20. All Good Things Come to an...

Aizawa was just about to head into the forest when the second wave hit.

"Nomu! Where the hell did these come from?!" He thought as he skillfully went to evade an attack from the monster. Uraraka and Tsuyu had talked to him only moments before of what was really going on behind the scenes and he cursed himself for not being able to realize it sooner. It only made sense that Izuku would be involved, the events at the mall had already told him that the League had an interest in him. He guessed All Might was involved, too. However the Number One Hero was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he…"

…

"... I hope he arrives soon," said the man floating in the sky as he descended slowly to the tree line. "I would hate to take his successor without any struggle." The man was dressed in a black suit and equipped with a complex breathing mask to match. He suddenly stopped in the air and extended his outstretched hand towards the ground. His sleeve seemed to fill up with air, growing to triple the size of its regular size. And then he released.

"BOOM!" Izuku's hair was ripped backwards as hot air flew down from the sky. He felt Toga clutch closer to his side in order to keep them from both flying away. Luckily they were out of the immediate shockwave which succeeded in tearing many trees down and sending them into mere splinters. In the newly formed clearing, All for One landed without a sound.

Izuku was beginning to panic. He was about 100 feet away from the god-like figure. His power was suffocating. Izuku wanted to run. In fact that was his plan. He was pretty close to the tree line plus carrying Himiko would not be a real difficult task. Izuku felt One for All begin to course through his body, channeling as much as he could to his legs. He got ready to leap.

"Nomu," His voice seemed to echo through the air, into Izuku's mind and then out again like a radio wave. Following the voice he heard several noises behind him and at the other corners of the clearing. Nomu. Lots of them. They had surrounded the clearing and even if Izuku could get above them it would be a challenge to fight and protect Himiko in his arms.

"You weren't really thinking of leaving so soon were you, Izuku Midoriya?" His voice seemed to be slightly robotic as he spoke through the mask. Izuku guessed it was important and mentally noted it. Izuku knew he would need all the help he could get.

"You must be the infamous All for One," Izuku said, surprisingly managing to keep his voice calm. He wouldn't have been able to do that alone, however, when he was holding her, things seemed to be different. He felt stronger. But was he strong enough to take on even gods?

The man laughed, "So he HAS told you about me, now that is surprising. All Might was always one to keep secrets."

"We all have a couple things to hide… don't think simple words can turn me against him." Izuku looked straight at him now. He was still kneeling next to Himiko, but somehow he felt like he was standing tall. Like a real hero.

"So you DO know why I'm here, although I never expected to leave without a couple scratches. Speaking of scratches…" He turned his eye-less gaze to Himiko. "It looks like you received my present."

"Y-You hired her?" was all Himiko could manage.

"Of course! I specialize in finding people's weaknesses, so I hired her to spy on you until it was time. She was more than willing to watch your happiness build up, only to be ripped painfully away from you. However it looks like we ALL underestimated you, Himiko Toga." Suddenly Tomura's body had appeared in front of him. All for One took his body in his hands. Izuku and Himiko just watched silently, anticipating what he would do next.

"Goodbye my student." The light left Tomura Shigaraki's eyes and then he was reduced to dust in the hands of his master.

"Y-you killed him?!" Izuku exclaimed. Shigaraki had been betrayed by his master, even though he had been sure that the man was his last hope. But his faith had been painfully misplaced.

"He was on the verge of death anyway. Besides, he served his purpose. His quirk will only live on now in me. That was really the only valuable part of him. Shigaraki was a failure through and through, he had no place among real villains or any other part of society. I was the one who extended his life in the first place, but now he is where he truly belongs. With the dead."

Izuku's mouth was wide open. He couldn't believe the coldness of this man. He didn't seem to really value anything. It was all a game to him. And he found his next pawn. Izuku realized he was the target. However this was nothing new. Izuku had been a target for his entire life. In a way he had even been like Shigaraki. He had been worthless. But he had strived for better. All Might had saved him. Then he saved someone of his own. Izuku squeezed his Himiko a little harder between his arms and then let go of her. She was still shivering but as he laid a kiss on her cheek she looked up to him and was serious. Her eyes seemed to read, "You got this." Izuku got up and faced his opponent. He needed to repay the people who had saved him throughout his own life. All Might, his mom, his friends, and Himiko. She had changed his life so drastically that it was impossible to say she had done anything less. She was the reason he had the strength to move forward now. He had to protect her now, even if that meant just buying time for All Might. Izuku knew he had no chance of winning. But for her he would at least try to see if gods really do bleed.

Izuku's face was set in stone. His iron will was even stronger. He got into a fighting stance. All for One cracked his knuckles almost as is saying, "Whatcha got?"

Izuku leapt forward quicker than you could blink. However that wasn't all, before reaching his target Izuku dashed to the right. He flew to the tree line but escape wasn't on his mind. He used a tree as support and bounded off of it, aiming for the back of All for One's head. But he wasn't quick enough. All for One managed to turn and grab his fist in midair.

"He's faster than me even now!? And much stronger, too. But I guess that isn't too surprising" Izuku thought. He had pushed it from One for All Full Cowling at 8% to 12% but even that didn't seem to be quick enough to outmaneuver the villain.

"Is that all you can do, boy?" All for One said as his sleeve began to grow again even with Izuku's fist still in his tight grasp.

"Not yet!" Izuku screamed as his other hand came out of nowhere with a knife held firmly in his hand. It pierced the villain's hand and his grasp loosened on the boy. Izuku used this opportunity to tear himself from the villain just as the dangerous blast of air followed him closely after. Izuku was able to avoid most of it, but landed on the ground with some pain coming from his side. It looked a little bruised.

"Those blasts are no joke!" He thought before dashing back in front of Himiko. He had to make sure they didn't get separated. I mean after all she had supplied him with the knife. But even that didn't seem to really do much damage to the titan.

All for One began to chuckle. "It looks like you made me bleed a bit!" He brought his hand to his face. There was a small cut that already seemed to be healing itself. "Little injuries like this won't even affect me and at the level you are at, it is hopeless for you to resist someone like me."

Izuku sighed, "You know what, you're right." He looked back to Himiko. They made eye contact and she seemed to be uncertain, but he was calm almost as if he was saying, "It will all be fine."

"I can't beat you with my current level, one day I will, but today I will just have to get a little help from this," Izuku pulled out a syringe from his pocket. All for One recognized it almost immediately.

"Trigger…how interesting…" This name was made known to Izuku throughout his hero studies. It was a quirk enhancing drug that enabled people with weak quirks to do unthinkable displays of power with their abilities. However there were certain variations and with this variation, Izuku wouldn't lose his mind but simply gain enough strength to use One for All to near its full extent without harming himself too badly. Izuku had figured this out the week before when his life had been in ruin. He hadn't just been training with his muscles, but his entire body to accept the drug and be able to fight with it. He had done it all as a last resort, but now was time to play his trump card.

"Well that just won't do, now will it?" All for One said as he raised his arm to blast at Izuku. At the same time Izuku injected himself with the syringe. Izuku felt himself stumble as new power surged through his body. At the same time he released the shockwave.

"BOOM!!" Instead of hitting Izuku the wave of air was broken apart by the ground itself. Izuku had slammed his foot down, making an artificial wall of earth with the impact. Luckily for Himiko who was behind Izuku, it had absorbed the blast and in turn created a dirt shield that was almost impossible to see through. It only lasted for a second or two but that was all the boy needed. Suddenly he was in the air and then right in front of the villain. The villain raised his hands to protect his face but that wasn't what Izuku had aimed for.

"POW" Izuku slammed his foot onto All for One's kneecap and then before he could even react, Midoriya was gone and then proceeded to land an attack on his back. The boy was much faster. All for One himself was quick but he seemed to finally be outmatched in speed. The problem was Izuku wasn't doing much damage. He hit All for One multiple times but at the best all he really seemed to be doing was making him stumble around a bit. One thing he noticed was protection to his face. Izuku could hit All for One on various parts of his body and legs, but his face was always intercepted by the man. Luckily Izuku was quick enough to get away, but he didn't know how much longer they had to play this game of cat and mouse. It did reveal, however, that his weakness was in his mask, the man did need to breathe, after all. The question still remains on how to reach it. Even at 100% with the enhancer drug Izuku realized it wasn't enough. It was time to get a little dirty and perhaps a little bloody.

All for One at this point seemed to be bored. The tendrils extended out of his arms and grabbed Izuku, throwing his body away like it was a rag doll.

"That was fun, but we are getting nowhere with this," He looked up, blocking Izuku's attacks to his head unconsciously while the majority he just let hit him remaining unphased. "Nomu!" Suddenly three Nomu arrived out of the forest tramping towards Himiko.

"NOOOO!" Izuku called before slamming into them. The first was taken down with a punch to the face that was too quick to see with human eyes. The next had its arm ripped off and flew into the third as its guts were torn open by another hit. Izuku landed next to the bloody mess.

"They were weak," he said, looking up at All for One as the red liquid dripped down from his hands. All for One laughed. Underneath his mask he was smiling.

"Good... another." More Nomu began to pour out of the woods. Six this time. Izuku acted quickly, destroying them one after the other. They were nothing compared to the USJ Nomu but still it was an impressive feat. He was growing in strength. Izuku seemed to be going even higher than 100%. But it wasn't without injury. Bruises were appearing on his body the more he fought. But he couldn't stop. And All for One wouldn't stop either.

"Another."

"Another."

"Another."

"Once more."

Around 40 Nomu were piled in various places as Izuku decimated them. His eyes bore insanity and he was tired but he didn't want to stop. All for One was enjoying this. The boy would make an excellent apprentice. Izuku tried to turn to the villain but for some reason he felt dizzy. It was the drug most likely. It was wearing out. Yet he knew he couldn't stop.

"Why was that?" Izuku wondered. He had collapsed on his side from exhaustion. His head was spinning. Everything was beginning to go black. He heard someone yelling and in turn he heard footsteps. He saw a blur in front of his face. It looked yellowish. Was that hair? Izuku then felt something. He could still feel. Pain ran through his body. But something was mixed in with that. The cool touch of a hand. He knew this hand. Wrapped within his own.

Izuku suddenly began to see something different. Not everything around him, but lights. One for All. It was traveling among 8 other people. It then landed in his hand. The hand that was intertwined with Himiko's. She was close to him. Looking into his eyes. She was saying something.

"It's time to get up, time to go beyond." There were tears streaming down her face. "WIN! YOU HAVE TO WIN!" She screamed as his body seemed to rise on his own. Izuku felt One for All coursing through his body, no drugs, no tricks. This was just him, carrying all the people who helped him along the way on his back. They were all with him. Every user of One for All, all his friends, family, All Might, and Himiko. They were all there.

All for One had suddenly stopped. The air around Izuku seemed to shatter. He flew at the man quicker than a bullet. His speed was unmatched. Izuku's body wasn't even in his control as his fist collided with the villain's face, it was just natural. His instincts took over.

"ONE FOR ALL 1,000,000%!" Izuku screamed. Izuku's fist tore through the villain's mask and sent him flying back to the edge of the forest. He hadn't been expecting an attack and the speed left him unable to defend even if he wanted to. All for One was left in a crater in the ground. Izuku landed on the ground. His arm was virtually destroyed. Broken in multiple places and covered in bruises. His legs also collapsed too, breaking instantly from the jump.

The pain was almost unbearable but Izuku fought consciousness as he tried to look for her. Yet his eyes were instead drawn to something else. Laughter. From the crater the man began to appear as if hovering out of his grave. The villain's mask was destroyed, exposing his horrifyingly disfigured face. Yet he was laughing.

"Impressive," he said now with a distorted voice from the ruined helm. "However a mortal is no match for a god, and no need to search for him... because he's right here." With that he raised his arm as his sleeve began to fill up again. Izuku didn't have time to panic this time, however, the world was still thrown back in slow motion. He turned back to Toga and saw her crawling over to him. Their eyes met. Using his good arm he grasped at the grass to drag himself to her. They were both crying at this point. Hot tears. They were close when the blast went off. Nearly able to reach each other. Izuku stretched his arm out one last time as his ears went mute and began to ring. He wasn't fully content but he was at least grateful to be looking at Himiko as he breathed his last breath.

Except it never came. He saw the man's reflection in Himiko's eyes. A large man in a brightly colored hero costume. All Might had arrived. He took the blow for them. It was now up to him. Izuku had succeeded. With one last reach of his body he grasped onto Himiko's arm and pulled her to him. He pressed his face onto hers. Their tears were one. They had done all they could. They were finally together. Not even a god could take that anyway from them now. They huddled together as both realized their last breaths would most likely be on that battlefield. Yet if they breathed together, they knew it would somehow be okay.

…

A couple weeks had passed since the incident at the UA Training Camp and school was back in session for the future heroes of Class 1-A. It was nosy as usual before their class actually started, with various students asking each other what they did for the rest of their break. Iida of course was screaming for everyone to get into their seats and be respectful but no one was really listening. So it was normal. Except as everyone went to sit down, one chair was left empty. The desk belonged to Izuku Midoriya. As their homeroom teacher slowly opened the door the class went silent. He wasn't one for formalities so he began speaking business right away.

"As you all know after All Might's fight and win against the villain known as All for One, he has gone into retirement. At the same time he will continue to teach here as you now all live at the UA dorms. Now you are all probably wondering how the rest of the semester will continue and how different it will be. The first change is your new classmate, so say hello to Himiko Toga." With that introduction Himiko walked into the classroom in her new UA uniform. She was smiling uncontrollably which made sense because right behind her was her boyfriend, Izuku Midoriya, who had promised to be with her every step of the way. It made sense, because the future-hero and ex-villain would always be... inseparable.

[Well after 20 chapters we've reached the end. I know some of you probably want more, but anything else that follows would probably just be fanservice. I want to thank all of you for the support on this journey and tell you not to lose all hope in humanity now, because I'm definitely not done writing. I have another MHA fanfic out right now and will probably spend some time on that. However the biggest thing I want to focus on now is writing my own work. Well I do love a good fanfic, but it's time to branch out and create my own world and story. If you want to follow me on this new journey, my discord is always open ( https/discord.gg/hBeGsak ). Anyway thank you all, take care, and hopefully see you soon!]