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The day Izuku Midoriya is born, One For All aches.
All of the users feel it, that little shift in the universe that told them Nine was here.
Yoichi’s the first to reach out, grabbing onto Nine’s energy and refusing to let go. Little wisps of green galaxies entangle in between his fingers, and he makes sure he tugs and pulls and lets the universe know that this one, this miraculous child, belongs to them.
Nana’s the next to latch onto Nine. Instead of entrapping him like One, she caresses those galaxies. A mothers touch. She holds the stars close to her chest and whispers sweet words to them. ‘You can be a hero, little one. You will be a hero.'
The other users slowly fall in line, each and every one coming to love all that is Izuku Midoriya.
They watch Toshinori as he destroys himself to protect. They look from his eyes and watch him fall apart over and over again, just to get up and serve the next day. Their eyes never stray from Eight. But, when they aren’t watching Eight, they are watching Nine. Like a trainwreck, they can’t look away. Just like Eight, Izuku destroys himself to protect others. He falls apart over and over again, just to get up and serve the next day. He’s only four.
The day Izuku Midoriya is born, One For All aches. And the day he is diagnosed as Quirkless, One For All cries with him.
Not because he is Quirkless, but because his pain is theirs. Izuku wails and screams and breaks and One For All does the same. Those galaxies, once a bright viridian green, begin to dull.
Two and Three suggest they find another. ‘There are more galaxies,’ They say, ‘There are better ones. There are stars that shine brighter.’
Despite the odds being against their Nine, they remain in his orbit. There are no better ones, they decide, as they witness Izuku continue to fight and defend for those who need it. Their kid is a hero through and through. They cannot leave their stardust child.
The day Izuku Midoriya is born, One For All aches. And the day he meets Toshinori, One For All rages on his behalf.
They howl as Eight tells him he can’t be a hero. That’s not true! They scream until their voices turn hoarse, but Toshinori remains oblivious to their turmoil.
Just as they had when Izuku had been diagnosed as Quirkless, One For All feels with him. They feel just as vulnerable as Izuku does. They feel the metaphorical knife in Eight’s hand, and they feel the way he slashes it into Nine’s stomach. Nine’s guts are spilled onto the floor, and One For All can do nothing but hopelessly scoop them up and cradle them.
‘We’re sorry,’ They weep, ‘We’re sorry, Nine.’
But Izuku wasn't the only one hurt by Eight's actions. A part of One For All was just as betrayed as their kid is. Even Nana, who’d viewed Eight as a son, couldn’t disguise her disappointment. She stood at Eight’s side and begged him to understand, to remember how he had once felt.
Eight doesn’t hear her. He turns and he walks away.
. . .
‘If you think you’ll have a quirk in your next life, go take a swan dive off the roof.’
That was what Kacchan said earlier that day. The cruel words replay in Izuku’s head as he stood on top of the roof All Might left him on.
His knuckles gripped the roof’s ledge so hard they turned white.
“Maybe… Maybe Kacchan’s right, and I should give up on my dream,” His grip turned tighter, if possible, “Even All Might said I couldn’t be a hero…”
Maybe you are better off dead , Izuku’s intrusive thoughts butted in, What worth do you have if you don’t have a quirk? You’ll never be a hero without power. Hell, you probably couldn’t even aim to be a janitor.
For a split second, Izuku wanted to listen to that voice. He glanced at the ground and imagined what it would feel like to fall. Would his mother be upset if he jumped? Would anyone be upset?
(A part of him vaguely wondered if All Might would remember him if he died, if he’d take a look at his obituary and regret their encounter. He probably wouldn’t. He’d probably say ‘oh, what a shame,’ and then move on like Izuku’s life didn’t matter.)
Izuku took a step forward.
“ NO !”
Seven screeching voices overlapped in his mind, and his body suddenly jerked back, as if pulled by an invisible force. He landed with a small oof , his head just barely missing the hard concrete of the roof.
Huh?
Izuku blanched. “Hello?” He tried, frantically glancing around to see if anyone else was up on the roof with him. But no one replied.
Getting no answer, he sighed. “Great, not only am I not fit to be a hero, but I’m going crazy,” He muttered bitterly. He eventually lugged himself up, however, and left the roof.
One For All breathed a sigh of relief as they watched their Nine sulk away.
. . .
An entire year later, Toshinori stood in front of his new successor, Mirio Togata, with a long strand of blond hair pinched between his fingers.
“Eat this!”
Togata beamed at him, and the action was simultaneously comforting and disturbing to the old hero.
The young man had proved himself over and over to be an amazing successor, so why did giving him his power feel so wrong?
Toshinori convinced himself he just had cold feet. One For All had been his for so long, after all, it made sense he’d have gained some attachment issues in regards to the quirk. But, as he stared at Mirio’s smiling face and felt nothing but pure dread, he knew that wasn’t it. Not when the dread pained him almost as much as his stomach scar did.
Nighteye recommended Togata for a reason, He reminded himself, He will be a fantastic successor and an even better Symbol of Peace.
“You won’t regret this, All Might!” The boy promised. Toshinori wanted to believe him. He forced himself to believe him. To believe in Nighteye’s choice.
He and Young Togata walked back to Yuuei together, side by side, as it was meant to be. They passed by Takoba, the old dump that it was. Toshinori gazed at the beach, a strange sense of longing filling him. A feeling like nostalgia, but not. A ‘What If.’ He swallowed the feeling and forced a grin.
Togata would make a fantastic successor, he was sure of it.
. . .
N O
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W R O NG
nOt N iN e
eight
wH Y
N I N E
I̴͇͈̞̓̌̋͌͗͘͠Z̶̡̪͔̤͔̖͙̀̌̇̾̔̉͂̓͜͝U̷̢̢͈̔K̷̢̧̲̪̯̙̘̗̹̃̓̂͛̈̌͛̌́͆U̴̪͚͎̜̜̅͆̈?̶̭̌̀͆̀
. . .
One For All can barely hold onto Mirio Togata.
They try to, they really try to, but he was simply made of atoms. He was made up of solid matter until he wasn’t. Every time they tried to grab him and make him theirs, he slipped through their fingers, as if he were using his quirk to avoid their touch. They knew they were the sole reason the bond wouldn’t go through, however.
One For All knew Togata was special. Someday he would be great. But he was not their stardust child, and he never would be. He couldn’t even be a replacement.
In the end, Mirio Togata only has One For All for a few months before it leaves him.
. . .
“Young Togata!”
Toshinori rushed to his successor's bedside, ignoring the sound of nurses and doctors chiding him for running in the halls.
The Shie Hassaikai raid had gone by with surprisingly few hitches. They managed to stop Overhaul, save Eri, and many villains were locked away for life, never to commit a single crime for as long as they may live. Very few heroes got injured during the raid.
Mirio Togata wasn’t so lucky.
Toshinori had been left to pace in the waiting room, knowing far too much about the other injured parties, and knowing far too little about his successor.
Togata had been brought to the hospital bruised and bloodied and with a weak pulse. He’d been in surgery for eight hours, and resting for a few more. The moment Toshinori had been informed Togata was awake and stable, he’d jumped at the opportunity to check on him.
He kneeled by Togata and placed his hand on top of the young heroes. “The nurse told me you were awake. Are you alright, M―” The words My Boy were on the tip of Toshinori’s tongue. Togata was a lot of things; Lemillion, All Might’s Successor, Sir Nighteye’s Shining Star, but Toshinori’s Boy he was not. The hero let the words die on his tongue.
And for a second, Togata’s resolve fell. He gave his mentor a dejected look, akin to a kicked puppy, before plastering that familiar ever-present smile on his face. “I’m alright! Just a few scratches! Nothing to worry about!”
His smile faltered again. “But… There is something I want to tell you. During the raid, I was hit with one of the quirk-erasing bullets. Permeation is gone, and…”
“So is One For All?” Toshinori guessed solemnly. The regretful look the boy gave him was enough of an answer.
Taking in a sharp breath, Toshinori stood, legs shaking underneath him, before abruptly collapsing in one of the chairs by Togata’s bed. He held his head in his hands, and willed himself not to cry.
“I am so sorry, All Might―”
He held up a hand to stop Togata. “It isn’t your fault, please don’t apologize. I am… Disappointed, yes.” And a little horrified that the world’s strongest superpower is gone , his mind further supplied. He decided not to voice that part. “But you tried your best. That’s all I was expecting from you when I gave you my quirk, Togata. I can hopefully hold on to the remains of One For All until I have to face All For One again.”
Once he regained feelings in his legs, he pushed himself up off the chair and went by Togata’s bedside again. This time, he pressed a comforting hand against Togata’s shoulder. They held that position for a while, completely silently, before Toshinori left the hospital room without so much as another word.
That would be the last time he’d see Young Togata.
. . .
On the other side of the city, One For All settled inside of Izuku Midoriya just as the universe intended. It breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally. Our Stardust Child.
. . .
The first time Izuku used One For All was during the midst of a villain attack.
Civilians gathered around to watch the fight, a giant of a man facing off against all the pro heroes in the area. It should’ve been an easy fight, but what the heroes lacked in power, the villain all but made up for in raw strength and speed. An enhancement quirk of some kind, and a dangerous one at that.
The surrounding area was a mess of rubble and fire, destruction following the villain as he moved and attacked throughout the streets.
Somewhere in the crowd of civilians stood a green-haired boy who’d given up on his dream long ago, but the familiar sound of a villain fight carried his feet to the action, anyway. Izuku’s fingers itched to reach for his hero analysis notebook, but he’d thrown those away.
(Er, well― He put them under his bed. No matter how crushed his dreams were, he never could bring himself to throw all that hard work away. Not even All Might’s signature had been thrown away.)
Just as he began to turn away from the battle, not finding any worth in watching if he couldn’t document it, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
The villains fist swung into a nearby building, flinging glass and brick everywhere. One particularly big piece of rubble headed for one of the civilians in the crowd, and the civilian didn’t bother to move, as if accepting his fate.
Izuku’s feet moved before his brain could catch up.
A flash of green lightning entered his vision, and briefly, he wondered what was that? Only to realize that it was him, He was that. In a split second, Izuku had pushed the man away from the crossfire, and was instead standing over him, heaving the rubble up with brute strength he definitely hadn’t had a minute ago.
The man, a blond, lanky thing, with a gaunt face and baggy clothes that seemed to dwarf his otherwise tall figure, stared in awe at this God in front of him.
“Who are you?”
Izuku grinned at the man. The moment piercing blue eyes met viridian, the quiet whispers Izuku’s been hearing off and on for years finally settled.
Eight, meet Nine.
He had planned to say something heroic, a fancy catchphrase of sorts. But only one thing spilled out of his mouth when he opened it.
“We are Nine.”