Chapter Four

I hate hospitals. With everyone fussing over you, to the annoying medics who often acted like Kami's gift to Shinobi, to the kami be damned scratchy bedsheets.

Naturally, I immediately shot out of the bed with ease, using chakra to propel myself into a mid-air roll and landing on solid ground feet first.

I noted the multiple doctors staring and one of them began to walk up to me with a scowl. No. Hell no.

"Izuku?"

I turned to see All Might, in his inactive form, watching me warily.

"You alright?"

I sighed, my stance relaxing slightly.

"I hate hospitals."

The man grinned and nodded in sympathy. "How're your eyes? They were bleeding earlier."

Such concern is a little over the top, I drawled mentally, but appreciated. I guess. Only from you and mom.

"My quirk has many abilities but the ones that can change huge landscapes or often require tremendous action take a toll on my body and more specifically my eyes. It's not permanent but it can take a while to recover. It's more powerful than my body can handle. For now."

All Might nodded in understanding. "One For All has a similar toll on one's body. How do you intend to grow further from here?"

Indeed. I had pushed my body to reclaim some of my former strength and abilities, but this body was inherently more agility than brute force, and I was struggling against the more fragile limitations. Perfected chakra control with a glass ceiling.

Not that I intended to live with such a thing, naturally.

"Pure training has yielded plenty of results, but I think I need a different spin on things from this point forward."

Brute force training doesn't work well when my body is beholden to more limitations. Even chakra can only take me so far. Luckily for me, there are other avenues for growth.

"Knowledge is power. The more knowledge and understanding I have of the world around me, the more I can do."

I spoke quietly to myself as I looked down at the ground. Contemplating.

"Well then, Izuku. I can tell you that the alma mater I went to is open to you. So is every other hero school. You did get a perfect score."

True. Knowledge of my allies. Deeper history. Even more knowledge to forward my growth. This all sounded great but there were a few ringing bells.

Namely how obvious that security measure would be. Be a reporter or have someone take over security measures, and the villains have the data on every hero. Teacher, student, faculty, all becoming hostages.

Why would I want to join such a place with such a huge flaw?

Because, a familiar darker tone echoed in my head, villains will flock to wherever you go. They will seek you out to exploit your power or eliminate you. Villains that you can then trap inside your area of choice.

Their ambush in reality would become their tomb. And I would gain all the experience I could ever want.

"I see. I can accept going to your school. However I will admit that I'd like to go home. This hospital irritates me. Like being wrapped in a scratchy blanket."

All Might chuckled, nodding in understanding. "The exam results come out in a week. They had a retest the day after you annihilated the city block."

I frowned. "I did bring it back."

"And they had to replace the machines. The insides were practically empty husks of metal. Whatever you did doesn't react well to technology."

I got released from the hospital. Even if no less than three doctors with specialized quirks checked on me wondering how I regained my previous vitality so quickly and why my blood samples all pretty much got destroyed instantly after leaving my body.

Like hell I'll let anyone use my blood for anything. Especially not in a world of quirks. For all I know, there could be a villain who could kill me with a drop of blood.

Mom freaked out and was inconsolable for a few minutes but I calmed her down with a subtle chakra technique. A medical calming Jutsu for patients going into shock.

All Might left after admonishing me quietly on letting the graduation class get to me and that he was still proud that I didnt let anyone enter the zone of destruction.

The warm feeling of his acceptance and pride in me made me equally pleased and irritable. Madara Uchiha had no such care for the opinions of others, but Izuku Midoriya was a young teen who craves acceptance of his peers.

"Izuku Midoriya."

The calm cold tone echoing from my bedroom window made me immediately turn into combat mode. My Sharingan glowed in the darkness as I looked at my enemy who had somehow escaped my sensor abilities.

My eyes widened.

Dozens of quirks floated in the man's chest. Quirk Recognition, Endurance, Body Adjustment, Steal Quirks, Acclimation, Energy Nullification, Shock Repulsion, Regeneration, Give Quirks. Life Extension. Life Absorption. Stasis. Levitation.

"Forever alone. Forever mocked for not having a Quirk. Considered less than dirt. Until you killed a villain in self-defense."

The man's own presence seemed to freeze my blood. I could feel my heart pumping, the cold icy feeling in my stomach growing wider. A distant part of me roared to not let my guard down.

The man moved and I reacted.

His hand blurred toward me so fast even my Sharingan could barely detect the motion. My mind exploded into reaction as I instantly reacted subconsciously.

"I see."

I found myself behind the man, my chakra having me switch places with an instantly summoned clone that I had made subconsciously at the moment of movement.

My clone lived for less than an instant as I felt the Clone's very existence melt apart. Energy Nullification affected Jutsu.

"You can create clones of yourself and switch places with them. They use energy as the basis of Creation, which is why they instantly disappear upon contact with me. Whatever ability you have is not a Quirk as I could not sense it."

The smooth cold voice echoed in the silence as the man turned to face me once more. My heart was pounding so harshly. I wasn't ready to face this man. He could nullify Jutsu and he could move as fast as the man that had used all Eight Gates.

I was far from ready, but I will not back down. I can't. Either I die in fear, or I die standing.

"I guess if you're going to kill me, that I should stop holding back, huh?"

My comment was sarcastic and angry. I wasn't ready. My body wasn't ready. I doubted I could match this man even with every tool I had in my disposal, but dammit I would try.

Fuinjutsu: Natural Limitation. Release.

The man blurred toward me once more. His hand reached like a gaping void, I could see multiple quirks glowing brightly in his chest.

A black rod stabbed through his hand and jerked it away from my neck, my hand effortlessly forcing it away as my chakra surged through the rod as I gazed through him.

All For One had killed many heros, many people. Taken their quirks. Relished in that taking. His power, to originally steal and give quirks, had made him powerful. At first he'd been kind, but the many years in the shadows had shown him. Humanity was unworthy of their gifts. He let them grow, enjoying the challenge from the more powerful ones.

One For All was just another way to pass the time. To test himself and Humanity. To become stronger on his own or let the Stockpile quirk grow until it consumes the person. He wondered if All Might was aware of how horrible that quirk actually was. If he'd dare to pass it on if he knew the real cost.

Cold. Dark. Endless. Undying. Eternal. Pressure.

All For One had a quirk, Mind Wall, that protected him from any mental quirks. And he could still feel the horrible unending pressure. The feeling of God looking upon him and finding him unworthy.

In less than an instant, All For One roared as he slammed his other hand through Izuku's chest and crushed his heart.

Immediately, he tore out the black rod and tossed the boy's corpse aside. He originally came here with an offer, and now he found himself unsettled by what he had felt.

Whispers. Whispers of a myth. A fragmentary tale. One that was hushed up. One that had been considered a fairy tale by many. Only in oral records had that tale survived. But all myths had their truths, and All For One was worried, as this myth had been in almost every culture he'd traveled upon aside from island nations like this one.

"He had purple ringed eyes. In the beginning, mankind had a power that was entirely their own. A power that has no name. A power that was beyond any quirk. Humanity had turned upon each other with their power.

One man rose above the rest, first with eyes of red and then eyes of ringed purple, and found humanity unworthy. And so he stripped them of their power. Less than a fragment of it remained. That fragment grew to become quirks. However, a God cannot be killed. This is a moot point."

All For One spoke quietly to himself before shaking his head and leaving the bedroom through the window as if the window hadn't existed for him.

An hour had passed, and then a choking laugh echoed.

The air stilled and the area trembled. Space bent and time stuttered. The long cold corpse glowed an unnatural blue light, and then melted away.

"That bastard killed me. Hahahahah! I cant wait to dance with him again!"

One eye was purple with rings and the other was a pale milky white. Blind. The young teen chuckled darkly as he rose a hand over his blind eye.

"Creation of All Things."

A brief pulse and the hand was removed to reveal the same ringed pattern as its counterpart.

A bonsai tree, small and trimmed on the windowsill, grew single long thin branch that changed into a fully grown wooden Shadow duplicate of Izuku, one that had been watching the whole event.

The duplicate reached out to Izuku, and poured energy into him. The cold warmth of chakra was tinged with something.

The clone crumbled away and Izuku howled darkly with insane laughter.

"Hahahaha! I must really thank him for the song and dance. It's a shame I cant kill him yet. In due time. In due time. First, I will break his organization. His peers. His followers. His disciples. His students. All of them will burn."

Izuku's eyes glowed with an ominous intent. His chest burned and energy exploded. He looked in the mirror and grinned with a dark madness.

For in the mirror, his chest glowed with all the quirks that All For One had.

End Chapter