𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬? (𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

68

Quick little note before the chapter starts, skip it if you don't want some kinda sappy crap.

I can't believe that it's finished after so long. I struggled with this chapter for DAYS, trying to decide if it was good or not. In the end, I stopped fighting myself and just went the way that I liked, and I hope you guys like it too. If you don't, too bad.

Because this was the first thing I've ever written outside of school, I never expected to receive as much love and support as I have. I'm so incredibly grateful and I love all of you so much. Everyone who's been here since the beginning, I give you extra thanks because my writing was ROUGH when this first started. I appreciate that you found the strength to keep going.

The first chapter of Loveless (Dabi x Reader) will be uploaded within the next couple of weeks. I'm super excited for you guys to read it!

Again, I love you all so much. And without further ado, enjoy the final chapter of Any Last Words!

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Your body was overcome by the powerful sensation rushing through your veins. Your sight, your smell, they were gone, you could sense nothing other than All For One's power beginning to take root. You fought, with every ounce of strength that you could muster, you fought, but it quickly became clear that it was no use.

Were you screaming? You felt stinging in your throat but could hear nothing over the sound of your thundering pulse and the ringing in your ears.

The power began to spread, tearing through every fiber, every cell within your body and replacing it with one of its own. The pain was unlike any other that you'd felt before, and it only worsened as you continued to fight against it. The power grew, not stopping even when your body reached the point where it could hold no more. It continued even as you became sure that you would burst.

Your physical limits were broken, time and time again in a matter of seconds. The torture you'd endured during the month you'd spent in captivity paled in comparison to what was happening to you right now. The power clawed at your resolve, using needle-sharp talons to rip it away piece by piece until you could bear the pain no longer.

And you gave in.

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Bakugou's POV:

There was nothing he could do.

No matter how hard he fought against Shinsou's quirk, no matter how badly he wanted to run forward as he watched you collapse onto the ground, he could do nothing other than what he was told.

Scooping the crying girl into his arms, Bakugou ran. He ran past the villains, through the doorway leading to the outside, and he didn't stop running even as your screams filled the air, the sound filled with such raw, immense, pain that he could feel pierce through his chest.

Eri struggled in his arms, "we need to go back! Don't leave her there just to save me, please!"

Bakugou didn't respond, only holding her tighter as he continued running to the car parked up ahead. He needed to focus on getting Eri somewhere safe. Once he did that, he would have done what Shinsou said and could begin forming a plan to get you back.

The muscles in his legs began to burn as he pushed himself to run faster. He'd made it to the dirt road and each step he took caused his foot to sink into the sand, but he refused to let himself be slowed down.

The car was thankfully in the same place where it had been left, and there were no signs of tampering, All For One seemed to be genuine about his promise to let him and Eri leave. He'd gotten what he wanted, so there wasn't a point in doing anything else.

By the time he got to the car, Eri had given up on her fight. She'd seemed to realize that he wasn't gonna let her go, or respond to any of her questions. Bakugou could tell she was exhausted. She'd probably been too terrified to sleep for even a moment while with the villains. Now she lay still in his arms, sniffling softly.

He took an extra second to make sure that she was buckled in securely and then quickly sat in the driver's seat and activated the child locks in case she got a second burst of energy and decided to jump out of the car in an attempt to go back and save you.

Starting the car, he wracked his brain for places to go. Somewhere safe, where would that be? UA was out of the question, last he heard it was closed, so no heroes, but even if it had opened back up in the time he was gone, there was a good chance that the villains would launch an attack there first.

The third-year with the weird eyes would probably be a good bet, Eri liked him and he was strong enough to protect her if needed, but he didn't have any idea where the guy lived. Maybe someone in his class could help? Or he could try and get in touch with All Might and-

No, he knew somewhere Eri could go, and he cursed at himself for not thinking of it immediately. It was somewhere that she'd be comfortable and be around someone who he knew without a doubt would protect her no matter what.

Pressing down on the gas pedal Bakugou started for his destination, if he drove fast enough it would take him less than a couple of hours to get there. It was still early, but he knew that it wouldn't matter to the person he was taking her to.

Eri fell silent after about an hour, the events she'd suffered finally seeming to catch up to her. The girl slept with her head against the window, and Bakugou hoped that she'd sleep until they got to their destination, she deserved to wake up somewhere safe and comfortable after everything, and emotionally, he didn't know if he could handle having her awake and begging him to go back for you again. If only she knew how badly he wanted to do that, but even if it weren't for Shinsou, you never would have forgiven him if Eri had been hurt because of his refusal to leave.

He'd been able to see the similarities between you and her right when you'd introduced her to him after his performance at the festival. He'd seen how the two of you could relate to each other, and how Eri had looked at you with such awe. It was obvious that she looked up to you.

But now, as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror, he could see even more how alike the two of you were. She'd been willing to give herself back to the villains to save you, just as you'd done for her. It was a self-destructive trait, one that he hated, but it was honorable.

After a drive that seemed to take forever, Bakugou finally pulled the car into the parking area of the apartment complex. He hastily parked and went to get Eri out of her seat, he undid her seatbelt and picked her up, trying to be gentle so he wouldn't wake her. She stirred a bit but laid her head on his shoulder and continued sleeping.

It took a few minutes to find the exact apartment he was looking for, but when he finally came across the right number, he didn't hesitate to knock.

Bakugou waited, the chilled air caressing his skin while he tried to remain patient. He had no choice but to make sure Eri was safe, he only had to wait a little longer before he could start planning.

Unfortunately, patience wasn't Bakugous' strong suit, especially at a time like this. He went to knock again, but the door opened just before his fist could connect.

Inko Midoriya stood in the doorway wearing her nightclothes, a worried expression on her face as if she was expecting someone else.

When she saw Bakugou with Eri in his arms, her expression quickly changed to surprised, then back to worried. "Katsuki? Why on Earth are you here so early, is everything alright?"

"No, something's happened. I need to talk to Deku."

Inko opened the door wider, gesturing for him to come inside. "Izuku is at UA with the rest of the students. Classes started up again two days ago. Shouldn't you be there too? Tell me what's going on, honey."

Great, he'd planned on leaving Eri with Deku and also asking him some questions, why had UA even opened again with All For One on the loose?

He'd need to go there now, hopefully, he could catch Deku before being spotted by any of the teachers. He stepped closer to Inko, speaking desperately. "I need you to take care of this girl for a little while. She's been through a lot lately and I need to make sure that she's safe before I can go. I know this is all really weird and sudden, but please." Bakugou heard his voice break slightly, "I need help."

Inko stepped closer and looked at where Eri's head rested on his shoulder. "Is that the girl Izuku told me about? The one who he helped save?"

He nodded, "she's just lost a lot of people. I'll talk to Deku and have him come back here to be with her, she's gonna need someone to help her through everything and Deku's a hero to her. But, for now, can you take care of her?"

Inko still looked a little confused, but her voice was soft and warm, and she didn't hesitate to answer. "Of course I can, here." She held out her arms and Bakugou handed Eri to her, relieved that the girl still didn't wake up.

Inko held Eri, and Bakugou knew he'd made the right choice in coming here even if Deku wasn't present. He'd known this woman for most of his childhood and she'd always been extremely caring and protective. Eri would be in good hands.

He felt something in his mind release, and Bakugou turned back to the door. "I've gotta go, but thank you." The clock was ticking, the two of you had already been separated for hours now, so much could've happened.

"Katsuki," Inko called after him, he paused and looked back. "I don't know what's going on, but please be safe. I know your mom is worried to death."

His mom, god, all he could do was hope she stayed where she was. He knew Inko spoke with good intentions, but he couldn't afford to think about anyone else right now. The only thing on his mind was you. "Thanks again," he said to her.

He shut the door and went back to the car, he turned it on and began to drive much more recklessly than he had when Eri was in the backseat.

UA was open again, which meant that there would be pro-heroes who could potentially help him. He just needed to explain the whole story, then they would understand.

Bakugou drove as fast as he could, cutting through back roads and completely disregarding the speed limit. Who knew what could be happening to you right now? Had the power already taken root, or would it take more time? Once it did take root, what would happen, what would they make you do? If it were up to him, he would have gone directly back to the villains' hideout, but because of the brainwashing, it was impossible.

He arrived in front of class 1-A's dorm building, surprised that the school gates had been left open. It was odd, but he didn't need to think about it, he needed to get inside the building. His classmates would defend him if the heroes tried to act on the fact that Bakugou was technically a wanted criminal right now, he needed to talk to them first.

He ran inside, knowing that he wouldn't have much time until a teacher arrived. The patrol guards would have sensed or heard him by now. Bakugou's first thought was to go to Deku's room, but when he arrived in the main common room, he was stopped in his tracks.

The entire class was there, sitting close to one another as they spoke in whispered voices. Kirishima, Kaminari, all of your friends were there as well even though you'd told them to leave.

It looked like a meeting of some kind, a secret meeting. Todoroki had a small flame coming from his hand to allow the students to see whatever they were looking at. Bakugou took a step closer and Kirishima looked up, his eyes going wide. "Bakugou?"

The whole class looked up in surprise and Kaminari shook his head. "What are you doing here? We thought you two were on some super-secret mission or something. We were all just coming up with a plan to come and find you guys and help."

Bakugou stared, they'd been planning to come and help? Even though they would put themselves at the risk of being arrested? He looked down. "Something happened, and I guess it's good that you guys were already planning on it because I do need your help."

Ashido stood up, her face falling as she looked at the area where Bakugou stood. "Where is she?"

The others seemed to realize what she meant, and they all looked at him worriedly.

He knew what their reactions would be, but they needed to know so that they could start planning immediately. There was no time for warm reunions.  "She turned herself over to All For One."

A collective gasp came from his classmates, and they all began frantically asking different questions. Ashido began shaking her head, "no, she wouldn't do that, not after everything she's been through."

"They took Eri as a hostage, we tried to go with another way, but we were tricked. She... she willingly took his power in exchange for All For One letting Eri and I go." He felt the prick of tears behind his eyes as he remembered your last words to him, how badly he'd failed to protect you... again.

Deku came to the front of the group. "Is Eri ok?"

He nodded, blinking away the tears, "yeah. You and I need to talk, actually."

Before he could say anything else, the sound of the building's door opening peaked everyone's attention. Todoroki extinguished the flame in his hand, but the teachers were carrying flashlights, and the light outside was too bright to keep any of them concealed anyway.

Bakugou turned and came face to face with All Might, who was followed by Principal Nezu, who'd apparently been released from jail after the news of Shinsou had been broken.

"It's quite early," All Might stated. "And, young Bakugou, I do believe that we have a rule against fugitives on campus."

Bakugou gave him a determined look, "I'm not leaving until you listen to what I have to tell you." Former number one hero or not, he'd stand his ground against All Might and whatever other people tried to get in his way.

Principal Nezu stepped up, "I'm afraid that we already know what is going on. Present Mic recently arrived on campus, quite injured, but he informed us of the situation." He sighed sadly, "and your presence has confirmed our worst fear. Am I right in assuming that Y/N has turned herself over in exchange for the young girls' life?"

Bakugou nodded, still looking at All Might. "You can arrest me later-"

"No one is arresting anyone, young Bakugou." All Might put his hand on his shoulder, "although there are things that need to be worked out, we all share the same goal right now, and that is to put a stop to All For One. We need you to tell us what happened."

Principal Nezu walked to the group of students behind where Bakugou was standing and began to speak to them. All Might looked at Bakugou expectantly, and soon a look of pity appeared on his face.

Bakugou kept trying to keep the tears at bay, but they annoyingly reappeared each time he wiped them away. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't keep quiet and it led to her taking his power. I was so stupid and helpless. They were hurting her, it was hurting her and all I could do was run away like a coward."

All Might guided Bakugou into the empty dining area and sat both of them down, calling for Deku to follow. "Give yourself a moment, you've just gone through quite the ordeal. Tell me the details whenever you're ready."

'Whenever he was ready' as if they could afford to sit here and do nothing for any longer than they already had.

Reigning in his emotions and schooling his face back to neutrality, Bakugou began to explain the details of what had happened. He told them mostly everything, disregarding the more personal sides of the story. He explained Hawks' involvement, Dabi and Togas attack, meeting with Giran (excluding the torture part), all of the significant events that had led to your acceptance of All For One.

When he was done, Bakugou looked between All Might and Deku, who both seemed to have been rendered speechless. "The two of you are users of One For All, that quirk was originated from All For One. Do you have any ideas about what's gonna happen to her? How the transfer might work?"

All Might processed everything that he'd been told and then thought for a moment. "It will likely take at least a couple of days before All For One's power can completely merge with her. Once it does, she will be significantly stronger."

"Will she also inherit all of the quirks that All For One has stolen?" Deku asked.

"It's hard to say because this power has never been passed to another, we have no way of knowing whether or not the previous users' quirks will come with it, but it would be best to act on the assumption that they will."

"Couldn't that kill her, though?" Deku looked down at himself. "I had to go through months of rigorous training to prepare my body for One For All's power, All For One would require at least ten times that."

Bakugou shook his head, "because of her quirk, her body's already been built to handle multiple quirks. The only drawback was that she couldn't use multiple at a time. But I'm betting that that's why All For One chose a partner so specifically so that his successor wouldn't have as high of a risk of not surviving the quirk transfer."

"Yes, he formulated his plan quite meticulously," All Might agreed. "We will need to contact a group of pro-heroes as soon as possible. If we can get to the villains before the quirk can be transferred completely, there is a chance that we can put a stop to it, or at least contain it."

Bakugou gritted his teeth, "it? You do realize that we aren't just talking about All For One now. She is the holder of this power. I agree that we need to call in the pros, but the goal is to defeat the villains and get her to safety. That's it."

The heroes didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to situations that involved you. And now that you possessed All For One's power, what was to stop them from trying to end you permanently along with the quirk that had plagued society for so long?

"Of course, I'm sure all of the pros will agree that her life is our top priority." All Might turned to Deku. "There is a small chance that the girl will awaken before we can get to her, and inside of that chance is the possibility that All For One will make her come after you, young Midoriya. Although I do believe that All For One's plans have strayed from the need to steal One For All, I want you just to be extra safe, but I no longer believe that obtaining your power is his goal."

"Why would he change his plans? Hasn't his goal been to steal One For All this entire time?" Deku asked.

"He has planned to steal One For All and crush the hero society with its power. The stealing bit would be unnecessary if he no longer needed One For All's strength."

"Why wouldn't he need-"

Bakugou lifted his head in realization, "because he has something that outmatches that strength. That's why he had her, why he was so precise when planning for a powerful successor." He looked at All Might, "you saw her obliterate that Nomu, the one that was designed to go against you, and you've seen her fight plenty of other times. She's surpassed you, All Might, which means that her strength has surpassed that of One For All's too. That's why All For One was so desperate to have her as his successor, why he wouldn't give it to anyone else. She was the only person who could complete his plan without the use of One For All."

All of what you'd gone through, the loss, the captivity, the torture, the life-threatening battles that constantly seemed to find their way to you, all of it had been a part of All For One's plan to increase your strength, to ensure that you would be the perfect successor when the time arose.

All Might pondered, "it would make sense."

Bakugou looked to Deku, "I know you're gonna want to be all heroic and be a part of this fight, but I left Eri with your mom. There's no telling whether or not the villains may try and get to Eri again and use her as a way to keep Y/N compliant, you need to be there to protect them."

Deku's focus shifted quickly. "Eri and my mom? Why would you leave them together?"

"I thought that you would be there, I didn't know if UA was open, I didn't know if Present Mic was alive, I didn't know much of anything and you were the only one I could think of. Eri has been through some major shit recently and now she just had to watch another person sacrifice themselves for her. She's gonna need someone to be there for her, and you're the only person who can do that right now."

Deku hesitated but agreed. "I'll go until there's a development, but I'm not gonna stay away from a fight if one happens."

"Fine," Bakugou pointed to the exit, "now go, Eri's gonna be up soon if she isn't already."

He nodded and left the room, leaving All Might and Bakguou on their own.

"So what exactly is All For One?" Bakugou asked. "I know that it lets you steal other people's quirks, but is there anything else?"

"Not only can it steal, but it can give. All For One grants its users the ability to give people quirks as well. It is one of the many ways that All For One gained support during his first attempt at his plan." All Might pulled his phone from his pocket. "I need to speak with the staff and contact the other pros immediately, I'll come back here to retrieve you when it is time to meet with them." He paused, "you will work with the pros, right? We'll need you to give us information."

"Yeah," he also needed to be there to make sure they really did plan on saving you. The time he'd spent with you recently had created a deeper distrust for heroes.

All Might left the room as well to begin arranging a meeting, but Bakugou was only left alone for a moment. Another person stepped through the doorway, and in the darkness, it was hard to tell exactly who it was, but as the figure approached, he realized that it was Present Mic, Recovery Girl following close behind him.

He was surprised to see his teacher alive, since learning about Eri's kidnapping he'd really been convinced that the man was gone. But it was nice to know that there hadn't been another meaningless death.

Present Mic was dressed in a white sweater and loose black pants, his hair was down and his glasses were gone, his cheerful demeanor had vanished, it was an odd sight.

Recovery Girl  tapped the watch on her wrist, "you have five minutes before we need to go back to the infirmary." She stepped back out of the room, hovering near the outside of the doorway.

His teacher nodded and sat down beside Bakugou, his head hanging low. "I heard you were here and I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Bakugou didn't think he had anything to apologize for, but he could see that the man carried a large weight on his shoulders, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Eri, it was my fault. I shouldn't have gone to the funeral. If I'd just stayed away like I said that I would, she would be safe."

Maybe Present Mic expected him to lash out, to agree that he was the one to blame. He looked prepared to accept it. "Whether that's true or not, nothing's gonna change what happened. If you blame yourself, then do whatever you can to make it right. Get healed and help us fight, that's all you can do right now. Eri doesn't blame you, and I know damn well that Y/N doesn't blame you either. Something else would've happened and she would've ended up sacrificing herself anyway, it's just how she is."

Present Mic loosed a sad sigh, "maybe, but I wanted to apologize regardless. I should've done better." Looking up, he spoke again, his tone shifting slightly. "That girl is a lot like Aizawa was. Their personalities may have clashed, but when it comes down to it, they both would do anything to protect the people they love."

Bakugou nodded, it was still difficult to think about his former teacher. His death didn't feel real most of the time. "I wish he was here. I think he'd be able to help her more than any of us can."

"More than anyone, why's that?"

"Well, for starters, he could just erase her quirk and things would be a lot easier," Bakugou said. "But he was also someone who could talk her down from a lot of stuff, when she came here after escaping from the villains, he was the first person to know who she really was and accept her. Every time she talked to me about him it was like how a kid talks about their dad, he was really the first father figure that she ever got. With all the stuff she's going through, I think having him here would help more than anything."

He looked over and saw Present Mic blinking back tears. "You know, he wanted to adopt her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he was labeled as her primary guardian, but she still fell under the custody of UA as a whole. After everything that we put her through here, he wanted her to be separated from that, didn't want her life to fall under the custody of the people that helped hurt her. But he was scared, he didn't want her to feel like she was betraying her family, didn't want to seem like he was making her choose between him or them." A tear fell down his cheek, something he'd never seen happen to the ever-cheerful teacher. "But after she and Eri became so close, he decided to do it for them both, got all the right papers and everything, the next step was just for him to ask."

He'd only needed to ask, but All For One had taken that opportunity from him, from you, and Eri. This conversation really wasn't helping Bakugou feel any better.

A knock came from the doorway and Bakugou spotted his friends standing there, in front of them was Recovery Girl, tapping her watch expectantly.

Present Mic stood and gave him a final look of farewell before making his way out, the students in the doorway each offered a soft greeting as he passed by.

Once the two teachers were gone, Kirishima, Jirou, Ashido, and Kaminari walked inside. It was funny, Bakugou thought to himself, it seemed that the severity of the situation had allowed for him to remember their names without difficulty.

"You guys were supposed to be gone, somewhere safe. We checked your houses." He pointed between Kaminari and Ashido, "you two even left notes."

They all had sheepish expressions on their faces. "Yeah, we figured you'd do that, and we were somewhere safe. We were just somewhere safe... together." Kaminari said.

Kirishima walked to where Bakugou sat. "We weren't gonna run, not when two of our friends were trying to fight against the end of the world. We knew it'd be dangerous for you guys if we got caught, so we stayed low, but we were also trying to come up with ways to help."

Jirou shut her eyes for a second, "we weren't able to do much, though, as you can tell. We thought we'd do better if we got our other classmates on board, and once UA opened back up we managed to convince all of them to help, but I guess we overestimated the amount of time that we had."

He was grateful that they'd tried, even if nothing had come of it. It was nice... thinking about the fact that the two of you had had more than just each other as you'd thought. Luckily, your friends had made it out safe until now, unlike the other helper you'd had.

Kirishima sat down, "I know you may not want to, but we're here if you need to talk."

"Yeah, you don't have to, but if we're gonna help you come up with a plan then it would be nice if we all knew what happened after you guys disappeared, aside from the stuff that was on TV." Kaminari held up his hand, "off-topic, but I can't believe that Y/N was actually that vigilante! How badass can one person be?!"

Ashido chuckled, "I kinda figured it was her, but I didn't wanna say anything until she told me herself."

Bakugou looked around and saw the conviction in his friends' eyes, and as much as he wanted to come up with a plan on his own and go for it immediately, he knew that he'd need help, and he knew that you needed to see that people were out here fighting for you. So, he told them everything, starting from the night he'd learned of your vigilante identity, through the night of Aizawa's death, all the way up to the events that took place just hours ago, again only skipping the more personal details.

When he was finished, Ashido had a hand over her mouth and Kaminari was sniffling a little bit, Jirou angrily looked down at the ground. "I can't believe Shinsou is really that far gone, and the number two hero... he's really dead?"

Bakugou nodded and Kirishima patted his back, "that's some heavy stuff, bro. I'm really sorry."

"You know, I hate Shinsou too." Kaminari looked at Jirou. "But what he did was probably the best thing that could've happened. Who knows what the villains would've done to Eri or Bakugou if Shinsou hadn't made sure that they wouldn't come back, and the loophole he left seems like his own way of helping."

"Loophole?" Ashido asked.

"He said that Bakugou couldn't go back to the house, not that he couldn't go after them somewhere else. We all know All For One isn't gonna try and crush the heroes while staying in one place. Sooner or later, he's gonna have to bring her out of hiding, and nothing will be there to stop Bakugou or any of us from going to her."

Bakugou stood, a spark of hope igniting. How had he not realized that there was a loophole? "So, we just need to plan for when that does happen. Even if the pros are successful when they go after the villains first, I don't trust them to do it right. We'll get the rest of the class to agree and then we'll-"

"Everyone is already on board, Bakugou, no need to question that." From the doorway came Todorokis's voice, and the rest of the class stood close behind him.

Yaoyorozu stepped up next to him, "we'll all do whatever it takes."

Kaminari looked back in surprise, "were you guys listening this whole time?!"

Bakugou took a second to look at them all. They stood tall, not a single trace of hesitation surrounding them. They'd all seen the news reports, started learning of the corruption within the hero society just as he had, and now they were willing to fight even if it meant breaking the rules.

"Good, because we're taking these villains down and getting her back no matter what."

-------------------------

Just about an hour later, All Might had come to retrieve Bakugou and they'd driven to the building where the pro-heroes had agreed to meet. They were lucky that all of them had been available to gather on such short notice.

He could feel his body buzzing with nervous energy as they walked into the building and stepped into the elevator that would take them to the correct floor. For now, the students had agreed to hold off and see what the pro-heroes came up with as a plan, and then act on their own if they felt that it was needed. Hopefully, the heroes would be smart, but Bakugou doubted it.

When he and All Might stepped out of the elevator and made their way into the conference room, a large room with a singular table stretching across the center, Bakugou was a little surprised at the sight of the group of heroes all sitting in one place, most of them with a cup of coffee in front of them.

"We gathered up as many as we could," All Might said softly. "But they're some of the best."

At the head of the table sat the number one hero, Endeavor, to either side of him were Edgeshot and Kamui Woods, next to Kamui Woods was the number five hero, Mirko.

Before Bakugou could be disappointed in the lack of numbers, someone opened the door and walked to his side. "Good to see you again, Bakugou."

Best Jeanist stood tall, wearing the same hero costume that he'd worn on the night of the Kamino incident when he'd been severely injured. It was a bit of a shock to see him there. "Aren't you still supposed to be on leave?"

"I couldn't just sit by idly when my mentee needed aid, could I? I've been cleared to participate in this mission."

From the head of the table, Endeavor cleared his throat. "Now that everyone's here, it would be best for us to get started. All Might, you told us a summary of what's happened, but we will need more information."

Endeavor, he'd fought you while you'd been known as the vigilante. His being here caused a bit of unease for Bakugou, he didn't trust that the hero would want to save you, especially after learning that you and the vigilante were one and the same.

All Might cleared his throat, "yes. I've brought a student along with me who witnessed the entire event. He will explain it all in detail."

"Wait, wasn't he just on the news as a wanted criminal like... yesterday?" Mirko asked.

Bakugou went to remark, but Best Jeanist placed a hand over his chest to stop him.

"Those charges have been placed on standby, being that the situation at hand is a much more pressing matter. He has also agreed to work with the heroes as an ally, the boy is no criminal." All Might responded. "Now if you would please lend your ears to him as he explains."

Best Jeanist dropped his hand, allowing Bakugou to step closer and begin to explain everything again. It was hard to keep himself from getting angry or letting his emotions slip him up, but he managed to focus on his goal and finish explaining without any mishaps.

There was no reaction to the news of Hawks' death, meaning that the heroes had most likely already known. It was odd, though, there hadn't been any news of it on TV or elsewhere. Were the heroes trying to keep it under wraps?

Those questions could be answered later, for now, he needed to stay focused. Endeavor had pushed his chair away from the table and began to speak. "We know where they are, we need to launch a full-scale attack without any delays. The longer we wait, the more time the power can accumulate within the girl."

Most of the heroes seemed to agree, but Mirko shook her head. "That seems a little reckless, don't you think? I'm all for a full-scale attack, but we need more of a plan."

"Yes," Best Jeanist agreed. "Because there are a large number of villains present and we are unaware of the current extent of the girls' power we must strategize and formulate a plan that will keep casualties on both sides to a minimum. Remember, as heroes, it is our job to save those in need and take the villains into custody. Rushing in so brashly could make it difficult to get the girl to safety."

Bakugou looked at him gratefully, at least some heroes were still good-hearted.

The moment was killed when Endeavor opened his mouth again. "I agree, but this is a special case. These villains have wreaked havoc on society for far too long, and All For One has slaughtered many innocents. He should have been killed the moment he was taken into custody. And now that he is in control of a girl with an already powerful quirk who has inherited All For One, we may have no choice but to immobilize her by force. And if things escalate, I will not risk the lives of thousands of people by keeping one dangerous individual alive."

Mirko began to shout at him and Best Jeanist attempted to speak reasonably, but the other heroes began arguing amongst themselves as well. All Might Kept a firm grip on Bakugous arms to keep him from trying to go after the Number One hero.

"You piece of shit!" He yelled to Endeavor. "You really have the nerve to sit there and call yourself number-one while saying you're willing to take an innocent person's life?!"

"That girl is far from innocent!"

Mirko leaned her head back, "this would be so much easier if Eraserhead were here. He could just erase the quirk and we could knock the kid out and come up with something."

Endeavor slammed his fists against the table, causing everyone to go quiet. "As the number-one hero, I outrank you all. I can agree to come up with a plan that will result in the potential for less-casualties, but I stand by what I said. We will come up with a strategy within the next two hours and then we will make our move, regardless of whether or not everyone is happy with it." He looked at Best Jeanist.

"Fine," the clothing hero agreed.

Edgeshot pointed to Bakugou. "Have the boy take his leave, we still do not know where his loyalties lie and can not have him overhearing our plan."

"Excuse you?! What the hell are you accusing me of?!"

"You disappeared for a long period of time with a girl who has been working against the heroes and already has ties to the League. Now, you come back, telling us exactly where the villains are located and expect us not to consider that it may be a trap?"

"That's enough," Best Jeanist spoke with a harsh tone. "This boy has done nothing to give us reason to believe he or the girl are involved with the League. He has offered his aid after going through a tragic ordeal and you have the nerve to accuse him?"

All Might leaned over, "it may be best if we take our leave, young Bakugou."

"Like hell." He'd been right, the heroes couldn't be trusted with this.

Best Jeanist looked down. "No, I do believe it is best if you go, Bakugou. Here, let me walk you out." He gave him a look that relayed a silent message, and, hesitantly, he let the hero guide him out of the room, back into the elevator lobby.

Once the doors had shut behind him, best Jeanist spoke again. "I know that you would never ally yourself with the villains, and I understand where your anger is coming from, but I can promise you this, I will not allow the girl to be harmed at the hands of any of the heroes fighting at my side."

He knew that tone of voice, and he knew that he spoke the truth. Jeanist would do everything in his power to keep the other heroes from going out of line. But would him alone be enough?

"I need to get back in there now. I'm sure that you'll be informed once we return." Best Jeanist turned without waiting for a response and stepped through the doors leading to the meeting room. All Might coughed from next to Bakugou and then composed himself before walking to the elevator. "I know that it is not what you would have liked to hear, but the pros can be trusted."

Bakugou followed behind the former Number One hero, not because he was willing to place his trust in the heroes and leave, but because he needed to get back to UA and inform the others of what had happened.

It was time that they came up with a plan of their own.

-------------------

Y/N's POV:

"No, please, don't do this. I'm begging you!"

The shouts came from the mouth of a man that you didn't recognize. He stood with his back against a wall, his white, button-up shirt had been torn near the shoulder, and stained with blood and dirt.

Who was this? Where were you? None of the surroundings were familiar.

The man shook, his eyes darting from side to side, attempting to find a way to escape from this dead-end alley that he'd stumbled into.

Slow footsteps approached from behind you and the man began to scream for help. Instinct told you to move, to run from the dark presence that grew closer with each footstep, but you could not move, could not do anything but watch.

When the footsteps went past you, a different man came into view. With pale, white hair illuminated by the moonlight, and a face shrouded in darkness. The sight of him struck a chord of familiarity within you.

The white-haired man held out his hand and pressed it against the trembling man's forehead, eliciting a cry of terror from him.

After a moment, his shouts came to an end, and the man crumpled to the floor just as the faceless one turned, his gaze seeming to land directly on you.

He inhaled deeply, a smile of pleasure stretching across his lips. "This is true power. This... is your destiny."

------------------

Heart pounding, you opened your eyes and quickly sat up, only finding that although your wrists had been unbound, an assortment of tubes and equipment had been attached to your body, restricting your movement.

You'd been placed in your own bed, the one you'd slept in as a child. The feeling of the mattress underneath you and the soft, grey comforter over you was familiar, yet foreign.

Even your own body didn't feel the same, something had changed, something...

You inhaled sharply as the memories flooded back in. The excruciating pain, the tears falling down your face as you'd forced Bakugou to leave, the complete and utter defeat you'd felt as you'd said the words that you'd fought against for so long.

The door opened, startling you, and you looked over to see a short man in a lab coat. A thick mustache covered the lower half of his face and his eyes were shielded by a pair of circular glasses. "You're awake," he said with surprise. "That was much faster than I'd predicted."

"What is this? What the hell are you doing to me?!"

He walked over to the side of the bed and you attempted to move away from him, but the tubes caught from underneath your skin, keeping you from moving further. "Please do not be alarmed, what you are seeing were necessary precautions taken to ensure that the transfer would not harm you."

The transfer, this meant that it had been completed. You'd accepted All For One's power and now he'd have the ability to control you. The man continued to explain the details but his voice was lost underneath the sound of your thundering pulse. There had to be some way to go back, to get rid of this power before it could be used.

You spotted a table to your side, on it was a variety of medical tools. With no time for second-guessing, you leaned over, grabbed the sharpest one you could find, and stabbed it into your chest.

It was the only way, if you died then the villains would have no chance to use you. It would be quick, you could leave knowing that you'd saved your friends and the rest of the world from All For One's terror. A shock went through your body, followed by a painful, tightening sensation.

You waited for your vision to fade, for your pulse to slow, but you remained conscious. The pain grew as you pushed the object deeper, but you remained awake.

"I assumed you would attempt something so reckless, daughter."

Your head shot up, looking around the room until you realized that All For One's voice hadn't come from anywhere around you. It had come from inside of you, inside of your head.

"I recently procured a quirk that keeps any fatal injuries from actually resulting in death. As I'm sure you can tell, you will still experience the pain, and the wound will still be there, but my quirk keeps it from doing the damage that it was supposed to. As long as you have my power, your injuries will remain dormant."

His voice echoed through your mind, taking up every inch. You could feel it, you were no longer completely in control of yourself, there was a new presence inside of you, his presence.

You pulled the object from your chest and stabbed yourself again, and again, and again. The pain grew with each attempt, but you could feel that it was pointless. The holes in your body were there, but no blood flowed from them. You could feel yourself beginning to panic, you lifted the object, this time aiming for your neck.

You froze just before you could make contact with your skin. Your arms were stuck, not moving even as you tried to push them forward.

The man sighed from beside you and All For One spoke once again. "Let's not be dramatic, daughter."

This was his doing, you realized. He'd forced you to stop without even saying a word, and from the tone of his voice, you could tell that he'd done it not because he didn't want you hurting yourself, but because he'd grown bored of your outburst.

The object fell from your hand and you dropped your arms in defeat. There was nothing that you could do, of course, he'd planned for this. Now, as long as All For One's quirk remained inside of you, you'd be forced to stay alive and be used as a weapon.

The man beside you, who you assumed was a doctor of some kind, took a moment to check the equipment attached to your body and write down notes on the small piece of paper he'd pulled from inside of his coat. "The transfer was a success. I'll remove all of this and you will be free to roam the house as you wish. I do not recommend trying to run away, because you will not be able to."

You didn't respond, not sparing the doctor a glance as he worked to remove the attachments. You didn't even comment on the fact that somehow, you were now in different clothes than you had been whenever you'd arrived. The all-black, sleeveless jumpsuit was very similar to the design of your hero costume, which was ironic. Only now, there were holes in the fabric and through your chest.

"You can sense it, can't you?" All For One asked. "You've grown stronger, stronger than any hero to ever walk this Earth. Why don't you give it a try? See how far you've surpassed the limits you'd had before."

You shook your head, "I'm not touching this power until you tell me everything. If I'm gonna be forced to use it I deserve to know how it works."

A chuckle sounded in your mind, sending a strong feeling of discomfort through your body. "I could easily make you, you know? But, I can understand your feelings, so I will explain."

The doctor finished removing the equipment and you felt a bit of your panic ease now that you didn't have so many things stuck inside of you. If All For One explained everything to you, maybe you could figure out some way to use it against him or the other villains.

"Our quirk allows for the user to steal and give quirks from and to others. It is how I created an army in the past, how I still have so many loyal supporters today. I've given them power beyond their wildest dreams, and doing so has caused them to be in my debt, although they are often more than willing to do as I say as repayment."

So you could now give people quirks, and take them away. "Since I have your quirk that keeps any injuries from actually causing damage, I'm guessing I have all your other quirks too. What are they?"

Maybe you could use one of them to your advantage, somehow. Or give one of them to someone who could help stop you.

"It is quite the long list, so I will not explain them all, but to start, you still have the quirk that you were born with. The ones you have inherited that will be the easiest to use include Warping, Forced Quirk Activation, Rivet Stab, which you saw that night at the prison, Strength Enhancer, and Life Force. The others you will learn over time."

Others, he'd said, meaning that list was only a small portion of the abilities you now possessed. It was terrifying to think of how they could be used, but you were also intrigued. If you could potentially master even a few of these abilities, you could increase your strength and fight against All For One's control.

You wanted to start with something you were familiar with, something you could use to see exactly how much your power had increased. Focusing, you activated your teleportation quirk, and in less than a second you were standing outside of the house.

Normally, teleportation took a huge toll on your energy supply, but even after doing a longer distance, you felt none of the usual effects that came with that ability. Feeling oddly excited, you ignited a flame in your hand, expecting it to be small, but a large streak of fire shot into the sky.

When you'd relinquished the flames, you noticed how cold the temperature outside was, after just a few seconds, goosebumps had crawled over the bare skin of your arms, and your eyes stung from the harsh chill of the wind. You focused, and within seconds, the air grew warmer.

"Isn't it incredible?" All For One's voice took away any sense of awe or excitement you'd been feeling, reminding you of what this newfound power had cost.

"All right, I believe it is time for us to discuss our plans. Now that you're awake." Without warning, you were teleported back inside, but instead of appearing in your room, where you'd been before, you found yourself in the living room surrounded by the other members of the League. Shigaraki leaned against the doorway, Compress sat next to Spinner on the couch that had begun to fall apart, Illusion stood in one of the few spots without glass shards littering the ground, and Shinsou observed from the corner of the room.

Looking at them, your anger arose once again. You had this power and yet you couldn't use it against them. They stood in the same house where they'd killed your family and stolen the possibility of a normal life from you, and there was not even a hint of remorse on their faces.

Illusion raised her eyebrows, "someone's up early. Didn't the doctor say it would take a few days at least?"

"Master told us she was strong, it is no surprise that the transfer only took half of a day." Shigaraki sounded slightly resentful when speaking, and you remembered how he'd confessed to you that he'd been the one to let you go the first time you'd been taken. He'd said that using you was pointless and that he should have been the one chosen as All For One's successor.

You actually agreed with him, there was no need for the harsh looks he was throwing your way. It wasn't your fault that All For One had chosen you.

All For One, as if sensing your anger, spoke in your mind, only this time you saw the other villains' heads perk up as if they could hear him too. "I understand that you feel a strong hatred toward my villains, daughter. Unfortunately, you've already killed two of my important members, I cannot have you getting rid of another."

Compress laughed, "I still can't believe you managed to get Dabi and Toga. Must've been a hell of a fight."

"You'll get to experience it for yourself soon, don't worry." You responded.

"Him, no, but there is one that I no longer have use for. You are welcome to kill him if you'd like." All For One said. "After all, Shinsou did betray both you and Eraserhead. It would be unlike you to keep him alive if given the chance."

From the corner of the room, Shinsou's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Go on, kill him. Do it quickly though, there is much we need to discuss."

All For One was giving you a chance to kill him. There was no guilt in his voice, no remorse for the fact that he was about to be responsible for the death of a kid.

You took a step forward and watched the fear grow on Shinsou's face. It wasn't just the fear of death, it was the realization that he'd been used. The realization that the villains saw him as nothing more than a pawn on their playing board that no longer had any use.

When you stopped, only inches from where he stood, you could see that he was attempting to put on a brave face.

"Didn't I tell you?" You whispered. "They don't want a fair society, they're all in it for their own gain. You were just someone that they could use and discard."

You looked at him, remembering the times he'd walked you to class, the afternoons the two of you had spent training together, the comfort in knowing there was someone who could relate to you. His methods may have been wrong, but in the end, he was just a boy who'd gotten caught up in his own ideas and trusted the wrong people.

It wasn't that you didn't want him gone, there was that part of you screaming to take revenge for the role he'd played in Aizawa's death, to pay him back for the lies and the events that he'd caused. But there was also the part that understood him. He'd helped you, in his own way, when he'd made Bakugou take Eri to safety. He'd saved their lives.

You lifted your arm and saw him flinch. Your hand lowered to his forehead, and you searched inside of yourself for that foreign power, and you found it, the one designed to take.

It came to you easily, and soon you felt as Shinsou's quirk began to flow out of his body and into yours. You could see the terror on his face, the feeling of helplessness as you kept him from moving.

You removed your hand after you'd taken all that you could of his quirk. "Run, and don't come back. If you show your face to me again, I will kill you."

Shinsou was panting, but he took a last look around the room and ran. None of the villains stopped him.

Illusion cocked her head, "such an honorable act. Maybe you're more of a hero than we thought."

"If it had been one of you, I would have taken your life without hesitation." You turned back to face them. "He was just another person caught up in your twisted games."

He wouldn't last too long out there. Without a quirk, he would have no way to protect himself if he was recognized by the police or a hero. He'd likely be arrested, thrown into the shitty system that he'd fought so hard against.

"Master, are you really just going to let him go? What if he tells someone our location?" Shigaraki asked.

"I have no issue with being found by the heroes, in fact, I've planned on it. A real fight is the only way I'll know the true extent of my daughter's power. Before we can begin with our true plan we need to make sure that she is capable."

A new sense of unease blossomed in your chest. He'd planned on being found by the heroes, and he was going to make you go against them as a test of your strength.

"Sweet, so if we get attacked then we just get to sit back and enjoy the show?" Compress looked back at you, "make it interesting, please. Your house is super boring, I need some good entertainment."

His bite angered you and you tried to send an attack at him before All For One could stop you, but he was quick, and you were unable to go through with it.

"Fuck you, Houdini. Don't say anything to me about entertainment when the only people you can entertain with those lame-ass magic tricks are elementary schoolers."

He laughed. "Ah, feisty as always."

It was tempting to try and hit him again, but something distracted you. From far away, you could sense the presence of five people, heroes, and they were moving quickly toward you. It must have been one of All For One's quirks, something that allowed you to see and track the movements of people in the surrounding area.

As the heroes grew closer, an image appeared in your head, allowing you to make out who they were. Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Mirko, and Kamui woods, some of the country's top heroes raced closer with incredible speed. Endeavor took the lead.

"They've arrived earlier than expected," All For One observed. "Luckily, you awoke when you did, now we can start ahead of schedule."

No, you couldn't fight them. Not like this. You didn't particularly like any of these heroes aside from two of them, but if you fought now, without any control over your power or your actions, they could very well be killed. And if any of the top heroes were killed by your hand, there would be more sent after you, more people would continue to die.  And by then, even you would be unable to deny what you were seen as by society.

You were teleported a couple of hundred yards away from the front of your house, into the field you and Kyron used to play tag in when you were younger. Your mother would always yell at the two of you for climbing the fence, but it never stopped you from going back. And now this field would be another part of your home where good memories would become tainted.

Endeavor was the first to appear, propelling himself toward you with the use of his flames. He didn't slow when he saw you, nor did his expression change in any way. You were forced to dodge as he reared back his flame-shrouded fist and landed an attack in the spot you'd been standing seconds ago. The blow left a large crater in the ground.

Without realizing it, you jumped just as a razor-sharp string shot through the and pierced the spot that would have been where your head had been. The air was being manipulated to keep you in the afloat, but Endeavor was coming at you again and Edgeshots attack followed each of your movements.

What the hell were these guys thinking? They didn't seriously think that they could knock you unconscious with these kinds of attacks, right?

You teleported in midair, appearing in between the two heroes currently coming after you. Using your right hand, you did something you'd never done before and pulled the water molecules from the air, creating a stream of liquid that shot through the air and spread across the flame-heroes body. With your left hand, you send a wave of flames to the piece of his body Edgshot had manipulated, the fabric covering his skin quickly caught fire.

"You guys need to leave!" You shouted. "All For One has control of this power I'll kill you if you keep doing this!"

A strong object began to curl around your feet and you looked down to see Kamui woods standing below you with his arms outstretched. You tried to teleport out of it, but All For One had a different idea. Flames crept up your ankles and spread over your entire body, catching the wood on fire as well, and spreading down to where the hero stood.

Endeavor blasted himself at you once again, and Edgeshot sent out multiple sharp strings from his body racing toward you. Kamui woods put out the flame and sent another branch hurtling toward your body, preparing to trap you before you could escape the other heroes' attacks.

You sensed the Number-five hero still running toward the scene, she was close enough to hear, but not close enough to interfere with the fight quite yet. "This wasn't a part of the plan! You guys need to stop, now!"

Her words and the intensity of the attacks coming for you suddenly made something very clear. The heroes weren't trying to save you, they weren't even trying to take you into custody, their attacks were meant to kill you.

You knew that Endeavor probably held a grudge after the night you'd thrown him into a dumpster, but he still wasn't supposed to be trying to kill you! Did they realize that you weren't in control of your own power, did they care? If they'd been fighting against anyone else would they be attacking with such intensity?

No. Heroes, commissioners, and police officers alike had wanted you gone for a long time now. This was a golden opportunity for them. By killing you they would not only get rid of All For One, but they would also get rid of the girl who'd already caused so much trouble for them.

And although you knew that the world would be better off if you died now, it was angering to see that the heroes didn't even want to try and save you somehow. They'd wanted you dead long before it would benefit society, and they were only using All For One as an excuse to get what they desired.

Your power ignited, fueled by the flames of your rage. All For One sensed your hatred, the resentment that had been brewing since that night in Kamino when your arrest had been called for. He sensed it, and he used your anger to send up a mountainous wall of Earth and ice around Endeavor while also sending another burst of water to the spot where he'd been trapped.

Bolts of electricity shot from your hands and webbed themselves around Edgeshot, the heroes attacks fell short and he collapsed to the ground in a twitching heap. A large ball of fire crashed into Kamui Woods and a burst of air sent Mirko flying to the side before she could land a kick to your head.

You'd become engulfed by the power that controlled you, unable to resist or stop it in any way. Attacks were sent over and over again in ways that would have killed you if you'd done them before inheriting this quirk.

Endeavor struggled, but being doused by water had weakened his strength, Mirko had fallen far from where the fight took place, Kamui Woods rolled through the grass in an attempt to put out the flames encasing his wooden body, and Edgeshot no longer moved.

They were going to die, and you could do nothing to stop it.

Another presence grew closer, alerting your senses, and Best Jeanist ran into view.

All For One readied an attack, and you could feel it had not been used in your body before. He'd almost killed Best Jeanist during the Kamino Ward incident and you could sense that he wanted to take this moment to finish the job.

The clothing hero didn't send up any attacks, didn't stop to try and help the other heroes he'd come with, his eyes remained trained on you. "I know that this is not your doing, I know the sacrifice that you made to keep your loved ones safe! I swear to you that I am here to repay that favor, I promised Bakugou that I would keep you alive and safe and I plan to do just that! But he needs you to fight back, he knows your strength! Help me keep my promise to him!"

All For One scoffed and you felt the power growing stronger. It would be a quick kill, at least.

No, the sound of Bakugou's name had pulled you back from the depths of your anger. You didn't want to hurt Best Jeanist. He'd been Bakugou's mentor, a hero he admired only second to All Might. If he was hurt by you, regardless of whether or not you were in control, you'd never forgive yourself. You'd already caused Bakugou enough suffering, you couldn't be the reason he lost someone else.

His face, the face of the boy you loved appeared in your mind, drowning out the sound of All For One's voice, pushing you to fight against him, to fight harder.

The attack stopped, and for a single moment, you were in control once again. All For One strained, and blinding pain built inside of you as the power screamed at your resistance. It had been no more than a few seconds, but blood began to spill from your nose, and you knew that your control would be stripped away once again.

Summoning every ounce of control you could muster, you sent a strong burst of wind hurtling across the field. The blast of air broke through the wall of Earth and Ice and sent each of the heroes flying. Trees in the forest ahead were pulled from their roots and each of the heroes was sent through the sky until they'd gone so far you could no longer see or sense them.

Your body fell to the ground as All For One regained his control once more, you coughed, the action staining the blades of grass in front of you with blood.

The heroes would be hurt, badly, but hopefully, that would keep them from coming back. Taking control of All For One for only a couple of seconds had taken an insanely large toll on you, and although you knew that it wouldn't have killed you, it had felt like you were dying.

"I'll call the trial a relative success. We had a slight hiccup, but no matter, your resolve will soon fade, daughter." All For One's voice had taken a tone that chilled you to your core. "My true plan will now finally begin."

----------------

Bakugou's POV:

Nearly a full day had passed since he'd been forced to leave you with the villains. And not a moment had passed where he wasn't on edge, terrified of what may be happening to you.

Many of the students had gone to bed, aside from a select few who sat around next to him on the floor of Kirishima's dorm. After the pros had returned and the students had seen the injured states they were all in, coming up with a plan had become more difficult. Many of his classmates had seemed much less sure than they had before.

Bakugou had only been given a moment to speak to Best Jeanist as he was being healed by Recovery Girl, but the heroes' recount of the fight had given him more than enough information.

"That asshole made it to where I couldn't go back there, so we need to find a way to get her away from the villains' hideout. I need to talk to her."

"Talk to her?" Todoroki asked. "Bakugou, you could end up killed. She was already stronger than you before this, and now she has the power of the man who nearly killed All Might. And from what you've said, she's being controlled by him too."

Kaminari shook his head. "It's hard for me to believe that the guy has total control."

"He doesn't," Bakugou stated.

"How?" Ashido asked.

"Jeanist told me that there was a moment while they were fighting that she managed to take control back. It's the only reason that all of the pros survived. If we can be there and help her keep that control then I know she can beat him." And if you couldn't, he would find a way to kill All For One himself.

Everyone in the room looked up in surprise as the light coming from the lamp on his desk began to flicker. It was only a few seconds before the room went dark and the power shut off completely.

Yaoyorozu looked around, "what's happening?"

"I don't-" Jirou was cut off by the principal's voice coming through the speakers spread around the building.

"Students of UA, large-scale attacks have begun across the city. For your safety, we advise you all to stay indoors and keep away from any windows. We will lock down the school in just a few moments."

Attacks across the city, All For One had to be behind them. And if he was behind them, that meant that you were out there somewhere.

Bakugou stood up from the bed, "I'm going to suit up and get off campus before it locks down. If any of you guys want to back up your talk about friendship then meet me by the gate in three minutes."

He didn't stop to see which of his classmates had gotten up, he ran as fast as he could to his own dorm and grabbed his hero costume, he'd made sure to keep it somewhere easily reachable. The familiar feel of his suit against his skin was a small comfort amidst the chaos.

He stepped back into the hallway, spotting Jirou making her way to the stairs as well. Bakugou ran to her side and gave a nod of acknowledgment. He'd never seen you and her hang out all too much, but the loyalty the two of you held for one another was undeniable.

The other students joined them, somehow all managing to get their costumes on in the small-time period they'd been given. Kaminari's shirt was on backward, but aside from that, they'd all managed well.

It was late, but flames shining in the distance created enough light to make it look as though the sun had just begun to set. Smoke mixed with the clouds in the sky, creating a blanket of gray over the world. No one guarded the gate yet, but that would quickly change. Even now he could hear the sound of footsteps coming from the distance. They needed to get out of there, fast.

"I'll call someone and have them send a car for us. We'll just need to get past UA's barrier." Yaoyorozu had already pulled out her phone.

"Students, wait!"

Everyone turned, and Bakugou prepared to make a run for it as All Might stepped into view. Those tiny legs of his would in no way be able to keep up with him and his explosions.

Kaminari stepped to the front of the group."Sorry, All Might, but our friend might be out there. You aren't gonna stop us from going."

"I'm not here to stop you." The former number one hero looked around nervously. "The girl has been spotted at the hero commissions main office building. They'd held a late meeting and nearly all of the commissioners were present at the time of the attack. I must warn you before you go, you aren't going to like what you see."

The hero commission, it was no surprise that All For One would target that building first. And with the top heroes still recovering from their earlier battle, there would be less resistance for the villains to worry about "Thank's for the tip."

The sound of people approaching brought their attention back to the task at hand. With Bakugou taking the lead, they ran through the gates and into the surrounding woods. Yaoyorozu directed them to the location where the car had been sent.

Bakugou, after learning from his mistake last time, made Todoroki sit in the backseat while he took the wheel. They'd been provided with a small black convertible, and Jirou, Yaorozu, and Kaminari had to squeeze next to Todoroki in the back while Kirishima and Ashido shared the front passenger seat.

He pressed down on the gas as far as it would go and took off down the street. Many people had evacuated when the attacks had begun and empty cars peppered the roads, nearly becoming the cause of a crash.

As they drew closer to the hero commission main office, the smoke grew thicker and the roads became filled with more and more obstacles and debris. Eventually, he was forced to stop and the group began making their way to the building on foot.

All Might had been right, the outskirts of the area where the attack was taking place was not a pretty sight. People ran past them, screaming in terror, and some of the buildings had caught flame. They passed by two police cars that looked as though they'd been torn completely in half, and once they'd finally arrived near the base of the building, they were met with a gruesome scene of destruction.

Gunshots rang through the air, but the officers holding the weapons were taken out quickly, a couple of his classmates froze as they took notice of the unmoving bodies lying on the road and sidewalk, but Bakugou kept moving.

Because he'd spotted you, near the front of the building you stood radiating an aura of pure power, one that made all of his instincts scream at him to turn around and get as far away from whatever it was as possible.

He saw the bodies lying at your feet, the strained muscles in your arms as you fought against that invisible force controlling your actions. Blood could be seen covering your skin, but he had a good reason to believe that it wasn't yours.

Three villains blocked his path to you, and he frantically looked around to find a space where he could move in without becoming overwhelmed.

"Bakugou, don't worry about them, we'll fight and make sure you've got a clear path." Ashido and the others had gotten over their initial reactions and made their way to his side. It wouldn't be long before they were noticed and forced to fight.

It was against his instincts, but he needed someone to cover him while he ran to you. So, he nodded. "Just don't die, got it?"

Just as a grey-colored Nomu caught sight of the group, Bakugou blasted himself forward, into the center of the chaos. A cool blast of air hit against his back, meaning that Todoroki and his classmates had begun to fight.

He kept pushing closer, ignoring the bodies, the shouts of police officers and heroes telling him to get back, his only focus was getting to you. At the sound of the final explosion he sent out, you turned, and your eyes went wide with fear when recognizing who he was.

"No! You need to leave, please! Please don't let him make me hurt you too!" A sharp, black spike shot from your hand, just barely grazing his side as he landed on the ground in front of you.

You grabbed your arm and held it to your chest, "get out of here, now!"

"You know I'm not gonna do that! I told you, dumbass, you leave me alive and I'm not gonna stop coming after you!" He needed to stay determined, he couldn't let the sight of you weaken his will to fight. He needed to use it as motivation, motivation to take down the people who'd broken you like this. "You can fight him, I know that you're stronger! Come back to me dammit!"

"You're such an idiot!" You shut your eyes, clenching your fists until your arms began to tremble, and after a moment, the aura surrounding you began to fade. You shakily reached out your hand and grabbed onto his arm, a mix of tears and blood falling down your face.

"You've got it, just keep fighting against him. I've got you." His eyes drifted and he noticed the wounds across your chest, stab wounds.

It felt like he'd been stabbed himself when he realized what those injuries meant you'd tried to do.

The aura had nearly disappeared now. It would be alright, if you got full control then he could take you back and figure out a way to fix things. Bakugou put his hand over yours, feeling even more determined than before. "Just hold on and then we can-"

A cry of pain escaped from you, and soon after you began to cough, blood splattering across your lips.

He pressed his hand harder. Resisting All For One only caused it to rage from within your body. He wouldn't be able to take you away from here because you wouldn't be able to hold it long enough. Eventually, your body would give out and he would be in control once more.

Bakugou inhaled sharply as a strange sensation shot through him, the feeling rushing through his veins. It was so shocking and so unfamiliar that he dropped his hand.

The aura surrounded you once more, and the black substance that All For One used to teleport spread across your skin. Eyes filled with desperation, you said one final thing before being enveloped by the substance.

"You know what you have to do."

The second before your hand left his arm, Bakugou's body went tense and his legs gave out from beneath him. The battle taking place around him faded and the rushing sensation flowed through every part of him like a strong ocean current. It was unlike anything he'd felt before.

His surroundings came back to him in a flash after he felt the tight grip of someone's hand on his arm.

"Bakugou, what happened?! Are you hurt?" Kirishima had rushed to his side, a quick look around told him that his other classmates were still fighting.

He didn't respond, couldn't respond. His body refused to react to the voice inside of his head shouting at him to fight, it was only focused on accommodating whatever this thing inside of him was.

A loud booming noise echoed through the air and caused the ground to shake. Kirishima began to pull Bakugou away from the center of the chaos, and his concerned expression became more prominent when Bakugou didn't yell at him for potentially ripping his suit.

"Tell me what happened, dude! Are you ok? More heroes just showed up so we can leave, they can take care of the battle, I'll get you to a hospital!"

A hospital would be a waste of time, he wasn't physically injured. If he didn't know what you'd done to him it was doubtful that any doctors would either.

A piece of an earlier conversation with All Might suddenly played in his head. "Not only can it steal, but it can give. All For One grants its users the ability to give people quirks as well."

The overwhelming sensation had begun to lessen, the rushing current turning into a soft stream. Could you have given him a quirk? Is that what he'd been feeling? You'd looked so desperate in those last couple of seconds before All For One had regained his control, it could've been your last resort.

Kirishima's attention shifted back to the battle. "What the-?"

Bakugou managed to lift his head just in time to see all of the villains, nomu's, and civilians that had been fighting against the heroes and police officers, disappear within the same dark substance that All For One had teleported you away with. It took only an instant before the streets quieted a bit, and only remnants of the battle remained. It was over just as quickly as it had started.

Police officers stepped out from behind their cars, many of which had been badly damaged. Heroes quickly dispersed throughout the area looking for survivors and those in need of help, in the distance, the sound of sirens grew near.

Finally, Bakugou was able to speak. "Take me back to the school."

"No way, I see an ambulance coming closer and it looks like there are more behind it. I don't know what happened to you, but we've gotta get it checked out."

"Take me back now, dammit! I'm not hurt!"

"Just a few seconds ago you weren't able to move! I'm supposed to believe that you're ok after going face-to-face with All For One?!"

"It wasn't All For One," he growled. "It was her. I think she gave me a quirk, one that could help her. I need to get back there and figure out which one it is so that I can use it as soon as possible."

Kirishima looked confused. "She... gave you a quirk?"

"Ask your questions later. Take me back to UA now, or I'll get you out of my way and walk there myself."

-----------------

It took a lot of convincing to finally be let through the school's gates. Only after Hound Dog had confirmed that they were who they claimed to be, were they able to go inside.

The other students who'd accompanied them to the battle had followed closely behind Bakugou and Kirishima, luckily, none of them had been hurt too badly.

Once they'd made it back to the dorm building, the other students had gathered and Bakugou explained to them what had happened. They all began asking all sorts of questions, many of them regretted being unable to partake in the fighting, and some threw out ideas as to which quirk he could have been given.

"No, it's good that you guys stayed." Yaoyorozu addressed the group who had expressed their guilt for staying behind.  She held tightly to Jirou's hand, both of them visibly shaken. "It was... terrible."

"It was," Kaminari agreed. "But it's given us that much more of a reason to take those guys down. Right now, our best shot is to figure out if Bakugou really does have a new quirk, and how he can use it to help us win if he does."

He sounded confident, but Bakugou didn't feel anything of the sort. All For One possessed hundreds of quirks. He didn't have time to try and figure out which one it was. Hell, he didn't even know for sure if you'd given him a quirk.

Kirishima, who'd managed to leave the room without notice, came back into the building with Recovery Girl at his side. "Since you guys wouldn't let any of the medics see you, at least let Recovery Girl heal you before you go rushing out to fight again. We won't be any help if we're weak."

"Kirishima is right," Iida stepped to the front of the group. "Those of you who went off-campus should be treated immediately. Bakugou, you first since I know that you're anxious to begin working on a new plan."

"Why won't you idiots listen to me, I'm fine!"

Recovery Girl shook her head as she walked over to him. "Be grateful that you have such caring friends. And trust me, they're right, you'll be of no use to anyone without proper treatment or rest."

Bakugou went to protest, but Kirishima gave him a pleading look and he reluctantly sat down.

Recovery Girl puckered her lips and kissed his cheek as she usually did, but for some reason it felt different. The healing was still the same, but Bakugou noticed different things, things that never would have crossed his mind before now. It was like he could almost see each step that the woman took to activate her quirk. His mind was able to come up with a step-by-step process in the few seconds that it took for her to heal him.

He watched closely as Recovery Girl went through and healed each of the students who'd been hurt, and once she'd finished, he was almost certain that with a little more information, he'd be able to imitate her quirk.

"She gave me her quirk." He said aloud.

The class looked his way, and Mina asked, "Y/N? She gave you the quirk she had before All For One?"

"Yeah, I'm almost positive that that's what this is." You'd never been able to really explain how your quirk felt. You'd just said that you were able to see people's abilities more clearly than others. Reading about them or watching them being used allowed for your mind to create an understanding of how they worked, and you were able to imitate them.

"So, she must want you to learn an ability that would work against All For One," Todoroki stated.

"Are you able to use any of the quirks that she'd already mastered?" Kirishima asked.

Bakugou thought about the abilities he knew you'd learned, and he focused, trying to manipulate the air inside the room to knock something over, but nothing happened. There was nothing in him that understood how to manipulate any of the elements. "No, I'm starting from scratch."

"So, we must find a quirk for you to copy that could render All For One's abilities useless or one that could keep her unconscious or trapped while we find a way to rid her of his power." Iida scratched his head.

Everyone began to think, and Recovery Girl smiled as she began to make her way to the exit of the building. "You kids be careful, ok?"

As she passed next to Bakugou, her voice dropped to a whisper. "The girl was close to Eraserhead, was she not?"

Bakugou's head shot up and the woman continued to the doors. "Speedster," he pointed to Iida. "You're cool with the staff, right?"

"Um- yes, but are we not trying to keep our involvement a secret from the higher-ups?"

"We are, but I need you to go to the main building and sweet talk one of them into giving you Mr. Aizawas's teaching file." He shifted his gaze to Uraraka, "you, call Deku. Get him to send you whatever analysis he has of Mr. Aizawa's quirk in that notebook of his. And the rest of you go online and find all the videos you can of Eraserhead in action."

"Are you saying you want to copy his Erasure quirk?" Iida asked.

Jirou looked over. "Would that work? The ability only lasted as long as he could keep his eyes open, if we're gonna keep All For One at bay then we need something longer-lasting."

The gears in Bakugou's head were turning. This could work, you'd trusted him with this quirk and he refused to let you down. He'd master it faster than anyone else would.

"The quirk isn't just imitation. She could manipulate the abilities she'd learned to make them better suit her needs. I can learn this and modify it to last longer."

"Not trying to damper the mood," Sero spoke up, "but didn't she say that it took a while to master a new quirk? You don't have any experience with it, so it'll probably take longer. Are you sure we have time?"

"I'll master it before the next time All For One makes a move. When that time comes, all of you guys need to be ready, because we aren't letting any of those villains get away this time."

He looked up to the clock on the wall, seeing that it was now getting close to two in the morning. He hadn't slept in nearly two days now, and he could tell that the other students were tired as well. "We'll start training at six sharp. Send me all of the information that you get on Mr. Aizawa's quirk before going to sleep."

It was difficult not to start right then, but as much as he hated to admit it, Kirishima had been right when saying that no one would be of any use if they were in a weakened state. Everyone needed to be at full strength if they were gonna pull this off.

Bakugou walked past everyone to the elevator, not wanting to see any of their pitiful or nervous looks. He'd been surrounded by people for far too long, he just needed a moment to gather his thoughts.

It was difficult, stepping into your room. The last time he'd been inside had been when you both had fought, the night that had pushed the world off of the slope that continued straight down, with no end in sight.

You'd redecorated, he noticed. There was a new bed set and various decorations hung around the room that hadn't been there before. He was surprised to see that the plants sitting on the shelves hadn't died, but soon realized that they were fake.

Shit, that had been why Shinsou had been leaving your dorm that night. He'd been part of the group helping you decorate and Bakugou had assumed something different. He didn't feel bad for not trusting the dude, but he'd made you feel like crap for something that he'd created in his own head.

You hadn't even been given a chance to sleep in your newly decorated room. How shitty was that? You'd finally taken the opportunity to make it your own once again, and then been forced to leave it behind.

"I'll get you back," he whispered. "No matter what."

-------------

Y/N's POV:

You appeared in the hallway of your house, trying to shake off the feeling of whatever that stuff was that All For One used to teleport. It was a cold, gooey substance that attached itself to your skin, and it was disgusting.

The sounds of the other villains appearing in the other room motivated you to stand. You had to place one hand on the wall as you walked toward the bathroom to keep yourself from falling.

All For One was quiet, luckily, meaning that he didn't have anything he wanted to discuss with the League about the next steps just yet.

You locked the bathroom door behind you and stood in front of the sink. A stack of washcloths sat on the edge and you picked a small, orange one from the top after turning on the water. There was so much blood covering your body that you didn't even know where to begin.

The attack had taken you by surprise, you'd known that All For One had been ready to begin his plan, but so soon? When you'd been teleported in front of that building, surrounded by Nomu and followers of the League, it had been terrifying.

There were people on the streets, innocent people. The targets had been the hero commissioners, but those innocents had still been caught in the crossfire.

Your chest began to rise and fall rapidly as you remembered the details of the attack. The sound of screams coming from a little girl as she kneeled over her father's body on the sidewalk would be one that haunted you forever. It had been the same little girl who'd approached you after the hero billboard chart event, the one who'd said she wanted to see you as a hero.

You covered your mouth with your hand to try and keep yourself from gagging. So many people had been hurt, so many people had died, and it had been by your hand.

You brought the washcloth to your arm and methodically began to clean the blood as best you could. You did so until the sink was stained with red and you were forced to grab another cloth.

"Why so down, daughter? That was only the beginning, once the final preparations have been made, our true battle shall begin. The heroes will be no more!"

"You're awful," you spat. "There were innocent people involved. They didn't have to die. No one had to die."

"It's true, people did not have to die, but it seemed that you wanted them too, right?"

You looked up, meeting your own eyes in the circular mirror that hung over the sink and dropped the washcloth. It landed with a plop in the bloodstained sink. "I didn't want anyone dead."

"Is that so?" All For One chuckled. "You are aware that I had no control over you during any of the times when you released a killing blow to those commissioners. I may have led you to each one of them, I may have even caused a bit of damage, but I allowed you total control before they died. It was your choice whether or not you continued until their lives ended, and you kept going with every one of them."

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie about something I'm proud of? Each time you took a life, it was music to my ears, proof that you have finally begun to accept your destiny and get revenge on those people who helped alienate you from society. The people who work day after day to keep this society of heroes running, you ended them all."

You shook your head, his words causing the room to spin. "Stop it, that isn't true."

It couldn't be true, you would've known if you were in control. You wouldn't have killed so many people of your own accord.

Those thoughts did nothing to console you. Your breathing picked up to a point where you thought you may have been hyperventilating.

"I believe that there were twenty-five of them, right? Or was it thirty? I must have lost count."

"Shut up!" Your fist made contact with the mirror in front of you and the glass shattered in response, the pieces falling like crystal rain. Your breathing was heavy, wounds appeared in the areas where the glass cut your skin, but thanks to All for One's power, there was no blood spilled.

The voice in your head went quiet, you stepped away from the sink and shakily walked out of the bathroom, down the hall, into the room at the very end.

Your parents' room was as it had been left. A broken lamp on the floor, which had collected a fair amount of dust, the bed was unmade, and picture frames lied broken on the ground.

Could this really be the same room you'd run to seeking comfort after having a nightmare as a child, the same room that had been full of light and laughter while you and your brother teamed up against your parents during a pillow fight?

You fell to your knees, not caring about the shards of glass that littered the floor, and picked up one of the broken frames.

Inside of it was a photo taken on a day that you'd forgotten about. It had been one of the rare days that you'd left the house, but this time your stepmom and brother accompanied you and your mom to the class you were taking. You'd told them that you'd met the requirements to jump to the next level, and begged to have them come and watch you show off your skills in a formal setting.

You and your family had been the only people there aside from your instructor, who'd helped you put together a routine to show them. And at the end of it, they'd all run up and congratulated you. Your mom hugged you tightly and your brother stood at your side telling you how awesome it had been to watch. Somehow, without you noticing, your stepmom had handed your instructor the camera she'd brought and he'd snapped a picture of all of you.

You were in your uniform, smiling so widely that the tooth you'd lost the day before was visible in the photo. Your mom was beaming with pride and your brother wore an excited smile.

You blinked, and a tear fell onto the photo, followed by more.

"I'm sorry," you said, your words thick with emotion. "I'm so sorry."

----------------

Three days passed without All For One making any moves. It was a relief to have him out of your head for a while, but it was nerve-wracking at the same time. All you could think about was the calm before a storm.

You stayed in your brothers' room, only leaving to use the bathroom on occasion. It was one of the only rooms in the house that hadn't been completely tainted by the League. One of the villains walked by every so often, but they didn't bother you.

You stared out of the window above your brothers' desk for hours at a time, trying to think of some way to put a stop to whatever was being planned. You couldn't escape, All For One would take control as soon as you got close to the edge of the yard, you couldn't hurt yourself, you had no power.

The next time All For One used you, you needed to try and take control back. You'd now done it twice, but only for a few seconds, and those few seconds had been hell. As soon as you managed to push All For One away, the power began writhing inside of you, and you were forced to give in once again. Somehow, you needed to find a way to work through the pain and keep control before you could be forced to hurt anyone else.

There hadn't been any more heroes attempting to attack, they likely knew that they needed a well-thought-out plan before they could make another move. That, or somehow the villains had done something to make it look like there was no longer anybody there.

You were thankful for what Shinsou had done, something you never thought you'd feel toward him. But if it hadn't been for his brainwashing, you knew for a fact that Bakugou would have tried to come back here. He'd been lucky that All For One had already accomplished his goal by the time he'd shown up to the battle in the city three nights ago. If he'd attempted to interfere beforehand, he likely would have been severely hurt.

Had he understood what you'd asked of him? It had been an act of desperation to give him your quirk, if you'd had more time you would've thought to give him something more useful, but you didn't have enough knowledge of what quirks All For One possessed. Knowing Bakugou, he'd figure it out, though.

God, you missed him. A part of you felt bad for putting him in danger again, but you knew that even if you hadn't given him your quirk he wouldn't have stopped fighting. At least this would give him a better chance to win.

A knock at the door startled you from your thoughts. "Come on out, we've got some plans to discuss. No, we don't need you, stay there."

Twice, why was he of all people sent to get you? And why hadn't All For One just made you go out there?

With a sigh, you tore your gaze from the window and went to open the door. You should've known that the peace wouldn't last for you. There was no point in trying to stay inside the room, you'd just be forced to go out anyway.

You opened the door and brushed past Twice without acknowledgment, which seemed to offend him. "Hey! Don't be rude. You're so nice for answering me so quickly!"

You scoffed. "Is the guy who broke my arm with a hammer really calling me rude for not saying hi to him?"

"Yes. No."

The rest of the villains were waiting in the kitchen, Shigaraki and Spinner stood against the far wall, while the others sat at the table, picking from a bag of chips. You glared, seeing them acting so casually in a place that wasn't theirs angered you.

"Aw, someone looks like they haven't been sleeping very well." Illusion said after you'd come to a stop.

"Screw off."

She laughed. "Don't worry, it'll get easier after a while. Soon, you'll forget all about the people you killed and how horribly devastated their families must be. Ha! Eventually, you'll even laugh about how ironic it is that you took away some kid's parents after swearing to kill us for taking away your parents."

You wanted nothing more than to see that smile wiped from her face, but All For One stopped you before your attack could be completed. His presence filled you with that familiar discomfort and only made your mood worsen.

"Stop that, Illusion. Toying with her will accomplish nothing." Shigaraki said.

"Oh, but it's so fun."

"Enough." All For One's voice echoed in your head and you cringed. He knew perfectly well that everyone would be forced to hear him, there was no reason to be so loud about it.

"Have all of the preparations been made?"

Shigaraki nodded. "Yes, master. We have followers spread across the country, we now only await your signal."

"So, what's the goal here?" Compress asked. "We just destroy everything?"

"We destroy the hero society." All For One corrected. "We tear it all down, piece by piece, and show the world how useless the heroes truly are. Any of those who dare to oppose us, who still choose to stand behind the heroes, will be torn down as well. We will soon be in control of the media, where we will show society the true nature of heroes. My daughter, you will be our shining example. Hawks as well, the people should be very interested to know that their number two hero was working alongside the League of Villains."

You shook your head, "but he wasn't. You guys literally killed him for being a double agent."

"But who else knows that? Now that the commissioners are dead there is no one to speak out and say the truth behind what he was doing with us."

Of course, that's why he'd gone after the commissioners. He couldn't have anyone disputing his claims and interrupting his plans.

"The doctor has also informed us that the nomu are prepared," Shigaraki said. "All of the pieces are in place."

No, it couldn't be happening already. You needed more time, what if Bakugou hadn't mastered a quirk yet? What if you weren't able to take control from All For One? How could they have prepared for this already without you knowing?

But you knew how. They'd had this planned for a long time now, your acceptance of his power had been the final piece. You were the reason that this plan was now already in motion.

Compress sighed from where he sat at the table. "I hate giving up the spotlight, but it looks like you'll be the star of the show. What should we call you? Ah!" He spread out his hands as if drawing out a dramatic title. "The successor of villainy. I think that has a nice ring to it."

"What do you mean, 'star of the show?'" You asked worriedly.

"You'll see," All For One stated. "Because tonight... the final battle will begin."

-------------------

Bakugou's POV:

The sun hung low on the horizon, casting an orange glow across everything in its path. Kirishima stood in front of him, as he had been doing for several hours now, waiting patiently.

The sounds of the others spread out across the field could be heard vaguely, but Bakugou was too focused on the task at hand to pay them any attention. He felt his right eye twitch, the strain of keeping them open for so long increasing to a nearly painful level.

Kirishima looked down at his arm, "yup, still nothing. I think you've got it down, Bakugou."

"No, I still can't make it last long enough."

It had taken two days of intense studying and practice to finally learn Mr. Aizawas's quirk. You really hadn't been lying when you said that learning new abilities was difficult. Even after three days, it was still hard for him to hold onto it for very long, and he hadn't been given a chance to try and modify it yet.

"It's fine," Kirishima said reassuringly. "We still have some time to practice before-"

"Students of class 1-A!" Principal Nezu's voice rang over the speakers. "I know that all of you have been quite busy working on your hero training, so I hate to bother you, but I do need to say that I'm no fool and I know exactly why you've been training so hard."

His classmates all stopped what they were doing, and Bakugou cursed.

"I would reprimand you, but there is no time, we have just been informed that the league of Villains plan to make a move within the next hour. All UA students, all who are ready and willing to fight, suit up and meet with the pro heroes waiting at the front gate. Those who are not wanting to fight will still need to suit up and take positions around the school. This is your test to see if you are truly cut out to be heroes."

The speaker cut off and no one said anything for a moment.

They were going to force the other students to fight even if they didn't want to? What about the kids that weren't in the hero courses?

Kaminari ran past him, "you heard the man. Let's suit up and bring these villains down!"

-----------------

Once everyone had gathered, they were separated into groups and sent into different parts of the city. The battle had quickly grown in it's intensity. From the school, police helicopters could be seen circling different areas and the sound of gunshots made popping noises through the air.

"Police officers managed to evacuate most of the civilians, but if any of you spot someone who may be in trouble, do not hesitate to bring them to safety even if it means getting away from the fighting." Midnight glanced at Bakugou in the reflection of the cars rearview mirror. "I know you're gonna want to get right into the center of it all, but you will not do so at the expense of innocent lives."

Kaminari saved him from the trouble of responding. "How did the police know to evacuate everyone?"

Midnight looked out each window, Iida ran to the right of the car, and on the left was Todoroki, creating a path for himself using his ice. Bakugou had wanted to be out there as well, his explosions could've propelled him faster, but he'd been forced to sit in the back of this stupid SUV in between Ashido and Kaminari, Jirou had gotten shotgun. Kirishima had wanted to come as well, but he'd been sent with a different group meant for a different location.

"You all may be surprised to hear this," Midnight said. "I know I was, but Hitoshi Shinsou turned himself over to the police and divulged the details of the Leagues attack plans just this morning."

"Shinsou did that?!" Kaminari asked.

"Yes."

While the others looked surprised, Bakugou couldn't care less. "How far until we get there?!"

"Just another minute until we won't be able to drive any further." She glanced back. "According to the reports, there are hundreds, if not thousands of villains fighting out there. You students will need to cover each other if you're gonna try and make it to where she is."

Ashido turned her head. "How did you know that that's what we were planning on doing?"

"Oh, come on. I know perfectly well that this boy in the back is head over heels for that girl, and I know the rest of you are her friends. I'm not gonna delude myself by thinking that you guys volunteered to be a part of the most dangerous group just because you felt like it." Midnight paused, "actually, Bakugou may have done that. But the rest of you wouldn't have."

"You aren't wrong," Kaminari agreed.

Bright light flashed in front of the car, Todorokis signal telling them that they couldn't drive any further. Midnight stopped the car and everyone stepped out.

It was worse than he'd imagined. They were still far away from the center of the city where the heart of the battle was taking place, but still there were countless numbers of people. It was hard to tell who was fighting on what side, but from what could be seen, the heroes were severely outnumbered.

"Alright, our goal here is to find and rescue any innocents who may have been caught in the midst of things, and to take as many members of the League into custody as possible." Midnight said. "Earphone Jack, use your quirk to try and pinpoint the girls location."

Jirou nodded and knelt down. It took a little bit, but she finally looked back up. "She's in the heart of the city. That's where the height of the battle is taking place."

The others started forward, but Midnight stopped them. "Listen, I know you probably have a plan of some kind, but you need to be as careful as possible. The League has been fighting for years to get to this girl, they aren't gonna give her up easy."

"Don't worry," Bakugou said. "I'm not letting any of them get in my way."

Kaminari and Ashido nodded in agreement. Midnight sighed, "it isn't just the villains you need to be worried about."

"What do you mean?" Jirou asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the heroes have been given permission to go after her with the intent to kill. If they see you guys trying to protect her, they could think that you're aiding the enemy."

"They want to kill her?" Todoroki looked suprised.

Bakugou had had enough of this conversation, time was being wasted. "There's no way in hell that I'm letting that happen." He propelled himself into the air with an explosion and made his way toward the sea of people clashing with one another.

A man jumped above the crowd, a dagger in his hand. Bakugou blasted him out of the way and continued moving. He knew he was supposed to be helping the people down there if possible, but why would he aid the same people who were trying to kill you? He needed to get to you before any of them could.

From above, one of the screens on a building was playing clips, clips that featured you as the star. The villains had managed to put together a compilation of videos making it seem as though you were in support of their cause.

He ignored it, the only way that this madness could be stopped was to get you away from the villains and out from under All For One's control.

A villain below seemed to notice his distractedness and used the opportunity to throw the spiked chain attached to his arm in an attempt to wrap it around Bakugou's legs and pull him down.

The weapon and the man weidling it were frozen in ice before any contact could be made. Bakugou looked over and saw Todoroki racing alongside him on a path of ice, holding Kaminari at his side. Below, Iida was running with Ashido and Jirou tucked under either of his arms.

As the students neared the heart of the city, the number of people grew and the sounds of death echoed between the buildings. Two helicopters were shot down from the sky, crushing at least twenty people beneath them. The statue representing All Might, the symbol of peace, had been destroyed. Nomu ran rampant through the streets and the heroes attempting to push forward were being met with heavy resistance.

Finally, he saw you, or more so, sensed you. Your body was hidden by the same dark aura that had surrounded you the last time, but this one was more intense. The powers aura was so dense that you were completely blocked from his view, which kept him from successfully activating the erasure quirk.

All For One was more powerful than he'd let on. This was his main act, and he was using every inch of his power combined with your strength to make sure that his plan was a success. Even if you tried fighting against it, he could tell that it would be nearly impossible.

"Icy-Hot!" Bakugou called. "We need to get in close and try and help her get control back. I can't erase All For One without being able to see her!"

He cursed at himself, he should've spent more time trying to modify the quirk, he should've tried harder so they wouldn't be in this situation.

Kaminari let go of Todoroki and slid to the ground, beginning to run alongside Jirou and Ashido. Iida was caught in an attack, but shouted at them to keep going.

The aura flickered for only a split second before you were taken by darkness once again, but the short glimpse he'd gotten of you had been enough to push him to go faster.

Todoroki drew close to you, shouting words of encouragement. Kaminari sent out a shockwave that knocked out the hoard of villains surrounding you. Him and Ashido were shouting as well.

The aura began to flicker, but there was never enough time for him to activate the erasure. Bakugou pushed closer, desperate to break through to you, and it was too late when he noticed that his distractedness had been noticed once again.

Shigaraki, the pale villain who kept his body covered in the hands of the dead was in the air beside him, reaching out with his own hand ready to close over his arm.

A high pitched noise rang across the sky and Shigaraki was thrown to the side. The darkness surrounding you disappeared, but Bakugou and the others were thrown back through the air as a shockwave was released from your body. Everyone within a hundred-foot radius of you was thrown backward.

But he could feel it, the dark presence was gone.

You'd taken back control.

-----------------

Y/N's POV (Minutes Earlier):

The city was quieter than you'd expected. From what you could tell, All For One had teleported you to one of the more populated areas, so it was surprising to find such a lack of civilians.

Shigaraki appeared to your left side, but none of the other League members were there. All For One had likely sent them elsewhere.

The complete details of the plan hadn't been divulged to you, but you knew that it would involve death and destruction. That's all that these villains knew. They claimed to be doing this to create a 'fair' society, but in reality, they were after power and revenge. All For One didn't want to better society, he wanted to crush it, and rebuild it with himself as its ruler.

And no matter what it took, you refused to let that happen. Tonight, you would end this.

You stood in the middle of a road, surrounded by buildings on either side. Somehow, the people had been prepared, because the buildings were empty and you caught glimpses of police officers attempting to keep out of sight.

The police had you surrounded, and heroes were likely nearby as well. You sent a silent thank you to whoever was responsible. Maybe this battle would turn out to be less in the villains' favor than they thought. At the very least, more lives would be spared.

Shigaraki scratched the side of his neck and let out a sound of annoyance. "Do they truly believe that this will deter us?"

You looked over, what did he mean by that?

An officer stepped into full view, his gun drawn. "Surrender yourselves now and this can all go over easy. We have you surrounded and outnumbered."

He spoke directly to you as if somehow you were the one responsible for everything. Did he not realize that you would surrender if you could?

Shigaraki laughed, "outnumbered? Master, why don't we show them how truly wrong they are."

The familiar tug of a quirk being pulled to the surface could be felt inside of you. All For One was going to activate something.

A noise went through the air and a massive amount of dark objects appeared simultaneously throughout the area. The black substance fell away to reveal hundreds of people, each of them looking eager for a fight.

The officer's face went pale with fear, as the streets were suddenly overtaken by a mass of All For One's followers. You felt that same fear. How could he have so many supporters? How could so many people have been tricked into believing in the League's intentions?

All For One's spoke up, and it looked like everyone was able to hear it, as if he'd used his power to infiltrate the people's minds and make himself heard. "There is no 'Symbol of Peace' to come and save you. There are no heroes who will stand triumphantly after tonight. Kneel before my power, surrender yourself to a better world, and you will be spared."

The world was silent, the officer who had spoken first looked ready to pass out, but he held his weapon steady. "No one in their right minds would ever kneel to you. Call off your villains, or I will have no choice but to allow my men to use force."

You could feel the power rising inside of you, and you fought to push it down. If this started, if All For One used you in the way he planned, the night would end in a massacre.

The power fought back, All For One fought back. You could feel his presence overtaking your body in a way that it hadn't before. This had to have been ten times stronger than any of the other times he'd taken control.

Of course, he'd planned for this exact thing. To make you think that he only held a certain amount of power, an amount that you were able to fight against, and then reveal that he'd been holding back all along. You could feel it, this was his power, not yours. It didn't matter that you'd taken it into yourself, the quirk belonged to him. You were merely a vessel of destruction.

The Earth shook beneath you, the windows lining the buildings shattered, Shigaraki held up his hand, and the world exploded into chaos.

Heroes and law enforcement fought against villains and their followers. All For One raged, sending out attack after attack until you could no longer recognize what you were being forced to do. There was darkness surrounding your body, circling you, the essence of his power.

Something pierced the darkness, hitting you directly in your neck. A bullet.

The fiery pain did nothing but allow All For One to increase his power. The weaker your resolve became, the more difficult it was to try and fight against him. The officer had taken a kill shot, but he didn't know that he would be the one dying as a result.

Their bullets did nothing to deter All For One, you felt each one as they opened holes in your skin and burned their way through you. You tried to yell at them, to explain that his power didn't allow for the injuries to do any real harm. With every injury created on your body, your mind grew more muddled from the pain, and All For One was able to maneuver you to his will. Like a marionette, whose strings were slowly untangling, making it easier for the puppetmaster to make it dance.

You flicked your hand and the officers were thrown into the side of the building behind them, their bodies went limp and they fell to the ground, landing with a sickening splat that you heard even over the sounds of battle around you.

In the distance, you could see more heroes trying to fight their way to the crowd, no doubt, they'd concluded that you were the primary target. But, each hero that tried to approach you was quickly swarmed by a group of All For One's followers.

You watched the battle rage, trying desperately to push through the pain and fight back. The crowd was filled with so many people and you could no longer tell who was on what side. The villains had planned this well, their level of patience and organization had allowed for the city to be overflowing with death in the span of minutes.

There were some people you recognized in the crowd, people who'd been on the news, protesting against the heroes. They were only civilians. There weren't just villains participating in this fight, there were normal human beings.

Were any of them fighting because they'd been inspired by you? Had your days as the vigilante only pushed people to the side of the villains?

Screens everywhere around the city lit up, playing video recordings of the time you'd been arrested. They showed Hawks conspiring with the league and played bits of recorded phone-calls he was involved in. Clips of you fighting against Endeavor in the alleyway and many of the other things you'd accomplished while playing the role of Silloughette were shown as well.

They'd twisted it all, making it look like you'd been drawn to the villains this entire time. They were taking everything that you'd stood for and shaping it into their own story to further their agenda.

Bolts of lightning shot from your hands into the sky, enveloping two helicopters in a yellow web of electricity. The machines quickly began to fall, people tried to run but not all could get away quickly enough.

So many people... so much death had come by your hand. Whether you were in control of it or not, you'd made this choice, and that choice had led to you drowning in a sea of blood.

This wasn't what you'd wanted. All you'd ever wanted was to go and live freely, in a place where you could do as you pleased and not have to worry about anyone else. When that dream had been taken from you, you'd tried to adapt, to mold yourself into a hero of sorts. But, what was a hero in this society? Even when doing what you thought would help people, you'd been spat on

In a sense, the villains were right in saying that hero society needed to change. But this... this wasn't change. This was proof that none of them truly cared about creating a society that was just and equal, they only sought power. Heroes and villains were simply two sides of the same coin.

You took your focus away from the battle, away from the death, and instead, you looked inside of yourself. All of your fighting, you refused to let it be for nothing. You refused to be used as a tool to further the villains' agenda. You'd fought through too much to let All For One win now.

"Ah, it looks like your friends have decided to join in on the fun, daughter."

You looked up, terror gripping your chest. Todoroki sped closer to you on a path of ice, shouting words that you couldn't hear. Kaminari and Mina had managed to fight their way through the crowd. They were all drawing closer by the second.

All For One chuckled and you could feel what he intended to do. The power inside of you grew, readying to create an attack that would leave none of them alive.

You pushed against it, you fought with all of the strength you thought you had. All For One thrashed and fire lanced through your veins as it fought to be released. The darkness circling you flickered and you reached for the power inside of you that didn't belong to All For One.

He'd chosen you as his successor because you were strong, even without his power. You just needed to find what belonged to you and grab on.

Time seemed to slow as a familiar voice echoed through the air. Bakugou was propelling himself toward you, using his explosions, but he was so focused on getting to where you stood, that he didn't see Shigaraki jump in his direction, extending his arm and opening his hand to grab the boy you loved and turn him to dust.

And you found it, the power that belonged to you, the strength that had allowed for you to take down numerous enemies, the strength that had kept you from giving up, you tore yourself from All For One's grasp, and you grabbed it.

All For One roared as you blasted Shigaraki to the side. You held tight, refusing to let the control slip from your grasp even as the pain increased to the point where you truly believed you may be dying. You held on.

And then your surroundings disappeared.

You were no longer in the city. No people were fighting, no screams, no cries, it was quiet. The place you were in was dark and vast, a dead landscape with no end in sight.

It was the same place you'd been taken after falling unconscious after the battle at Tartarus prison. When you'd unwillingly drank All For One's blood and the power had attempted to force you into submission.

This was the inside of All For One's quirk.

As if sensing your thoughts, the villain spoke from behind you. "Well, this is an unexpected turn of events."

You turned, "what did you do?"

"I did nothing. It was you who brought us here."

What? How could you have done that? "I didn't."

"But you did. I should have known that you wouldn't give in so easily. I'd foolishly thought that all would go smoothly after you'd accepted my power, but you still haven't done that, have you? You're rejecting it, and somehow, it's working."

When you'd grabbed onto your own power, had that been recognized as rejection? It would make sense, you'd been fighting against All For One, trying to force him out. Could it be possible that you could get rid of his power? Go back to who you were?

"Alas, I can't let that happen. While we're here, I'll need to weaken you to the point where you can no longer resist. Once your consciousness has been destroyed, I will take your body as my own."

So, what you were seeing here was a reflection of his consciousness. If you could get rid of him here, then he would no longer be a part of you, you would be rid of him and his god-forsaken power. He was the creator of it, and with him gone, his quirk would be gone as well.

All For One sent a branch hurtling through the air and you jumped to the side. He was fast, though, and appeared at your side just as his arm grew nearly five sizes bigger and he sent a blow to where your face would've been had you not rolled over.

Shit, you were unprepared. You didn't have any power here, it was his quirk so All For One was able to use his abilities freely, while also blocking you from using yours.

It would be fine, you just needed to figure out a way to beat him with your bare hands, no big deal.

You couldn't dodge whenever a burst of air sent you flying back, you landed roughly and your body slid across the ground. All For One was standing over you in an instant, sharp, curved rivets growing from his fingers. "It's a shame that it's come to this, we could have changed the world together, daughter. But you were too influenced by the heroes, you've become one of them."

"I'm not one of them," you replied, "but I'm sure as hell not one of you." You made a swift kick with your leg and knocked his feet from beneath him. Jumping up, you landed a kick to the side of his head and stomped your foot onto his throat.

The moves weren't anything cool, but you had to do whatever you could with what little advantages you had.

But it was still his domain, and your advantages were little to none. All For One blasted you into the air and quickly followed by sending a sharp rivet through your shoulder. You fell back toward the ground and his fist increased in size once again.

The blow was nearly your end. His fist connected with your jaw with such force you felt the bones in your neck twist. You landed hard and had the wind knocked from your lungs.

All For One approached you slowly, tauntingly. "I told you, it's no use trying to fight me here. One more blow and you'll be done for."

"No," you said breathlessly. "I don't care what you do to me, I'll keep fighting back."

"It will be sad to have to continue without your strength, but it's of no matter. As long as your body is my vessel, it will be easy to  He smiled, "do you have anything you'd like to say before you meet your end?"

You still couldn't move, whatever form you were in had been broken. You'd find a way to come back, to fight him again and again until you won. You swore it.

With that determination, you stared up at the man who called himself your father with unflinching eyes. "Yeah, go to hell."

His body began to shift, growing as All For One created a combination of quirks that would be used to deliver his final blow. You shut your eyes, trying to remind yourself that this wouldn't be the end. You weren't going to die, not really.

Right?

Because if you died now, it all would have been for nothing, and that was something you couldn't accept.

You waited for the strike that would end this fight, but it never came.

All For One's body had shifted back to normal, and he was staring down at his arm with gritted teeth. "What is going on?! Why won't it work?!"

He struggled, and you could see that his quirk would no longer activate. Something was stopping it, the same something that sent air back to your lungs, that allowed your own power to flow back into you.

Bakugou had erased his quirk.

You didn't hesitate to teleport behind him and grab All For One by his arm. You used your strength to tear the appendage from its socket while also pushing him down to his knees. He shouted in both anger and pain.

"Wow, looks like my luck got a little better." You took his head and slammed it into the ground. "You ruined my life, you know? You took everything from me without feeling even an ounce of guilt. And now, just like I promised, I'm going to kill you for it."

He coughed, looking oddly weak without the threat of his power. "I will live on through you, daughter."

"You aren't my dad, asshole, and you never will be." Gripping his throat tightly, you lifted All For One back to his knees. "I reject you, and I reject your power."

Your grip tightened, cutting off his airflow, your surroundings began to fade away along with his consciousness.

Staring down at him, you saw the faces of all the innocent people who he'd killed, the faces of your family, Aizawa, Hawks, and you saw your own face. He'd taken thousands of lives, in one way or another, and now he would pay for his actions. His death would be done by the hands of the girl he'd created.

His power was nearly completely gone. The only thing you could see other than All For One and yourself was a shining bright light encompassing the world you were in.

You watched as All For One's power faded to nothing.

"Any last words?"

--------------

When the real world re-appeared, and the sounds of screams and explosions could be heard once again, you immediately noticed how much lighter you felt. Your body was your own again.

You also noticed the arms that had you cradled against the chest of the boy you loved. The boy who'd saved you.

Tears fell from your eyes as you lifted your head and pressed your lips against his. "I did it, we did it, we won." Your voice sounded strange, but you dismissed it.

Bakugou held you tightly, "I knew you could take that bastard down." He bent down and and made a sound of relief. "I love you, god, I love you so much. Don't ever do something like that again, ok?"

You tried to laugh, but there was a pressure in your chest, the aftermath of your fight must have taken a larger toll on your body than you'd thought.

The faces of your friends appeared over you, and you smiled at the sight, but for some reason they all looked terrified. Kaminari reached out his hand, "Bakugou, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" You asked. "What's wrong?"

Bakugou lifted his head, and you watched the color drain from his face. "What the hell?!"

Minas hands shook as she covered her mouth. "There are so many, I can't even see-"

"Todoroki, go and get help, now!"

You were confused, had someone been hurt? "Guys, tell me what's going on."

No one seemed to hear what you were saying. Bakugou shook his head frantically, "no, no, this shouldn't be happening! Wake up dammit! Stay awake! We've got so much stuff to do now. We beat him! We've got all the time in the world to do self-care days, movie nights, anything you want! Hell, we don't have to do anything, I know you'll probably want a break after all this crap. That's fine, just stay awake and me and you can start on that life you've always wanted. I don't care where we go, i'm happy as long as it's me and you. So, please, stay with me!"

He was staring at you as he shouted, and you tried to lift your hand to comfort him. "I know, i'm happy to be with you too, forever, I promise. Guys, it's ok, I'm ok. We did it, remember?"

Kaminari fell to the ground and Mina choked on a sob. Bakugou pressed his face against yours, "we promised, remember?! You can't leave me, not like this, please! I love you!"

You looked around, and your eyes landed on Bakugou's chest. It was covered in blood, so much blood that you began to panic. He needed help, how badly had he been hurt? "I love you too, we need to go and get your wounds checked out, ok?"

They still didn't seem to hear you, and then you began to look down at yourself.

Fresh blood poured out from the wounds in your chest, the ones that you'd created when stabbing yourself. Bullet wounds littered your body as well. All of your injuries had been opened now that you no longer had All For One's quirk.

Bakugou's body shook as he cried, "I'm not erasing it anymore why isn't she healing?!"

"Because All For One is gone." Jirou said shakily. "She got rid of his power completely."

Their words began to make sense to you, and you struggled to fight against reality. "No, guys listen to me, it's ok, right? We're all ok, we won, stop crying."

They didn't stop, though, and you began to scream at them, begging for them to listen to you, until you were interrupted by a voice coming from behind you.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

You turned, your surroundings fading into the background. Aizawa stood there, only a few feet away from you, with a sad expression across his face.

You stood up, no longer feeling the warmth of Bakugou's arms around you, and Aizawa ran forward and caught you before you could collapse back to the ground. "I'm so sorry."

You shook your head. "No, no, no, this isn't happening. This is a dream, right? A way for my brain to let me see you again before I wake up in the hospital?"

"I really wish it was." Aizawa held the back of your head and rested it against his shoulder. "It shouldn't have happened, it wasn't fair. But I am so damn proud of you, you know that?"

Deep down, you knew that this was real, it wasn't a dream or a hallucination. The realization dropped down on you like a ten-ton weight and you felt yourself break down as you sunk into his embrace. "It wasn't supposed to end like this."

"I know," he said softly. "I know."

You felt like a child, crying into the arms of a parent. "I don't wanna die."

Aizawa held tighter. "You can rest now."

"I don't want to rest if it means I have to leave everyone behind! I want to win, I want to be able to live my life the way that I never got to. Why do I have to go?" You still needed to finish high school, you wanted to go out on dates, and do movie nights with your friends. You wanted to see the world, and you and Bakugou hadn't finished the show that you'd made him watch yet, how could you leave without seeing his reaction to the final episode?

"What about Eri, you said it yourself that she would be crushed, she already lost you, she can't lose anyone else. I can't leave her, she needs someone to be there, to show her that her experiences don't define her life. She needs her sister!"

Aizawa sounded as though he was on the verge of tears himself. "She'll always have us with her, no matter what, I promise."

You shook and you felt the wetness of your face against Aizawa's shoulder. "I finally told him that I loved him. We fought for so long, I pushed him away for so long and right when I got to be happy with him again we were torn apart! He's gonna blame himself, and I'm not gonna be able to tell him that it wasn't his fault. I can't even say I love you for a final time, just like how I didn't get to say it to you. I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone, how is that fair?!"

"God, you've carried the burden of others for so long. You're so young, sometimes people don't realize that, especially with your incredible strength, but you're just a child. This isn't fair, I know, but you don't need to be responsible for anyone anymore. You don't have to be strong anymore."

Something soft brushed against the skin of your back as you continued to cry, a feather.

Hawk's voice lacked it's usual joy, instead, his words were tinged with despair. "You did good, kid."

You raised your head from Aizawas's shoulder, and what you saw caused you to break completely, for the first time, you felt all of your pent up emotions come rushing to the surface and you began sobbing uncontrollably.

Your mom knelt beside Aizawa and took you into her arms, quickly joined by your brother and your stepmom.

"I'm so sorry, my love. So, so sorry."

"You were a badass though," your brother said, his own voice thick with emotion.

You clung tightly to them, to everyone. This was it, there was nothing left for you to do.

The thought that consoled you, was that it hadn't all been for nothing. If you hadn't held out and fought for so long against the villains and what they'd wanted, if you'd given up and accepted All For One's power from the beginning, you wouldn't have had the people there to help. You wouldn't have had friends willing to risk their lives to come and save you, you wouldn't have met the boy who'd made you feel comfortable enough to be weak. The boy who'd never looked at you with fear in his eyes like all of society had. You wouldn't have had the chance to be a part of another family, small as it may have been.

What had started as a simple plan for revenge, had ended with something so much more. You'd found yourself, experienced love, friendship, growth. You'd shown he world who you were, what you thought that it meant to be a true hero. You'd changed things, whether it was for better or for worse, you didn't know.

And you found that it was a small relief, not needing to worry about what happened next.

-----------------

Eri's POV (Three years later):

A leaf fell from the branch hanging above, its fall-tinged colors brightly contrasting against the gray sky.

She clutched her favorite red blanket tightly around her shoulders, trying to ward off the deepening chill in the air that had come as a result of the recent cloudy weather.

The grave was recently polished, as it always was each time she visited. Someone must have come here nearly every day to keep it in such good condition, anyone passing by would never guess that it had been here for three years now.

Eri sat down in front of the familiar gravestone and smiled, "Hey, I'm back."

Present Mic stood a few feet away from her, looking down at the other grave they'd come to visit with tears in his eyes.

"I know it's been a while, sorry," Eri said. "I was gonna come earlier today, but halfway through the drive, I realized that I forgot to feed bubbles so we had to turn around. The last time I forgot to feed him he played dead for almost an hour, I got so scared."

She laughed, remembering how Present Mic had been seconds away from flushing the animal just as Bubbles had begun to swim around the tank once more as though nothing had happened.

"After that, he and I have been alright, though. I'm really glad that Yui gave him to me."

She'd been baffled at first when the woman had knocked on their door, fishbowl in hand, claiming to be a relative of Aizawa's, but she and Eri had soon become very close. She visited on the weekends from time to time.

"School's still going well," she said. "I'm pretty good at controlling my quirk now, but I still don't use it much. I know that people don't really get judged for their powers too much anymore, but it's still a little scary for me to use outside of my special classes. I don't want people to be scared of me."

After the heroes had won the battle waged by All For One and his followers, people had begun to see that change was needed. There'd been change to both the police system and the hero system. According to Present Mic, there were a lot fewer villains being seen nowadays. He said that everyone was given mostly equal opportunities and quirk discrimination was not as common a thing. He told her that to try and convince her that it was ok to use her quirk, but she remembered how they'd treated you, and it was difficult not to fear being looked at in the same way.

"People still talk about you, you know. Your face was put on posters and at the beginning, there were so many videos of you on TV, it was crazy. And I know you probably hate the nickname 'symbol of change' but I still think it's really cool."

Eri cleared her throat. "Bakugou hates it, though. He gets angry at people for making you into something he calls a maurder. He says that you shouldn't have had to die in order to make people finally open their eyes. He hates the people that hated you and only changed their feelings because you're gone."

She didn't see Bakugou too often, only on the rare occasion that he would visit her. He'd become really busy with his hero training. It was nearing time for him to graduate, and he'd sworn to become a real hero, one that you would be proud of.

"Kirishima says that Bakugou barely even sleeps because he's working so hard, but I also heard him talking about how he has bad dreams a lot, which is probably another reason why he doesn't sleep much." Eri visited the students of class A whenever she got the chance, and since Bakugou would often be out training, she'd ask about him to the others.

"He also blames himself," she said sadly. "Ashido says that it's a lot like the way that you used to blame yourself for things that weren't your fault. He says that if he hadn't used the power you gave him to erase your quirk, that you would still be here." She sighed, "you probably already know that, though, because he's here every day." It was one of the only times he'd leave campus for a reason that didn't involve training or hero work.

The wind rustled the petals of the flowers that had been left in front of your grave and she waited a moment before speaking again. "I miss you a lot, everyone does. You were the best big sister I could ever have. I hope that you and dad are somewhere watching me together because I promise I'm gonna make you guys proud."

Eri pulled a bar of chocolate from her jacket pocket and unwrapped the wrapper, fumbling a bit because of her cold fingers. When she got it open, she placed a piece on the ground in front of the stone before eating some herself.

She stayed there for a while, talking and eating contentedly even as the sky dimmed and the air grew colder. She sat for hours, unable to see the boy sitting underneath the tree that grew just a few feet from your grave, with silent tears falling from his eyes.