailing form from his blood-soaked teacher-
“Did you realize even if you attempted to help, you would have only made yourself a hindrance? A blood splatter on the earth. Gone in an instant.”
“Don’t listen to him, Toshi,” Nana whispered. “You did the right thing.”
“Oh, of course,” All for One agreed. His voice boomed, resounding deeper within Toshinori’s being. Maybe his physical form was closer too, obscured by Nana or the predecessors or the mist. “You did the right thing, Toshinori. You ensured your own survival. You lived another day. That is what truly matters.”
No. Focusing on his own survival was the epitome of selfishness, the incarnation of cowardice, and the paragon of patheticness. It was vile. Evil. Despicable.
“Another question for you.”
All for One’s eyes- dozens of them- bored into Toshinori’s own from the tears in the ceiling.
Nana leaned over him, obscuring his view with a strained smile. She covered his ears again.
“Don’t listen to him. Just focus on me. Everything will be okay. You are an amazing hero and I am so proud of you.”
Making Nana proud… the greatest achievement ever. Surely, such words would calm him down- which is why Nana said them. A necessary act because he couldn’t handle his own emotions or fight his own fight like an “amazing hero” would. Like any hero would. The situation required empty praise for mitigation.
All for One continued his speech, rolling each of his floating eyes. “How do you think the public would react to their protector's murderous tendencies? You attempted to kill a man, Toshinori. A father, with a son at home, no less. Do you feel any remorse?”
Was the monster referring to himself as the man? When did Toshinori- his side spasmed with pain, and a muffled groan escaped his lips. Blood- sticky and wet and thick- coated his hands as he swung and attacked and ravaged, again and again, his energy swelling with each hit even as his agony multiplied. And, as with all his fights, he smiled. But this grin was half grimace, and his wide eyes and trembling form betrayed the need for more destruction. More, more, MORE! He would kill the beast who killed Nana. He would murder him. Destroy him. He couldn’t make the monster feel remorse, but could at the very least make him feel the pain he inflicted onto others.
How dare All for One ask if Toshinori regretted fighting him? The monster deserved whatever came to him, and the hero’s only regret was failing to take him down.
All for One chuckled.
“You don’t, do you? You enjoyed every strike you landed, every drop of blood you drew. If only you had succeeded!”
Scarlet lightning flashed. Nana’s face disappeared, replaced by All for One’s wide grin- only for an instant, before Nana returned, panting. Pillars of black mist twisted and thrashed as they faded to red. The expanse of blood-colored smoke drifted closer, surrounding Toshinori. He thrashed along with the mist, screaming as Nana fought the void tearing her away from him.
“He’s feeding on your rage,” she explained, eyes wide and face sweat-soaked. “Your grief and anger drive you to actions you would never otherwise take. But you can fight him-”
“You are a monster, Yagi Toshinori.”
No!
“-by holding true to your heart. I’m not asking you to forgive him after all the pain he’s caused, but please try to let go of the hate clouding your heart.”
How on Earth could Toshinori ever stand by and forgive and love while All for One continued to murder and destroy? When he would soon force Toshinori to do the same? No. Toshinori despised All for One, and the monster deserved every ounce of his abhorrence.
The red mist surged forth, billowing and turning everything it touched the same disgusting hue. As the substance consumed more of the void, it quickened, and dived for the past holders of One for All, swallowing them all. Toshinori howled, begging that the mist only obscured them. He yanked against the mist binding him. He had to fight the smoke before it reached-
Nana froze, her mouth open, as the first tendril of red brushed her ankle. She quivered, watery eyes sending one final plea, and sank into oblivion.
“But who am I to judge for your destructive cravings? I understand.”
The smoke cleared, revealing seven towering eyes where humans once stood.
A tear tumbled down Toshinori’s face.
He killed them all. Again.
He let All for One win. Again.
Maybe Toshinori really was a monster.
“The only thing I can truly blame you for is being too weak to carry out your desires.”
Footsteps echoed through the void and All for One leaned over Toshinori.
“Dhhhhm yfffu!”
The villain sighed. “You always fail to save those you’ve sworn to protect. This is twice now you’ve destroyed your master, but perhaps this is only because you do not care for anyone. After all, when Goto Sakura perished in a building you collapsed while fighting a villain, you never mourned. And when you were too late to prevent a horde of bank robbers from killing hostages, you never spared a thought for Matsui Haruto, nor his family. Did you forget them all? Tell me, did you forget Midoriya Izuku?”
Toshinori had never heard the first two names. He maintained a pristine record (in spite of his patheticness); though he occasionally destroyed property with his quirk, he had never, ever accidentally killed someone. Unless he were such a horrid hero that he had never realized. Never knew. But every news outlet still praised his perfect record, and surely they wouldn’t ignore the death of Goto Sakura, or Matsui Haruto. He shouldn’t be praised, admired or adored if he really let them die. Did he? Did he kill them and galavant carelessly off to more adventures?
But Midoriya Izuku. Son of Midoriya Inko, who begged through a torrent of tears to bring her baby home three years ago. Toshinori promised. And he failed, allowing the task to slip his mind as he dealt with the easy cases- the villains already out in the streets, and the nearby disasters, all of which could be stopped in seconds- then dawdled through interviews and autograph signings.
No police officer could find a trace of the boy. No hero, either. Some didn’t even try. Midoriya-san admitted nearly half of the professionals she contacted ended the case after seeing “QUIRKLESS” printed on his record. Some waited a few days before apologizing and claiming they found nothing. Others winced and mumbled excuses. One laughed. One even called her a stupid bi- no, Toshinori wasn’t even going to finish that sentence. Such cruelty was unspeakable, especially to a childless mother. And all because the boy was quirkless. Toshinori himself was born powerless!
So All Might consoled the weeping woman and promised to bring her son home. But Toshinori, like all the others, let the poor, quirkless boy slip his mind. The boy with wide, green eyes, and notebooks about heroes written in crayon. With freckles dotting a tiny nose, and a room coated in All Might merchandise dedicated to the man who failed him the most. With green curls and-
Wait. A child. Wide green eyes. Freckles. A tiny nose. Green curls. All for One knew him personally. And the little boy the monster called his son dyed his hair white.
“Ah, you realized, haven’t you?” All for One tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Midoriya Izuku is my son- though he goes by Shigaraki Izuku now. You insisted you would look for him. You raised his mother’s hopes. And then you crushed them. Did you ever attempt to locate poor Izuku? Perhaps you forgot him over time, or perhaps you never bothered to look, knowing no reward would come for rescuing a friendless, quirkless child.”
No. Toshinori wanted to rescue him. He tried. But trying wasn’t good enough. Toshinori still failed, and allowed All for One to sink his vile claws into the innocent abandoned child.
“Luckily, I only took Izuku to protect him. He is my son. And the world knew there was something different about him. His classmates despised him for it; they taunted him, called him a ‘deku,’ saying he was a waste of space undeserving of life.”
Toshinori shivered as All for One bent down to whisper in his ear, and- no, no, no, please stop touching me, Toshinori begged- ran gentle fingers through Toshinori’s hair, like the loving father he claimed to be for his son. The touch was sticky and blood-stained with echoes of the past and Nana’s screams.
“They attacked him, with their quirks, primarily. One extended his fingers to claw, to puncture and to squeeze. His nails were sharper in their elongated state, and could slice flesh like a knife.”
The hands caressing Toshinori’s head halted, and pierced through his skin, unleashing a torrent of scarlet. Toshinori grit his teeth, refusing to flinch or cry out. This was only a fraction of the pain Izuku experienced.
“Another flew on wings to attack Izuku from above. He “accidentally” crashlanded on Izuku, resulting in bruises and broken bones.”
A massive eye on the ceiling wiggled and twitched, before toppling and crashing into Toshinori’s stomach. Toshinori panted, the air knocked out of him, as the slimy weight slammed him into the misty floor.
“Another scorched him with explosions. He burned Izuku’s clothing, desk, belongings and flesh, resulting in starburst scars embedded in his skin.”
All for One unleashed a breath of fire, igniting the eye. This time, Toshinori couldn’t prevent a slight whimper from escaping him as the fire seared through skin, flesh and bone, whittling him to his core. The fiery eye even burned through the mist, freeing Toshinori.
Toshinori was free! He could attack All for One-!
”He begged for help, but none complied… not his teachers, not the heroes, not his mother, not you. After all the rejection, it took all of his courage to ask his final hope: me.”
Toshinori could attack All for One. But did that mean he could succeed? After all, he already failed so horribly with his mentor, and with little Izuku…
For whatever reason, All for One didn’t react as Toshinori slowly pushed off the ground in a sitting position. Should he attack the monster, or would that only make things worse?
All for One smirked at him. “So I took Izuku to where he would be safe from a world that despised him, and surrounded him with my love. Only I could look at him for what he truly was and adore him, because he is my son. Because I am a monster and so is he, and only a monster can love a monster.”
Only a monster could love a monster. But who would love a failure like Toshinori?
“Do you want to be loved, Yagi Toshinori?”
Toshinori peered at the villain from behind a limp strand of blond hair. Of course he wanted to be loved, but what he wanted mattered not in face of what he deserved- or rather, what he didn’t deserve.
“Speak,” All for One demanded.
Toshinori averted his eyes. “I think everyone wants to be loved, deep down.”
Even All for One, who kidnapped a broken son just to feel a semblance of affection, and even Toshinori, who avoided making friends to prevent their inevitable demise when he failed them.
“Then you’ll be happy to know,” All for One leaned down to meet Toshinori’s eyes, his sharp face softened by a gentle smile- so out of place on the murderer’s face- and admitted, “Izuku still clings to a thread of reverence for you.”
“Why?” the gasp escaped Toshinori before he could quell it.
Snorting, All for One joked, “I’ve asked myself the same question for years, but that’s besides the point. You failed Izuku horribly, but you still have a chance to make things right for him. To protect him. To serve him. To save him. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
It sounded more than nice; it sounded wonderful. A crushing weight lifted from Toshinori’s shoulders, and the agony wrecking his body relented. But it was too good to be true. All for One would never honestly offer Toshinori a path so perfect.
“Say what you truly feel,” All for One insisted.
“I want to make up for all my failures. I want to be worthy of Izuku’s forgiveness, his admiration, and… yes, his love.”
“Why?”
“Because I am a failure. A coward. And a monster.”
All for One nodded slowly and bowed his head with an understanding frown.
“I don’t deserve to be admired, or praised, or loved… but I want to be. And I will take that opportunity- but still try to earn it. I… I will succeed this time.”
“Of course,” All for One offered Toshinori a hand, and the hero monster hesitated to grab it. “It is only natural for you to take everything you want. It is the nature of monsters like us.”
The hand generously outstretched to Toshinori was the opportunity he wanted to snatch, for the sake of protecting the little boy he failed to re-earn his adoration. So, Toshinori took All for One’s outstretched hand, and allowed his new savior to pull him to his feet.
And Toshinori awoke, his face still in the same fixed smile, back in the sitting room, with wrapped paper strewn across leather furniture and the hardwood floor, surrounding the gifts All for One generously bestowed upon his son. This time, Toshinori was free to blink and flit his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings- but the pinnacle of his life, whom he longed to see smile, had vanished. Where was Izuku? Was he alright?
“Don’t worry,” All for One rested a hand on Toshinori’s head. “My Izuku is just changing into his costume. He is so excited to take you on a test run against our enemies.”
Toshinori relaxed- internally. His body still remained in a stoic stasis.
But what did All for One mean by “our enemies?” Did he mean his and Izuku’s? Or did he mean Toshinori’s as well? Not that it mattered. Any enemy of Izuku’s was an enemy of his.
A gentle, warm tingle danced across Toshinori’s skin to reward him for his honesty.
Izuku barreled back into the room, his eyes alight and mouth stretched into a wide grin. His curls had been tucked beneath a dark hood, and he gripped a white, skull-shaped mask in his hands.
“Let’s go, All Might!” Izuku squealed, bouncing on his feet.
Toshinori leaped to his feet, ready to oblige, and Izuku’s smile- which already smushed his round, chubby cheeks and bright, wide eyes- grew even wider.
The boy grabbed Toshinori’s hands, and led him down the hallway. He rambled to his new protector about how excited he was, and how, golly, now that All Might was a villain too, he needed a new name!
“You could be All Night, ‘cause night is dark and dangerous, or All Blight, ‘cause you’re gonna be a blight on our enemies and on hero society, or All Spite- nah, actually, ‘cause you’re always smiling, and I don’t think switching to the right side like Daddy helped me do will change that- OH! You could be All Smite! What do you think?”
Toshinori smiled at the suggestion- his real All Might smile, which he presumed, based on Izuku’s strangled gasp and cheer, had the perfect measurements. Even All for One smirked in response to the display.
He made his masters happy! He made Izuku happy. All for One was right; if Toshinori obeyed and fought for his masters’ needs, even a monster like him could be loved.
Toshinori needed more. He needed more of Izuku’s smiles, and he needed more blood on his fists, but this time as he fought for his master rather than against him.
Yes, Toshinori would become the worst monster he could to protect the perfect little Izuku, and he would be loved all the more for it.