Chapter 20: Immeasurable Power, Infinite TimeThe First Timeline.
All For One.
When starting with an equal footing, compared to almost every other Quirk in existence... Save & Load reigned supreme.
For most Quirks, their growth was linear. One For All, New Order, Magical Girl, Time Manipulation, Power Manipulation... give any of those Quirks to a child, and while they might start out as an "exceptionally dangerous individual," none of them would immediately blossom into an S-Class threat. They would all need time and effort— they'd need blood, sweat and tears— to turn into the Titans that each of their users are in the present day.
But All For One? Not all that dangerous, especially in the hands of a child.
Less dangerous than Decay, even.
But if that child were to somehow slip under the radar... if that child were to be born during a time that society itself was falling apart... if that child were to touch just one or two more people with superpowers, in a world where having a superpower— no matter how minor— would eventually become the norm...
Then their danger level would rise drastically.
To that of a Titan.
But when it comes to Save & Load...
The very moment that the Quirk awakens. It doesn't matter if it's in the hands of a child.
It doesn't matter if it's in the hands of your own child.
Because one second, you're just the average, lousy father of a Quirkless four year old— and the very next, your child is now seven years older, has the skills of a government assassin, and has a near-flawless execution of any and all of their movements. And now they're planning your death because of the things you did in timelines that only your child knows. And then you die— not even a week later— in such a perfect way that no one would ever question it.
Good fucking luck facing that.
And All For One? He just happened to be very, very lucky indeed.
He had almost three hundred years to establish a powerbase. Three hundred years to collect, collect, and collect all the Quirks that he could ever need.
And to top it all off?
"HAHAHAHA! What a find!!!" All For One roared with a wide, crazed smile.
"What is it, master?" Kyudai asked, raising an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you so excited since... well, since we found out about Erasure. I'm guessing this is similar?"
"Ah... you have no idea," All For One chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. "This boy has used his Quirk on me, he's used it on you, on the entire world almost 100 times already— if the HPSC's reports are to be believed. And we don't even remember it!"
"What?! How is that possible?!"
"Save and Load, as little Sei-chan calls it... it allows him to save and load points in time."
"Impossible. At the very least, highly improbable. The most likely scenario is that this Sei-chan is a high functioning precog—"
"He can't be, old friend. Because we exist," All For One said softly. "We think, therefore, we are. Isn't that how the saying goes? And if he truly were a high functioning precog... then Seiki Yamazaki would already be on his final load, as it were... which could be the case. Going to the HPSC with the full knowledge of your Quirk is certainly a move, even if it gets you some protection. But no. Because if little Sei-chan is a precog, then he already knows I exist. No... he must be truly rewinding time, and I've caught him right at the start of his journey."
"So you'll take it now?"
"Oh Kyudai, of course I'm going to take it. A Quirk like that? It would make for an absolutely terrible subordinate. But... I'll let the HPSC have him for a bit. Because not only are they keeping such great tabs on him, providing me with more and more details about just how that Quirk of his functions— but they are molding him into a perfect little hero!" he chuckled. "And even if his Quirk is nearly as dangerous as mine... well, he's still just a child."
"I feel like leaving him alone is a mistake."
"Ah, Kyudai... you understand Quirks so very well... but you'll always lack the spiritual knows and tells of Quirks," All For One chided. "Because it'll only take a single thought of Seiki's before I no longer remember attacking him... and even if that weren't the case— if I were to trap him within an encounter— which is very likely something I could do, seeing that the HPSC is already keeping a save log of all things— it could still backfire."
"Backfire how?"
"Well... no matter what, such a thing would result in explosive growth. In his skills, in his age, in his knowledge of how I fight and operate. But even more likely... in his Quirk."
"Ah... you think it'd trigger a Quirk awakening."
"They always happen in times of stress, and he'll be having a very stressful time facing me indeed. Not to mention that the younger the child in question, the more likely, as well as the more explosive, the resulting evolution."
"Then what's your plan of attack?"
"That's simple. Erasure," All For One said. "Once I have that prize, it doesn't matter how explosive Seiki's growth could be. And then I'll rule not just Japan... but the world."
"Ah... we went after him a few times, but backed off for the most part. Mostly because we didn't want to risk killing him..."
"Yes... we'll be going after him a bit harder this time. It's annoying that Erasure affects Life Force— so I cannot risk facing him directly— but he can only survive so many attempts on his life. Because even with such a frighteningly potent Quirk like that, he's still no stronger than your average Quirkless."
"Well, either you get his Quirk, or we get a reanimated corpse with it... and then you'll take it from that. And then the world will be yours."
*
*
*
5 Years Later.
"He got away again..."
"Yes. He did. Heroes can be... surprisingly resilient," All For One grumbled.
Shota Aizawa.
Better known as the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead.
The hero's had over fifty separate attempts on his life... and it shows.
He's covered in scars. He's missing three of his fingers. He's missing six of his toes— or rather, eight of his toes, having lost his left leg just below the knee. Not to mention the permanent damage to both of his lungs, his stomach and his throat...
And while you'd think that that would make him an easy target...
He's all the more dangerous.
All because the Hero Public Safety Commission have picked up on the fact that there is someone trying to put an end to Shota's life, in any way, shape or form... so they decided to give the hero much, much more leeway in how he operates. Guns, knives, poisons... as long as it wouldn't result in an international dispute, Eraserhead is perfectly free to use it.
All things that Shota Aizawa wouldn't have used in the past... but now, anyone who even tries to ambush the Erasure Hero will be dealt with in a permanent fashion.
And after the attempt on his life in his very own apartment, he now lives on Yuuei campus. Permanently.
But he still ventures out in the night, hunting down any villains unlucky enough to cross his eyes.
'A resilient hero indeed.'
"And Seiki Yamazaki is turning into less and less of a hero, and more of a state-sponsored assassin..." Kyudai said.
And while that was a very real concern... "A brainwashed child soldier is a much better opponent than a free thinking individual," All For One replied. Something that he truly believed. Not to mention that the Hero Public Safety Commission— or the Japanese government, for that matter— was always going to be his enemy. So when Seiki and them were one in the same... well, he didn't feel too pressured to go after Save & Load right away.
Especially after acquiring his latest meta Quirk, Forcible Quirk Activation, which will just make their eventually interaction go all the more smoothly.
But to make it go perfectly, he'll need Erasure first.
And while All For One was slowly growing more and more impatient... he's an old soul.
'I still have time.' Or so he thinks.
But just a few weeks later... he loses nearly everything.
Not to the elusive Shota Aizawa...
Not to the growing Seiki Yamazaki...
But to Toshinori Yagi.
*
*
*
18 Months Later.
"Ha... I'm g-getting restless, Kyudai. Even if I w-were to take Erasure, I wouldn't be able to use it. N-Not like this. Not like thissssss..." he trailed off. Tired. Defeated.
Hooked up to a dozen different machines just to stay alive.
Only alive because his trusted friend had brought him back from the dead... all thanks to a Quirk. A Quirk that now keeps him, not healthy, but in the state he was when he acquired it. Constantly keeping him from deteriorating even further.
If only they had found Super Regeneration just a year earlier...
"Don't worry, old friend. With Super Regeneration, Erasure will surely be even less potent. We'll think of something..."
All For One grunted. "Yes... o-once we have a few clones of it— let's send one of them his way. See h-how Erasure affects it."
"T-The Nomu Project? You want to start fielding testing them?"
And then, in the span of 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
Narumi Yamazaki breaks.
Seiki Yamazaki, who's slowly began to think for himself— all thanks to the false time he's been spending more and more time living— finally decides that maybe, maybe the hero life isn't for him. And then he reveals the existence of his hard-save to his mom, something that results in his immediate execution... or at least, it would've, if not for Save & Load being more broken than even Seiki himself believed.
Turning his mutual trust of the HPSC... into hatred and betrayal. Something the HPSC will never remember, that Seiki Yamazaki will never forget.
And with the current timeline completely uninhabitable, the boy decides to go back to the very start.
And now the board will be reset.
All For One will not know of Save & Load. Save & Load will not know of All For One.
And not only does All For One not even have the time to know it... now he's starting to lose ground, and he'll only continue to lose ground, all without his knowledge.
"Yes. R-Right away, Kyudai," All For One rasped. "I feel like... we're r-running out of time..."
And it was almost like the world itself was listening in, just for it to say...
"Yes. Yes, you are."
LOADH.
*
*
*
The Second Timeline.
All For One knows of Atlas— he's heard of the boy, but just in a vague sense. He's the brat that Deathclaw and Firestarter follow everywhere... but he never looked further than that. Because the thing that interests him aren't people, but their Quirks. And the best Quirks, in his mind, were the ones that people boasted about.
A sentiment that is shared by many, especially in the era of Quirks.
And not only does All For One already have dozens of mutant Quirks all subtly improving his physique, he really doesn't need another fire Quirk.
But All For One has looked into Atlas. A couple of times, in fact.
Not that he ever remembers it.
Whenever Atlas "fights," he reveals his status as a precog, and then he routinely destroys his opponents.
And every time, it is a flawless victory.
One that All For One can't help but watch.
A Quirk that he can't help but want.
But not only are these glimpses of victory brief, they aren't even complete. Because he's already working off of false information. False information that—
LOAD2.
That he'll never truly know.
*
*
*
A Few Months Later.
"Oh? A distress call? Let's see..." All For One hums, looking into Number Six.
Seeing what Six sees, hearing what Six hears, smelling what Six smells. A habit that he's picked up after losing half of his senses himself.
And so he watches as Number Six, his prized possession, is thoroughly dismantled, by an elite team of five vigilantes... vigilantes that he's never even heard of.
A hidden telekinetic, limited to rectangular-slips. A fire generator. A bug spawner and controller.
A wolf mutant.
And most importantly...
"What a fascinating Quirk you have," the boy muttered. "At it's core, your Quirk is super-speed, but you can focus it into regeneration... or even self-destruction. Blowing up your hands inside of others is certainly a creative use of your power. Strong enough to make you a top ten Pro... and wow, what a hero you already are. The High-Speed Hero: O'Clock II."
"An analysis Quirk..." All For One rasped.
"And while poison doesn't really work that well on you... brown recluses, their venom tears apart cell walls. It's less like poison, and more like an acid that slowly melts through your flesh... resulting in a constant stream of injuries that your regeneration needs to focus on first," the boy... no, Atlas explained.
All For One thought that wolf mutant looked familiar.
The fire girl, Firelord's daughter, was rather memorable as well.
"Such a neat Quirk, isn't it? With a single glance, I can pick your Quirk apart. See every weakness, every exploit... and then I strike. Dismantling you in seconds. But when it comes to extracting traditional information, like your backers, I have to result to more... unsavory methods."
"And it sounds just as good as Ragdoll's... if not better."
His next action was obvious.
"Well... one can never have too many fire Quirks..." he muttered, activating Radio Waves. Just a few moments later, a burst of purple mist appeared by his side.
"Yes, master?"
"I'm going to use a Quirk on you," All For One rasped, already standing up. Placing his hand on Kurogiri's shoulder.
He'd start with the boy.
"Stand still."
FORCED QUIRK ACTIVATION!
Kurogiri tensed slightly, his Quirk already suffering from overuse. A side effect of FQA... since it offsets all of its own overuse onto the target.
And then mist appears right in front of him, leading to just behind Atlas's head.
This is it.
Despite all of his failures, despite all of his setbacks, All For One still has a single chance, a single chance to take the entire world into the palm of his hand.
A chance that would be decided with a single Quirk activation.
LOADH.
LOAD2.
A chance lost before he can even remember losing it... because Atlas somehow dodges, bolting forwards only to turn around and face him.
Only to immediately surrender.
"We s-surrender! P-Please don't kill us!"
All For One paused... only to let out a long, dry chuckle.
"And to think that I was going to take you seriously," he mused.
He steps out into the alleyway.
Kurogiri already vanishing Number Six to safety.
"A group of vigilantes that I know absolutely nothing about, picking apart O'Clock II so efficiently that I was actually impressed... but I guess that's just the nature of your Quirk, hmm? You saw a way to beat him, but not me, is that it?"
"W-What... what the fuck is your Quirk," Atlas whispered. Afraid.
Because of course.
"Huhuhu, I wonder just what I look like through the lense of your Quirk... Atlas." the boy somehow stiffened even further. "Oh yes, I recognize you. While your recruits– Deathclaw and Firestarter— are far more familiar to me, I at least know of you. I just never bothered to look into you specifically... a mistake on my part. But have you truly not heard of me?"
He paused, for dramatic effect.
"They still tell bedtime stories... something along the lines of 'don't lord your power over others, or you'll lose them in the night?'" And while he was waiting for the boy to realize just who he was, to realize just who he had managed to stumble across... All For One received an answer he could've never expected.
"The power to destroy Quirks with just a touch, taking a copy of them for yourself," Atlas stated, wonder clear in his voice.
All For One froze.
The boy... according to his own Quirks... was not lying.
He twitched.
'But that cannot be.'
His Quirk let him take the Quirks of others. He... he did not create copies. He could steal the stockpile within Quirks, so surely... but what if. What if those weren't stockpiles at all? What if every time he transferred a Quirk, his Quirk destroyed it... using the "essence" left behind to forge something new?
So when he finally reclaims One For All...
When he reclaims Yoichi...
"...No, no no no no," he disagreed. "Your Quirk is wrong."
His fingers twitched wildly.
"WRONG."
FLASH!
FORCED QUIRK ACTIVATION!
And All For One was right.
"YOU LIE!!!"
The boy's Quirk was NOT an analysis Quirk, but something else entirely.
Forcible Quirk Activation. Not only did it interact with other Quirks— including his original— in fascinating ways, but with just a touch, he not only understood exactly what someone's Quirk was... but he could taste it. Letting him taste-test Quirks in the same way that his base Quirk would, before actually pulling them into himself.
It was almost like the Quirk was tailor made for him specifically.
And Atlas's Quirk...
-The power to save and load points in time.-
What a delicious Quirk it was.
All For One immediately activated it.
He immediately pushed all of his strength into the Quirk. Desperately trying to force the boy into Quirk exhaustion as quickly as possible. Spamming saves 1, 2, 3, and 4, over and over... because those weren't the only functions to Atlas's Quirk. No... Atlas had loads 1-4... and he also had loads H and S.
LOADH. He felt Atlas activate it. He felt Atlas escape nearly a decade into the past.
LOAD3. Only for no time to pass before it activated again.
There was nothing he could do to stop the boy from using his Quirk.
FQA was not capable of nullification.
And he could not take it. He had activated Atlas's Quirk at a distance, through Metal Rivets. To use his base Quirk, All For One, he had to be physically touching the boy with one of his hands.
Something that... that he wasn't able to do.
Not with the time he had.
He could taste as Atlas continued to come back to his present. As Atlas realizes that All For One has overridden his hot-saves, but not his soft-save or hard-save.
Something that FQA cannot do.
For the first time in years... All For One... was afraid.
And he wouldn't even exist to remember it.
LOADH.
LOADS.
*
And now... All For One will not know of Save & Load... while Save & Load knows of All For One.
The board has been flipped.
And while All For One's Quirk might grant him access to immeasurable power...
He now finds himself up against infinite time.
Chapter 21: Rock, Paper, ScissorsYamazaki Manor, Year 2311.
Seiki.
Rinka, Konan, Azula, D'Vorah, his mom, and Tomoko. Five of his women— and his mom— all sitting in his room.
All of them sitting in a circle on his bedspread.
And now they know.
"So... you're a time traveler." Tomoko stated flatly.
"...Yeah."
"How come we've never seen another you?"
"That's... not how it works," Seiki said, letting out a small shudder. "Fucking hell, that would be a whole nother nightmare. No, it works like save states in a video game."
"Aaaah... gotcha. So you can't meet yourself with it. Bummer. I'm just imagining it, though... two... no, three Seiki's... that could've been fun..." Tomoko muttered... only for nearly all of his other girls currently in the room to visibly ponder that idea along with her.
Christ, they were all sluts. Himself included.
"But why am I here, exactly...? I'm not like, in your battle harem. Or your mom."
"Because out of every maid I asked, you were the only one that actually wanted to know that I was more than just a precog."
Tomoko blinked. "I... I did? Why?"
"You said it'd make sex hotter."
"How would it— oh... oh, f-fuck, that's so embarrassing..." she mumbled. "I mean, yeah, knowing that you're fucking me into a puddle, not because your Quirk guides you, but because you're poking and prodding me for reactions across time... hot..." A statement that earned a few thoughtful nods from his girls.
"...So when we fight—" Rinka started.
"You land hits, I go back before they happen, then I dodge," he explained. "Every time."
They all sat in silence for a while.
Silence finally broken by... "And when you recruited us..." Rinka trailed off, furrowing her brow.
Seiki grimaced. "Yeah, uh, that's—"
Rinka shook her head. "I'm not angry. No... no, if anything, I'm... I'm glad."
"...You are?"
"I always thought that... that with how infallible your Quirk was, that it was your Quirk that chose us all. That it knew we would all be loyal if you recruited us. But now I know that it was you specifically that chose to save me. To trust me," she said softly. "And now... now I know that you trust us all far more than we deserve."
"It matters not to me," Konan said softly, fondly... happily. "Precog or not, I will always be yours... but I'm happy that you've decided to trust us with something so important."
"I always knew," his mom supplied.
"Well, I already knew that you made time your bitch, but now I just know you're even fucking stronger than we thought... fuck," Azula grunted, biting her lip. Staring at him in want.
And despite it all, Seiki blushed.
"Why the fuck are you all so sappy all of the sudden..."
And then everyone turned to D'Vorah, who hadn't said a single thing.
Her normally yellow face sporting a bright pink.
"I... I'm f-fine with it..."
*
Just Earlier Today.
"You want to know... if I want to know you're a time-traveler? What?"
"It's simple. Think of it this way— I'm asking you a question, and then I'm erasing it from your memory. So... do you want to know if I'm a time-traveler?"
D'Vorah bit her lip.
"So I can ask you questions... and forget I ever asked them?"
"...Yes?"
"When you called me beautiful... did you mean it?"
A pause.
"Oh, D'Vorah," Seiki muttered. Her heart clenched in worry. "Is... is that why you always seemed so distant? We're you afraid that I'd turn you away? You know quite well that I've got nothing against heteromorphic Quirks—" he cracked a smile.
"If anything, I've got a thing for them—"
"It, it's not just... I'm not just heteromorphic," she said. "I'm a bug mutant. A mutant type Quirk not based on a cute animal, but on something... on s-s-something..."
"Well I'm a man of many tastes," Seiki said. "And while you might not be what the world considers traditionally beautiful, you are certainly a woman," he said, one of his hands trailing down her hip. The other one cupping her breast.
"So get over yourself. I'm going to ruin your bug girl pussy, and you're going to like it."
"T-That...!" she flushed, disgusted, annoyed, embarrassed... and happy.
"Now shut the fuck up and kiss me."
*
"You..." Rinka started, eyes going wide. Her eyes snapping back and forth between D'Vorah and Seiki. "You're fucking Locust! Since when?!"
"Not yet," Konan corrected.
"Can we please not..." D'Vorah started... only for Narumi to reach over and touch D'Vorah's hand.
A second passed.
"Way to go, third base already!" his mom exclaimed.
"Can we go do something else now...?" D'Vorah grumbled, pouting as she turned away from the rest of us. 'Cute,' Seiki thought.
"Cute," then he said it aloud, because why not?
"Please..." she whined. 'Cute,' Seiki thought again, wanting to say it again... but he refrained.
There was no reason to push it...
Not when there were still things that needed to be done today.
Especially today.
"Well, I guess there is something else that we've gotta take care of," Seiki said, letting out a loud exaggerated sigh at that. "We need to kill a man."
"Who?" Azula immediately asked, eyes wide. Tinged with a manic glee.
"The Quirk Thief."
Silence.
Seiki watches as the graveness of the matter sets in.
"Oh... Oh shit." Azula breathed.
But luckily for Seiki... he has a very, very reliable way to make the boogeyman in question appear before him. And this time... well, he wasn't going to be a fucking idiot about it.
*
*
*
Later That Night.
All For One.
"So... hero, who do you work for? Because it's certainly not the Commission..."
An analysis Quirk... and a potent one of that. One that let Atlas craft the perfect team to not only take down Number Six, but to push him so close to death... that All For One just had to intervene.
All For One put his hand on Kurogiri's shoulder.
FORCED QUIRK ACTIVATION!
Mist appeared before him, guiding him to the back of Atlas's head.
But just as he reached out his hand—!
Rectangular slips of paper filled the room. A laughable telekinetic Quirk, given how they uselessly clattered against him, before falling to the floor. Completely harmless. But Atlas was already bolting away, with Deathclaw, Firestarter, and Locust standing between him and the Quirk Thief.
Which meant nothing to All For One.
A slap reinforced by Kinetic Booster x 3 sent the wolfgirl through the alley wall. As well as the wall after that, and the one behind that, staining them all in crimson.
Spikes of metallic black and red spurted out of his palm into the fire generator... only to just spear through her, killing her outright. A single taste with FQA, and he knew that he couldn't be bothered to use fire in such a rudimentary way. So death it was.
As for the bugs... FLAME WALL.
And while he still couldn't find the slip controller, they could wait. No... he was far more focused on Atlas currently. Who wasn't even running, having stopped at the end of the alley.
Odd, but All For One didn't have time to question it. He lunged forwards, the concrete cracking below him. Far more spry than a man his age should be.
But then he heard a woman's voice faintly whisper, "That way."
LOAD2.
And then he knew nothing.
*
Earlier That Day.
Seiki.
"So... 80 degrees from here, 82 degrees from here..." Seiki muttered, drawing across a map in their living room with Sharpies. "That puts him... somewhere in Kamino Ward?" he wondered aloud. "Yeah, I think that's right. And to think that I'm killing the boogeyman with fucking trigonometry..."
"That narrows it down quite a bit," Rinka muttered, thoughtful.
"What's that like? Weren't you fighting him just a few seconds ago?" Azula asked. "Is that not disorienting?"
"It's like having control over time," Seiki told her flatly. "And while it might've been a little weird to me at one point... I've been doing this since I was four years old. I can barely even remember what my life was like before my Quirk— no one does, really. Which is, well, it's probably why this fucker terrifies everyone, me included.
"And no, I wasn't fighting him... not really. We're not at that point yet.
"No... we're still trying to figure out just what we're up against."
*
Later That Night.
Konan.
She always did as she was told. Without question.
At first, it just made sense— Seiki-dono was a precog, the most powerful precog in the world. That meant that he always knew exactly what to do— which meant he always knew exactly what everyone else should do as well.
But now, now she knows that it's because in the long run, it will simply save him time.
Something Seiki-dono has an infinite amount of.
Floating above Kamino Ward, she still had most of her slips with Seiki. To be "her," she only needed to be a single slip... but doing that for any longer than a minute would not only overuse her Quirk, it would also knock her out... if not just out right kill her. Transformation-Separation Quirk users like her had to be incredibly careful when it came to things like that.
That was why Konan was currently a group of eighty-five slips, a form that she could easily hold for the next few hours.
And while none of "her" was with Seiki, most of her slips were.
That was when, all the way back in Tokyo, the Quirk Thief arrived on the scene.
Events playing out exactly how Seiki had explained them.
Right on queue, she sent her slips flying through the purple fog, only for them to be instantly relocated— and what an interesting sensation that was. All of them appearing just a few blocks away from her current location.
Any further than that, and she'd lose a grasp on the "distance" of her slips, and she would only know the direction, even though her Quirk's true range extended far, far further.
But that was still enough to narrow the Thief down to Kamino— or as Seiki-dono had aptly put it, "Trig for the win."
Konan rose into the air, flying towards her other slips, arriving at an old, decrepit warehouse on the outside. Her slips already showing her a makeshift laboratory, filled with all sorts of medical equipment— as well as... what appeared to be bioengineered corpses... on the inside.
"I've found him, Seiki-dono."
And as soon as she finished listing off the address—
LOAD2.
*
Mid Afternoon.
All For One.
After losing his eyes to All Might, All For One had to find Quirks to compensate.
Sight Sense. The name was a little silly, but it did not let him sense people who were within his line of sight. No... it did the exact opposite.
Letting him know the very moment that someone laid their eyes on him.
Heat Sense. A little boring, but useful. He could visualize heat signatures within his mind— and thankfully this one didn't actually require his eyes. He used to have one of those— Heat Sight— but then he lost both of his eyes...
Vibration Sense. Letting him sense the rustling, the movement around him as noise, which the Quirk then correlates to a map of his surroundings in his mind. It also lets him shoot out little pulses of vibration, but that part of the Quirk was far less useful to someone with as many Quirks as him.
And... as a side effect of All For One itself, as well as Forcible Quirk Activation... he also had a Quirk sense. Not a Quirk itself, but simply a byproduct of their resonance.
Letting him sense any Quirk within three meters of him.
Sneaking up on him... was nigh-impossible.
SAVE1.
A few seconds pass.
All For One felt eyes on him.
He tensed.
"It seems that we have an intruder. How bold—"
LOAD1.
A few seconds pass.
All For One sensed someone gradually heat up at the edge of his range... right on the other side of the warehouse, both of their arms raised.
"Well well well—"
LOAD1.
A few seconds pass.
All For One slowly senses the noise generated by slips of paper brushing together, slowly getting louder and louder— someone in the rafters above him.
He tensed.
"To think someone would intrude upon me—"
LOAD1.
All For One had many, many ways to sense his surroundings... all but one of them now known by Save & Load, by the Quirk that he could've had, had he not wasted his time. Time that he will only continue to waste, and waste, and waste.
Because infinite time is a far more horrifying prospect then it sounds.
*
Back at Yamazaki Manor.
"Seiki-dono, the teleporter isn't here," Konan whispered.
"Hmm..." Seiki hummed. "Well, she might not be a trained assassin like me, but given that she literally cannot die without my consent... this looks like a job for mom."
LOAD2.
*
Later That Night.
All For One.
He sees Atlas through Six's eyes, once again for the first time.
He calls for Kurogiri.
But this time... Atlas is not accompanied by Deathclaw. Not that All For One knows that this interaction has happened before, or that it is going any different.
*
Konan.
Through her slips, which had slowly filled the inside of the warehouse, she watches as events that she already knows— because a version of her told Seiki, who had then told her earlier today— unfold.
She watches All For One raise his hand, activating some sort of telepathy Quirk.
The mist arrives.
All For One uses Forcible Quirk Activation... without the red and black Rivets, something that Seiki has already confirmed to be two separate Quirks through Nezu.
Seiki Yamazaki baiting the Quirk Thief far, far away.
Number Six arrives in the warehouse, the mist arriving with him.
And then they strike.
And Rinka... being so incredibly angry at the idea of the Quirk Thief, knowing just how close that All For One had gotten from taking Seiki from her... bursts through the warehouse wall. And while emotions make her far more volatile, making her Quirk harder to control, they also make her Quirk stronger.
Something that Konan can clearly see, Rinka rushing in at a staggering 15 feet.
Swiping wildly at the mist before he can even realize what's happening.
Slamming the mist into the opposing wall, and before he even hits the floor, Konan has descended on her target. Filling the mist's real body with slips of death.
The mist wheezes...
He tries to activate his Quirk...
And Rinka just swats at his head. Splattering their grey matter across the wall behind them.
And now All For One has no way back, certainly not before they leave the timeline.
And Six, who was still healing from the charred corpse that Azula and Konan herself had reduced him to just moments prior on Seiki's order, is slain just moments later by Rinka as well.
His Quirks now lost forever too.
"Woah... it's like I'm on a spy mission," Narumi mumbled, slowly climbing through the massive hole in the warehouse wall. Quickly making her way to what was left of the mist, since the heroes were already on their way. Because even though he was dead— his Quirk lost to the sands of time— Narumi Yamazaki was not the Quirk Stealer. And the cells within Kurogiri's corpse?
They were all still very much alive.
'Flashback.'
*
Earlier That Day.
Seiki.
He has All For One's location. The warehouse.
He has the mist's location. The bar.
But now...
Seiki bit his lip. Yes, his Quirk undoes any and all consequences. So that meant, even if he were to send his girls on a suicide mission, they'd never truly die.
And his girls now knew that as well.
"What's wrong, Seiki-dono?" Konan asked, wrapping her arms around him. Her breasts pushing up against his back. "I can tell there's something bothering you."
He... he's ordered them to die before. Or something that might as well guarantee it.
But for some reason...
"I... I don't know how long it takes the Quirk Thief... to steal a Quirk."
He couldn't ask that of them.
He just couldn't. Maybe it had something to do with death being a trivial matter not just to everyone he cares for, but himself as well— if he can die thousands of times, why can't they die once, and not even remember it? But the loss of a Quirk... that was far more permanent.
It was a sacrifice that he himself couldn't make, that someone he loved had to.
"I'd be honored, Seiki-dono."
To which Seiki sagged backwards, letting Konan hold him up.
"You're too good for me..."
*
Later That Night.
All For One.
"The power to take the Quirks of others with a single touch," Atlas stated, both wonder and fear clear in his voice. "Y-You.... you're him."
All For One let out a dry chuckle. "How astute."
"I can... I can offer y-you..."
"Don't even bother," All For One said with a sigh. "Do you think there is truly anything you can offer better than your Quirk?"
"...How about another Quirk?"
All For One blinked.
"Because in a lot of ways, her Quirk is even better than mine... and she will flee if you take mine. And the very moment that she runs, you will never be able to take her Quirk again." Truth.
"A-Atlas!" a woman's voice whispered. "Y-You..."
A voice he could not locate.
"You told me that you'd die for me, if it comes down to it," Atlas said coldly. Truth. "Is losing your Quirk any different than death?"
All For One paused.
Then he laughed.
"Hohohoho...! Okay, consider my interest peaked," he says. "Now just what is this Quirk that you find more useful than yours? Surely not these slips of paper..."
"Razor isn't a telekinetic," he says. Truth. "She can turn her physical body into a thousand slips of paper— all of them capable of changing their color, shape, and texture. Every single slip capable of listening, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching their surroundings. With a range that spans nearly half of Japan."
Truth.
"That..." All For One growls. "Is certainly some Quirk."
"So here's what happens next," Atlas said. "Razor... Konan will stay here. The rest of us will leave. And then... we'll all forget that this ever happened. And you'll get a Quirk, a Quirk far better than any analysis Quirk could ever be."
Truth.
"Do you agree, Konan?"
"Y-Yes... Atlas..."
Truth.
"...A bargain is a bargain," All For One eventually agreed. "This is certainly a first... but very well. Leave us be."
*
A Few Blocks Away.
Seiki.
To think he would actually keep his word.
But even then... that didn't make Seiki feel any better. Leaving all but one of Konan slips to die... leaving Konan to lose her Quirk...
"S-Seiki-dono," the slip in his hand whispered... but not just that.
Konan appeared in his lap.
"Ah... that, that's fine," Seiki relents. "If you can't do it, I will never ask again. You won't remember it, but you have my word."
"No, I just... I wanted you to hold me. While I lost my Quirk."
Something Seiki immediately understands.
He hugs her tightly.
"Tell him to take it. When you're ready."
And then... nothing happens.
Because in the world of Quirks, every single battle is a game of rock, paper, scissors. And while All For One is almost certainly a mountain... mountains are still made out of rock.
"He... he can't take it," Konan said, bewildered.
"Because you're not there," Seiki instantly realizes.
All For One cannot take Konan's Quirk, simply because, all of the slips forming a second Konan in his grasp... they aren't "her."
Transformation-Separation Quirks are not only rare, but ones that let you divide your consciousness among your parts however you wanted were infinitely rarer.
A type of Quirk that, before today, All For One had never once tried to take.
Seiki chuckles, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And I still don't know how long it takes for him to steal a Quirk..."
"Ah, I'm s-sorry, Seiki-dono..."
"Don't be," he tells her. "This is just as important of a discovery..." he trailed off. "But... but I still need to know how long it takes. If you're up for it."
"And I'll always be here, Seiki-dono, for whatever you need me to do."
To which he smiles.
"I love you so damn much..."
LOAD2.
And time continues for Seiki Yamazaki.
But not for All For One.
Not anymore.