Archive of Our Own ^beta

Izuku didn't know what he was expecting his next improvement with One for All would be, but it definitely wasn't this.

Midway through his second year, Izuku had mastered all of the quirks of One for All. There were rarely any flukes or mishaps anymore, which he could say on behalf of all of his teachers and classmates and himself, was a huge relief. 

And when he was woken up one morning to someone annoyingly poking him in the face, he brushed it off as just one of his friends trying to get him out of bed, so he just rolled over with a groan and pulled his blanket over his head to ignore the light from his window. When the poking didn't stop, Izuku tiredly waved his arm out from under his covers to swat at his attacker.

"Oi, kid. Get up, you're gonna be late for breakfast. Kid. Come on."

Izuku froze at the unfamiliar voice and dropped his arm, rolling back over and sitting up so fast it made his head spin and his vision went black at the edges. A woman, glowing softly golden, stood next to his bed, smiling, before she ruffled his hair and jerked her head to the side toward his door. "Breakfast, kiddo. Your classmates made it. Get up before ya miss it."

Numbly, Izuku nodded and got up, blinking through his exhaustion and almost tripping over his feet a few times before he actually made it to the door.

When he eventually got into the hallway, Izuku rubbed at his eyes and balanced his arm on the wall in front of him to keep him from collapsing.

Had he really just been woken up by Shimura Nana? Was he going insane?

Apparently, he was, in fact, going insane. 

Because the moment Izuku walked into the kitchen and saw Kacchan sitting at the table with his group of friends, there was a man standing behind him with the same sort of glow around him that Nana had, only red. He stood behind Kacchan's chair with his arms crossed and had a smirk on his face when he caught Izuku's eye. 

Second, Izuku's mind supplied for him. Holy shit, Second looks exactly like an older Kacchan. I can't do this today.

Kacchan scowled when he saw Izuku staring at him and it made Second's smirk grow into a grin at Izuku's visible confusion and discomfort. "Fuck you starin' at, nerd?"

Izuku slowly blinked once, twice, three times, before he turned around back toward the door. "No. Just... no."

The second he left, he heard Kacchan yelling behind him to come back and explain himself, but Izuku just continued walking.

Faintly, he could hear a familiar, booming voice laughing in his head. One that sounded exactly like Banjou, the fifth user.

The next time it happened was probably the most embarrassing. Yesterday he'd come to terms with the fact that apparently he could see the past holders of One for All outside of his dreams now, after a few hours of internally freaking out over the fact that he could see the past One for All users outside of his dreams now, but that didn't mean he was used to it yet.

While sitting in his free period the next day, going over notes to study for his history text the next day, he for sure hadn't been expecting a glowing blue arm to appear over his shoulder and point at his notes along with a soft-spoken voice correcting some information he'd written down wrong.

"That law wasn't made official until 2XXX, not 2XXX. You were very close though, Izuku."

Izuku screeched, startled, and fell out of his chair in his surprise and his attempt to distance himself from the arm over his shoulder. He looked back up and saw En standing behind his desk chair, eyes crinkled with amusement that showed Izuku he was smiling behind his costume's mouth cover. 

Looking around, Izuku saw all of his classmates staring at him weirdly and he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he got up to sit back in his chair. "Sorry guys, thought I saw a spider on my desk."

"Dude, maybe you're having like, stress hallucinations or something!" Sero elbowed him teasingly.

"Honestly, I don't think you're that far off," Izuku muttered, discreetly glancing back at En once more with a thankful nod for the tip on his notes.

En smiled behind his costume again and promptly disappeared.

No more surprise visitors appeared to Izuku for another week, and he was both glad and sort of disappointed. But the next time one showed up, he wasn't surprised this time.

His training with Kacchan was always just the two of them alone, sometimes a few of their classmates came to watch and make betting pools on who would win, but most of the time it was them by themselves. Now, it was just them two, and two vestiges who were very opposite in their ways of helping him improve and win the mock fight. 

"His right is open. Don't miss the shot."

Izuku grinned at Hikage's suggestion and sent a sideways kick to the right side of Kacchan's abdomen, which had Kacchan stumbling to the left from the force and grunting. Izuku used the moment of weakness to hook his foot behind his ankle and yank, sending Kacchan to the ground and landing on his back.

"HELL YEAH, PIPSQEAK! GET HIS ASS!" Nana yelled, clapping her hands next to a proudly nodding Hikage. 

Kacchan recovered and rolled to his feet, sending an explosion toward Izuku's face to blind him for a few seconds. Not expecting it after his distraction of the vestiges watching them, Izuku yelped and stepped back, trying to blink his sight back. Nana groaned from the back of the room and shouted at him again. "PICK UP THE PACE KID! YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"

"He's distracted from his success," Hikage told him. "Use it to your advantage and attack."

"You getting sloppy on me, Deku?" Kacchan taunted.

"Hell no," Izuku laughed. "Come at me, Kacchan."

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT, KIDDO! KICK NAMES AND TAKE ASS!"

The mix-up of the popular saying made Izuku laugh, which only seemed to irritate his sparring partner further. Kacchan growled and launched himself forward, sending a kick Izuku's way that looked scarily similar to his Shoot Style. Izuku ducked to dodge and kicked back in return, One for All thrumming in his veins and Izuku heard Nana whooping off to the side when the familiar green lightning danced across his skin.

Hikage, standing behind Kacchan now to be in Izuku's line of sight, gave him pointers on how to win against him with the way Kacchan kept getting more and more frustrated and sloppy throughout the fight. "He's not protecting his left. Go for the inner thigh. Don't be afraid to play dirty, hit sensitive areas if necessary. You won't go anywhere in a real fight if you play it safe and by the book. Use Danger Sense to detect his movements, anything you have at your disposal should be utilized in both sparring and battle, Izuku. There, he's not guarding his face, hit him. Good, again. There you go."

By the end of their spar, Izuku had Kacchan pinned to the floor on his stomach with his hands behind his back, palms pointing toward himself so he couldn't send explosions at Izuku to free himself. "I win this time, Kacchan," Izuku panted, smiling.

"Whatever," Kacchan scoffed. "I yield, get the fuck off me. I'll kick your ass next time, shitty Deku."

"I look forward to it," Izuku grinned.

When Izuku screamed himself awake from a nightmare a few nights later, he wasn't surprised when it was the first holder there to sit with him and calm him through it. Yoichi had always been very kind to him in his past dreams given to him by One for All, and had been the one to convince both Second and Third to believe in him as a successor to the power they'd once owned. 

"Breathe, Izuku," Yoichi soothed. "It was only a dream, it wasn't real. You're awake now. Would it be alright if I touched you?"

Wheezing for breath, Izuku nodded and reached out a hand to the man sitting at the edge of his bed, the dim green glow surrounding his person giving Izuku a sense of calm knowing that it was someone he trusted with him. Yoichi held his outstretched hand and rubbed a thumb over his scarred knuckles in a comforting gesture. "Y-Yoichi..."

"Count your breaths with me. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. I'm right here with you, you're safe."

"It was━It felt so r-real," Izuku stuttered. "It was s-so long ago, why am I st-still having dreams about it?"

"It's perfectly normal to have dreams about traumatizing events. I will never judge you for it. You never have to go through them alone, either. We are all here for you, Izuku."

Izuku squeezed Yoichi's hand tight. "T-Thank you, Yoichi."

"Don't thank me, Izuku. We are your family now as much as you are ours. You will never burden us when you need us."

And Yoichi sat with him for hours longer, telling Izuku stories to take his mind off of the nightmare he'd had and just talking to him about anything he wanted to.

He never let go of Izuku's hand, either. And Izuku was grateful for him.

At least the next time he saw one of the vestiges it wasn't on the verge of a panic attack like when he'd last seen Yoichi. 

No, this time he was sitting in the common room with some of his classmates and was trying to hold in laughs when he saw Banjou in the corner of the room doing a horrible rendition of the Macarena and absolutely butchering the lyrics, since he spoke neither Spanish or English.

"Deku, are you okay?" Ochako asked him. "Your face is really red, are you sick? Do you need to see Recovery Girl?"

Iida noticed as well once Ochako said something and pointed a flattened hand at Izuku. "I must insist if you're feeling ill you go see Recovery Girl, Midoriya! As class representative it is my duty to make sure my classmates are well and taken care of!"

"No, I'm━" Izuku wheezed, Banjou jumping up to turn in a different direction and repeating the dance ("Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena━"). "I'm fine! Just thought of something that made me laugh."

"Are you sure?" Tsuyu asked. "You do look pretty red, kero."

Second sighed from across the room, leaning against the wall and dragging a hand over his face next to a cackling Third. "Daigorou, quit that shit. You look like an idiot."

Third elbowed second in the side, talking over his laughs. "He's cheering up the kid, give him a break! Why are you even here anyway?"

Izuku, still fighting laughs, looked between Second and Kacchan before glancing away uncomfortably to continue watching Banjou completely fail at the Macarena. 

"That's why," Second grinned, pointing between Izuku and Kacchan. "Lookit him when he sees me near his friend there. It's hilarious watching the brat squirm."

"Oi, Deku, you laughing at me?" Kacchan scowled, having seen Izuku look at him before he looked away. "The fuck's your problem lately, huh?"

"No, Kacchan!" Izuku waved his hands in front of him, choking down a laugh when Banjou changed songs and started doing the YMCA instead, using Blackwhip to shape letters above his head instead of using his arms ("It's fun to stay at the YMCA━").

"Fuck you so giggly about then, nerd?"

Third laughed harder at Banjou's antics and accidentally bumped a picture frame behind him, sending it to the floor. The whole class shifted their gazes to the fallen picture frame, and Third's laughter never ceased.

"Oh my god, I can move things! I'm gonna have so much fun with this, holy shit!"

Izuku groaned and accepted his fate, knowing that there was no unconvincing Third from doing something once his mind was set to it.

After what Izuku was now dubbing the Picture Frame Incident, Third was rarely not around Izuku. And with that, so was Yoichi, because Third's antics stressed Izuku out most of the time and Yoichi was a very calming presence to have with him during troubling times such as these. 

When Third would go around his classroom knocking pencils and papers and erasers off his classmate's desks, Yoichi would be next to him with a hand on his shoulder while his classmates slowly got freaked out over the random things dropping off their desks.

Third would open cabinet doors in the Heights Alliance kitchen, and Izuku would be lying on the couch with his head in Yoichi's lap, letting the First run his fingers through his hair to soothe him.

Lights would randomly turn on and off in rooms at random points of the day in the dorms, and Yoichi would hold Izuku's hand while he suffered silently.

After a few weeks of this, and sometimes a few of the other vestiges joining Third in his fun (Izuku is talking about you, Nana and Banjou), two of his classmates gathered everyone in the common room with a proposal.

"We should contact the ghost!" Mina clapped once, addressing everyone in the common room. "Tooru has been amazing enough to let us borrow her old Ouija board so we can talk to the deity haunting our class!"

(Cue three vestiges laughing their asses off from places around the room. Izuku hated his life sometimes.)

"Who's with us?!" Tooru squealed.

The board was set on the table, and crowded by many of their classmates. Some to participate, some to watch and see if it would actually work or not.

"Guys, maybe we shouldn't━" Izuku tried, but was ignored by his eager classmate explaining the rules of the board to the others before they got started. 

Izuku had to keep himself from crying when Nana and Third put their hands on the planchette excitedly, absolutely ready to screw with Izuku's class.

And when Mina asked if there was a ghost there, Izuku moaned in despair to himself when the response was exactly what he had expected.

I-Z-U-K-U

"Bro, you have a ghost haunting you!" Kirishima gaped at Izuku. "That's so manly! I wonder what they want!"

Tokoyami stared at the Ouija board with wide eyes. "What a mad banquet of darkness."

"Let's ask, let's ask!" Kaminari bounced in his place on the floor.

H-E-L-L-O   9

Izuku whined to Third and Nana. "Guys, please stop. I'm begging you."

They grinned and shook their heads, and apparently his classmates thought he was talking to them and also ignored his pleas because they intently watched the planchette move again.

N-O

Kacchan sat up in his chair in realization when Ochako read the word and stared wide-eyed at Izuku. "Deku. Nine, does that mean━"

Sighing, Izuku nodded. "Yeah."

Kacchan cackled. "Holy shit, that's fucking hilarious!"

K-A-C-C-H-A-N

He stopped laughing, instead glaring at Izuku. "Fucking stop."

"I can't," Izuku said, just about done with life at this point.

K-A-C-C-H-A-N   S-U-G-O-I

"Deku, cut it the fuck out."

"It's not me," Izuku despaired. "I can't."

W-E   S-E-E   Y-O-U   2   A

"Dudes, this is super creepy," Satou said. "Midoriya, why is your ghost haunting us too?"

Izuku leaned into the grounding touch against his shoulder blades from Yoichi, who was muffling laughs of his own, and closed his eyes in resignation. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Oh, let them have their fun, Izu," Yoichi patted his back. "It's just harmless play."

When Izuku opened his eyes again, all 7 of the vestiges he'd been seeing for the last few weeks were present and watching the chaos unfold. Izuku looked up at Yoichi standing behind the couch where he sat, and frowned. "What if they find out about... you know what?"

Banjou snorted. "Then let them find out. Toshinori was the only one of us who kept it a closely-held secret, all of our loved ones knew when we received it. Your class is trustworthy and will know the danger of having the power. If you iterate to them how important it is, they'll keep it closely protected to prevent putting you in any more danger."

"I agree," En nodded. "You've held this burden long enough, Izuku. Share it with them, even if not tonight."

"It's your power now," Second said to Izuku. "And you get to choose who to tell and who not to. Your little Kacchan brat is already aware, and he has guarded the secret with his life. Do you not trust the rest to do the same?"

"No, I do. You're right. Thanks, Second."

"No problem, kid."

Kacchan snapped his fingers to get Izuku's attention and mouthed, How many of them are there here?

Izuku sighed. All of them, he responded

"I'm texting All Might," Kacchan said out loud, and Izuku nodded. 

"I'll message Aizawa-sensei," Momo added, slightly freaked out at the events happening in front of her.

"Guys, guys!" Mina said. "What if we looked through the planchette to see Midoriya's ghost?!"

Third grinned when she said this and moved the piece on the board again. 

D-O   I-T   A-S-H-I-D-O

"Oh my god they know my name. I'm so doing this now. Ghost's orders, guys. I have to."

Izuku started and sat upright, holding a hand out. "Ashido, wait━!"

Too late, Mina lifted the planchette and looked through the glass at Izuku and screamed, nearly dropping it. "Midoriya!"

Izuku sighed. "Yeah."

"You have seven ghosts!"

"Yeah," Izuku said again, accepting of his fate now that half the cat was out of the bag, and dropping his head into his hands.

"Midoriya, bro!" Kaminari stared at Izuku, slack-jawed. "Did you know?"

"I knew," Izuku nodded without raising his head.

Nana, Third, and Banjou all bent over laughing, clutching their stomachs at Izuku's blatantly obvious discomfort, and Mina sees this, still looking through the planchette's glass with shaking hands.

Second and Yoichi start chuckling as well, with the latter ruffling Izuku's hair fondly. En stood off to the side, huffing in humor.

"Guuuys," Izuku whined. "This isn't funny. Yoichi, how could you let them do this to me. I was handling it so well!"

"Deku, why the fuck didn't you tell me you could see them now?!"

"I didn't know how to, Kacchan! This is a recent development!"

Sero whipped his head back and forth between them. "Bakugou, you knew?!"

"No fucking comment until All Might gets here."

Nana bounced over to Izuku and shook his shoulders back and forth with a grin. "Izu, kid, you gotta get Toshi here like, as soon as possible! I wanna see that boy again."

"He's probably already on his way, Nana," Izuku said, head spinning from the force of her shaking. The class stared in wonder and confusion when they watched Izuku get shaken back and forth by an invisible force.

"Is one of your ghosts an All Might fan or something?" Ojiro tilted his head in question.

"You could say that," Izuku sighed. "You'll find out soon, I guess."

Kacchan's eyes widened and he gripped the arms of the chair he sat in tightly, fingers digging into the material almost hard enough to rip it. "You're fucking telling them all?! Are you fucking stupid?!"

"They said to, Kacchan!"

"It's not just your secret, dumbass!"

Second bonked his fist on Izuku's head. "Oi, kid. Tell the brat I said he's a fucking prick and to mind his own business."

Izuku paled and shook his head. "I am not telling Kacchan that. No thanks, I choose life."

Kaminari grinned when he heard Izuku's words. "No, tell Kacchan, we're all very curious!"

"Yeah, Deku," Kacchan gritted his teeth. "Tell me."

"Can I sock the mini-me? I wanna sock him in the face."

"Second, no."

Mina gasped. "Midoriya. Why does that one look exactly like Bakugou but like 10 years older?"

"HAH?!"

Izuku groaned. "Ashido! I was trying to avoid telling Kacchan that!"

"Why?! They're uncanny!"

"Because it's hard to look at Kacchan when I have a ghost that looks like future him!"

"...Fair enough."

"Lemme see that thing, Raccoon Eyes!" Kacchan snatched the planchette from Mina and looked through the glass, eyes widening when he saw Second standing behind Izuku. His arms were crossed and he stood firmly with an emotionless look on his face, but Izuku had seen him enough times and known him long enough to know that there was amusement in his eyes while he and Kacchan had the ultimate stare down.

"Please stop staring at Kacchan."

"Brat's all freaked out, it's hilarious."

"Second, please."

Second huffed and rolled his eyes, but ruffled Izuku's hair fondly much like Yoichi had done several times in the past few minutes they'd been there while his classmates played with the Ouija board. "Fine, let's get this shit over with already."

"We have to wait for Toshi first!"

Yoichi patted Nana's shoulder reassuringly. "He'll be here, Nana, be patient. I know you want to see your successor, but please calm down. I believe you're freaking Izu out."

"Oh, sorry, Izuku."

"It's okay, Nana," Izuku smiled at her. "I know you're excited."

"Wait," Kacchan squinted his eyes, finally looking away from Second and around at the others. "Deku. Is that fucking Lariat?"

Banjou grinned smugly. "Where the hell you think the kid got Blackwhip from?"

Izuku went to translate, but then remembered Kacchan was very skilled at reading lips, so he let Kacchan talk to Banjou himself and curled his shoulders in defeat.

"Why the fuck didn't I think of that?!"

"Who knew that your brat friend was a hero nerd, Izuku?"

"Oi! I ain't a fuckin' brat!"

Third snorted. "He said what he said."

"Third, you're gonna make it worse," Izuku groaned.

"Wait, Midoriya," Todoroki interrupted. "Why do you call some of them by numbers and others by names?"

"I don't know Second and Third's names," Izuku said. "They never told me. They keep their personal information private and I respect them."

Iida nodded. "It's very good that you are respectful of their identities, Midoriya!"

"I like this one," En pointed at Iida.

"Deku what the fuck did that one just say to Four Eyes? His mouth's covered."

Izuku smiled at Iida. "En said he likes you."

Iida's back went ramrod straight and he bowed his head, ears flushed red. "Thank you, En-san!"

Kacchan paused. "Wait, Deku, which one is First?"

Izuku pointed behind him at Yoichi, who was smiling softly at Izuku's friends while he played with Izuku's hair. "Yoichi is First."

"...Your brother's a fucking asshole, First."

All six other vestiges burst into roaring laughter, Yoichi quietly chuckling alongside them. "Yes he is, Bakugou Katsuki. Yes he is."

"They know my name?!"

"Of course they know your name, Kacchan!" Izuku said. "They know everything about you!"

"That's fucking creepy, you shit!"

Hikage stared at Kacchan, unblinking, and spoke for the first time since the whole event had started. "We live in Izuku's head. We know all you've done, Bakugou. I'm not very fond of you."

All of the blood drained from Kacchan's face, and he slowly lowered the planchette. Izuku, on the other hand, turned bright red. "Hikage!"

"He suicide-baited you. I don't like him."

"That was a long time ago!"

"I don't care. I don't like him."

Izuku sighed. "Let's just... wait until All Might and Aizawa-sensei get here before I explain everything, okay?"

"...Fine."

They didn't have to wait long. Less than 10 minutes later, Toshinori was rushing into their dorm with a tired Aizawa following behind clutching his capture weapon tightly in his fist. Toshinori was panting as he looked around at all of them. Izuku heard Nana gasp.

"What's going on?" Aizawa questioned them all.

"Young Bakugou, your text said━"

"Deku's being haunted by ghosts!" Ochako blurted.

Kacchan stared Toshinori in the eyes, a serious look on his face that confused the others when he said, "Seven ghosts."

Toshinori paled and looked frantically to Izuku, who nodded sheepishly. "Surprise? Um, I don't just dream about them anymore, I can actually see, touch, and speak to them?"

"Is..."

Izuku smiled softly. "She's here, All Might."

"...Oh," Toshinori choked, his sunken eyes filling with unshed tears. Izuku's own eyes watered when he saw Nana's golden glowing form wrap her arms around Toshinori and Izuku saw him shiver, his chest shaking with silent sobs. 

"She's hugging you."

"Y-Yes, my boy. I can feel her... Hello, Shimura-sensei..."

One for All flickered throughout Izuku's body without his permission, startling him and those sitting near him. Nana whispered something in Toshinori's ear, and the frail man fell to his knees with his forehead resting on his hands.

Izuku's classmates stared in stunned, shocked confusion, and Aizawa just squinted his eyes tiredly. "Problem Child. Mind explaining?"

"Um, that's kinda why we called you guys here? I have something to tell you all."

"Which is supposed to be a fucking secret for a reason, but Deku wants to tell you all fucking anyway," Kacchan glared at Izuku.

Again, One for All activated for a brief second, and Kacchan winced and jerked his head forward. "The fuck?!"

Izuku held in a laugh. "Second, please don't hit Kacchan."

"Brat fuckin' deserves it. Ain't his power, ain't his decision. Should mind his own fuckin' business."

"I... agree with you. But, less aggressively?"

Second huffed. "Whatever, kid. Oi, Nana, hug your successor later, we got shit to talk about."

Nana glared at him halfheartedly from across the room. "Shut it, Second. Let me tell my boy I'm proud of him before we trauma dump on a bunch'a teenagers, yeah?"

Yoichi put a hand on Second’s shoulder, his other hand still resting comfortably on Izuku’s head with his fingers unconsciously running through his hair in a calming motion Izuku had come to be familiar with. "Second. Let her be. We have plenty of time."

"Midoriya," Aizawa sighed. "Why is your hair moving."

"Yoichi is petting me."

"...And who is Yoichi."

"Um, First."

Toshinori's head snapped upward with a gasp and he looked wide-eyed at Izuku. "The First?"

"...Yeah. That's why you're here, All Might. I'm... going to tell everyone."

"Young Midoriya, that is a very dangerous secret to tell."

Izuku nodded. "And they agree. But I trust them, and they are very much encouraging me to do it, and I trust the class and Aizawa-sensei, too. They won't tell anyone if they know it'll put me in danger if they do."

"Whoa, Midobro, what's going on here?" Kirishima asked, confused. "I thought it was just a bunch of ghosts!"

"Not exactly," Izuku shook his head. Yoichi patted his head and Izuku paused, looking up at him.

"I have an idea."

"What is it?" Izuku asked.

"Activate One for All at 100% throughout your body. When it activated before, Second and Nana could touch others. If you do it wholly, we all could more than likely be seen and heard by everyone as well. It's only speculation, but it could work."

Izuku sucked in a breath. "Alright."

"Concentrate, Izuku. Close your eyes, breathe, and let yourself feel it. We are here to back you."

"Right."

Izuku did as Yoichi said and closed his eyes, breathing in deep before activating One for All at 100%. It sung in his veins, pulsing with power, and he could feel the presence of every past user connected to him through the shared bond they all had. He faintly heard Toshinori gasp from where he was, still by the entrance of the room, and he knew that Toshinori could feel the faint pull of One for All inside himself as well. Izuku breathed in again, letting go of One for All and allowing it to sink back into his skin.

When he opened his eyes again, he could still see all of the seven vestiges, but their glows were gone and he saw the rest of his class staring at them all in awe. Toshinori was openly but silently crying, clutching Nana tightly, who was in a similar state as him.

Aizawa rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "I haven't had enough coffee for this."

Yoichi shifted his hands from Izuku's hair to his shoulders and gripped them in a proud hold, like an older brother would to their younger. "You did it, Izu."

"Yeah," Izuku grinned. "I did. Thanks, Yoichi."

"Always, kiddo."

"Holy shit, he does look like future Bakugou!"

"Oh my god. There are literal ghosts here. In the flesh. That shouldn't be a thing I can say. What the heck."

"Yo, nice bandana, dude! We match!"

"She's so pretty!"

"He looks scary, whoa."

"Why is he glaring at you like that, Bakugou?"

"Who are all of these people, Deku?"

Izuku groaned and buried his head in his hands again, leaning back into Yoichi's touch once more as his classmates flipped out. Yoichi gripped his shoulders tightly in response, a supportive gesture that Izuku very much took advantage of then.

"Oi, shut the hell up!" Second barked. 

The room quieted, eyes wide and confused and freaked.

"God, finally," he grunted. "Nana, Toshinori, get the hell over here. We all got a story to tell and you're helping."

Yoichi smiled. "We should introduce ourselves first. We don't want to keep the kids waiting any longer."

Third raised his hand. "Numbers or names?"

"Whichever you're comfortable with, but we should all say our numbers at the least, to cause less confusion. My name is Yoichi, the First."

"Second."

"I'm Third!"

"Shinomori Hikage, Fourth."

"Daigorou Banjou, the Fifth! I was known as the hero Lariat, in my time."

"En. The Sixth."

"I'm Shimura Nana, the Seventh."

A pause. Eight expectant gazes on Toshinori, who sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yagi Toshinori. I was the Eighth."

Class 2-A was silent still, and Izuku sighed. "Midoriya Izuku, the Ninth successor of One for All."

Still silence, and then everyone exploded again.

It only went on for less than a minute before, surprisingly, Kacchan was the one to quiet everybody. "Will you fuckers stop fucking yelling?! Fucking hell!"

"You're one to talk, Bakugou Katsuki."

Kacchan froze, shrinking in his seat under the heavy gaze of the Fourth.

"Hikage!" Izuku groaned. "Stop hounding Kacchan!"

"I don't like him."

"I know, but that isn't important right now!"

"How about we just tell the damn story?" Nana chuckled. "Or we could just demonstrate to start out. Give 'em a little bit more to flip their shit over."

Third grinned. "Oh, hell yes. Banjou, you do it. Izuku manifested yours first, they'll recognize it the most."

Banjou mirrored the look on Third's face, and before any of the other eight could stop him, Blackwhip was already flailing from his hands and on display for everyone to see. Izuku curled in on himself to avoid everyone's gazes flicking between himself, Banjou, and Banjou's Blackwhip.

"Izu, your turn!" Nana laughed. "Come on!"

Seeing no way out of it, Izuku complied and released his own use of Blackwhip to curl up and entwine itself with Banjou's.

Aizawa narrowed his gaze on Izuku. "Problem Child, explain. Now."

"Um," Izuku fumbled for words. "You guys remember All For One? Well, this is like, his opposite."

"That... tells us nothing," Jirou blinked. "Are you trying to say you're all connected to the creepy faceless bastard with the stolen quirks?"

Yoichi took over, sensing Izuku's discomfort. "In a way, you're correct, Jirou."

Jirou startled at the use of her name from the First and went rigid along with the rest of the class. Yoichi continued.

"The story begins centuries back, with two brothers. All For One, and myself."

Class 2-A listened raptly at the story Yoichi told, along with any additions that any of the other vestiges added in with their own experiences. Yoichi spoke of the two brothers; one powerful, one sickly and frail and thought to be quirkless. Second and Third shared tales of a rebellion led by Second himself. Hikage told them of his solitary life in hiding due to his quirk, Danger Sense, and having it multiplied to the extreme by the addition of One for All. Banjou and En told their stories as well.

When Nana got to her own story, many in the room were close to tears. Giving up her family to protect them from All For One, finding her successor in Toshinori, having her grandson be stolen by All For One himself and made into the hateful Shigaraki Tomura they all knew very well. Dying at the hands of All For One, with Toshinori watching.

Toshinori told them of a battle so ugly and horrible, and how it impacted his ability to continue being a hero. He showed them the outcome of this battle, how it left him with incurable wounds and missing organs and many, many surgeries because of it.

And then, Toshinori smiled as he told them of a boy.

Quirkless, small, and hopeful of a dream of heroism and saving others despite not having the power to do so. A boy who, against the odds of survival, ran out to save his classmate from a villain when the Pros on scene could not. Passing on his quirk and training him to be able to withstand the weight and force that power would have once he gained it. How he made the quirk his own in such a short time.

And Izuku repeated the tale of how he first met his personal hero, All Might, after a life of being put down and tormented by his peers for not having a quirk (He purposefully left out Kacchan's name, but that didn't stop several of the vestiges from sending him dirty glares anyway. Not that any of his classmates saw, too focused on Izuku's story).

He explained that he'd accepted the honor of gaining One for All even with all of the battles he knew he would have to fight in his future because of it. How it would put a target on his back by villains far and wide. And how, despite that, he was just glad that now he could save people the way he'd always dreamed of, with his new friends and his found family of the vestiges standing behind him to support him every step of the way.

By the end of it, everyone in the room was either misty-eyed or completely bawling their eyes out (Sans a few of them, who already knew the story). 

They were all sworn to secrecy, making sure that they all knew the weight of just how dangerous it could be for Izuku if the information ever got out to anybody and somehow fell into the wrong hands. 

Izuku knew that after sharing the biggest secret he'd ever kept, his classmates would have his back for the rest of their lives. 

And he found that he was very content with that fact, and he that would return that trust and love and caring full-force in return for them as well.

No matter what.