Not edited.
I had a lot to go over. Too much. I started with Cinder and her group, then the whole League of Villains, and finally the Travelers. I was talking for almost an hour; it was lucky Lunch-Rush brought enough bottles of water for me to drink, or my throat would have been completely parched.
"And finally, we come to the last member of the Travelers." I continued, licking my lips.
"Noel Meinhardt, the leader of the Travelers," Nezu said, nodding. I hummed softly.
"Exactly, but he's not... exactly their leader completely. He's cunning, maybe even a natural strategist if his skills in group video game tournaments translate to the real world, but those skills aren't what got him chosen as leader."
"He's the leader because his whole group formed around helping him," I said, frowning. "What do they know about the 'Quirk Singularity' theory?" I asked simply.
"A theory that suggests that the more generations and quirks are mixed, the more complex and powerful they become, eventually evolving to a point where the user can no longer control them," Nezu said immediately. I raised an eyebrow at him. "I came across the theory while searching for the name of Garaki Kyudai, its first theorist," Nezu confessed.
"Exactly." I nodded. "And well, it's true." I said with a grimace. "In fact, it's been proven several times, as the fourth user of One For All." I pointed, looking at All Might.
"Her? Hikage Shinomori?" All Might asked in surprise, and I nodded.
"Yes, Hikage -"
"Wait a minute, before we continue, what is One For All?" Taylor interrupted me. I stopped and looked at All Might, who looked at Izuku, who simply smiled and nodded.
"Very well, One For All is the name of my quirk," All Might said without hesitation. This made the girls next to me and Todoroki, who were the only ones who didn't know, widen their eyes. "My quirk is like a sacred torch, passed from one wielder to another, the power to accumulate power and transmit it to the next generation. That is One For All," All Might said grandly.
"That... is truly amazing power." Todoroki murmured in shock, All Might nodded.
"It is. It is an honor and a responsibility to have this power, which has been passed down through so many people, guarded and kept safe, polished for generations until it reached me," All Might said without hesitation.
"How many... how many people inherited One For All?" Azula asked, frowning.
"I am the eighth user, Izuku is the ninth. My... my mother was the seventh." All Might said, completely honest.
"Is it biological?" Ruby asked, confused. All Might shook his head.
"No, it's... just a coincidence. We, the users, have the task of finding a successor to pass on this power, someone we believe is worthy. Luckily for me, my mother deemed me worthy enough to inherit OFA, and I found the same in Izuku, not because he's my son. I was completely impartial when choosing."
"One For All... is a burden, a responsibility. I wouldn't have burdened my son with that weight if I hadn't found him worthy, if he hadn't shone brighter than any of the other options," All Might said, completely serious. Izuku blushed deeply.
"I... I don't know Midoriya very well, so I can't really comment, but... I... I can't help but notice the similarity of his name to the villain you fought yesterday, All For One." Darkness said seriously, and All Might nodded.
"That's because they share the same origin," All Might said seriously. "The first user of One For All was none other than All For One's younger brother," All Might revealed solemnly. "One For All and All For One can be traced back to the very beginning of Quirks."
"As you know, All For One steals quirks and makes them her own, but she can also transfer them to others. She had a younger sister, small and frail, but with a strong sense of justice. She stood up to her older sister, but she was weak."
"Her sister forced a power-storage quirk upon her, whether out of kindness or to control her, we don't know. But... what All For One didn't know is that the younger sister already had a quirk... a small, insignificant quirk... the ability to transfer that power to others."
"So both quirks, the one that stores power and the one that transfers it, merged, and that's the origin of what we call One For All. For generations, that power was passed down from person to person, entrusting their power to the next generation, so that one day, someone will be able to stop evil once and for all."
"I... was the successor who would finally defeat her, but as you know... that didn't happen. Even after killing her twice, it seems she keeps coming back," All Might said bitterly. We all fell silent. I made a deep face.
" The first user was named Yoichi Shigaraki," I said, breaking the silence. All Might's eyes widened slightly.
"That's right... you... you used her face to confuse All For One. You saw it." All Might pointed without hesitation, and I nodded.
"I saw her... All For One, her past, not all of it, but... her birth, her early years, and her hunting of One For All users. She... All For One, was born to a homeless woman who died giving birth by a river. Even inside the womb, AFO consumed most of the nutrients, causing the younger sister to be born weak."
"AFO even stole her mother's unknown quirk, Spear Bones, the first quirk she ever stole. A year later... the Luminescent baby was born in China and the quirks became known." I said with a grimace.
"200 years." Taylor murmured in surprise, I nodded.
"There's... a lot to tell about All For One and none of it is good. She imprisoned her younger sister because she saw her as her 'first' possession in the world. Even if she was weak, she was still 'hers,' so she wouldn't let her go."
"AFO committed many atrocities during her youth, even years later. She was even the one who killed the Luminescent baby and stole its quirk when she had gained millions of supporters." I said with a frown, which made everyone's eyes widen, even All Might's.
"That... I had no idea about that," All Might said, surprised. I nodded.
" And I'm sure only the sisters knew about that, since AFO boasted about her feat to Yoichi." I sighed wearily. "But as I was saying, the fourth user... when she inherited One For All, her quirk increased so much that it took its toll on her body; she died of old age at 40."
"Her body couldn't withstand the power of One For All and deteriorated, and the same thing was happening to Meinhardt. His quirk... is an abomination." I spat with a grimace.
"So bad?" Nezu asked solemnly. I nodded.
"So much so, that I hate the idea of thinking he's under AFO's control, more than AFO's ability to steal quirks." he snorted irritably.
"Just say it already." Shigaraki growled, and I rolled my eyes.
"Meinhardt has the ability to consume people and create clones from them. If someone touches him, clones of that person emerge—stronger, with twisted personalities, and loyal only to Meinhardt. Each clone created gains a variation of the original's quirk." I said solemnly, and I could see everyone turn completely pale.
"That sounds awful," Aizawa murmured before closing his eyes. "How... how sure are you about that?" Aizawa asked, almost pleading. I grimaced.
"Almost certainly, they became villains to find a cure for Meinhardt. As I said, his quirk was out of control, sometimes... he would lose control, he would start craving meat to increase his mass, his body would begin to mutate and grow exponentially."
"He starts to lose control and create clones at an alarming rate. He can create clones almost indefinitely as long as he's in contact. There's no defense; even an S-Rank would be cloned if Meinhardt touched him. To think that AFO has something like that up his sleeve..." I shuddered slightly, a feeling echoed by several of them.
"What do you mean by twisted personality of the clones? Do they have any weaknesses? Does Meinhardt himself have any?" asked the grandfather immediately, I sighed.
"Twisted in the sense that they are designed to hate their original and have an uncontrollable desire to destroy everything that matters to their original." I said with a grimace, and everyone, once again, shuddered.
"And AFO has something like that." All Might said, clenching his fists.
"But I don't use it during a fight," Nezu pointed out.
"Maybe she was saving it for another day, or maybe she just won't be able to control it?" Grandpa asked as she looked at me, and I hummed softly.
" Hmm, from what I saw of Kyudai and AFO, they both believed that AFO also had a limit to the amount of quirk she was able to contain, although well... that limit was in the thousands, or maybe there's a bad interaction between that quirk and all the others." I said while shrugging.
"Unfortunately, we don't have any definite answers; we just want to prepare for the occasion," Nezu said, frustrated. "Would that be all the members of the AFO group?" Nezu asked, sounding tired.
"Of the ones I saw... yes, it should be all of them," I said, frowning. "No, wait, there are others, but these ones you should be careful with. I saw them working with Cinder, but I have no idea if it's happened or not. One of them is a person named Hazel or something similar. He or she has a pain insensitivity quirk and applies elemental Dust all over their body to enhance themselves."
"The other is a thin-looking man or woman, half-mad with a mutation that gives them a scorpion tail, and a quirk that allows them to remove the target's aura. And... I think no one else ?" I said with a grimace, Nezu nodded.
"We'll find them," Nezu said directly. "Now let's get to the most important matter: Kyudai Garaki and how he's keeping All For One alive," he said solemnly.
"Finally!" Shigaraki growled, and I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"You stayed much calmer than I expected." I teased her, Shigaraki tried to shrug.
"I may hate this whole briefing, and I hate that there isn't a skip button, but I'm terribly bored tied to a chair, so this is all I 've got." Shigaraki grunted before snorting. "Besides, I'm really curious to know who the damn idiots were who replaced me and tried to kill me."
"When I'm finally free, I'll go and kill them myself." Shigaraki growled hatefully.
"And if you want to achieve that, you must stay at UA. You no longer have Decay ; you have to get used to your new quirk." Gran Torino said boredly. I blinked.
"Should I take away Decay ?" I asked curiously; now, that was news to me. Shigaraki scoffed.
"Didn't you see that coming?" Shigaraki mocked. "I'm taking it away because of you. Now I have the useless quirk I was born with, my dear grandmother's," Shigaraki said sarcastically. I blinked before shrugging.
"Well, I mean, that's better than a quirk broken in half." I said honestly, and Shigaraki froze.
"What?" I asked, confused, and hummed.
" Decay... is a copy of another quirk called Overhaul, which grants the ability to disassemble and then reassemble matter with one's hands. Garaki... obtained the user's blood and modified the quirk solely so that it is capable of destruction."
"That... that quirk, the one with the restoration component removed, was created solely for destruction. That's Decay," I said honestly. Shigaraki's eyes widened slightly.
"That damn thing." Gran Torino growled, clenching his fists. I sighed wearily.
"Returning to the topic of Garaki, I... I suppose I should explain what a vestige is, a vestige... is an echo of the consciousness of its bearer, if the gift is transferred, whether by stealing it or inheriting it, a vestige will appear in the consciousness of the new bearer."
"The vestiges... can communicate with the carriers in some cases, they can interact with the carrier's consciousness. AFO... AFO's consciousness and will were so immense, so full of hatred, that it suppressed all the vestiges and kept them at bay."
"That's what we used to defeat her; we awakened the Vestiges within her, so that they would rebel and disable her quirks from the inside."
"The problem is that AFO only had a copy of her quirk throughout the entire fight; her true quirk, along with a vestige of her consciousness, is in Garaki's hands. The moment Garaki finds a successor capable of withstanding AFO's quirk, she will implant it in their body."
"Once AFO is in the new body, the vestige will awaken, and the vestige will have so much willpower that it will be able to suppress the original consciousness and take over the new body, essentially bringing AFO back to life," I said solemnly in one breath.
Everyone turned completely pale, even Shigaraki clenched her teeth tightly.
"I was the damn successor, wasn't I? I was going to control my body!?" Shigaraki asked while shaking herself, I nodded.
"It would have, if you hadn't confronted it, you would have been subjected to operations to increase your body's resistance and they would have given you AFO, once AFO was inside you, the vestige would take control, it would reveal that it was the one to blame for everything, for giving you Decay, for orchestrating the death of your family and you... you would have lost the will to fight."
"In that tiny instant, AFO consumed you and sealed you inside your body," I said, completely honest. Shigaraki froze for a few seconds before shaking violently.
"I'll kill her! I'll kill that bastard!" Shigaraki growled violently. All Might approached and tried to calm her down. I sighed.
"Do you have any idea where Garaki is? Who will be the next successor?" Nezu asked wearily. I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't see anything else at all," I said ruefully. "All I can say is that unless they find someone inherently strong, the process of adapting the body could take months—at least four months, possibly much longer. I'd even say that AFO won't start moving until March of next year," I said with a grimace. Nezu sighed.
"That helps, thanks," Nezu said, massaging his temple. "Anything else?" Nezu asked. I rubbed my eyes lightly.
"No? Yes? Maybe, I'm probably overlooking something, but with so many things you're talking about, I'm sure I missed it. If I remember anything else, I'll tell you right away." I said honestly, and Nezu nodded.
"Well, I suppose we can end this briefing session, unless someone else has something to add," Nezu said, looking around the room.
"Yes... we should finally get to Dabi." I said with a grimace of resignation; all the adults who had heard the information shuddered violently.
"Yes... we should." Aizawa sighed. "Alright Todoroki, I suppose you still want to know why you're involved in this conversation, right?" Aizawa asked carefully as he looked at his student. Todoroki frowned.
"I thought it was because of my mother," Todoroki said simply. "But I see it has to do with this villain... Dabi, I faced her at the training camp, did something happen?" Todoroki asked, confused.
"partly, but –"
"Dabi is your older sister," I said without hesitation. I could see Aizawa close his eyes tightly. Todoroki's face went blank for a few seconds, as if he hadn't registered the words I'd just said.
"What?" Todoroki asked stupidly.
"Your older sister didn't die in the forest fire. She was injured, but alive. When she recovered, she changed her identity and became Dabi, a villain." I repeated myself. Todoroki finally registered the words and stood up.
"This isn't funny, you're lying," Todoroki said, her voice trembling.
"Young Todoroki," All Might said gently. "We're not joking. We haven't been able to fully confirm it yet, but... everything fits, all the signs point to it. Please remain calm and listen to young Miyamura," All Might said carefully.
"Calm down?!" Todoroki asked incredulously. "Touko is dead!" Todoroki exclaimed in disbelief.
"She's not." I sighed wearily. "Just... listen to me, I really wouldn't joke about something like this." I told Todoroki almost pleadingly. She gritted her teeth as she sat back down, her intense gaze piercing me completely.
And I began to speak. Mostly about Touya 's past, or rather Touko's, as I remembered it. This time I left nothing out. The more I listened, the more ashen Todoroki became.
At one point, she lowered her gaze and covered her face with her hands. I ignored the soft sobs and the few tears that fell to the floor as she continued speaking. Once she finished, we all remained silent, staring at Todoroki.
"I can't tell Mom..." Todoroki finally murmured. "Mom won't be able to stop her... I have to be the one to stop Touko..." Todoroki looked up, her eyes completely red. "I'll bring Touko home, to our family, no matter what it takes." I grimaced.
"Even if it's impossible? Everything I've seen makes me think it's impossible to make Touko give up." I retorted firmly. Todoroki's gaze didn't even waver.
"Even so," she said firmly. "Touko is my sister, I'll bring her back no matter what," Todoroki said. I could see everyone smiling slightly.
"And we'll help you." Izuku said with a huge smile. Todoroki gave a small smile and nodded. I sighed wearily.
" Well, when I see her I won't immediately cut her in half for trying to burn me at least 9 times while I was kidnapped, I'll just cut off one or two of her hands." I mocked with a smile, Todoroki laughed slightly.
"I'm sure you brought this on yourself, but still, thanks, Miyamura," Todoroki said playfully before sighing wearily.
" Ugh, feelings." Shigaraki grumbled, ruining the moment. I huffed and ignored her.
"Well, you... you can do whatever you want with the information, you can tell your family, but... I would wait to tell Endeavor... you can tell the rest of your family, but your mother... that might be more difficult." I said with a grimace, Todoroki nodded.
"I was already planning it. I'll talk to Dad and my brothers about it." Todoroki said simply, and I nodded.
"Alright, now that we're done with that, we need to talk about one more thing," Nezu said, clapping his hands and changing the subject. "Ryuma announced that you're his grandson, and that news has already spread to literally the entire world. Midoriya is All Might's son. We need to discuss exactly what we're going to tell the public." Nezu said, and I groaned loudly.
"Public relations?" I sighed wearily. Aizawa snorted.
"Unfortunately, yes. All Might... has decided to announce his retirement." Aizawa said, and the students' eyes widened. Izuku simply shuddered as he looked down; he already knew.
"I'm old now, as you know... One For All is inherited, but once the quirk is passed on, the former user no longer has access to that quirk and it only works with... embers, remnants of OFA. It was enough to last for more than a year, but... the fight against AFO completely depleted those embers." All Might said with regret.
"Once he retires, all of Japan will have its eyes on you two. As his descendants and heirs, and having demonstrated such a high level of combat skill and strength, you'll be the center of attention. With Japan losing its two National Ranks, people will have high expectations of you," Aizawa said seriously. I made a face as Izuku paled.
"No one is asking you to do anything you don't want to, but that doesn't change the fact that everyone will be watching you, so we need to come up with a plan," Nezu said with a grimace. I sighed wearily.
"Alright, let's do this." I groaned in pain as I braced myself for this unbearable lecture.
Author's Notes: A promise is a promise! Just like I said, slow chapters! Good news and bad news, one more chapter of this and then the POVs begin!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.