Bakugo had never paid super close attention to the news, but that had changed over the last ten months. Deku was still missing, and they had absolutely no leads on where he could have gone. Bakugo himself was the only reason the investigation hadn't been dropped; he'd found one of Deku's notebooks in his backpack and shown it to the police, convincing them he would be a real danger if left in enemy hands.
Still, though the search yielded no results. The news had been quiet and uninteresting, until last night. A new vigilante had suddenly appeared near Sir Nighteye's hero agency, taking out some thugs before getting into a scuffle with Nighteye himself. Although they tried to paint him in a negative light, the people he'd saved were gushing about his heroism in their interviews. It was obvious that the public already loved him. The most surprising part was that he'd gotten away.
The new vigilante didn't bother hiding his face, and it was obviously not Deku, but still... something about the situation reeked of his convoluted plans and excessive thinking. Bakugo had no idea how it could possibly be related, but watching the events on camera, he just felt in his gut that Deku was somehow involved.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to look into it yet; the U.A. entrance exam was coming up just the day after tomorrow, and he was going to crush it.
* * *
Midoriya still wasn't quite sure how, but he'd gotten away with it. He'd gotten the information All For One needed, so he wasn't punished, but he also came into direct contact with Sir Nighteye successfully. During the encounter, Midoriya had dropped hints during his taunting, subtle enough that anyone other than that particular hero would have most likely missed it.
He'd shown hints of his possession of multiple quirks, vaguely referencing that he served a powerful boss while giving him meaningful looks. He intentionally got close enough for hand-to-hand combat and looked into his eyes, allowing Sir Nighteye to use his quirk on him before letting him go. The hero had done it incredibly skillfully, making it look as though Midoriya had really gotten the better of him, but Midoriya was nearly positive that the pro-hero could have stopped him if he'd wanted to.
All For One didn't trust Midoriya completely, not yet, but he did have confidence in himself to a fault. The leader of the villains was so sure of himself and his skills, he often overlooked small details and mistakes. Due to his raw power, he'd never had to worry about it before, but then again, he'd never had to deal with anyone like Izuku Midoriya before either.
Small details and mistakes. Mistakes like explicitly forbidding Midoriya from helping the heroes fight against him. Mistakes like explicitly forbidding Midoriya from killing him when he got the chance. Those mistakes would catch up to him eventually, Midoriya knew.
When he'd come back, All For One had been wearing a grim smile, like this was exactly what he'd been going for. Midoriya, fully aware that Sir Nighteye's quirk allowed him to see everything he did—and also aware that the man's morality would stop him from looking further than what he needed to know about All For One—made sure to avoid contact with Tomura and Kurogiri until the next day. He still didn't know why he felt a certain fondness for them, but until he figured it out, he only wanted to betray All For One, not the whole team.
A life of vigilantism where he was allowed to save people to his heart's content, as long as he also expanded the League's power in the criminal underworld, was something he could get used to while he developed his plan to kill All For One. Unfortunately, that wasn't the life he was going to get.
"You want me to what?" he said, his voice a disgruntled mix between incredulous and completely done. He had to work to keep Wrath quiet enough to hear All For One's words over his own internal screaming.
"Tomorrow is the entrance exam for U.A., where All Might is teaching this year. I've had Kurogiri construct a background for you, with all of the legal documents and records you might possibly need. You'll be going under the name Michi Hamasaki, and you must be as pure and outstanding as you can. If you can get All Might to pass on One For All to you, even better."
The man paused for a moment before continuing, his normally stoic voice betraying his extreme irritation. "Now, there are somethings that go without saying, but over the last ten months you have taught me that nothing goes without saying for you. Midoriya, you will never under any circumstances reveal anything about the League of Villains."
Even though he almost staggered when he heard he'd been a captive for that long, Midoriya barely refrained from smirking; it was one day too late for that. However, All For One wasn't done. "You will try your best to convince All Might, without being too obvious, to give you One For All. If he offers it to you, you will accept. And, of course, while you are being trained, you will be a true hero. Your natural personality, while difficult to work with and shape into a villain, is the perfect cover for being in a hero school. Save as many people as you can or want, become the shining star of U.A., become an idol. We will use you to destroy All Might and everyone's faith in their heroes at the same time."
Midoriya found himself nodding without his consent. He scowled, mind already racing for loopholes. "This face has already been seen by the public as a vigilante," he realized. "How should I change my appearance?"
"I don't care. Just don't make it recognizable from your vigilante work or as Izuku Midoriya. The exam is tomorrow morning; you'd better get ready."
Midoriya left, heading up the stairs to his room. He assumed he'd either be staying here or he'd be sent to a cover house with some more of All For One's lackeys to pretend to be his parents.
"We're going to hero school!" Izuku cheered in his head. Midoriya rolled his eyes.
"Stop saying "we", it's weird. I'm the same person as you," he said.
"No, you're not," Izuku said. "We share a mind and a body, but... we're not the same. You like revenge too much, and you don't care as much about saving people and being a hero."
Midoriya considered. He'd felt a rush of fulfillment and satisfaction when he'd saved those people from the goons last night, but... was that just Izuku? He stopped, realizing he needed to go back down the stairs and talk to All For One. There was still so much he didn't know and couldn't remember, and he knew the old bastard could tell him at least part of it.
By the time he made it back into the bar, Kurogiri was the only one there, standing behind the counter and cleaning a cup. With his head wreathed in a dark purple shadow while the rest of his body was clad in an elegant suit, he was certainly one of the most professionally intimidating people Midoriya had ever seen.
"Where's All For One?" Midoriya asked. Kurogiri raised an eyebrow.
"You're looking for him?" he asked in surprise. "Why?"
"There's a lot I need to know before going to school. I still don't even know which quirks he forced on me other than the ability to change how I look."
"Ah," the man said in realization. "Well, that is something I can help you with. No need to call him. Firstly, as I'm not sure you remember, you were not quirkless before you came here."
Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't?"
Kurogiri shook his head. "Your quirk was Analysis, though you didn't know how to use it. You used a part of your abilities when you watched the hero fights, but you didn't even unlock a fraction of its potential until All For One forced it out of you with his training. He also gave you the quirk Research as an experiment, because he believes its effect will combine with your analysis to make it exponentially more effective. Unlike Analysis, Research requires a physical touch to activate, and it lets you see information about an individual's quirk and personality.
"Other than that and Disguise to change your looks, the rest of the quirks he gave you are passive. You have Regenerate to improve your healing, Resilience to decrease damage from physical attacks, and Energy Absorption to nullify heat or electricity attacks. He considered giving you Shock Absorption as well, but unfortunately we already have a use for that particular quirk."
Midoriya stared at his hands in confusion. Maybe it was his Analysis quirk working out all of the ways his combination of quirks could be used... he certainly wasn't a heavy hitter, but he could feel the power he wielded all the same. If he could really get All Might to give him One For All, putting an end to All For One with his own hands was suddenly a very reachable goal.
"In all honesty, it's a shock that you didn't turn into a Nomu," Kurogiri admitted. "I've never seen anyone receive so many quirks and come out with their mind intact."
"Sort of intact," Midoriya muttered absentmindedly, imagining the ways a fight could go down against a quirk like Endeavor's. He ignored Izuku's protests against fighting a hero, wanting to test himself all the same. Fire as strong as Endeavor's didn't have many counters. He realized what he'd said when Kurogiri gave him a curious look, but he just shrugged. "I've got issues, but that's to be expected after whatever the bastard did to me. I can't even remember properly, and I'm still scared of him."
Kurogiri said nothing, turning back to his work. Midoriya wondered if he was angry with him for badmouthing All For One, or maybe mad at All For One for what he'd done to Midoriya. Maybe he just didn't care. Without really knowing how deep their bond went, it was impossible to tell.
Midoriya shrugged off his thoughts. He went to a mirror and changed his features once again for his new identity as Michi Hamasaki, giving himself a stronger nose and jawline, wavy, light blue hair, and harsh purple eyes. He thought about going for a more innocent, babyish look, but he worried that would just remind people like Kacchan—who, there was no doubt in Midoriya's mind, would also get accepted—of his actual identity. Besides, if people were busy thinking and talking about the contrast between the dangerous appearance and overly kind personality, they wouldn't be very likely to look any further into his past.
Finally, new identity finished, he went out into the city to test the prowess of his quirks. He wandered the streets, random shops, even the mall despite the awful memories, brushing against random people's shoulders and activating his Research quirk. Kurogiri's explanation of the quirk was probably accurate, but combined with Analysis... All For One had been right to assume they would complement each other. Midoriya—no, he should start thinking of himself as Michi—hated to admit when the man was right, but considering how much it helped him, he was willing to look past it just this once.
He was glad he took this time to practice; if he'd tried to use it for the first time during combat, he would have been overwhelmed and lost immediately. Just with a slight brush against their shoulder, he could see their emotional state, any old injuries, their quirk, as well as its uses, weaknesses, and more. Until he got more practice, though, he would just focus on reading those specific aspects to avoid getting overwhelmed.
All too soon, the day was coming to an end. He thought about making another appearance as a vigilante—he knew he was all over the news and that excited him, though he wasn't sure if they'd given him a name yet. In the end, though, he decided that it would be a much better idea to get some sleep. He wasn't sure what to expect from the exam tomorrow, and he needed to be ready for anything.