(How To)Forgive and Forget

Don't You Realize?(You're More Precious Than You Know)

"You can't be serious about this." Seven says, her dark eyes pleading as she tries to reason with him. "He's All For One."

Nine is perched on the arm of the empty chair, watching the Holders with wary eyes. It made sense they didn't like this. They had every reason not to trust him, but they couldn't exactly do anything to stop him(aside from limiting his access to their Quirks, but that would be more of a blessing than anything).

"Don't bother, that bastard has already won him over." Six spits out, glaring at him with intense orange eyes. "Two centuries of hard work, undone by a childish brat."

No one has any sort of response to that.

The white haired boy shifts, watching them all from under his curls as they lapse into silence tinged in hopelessness.

"You think I'm betraying you." He states tonelessly, earning a glare from Six and several incredulous looks from others.

"Of course we do."

Nine presses his lips together, fingers intertwining around his knees.

"That's fine. I don't trust you, and I haven't done anything to earn your trust either. But I need to do this, with or without your approval, and All For One is my best bet right now. I don't have any other viable options that don't end in the situation escalating out of my control."

"We can find another way to do this, Nine. We can brainstorm, think of ways to deal with this other than resort to All For One." Fourth speaks up, hints of desperation tinting his kind tone.

"Let us help you. We might not have trust, but we can work together and build up a stable relationship. With us at your back, you'd make a good hero. The best, even." Seven steps forwards, resting her hand on his knee.

He pauses, knuckles whitening as he looks away from her kind eyes. She's nice. Too nice for someone who'd taught the delusional asshole that is Eight.

"I don't know if I'll even be able to legally become a hero after this, Nana. As much as I want to change society, her safety and security comes first. I need a well paying job, and with how recognizable I am, it's going to be hard enough to blend in with my coworkers. And even if I did try to be a vigilante, wouldn't the timing be extremely suspicious? I can't get arrested, Nana. Plus all of my information on the illegal weapons trafficking is decades out of date..." He sighs, standing up and running a hand through his hair. "Let's face it, I'm just not meant to be a hero, much less the Ninth."

It's quiet, his words echoing through the crumbling room and back into the void speckled with thousands of stars.

"I can't give you to someone that might actually be able to use you in case All For One turns his interest to them before they unlock all of your Quirks." He says, starting to pace. "Hell, if I did pass you on, I'd have to hide it from All Might too, otherwise he'd try to interfere. So I'd have two powerful people breathing down my neck while I'm trying to train a Tenth, and I'd have to hide my declining power from them both, which would be close to impossible. Both of them have the capacity to manipulate or kill myself and the new Holder before we even get past mastering the base strength Quirk, which is just—"

The white haired boy cuts himself off with an exasperated sound, tugging at his hair as his pacing becomes faster, more frantic.

"If I keep One For All, I'd be holding onto something I may never use, and it has the potential to help someone flourish and become a good hero, one that could help change the system and eliminate rampant discrimination in Japan. But I don't know anyone who would be willing to take One For All if they knew all of the baggage and danger that comes with it, and if I lie to get Ten to take it, then I'd be just as bad as All Might! And even if I did manage to find someone willing to take One For All, I'd need to stay close to them to make sure they don't have to deal with receiving your Quirks and memories alone, which would bring more suspicion on me and that person. So I'd have to keep their training secretive but thorough, and make sure they don't slack off or get a big head because they have access to so much power, which is hard considering the studies from known psychology professors about how power affects people—"