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Something wasn’t right. Izuku couldn’t quite put a finger on it. But… something wasn’t right. Maybe it was his hair? He should probably get a cut soon. Hopefully the barber wouldn’t cut it too short.
Maybe it was his voice? Was it changing? He thought he already dealt with the voice cracking portion of puberty. Maybe. Puberty was weird.
Maybe it was his eyes? They didn’t look quite like they were the correct shade. It could be the lighting? Some people’s eyes look gold in the sunlight and pitch black in darkened areas. And then there were the people who claimed their eyes changed from blue to grey according to their mood…
No.
Yes.
Maybe?
All of the above?
His bones ached.
But they’ve been aching for quite some time now.
His breathes were labored.
But he came down with something
He felt cold.
But he always ran cold.
He was… growing taller.
But he thought he was done growing.
His muscles were losing mass.
But he kept on working to strengthen himself.
His hair was starting to whiten.
But he wasn’t that stressed… was he?
His classmates kept on asking him if he was okay.
Izuku thinks something is wrong.
And then the first night he stayed home he was taken.
He woke up in a dull room. Dull in the sense it had grey walls, ceiling, and floor.
But it had two potted plants and a shag rug?
Well, those were the first things he noticed besides the bed he was in.
He won’t lie, it was pretty weird. Who would make some attempt to make a cell look… homey? Was that the right word for the situation Izuku found himself in?
But none of that really mattered in his head when his brain decided to finally register that his whole body hurt. An ache so deep it might as well came from his soul.
(Izuku wasn’t quite sure about souls. If they were real or not. But hey, words stick. Especially with how they’re used.)
A groan escaped him. He didn’t want anyone to be alerted to his… condition. Who knows what his kidnapper would do.
(Izuku was 99.9% certain that he got kidnapped. Yes there was that chance that Izuku might’ve ended up at a hospital due to something that happened in the night that caused him 0 memory of the incident. And yet the room did not look like a hospital room.)
Minutes passed while the teen was in pain.
No one came.
That was… good? Right?
Izuku found himself slipping away into sleep.
The next time he woke up it was… still the same room. Same potted plants, same shag rug. Maybe the same bed, but he didn’t really pay that much attention to it last time.
At least he ached less?
Stifling another groan, Izuku sat up.
Bad mistake bad mistake bad mistake-
Izuku fell backwards, back on the bed.
‘This… hurts more than I thought.’ He mumbled to himself in his head.
It only got worse when Izuku sat up. But it faded the moment he laid back down.
Maybe it was a Quirk at play? Was its only purpose to cause pain for whoever tries to get up from a lying position? Was it only from a lying position? Could it be done to keep a person sitting? If Izuku tried to crawl, would it hurt as well? If that didn’t hurt then maybe there was a certain height that a person gets to that starts the pain. Was there a time limit like Stain’s Quirk? Since Izuku hasn’t seen anyone yet, then it could possibly be reapplied when he was asleep/unconscious. How would it activate though? Was it by sight, or touch? Was there another factor in it? Perhaps it can only affect someone while they were asleep or unconscious. Unless the kidnappers just didn’t want Izuku to know their face yet and it would still affect people while they were awake. But then if it affected people while they were still awake then he would have to find a way to counter that. That brings back to how it could activate. If it was by eyes then he could find a way to blind them-
Izuku clacked his mouth shut. He could feel his face pale at the realization he was mumbling aloud. Oh of all times his mumbling could cause him trouble. The room could have a microphone and a camera.
So. Izuku just laid there. And waited. And waited. And waited. Minutes crawled by. And… no one came in.
That was still good… maybe.
Honestly he wouldn’t know how to feel if they just. Forgot that he was there.
A shiver ran down his side at the thought of starving to death. Then a different thought popped into his head.
How… how was he going to… do his, his business??
Was it possible to have your face both be red as a tomato and pale as a piece of paper?
‘Time to think other thoughts!’ Izuku mentality screamed at himself.
Like seeing how much he could actually move!
One arm up! No pain!
Two arms up! No pain!
Waving arms around! Starting to hurt a little!
Arms back down!
Yay!
HE IS SO GLAD HE IS THINKING OTHER THOUGHTS!
This time Izuku did let out his groan. Sometimes he just wants to know how these things happen to him. Was it just some sort of bad luck? Was it all connected to One For All? Was it something else entirely? Izuku just did not know.
In other news, Izuku finally realized he was underneath some blankets and sheets. Only his arms, shoulders, neck and head were out of the blankets.
Huh.
Were they always there?
The teen couldn’t help but notice how… warm they were. How nice the bed felt. Like a comfy nest he was wrapped up in.
Against his will, Izuku dozed off.
Next thing he knew he was waking up. Feeling rather groggy too.
Turning his head he saw that the room had… five potted plants?
What?
Why??
Izuku squinted at the plants.
Were they… plants created by a Quirk? Were they Quirked plants? Can plants even have Quirks?
God Izuku was tired.
He wasn’t… aching anymore.
Could he get out of the bed?
Slowly, he removed the blankets. Slowly he sat up. And immediately looked down. He saw he was wearing soft blue pajamas. And his… his hand wasn’t scarred.
Eyes widening, he rolled up his right sleeve. There it was. No scars. No burns. It was all just. Bare. And pale. And… skinny. Not quite bony.
What… but that should… panic filled him. Did they manage to get Eri? Did they force her to use her Quirk on him? Was it something else entirely? Maybe a different type of Quirk? He hopes it’s a different Quirk and not Eri. God he hopes it’s not Eri.
Was anything else different?
Feeling around his arms, torso, and legs confirmed it. He definitely lost muscle mass. But something else wasn’t quite right.
Just what was it?
On the bright side he wasn’t feeling any pain or aches…
Maybe the Quirk wore off?
He shook his head softly to clear his mind. He needed to try to find a way out.
Ever so slowly did he turn his body around. One leg left the bed. Two legs left the bed. Both feet were just a centimeter shy of touching the shag rug.
Should he be glad that it was big enough to reach from his bed to where the potted plants were? The floor looked to be… very cold.
Almost hesitantly, Izuku pushed off of the bed to stand up.
Multiple things happened at once. The rug was noted to be soft and oddly warm. The room was not the size he expected. Not large, but not small either. His legs felt weak. Oh and his center of gravity felt off. Really, it was the last two that made him fall the next moment.
Falling to the soft hard ground was not fun. It made something rattle inside him. It made the pain come back. That deep ache returned. Punishing him for even falling in the first place.
He just laid there. Staring at the vault door. With its shiny metal exterior and-
Wait a moment.
A vault door?
Was Izuku in a vault?!
Panic ravaged through him. Vaults were durable as hell. They were sealed shut and was there any ventilation in there? Was there any fresh oxygen for Izuku to breath?! Was he going to suffocate and die?!
Ah but he had plants.
Turning his head enough he saw the plastic containers holding the plants.
(Huh.
Plastic.
He won’t have anything sharp to help him fight his kidnappers.)
The plants itself looked lush and big. And the closer he looked the more he saw different types were crammed into each different pot. At least he’ll have fresh air?
But why would they get him plants in a vault? Why give him a comfortable shag rug? A warm soft bed? What were they going to do to him?
His eyes zoned in on something white.
Confused, Izuku went to touch it. It was… hair?
Straight white hair?
He tugged on it.
It tugged on his head.
What.
Izuku may or may not have passed out.
When he woke up again he noticed a few things.
One, he was back in bed.
Two, there was someone else in the room with him.
Izuku jolted in shock. He… honestly wasn’t expecting anyone to come in.
Certainly not someone in a fancy suit and no tie. Or someone with curly white hair. Or someone to smile so… warmly at him.
But the cold eyes? That was more what Izuku expected.
“I see you’re awake.” The man said in a terribly familiar voice.
So terribly familiar that it sent shivers down his spine.
Yet why wasn’t his mind connecting any dots?
Izuku went to say something, a question really, only to be interrupted by a coughing fit.
“You know,” the man started after the fit calmed down, “if you didn’t want to get sick then you shouldn’t have slept on the floor.”
The man… chided him.
Irritation began to burn. How dare he say that to him? As if he was a child?
“D-Don’t…” He rasped, throat hurt from coughing. From lack of water.
The curly haired man tilted his head to the side. His smile widening a tad as his eye grew colder. “‘Don’t’ what?” He asked.
“Don’t treat me… l-like a… child.” He labored. He wasn’t one damn it. “Don’t… belittle me.”
At this the suited man smirked. “Oh but isn’t that my job?”
Confusion washed over Izuku. What did he mean?
A large hand suddenly plopped down onto his head. Ruffling his hair. No. Adjusting it. Making it so would fall onto his left eye.
“Come on now. Get some rest. I’ll even read some of the older comics.”
What?
Izuku blinked and then suddenly the man held a yellowed comic book in his hands. It was… so old. Izuku didn’t even recognize the characters on the front.
Then the man started to read aloud.
Nostalgia rushed through him. But surely this never happened to him before… right?
Right?
Izuku fell asleep before he could think up an answer.
Then the next time he woke up it was with him being propped up. By the man.
Who’s lips twitched up to a smile. “Hello. It’s about time you woke up.”
“What are you doing?” Izuku managed to rasp.
A deep chuckle rumbled from the man’s chest. “Going to help you eat. Well, that was before you woke up.”
He was being fed… while asleep… horror trickled down Izuku’s back. Izuku doesn’t know how long he slept each time. And if this was a continuous thing… then who knows how long Izuku was in the vault.
“But if your stomach can’t handle what I brought then…” he trailed off.
Izuku narrowed his eyes. “I can eat just fine.” He grumbled.
And wow he really needed some water. His voice sounded… really odd. Or maybe he just needed to get out.
“And I’m not hungry.” He added.
“Then I suppose I’ll eat all this katsudon by myself.” The man… teased?
Izuku blinked. There was a bowl of katsudon in the man’s hands.
Was… the man’s Quirk a type of teleportation? Only of objects?
Unfortunately before Izuku could think any further on the Quirk, his stomach betrayed him.
The man had the audacity to laugh at him.
But then again villains don’t really care.
But then why was he being… taken care of?
Izuku pursed his lips as the man went to… feed him when he told him he could feed himself.
The man sighed. “Come on now, don’t be that way, Izuku. You and I both know katsudon is your favorite.”
Izuku tensed up. “How do you know that?”
He watched as the smile slowly turned into a frown. “I… see.” The man said.
“‘See’ what?” Izuku demanded. “Who are you? Why am I here?”
The frown deepened.
The katsudon disappeared. The man reached his hand out to Izuku.
Izuku remembered a dream he had what felt like ages ago.
He tried to back away from that hand. That man.
“All For One.” He croaked out, right before the hand landed on him.
Right before he was forced into darkness.
When Izuku woke up he wasn’t on the bed. Instead he found himself in a chair. At a table. In his vault room.
Sitting across from him was All For One. With a deadly warm smile.
“Hello.” All For One greeted.
Izuku tensed up.
“Now, now, no need to be anxious.” Of course he would pick it up. “I’m only here to talk.”
Izuku still grimaced.
Then there was the hair that was still in front of his left eye. That was getting annoying. Was it there the last time he woke up? He couldn’t remember.
“What did you do to me? Why am I here?” Izuku cut to the chase. God he was terrified. A man who killed so many people, ruined more lives, was in front of him.
He knew he was going to have to fight All For One one day, but he didn’t think it would be like this.
The man’s lips twitched. “Not wanting to beat around the bush huh?” He then leaned forward. “I suppose that’s a good quality to have.”
Izuku didn’t move. He didn’t dare.
Another twitch of the lips. He wasn’t hiding it.
“I didn’t do anything. Not really. I just brought you back to where you should be. Back to what you should be.”
Izuku frowned. “What do you mean?”
All For One shook his head. “Really Izuku. So impatient. You always were.”
He thought he was pretty patient. Thank you very much.
“I suppose I can tell you. But I assure you, you won’t like it. At least, not at first. You’ll come around.”
“And if I don’t?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask.
He couldn’t help but shiver either when he was given that dark look.
“Oh but you will.” Was his answer.
Blink.
A large tablet was in front of Izuku, showing off a video… of a surprised man? He looked… sickly. His skin wasn’t as pale as his hair, but his green eyes were lively. They actually… looked similar to…
“The first One For All holder…” Izuku breathed out, his eyes widening in realization.
To his shock, the recording did the same thing as him at the same time. Was this some sort of trick?
Glancing up at the unscarred face of All For One revealed nothing. He was as stone faced as a statue.
The hero in training tried not to wince as he went back to the tablet.
Okay. So. The first holder was studying the camera intensely. Or was it a camera at all? Perhaps he had taken the tablet and was looking through it. But his eyes were not moving around like someone does when reading something. No, he was… studying something. The first holder’s eyebrows creased at the same time as Izuku’s.
Something was… not right. Something was off. Odd. Wrong.
Izuku hesitantly brought up a hand. So did the first holder. A cold chill ran right through him. He… he reached forward, over the table, to the tablet.
So did the first holder.
Their fingers met as a cold pane of glass separated them.
Both of their faces paled.
It wasn’t a tablet.
It was a mirror.
“Wha- What did you do to me? ” Izuku croaked out.
“It’s as I said before. I made you back to what you should be.”
Izuku snapped his eyes up to the icy satisfaction that filled All For One’s own pair of eyes.
“How are you even like this. How did you make me like this.” Was Izuku even asking anymore?
All For One, the bastard, smirked. “Now that is a secret.”
Izuku’s face-the first holder’s face? His face? Their face?-twisted into a scowl. He yanked his hand back from the mirror.
“Why?” His, his?, voice cracked.
“Because,” All For One said, setting the mirror down. He stood up, walking to where Izuku sat. “You’re the perfect candidate.”
“How.”
A grin filled with teeth stretched wide. “I helped create you. For a time you called me father. And you exceeded my expectations. Why, if I didn’t know any better you could be his reincarnation.”
“Reincarnation doesn’t exist.” Izuku immediately replied. “And you can’t, you can’t be-“
“Oh but I am. Your mother agreed to the name I provided when you were born. I must admit, however, I was disappointed that you took more towards your mother than me. Yes it was foolish to hope that you would come out perfectly, but, well, I’ve fixed that now.”
Izuku couldn’t move away as All For One went to hold his shoulders.
“I thought being tough was the right way, the last time. Obviously that wasn’t how it should have been done. After all, with our fight it made me forget… just how fragile he was.” All For One pulled Izuku into a hug. And Izuku had no choice but to let him. “It will be different this time. I’ve made multiple preparations.”
“And now, I’ll rewrite the reality in which you refuse to yield to me!” Echoed within his head.
“And now, since you have his power that I gave him, he is one step closer to coming back to me.”
The teen-adult-teen-adult-teen-teen-teen shook within the centuries old man’s hold.
“Izuku, little brother, wake up.”
Izuku, against his will, always against his will, fell asleep.
Izuku woke up in his accursed room. Different types of plants now scattered around. Some turned over but no dirt was spilt. None of them were toxic to him. All perfectly safe. Comics old and new were piled high. Stuffed underneath his bed and squished into bookcases that could not be broken.
He turned his head to the side to see him sitting at the table that would not move. Two sets of katsudon sat on top. One in front of him and the other at his seat.
“You must be hungry. It’s been a while since we had a meal together.” He smiled. Smug bastard…
Izuku had no choice but to eat with him. After what happened the last time…
The least he could do was make the short journey as long and painfully slow as possible.
But he just waited with that fake warm smile. Maybe to him it was a real warm smile. But it was incredibly fake. Izuku knew what real smiles looked like.
All too soon Izuku slid into his chair.
“Thank you for the meal.” He said, looking pointedly at him.
Reluctantly Izuku repeated him. “Thank you for the meal.” He muttered.
Reluctantly he picked up his chopsticks. Reluctantly he ate.
“How do you like it?” He asked.
Reluctantly he answered. “It’s delicious… thank you… big brother.”
And that smile grew wider. “It’s my pleasure… little brother.”