Breaking a promise

Chapter 68: The masters and the mother (Part 1)

Darkness was pierced by the moon and twinkling stars. He was lying down on his back.
Wait, was he knocked out?
He was just fighting the league and his girlfriend.
Deku sat upright and looked around him. There were trees and a nearby creek drew his ears.
"Midoriya!"
He knew that voice. There was only one woman who had a voice like that.
Dressed as most knew her in the famous hero costume was All Might's master and the seventh wielder of one for all.
Nana Shimura.
"What happened? Where are we?" He asked; except nothing came out of his mouth. There was a black cloudy mass covering it, similar to black whip.
"I'll explain everything once we're with the others; come on."
"The others?" He thought as the young hero stumbled to his feet.
She was already walking along a moonlit trail in the woods.
And floating at the same time.
"You are facing a massive crisis that has endangered all of us. Not since All for One have we encountered such a dangerous quirk to One for All."
They passed several trees with unusual markers beside them.
Those indicated graves.
"You're probably wondering what this place is; we'll this is essentially the afterlife but don't worry," she said with a grin, "you're not dead exactly ."
"Exactly?" He thought alarmed.
"This woman you are fighting, Jakuchō Hara or 'Queen Roach', has a quirk that dances on the border of death. Officially its called augmentation but but in reality it can turn people into rotting zombies with a mind controlled mentality."
The forest revealed a clearing lit by what appeared to be a campfire. Surrounding it were five figures and two pillars of the same cloudy material that covered his mouth. Some stood while the rest sat on stone stools.
"Found him." She said.
The one who wielded black whip spoke.
"I'll cut straight to the chase; Ninth holder of one for all, we've been having a lot of trouble lately with fighting off this villain's quirk. Every time that she has been using it, her targets become almost like-"
"I already explained to him what it does," Shimura interrupted.
"Right, each time she has used it, one of us is infected and attacks everyone else here. That's why you haven't been taken over yet. Its been hard when we're fighting each other."
Midoriya was still standing there with everyone else sitting by that point. It was startling to only learn of that situation then and how severe it was. So all of the previous wielders of One for all were also vulnerable to what happened to Kendo?
Then what was happening right now?
"As you may see, none of us are currently under control of augmentation. That means that you are instead." Shimura said. "One for all is being controlled by someone else. Or rather it is rogue."
******
The bed was soft and warm. She found a blanket covering her with a gentle pillow cradling her head. The room itself was cozy with a window letting in some light and clear of any dust.
Kendo sat upright in realization of her setting. She had just been kicked by her boyfriend while captured and falling under that mind control quirk. There were no more blue flames swirling around them or any signs of the villains being there.
"Itsuka, how are you feeling?" A voice asked.
"Gram-Gram? How did I get back here? Wait am I dead!?" She replied frantically.
Her grandmother entered the room. She bore a slight smile on her face.
"I didn't expect you to come back here so soon. And don't worry, I don't believe that you are deceased. But your mind is injured."
Kendo tried to get out of the bed but the elder stopped her. Instead she sat next to the confused teenager.
"I have seen you suffer so much lately. It pains me to see someone near and dear to me and so young be put through so much already. But I know that you are strong and I have come to give you something."
"But how did I get here? Last time I was in the woods and you brought me here."
"Where you appear depends on the events in life. I cannot explain all of that right now but I want you to learn about a secret that runs in the family. Tell me, do you recall what happened to you before you came here?"
Kendo sighed and thought about Midoriya kicking her with all the energy of his quirk.
"He struck me in self defense...."
"No no, that was not self defense. He has come under the same quirk that you have suffered from before."
She thought and remembered his final words to her.
I'm sorry Itsuka!
He knew what was happening to him.
"What's happened to Izuku?"
"He was ordered to kill you, as you were to kill him."
"But I'm here now! Wouldn't that mean he succeeded?!"
"He has not killed you; instead you're are fighting him with everything you got. But your mind was freed to come here. And I'm going to help you return."
"But what will happen to him once I come around? Do I still fight him?"
"Patience Itsuka, I will explain everything to you soon enough."
*******
"AWAKEN DOCTOR!"
He jumped to his feet. A booming female voice rattled every bone in his body.
"who...who's there?"
"I AM SADAKO."
"Where are you?"
"I AM EVERY WHERE ALL THE TIME. WHETHER YOU ARE DOING YOUR ACTS OF CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, DREAMING OF MORE AND TAKING WEAK AND MEANINGLESS BREATHS, I AM THERE." The voiced boom from the darkness.
"what.....what do you want from me."
"YOU HAVE BROUGHT SUFFERING TO A GREAT PART OF ME AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY OF IT. FOR THAT I HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE TO HEAR YOUR CONSEQUENCES."
"But I just met you, how can I-"
The gigantic head of a black hair woman appeared before him, floating and towering over the trembling Ujiko.
"THE GIRL KNOWN AS AKANE, SHE HAS BEEN GIFTED A GREAT POWER TO HELP ALL , MY FINAL TRIBUTE BEFORE MY PASSING. AND NOW YOU SEEK TO TAKE THAT POWER TO BRING HARM INSTEAD!"
"You-you m-mean her-I mean she-she is your.....daughter?"
"AKANE IS MY ONLY CHILD AND YOU HAVE HARMED HER AND THUS HARMED ME! FOR THAT I CONDEMN YOU! FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS SHALL FALL ALONG WITH YOU IN LESS THAN A MONTH! YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED IN CAPTURING THE POWER OF MY DAUGHTER AND USING IT FOR FOOLISH PURPOSES!"
"No-no please! I have so much left to do in the world of quirks! My research is vitally imp-"
"SPEAK NO MORE! YOU WILL RELEASE HER NOW AND DO NOT THREATEN OR STRIKE HER EVER IN THE TIME YOU HAVE LEFT!"
"I beg you please! There is so much to learn from quirks in general and I-I don't want to die so soon!"
"THERE IS A PRICE TO BE PAID FOR YOUR COWARDICE AND IT WILL BE PAID IN FULL. NOW GO AND FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTION."
The floating head faded into the darkness; still terrified he cowered as he felt like he was disappearing from existence.