Chapter 10: A new path

Green

Izuku

The UA Sports Festival was an annual event designed to showcase the abilities and powers of UA students to the general public. In addition to this, it was also a golden opportunity for those students who missed their chance to perform during the entrance exams to prove themselves. As a result, there was an air of tension and fierce competition between the students as the festival drew up.

This years' festival consisted of three parts: a race, a game of cavalry, and a fighting exhibition. The race was absolutely elementary: no one in UA was even able to come close to competing for first place against me, not with One for All's boost to my athleticism. I didn't even have to go 80%.

The cavalry battle and fighting matches were similar. Class 1-A dominated overall; there was a huge difference between those who had experienced and survived a real life-and-death scenario, and those who hadn't. Whether it was in tactics, teamwork, or sheer firepower; 1-A was unsurpassed. Other than me, several people made their way into the limelight. Yoarashi, with his powerful wind Quirk, was able to keep opponents away by erecting powerful wind barriers during the cavalry match, and maintained dominant aerial superiority during his subsequent matches. Todoroki was a crowd favorite, his ice showcasing both versatility and sheer power output. Bakugou struggled initially in the cavalry battle, due to his explosive personality, but thrived in the final matches, demonstrating incredible maneuverability, firepower, and ferocity against tough opponents. He was able to overpower both Todoroki and Yoarashi to make it to the finals against me, although he did take advantage of Todoroki refusing to use his fire.

However, there was nothing Bakugou could do against me. My shock absorption Quirk pretty much nullified the impacts behind his blows, and the explosions weren't nearly enough to break One for All enhanced skin. A single blow was all it took to take him down, much to his later displeasure.

And with that, the festival came to a close, with me being crowned champion amongst the first years by All Might. My sensei looked proud, but slightly amused at the ease with which I dominated the festival.

That night…

"Congratulations, you two! You both kicked ass out there today!" The girls and I were gathered in my hotel room for a post-festival celebration.

"Thanks, Melissa, but Izuku took most of the limelight today," Momo groused playfully from her spot next to me, nursing a drink in her hands, "I barely got to do anything."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Momo," I responded, "You were an integral part of the team during the cavalry battle. Those flashbangs and fake grenades really came in handy keeping the other teams distracted."

"Oh, shut up. It wasn't like you couldn't have flicked them all away anyway, with your ridiculous strength."

"I did, remember? Man, Mineta shot off like a little purple bullet."

We all shared a laugh at the memory. The little hornball had tried to sneak up on Momo with a leery grin and a lecherous look on his face. I quickly foiled whatever dastardly plan he had concocted by blasting him away with a finger flick.

"Oh, how I wish I had a Quirk too," Melissa sighed wistfully, "That way I could be out there, next to you guys."

"You wouldn't have been in our year anyway even if you did have a Quirk, you old hag," Momo commented snidely, "so keep on dreaming."

Melissa froze, and narrowed her eyes at the ravenette, "I'm only three years older than you, you stupid bitch, so if I'm an old hag then you are too."

"Oh, really? One really wouldn't have been able to tell. I would've thought you were already middle-aged, judging by the way you dress like a sexually repressed midwife."

Sensing an impending headache, I quickly played mediator, "Ladies, ladies, let's save the fireworks for later, eh? Why don't we talk business?"

The girls glared at each other, but acquiesced and backed down.

"Here, I was able to gather DNA samples from the people I fought, including Bakugou, Todoroki, and Shinso." I showed the girls my spoils of the day. "Think you can do something with these, Melissa?"

The blonde girl glanced at the glass tubes I was holding out. Each one had a different colored strand of hair inside, and were labelled accordingly.

"Yeah, these are more than enough. What about you, Momo?"

"Hmph. You guys underestimate me. I have, of course, accomplished my duty perfectly," she held out several glass tubes.

"No one suspects the Vice-President. I got Tokoyami's feathers during my match with him. I first blinded him with flashbangs, which neutralized Dark Shadow, then while he was visually and auditorily incapacitated I took advantage of the opportunity to enter close range. I was able to obtain a feather that way."

"Yes," I shuddered slightly at the memory, "But did you really have to beat him with a brick, thought?"

I remembered the shocked silence of everyone in the crowd, including the commentators, when Momo approached the blinded Tokoyami and clocked him repeatedly with a brick, all with a calm and serene smile on her face. Every time Dark Shadow tried to emerge, she would drop a flashbang, sending the poor Shadow entity screeching in hasty retreat. Also, due to the large set of noise-cancelling headphones on her head the entire match, she couldn't hear Tokoyami's screams for mercy either, which prolonged the dark-feathered students' misery. The poor bird boy was probably traumatized for life after that experience.

"I thought it was the most economical choice, given the situation," Momo professed, "Given that I had no idea how many flash grenades I would have had to create. A brick is quick and easy to make, and doesn't require much thinking, so it was naturally my first choice."

"Next, Kirishima was even easier. I just intercepted the medi-bots while they were carrying him off stage after his fight with Testutetsu and harvested his hair right there."

Melissa hummed, and picked up a vial from Momo's hands, regarding it curiously.

"Yo..arashi? Isn't this the dude with the wind Quirk? How'd you get his?"

"His hat. He has one that he likes to wear, so I asked to borrow it for a second. I scraped some skin cells off the inside when he wasn't paying attention."

"Nice," I said, "so now we have Explosion, Hardening, Half-Cold-Half-Hot, Whirlwind, and Dark Shadow. That's almost everything I need, right?"

Momo smirked, "Not so fast, darling. Here's an extra present."

She held up a glass tube. "I went to the classroom after the festival and took this from inside Aizawa-sensei's sleeping bag." A long strand of dark hair was visible through the clear tube.

"This is the famed Erasure Quirk," she said, "with this, you'll pretty much be invincible against Quirk users."

Momo looked at me with an expression that seemed to say praise me. She looked so adorable, and I was so excited from the excellent news, that I couldn't help but reach over and sweep her into a crushing hug.

"Eep!"

I brushed my lips against the dark and silky strands of hair atop her head, murmuring, "Ooh, my dear sidekick has worked hard today, hasn't she? Hmm, she deserves a reward all the work she's put in."

"Eh– wait, this is– I'm not ready– my heart–" Momo struggled to escape my grip, her face red as a tomato.

I felt a pinch in my sides. Melissa was glaring at me coldly, her face contorted into a slight pout, her eyes as frigid as a blizzard.

I grinned and pulled her in as well, and for a short while the room was filled with shouts of struggle and general chaos as the girls struggled to escape my embrace.

After some roughhousing, we settled down, the girls looking ruffled and disheveled, like disgruntled chicks. They were both giving me the third degree, although the blushes on their faces gave away their embarassment.

"Harumph," Melissa blew a blonde strand away from her face, "Let me get these vials started, then. We'll do the honors tonight." She glanced at me.

"If you please?"

"Sure." I raised my hands, and a black mist emanated from my palms, flowing outwards to form a human-sized portal behind Melissa.

"Pick me up in an hour. I should be done by then."

"Sure."

An hour later…

Momo and I had been passing the time by watching the news together. We were curled up on a couch, her body resting against mine, with a blanket wrapped around us. The screen was replaying scenes from the festival earlier today, and we got to see some clips from the higher years as well. Three students in particular garnered my interest: Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado. They were third years this year.

I got a text from Melissa, telling me she was ready to be transported, and a moment later, she appeared through a black portal.

She appeared slightly dissatisfied with the way Momo was curled up against me, but held back from saying anything in lieu of holding up a case.

"This is it."

Momo and I shared a glance, and disentangled ourselves from the couch. Approaching Melissa, I thanked her for her efforts and placed the case on the dining table. Before I was able to open it up, Melissa coughed.

I glanced at her in confusion. She didn't say anything, merely looked at me expectantly in silence. I didn't understand what she wanted, so I turned back to flip open the case.

Another cough, this time more aggressively. Melissa was looking slightly angry this time.

What does she want?

I stared at her in befuddlement. Her body posture was strange: it seemed… expectant. Like she was waiting for something. From the way her eyes seemed to slide over to Momo, who was standing there beside me, though…

It can't be.

Was she jealous? Melissa? I couldn't be sure. I opened up my arms hesitantly…?

Only for a blonde missile to launch itself into my chest. It seemed like she was waiting for me to do just that. I silently laughed at the silly antics of this girl. Melissa nuzzled her face into my chest snugly, giving Momo a look of superiority whilst doing so. I sighed in slight exasperation at the sight.

Seriously, when are these two girls going to get over their rivalry?

"Alright, enough," Momo eventually stated, "Are we going to do this tonight or what?"

Melissa gave my butt cheeks a cheeky squeeze before darting away.

"Fine, fine."

Inside the case were six vials labelled: Erasure, Explosion, Half and Half, Shadow, Wind, and Voice.

Within each vial was a clear liquid. I was familiar with the song and dance by now.

"Cheers." I told the girls, before chugging down the vials one by one, while the girls watched in silent anticipation beside me.

"Well?" Momo questioned after a while. "How do you feel?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," I said, " I don't feel any different."

Melissa frowned, "Why don't you try doing something? Isn't that the best way to test if everything is as it should be?"

"Here, try using Erasure on me," Momo said, "I'll try creating something."

"Su–" I was about to answer when a wave of nausea hit me like a truck. "Urghf–" My vision swam, and the room began to distort slightly. Rivulets of sweat poured down my face as a burning sensation began to emit from within my body. The pain was indescribable, like a fire had been started inside my body. My blood felt like it was boiling, and a pressure was building up behind my eyes, which felt like they were about to pop out of my skull.

"Izuku? Izuku–!" Melissa's concerned voice sounded far away.

"Quick… bed… burning up… hurry…" Their panicked voices started fading away as darkness engulfed my vision.

Green

"Fool."

A voice brought me out of my slumber.

"Wha–? Where am I?" I was standing in a dark expanse. Space seemed to stretch out in all directions infinitely. I couldn't tell what I was standing on, or if I was even standing at all, because it was infinite blackness all the way down(?) too.

"You are a fool."

The same disembodied voice rang out again.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I cried out into the darkness.

From out of the fabric of darkness, a shadow seemed to emerge.

It had no discernible features beyond glowing eyes, but I was somehow able to tell that it was glaring at me.

"Where is this place? What are you?"

The shadow glared at me.

"Do you know that your body is in danger of imploding?"

What?

"This reckless consumption of power… did you really think it had no side effects?"

"What do you mean?"

"One for All is a quirk that was meant to stockpile power slowly. It carefully and meticulously cultivates power over time, granting increased power to the user. It was never meant to have sudden surges of power in such close proximity like what you have experienced."

"Your body has a strange composition. If not for this, you would have exploded the first time you ingested foreign quirks into your body. It would have been fine if you kept it to a small number, and if you had given One for All time to digest, but you had to be reckless and greedy, and consume so much at once. Now look at what you've done."

The shadow gestured behind me. I turned around to let my gaze settle on a pulsating ball of light. Strange spikes were violently protruding from the ball, as if something inside was trying to escape. Somehow, I could feel that the ball was straining to maintain its shape.

"What… is that?" I breathed.

"That… is One for All, Ninth. It's normally meant to be a ball. Get it? Perfectly even, all around. Now look at it. Can you even tell what shape it is?"

The shadow sighed in anger.

"The oscillations and protuberances are formed from an imbalance of powers. If left unchecked, eventually, they will penetrate through the core of One for All."

"What happens then?"

The shadow affixed one baleful gaze on me.

"An explosion, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. The combined power of all the previous users of One for All, including the current one, in a single, devastating detonation,"

I paled. This was sounding really bad.

"Shit. How do I fix this?"

The shadow glared even harder at me.

"The hell if I know? This is a first for me, too! I never thought there would be a user reckless enough to do something like this!"

"Well, how long do I have? Before that thing… blows?"

"Five."

"Five…what? Months? Weeks?"

"Four, three, two…"

"Wait, wait, wait, seriously!? That's all I have!?"

"Hmph. I was obviously just scaring you. If we do some emergency treatment, we could probably stretch the time limit to roughly three months. You need to figure out a way to fix this before then."

"Three months!? That's tight! Ugh," I sighed, putting one hand on my forehead. This was my fault. How could I possibly believe that such a convenient ability had no drawbacks? I was blinded by the possibility of power and lost myself. Now I've endangered not only myself, but possibly everyone around me with my recklessness.

"What kind of emergency treatment?"

"The powers you have right now are like a plate of loose sand. We need to mold them together to create a proper foundation. Keep in mind this is a temporary solution… eventually, they're supposed to all merge into one ball, but for now, we'll have to settle with leaving them broken up in pieces."

"As the Ninth, you added nine new quirks to One for All. Try to combine some of them and lower the number. It'll be easier for the core to digest eventually that way."

"Combine? Like put two Quirks together to make a new Quirk?"

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But how do I do that?"

"What? Afraid of getting your hands dirty? Just get in there and use your hands, you stupid brat."

The shadow booted me roughly towards the core.

Ow. You could have just told me, you shitty shadow.

I regarded the pulsating core curiously. Now that I'm observing it closely, I could see… smaller orbs encapsulated within. They had no outward distinction between each other, but I was someone able to tell they were the Quirks I had.

This one feels like the Portal, this one feels like Hardening, and this one feels like Explosion.

I reached into the core tentatively, and grabbed onto an orb. Hardening.

I have to combine this with something else right? Let's see what I got.

Regeneration, Portal Creation, Explosion, Shock Absorption, Whirlwind, Fire and Ice, Dark Shadow, Erasure, and Voice Hypnosis. Only Shock Absorption seemed to be compatible at all with Hardening. I put the two orbs together, fusing them into one slightly larger orb. Portal Creation merged with Whirlwind. That left Regeneration, Explosion, Fire and Ice, Dark Shadow, Erasure, and Voice Hypnosis. I could probably combine Erasure with Dark Shadow, and probably Voice Hypnosis too, but those were really powerful abilities and I wasn't sure if I was comfortable handing them off to a sapient shadow that may or may not be under my control.

Retreating from the core, I regarded the shadow once again.

"Hmph. You could only reduce the numbers by that much?"

"The rest of them weren't compatible. I don't think I could've combined them even if I tried."

"Anyway, that's all the help I can give for now. Remember, you'll have three months max…"

"Is there any hint you can give me? I'll need to start somewhere. If not how to fix this, then at least how large an explosion I should expect so I know how far I should be from civilization when the time comes."

It sighed.

"Well… when I was alive I had heard of an ancient theory. The Five Elements. When combined, the five elements create a cycle that sustains and feeds off itself. Perhaps, if you could complete the cycle…"

The five elements? I had heard of it before. Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Wood. Fire begets Earth, which begets Metal, which begets Water, which begets Wood, which begets Fire. The concept was simple, and was an integral part of Asian cosmology and culture in the past.

"Our time draws to a close, Ninth. Hurry, for the sake of yourself, and others around you."

"Wait! Before you leave, tell me. Who are you?"

The shadow gave a wistful sigh. "Survive this, and I'll tell you. It bears a moot point anyway if you die."

Green

"Izuku! Izuku!" I was awoken by frantic shaking.

"Bwuh! Wha–" The worried, tearful gazes of Melissa and Momo greeted me.

"Oh thank god!" The blonde wrapped her arms around me, "I was about to call the ambulance if you hadn't woken up. What the hell happened?"

"Izuku," my partner voiced out in concern, "How are you feeling? You suddenly collapsed. We couldn't wake you no matter how much we tried, and you were burning up."

"I'm fine," I voiced out, once I managed to gather my bearings, "How long was I out?"

"Barely five minutes." She responded, "But you were unresponsive, and your pulse was irregular."

"What happened?" Melissa demanded forcefully.

I told them of my encounter, and of my current condition. At the end, Melissa looked green with regret.

"I'm sorry," she said, "This is all my fault. If it wasn't for my stupid theory…"

"Hey," I said, gently wiping tears away from her eyes, "this wasn't your fault. I was at fault for being too reckless and rushing into this. None of this was you guys' fault." The last part was directed to both of them.

"Thankfully, we seem to have a place to start. The Five Elements."

"But what could that mean?" Momo questioned, "Should we gather a bunch of elemental quirks and give it a try?"

"No way!" Melissa was the first the deny this course of action, "Overconsumption of Quirks was what led him to this condition, and you want to give him more?"

"Actually," I began, "I think that's exactly what we need."

"You can't actually agree to this reckless course of action?" Melissa protested.

"When I was inside my mind, I was able to combine Quirks together, so that they are become more 'digestible' for the core. Not all the Quirks were compatible, and some weren't able to combine with each other. However, if we use the self-suppressing and self-begetting characteristic of the Five elements, we might be able to create a self-sustaining cycle, and maintain balance within One for All until it can fully 'digest' the new quirks."

"You realize that if you're wrong, you would be drastically reducing the time frame from three months to who knows when, right?"

"That's true." I conceded, " So what do you propose?"

The blonde girl bit her lips in consternation.

"Could we go to UA for this?" Momo proposed, "The staff and faculty are all prominent heroes. Someone must be able to help."

"We can't," I said, "not with something like this. It'll expose the secret of One for All. At most, only All Might can know of this, but even that is…"

"What?" Melissa questioned.

I grimaced slightly, "I worry about his reaction to this. He might just decide to keep me under close watch while he figures out a way. Not only does that waste his and my time, he's also currently focused on the search for my mom. Introducing me as a variable during this time won't help anyone."

"If we can't tell anyone, and All Might is useless, then what can we do?" Momo clenched her fists in frustration.

"This isn't something we can leave alone, Izuku. You're on a clock here."

"I know," I reached out to brush her arm reassuringly, "which is why I can't go back to UA."

The girls both froze.

"What?" Momo's voice quavered, "Are you saying… you're going to leave?"

"I have to," I replied, "I'm a walking time bomb. I have three months left to live, unless I do something about my condition. This isn't time to be wasting my time at school playing hero."

"But what are you going to do? Where are you going to go?" Momo asked.

"I'm going to try to collect the remaining Quirks that I'll need to complete the Five Elements, and while I'm doing that, try to pick up on the trail of Tomura Shigaraki and the League of Villains. I'll need to constantly be on the move, too. I'm not afraid of them, personally, but they've already demonstrated that they've no qualms about going after my loved ones. That means I'll probably have to keep my distance from you two for a while, too."

"No," Melissa protested, "that is absolutely not necessary."

"I don't want to place you two in danger," I said, "remember, if I can't solve my condition in three months, I go kaboom. If you two are around me at that time, I can't guarantee your safety."

"I'm coming with you," Melissa said, "this is non-negotiable."

"Mel–"

"This situation is, in some part, my fault too. Besides, if you leave me here, there's no guarantee that I'll ever see you again."

She looked at me with slightly watery eyes.

"Between a lifetime of never seeing you again, I'd rather take my chances with three months of life with you."

"Melissa…" I was touched.

"I'm coming too," Momo chimed in.

"You too?"

"I'm feel the same way as Melissa," Momo stated, "and besides, I'm your partner, remember? I'm going to stick by you through thick and thin."

"But what about your family?"

"Oh, they'll be fine. Worried, but I'll make sure to give a valid excuse so they don't worry too much. Something like, 'I'm eloping with by beloved, don't come looking for me–' should do the trick."

"If you say that, I'm going to worry about bounties being placed on my head, you know."

"I pity anyone who picks up your bounty."

"So you've already accepted this as a possible outcome!?"

Momo gave a little smile, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

I glanced between the two beauties, touched at their admissions.

"You realize this will be a life on the run, right? It won't be easy, and there won't be any turning back once we embark on this path."

"Psh, stop being dramatic, Izuku," Melissa snorted, "when do we leave?"

Green

An unknown location

"How goes the investigation, Esdeath?" Tomura Shigaraki questioned the bluenette impatiently. "It's dragging on. Have you located Izuku Midoriya's whereabouts?"

The lady in question rolled her eyes. "Patience, Shigaraki. These things take time. The heroes and the authorities seemed to have taken steps to protect his information. I will need a few more days."

The boy hissed in frustration, "That is what you told me last time. And the time before that. Are you actually this incompetent?"

Her eyes immediately transformed into icy flints, boring into the young villain with all the intensity of a raging blizzard.

"Watch your tongue, you impertinent imbecile," she seethed, "Remember that I work for your master, not you. You would do well not to anger me. Right now, I am still a much more useful chess piece than you are."

Shigaraki sneered, "So you say. However, I wonder how long that will last."

Esdeath narrowed her eyes further. "What are you insinuating?"

"Just that you have been keeping some interesting secrets from Sensei. Secrets like your ability to freeze time."

"It is no secret," Esdeath declared, "I only never deemed it necessary to use until my fight with Izuku Midoriya."

"Yes, but it is still an interesting tidbit of information you withheld from my master. The ability to stop time…" Shigaraki snickered, "… why, even someone of Sensei's means wouldn't be able to defend against that. I wouldn't be surprised if, one of these days, he summons you for a… visit."

Esdeath glared coldly, "I see what you're trying to do, Shigaraki. It's not going to work. Leave my sight before I freeze you."

"Hmph. Don't say I didn't warn you. And what of our… prisoner? I haven't seen her since you brought her in."

"For good reason. We need her alive, to use as leverage against Izuku Midoriya. If I left you alone with her she'd break in two minutes."

"There's plenty of ways to ensure someone stays alive whilst… playing with them."

"Enough," Esdeath announced, "Inko Midoriya is my toy. Keep away from her, if you value your life."

"So cocky and confident, Esdeath," Shigaraki murmured, turning to walk away. "I wonder how long you can keep up the act? The noose is ever tightening. Hmhmhahahahaha!"

Esdeath followed Shigaraki's retreating figure with a frigid gaze until he was out of sight, before releasing a quiet sigh.

What an annoying fellow…

She wasn't used to tiptoeing around people like this. Brusque as her interaction with Shigaraki might have seemed, this was actually her being intentionally delicate with him. She knew that she was on thin ice right now.

He was right about one thing. I'm definitely on All for One's radar, now. Before, she had only demonstrated the ability to generate ice as her Quirk. Powerful, but ultimately not something that All for One would be interested in. However, the time-stop ability threw a curveball into the equation. It was a devastatingly powerful assassination tool, undefeatable if you didn't know of it's existence. To this day, Esdeath had never failed to end someone with her time-freeze until she met Izuku MIdoriya. It was her greatest trump card, and her greatest equalizer. But know All for One knew of that trump card, and would be on guard against it. Worse, he would covet it. Alone, Esdeath knew she was no match for that century old monster, not to mention his freakishly powerful servants. She would need help.

But who from? She had no friends. Her 'colleagues' were all loyal to All for One. And who in the world was strong enough to protect her from the clutches of the Greatest Evil? All Might? Perhaps. But the Symbol of Peace was rumored to be weakened, and approaching him was equivalent to handing herself in to the authorities. No, All Might wouldn't do. The rest of the top heroes were useless too, in that regard.

So who else? Only one person came to mind. The only person who survived Mahadoma, and lived to tell the tale. The miracle child: Izuku Midoriya. Only he was in the unique position to help her.

That was why Esdeath had taken it upon herself to shield Inko Midoriya in any way she could. The orders to kidnap her were absolute, and she couldn't disobey them openly, but afterwards? She used her reputation as a skilled torturer to sweep Inko Midoriya under her jurisdiction, and forbade all other League members from approaching under threat of death.

She needed Inko Midoriya healthy and safe, such that when the time came, she would be able to use her to appeal to Izuku Midoriya. In addition, she had volunteered herself for the mission of locating the green wonder. This served a double purpose: to buy herself and Izuku time, as well as giving her the opportunity to be the first in contact with him, should she find him. Esdeath clenched her fists.

This is embarrassing, having my life be dictated by someone else. But I've no choice to bow my head for now…

Izuku Midoriya. I'll help protect your mother for now. So when the time comes, protect me too.

I'm seriously counting on you.

Green

AN: So I'm back! Sorry for the delay. Life got in the way, but mostly it was a severe case of writer's block. I was really conflicted with the direction I wanted this story to go in: whether or not I wanted to stick to canon or do my own thing. Both had it's merits, and I was debating between the two options for a long time, and that caused a huge delay in the writing time, I guess. Eventually, I decided to be brave and branch off from canon, which you'll see happened this chapter. A couple of issues I had with this story: Firstly, Izuku was way too strong. I know I wrote him that way, and this is fanfiction so I know a badass motherfucker Izuku is what y'all came here to read, but honestly just Primarch physique+ One for All was already enough to one shot most things in the My Hero Academia verse. Probably. Adding Kurogiri and Nomu's powers on top of that? I was slightly worried that we won't even be able to see those powers get utilized because no one would be strong enough to force him to use them (except maybe AFO). On top of THAT, I had also, stupidly, decided to give him even MORE powers, because why not? He could. Why wouldn't he take full advantage? So this story was in danger of having literally zero... well, 'danger.' So I got to thinking: if no one else can harm him, then what about Izuku himself? What if there WAS a drawback to such rapid growth in power?

So, I thought of the 'power imbalance' gimmick. I'm not entirely sure if I pulled it off, but I tried my best. This should be the 'incentive' Izuku needs to finally do his own thing, and also, by placing his life in danger, I give him an excuse to go and get EVEN STRONGER than he already is.

After reading some of the reviews, I decided to take up some of your suggestions and leave out the festival. I couldn't think of many plot points to change, so even if I ended up writing it, it would probably just be pages and pages of Izuku oneshotting his classmates. Boring. We all knew none of them could touch him. UA is getting too small for our budding Emperor, lol.

Also, I was surprised by the reactions to Esdeath! Some of you reacted with extreme vitriol, while others professed a soft spot for the blue haired general. I was always going to have her take the role of 'enemy turned friend', by the way. Esdeath is, paradoxically, a simple and complex character to portray. From the source material, we know that she is definitely capable of savage cruelty. However, she is also capable of extreme love and compassion. At her core, Esdeath is someone who respects absolute strength. That is why she respects All for One so much, and was initially willing to to become his subordinate. However, Esdeath isn't someone who places blind faith in anyone, which is why she kept her trump card, Mahadoma, a secret from All for One. This was her equaliser, something that would allow her to be on 'equal' negotiating grounds with All for One. If things ever went south with her Boss, she would use this to kill him. I don't think anyone in BnHA (so far) has the ability to survive Esdeath's attacks should she be given time to wail on you. Izuku only survived because she didn't know he had two hearts. Like he said, if she had gone straight for the head, things would've gone very differently. Anyway, so now that she's exposed her trump card, and All for One knows about it, he'll definitely be interested in obtaining such a rare and powerful Quirk. Esdeath is self-aware enough to realize this fact, and so she makes plans to jump ship.

So don't worry, Inko was never really in any real harms way. From Esdeath, at least. It was still fun to watch you guys jump, though. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Izuku, Momo and Melissa embark on a journey of their own, keeping themselves under the radar. Esdeath has to find Izuku, and soon, because her time is ticking too.

Let me know your thoughts in the reviews. If there are any major mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them. All of my work is unbeta'd.

Dollarboy, out.