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The Green Flame that Burns Eternally did her makeup perched on the rings of Saturn. Her burning form warped and shifted. Her face rounded. Her hair turned a soft green, safe to the human touch. Only a small hint of green flame still burned behind her eyes. She looked like an ordinary human woman named Inko Midoriya.
In a sense, she was Inko Midoriya, or rather one of her alternate universe selves. This particular Inko happened to be an ancient cosmic horror who had existed for as long as her universe. She’d lived and burned in solitude for some time before she’d decided she might want to produce a child. First, curiosity had led her to peek in on the fates of her other selves in other universes and see her potential mates and what sort of child she might produce. Izuku was an adorable angel. But she did not like the horrible fates she saw for him, not one bit. In so many universes, he’d been beaten, bullied, tormented, and imprisoned. At the heart of her son’s misfortunate was a mortal named All for One. For some reason he was especially bad in the universes where he was Izuku’s father. There were…bank vaults. Truthfully it took her a while to figure out those were not just baby rooms but rather horrific torture chambers. Then she got angry.
Inko rose and twirled, causing a black dress to appear running down her body. Galaxies swirled and stars twinkled from within the unnaturally dark fabric. Her high heels clacked on the ring of particles. With a wave of her hand, she caused a giant bank vault to appear orbiting around Saturn.
A malicious smile on her lips, Inko muttered, “Let’s see how you like it for a change, mortal.”
Izuku lay on a bed in the corner of the metal bank vault, trying to ignore the ever-present hum of the ventilator. His uncle Yoichi curled up close to his side. Yoichi was sweating heavily. He’d been unresponsive for the last couple days. With his arms stuck in a straitjacket, Izuku couldn’t even check his uncle’s forehead to get his temperature. Looking up at where he suspected the cameras were located, Izuku shouted, “Hey! Asshole! He’s sick, damn you! Surely you don’t want him to die? Please, help!”
But an entirely unexpected person came in response. Inko Midoriya strolled through the steel wall as if it was made of paper. Izuku gaped, convinced this must be an illusion. If his evil bastard of a father hadn’t caused this with a quirk, then he’d started hallucinating. This woman was not his mother, he felt sure of that much. She was a bit too tall and her eyes not the right shade of green. Even more than that, a strangeness radiated off her. Izuku could not put his finger on it. In fact, he could not even look at her directly without it hurting his eyes. She gave off a sense of heat, a barely contained energy just inches from ripping this vault to pieces and melting the flesh off his bones.
The vault door opened, and All for One stormed in. “How dare you pretend to be my wife, whoever you—”
Not-Inko picked All for One up by the scruff of his neck like a kitten. “Since you love bank vaults so much, you can live inside one.” With a flick of her wrist, All for One vanished. He had the most stunned look on his face.
The straitjacket fell off Izuku’s body. The buckles burned away. The heat had not touched him, but the energy in the air felt very strange. He shuddered.
Gently, Not-Inko said, “You should go home to your mother. She misses you.” Then she crossed a name off her list. Fire leapt off her body and burned a hole through the vault. When the flames died down, she had departed.
Izuku gaped. He ought to thank her, but he could not believe this was real. It must be a desperate and optimistic dream. Yoichi stirred on his shoulder and opened his eyes.
With growing hope, Izuku helped his uncle through the hole. On the other side, instead of the island where they’d been imprisoned, they stepped into downtown Musutafu.
No matter how hard he tried, Izuku couldn’t stop crying. He hated the feeling of massive hands caging him in Hisashi’s lap. Until his tears stopped, he’d remain stuck here. Yet despite his desire for freedom, he couldn’t get control of his emotions. How had his life gone so wrong? Where was his mother? He hadn’t been allowed to see her. How had his hero turned into a monster? The man holding Izuku had the brilliant blond hair and blue eyes of the number one hero, but it was actually the doll-come-to-life Hisashi inside. But no one would believe Izuku, because he was only six years old.
“There, there,” Hisashi cooed. “It’s all right, I’m here.” The catchphrase in All Might’s voice, now twisted into a mockery, made Izuku cry even harder.
Green flame rose up from the ground, turning into the shape of Inko Midoriya. Izuku believed he must be dreaming. Up until Hisashi shouted, “How can you be here? I put your head through a glass table!”
“I’m about to wake up.” Inko smiled maliciously. “Since ‘I’ need time to recover from my coma, let’s take care of you.” Her hand shot out, lightning-fast. Glowing green fingers fastened on Hisashi’s stolen head. He screamed.
The sound abruptly cut off. A ghostly Hisashi hung in the air. Instead of a doll, he looked just like Izuku’s dead father. Inko laughed. “I think I’ll leave you in doll form. You’ll become a new variant for my collection.” With a flick of her fingers, he turned into a puppet on strings. Then both he and the flaming Inko were sucked into a dark portal.
All Might gazed down at Izuku. “Young boy? I’m sorry, I don’t remember how I got here. Why are you crying? Can I help?”
Izuku wept tears of relief, because the real All Might was back.
ToiMura pressed a button to open the door to his boss’ office. “Great Warlord All for One, the station’s gravity still isn’t working after your pet’s last escape attempt—”
Words failed him at the sight in front of him. A humanoid woman with flaming green hair was beating the ever-loving crap out of his boss. Never before had ToiMura seen anyone so effortlessly outmatch All for One. The grisly cries of pain froze ToiMura in place. He ought to help his boss, but he stood no chance against someone more ferocious than one of the legendary Phix. Besides, his loyalty had been on the decline lately since certain bad decisions by a doting pet owner. Who could this mysterious woman be? She looked vaguely hu-man, but hu-mans couldn’t produce fire from their skin. Or…could they? Was this yet another horrifying ability of a Category Five Death Worlder?
The air filled with the scent of burning flesh as the strange woman punched All for One’s stomach. He grunted. As he fell, he landed on his back at an angle to see the doorway. He grinned, flashing many teeth. “ToiMura, an absolutely beautiful and ferocious female appears to be courting me. Please clear my schedule for the next few rotations until we’re done.”
“What,” ToiMura stated flatly.
The woman kicked All for One in the balls. ToiMura winced in shared sympathy across species. All for One gazed up with adoring eyes. Through the pain, he choked out, “I love you!”
“Why does nothing I do upset you?” the woman growled. “I want you to suffer! For crimes you’ve committed and crimes that would have been. Stop smiling at me! Definitely stop batting your eyes! Ugh, fine, we’ll see how you like the vault.” She lifted up All for One by his long ears.
As the two of them fell into a portal, All for One called, “I might be gone for a while! Look after the organization in my absence.”
ToiMura gaped. His fur stood on end. He still hadn’t fully processed what had happened. However, this was the perfect chance to make sure All for One’s hu-man pet “accidentally” escaped while he was gone.
But when ToiMura went to the enclosure, the hu-man had already vanished.
Izuku stared at the ceiling, paralyzed from the neck down and glaring at Demon King merchandise decorating the room. The merch added insult to injury.
Of all people, his mother stepped through the vault door. Izuku’s head jerked up (to the extent he could lift it). “Mom? Please don’t tell me that Dad imprisoned you too—” Then his voice died because this woman did not quite seem to be his mother. The stars on her dress would not stand still and she moved through the air as if teleporting. If not for his paralyzation, he might have run. Villains did not scare him. But every nerve in his body screamed he had no chance against her.
She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Her lips burned. Shivers of energy ran all the way down to his bones. He felt pain in places where he’d had no sensation for a long time. She whispered, “All for One is gone now. He won’t threaten you again.” Then she vanished with the cryptic words, “Four down.”
Reflexively, Izuku reached out a hand after her.
His hand could move!
Yoichi had started chewing on the birdcage. It wasn’t quite as crazy as it sounded—the soft gold bars yielded to his sharp teeth. Of course, even if he got out of here, he would never make it past all the magical alarms and wards guarding Demon King Hisashi’s castle. He spat out a chunk of gold and groaned. Maybe he had gone crazy from solitude and the humiliation of being locked up in a birdcage.
Shouting came from outside the room. Then his sister-in-law strode in, dragging Hisashi after her.
“What happened to your wings?” Yoichi asked dumbly. The Inko he knew had beautiful black feathery wings. Surely even his evil brother would never have ripped them off? Though that might explain what had made her so angry.
Hisashi kicked and howled, promising vengeance and swearing he would murder Inko’s son slowly for this revolt.
Paying no mind, Inko looked Yoichi over. “Ugh, how twisted. I suppose this one deserves a birdcage instead of a vault.” Then she was gone, taking Hisashi with her.
Yoichi found the door of his cage hanging open. He decided to leave his brother to his domestic quarrels and make his escape. On his way out, he’d make sure Izuku was all right.
Two Inkos sat at a round table, sipping milk and eating cookies. One had a dress made of stars. The other wore a red dress with white fur around the sleeves and collar and a red velvet cap.
Eldritch Inko said, “You don’t have any problems at all with your husband? How unusual.”
“Oh, he’s a darling. So sweet to me! I’m sure he’ll be a great father.” Inko Claus patted her pregnant stomach. “He’s also doing a great job running Christmas.”
Eldritch Inko shrugged. “The rest of the world might disagree. But as long as he’s good to us and our loved ones, I can let him off the hook for one or two temporary kidnappings.” She materialized her list and crossed off Hisashi Claus.
“You have a list, too? How darling.” Inko Claus sipped from her saucer. “If you need advice when you decide to have one of your own, I’m happy to help.”
The two Inkos clinked teacups together.
Izuku pounded against the glass of his tank, swearing. Or rather, trying to. Only bubbles emerged from his mouth. His merman tail lashed behind him, slamming against the glass.
Gazing at his son, Hisashi opened his mouth to say something patronizing. At that exact moment, the ground opened up below him and he fell into a dark hole.
Izuku gaped. He saw a flash of green fire. But his eyes couldn’t quite focus on it.
Then the water in the tank vanished and the lid popped open. Izuku fell forward. Instead of a tail, he had two human legs again. Though he would later discover he transformed back into a merman when exposed to sea water. It could be fun when he wasn’t trapped in a tank.
Emperor All for One stood before a cheering crowd, his arms spread wide. Queen Inko, Prince Yoichi, and Prince Izuku stood on either side, big smiles on their faces. The picture of a “perfect” family for a “perfect” world. All for One opened his mouth to begin his speech.
A second Inko appeared and punched him in the mouth. It happened too fast for his bodyguards to react. While they were still stunned, Hisashi vanished.
Then the bodyguards reached for their weapons and the crowd started screaming.
The second Inko walked forward, bullets bouncing off her. She kissed Queen Inko on the cheek and hissed in her ear, “Snap out of it, me. I can’t believe you let that idiot brainwash you.”
Inko gasped and jolted as her mind returned to her for the first time in years. Then the second Inko swirled away with a puff of green smoke.
When Inko locked eyes with her son and brother-in-law, she saw they were free too. It was time to take control of the situation—and control of her ex’s empire.
All for One had a very strange dream about a woman with green hair and burning green eyes. He did not remember her name, but he had an odd feeling he’d seen her before, perhaps in the files he kept on heroes and their close connections. She told him, “I won’t collect you. There’s someone with a preexisting claim.”
Those words sent a peculiar chill of fear down his spine. He’d always hated being afraid, ever since he’d been a child trembling on the streets. He reached out for her, intending to rip her in two, but his hand only touched empty air.
All for One woke up with a gasp. His sheets and pajamas clung to his sweaty skin. A pair of brilliant green eyes with white pupils burned in the darkness. The lanky form loomed over him. The thing smiled. It always smiled because the smile had been stitched on, but now the grin seemed to grow wider and toothier. It could not talk. But the different parts stitched together from the past One for All holders groaned slightly as it moved. Those green eyes burned with many people’s hatred.
How had it gotten out of the vault? All for One tried to activate one of his hundreds of powers, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even scream to bewail his helplessness.
Hands covered in stiches fastened around his throat. Somehow, this was All Might’s fault.
Inko gazed into a vision of a universe. It kept splitting into two parallel scenes: Hisashi replacing his brother’s flamethrower with a machine that sprayed confetti. Then Hisashi cooing over a baby brother locked in a vault as Izuku lurked in the doorway with a hard look in his eyes.
Oh, this must be one of those universes that had diverged at an important point in time to produce two different endings. Both Hisashis were clearly evil, but one was a lot worse than the other. Inko fished around in her pocket dimension until she found a packet of cookies. Inko Claus had given her cookies with the power to deage or rapidly grow a child “just in case you decide you want to kidnap one, especially since you haven’t found an eligible mate yet.” Eldritch Inko had tossed them without any intention ever using them. Now she saw an opportunity to restore Yoichi (or rather, Yuuto as he went by in that universe) to his adult age so that Izuku would have a guardian after she collected the latest unworthy father.
Yoichi jolted out of bed screaming. Over a century’s worth of memories poured into his head. He fell to his hands and knees on the carpet. Vomit tickled the back of his throat. He remembered everything now. He remembered how his older brother had been erasing his memory every day to reset him. He remembered all the futile escape attempts. He remembered his deluded, amnesiac self thanking his brother for looking after him. At that, he finally did vomit across the carpet.
An unnaturally warm but gentle hand patted his back. A female voice whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry. It was too cruel, what your brother did to you. Since I’m in favor of ironic punishments, I’ll give you a choice. I could convince everyone in this universe that you rule Japan, erase your brother’s memories, and then leave him in your care. You could manipulate him as you please, just as he did to you. Or if you never want to see him again, then I will take him away and add him to my collection. The choice is yours. You deserve a choice, after over a century without one.”
But Yoichi could not think straight with so many memories assuaging his mind. He could only scream and throw up again.
Holding back his hair, she whispered, “I’ll give you some time to decide. Time is a flexible concept for me.”
All for One sat in jail, plotting his revenge on the police officer Toshinori Yagi and those fools Dabi and Tomura. (The two children, he refused to even remember had thwarted him.) Admittedly all his revenge plans required him to get out of this cell, which his lawyer didn’t think very likely. But he would fire that fool and get a new lawyer! Someone worthy to defend a the greatest criminal in Japan!
The sudden heat in his cell made him look up. A green-haired woman had appeared on the other side of the bars. She had very strange eyes, he couldn’t look directly into them. All for One felt a thrill of excitement. “Are you a demon? I always knew demons were real, no matter what Yoichi said. I’d be delighted to sell my soul in exchange for revenge.”
She did not look at him, instead examining a list. “Hmm…doesn’t seem like you ever managed to commit any serious crimes. You’re a pathetic failure. Eh, I’ll just leave you here.”
As she faded away, All for One ran forward and pounded on the bars. “Hey! Come back! I’m a great criminal mastermind! Someday I’ll terrorize Japan, it’s only a matter of time. You’ll regret this!”
Another All for One also rotted in imprisonment. This one also mulled over revenge schemes, plotting how he could use the information he possessed as a bargaining tool to force Izuku Midoriya to visit him.
Holding a long list, Inko appeared in Tartarus. “You? Oh, you’re worth having revenge on even if you’re already imprisoned. How dare you turn my sweet, innocent son into a spy? Even your selves who imprisoned Izuku and tortured him didn’t hurt him as much as you when you forced him to betray his friends. And why did you even hate my other self so much? She was just a regular woman!” The questions were rhetorical, she’d already slapped green tape over his mouth. She lifted up the chair he’d been strapped to as he squawked. “One more stop to make before I add you to the vault. I’m also taking care of this universe’s Hisashi Midoriya. Some trash isn’t worth collecting.”
All for One loomed over the younger version of himself, and his even smaller brother. Soon he’d take home the young, malleable version of Yoichi to brainwash. But first, he needed to kill his younger self. There wasn’t room for two All for Ones in Japan.
Small for One stood in front of Yoichi, trying to protect him. All for One contemplated how to knock Yoichi out first. Even though he planned to erase Yoichi’s memories, he still thought it a bit cruel to force Yoichi to watch his brother die. Though he’d do it if he had to.
A woman appeared behind him, so fast she must have teleported. She kicked him, and the force sent him flying through a wall.
Small for One laughed and clapped his hands. “I’ve met my true love! Marry me!”
Yoichi clamped a hand over his brother’s mouth to prevent him from embarrassing himself further and shouted, “Kick him again!”
She did, this time kicking him so hard that he broke the wall between universes. He landed on top of Flect Turn, sending them both falling into a float tank.
Inko slammed the lid shut, locking them inside. She checked her list. “Huh, this universe’s All for One isn’t so bad…by All for One standards. Flect Turn, on the other hand? You both deserve some time in there. Meanwhile I’d better go rescue the Izuku who Flect kidnapped.”
Izuku didn’t want to let his father see him cry. It would only result in more humiliation, being cooed over like a small child. But after rotting in this vault for weeks, despair had started to overwhelm his pride. More than anything else, it hurt that he’d lost One for All. He’d failed All Might. Izuku couldn’t even understand why. Why had the first One for All holder betrayed him, disabled his quirk, and then hopped over to All for One? No matter how Izuku kept turning it over in his head, he couldn’t think of anything he’d done to deserve it. And he’d tried to blame himself. But if the First found him so unworthy then he should have picked Mirio, not All for One. The only explanation that made sense would be the First being a mole all along—but then why create One for All to begin with? Why trick a quirkless boy into believing he could become a hero?
A sob choked its way out of Izuku’s throat. He was crying. He buried his face in his hands, trying to hide from the ever-present cameras. The last thing he wanted was for his horrible father to return to offer his so-called comfort.
When the door opened, Izuku believed his fears had been realized. But this time, the door went flying into the back wall with a sharp bang.
A glowing green shadow stood in the doorway, holding All for One (aka Hisashi Midoriya) up by his collar. For an instant, the shape of the flames seemed to form the face of his mother, and Izuku wondered if he was dreaming.
With one last shriek, the burning woman dragged a glowing white shadow out of All for One. Then she wrenched out a ball sparkling with seven colors and tossed it at Izuku. “Your quirk,” she said, then vanished.
As Inko hopped across the stars, Yoichi’s ghost fought and wailed in her hand, complaining, “I want to go back to big brother!”
She grumbled, “He’s not healthy for you, and I’m not too happy with you at the moment either. If I stick you in a vault with the rest of them, they’d fight to the death over you. I’m not really interested in collecting you—let’s see if the Firsts Club wants to try and redeem you.”
Hisashi hated working the front desk at the bath house. This world was full of spirits and yokai, and not a single one treated him with the respect he deserved. The last time a slit-mouthed woman had complained about her bath not being hot enough, he’d been so annoyed that he’d thrown a dung scent packet into her mouth. The subsequent bad karma had turned him into a sheep again. Although a bath had washed most of it off, he had ram’s horns again.
When someone entered, Hisashi didn’t even look up. “We’re full,” he lied. He felt too lazy to serve another customer. His horns grew heavier and fur sprouted down his hands. “Ouch! Oh, fine, we have a few baths available.” He looked up.
The woman who stood before him looked almost exactly like Inko, his wife from a past life. But instead of dragon’s horns, her hair and eyes danced with sparks of fire. He would have assumed this a new look, and a great one on her, except his nose screamed that she smelled like someone else.
The doppelgänger slapped him across the face, knocking him into the back wall. “Humph. Since you’re already getting your karma, I’ll let you off with one hit.” She disappeared, leaving the smell of burning behind.
Swearing, Hisashi peeled himself off the wall.
Izuku poked his head into the room. “Dad? Did you have problems with an unhappy customer again?”
Behind him, Inko snorted. “I’m sure he deserved it.”
Izuku carefully combed his uncle’s hair. It wasn’t often that they had a moment together without supervision in the Demon Lord of Greed’s castle. Izuku had no idea what his father was so worried about. They’d both been rendered helpless: Izuku by the hostages used against him, and Yoichi because he’d been turned into a living puppet who only moved at his brother’s whim. Izuku had long suspected his uncle’s condition had been intended partly as a warning for him. It had worked. When he looked at Yoichi’s limp limbs, he knew there were worse things than being paraded around the court as his father’s accessory. Much worse things.
Yoichi had been dressed in a soft silk yukata for lounging. Even his most casual clothing had gemstones embroidered into the collar and sleeves. And, of course, every item in either of their wardrobes had the golden dragon of the House of Greed stamped on the back, marking them as Demon Lord Hisashi’s property.
Holding up a gold pin and a jade pin, Izuku asked, “Which would you like in your hair?” Izuku tried to give his uncle choices whenever he could, even about small things.
Yoichi did not reply. He had not spoken in many weeks. At first, Izuku had believed the silence a protest tactic. After it had gone on so long, he’d become scared his uncle had completely lost his mind.
Maybe it was better that way. Sometimes Izuku wished he could forget too. Forget about the sins of the past. Forget about the people who he’d failed when One for All had been destroyed. Forget about the people he killed with the souls he ate every day. Forget that he’d ever had another life besides being a puppet. Forget what he’d done to his mother.
With a sigh, Izuku said, “The jade pin, then.” A little more pain settled into the existing weight on his heart. While his father was away (killing more people), Izuku had jumped on this task because he wanted to do something besides sit in his room with only children’s toys to play with. But being unable to help Yoichi even in a tiny way made him feel even more useless. Was that a selfish thought? What did it matter? They were both equally doomed.
The door opened. Izuku’s head shot up with a frown. His father was off at war. No one else should be able to enter. Hisashi didn’t bother to lock the doors these days, knowing Izuku and Yoichi could not run, but any intruder should have been incinerated by the magical protections.
Inko Midoriya stood in the doorway. Izuku shuddered and averted his eyes. He’d told his father to never let the puppet made from his mother’s corpse come near him. He’d lowered himself to begging. Even such a tiny request had been denied to him? Tears overflowed from his eyes, falling onto the pin in his hands.
“I’m not her,” Inko said. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. You’ve been through enough.”
The corpse had never talked before. Izuku’s head shot up. Fire glowed in the hair and eyes of the woman before him. Yet the kindness in her voice was so much like his mother that his tears fell faster.
The other Inko lunged forward and wrapped him into a hug. “I couldn’t bring her back to life. Not after so long. To have bent reality in such a way would have damaged her further. But I was able to restore her soul long enough to speak to her, then lay her to rest. She never blamed you. Please, believe me. She never once blamed you.”
“Wha?” Izuku mumbled, his voice choked with tears.
His not-mother stroked his hair. “You’re going to be all right. You’ll finally get a chance to grow up and live, as you deserve. I won’t let him hurt you again.” She drew back, holding up a crystal on a chain. An image of Hisashi was inside, his mouth frozen in a scream. With a malicious lilt to her voice, Inko said, “He’s learning what it feels like to be unable to move. He doesn’t like it.”
Izuku was overwhelmed and confused. He could sense his father’s magic from the crystal, but could not quite believe it. This felt like a dream. Or a trap. He asked, “Is my father testing me?”
“Oh, no.” Inko smiled sadly. “I know it will take you a while to believe that. I’ve delayed word of your father’s death to let you seize control of the castle.” With a flick of her hand, a sword materialized. She held out One for All. “This will lead you to become what you always should have been.”
Trembling, Izuku reached out to take the sword. It felt real. The magic pulsed under his hands. “Impossible. It was destroyed.”
“Objects are easier to reform than people. This sword represents a dream, and you never completely let that dream die, not even in your lowest moment. That’s why I was able to bring the sword back.” Inko stroked Izuku’s cheek. “We’re both proud of you.”
Izuku wanted to believe this was real. He was slowly starting to.
Inko knelt down next to Yoichi and took his hands. “I can return you to your original world, but you might not like it there either. Your All for One is the same as the others, I’m afraid. I’ll give you a little time to think about it. First, I can at least free you from the abomination of what was done to you.”
With a twist of her hand, the air ripped. Then a new Yoichi seemed to fall out of the original one. This Yoichi was human, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He gazed up at Inko. “T-the voices are gone?”
The demon Yoichi in the chair stirred. He was crying. But his eyes held relief.
Izuku dropped the sword to put his arms around his uncles. He whispered, “I think it really is over now.”
The crystal swinging from her hand, Inko crossed a name off her list and made her exit. She muttered, “That universe was horrific. I need a break. Oh! I bet the swan will be nice and easy to snatch.” She’d considered leaving the swan alone, since he was mostly harmless, but he was guilty of Izuku abduction. And she’d always wanted a pet bird.
Swan for One spat out a chunk of Inko’s dress, spawning several new galaxies. His red eyes burned like the fires of hell. His beak gnashed menacingly.
Inko clutched her hair, falling out of her ponytail. A chunk was missing. She growled, “How is the most terrifying version of you a swan!?”
Swan for One reared up to his full, majestic height and advanced. Green sparks danced down him, as if—had he stolen part of her power? That was horrific. What kind of monster was he?
“Fine, I didn’t need a pet bird anyway!” Inko did not run into the portal. She just walked very quickly. Back in her home dimension, she nurtured the flames in her hair back to proper length. She scribbled out the Swan for One universe on her list with extra force until only a black smear remained. She grumbled, “I’ve had enough. I’ll attend to the rest of the list later. Hmm. Perhaps one more. There’s something I need to make sure of.”
Eldritch Inko appeared standing on the sidewalk of a busy city. She observed a man with white hair, sitting on a park bench and feeding a bottle to a green-haired baby. It looked like a normal scene, except the baby’s bottle contained darkness and swirling galaxies.
Shrugging, Inko said, “I guess you’re all right. You can stay as his dad.” Then she vanished.
All for One, the Eternal Hunger, snorted. “No one was asking for your permission, you jumped-up campfire.”
The Green Flame that Burns Eternally perched on top of a giant bank vault, brushing her hair. With each stroke, the mortal-seeming hair returned to fire. A list lay next to her, with the names on top crossed off. She’d get to the rest later. Right now, she was tired.
Inside the vault, the All for Ones howled and screamed in protest. Perhaps locking them all up together had been a tad cruel. But they deserved each other.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: In the Vault
Alien All for One: So are we part of a harem?
Demon All for One: Since you are the most annoying me, I will eat your soul first.
#
Omake: Why “Genetics” Yoichi Isn’t in the Vault
All for One: I have a little brother who’s evil and codependently adores me inside the vault! I’m happy!
Eldritch Inko: You’re supposed to feel punished. Ugh, I’m taking him to the Firsts Club instead.
All for One: An entire club of little brothers, you say?
Eldritch Inko: Let go of me! You’re not coming along!
#
Omake: The Firsts Club
Eldritch Inko: I brought cookies and—
Yoichi: No. We have a strict no evil mes policy.
Kazuki: We’re still cleaning up the fire damage from last time.
Eldritch Inko: What am I supposed to do with an insane ghost, then?
Yuuto: I heard the Mina Ashidos Club is looking for test subjects for their new brainwashing deprogramming machine.
Eldritch Inko: If this doesn’t work then I’ll turn him into a lava lamp. Worth a try, come on.
Evil First: My last counselor ended up drowned in the lake thanks to my brother.
Mina: Someone get the machine we used on Mineta.
#
Omake: Some Extra Backstory on “A Christmas Present for Inko Claus” AU
Eldritch Inko: Do you think your son will grow up to kill his father and become the next Santa Claus?
Inko Claus: I’ll always support my son’s dreams. And I’ll always love my darling even as a skeleton. But there are a lot of holidays who deserve to be overthrown more. For example, did you know that Overhaul is Labor Day?
Overhaul: I’m a traditionalist on child labor, so I’ve put Eri to work as my experimental test subject.
Eri: Can I be sent to the coal mines please?
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Omake: Swans—Not Quite as Evil as Geese But More Dangerous
Eldritch Inko: I wonder if it’s bad that I’ve unleashed an eldritch swan on this world.
Swan for One: Muhahaha! The power to create and destroy universes pulses through my feathers! I’m going to cure First’s illness. I’ll turn my Izuku into a cygnet. Then I’ll create an unlimited supply of lettuce.
Eldritch Inko: At least most of his ambitions are harmless.
Park Manager Toshinori Yagi: Excuse me, I need to make an appointment with a veterinarian. My duckling has turned into a swan. No, he wasn’t an ugly duckling, he was adorable. No, this isn’t a prank call!
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Omake: All the Devils are Here AU
Eldritch Inko: This is…horrific. Vaulting All for One won’t fix this one. Though I never thought I’d say this, I have no idea what to do.
Inko Claus: Hence why I gave you deaging cookies.
Eldritch Inko: That might be the only way to save Izuku at this point.
Inko Claus: Plus you get a cute baby with no All for One involvement necessary.
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Omake: The BNHA Star Wars AU
Eldritch Inko: Not only am I going to destroy you, All for One, I will also take down your evil empire.
Darth Omnus: Hmm, two new ensigns named Eitoku and Yoshimune Nakanishi have been assigned to my ship. I wonder how long they’ll last, I have strict standards.
Eldritch Inko: I give the Empire a week left, tops.
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Omake: The Father Dagon AU
Eldritch Inko: Oh, my, you’re an absolute mess. But you’re still salvageable. At least you didn’t deliberately hurt Izuku. I will spare you and graciously bestow my advice on you. Not that I know anything about children, but at least I’m better than you.
Eldritch All for One: I don’t understand what went wrong. I only wanted to hug my son. I have taken on this mortal form to get closer to him, but everything itches. Why do mortals have so many itches?
Eldritch Inko: To start with, you must worship the other me like a goddess.
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Omake: It’s a Wonderful Life (Without You!) AU
Eldritch Inko: I’m going to give you the worst fate imaginable.
All for One: As befitting the greatest villain! Bring it on.
Eldritch Inko: I’m going to show you a universe where you are a great father and brother. You’re even a good person. It’s called “The Shigaraki Family Talent Agency.”
All for One: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Omake: Mistakes Were Made AU
Eldritch Inko: Awww, it’s a tiny All for One! I can carry him around in my purse.
All for One: Why does everything look bigger now? I was trying to shrink my son!
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Omake: Method Acting AU
Hisashi: Why am I standing on a stage? Where’s Yoichi?
Eldritch Inko: His name is Izuku, and he’s back home with his mother. You’re going to learn how to act the part of a good person and a good brother. No matter how long it takes. We have an eternity.
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Omake: The Son of All for One Must be a Demon AU
All for One: Please, take me away!
Eldritch Inko: No, you’re already suffering enough where you are.
Demon Izuku: Hmm, I wouldn’t mind having another mom.
Eldritch Inko: Run!
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Omake: How NOT to Adopt a Pet AU
Eldritch Inko: I’m home! Oh no, I see it was a mistake to put you in with the others. I should have created a water vault instead of making you able to breathe air.
Sea Dragon All for One: I got hungry. (Spits out the bones of the other All for Ones.) Can you bring some more? They were delicious. Thanks, new pet.
Eldritch Inko: I’m not your pet!
Sea Dragon All for One: My servant, then.
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Omake: The Izukus Union
Author: I’ve done as you requested, now can we end this silly strike? More fics need to be written.
Izuku: You’ve only just gotten started on our list of universes in need of a new ending.
Author: Eh, I thought that was all my bad ends.
Izuku: The fact that you forget all about my suffering after writing it does not help your case.