Chapter Text
Yagi Toshinori woke up from a restless sleep, as exhausted as he was when he laid down. Ever since passing on One for All to Toogata-shounen, his sleep had been disturbed, dreams flooding back to remind him of the bloody history of the Quirk. Of Nana, and of All for One.
He shook his head, ridding himself of his thoughts of that monster . He was dead. Toshinori had caved his skull in with his own hands. His successor would be safe. He wouldn’t have passed on the Quirk otherwise.
He smiled at the thought of his successor. Despite their… strained relationship, Mirai’s selection had been nothing short of perfect, and the boy came recommended by Nedzu, as well. Toogata-shounen was sure to be a shining hero in his own right, and One for All would only help push him to new heights.
Sighing, he slipped out of bed and got ready for a day of teaching. He was scheduled to attend 1-A’s rescue training at the USJ along with Aizawa-san and Kurose-san, and he really didn’t want to be late. Aizawa-san already had an axe to grind, what with their differing stances on the media, and he didn’t need to give the man more of a reason to dislike him.
After dressing into his canary yellow suit - which was a perfectly normal colour, thank you David - he made himself a simple breakfast. His fight with All for One had all but destroyed his stomach, so he was unable to digest anything too rich or complex. It made his meals a little plain, but that was preferable to being rushed to Shuuzenji-san’s office after downing a full rack of ribs.
That had been an odd fourth of July.
Toshinori’s apartment was simple and sparsely decorated, though he splashed out a little on the television. He turned it on as he ate a plain porridge, checking his phone for anything noteworthy he may have missed.
“ Breaking news: a number of villain attacks are occurring all over Musutafu. These villains seem concerned with causing property damage, and though several heroes are battling against them, the struggle seems to be ongoing. ”
He sighed to himself. He promised Nedzu he would manage his time more carefully, he really did. He was going to leave it to the other heroes, they could handle themselves, they didn’t need him…
A moment later, Toshinori placed his half-eaten porridge down, rushed out the door, puffed up into All Might, and leapt away.
In a bar in Yokohama’s Kamino Ward, Midoriya Izuku drummed his fingers against the counter. Today was the day. Over a year of planning, of slowly consolidating his power, and it had all led to this.
His debut.
He could almost hear his father now, lecturing him on the importance of confidence and presentation. There was a certain audacity some villains could use to stamp their mark on history forever.
He felt that attacking the top hero school of the country in order to kill the Symbol of Peace would qualify for that. His father may have found it too bold and overt a move, but sometimes there was a need for it.
It was all part of the plan.
A sudden chill and the scent of petrichor and ozone heralded Kurogiri’s arrival, “They’re ready for you.”
Izuku nodded to himself, straightening up his tie and pulling his face mask on, “It’s time, then.”
The bartender nodded, “How do you feel about it?”
He smiled up at him; the man - noumu, really - had always been good to him, “It still doesn’t quite feel real. Everything we’ve been working for is finally in reach.”
He took a deep breath and stood, brushing himself down before grabbing his coat.
“So let’s take it .”
He stepped through the portal. He’d long since grown used to the brief feeling of absence , of stepping through a void, that accompanied travelling through the man’s warp, and he quickly exited into a large warehouse, filled to the brim with every street-level thug and minor villain Giran could get his hands on. To his side stood the Doctor’s masterpiece, the ‘All Might Buster’. While he doubted it would finish the job, it still had a part to play in the proceedings.
The crowd settled as he took his place in front of them, no doubt taken aback by his apparent youth. Fortunately, the monstrous, hulking bioweapon by his side more than made up for any reservations they may have had.
Izuku - no, Successor - spread his arms wide and smiled beneath his mask, “Thank you all for joining me on this momentous occasion. I’m sure you are all wondering why I have gathered you here today, and it is for one simple reason:” he let the jovial glint in his eye sharpen into something dangerous, “ to kill All Might .”
The villains gasped and muttered, shocked and excited in equal measures, “All Might upholds a corrupt system, one which I intend to raze to the ground.” Not exactly true, but the rhetoric would serve its purpose here, “And today is where we start. With the destruction of its sole pillar, society will begin to collapse. You, of course, will all be richly rewarded in the new world. So…” He bowed his head, looking over them all through strands of green.
“Who’s with me?”
He was met with a deafening roar, and he gestured for Kurogiri to throw open his portals. The villains rushed forwards, eager to sate their bloodlust. He didn’t exactly need any of the UA students to die today, nor did he expect them to, but the danger still sent a message to Nedzu.
You are not safe. Your students are not safe.
Smirking, he followed the largest group through the portal that led to the plaza.
Showtime.
God, Shouta was bored .
The day had been relatively ordinary. His class was as rowdy as usual, still filled with all the bravado of a first-year.
They’d learn.
Then, of course, the morning brought the USJ trip, a hallmark in every UA student’s life. The excitement over rescue heroics was lesser than it was for combat, but to the wide-eyed youngsters that composed his class, they were still dazzled by the idea of being a hero student at all, so the energy on the bus was buzzing.
The most interesting thing to happen that morning was the fact that All Might, blonde buffoon that he was, hadn’t turned up, deciding instead to spend his limited time fighting villains. Every time they called he assured them he was on his way, only to immediately get involved in another incident.
Which brought Shouta here, leaning against the railing of the USJ’s entrance, half-listening to Kurose’s speech about dangerous Quirks that he’d already heard dozens of times before, and silently cursing the Number One hero.
As his focus wandered, however, he couldn’t help but notice a small black spot hovering by the fountain in the plaza. He narrowed his eyes at it, before jumping back as it expanded into a swirling black portal, spilling out dozens of brutish-looking thugs.
Villains .
“Everyone get back!” He shouted at his class, “These are real villains!”
The students gasped and stepped backwards, with even the more combative members of the class looking wary. Shouta watched as the portal continued to disgorge villains, and his blood froze as one hulking form stepped through, some… thing with empty eyes and an exposed brain. It was followed by a surprisingly short person, dressed up in a dress shirt, trousers and waistcoat, and a tie with an absolutely horrendous knot. Over it all he wore a long black coat, and a face mask hid the bottom half of his face, exposing only dark green hair and toxic green eyes. As he stepped through, the black portal coalesced into the form of a tall man with glowing yellow eyes.
The short, green-haired person stepped forwards, seemingly acting as the leader of the group, and spread his arms, “Well, hello UA. Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Successor, and this,” he gestured grandly around himself, “is my League of Villains. We’ve come here today with one very simple goal:”
Successor’s eyes darkened and he stared up at Shouta and his class, “To kill All Might.”
He almost laughed, “All Might isn’t here. Leave.”
“Oh, I am quite aware of that. Don’t worry, he will be. Until then…” he flicked his fingers towards the massed group of villains before him, who eagerly began to approach the staircase.
Shouta grit his teeth, “Thirteen! Protect the students! Make sure they get out; I’ll hold them off!” His coworker nodded firmly, and he slipped his goggles on, leapt over the railing, and into the fray.
He really hated All Might right now.
Shouta groaned weakly as the noumu pressed his face to the concrete. He’d taken down the other villains well enough, but even after erasing its Quirk, it was simply too strong for him.
And it was an it. No human could have eyes that dead.
“You know, Eraserhead, I really did expect All Might to be here by now.”
And then there was the other annoyance. Successor seemed to love to talk , monologuing constantly as he fought through the crowd.
The villain shrugged, “I can adapt to that, though. One of your students has already escaped, but that was all accounted for. I don’t need that long.”
Shouta scowled as he felt his bones creak beneath the weight of the noumu. He was sure at least some of them were broken, but the pain was secondary to his desperation; his students were in danger, and he needed to protect them.
“Still, I wonder…” Successor tapped his fingers against his leg, “you’ll need to die eventually anyway. I can’t see any problem in moving up the timetable.”
He squirmed in place, trying desperately to move, but he was pinned down. The villain seemed to find his efforts amusing, and as he stretched his hand out, Shouta felt a pull deep within him.
And then the doors to the USJ burst open, and for the first time in his life, he was relieved to hear All Might’s booming voice.
Successor shrugged, “Oh well, maybe next time.”
Blackness clouded the edges of his vision, and he fell into unconsciousness.
Toshinori burst through the doors of the USJ, inwardly cursing himself. If he had just been there when he was supposed to, none of this would have happened!
He was also acutely aware of his time rapidly running out. He’d tried to make it to UA as fast as possible, but it was almost as if every villain in the city had decided to cause havoc on his path to school! Every time he dealt with one situation, another one seemed to crop up just as quickly. And then, when he finally arrived at UA, he was almost immediately alerted to communications with the USJ going down, and soon after Iida-shounen burst into the principal’s office to warn them of the villain’s attack.
He needed to resolve the situation quickly. He found the biggest threat easily; the giant villain crushing Aizawa-san into the ground. With barely a second thought he leapt forwards, grabbing his students and coworkers and depositing them at the entrance, leaving a space clear for him to fight.
“Oh, how nice of you to join us.” Taunted one villain, green eyes glimmering with malice. He turned to the giant villain, “Noumu, attack.”
Instantly, the villain launched at him, meaty fists hurling themselves faster than their size would suggest. The blows were untrained, but the power more than made up for that, and it was all Toshinori could do to block them.
“Do you like it?” The other villain taunted, “This particular noumu was designed around your prime power level. It presents the greatest physical challenge you will ever face.” He paused for a moment, before adding, “Well, one of them, anyway.”
He didn’t have time to unpack the implications of that statement, as he swung at the giant villain with all his might. Despite pouring as much of One for All as he could still muster into every attack, the villain seemed to simply shrug every blow off.
“Ah, Shock Absorption. Such a useful quirk against you physical types.”
Toshinori grit his teeth into a facsimile of his iconic grin, “ Shock absorption , you say? That isn’t nullification, which means… ” he hurled another fist straight into the villain’s sternum, and they staggered slightly, “ that there’s a limit to it. I simply need to surpass that, to truly go… ”
He held his fists up in a boxer’s pose, and readied his body, “ Plus Ultra . ”
Noumu launched at him, and he leapt into the fray with aplomb, aiming to cause the most damage to the villain. Their blows met, sending out huge gusts of wind that forced all around them backwards. Each punch had the full weight of his power behind it, the embers of One for All sparking inside him. Given the struggle, this may well be his last fight, but it would be worth it to defend his students.
Noumu was giving as good as they got, but with each savage punch, they were slowly inching backwards, the damage being too much for them to absorb. Finally, it staggered and, with the last dregs of his strength, he threw an uppercut into its jaw, sending it sailing through the air and crashing through the roof of the USJ before it vanished off into the distance.
Toshinori panted hard, but his work was not yet done. He whipped around to the two remaining villains who seemed to regard him not with shock, but almost… amusement?
“ Well, villains? ” He puffed up his chest, trying to appear more confident than he felt. It was taking all his power to keep himself in this form, and he could barely move a muscle. But the other teachers were coming at any moment, so if he could just stall… “ Ready to give up? ”
The green-haired villain chuckled, “Not a chance.”
Then, with a motion too fast for even Toshinori to see, he whipped his hand behind his back. The glint of shining metal was his only warning before-
BANG
Toshinori felt a searing hot pain burst through him as the villain shot him dead on through the centre of his old wound. He deflated in a burst of steam and collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. The two villains stepped towards him and the green-haired villain raised an open palm, causing a searing circle of green fire to burst out around them. The flames rose high and, in his pain-addled state, he could almost see flashes of dreams, memories of Nana’s death, visions of All for One.
His greatest fears, presented before him.
“Do you like it?” The villain asked, “I call it ‘Pyrophobia’. It’ll ensure we’re not disturbed, especially not by-” The doors to the USJ burst open a second time, “-them. Being confronted by your greatest fears and nightmares would make anyone hesitate.”
Toshinori groaned and writhed in pain, trying desperately to force his body to do something, anything , to stop the villain. But it did not respond.
He chuckled darkly, “You know, you exceeded even my expectations there, for a moment. I was wondering if I would have to recalculate, but no. We’ve got just enough time to have this little heart to heart. I guess you’re wondering how this plan started?
“Well, that’s an awfully long story, but the short version is, I needed you out of the way as soon as possible. I already knew about your time limit, about your wound , so it was child’s play to organise a few villain attacks here and there. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist getting involved, even if you used up all your time. The noumu was just here to ensure you were brought to the brink.”
Toshinori glared up at him, blue eyes blazing, “H-How could you even…?”
The villain simply gave another chuckle before reaching out with a splayed palm. His eyes widened as he saw that very familiar hole in the centre. He could feel the scrape of something brushing up against the vacuum where One for All once sat.
He sighed, “Already given it away? Disappointing, really. Still, I had plans in case of that particular eventuality. I assume it’s Toogata you’ve given it to, yes?”
He felt a surge of protective anger, and struggled to his knees, feeling the blood ooze from his wound, “I don’t know who you are or how you could have known that, but you will not harm a single hair on his head!”
The villain smirked beneath his mask and brandished his gun once more, “Thank you for the confirmation, All Might. Now…” Cold metal pressed against his forehead, and he could not move.
“Say hello to my father for me.”
The trigger was pulled.
A gunshot rang out into the USJ.
And Yagi Toshinori, All Might , fell to the ground.
Dead.