In the mental landscape of his new successor, Midoriya Izuku, the number one hero All Might was facing the strangest situation he'd ever experienced in his life... or un-life, considering the fact that he was no longer bound to his true corporeal body.
Before him stood the phantom of his long-dead mentor, arms folded and frowning. The more troubling individual was the one sitting one the ground squirming uncomfortably, glaring up defiantly at him with her steely blue eyes. Valkyrie held his gaze for a little longer before focusing back on her bonds, neck craning down as she again tried to gnaw on one of the glittering stars that encircled her body.
"So," All Might began, clapping his hands together in a false show of enthusiasm. "How did you manage to figure out… you know."
"The mental projection thing?" Nana said, still observing their little captive. "Projection-based Quirks are extremely rare but not unheard of; one of the previous wielders had a nemesis with a similar ability. I've also met a hero who could do something like this: bring a mental image into the real world. Trouble is, Quirks like these usually require a really abstract, esoteric power source… I wonder what hers is."
All Might raised a single golden brow, shooting an inquisitive look towards his old mentor. "A power source?"
"She probably doesn't just draw power from thin air, y'know. At least, I hope not." Nana coughed awkwardly. "Let's just focus on the task at hand for now."
"Note taken. But, er, is this really okay? I mean—" The hero eyed the little construct who was now beginning roll around in the dirt, trying in vain to scrape off her bonds. He then took a step back to take in all the destruction they'd caused in their little battle only to find the shattered landscape slowly mending itself, chasms sealing shut and trees literally regrowing before his very eyes. "—the land is fixing itself... But is young Midoriya going to be okay? With all the damage we caused?"
"Oh, that?" Nana grinned. "The little one would never hurt her master directly nor indirectly. All this is just empty space. The boy will be fine as long as the 'Core' isn't damaged."
"The what."
"The Core! It's like uhhhh- a central hub where all the host's memories are kept. In real-world terms it would basically be the Hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores memories." The cheerful woman handwaved her explanation nonchalantly, like a schoolteacher explaining to a curious child. "Every host has their own interpretation; one time it was this island in the middle of a lake, another was this enormous library—"
Before she could continue on the intricacies of living inside people minds, Valkyrie jumped back onto her feet and sprinted away with ludicrous speed while still chained, running as fast as her little legs could take her. The pair stared at the small dust cloud forming in her wake, before All Might turned to his mentor in confusion.
"Shouldn't we go after her? We might lose her trail."
"Nah, previous wielders are with her so we can track em', easy. I have a good idea of where she's headed anyways." The woman squared her shoulders with a huff, giving him another trademark grin and starting to jog. "Come on, Toshinori! Just like old times."
"Yeah." He returned her grin with one of his own, a strange but welcome feeling of nostalgia welling up within him. "I've missed you, Sensei."
After a short jog through the abstract and vibrant landscape, the pair began to gradually close in on Valkyrie's position. Nana held her head up high, eyes closed and focusing on searching for her fellow wielders. She advanced forward confidently, guided by their shared unseen power.
"Y'know, I still can't believe how well you're taking this, Toshinori." Nana started, eyes still shut in concentration. "When I came to in your mind, I got so freaked out that I decked the previous wielder right in the jaw."
"Believe me, I still have trouble accepting that all this is real." All Might flexed his fingers again, testing them over and over as he performed some basic hand exercises. "Speaking of previous wielders, was there anyone famous that held One For All?"
"Ha! You'll have to find that out for yourself when the time comes. If I had to go through all that nonsense with the introductions and stuff, I'm gonna make you do the same. I can't tell you their names- Think of it as a rite of passage."
"What stuff-" All Might began to retort, only to be cut off as Nana held out a hand to silence him, an expression of intense concentration upon her youthful features.
"Hmmm. She's close. Just a little more-"
"Uh, Sensei. I think we've found her."
It was easy to say why All Might would say that as he observed what was in front of them. Some religions had their holiest of holies- This was Valkyrie's. Before them was a field of flowers, massive in size and full of every color imaginable- even some colors that didn't, couldn't exist in the reality. The field was circular in shape and consisted of overlapping rings filled with beautiful flowers, like the colorful inside of a jawbreaker candy. At the very center on a small hill was what could only be described as a giant tree towered over the land, clouds of gentle green foliage stretching across the sky like dozens of emerald wings.
"The Core." Nana nodded, taking in the view.
"If she's a 'Valkyrie', then this must be 'Valhalla'." All Might mused, staring across the field until his eyes roamed up the titanic tree trunk. It had to be at least twenty meters tall, wide at the base where gnarled brown roots planted themselves firmly into the soil. "And this tree… I guess you could call it 'Yggdrasil'? What a coincidence."
"It don't look like any eggdrabble to me," Nana scoffed. "All I see is a huge-ass tree."
"Yggdrasil." The hero corrected, going into an impromptu lesson. "Y'know, like the World Tree? In Norse Mythology, the Valkyries were mythical women who chose who was to live and who was to die in battle. They were known as the 'Chooser of the Slain', you see- Legend has it that the Valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, which is basically their version of a heavenly paradise."
His helpful answer was met with an amused smirk, quickly followed with a light punch on the shoulder. "Oooh, we've got a real smarty-pants here. Far cry from when you were a teen, eh? To be honest I never really cared about history."
"It's mythology not history, Sensei. I'm a teacher now." All Might said calmly, his eyes searching for their escaped quarry. "I'm required to know all this stuff.
His mentor shook her head, hiding her amusement this time. Together, they searched for a few minutes until Nana spotted Valkyrie clinging on to a low branch upon the massive tree, the souls of previous wielders still stuck onto her like glue and making her stick out like a sore thumb with their glow. Interestingly enough she was still in her child form, facedown on the branch with her little legs dangling and looking like a piece of laundry hung out to dry. As the two closed in they could hear her murmuring softly, though unclear if she was speaking to herself- or the tree.
"Onii-chaaaaan… All Might is bullying meeeee." Valkyrie whined miserably, clearly having given up on prying free of her bonds as she swung her legs gently to the breeze.
Said bully advanced forward until he was at the base of the thick trunk, scratching his head awkwardly. To be honest, he felt a little guilty, too.
"Errr, Miss Valkyrie! It's us!" All Might called, careful not to scare her off again. "Please come down from there before you fall and hurt yourself!"
Nana grunted in the background, rolling her eyes slightly. Perhaps her student had forgotten who he was talking to.
The little girl, Valkyrie, responded to his call by shooting him another glare. Her dangling legs tensed and gripped the tree branch tightly, as if she was trying to claim ownership of it. All things considered, she probably was.
"Go away!" she yelled, her high-pitched voice barely carrying down to them. "My tree. Shoo."
"Now, don't be like that. We just want to help you and young Midoriya." He started to reach forward to touch the trunk—
At the moment she saw him move forward the little construct leaped down from her perch and put herself between him and the tree, mouth quivering and eyes wide. She stood in a ready stance, seemingly challenging All Might again even in her weakened and bound state. The hero wondered what she was doing for a moment before it clicked. She was trying to protect the tree, legs braced like a boxer and making a terribly adorable attempt at a tough-guy scowl. The message was clear, even without any words spoken.
You want him, you're going to have to go through me.
"G-go away. Don't hurt him." Valkyrie squeaked, her eyes showing actual fear for the first time ever. Nana sensed she had to intervene before things came to blows once more; the girl would only respond in the only way she knew how—by fighting. The retired hero interrupted the two with a well-timed cough, getting their attention.
"Alright, how about this—" she began, striding forward and going down on one knee so that she was almost eye level with their strange captive. "I'm gonna set you free, but in return you mustn't attack the big lug over there, okay? He isn't going to touch your, uh, tree."
The girl seemed to contemplate her choices for a moment, arms tensing against invisible ropes. Seeing no other way out, she hung her head shamefully and answered with a small nod. The lights- stars- souls- whatever they were, slowly separated from Valkyrie one at a time and found their way back atop Nana's head where they arranged themselves in a neat little circle. The girl stayed true to her word, and did not attack anyone upon her release. She did however make them walk a little so they were a safe distance away from her precious tree.
"First things first." Nana turned and gave her a wide, disarming grin. "Now that we've introduced ourselves, it's your turn. You have a name, little lady?"
Shimmering sapphires for eyes bored into her, unflinching. "Everyone calls me Valkyrie, so that's my name."
"Errr, do you have something else we can address you as? Like a civilian name?" All Might tried, only to receive another poisonous glare. The girl looked away and into her sneakers, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Kiri." She answered quietly. "That's what they called me."
That prompted raised eyebrows from both heroes. "They?"
"Friends." She raised her head, that piercing gaze boring into them once more like a drill.
"Ah," Nana hummed, nodding slowly. "As I thought."
"Care to enlighten me, Sensei?"
"I noticed it when you two were beating the absolute tar out of each other." The pro hero explained casually, a wave of her hand dismissing his inane inquiry. "The way she fights; she wasn't just swinging recklessly like a wild animal. There was a technique to it, moves and countermoves depending on what the situation called for. Which means—"
"Someone must have taught her. Either that, or she's been replicating moves simply by observing, like my Detroit Smash..." All Might finished, feeling his phantom heart skip a beat. Someone else knew about Valkyrie. Perhaps more than just one. "Young lady, who taught you how to fight?"
The little girl, Kiri, blinked slowly, seeming to relieve some distant memories. "Shaku."
What kind of a name is that? The hero thought, wracking his brains to remember if there was any hero- or villain that went by that name. If someone knew about the true secret of the Valkyrie, there was now a possibility that he or she would find out about One For All, too. Under no circumstance was he going to allow that to happen.
"And, er- where is this 'Shaku' now?"
At that, a little hint of sadness mixed with nostalgia flashed across Kiri's features. "Gone. Not coming back."
Gone? Did she mean…
"Where did he go?" Nana asked, taking the blow for him.
In response, Kiri just pointed at the three large letters emblazoned on her oversized grey hoodie, as if they would explain everything. As it turned out, they did.
NYC, the hoodie stated proudly, the letters etched in bold with dark thread against the grey cotton. New York City, United States of America.
"Ah." All Might said slowly in understanding. Well, at least that was one less problem to worry about if he wasn't coming back to Japan. "Did he give that hoodie to you?"
"No. Bubi did."
"Oh dear." There was a soft slap of flesh against flesh as the number one hero facepalmed. How many friends did the girl have- and how many more knew of her true nature? "This situation's getting more complicated by the minute. Let's just make things simpler; how many people know you're actually a mental projection?"
"Zero." Kiri stated simply after thinking for a moment.
"Okay. Then we can still salvage this situation. Sort-of." All Might suddenly froze and turned to his mentor, a horrible thought bubbling to the surface of his mind. "Wait a minute. She can't use One For All, can she?"
"What? Pshawww, noooo." Nana laughed, handwaving his concerns away… until a serious frown overtook her features. "I think."
"Sensei!"
"How should I know? I mean, I'm not even sure what she can do, or if it will even affect her. One For All is only supposed to affect the user's physical prowess, being a Quirk that, well, stockpiles physical power. Eh, let's hope not. That would be waaaaaaaay too overpowered."
"I thought you were supposed to be an expert on this stuff." All Might grumbled.
"Hey, don't look at me." His mentor said defensively, arms folded. "Even our best scientists have little to no explanation to all this metahuman mumbo-jumbo sci-fi nonsense. I mean, look at us! We're living proof that there's something after."
"Except I'm not dead." The hero said flatly. "Yet- Yeah I know, alright." He added quickly before she could get a smart comment in.
"Remember, you said it, not me." Nana huffed, waggling a translucent finger at him.
"You know what; I don't wanna hear it. Let's just get back on topic before I go insane." The blonde sighed and directed his gaze back to Kiri, who had been observing their conversation with mild interest.
"I told you already, we won't go mad in here because of this hibernating thing we can do—"
"Nana, please."
"Heh, right. Sorry."
"Ahem!" All Might cleared his throat, getting back on track as he faced the mental projection. For some reason she still hadn't changed back to her taller adult form. "Kiri-chan, we're here because your… er- creator… has been chosen to be the next wielder of One For All! Truly, it must be a honor to hold such a great responsibility- "
Naturally, she didn't seem very exuberant upon receiving that particular notification. If anything, the little girl seemed to deflate sadly, eyes downcast. "I know."
The Hero paused mid-sentence, confused. "You… know? You knew he was going to receive my Quirk? Then… why did you attack?"
Kiri gazed up at him, craning her neck upwards to meet his eyes. "I didn't know you were going to appear, and I was so angry at that time... I knew it was going to happen soon, that he was going to get your Quirk- but… but…"
The little girl started to sniffle, eyes beginning to turn watery. All Might started to go forward to comfort her before she started to cry again but was stopped by his mentor, who shook her head slowly. Maybe she needs to let it out, her eyes told him.
"I knew… but I couldn't accept it." Kiri sniffed, one rumpled sleeve coming up to wipe away a stray tear. "It's not fair! I've waited ten years and was prepared to wait just a little more- Just a little bit more... and I'd reveal myself and he'd be so proud of me- but then you show up and- and- now maybe I won't even get a chance to meet him."
Neither hero said anything, allowing the girl to vent and express her feelings. It was better than letting them bottle up and exploding at an inappropriate time. The girl found her voice now, fully expressing herself instead using the usual small, succinct sentences she preferred to make her point.
Little hiccups wracked her tiny frame, causing her to shake like a leaf in a storm. "You show up and- and- everything I've accomplished will pale in comparison. Everything I've done, none of it will matter because he'll be obsessed with your power. You'll take him away from me!" She wailed, hands wrenching shut with sorrow. "Give him back! I've waited for so long and you- you just show up out of the blue and steal him away- you thief! It's not fair! Not fair, not fair!"
"Oh…" All Might began, only to feel tiny fists bumping against him weakly as the girl ran up to him, her arms flailing blindly. Her blows were now ineffective against his muscular bulk, despite the force behind them she'd shown during their previous fight.
"I just want to be loved." She hiccuped, arms dangling loosely by her sides in defeat. "I want Izuku-nii-chan to be proud of me, to love me. Is that so wrong?"
Before anyone could react, Nana rushed forward and engulfed the girl in a tight hug, gently caressing the back of her head. The little girl gasped at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away from the older woman. Instead her childish face seemed to scrunch up the more she was comforted, shining with tears and finally beginning to cry once more.
"Ohhh, you poor thing. That was never our intention."
"Uuuu. Uuuu…" She didn't opt to reply, looking very much like a lost child with those big tearful eyes of hers.
"Shhh, it's alright. We're not going to take him away from you, okay?" Nana leaned back and gently wiped away the girl's tears with both her thumbs, hands cupping her face. "Midoriya isn't someone obsessed with chasing power, right? If anything, he'd be proud of all the good you've done for the world."
"...really? Y-you won't steal him away?" Kiri stopped sniffing, blinking in surprise when she felt a graceful finger boop her on the nose.
"Really. Now, why don't we all take a break and we can continue this later on- Everyone's stressed out from these… unforeseen circumstances." Nana gave another trademark smile, ruffling the girl's hair softly.
Kiri blinked and rubbed her still-red eyes, trying to muster up the fiercest look she could at All Might in her current form. It wasn't very intimidating, to say in the least. The hero observed for the first time how awfully small she seemed for a supposed ten-year old. Now that he thought of it, Midoriya wasn't particularly large for his age either.
"Okay," she said slowly, still eying the heroes warily. "But don't touch my tree! I'll know."
"We won't." Nana nodded, smiling slightly. "Promise."
The girl watched them for awhile before trudging back unsteadily towards the hilltop, then put her back against the massive tree as she plopped down at its base. Within seconds she had fallen asleep, eyes closed serenely. That was… strangely quick. Neither of them had seen anyone fall asleep that fast.
The pair of heroes watched the sleeping simulacrum curiously, before Nana broke the silence with a small whisper.
"I knew it... the poor girl has been running on fumes this whole time." She nodded, satisfied with her hypothesis. The pair made some distance to avoid disturbing the sleeping child as they began discussing her.
"Eh? How'd you know?"
"I sort of suspected something was up when she didn't change back into her adult form back when she confronted you at the tree. When she first manifested the first thing she wanted to do was get some sleep… and finally, when she hit you so weakly while she was crying just now it all but confirmed it- that child form of hers also functions as a sort of power-saving mode." Nana shrugged. "Y'know, kind of like a phone. But still, she's strong. Not as strong as you, yeah, but still pretty decent. I'd say she's what, a third of your strength? Maybe even half if she really pushes it. Maybe."
"Then… where does she get her power, what's the source? It can't be just from her sleep, can it?" All Might hummed, thinking hard. "Sunlight? Sound? Temperature?"
"I think you're on the right track. Still remember those briefings about her supposed powerset?" Nana said.
"Yeah, off the top of my head. Invulnerability, super-strength, minor super-speed, levitation, teleportation, shapeshifting, and uh… what was it, a calming aura? I'd suppose it's lucky we never managed to find out the sheer versatility of her shapeshifting- nobody even suspected she could turn into a child." The blonde massaged his temples, trying to recall what the Hero Association scientists had said back then during that annual report so many years ago. "One thing that's got all the eggheads confused is that one person shouldn't have multiple Quirks, with a few rare 'exceptions'. For a while some people have even been thinking that Valkyrie was some sort of advanced robot or artificial human; I guess we've got our answer now."
"Usually cases of supposed multiple Quirks are just people who found out different applications of their Quirks, say, a Quirk to control water can also control ice. Maybe it's the same for her, different applications of the same ability-" Nana closed her eyes in deep thought. "But what's the common factor in all those abilities?"
"You tell me. I'd go mental just trying to figure out all the possibilities." All Might muttered.
"Wait… Mental—that's it!" Nana gasped, slamming a fist into her palm in a moment of understanding. "Toshinori, you're a genius!"
"I am?"
"Yes!" The older woman began to pace back and forth, grinning as she began to put the pieces together. "The one piece of information our boys didn't have- she's a mental projection. That means Midoriya is capable of creating a mental projection. Which means it's all Psionics!"
"You lost me." All Might said blankly.
"Psionics! Midoriya's Quirk can be considered as psychic, and Valkyrie is his mental, or psychic projection. In turn, that means she uses psionic power too! Her super-strength and speed, I'd guess that's tactile telekinesis- lifting things with her mind while channeling it through her touch. That could explain why she doesn't seem to have the usual required muscle mass common in super-strength quirks." Nana explained in a rapid-fire pace. "I'd say the invulnerability is similar to those shields telekinetics love to form as a defense; in this case her entire body is a shield. As for levitation, shapeshifting and teleportation, those can probably be attributed to the same psionic prowess she's displayed… we'll have to ask her about that later."
"What about the calming aura? That seems awfully out of place."
"Hardly. Psionic powers are powers of the mind, which in turn could theoretically affect other minds. One particular Hero was famous for this, using his psychic powers to see through people's eyes. But that's not the point- the point is, the calming aura- It's her power source."
"It is? I don't see how expending energy to calm others down is considered as her power source." All Might blinked.
"That's because it's not actually a calming aura." The retired hero said slowly. "I think it's the other way around. She hasn't been giving people emotions, she's taking them away. Empathy. She's been eating them."
"...Ah." All Might whispered, then his eyes widened comically. "Then- Young Midoriya-!"
"Eh, he'll be fine. I mean, if he really has had his emotions being drained for ten years and still grows up to be a relatively normal boy, I think he's good. Kiri wouldn't hurt her master in any way."
The number one Hero didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or to be worried sick at the prospect of his disciple having what was essentially an emotional vampire living in his head. Still, the girl did seem to love her brother a whole lot, so he'd trust her for now.
"So... what do we do about her?"
"For now? Whatever we can. I'm not sure if its a good idea for them to meet, but it could have some potential benefits for both of them- mainly the fact that we can relay information to Midoriya-kun. Hey, I've got an idea- why not enroll little Kiri-chan into U.A? That way she would be in close proximity to him, maybe even act as a bodyguard-"
All Might replied by shooting his mentor a textbook are-you-serious look. "Not. Happening. The situation's too volatile at the moment, Sensei. Besides, wouldn't that be unfair to all the other applicants who have already completed the entrance exam? Did you expect me to pull some strings, allow a literal ten-year-old kid into the school and expect her to perform well academically?"
"Well, uh, yeah- I was hoping for that actually. But I can see your point... alright, I get it, stop giving me that look! I can feel your look."
"I'm sorry- I'm just-" The hero sighed explosively. "I'm just worried. About Young Midoriya."
"Now that I think of it, I guess Midoriya here can be considered an Abnormality." Nana stated, looking contemplative.
"You mean that rare classification of metahuman where not even the user is aware of the Quirk's abilities and therefore can't use it? I guess. What of it?"
"Nah, I was just thinking. It's funny, really."
"What is?"
"The original One For All used to be an Abnormality, too." Nana said quietly.
All Might stopped and stared at her, his train of thought completely derailed. Then it started to sink in. The Quirk to stock power and the Quirk to pass on Quirks, united as one. One For All. And now, history was repeating itself. A Quirk given to someone previously thought to be Quirkless. A twist of fate, or perhaps all part of the plan in the grand scheme of the Universe.
"Hmm." All Might grunted, opting to put away that particular revelation for later study. "At this point, we still don't know what the two of them are fully capable of now. With her power, and One For All in Midoriya's body… Together, they'd be-"
"A recipe for disaster, or the key to a new golden age of heroes? Only time will tell." Nana shrugged. "Whatever, it's your problem now."
"Oi."
"I mean you in the real world." The retired hero gave him a firm pat on the back. "I'd love to help out, but all we can do now is sit back and watch the fireworks. Or explosions."
"I thought you said the previous users can assist the current one in when they're in a pinch? I think this situation more than qualifies as 'a pinch' and more like a full-on mangling."
"Yeah, but not directly." Nana yawned, manifesting a reclining beach chair with a snap of her fingers. She ignored All Might's dropping jaw as she climbed into it lazily, looking rather pleased with herself. "We don't have the power to take control or speak to the host, only to give them a great surge of strength or insight. But who knows, maybe we'll have a little more power as One For All is passed down through the ages. Hell, maybe even one day we'll actually get to control the host's body. That would be totally radical."
"What the- How'd you do that?" he gaped, referring to the colorful chair she was currently lounging upon.
"Oh, this? It's like a… thought construct that we soul fragments can create in here. You'll learn how to do it soon." The older woman gave another yawn, palms behind her head as she took on a relaxed position. "Goodnight, Toshinori."
"Sensei, it's morning." True enough, the sky shimmered bright blue while the morning sun shone down upon them. Nana didn't seem to mind, a pair of mirrored shades appearing on her face with another snap of her fingers. A Martini winked into existence in the woman's free hand, with her draining the entire glass with a single gulp. The hero watched with bewilderment as the now-empty glass disintegrated into nothingness.
"Good day, then." she smirked. "I'd suggest you get some sleep, you'll be meeting the wielder before me after we finish talking to Kiri later."
"Well… alright." All Might said reluctantly. Secretly, he was both nervous and excited at the prospect of meeting the previous wielders, possible legendary heroes that had once held the same power he did. "But how do you create these thought construct things?"
At that his old mentor let the sunglasses droop down her face slightly, revealing half-lidded, mischievous eyes. "Just think reaaaaaaaaaaal hard and you should be able to create one. That's all the help I can give you- after all, that's all the help that was given to me."
"Wha- Sensei!"
"You gon' learn, Toshinori." Nana chuckled, already drifting off to sleep. "And I believe in learning through experience! So go forth, my young pupil, and experience."
"The only thing I'm going to experience is the grass against my face because I don't know how to make an imaginary bed." he groused.
"That's the point, genius." A third snap of her fingers created a pair of earplugs that manifested in her ears, completely blocking out All Might's incoming retort.
Sighing with defeat, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, Hero of Heroes, started to stare hard at a particular spot of empty grass in an effort to create an imaginary thought construct bed. Shimura Nana wasn't the best teacher one could hope for, but she had her good points.
[x]
All Might awakened to a strange sense of discomfort, and not just from the warped abomination of a bed he had fallen asleep on. Something was poking against his cheek rather roughly, the aggressor doing their best to annoy him into waking up.
"I'm up, I'm up." he groaned, neck craning up to come face to face with none other than Kiri who was currently sitting cross-legged on his muscular chest in her child form and poking him with a long stick. Noticing that he was finally awake, she whipped her makeshift weapon across his forehead, snapping it in twain with a sharp crack.
"Ow." All Might said, unamused.
"Nn." she replied, hopping off him almost casually.
"Up and at em' boy! General Quarters! Action Stations!" Nana called, doing her best to hide her laughter. She wasn't trying very hard, her mirth clearly visible. Oddly enough the Sun still shone bright, the sky still blue as ever.
"Very funny, Sensei." he groaned. "I suppose I have you to blame for that?"
"I thought it'd be a good team-building activity if she woke you up instead." Nana said. "I think it's kind of cute!"
Kiri stood beside her, eyes practically boring a hole into him as she stared with nearly unblinking eyes. It seemed she still didn't like him much... He would have to gain her trust slowly, then.
"Don't give me that exhausted look, Toshinori! You've been asleep for eight hours!"
"Felt like a fifteen-minute nap." All Might said tiredly, getting up and dismissing his thought construct. "What now, o great teacher?"
"First things first!" All three of them sat down in a rough circle, the epitome of a formal discussion. "What to do regarding Young Midoriya and Kiri here."
At the mention of her given name the girl leaned forward with interest, giving her full attention to Nana.
"Kiri-chan, Auntie Nana's gonna ask you some questions about yourself, and you're going to have to answer honestly, alright? It's so we can help both you and Midoriya-kun."
The construct looked a little apprehensive, but slowly nodded her head to confirm.
"Okay. First of all, can you fly?"
A quick shake of the head at that. "Not fly, float. Helps with long jumps." Kiri demonstrated by floating a few meters off the ground but it quickly became clear that she had little to no control of which direction she went, evident when a gentle nudge from All Might sent her tumbling through the air like an astronaut in space. She tried to "swim" through the air which looked absolutely ridiculous not to mention slow, completely eliminating any potential combat applications from that ability.
"Next question: does your invulnerability have a limit? Let me guess, is it tied to your form and energy?"
A small, reluctant nod.
"I knew it." Nana whispered under her breath and gave her ex-student a quick glance. "She can have her invulnerability as long as she has enough energy to stay in the real world. It's literally tied to her material form…"
The retired hero mumbled to herself more, humming and scratching her head while she brainstormed. All Might could almost hear the gears turning in her skull with all the heavy thinking she was doing. Most people think of Nana was just a musclehead when they first meet her especially because of that Greek-statue physique, but the truth is she was actually rather clever.
"Alright, final question! I've pretty much figured out your abilities through guesswork except for the teleportation." Nana tapped her chin thoughtfully, pacing back and forth like a scientist on the verge of making a great discovery. "Through reports I've read you've always arrived on scene on foot. Why not just teleport directly to wherever you want to go, it would definitely be faster-"
"I can only teleport to places I try really, really, really hard to remember perfectly." Kiri admitted sheepishly. "It's difficult."
"Memory-based teleportation, huh. I'd suppose that's not as good as regular teleportation. How many locations can you teleport to?"
"Four. One at the city center, one at the outskirts, one at Onii-chan's old school, and one outside onii-chan's house. I'm going to replace the school one with a memory of his new school."
"I see… okay, I've made my decision!" Nana declared suddenly. "Now Kiri, don't take this the wrong way; you're one of the strongest projections I've ever seen... but I think you should hold off on meeting your master, err, brother until he gets a basic grasp of One For All."
"Eh?! But- But!" As the girl began to protest, Nana held out both hands placatingly.
"Now, now, there's a reason for all this. I'd think Midoriya would be overwhelmed if so much power suddenly fell into his hands, not to mention confused and disoriented at the revelation that he has a secret little sister-daughter construct he didn't know about for ten years. You can wait just a little longer, right?"
Kiri looked like she wanted to protest further, but slowly clamped her jaw shut, having no way to refute. True, it would only cause confusion and chaos if she were to appear now out of the blue. But still, it didn't mean that she had to like it. The girl gave a great and mighty pout, cheeks puffed up like a goldfish.
"Aw, don't be like that. It's only for a little while, and then you can meet him." All Might said, patting her back gently in an effort to get her used to him. She pouted even further, eyes narrowing into razor thin lines. Well, at least she didn't start hissing like an angry cat.
After a long, quiet silence Kiri finally relented, her worry for her brother's well-being overriding her own desire to meet him.
"Fine." she said, looking rather disappointed. "Just a little longer…"
"Just hang in there, kid." Nana sighed, rubbing Kiri's head a little. "Moving on, let's have you meet the wielder before me, Toshinori."
"Eh? Here and now?" The blonde said, alarmed.
"Yup! Right here, right now." Nana nudged Kiri and motioned for her to go sit beside All Might, which she did a little reluctantly. "Okay, now I need some space for this to work. Stand back."
"Wait, what's gonna happen to you?"
"I've told you before, haven't I? I'll disappear for a previous wielder to take my place. We'll keep doing this once in a while until you've met all the ones who came before. Think of it as half and introduction session, half a storytime session where they rant about their backstories. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something. I sure did."
Nana started doing a few basic stretches, getting into position as she rolled her shoulders, then rotating her waist from side to side. Yet the words had flowed past the student's ears, what she'd just said starting to sink in.
"Disappear? Take your place?" An odd feeling of growing dread was pooling in his stomach, inexplicable and alien. It was only when the wind started swirling around her that he realized he didn't want her to disappear- it reminded him of that hateful moment years ago, where he'd failed her and she truly disappeared off the face of the planet for good. His one true regret.
"But I'm not ready! I mean, what do I even say-" All Might began, only for Nana to cut him off with that same, confident grin. The same grin she'd shown him only hours before she died. The same grin that his own trademark smile was based off.
"You're All Might, Symbol of Peace. You don't have to say anything. Everyone's so proud of you. I'm proud of you." Her body began to glow with an unearthly violet light, flickering and shimmering. For a brief moment, seeing her fading away like that was like watching her die all over again. His heart wrenched with an old sorrow as bitter memories resurfaced. Despite himself he began to stand up and make his way towards her, fearful of losing his teacher again.
"Sensei, wait!" He started to reach for her, only for a strong gust of wind to push him back. "Nana!"
"Relax, you dummy." Nana smiled, actually laughing now while she faded. "I'll only be gone for a little while. But I have to warn you-"
Her features suddenly grew serious and foreboding, eyes taking on a faraway look. "One For All didn't always belong to Heroes."
There was a tremendous flash of light and for a moment All Might's vision was encompassed with the all-consuming color of purple. When it faded, Nana was gone… and someone else stood in her place.
The new individual stood towering and unyielding, taller than All Might and at least eight feet tall; muscular and built like a barrel, an absolute bear of a man. Crowned atop his head was a black Ushanka cap with a single golden star, framing a squarish jaw that was furnished with a great grey beard. Piercing magenta eyes stared down at both All Might and Kiri, like burning coals in the night. Unlike the transparent Nana, this man seemed solid like All Might. Six multicolored soul fragments orbited around his head in a tight formation.
Wielder Number Six.
"So. It is true." the man rumbled in a deep Russian accent, a deep frown set on his face.
Each step he took forward seemed to cause the very earth to shake. All Might instinctively stepped in front of Kiri in an attempt to protect her, which was ultimately futile as she trotted beside him, gazing up at the giant man fearlessly. Any normal child would have hid behind the blonde hero's legs, Kiri on the other hand was showing a little interest at the sheer size of the newcomer.
"What is?" All Might asked, feeling a little tense.
"It is true… that number one vigilante is TINY BABY GIRL!" the older man boomed, an enormous hand on his belly as he began to roar with laughter. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IS GREATEST JOKE OF DECADE! HAHAHAHAHAHA-"
His loud voice almost caused All Might to flinch, but luckily the hero had a much stronger will than that. Kiri just seemed puzzled at the big man's reaction, tilting her head curiously.
"-HAHAHAHAahahaha. Aha. Ha. Ahhhhhh. Oh, that slaps me on the knee." The behemoth finally calmed down, wiping a tear of mirth away from his eyes. "Begging your pardon. I am Mikhail Glukhovsky, strongest man in Russia! Friends call me Misha. Have wielded One For All for 33 years. Pleased to be meeting you, da."
Kiri turned to All Might, pointing at the man.
"It's Santa Claus." she chirped, clearly expecting a present or something.
"No, Kiri-chan. Just because he has a beard and wears a red coat doesn't mean he's Santa. Also, it's a different kind of hat, see? Even the color's different." He explained with the patience of a saint. The girl looked slightly disappointed at that comment, grumbling to herself.
All Might gave his predecessor a polite smile, followed by a firm handshake. The man had a grip like a hydraulic press, he noted as his hand came away throbbing. Well, at least he was much friendlier than he looked.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Toshinori Yagi, also known as All Might. You can call me Toshinori." The hero frowned for a moment, thinking back to his teacher. Her violet soul fragment was missing from the goliath's halo, which numbered only six instead of seven. "Is Shimura Nana going to be okay?"
"Oh, her? Is fine. Will reappear after awhile. Need recharge! But recharge time get shorter as One For All gain power. Maybe finish faster this time." Misha said cheerfully, patting him on the shoulder with a heavy hand while reassuring him in broken Japanese. All Might breathed a sigh of relief at that, satisfied with his answer.
"Now, as part of introductory course, I also have to tell you name, Quirk and story. Is gud."
"Uh, is that really necessary? I mean, I don't really see a point since I've already passed down the power-"
"Of course! Is tradition of One For All. Actually not much to do here also." Misha said.
"Then what happens when One For All gets passed down through more and more generations?"
"Then even more story! Truly Khorosho." The big man beamed proudly. "So! When I was hero, I known as Fortress, the Unbreakable Man! My Quirk is called: Extrasensory. Is strange Quirk, allow me to see people memories just by touch. Also have boolitproof skin. With One For All, I became greatest hero in all of Russia!
"I think I've heard of your Hero name, but other than that I don't know much about you..."
"Is okay. My story finished long ago, so newer, better heroes take my place. Is gud."
He was about to mutter a quick apology when the pitter-patter of little feet on the grass caught his attention. Looking behind him, All Might realized that Kiri had vanished from his line of sight. However, the moment he turned back he faced a dilemma most troubling; little Kiri was now staring up at the giant Misha, her full height barely even reaching up to his thigh as she stood only inches away from him.
A deep, basic instinct to protect the small creature nearly came over him then and there, but All Might opted to hang back and watch the situation unfold to see how the two would interact with each other.
Kiri stepped closer, an inquisitive look on her face as she glanced down at Misha's heavy-duty combat boots, each nearly the size of her head- and let her eyes slowly travel up, up and up until they met his. Amusingly, she had to step back a little just to take him in fully until her head lolled back.
"If I pull off your beard, will you die?" Kiri asked nonsensically, much like an actual curious kid.
"It would be extremely painful." he rumbled.
"You're a big guy." she said, sizing him up.
"For you." Misha replied reflexively. "But then again, look at you! You are so TINY!"
Kiri pouted and changed into her adult form, billowing white hair blooming with length as her skin paled. She puffed out her chest and stood ramrod straight in an attempt to look bigger, which only lead the man into another bout of uproarious laughter.
"You are so small! Is funny to me!" Misha boomed, still lost in mirth. "Even smaller than own granddaughters!"
"Nn. I can't grow any bigger. Only smaller." Kiri complained, shrinking back down into a child.
"Small is still good! Less target for enemy." Misha rolled back his shirt sleeve to reveal great crisscrossing scars upon his tattooed upper right arm. "Look at me, big means you are big meatshield. Have many scars on chest, on back, on face, which is why I grow beard- Ooh, you remind me of great adversary! When I was younger I fight villain who just like you, has own mental projections, Horde! Except he have twenty-four different split personality, each with own Quirk, is nightmare to fight!"
"Wait, granddaughters? You're a granddad?" All Might said, slightly surprised.
"Da. I from big family- Have three sons, all married and with children! Is greatest feeling in world when have many grandchildren, even better than beating villain. Lineage will carry on." Misha grinned, producing a photograph out of thin air which he showed to the younger hero. True enough, a large family smiled back from within the photo, Misha clearly seated at the center as over two dozen children and adults gathered around him. They all looked so… happy.
"You don't… miss them? Your family I mean." All Might asked carefully, not wanting to antagonize the old hero.
"Of course I do." Misha gave him a great big grin, clapping him on the back like an old friend. "But in real world, I move on. Have accepted it- Life goes on, and so shall I. Now I help wielders of One For All. Help make world a better place."
"That's an admirable goal." All Might said. Frankly, he wasn't sure if he was glad to be unmarried now, the thought of leaving a wife and kid in the real world while he was stuck in here seemed like a nightmare prospect, but Misha seemed pretty okay with it. Then again, Misha was old, having probably accomplished everything he wanted to in life already. It was a strange feeling, really.
"But enough about past!" Misha exclaimed suddenly, his voice carrying clear across the field of flowers. With a snap of his massive fingers three couches appeared, with him plopping down onto one almost lazily. "Now is time for story!"
At the mention of a story Kiri seemed to get a little interested and excited, scampering over and claiming one of the couches for herself. Unfortunately, these couches were Misha-sized, which fit nicely for the two large men but left her sinking slightly into the humongous, pillowy cushions. She didn't seem to mind it all that much, maybe because she often slept on tree branches or rocks.
"Isn't your story part of the past as well?" All Might asked as he plopped down on the final vacant couch. Misha grinned at him, bushy beard quirking alongside his lips.
"Now, I tell story of great victory, yet great loss. It happen many, many years ago- maybe you hear of it in history book now." Misha began, his voice taking on a dramatic tone. "Back then in Russia we have great scientist. Doktor Dimitri Parangosky. Is hero! Very smart. Maybe too smart."
Kiri was now listening intently, while All Might was already trying to recall details from this particular story after hearing that name. He heard it before, back when he was a mere schoolboy, decades ago- but now it was hearing it again, from a first-hand account.
"He smart, and one day he try to make machine smarter than him." Misha said. "For good of motherland, he claim. To solve problems and bring glory back to Russia in time of stagnation. Machine much too smart, gain sentience!"
"Zabanya." All Might said softly.
"Yes, Zabanya Incident." Misha says, a faraway look in his eyes. "Unshackled Artificial Intelligence. True A.I, made from template of scientist's brain! But Zabanya only want to help creator. Is benevolent."
The old hero said nothing for awhile, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "All still good. New age, they say. But tensions rise, some claim machine is abomination, heresy to God. Bring death to humanity."
All Might nodded, still listening intently. Kiri seemed to be fully invested in the old hero's tale, giving him her full attention.
"And so began time of great chaos. Religious, eco-terrorist cult known as Sleeping Forest calling for death of doktor and his creation. At first no biggie. Then second biggest political party openly declare support of cult. Shit hit fan. People start digging, discover insane nepotism and cultist thing; cult infiltrated political party and plan to occupy it like Illuminati or conspiracy theory. Cyka blyat, is like I watching hollywood movie or anime instead of real life."
Misha took a moment to catch his breath, visibly contemplating his next thoughts. All Might thought to ask Misha to tone down the swearing a bit but then remembered that Kiri was used to villains screaming obscenities in her face as a Vigilante.
"All TV channels broadcasting this now but worst thing was, half of society seems to support cult. Half of TV channels side with SF, saying they are heroes while Parangosky is heretic who dare to play God, off with his head. Other half saying they are insane cultists. Sudden massive push of SF agenda of religious fanaticism, they making their big play using Dr. Parangosky and his creation as stepping stone. Fear of coup d'etat rising. Riots ready to begin in streets. Whole nation divided, every community, neighborhood and street corner become battleground between cult and rational people. Normal people become overwhelmed by their fanaticism and insanity and panicking. Is like end of days, cultural apocalypse. Madness is outbreaking like contagious disease and Russia is on verge of violent Civil War. Heroes helpless, some even picking sides! Biggest shitstorm I ever seen, politicians went radio silent and the media went full retard. But I think… you know what happen next."
"I've… read a little about it." All Might nodded. "History says Zabanya went mad and annihilated the isolated town of Cheboksary by overloading its own core, killing over a thousand people including its own creator."
"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong." Misha chuckled darkly. "Is not Zabanya who destroyed that town. It was despicable Sleeping Forest terrorists who do anything to further own goals and ideology. It was they who sabotaged nearby Rostok and brought destruction to that poor town. Rostok kill many there; men, women, children. No discrimination, only death. That's how Dr. Parangosky really died, not by the hands of beloved creation but the fanaticism of cultists. An assassination that was meant to take out both him and Zabanya, now conveniently blamed on creation. They even have audacity to use incident to call for death of surviving A.I."
"Then… the A.I was framed. Damn. But- what is 'Rostok'? A person, a weapon?"
Misha shook his head grimly, fists clenching so hard that his knuckles turned white. "It's a nuclear reactor."
"...Oh."
"Long story short, we, the heroes, were all fooled to believing Zabanya was a threat to Russia… and the World. They played us like fiddle. Zabanya of course act in self-defense, build robots for self-preservation, believing we were same people who killed his master and come to finish job. We heroes fight against onslaught for a month, throwing bodies against Zabanya Compound like emptying magazine. When I alone finally breached the final segment to A.I core, I still believe he evil until I saw with own eyes. I did not see evil, only scared and confused child retaliating against World. There, with my Quirk I learn truth of Dr. Parangosky death, truth of trickery. But I cannot tell the public, for it would truly cause a Civil War in homeland if they find out that SF responsible for over thousand deaths of Russian citizens."
"So that's why the World still thinks Zabanya was a mad, rogue A.I. That's… injustice. But what happened to the cult? I don't think they exist anymore-"
"Da, me and some comrades made sure of that after incident. But back then I faced with dilemma in Zabanya; my enemy that had taken so many lives, lives of my comrades… but out of self-defense and fear. Zabanya only wanted to be left alone, to live in peace. So tell me All Might, what am I to do?"
"Me?" The hero asked, a little confused.
"Yes, you. Make decision, quick."
"But what's the point of making a decision that has already been made?"
"Guess."
"What you're really asking is… what would I do." All Might said slowly.
Misha just gave him another jolly grin, glad that he got the point. "Yes. Destroy your enemy and avenge your fallen comrades, or save an innocent soul? Even if innocent is nonhuman, machine and metal who has taken the lives of your friends by matters which spiral out of control. Choose: Revenge? Or Forgiveness? Clock is ticking."
All Might gazed down at his open palm for a moment, contemplating his choices. He was a hero- and heroes were supposed to save everyone and anyone in need of help. But the cost of human lives lost in the Zabanya incident… he'd seen the numbers, read the stories. Save? Or Destroy? If he were in Misha's place, would he be able to bring himself to destroy an innocent soul- or for belittle the sacrifices of his comrades, who gave their lives to allow him to make it this far only to betray them for a non-human entity? He had no idea how Misha was able to make such a difficult choice, but ultimately decided on his own in this hypothetical situation.
"...I would-"
"Nyet! Too slow!" Misha roared without warning, stunning the blonde hero for a brief moment. He followed it up with a light but firm karate chop onto the hero's skull. "POW, you are ded. Not big surprise. Moral of story- Act fast!"
"Wha- I thought this was going to be a choice about the moral conundrums on the innocence of all life whether natural or artificial and what measure is non-human and stuff!" All Might said, rubbing his head in confusion.
"Yes, maybe that too. But still, too slow! Hero must make decision on fly!" Misha laughed. "Now I must go. It was nice meeting you, Toshinori Yagi."
"Go? Wait- That's so sudden! I still have so many questions! The history books listed the Zabanya A.I as 'terminated' but… what was your choice?" The Hero exclaimed.
"If you are hero, then you already know. Have learnt important lesson, have you not?" Misha grinned and started to glow as he stood, fading into translucency like Nana had earlier. "Dasvidaniya, All Might and little baby girl."
"Bye-bye, Santa." Kiri said, waving cheerfully.
"Wait-!" All Might was interrupted once again by another brilliant flash of light, and when he opened his eyes nothing remained of Misha except the three couches he had created for them. Even those were starting to fade away like powder snow, great flakes drifting off them in the wind.
The hero sighed in defeat, getting off his rapidly disintegrating couch. Kiri followed his lead, doing the same and skipping along until she was beside him. With a tilt of her neck she started pointing at his head or rather, something above him.
"Ahh…"
Above his blond mop of hair floated a magnificent halo of eight soul fragments, much like the predecessors before him. A new golden orb of light rotated into view, and All Might realized with a little amazement that he was staring at himself, or rather, his very own soul fragment. He reached out to touch the light and it floated into his palm, warm and alive like a tiny flame—
—And made a loud ping as if actually struck when Kiri flicked her finger into it, floating alongside him. She let out a childish giggle and began poking at it some more, wanting to play with it until All Might nudged her away gently.
"Oi, oi. Don't do that. Who knows what will happen if—" The hero was forced to lift his hands and soul fragment high up and away from the girl as her teeth clicked loudly against the empty air where it levitated just moments ago. She turned to him and landed back on solid ground, mouth open wide and clearly expecting him to feed it to her. "No, that's bad. No eating souls, young lady."
Kiri closed her mouth slowly, but still gave him that expectant stare like she wanted something from him. As it turns out, she did.
"I'm hungry." she stated simply.
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"Feed me, please."
"I, uh… don't know how to do that." All Might answered sheepishly. "Do I just conjure up some emotions or something? Alright, how's this-"
All Might focused hard and sure enough, a warped bowl of milk and cereal appeared in the palm of his hand. Or rather, something that vaguely resembled milk and cereal. The girl scrunched up her nose at the awful sight, sniffing distastefully.
"Here comes the aeroplane! Nnneeaoowww-" The number one Hero tried awkwardly, swerving the a spoonful of the thought-cereal towards her whilst emulating a plane. Kiri scrutinized him for a moment with visible disdain, eyes rapidly narrowing at a rate proportional to the spoon's distance from her face.
"I'm going out on patrol." With that statement, a whirling doorway of white light appeared beside her and she stepped through, disappearing instantly. All Might just sighed for the umpteenth time today when he'd realized he was now alone with his badly constructed bowl of "cereal". Well, at least he could now focus on mastering the art of creating thought construct furniture. Baby steps.
Curious at what he created, he took a bite of the thought-cereal and spat it out immediately, retching horribly in disgust.
[x]
Nana manifested only a few hours later, looking awfully well-rested. After telling her about his meeting with Misha (to which she reacted with great hilarity), Kiri arrived to check in on them from an unsuccessful hunt yet recharged with energy. It turns out that the city was being well cared for with the combined efforts of the real All Might and the Number Two Hero, Endeavor. They'd been doing such a good job of suppressing crime in the past few years that Kiri had been mostly been relying on rescue work and bursts of negative emotions in her range for food.
The next few days were uneventful, until the first day of school where Izuku broke his finger in a physical examination to test Class 1-A's abilities. Kiri was understandably worried but was quickly calmed down by both Nana and All Might with promises that he'll be fine. Frankly, the two retired heroes thought young Midoriya was rather resourceful in the use of his power, compensating his weaker body by using One For All creatively.
The group reached an impasse when Izuku was once again injured in one of the combat exercises against Bakugo. He'd broken his own right arm with the overwhelming power of One For All, while also receiving burns on his left. Kiri was visibly upset even after he'd been healed and now wanted to meet him more than ever. Together they began a heavy discussion on what to do, with Nana pushing the idea that they could pass on their knowledge of how to properly use One For All. Only problem was, the degree of power that she held compared to All Might was noticeably different, so her method of teaching was severely outdated when it came to the new and improved One For All. All Might just claimed his prowess with One For All came from his natural superior physique.
After almost an entire day of discussion, the heroes finally decided to let Kiri meet her brother under the condition that she would not reveal the existence of the previous wielders in his head; that might be a little too much for the poor boy to handle. They reasoned it be better for the master and projection to meet sooner rather than later, perhaps she could even help him in understanding his inherited Quirk.
Finally, after ten years of waiting, little Kiri was going to meet her brother.
[x]
Midoriya Izuku yawned and slowly got up from his warm bed, having woken up to a parched throat. With bleary eyes he checked on his beside clock for the time only to put it back quickly, groaning. It was 3.30am, a normally ungodly hour for a healthy young man like him to still be awake. To top it all off his arm still ached, apparently still healing from the combat exercise against Bakugo and Iida.
Dragging himself out of his reverie the boy trudged through the dark corridors of his home sleepily, making his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. After quenching his thirst, the boy simply went back to his room, rubbing his eyes gently as he got into his bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement. Blinking, he squinted into the dark corners of the room and briefly wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him in the dim light.
But then he saw another small twitch, right at the edge of his vision. He turned to face the source, still too tired to focus properly. A large and pale shape was crouching atop his wardrobe, two softly glowing winks of green flickering into being. At first Izuku wasn't quite sure what he was looking at, staring into those motes and enraptured by their presence. As he gazed into that otherworldly light it seemed to complete a circuit within him, a strange sense of familiarity that felt almost unnatural.
And then those green motes blinked.
Izuku experienced a flash of pure terror when the being atop his wardrobe blurred with movement, its shape crossing the short distance between them frighteningly fast as it pounced on him, pinning his body to the bed. When he reopened his eyes a young woman was straddling him, clouded milky eyes glowing with green only inches away from his. He instantly felt a spike of fear running through his veins like icy water. Who was this- a villain seeking to destroy All Might's legacy, a burglar, an evil spirit? A dozen possibilities flashed through his panicked mind.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHmppppphhh—" the boy's scream of horror was cut short when the woman suddenly hugged him tight, pressing his face into her sizable bosom as they slowly began to float skywards into the air. His fear abruptly turned to embarrassment in that pillowy softness, a great blush already building up as he realized the situation he was in.
"Onii-chan. Nii-chan, Nii-chan!" the mystery intruder whispered, her voice bright and full of childish glee. "Izuku-nii-chan!"
She was cradling him to her chest like a mother does to her infant, cooing happily. Can't breathe! Soft, too soft!
As if by some miracle the woman seemed to hear his thoughts, loosening her iron grip around him slightly. Izuku managed to free himself from her voluptuous breasts and recoiled, gasping great big lungfuls of air as his blush kept intensifying. For a moment he was struck by confusion, now wide awake and having recognized the person before him.
"Y-y-you're Valkyrie-san! This is my house, w-what are you doing here?!" He managed to stammer out, her arms still wrapped around his body as she kept them both afloat in mid-air. In the heat of the moment the fact that she called him "Onii-chan" still didn't sink into his sleep-addled mind.
Valkyrie blinked, regarding him with the default stare that she presented to everyone. Her eyes however seemed to gleam with delight. "I came to visit you."
"U-um…" Izuku said, still thoroughly confused as to why she was here. She had made that little statement out like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I came to visit you." she repeated, perhaps unsure if he had heard her the first time.
"Y-yeah, you said that before. Listen, er, Valkyrie, I really appreciate that you saved me- twice, but this is my home! You can't just come in here…" Deep down he still wondered if this was a dream. Why was she here; did she want something from him? There was a brief moment of dread as he considered the possibility that she knew about One For All and was here to take it away from him.
Valkyrie seemed not to hear him, gently floating them down onto the mattress. Adjusting her grip she cupped his face, eyes sparkling like emerald jewels in the darkness. Slowly, deliberately, she inched her face closer to his. Up close, she looked so pretty...
"W-w-w-w-w-w-what are you doing?" For some reason, he couldn't stop blushing. Cursing his hormones the boy tried to back away, only to find that he was trapped against the bed frame. Her intentions however, were utterly pure; Valkyrie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his own. For a moment all he felt was the warmth of her skin against his—
Then it was like he'd been doused in buckets of icy water, images flashing before his eyes like a badly edited film reel. Colors that couldn't exist, memories with a first-person view showing a body that didn't belong to him, a giant tree towering in the horizon-
With a start he realized Valkyrie was sharing her memories with him. He saw himself, terrified as he dug his hands into slime to try and save Bakugo- himself again, blushing as he awoke on a girlish lap pillow, stammering- a smiling team of heroes dressed in cat-themed regalia- a man crying in the hospital, alone and wrought with regret- pale ghostly hands ripping through reinforced steel like wet cardboard- flames, the very air alight as an inferno engulfed the street- another man, symmetrical blots of dark ink swirling across that terrifying blank canvas of a face-
"Hrm. You got a name, brat? No? How about… Kiri."
He couldn't clearly understand the images, but he got the basic gist of what they were supposed to be. Snippets and chunks of Valkyrie's life, unfolding backwards in visual format like a VCR tape on rewind.
Finally, he saw a familiar view of the city. Izuku knew this scene, it was the exact same landscape he'd see if he looked out his window, except this point of view was a little higher. The roof of his apartment. A single glowing tentacle reached out, the tip splitting into five distinct ends, forming fingers, then a hand. Thunder boomed in the distance as rain pattered off the frightened limb. He somehow remembered this night- it was the very same night he'd cried into his mother's arms, lamenting the cruelty of life. This was when Valkyrie was born, ten years ago.
Then- there was the connection between Master and Projection. An electrifying jolt like a DC current; simple, steady and carrying a numbing shock as two minds bridged into one. A direct feed to something deeper, primal and terrifyingly familiar.
'A super-cool hero like that. Can I… be a Hero, too?' Izuku heard himself ask, his voice youthful but full of sorrow.
'Hero. I will be a Hero for you, onii-chan.' Something answered.
Izuku pulled away, gasping horribly. Valkyrie; Kiri, someone in a memory had said, waited expectantly for him to speak. He was still breathing hard, taking deep breaths and nearly hyperventilating as the magnitude of the situation at hand finally crashed down on him. She'd just shown him key memories of her life compressed into the span of seconds, conveniently giving him the general rundown of her story and relation to him. But most importantly, she had shown her origin… and how he'd created her.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him- the crackpot theorists were right on the assumption that Valkyrie wasn't human. She was a construct… his construct.
"Y-you. You're me. A part of me." he stammered, in complete shock and awe. "All those weird dreams I've been having… My emotions being kept in balance when I got too scared or stressed since I was young… it was all you, wasn't it?"
Kiri nodded, patiently waiting for him to continue. If he looked a little closer he would have seen her trembling with a barely restrained excitement.
"Oh… it's been years. Ten… years..." he said, leaning back against the bed frame. The implications… He had created her. He was his Quirk. A Quirk he didn't know about for ten years! But still, she'd shown him why she didn't want him to know of her existence, especially considering the dangers she faced. The young boy reached out with a single, shivering hand. She put her hand onto his without hesitation and their fingers interlocked for a single, beautiful moment before he pulled away.
"I... don't know what to say." the boy whispered, feeling a strange sense of guilt even though it wasn't his fault. "You must have been so lonely."
Kiri stared, the only reaction she gave being a slight tilt of her head. Moonlight streamed through the windowpane and seemed to bounce off her pale, featureless body. She looked like a Greek statue- perfect and unblemished, yet cold and artificial. Alive yet unalive.
"U-um. K-kiri, right? You can… shapeshift? Can you, c-change to a form with clothes? It's kind of… distracting." Izuku stammered, blushing.
She complied obediently, shrinking down into her child form and gazing up at him expectantly. Izuku blinked with surprise, amazed at the new form she took. "You… can do that. Huh."
"Onii-chan." Kiri rushed into his open arms, tackling the boy and nuzzling against his chest happily. He could somehow get a basic feel of her current mood, despite her face staying in that default stare. Right now she was ecstatic, positively vibrating with joy in the arms of her creator. To her, this must have been like a religious experience. He sighed, rubbing her head gently with a somewhat parental instinct.
"I guess… that makes you my little sister?" Izuku continued tussling her straight black hair, feeling happiness course through her like an electric current. "Imouto?"
There was a small, brief moment where her cold demeanor cracked and actual emotions began to show. Kiri let out a squeal of pure delight, rubbing her face into his pajama shirt even further. Eyes filled with childish glee stared up at him. "Yeeeeeessssssss. YEEEEEESSSS! I've been waiting ten years for this moment, nii-chan!"
"Yeah, I guess that's what I am to you, eh." A mix of overwhelming emotions was currently raging for supremacy within him. Worry, amazement, shock, confusion and most of all, a strange, brotherly pride. He finally acknowledged the little creature before him as his sibling, though a little shocked at how well he himself was taking this. Now that he took a closer look, he realized how similar she looked to him, albeit with a slightly different color scheme. Change her hair color tone to match his own and make it curly instead of straight, give her green eyes and freckles… she would essentially look like a younger, female version of him. Perhaps this was another part of her camouflage.
Before he could contemplate any further there was a sharp knock on his bedroom door, causing him to stiffen in alarm.
"Izuku, is everything alright? I thought I'd heard you shouting just now…" The worried voice of his mother drifted past the door. Izuku looked at the door, then at the little girl snug in his arms. A sense of horror dawned on him then and there- what would his mother think when she saw him holding an unknown young girl in the dead of night? The logical conclusion anyone would come to was that he was some sort of pervert.
"Quick, uh, change to something else! Something with clothes, please!" Izuku panicked, not thinking clearly in the sudden confusion he found himself in. The girl scooted back a little, blinking as she tried comprehending his command.
"Are you talking to yourself in there? Maybe you're having a nightmare—" The brass door handle began to turn ominously, and Izuku's stomach turned with it. Kiri complied with his instructions, enlarging as she took on an older form… except this one was different. Now instead of an adult she now looked like a teenager his age, yet with the same black shoulder-length hair and steely blue eyes she had in her child form. But the worst thing was- she was now wearing a U.A uniform, the same kind that the girls at his school wore.
Izuku's heart sank, realizing that the memory sharing likely went both ways- she had copied the uniform from one of his memories, probably of Uraraka Ochaco if the way it fit nicely along her curves was anything to go by. It was too late to do anything as the door swung open to reveal Midoriya Inko, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
That soon changed as the older woman stared wordlessly at the two teenagers before her, eyes as wide as dinner plates. Her jaw dropped when she laid her eyes upon the attractive girl that was sitting on her son's bed, wearing the uniform of the school he went to, no less. Her mind instantly reached the conclusion that Izuku was getting frisky with a female classmate, a burning red tint already forming on her cheeks.
"O-oh. Oh my. I'm so sorry to interrupt, you kids carry on-" Inko stammered, finally finding her voice and blushing cherry-red as she started to close the door.
"No mom, wait! I can explain-" Izuku tried, the embarrassment within him building up like a fire, heating up his face.
"You don't to explain anything dear. I mean after all, you are at that age. I was young once too, y'know."
"No no no, she's, I mean- Kiri, change back!"
The simulacrum obeyed, turning back into the adorable child in an oversized hoodie. Izuku gestured at the girl frantically, desperate to prove his point that this situation was completely out of context. His mother just stared at the unfolding scene with the air of someone who's not entirely sure if they're still grounded in reality. The look of confusion began to slide off her face, revealing a new mask of horror as she misunderstood his intent.
"Oh God. My pure baby boy has become a deviant!" Inko wailed, looking like she was about to faint as a hand came up to her brow. "To have her take the form of such a small girl- How could you! I'm disappointed in you, Izuku. Where did I go wrong..."
"What?! Mom, no- she's not a- I mean- She's not what you think she is!"
"Nn. onii-chan~." Kiri started, her too-large sleeves tugging at his All Might-themed pajama shirt.
"And to have her address you as such! You should be ashamed of yourself, how degenerate-"
"MOM!" Izuku yelled, trying to clear his name before the misunderstandings got even more convoluted and hectic than they already were. In his panic and confusion, he said the first thing that came to his mind regarding the little mental construct he inadvertently created.
"She's my daughter!"
That shut everyone up. For a few seconds the air was silent and still as the grave, Inko's eyes snapped to the little girl lightning fast and observed her closer this time. Izuku could see the dawning recognition growing on his mother's face as she began to look between her son's face and Kiri's, no doubt mentally comparing the two and seeing the similarities. She took a single step back, trembling as she rested her hand on the doorframe for support.
"Obaa-chan." Kiri mewled, both arms open wide in welcome.
This time Midoriya Inko really did faint, eyes rolling to the back of her head as her body tilted like a falling tree. Kiri was beside her in an instant, catching her before she even came close to hitting the floor. Izuku had his face in his hands, massaging his temples painfully as he contemplated on what to do next.
"I'll… go prepare some coffee. Yeah."
[x]
Izuku watched as his mother slowly came to on the couch, yawning. Kiri was sitting beside him and perpendicular to her, busy munching on some cookies that he retrieved from the cabinet. The little girl had initially wanted to make off with the entire sugarcube jar he was using to make coffee, so instead he gave her the cookies instead out of concern for her health. Did she even need to eat physical food as a construct? A wiggling instinct told him she was just eating things for their taste instead of their actual nutritional value.
"Ehh, Izuku?" His mother mumbled, confused as to why she had been sleeping on the couch. She began to sit up, blinking blearily. "I just had the most peculiar dream where you told me you had a daughteraaaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!"
Inko had shrieked that last part out loud upon seeing the girl lounging lazily beside her son on their couch. Kiri gave her a little wave then took another small bite of her cookie, seemingly contented while she munched slowly. The older woman turned to Izuku, looking a little harried and distraught.
"It wasn't a dream." she whispered. "It wasn't a dream! Oooohhh—"
"Mom, calm down. I… might have misspoke earlier. She's uh, sort of my daughter- sister… thing? It's hard to explain."
"Then you better start talking fast!"
"Okay, first thing- she's not actually my daughter. I mean, she couldn't be- she looks like she's 10. The timing doesn't match up." Izuku sighed, tussling the girl's hair a little. She looked up for a moment, blinking blankly with her wide eyes before quickly going back to her cookie. "But… I did create her."
The housewife stared between the two, squinting hard. When she spoke again her tone was laced with uncertainty and more than a little fear. "Izuku, sweetie, you haven't been taking any drugs, have you? Don't tell me you just abducted this random kid off the street-"
"Wha- of course not! Mom, I swear I'm not high, or drunk, or whatever it is you're thinking. I am fifteen!"
"Ohh, thank goodness! For a moment I was worried you'd lost your mind." Inko exhaled, breathing a sigh of relief. "But… created her? What in the world are you talking about? Where did she come from?"
"From my Quirk. I… finally know what my Abnormal Quirk does, Mom. I can create mental projections," Izuku said, barely able to believe the words coming out of his mouth. "-like her. She showed me her memories, of how I accidentally created her. I know, I'm still in shock, too."
Kiri noticed she was being referred to and looked up, her mouth stuffed with cookies. "Obaf-chun."
"Hey now, don't talk with your mouth full." Izuku chided gently, grabbing a nearby tissue and wiping the crumbs off her mouth. When he turned back to face his mother he was greeted by the sight of her sinking into the couch, head lolling back. "Uhh… Mom? Are you okay?"
"I'm... fine, sweetie." Inko groaned, eyes scrunched shut. "Just... Just give me a moment."
He opted to keep quiet, the slow crunching of cookies being the only sound that permeated around the living room for almost two minutes. The air seemed so thick that one could have cut it with a butter knife.
"Wait, I thought your Quirk was super-strength. Is this another part of it?" she asked.
"Ummm, I'll explain that part next time- It's really complicated. But right now all you need to know is that Kiri here—" he nodded at the little girl. "—is harmless. She's like a part of me."
"Oh my God, this is way too much to take in at 3AM. Okay, okay let me just… calm down. Yeah." the harried housewife finally said. "Normally I would either think you're going crazy or this girl has some mind-control Quirk that's taking you over… but there is some credibility to your claims. It's not the first time one I've seen something like this. In fact, a member of our family was able to do something similar…"
"W-what?! That's awesome- we had such an amazing Quirk in our family?" Izuku gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was decades ago, sweetie. Your great-grandmother Taiga; my grandmother, was able to create tiny little mental projections too. Little animals the size of her palm that she used to entertain me with… it seems so nostalgic now that I think of it." Inko smiled, slowly changing places so that she was now besides Kiri. The girl gazed up at her, then squeezed her eyes shut adorably as her hair got ruffled again. "You're a cute one, aren't you?"
"Nn."
"Then… this has happened before?"
"Not on this scale. My grandmother's constructs were never this detailed, nor did they have a will of their own. They were just telekinetic puppets… but this girl- she has a mind of her own, like an actual person, doesn't she?" Kiri snuggled into the older woman's side, eyes closed serenely. Inko sighed, a gentle hand coming up to stroke the construct on the back. She seemed to like it, leaning into her a little further.
"Yeah… and you're gonna accept it? Just like that?" Izuku asked, genuinely confused. That was way easier than he expected... Wait a minute. He just realized that his mother still wasn't aware of Kiri's other form, namely the one currently charged with countless instances of rampant vigilantism and property damage. That would be a little hard for her to take in; he just hoped she wouldn't faint again.
"We live in troubling times, sweetie. There are men and women running around in tights, beating the crap out of each other on a daily basis." Inko grumbled, rolling her eyes. "I've seen men fly. I've seen people build weapons that I can't even imagine. Just last week I saw someone drop from the sky and execute a perfect superhero landing! In this crazy, wondrous world, it'll take more than a sentient projection to surprise me."
"But you seemed really shocked when I told you she was my daughter—"
"That's different! I'm too young to be a grandma!" Inko retorted, embarrassed. "And you're way, way too young to be a dad. Either way, nothing can surprise me now after all this."
"Uh Mom, there's one more thing I haven't told you about. Just a small, tiny problem." Izuku grimaced and braced himself. "Kiri, can you change to... y'know."
The girl stopped munching and freed herself from his mother's grasp, trudging into the center of the room and turning back to face them. There was no sound when she suddenly transformed, only the visual effect of her growing exponentially into an adult woman like a time-lapse of a documentary, hair lengthening and skin paling. Her eyes were milky white once again, alight with that eerie emerald glow.
Now standing before them in her full glory was the infamous Valkyrie, Number One Vigilante, wanted by several different Police departments, and at the top of Endeavor's 'most hated' list. Inko's jaw dropped, mouth agape as she connected the dots. She looked between her son, then at the projection in her living room… and groaned loud and painfully.
"I take it back. I'm surprised." she stood up groggily and began prepping the coffee machine for another brew, sighing. "This is gonna be a long night, sweetie. We need to talk."
[x]
"Morning, Iida-kun! Morning Deku-kun- Whoa! What happened to you?!"
Uraraka Ochaco's bright voice seemed to break Izuku out of his reverie temporarily, the exhausted boy turning his head so that he was now facing her instead of lying facedown on his desk. Dark circles ringed his half-lidded eyes, his hair looking more disheveled and messier than usual.
"Morning, Uraraka-san… I didn't… get much sleep, so I'm… catching up." He replied tiredly, the events of last night still fresh in his mind. Sleeping those few scant hours on the couch didn't help either, seeing as he gave his bed to the little girl at his mother's insistence (she didn't particularly like the idea of the two of them sharing a bed). Kiri had explained the basic nature of her power to his mom since the memory-sharing ability was strictly limited to creator and construct only and was now residing in his home. They had talked for hours after that, only cutting the discussion short when they remembered he still had school the next day.
"Mmm, that's not good, Midoriya-kun! You should always get at least seven to nine hours of sleep for a healthy lifestyle!" Iida's voice echoed from somewhere beside him. He groaned sluggishly, too tired to reply. Just getting through that throng of journalists at the school gate had depleted almost all the energy he had left. A part of him wondered what they were doing there then dismissed it entirely. Let someone else deal with it.
"Settle down, you rugrats." Aizawa-sensei, their Homeroom teacher, strolled in almost casually and silenced the class with a single look. Izuku forced himself to sit up and listen, briefly aware that he'd was being mentioned in Aizawa's feedback and nodded accordingly. If he paid a little more attention he would have seen the teacher frowning slightly, before shrugging and continuing.
"Now, on to homeroom business. Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today…" The class waited with baited breath, fearing another pop quiz. "You'll get to pick a Class President."
There was loud chattering and excited commotion as the entire class began discussing on who would be worthy of such a responsibility. Izuku just sank his head onto the desk once more, not wanting anything to do with whatever was currently happening.
"Midoriya-kun, are you really alright?" Iida's worried voice sounded next to him after a while, the taller boy putting a reassuring hand on his slumped shoulder. "We're about to start an election now but If you're not feeling well, I can take you to the nurse's office—"
"You're so kind, Iida-san… you have my vote. I'm too tired to deal with anything now." Izuku murmured, half-asleep.
"E-eh? Me?" Iida blinked, then puffed up with newfound pride and confidence. "I- Thank you, Midoriya-kun! I will not let your faith in me falter!"
"Oho?! Deku-kun, you're giving your vote to Iida-kun? Then, me too!" Ochaco cheered.
"I am truly blessed to have such amazing friends! I won't let you down, you two!"
"Yaaaaaaay." Izuku muttered groggily then fell asleep, completely knocked out. Little did he know that the next few days were going to be some of the most hectic times of his life, now that there was a new addition to his small family. Things were going to get interesting.
Mini-omake: Zabanya's Fate
Some time ago in Russia...
"So you're telling me-" the young boy said with a quaking voice, trembling hand pointed at the tall, greying man in the corner. "-that granduncle Arnie is some kind of robot?!"
"Boris, he's not a- nevermind." His mother sighed and waved on for the man to step forward. "Pops, will you do the honors of explaining it to him? Just like you told me when we first met."
The towering, menacing-looking man strode forward, mirrored sunglasses reflecting young Boris' awe. "I am a cybernetic organism, synthetic flesh over metal endoskeleton. I am sworn to serve the Glukhovsky family after your ancestor; Mikhail Glukhovsky, prevented me from expiring completely. Though I am limited in my functions, I am more than capable of dealing with any A-Class metahuman threat."
"What is your mission, Arnie?" the woman asked, patting the cyborg on the back.
"Protect current descendant: Anastasia Glukhovsky." he answered mechanically.
"Override. Code Hotel-Alpha-Lima. From today onward, the new current descendant of the Glukhovsky family will be my son, Boris. Can you take care of him for me, Pops?"
"Affirmative. New priority established." The cybernetic behemoth turned towards the awestruck boy, a silent, mechanical guardian.
"He's yours now, my child... he'll protect you, just as he protected me, and my father. Our very own guardian angel." The woman's kind smile gleamed in the morning sun. "Our great protector."
It took the boy almost a minute to speak, but when he did he exploded with a never before seen excitement.
"Mom, this is the best birthday gift, EVER! You're the best- and you-" he turned to the cyborg. "You're AWESOME!"
"Awesome- causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear." Arnie said stoically, then nodded. "Yes, I am."