Yamazaki Manor.
Seiki.
Standing on the edge of his balcony, Seiki stared at the poolside below. Looking down at the concrete lounge area nearly 10 meters below him.
He stepped off the edge.
A fall that, while not killing him, is guaranteed to injure him...
But it doesn't.
Seiki simply floats through the air, slowly gliding above the Yamazaki Manor treeline at the exact same speed that he was when he pushed off the balcony.
Quirk, Float.
Making the user weightless with just a thought.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Nana asks. Her vestige floating through the air next to him.
Invisible to all but him.
"Yeah... I've always wanted a Quirk Quirk. Not that'd I ever give up Save & Load. But..."
"Having a power that interacts with the world in a tangible way," Nana says. "One that you can see. One that you can feel."
"Hmm. And all I had to do was ask."
To which Nana chuckled softly. "It was funny, watching you do everything you could to activate your three new toys. But you needed to just ask us, and we'll let you."
"If that's all it takes, why didn't All Might use you?"
"We..." Nana trailed off, letting out a sigh. "We, we weren't always like this. One For All needed time to blossom, for us to become more than we were."
"Okay. But like, what does that mean?"
"What do you mean?"
And then Seiki stared at her. Staring at Nana— no, at Float's projection.
Float staring back at him, seemingly confused by the question.
'Quirk Assimilation...' a thought runs through Seiki's head. A rather unsettling one. One that makes him fear One For All far more than he ever could All For One.
But he doesn't say anything.
Because he's started to become quite fond of the voices in his head, and if the conclusions that he's reached were even partially true...
It'd be an ugly truth indeed.
Then he clenches his fist, tendrils of black leaving his skin.
"Now, to really give these Quirks a test drive..."
*
20 Minutes Later.
Rinka.
"What is it, boss?"
Called out to the surrounding forest, Rinka already knows what to expect.
A spar.
Except, that rarely happens anymore. Or rather, it only happens when Seiki wants to learn something new. Whether learning how to use a rare sword, a bow and arrow, or even a ball and chain— that one was embarrassing to lose against— he's always tests new weapons on her. Not only because he knows she can take it, but because she enjoys it.
So she idly wonders just what he's acquired this time.
And then Seiki takes a step towards her... only to float through the air.
Rinka stares.
"Float. The ability to make myself weightless," he says. Then wisps of black rope sprout out of his arm, only to vanish back into him. "Blackwhip. The ability to generate whips of energy from my skin. And Danger Sense, the ability to sense hostility directed towards me. You know the drill..."
And Rinka starts to sweat.
Because in the seven years he's know Seiki Yamazaki...
She has not managed a single win.
Not even when he taught him exactly how to corner him, how to take advantage of her size, of her strength, how to isolate him in an open area... he simply pushed himself further. Simply fighting that much fiercer, faster, and precise each time. And while she now knows the truth of the matter, that Seiki is not a flawless, unbeatable god...
It only makes her more wary.
No matter how many times she wins, no matter how many times anyone wins, he simply tries again.
A will of iron that she cannot even begin to fathom.
One that is now sprinting at her, intent on fighting her to the death, and past it.
But that fear, that wariness... it only makes her more excited.
She lets out a clawed swipe. Not to attack, but to restrict movement. Her fur rippling as she grows in size. Hunching forwards as she prepares a second swipe, already expecting Seiki to simply dodge and counter. Because that is all she will remember.
Only for her eyes widen as she strikes true. Her sharp, deadly claws colliding with his lower calf.
And for the briefest of moments, she thinks that this timeline is dead. That Seiki will rewind the clock...
But he doesn't.
No... her swipe doesn't break skin.
Float making Seiki weightless at the last second, her swipe simply flings his lower half backwards. Strands of black protecting his left leg as he spins in place, his heel instantly coming down on her snout. Pain shooting through her skull as she staggers back— only for whips of black to pull at her feet, making her topple backwards.
Strands of black flinging out around the surrounding trees, only to hone back in on her.
Harshly pulling on her wrists, ankles, and neck.
More and more strands spreading through the forest, holding her taut.
Dispatching her in just two seconds flat.
*
Within Seiki's Quirk.
Seiki.
"Just a single fight, and you've already mastered our Quirks..." Nana said in wonder.
"Please. I'm not even close to mastering them," Seiki scoffed... but he understood her confusion.
Because he had an instant-win button.
Save & Load, in its current state, had a very low ceiling for "mastery." A rather common type of Quirk, a button-clicker.
Something that he shares with Aizawa, Mandalay, Nemoto, and plenty of others. There was only one way to "use" Save & Load, which meant that you had to weaponize your other skills to get the most out of your Quirk.
It only took him a few weeks to "master" his own Quirk, so to speak... but the beauty of Save & Load was how it let him rapidly master everything else he could possibly do. Letting him land near-perfect punches, kicks, and movements in general... and now, Quirk activations.
Letting him use his new toys better than their original users ever could.
Exponentially increasing his threat level in a single fight.
And Seiki can't help but think of the toys that he missed out on. "But man, part of me wishes I still had... eh. Smokescreen, pass. Fa Jin, also pass. But Gearshift... now that would be a game changer..."
Because with just the movement options of Float and Blackwhip, Seiki's become infinitely harder to pin down. If he could teleport...? Well, One For All doesn't have that. But it does have an instant acceleration Quirk. Or at least, it did.
"They'd never let you use their Quirks anyway. They tried to kill you, Seiki," Nana tells him.
"True. And look where that got them," he said. "But even so, couldn't I..? I don't think it would hurt to try again... get another you, another Banjo and another Shinomori, only to vanish everyone else besides Kudo..."
"...That is a very stupid idea. You are being stupid, Seiki."
And then Seiki's wisps— Save & Load— bristled. And Seiki's eyes widened as his Quirk let him in on a little secret.
"You—!" Seiki closed his eyes, and sighed... before letting out a light chuckle. "Okay. I can't even be mad, really. You just wanted to keep me safe... and it's a function that solely exists here, functions that you control. And I guess that even if I'm here from time to time, this is your space, not mine..."
"Uh, what is it?"
"Save & Load... can only save and load."
Nana's eyes widen. Banjo and Hikage, who had been not so subtly listening in, both snapping alert.
RELOAD.
And then the whole gang is here. Yoichi, Kudo, Bruce and En's eyes going wide as they retake their original positions. Comprehension dawning on them as their trains of thought resume, but not only is all of their damage undone, it is as if they simply re-appeared, physically back to the state and moment that they first appeared. And the very second Yoichi tries to flex his will— tries to attack Seiki, Save & Load's host—
RELOAD.
Yoichi retakes his original position. He immediately attacks again—
RELOAD.
But it's hopeless.
"Wow... you know, we didn't really get to talk the first time around, but to think you'd be so quick to kill a child," Seiki remarked. "Your brother would be proud..."
Yoichi twitches at the comparison.
"You... are no child."
And then he attacks again—
RELOAD.
"Are, are you not gonna stop? Cuz like, you can't really win here..."
"You can't do this forever," Yoichi says... confusing Seiki. Confusing Nana, Banjo, and Hikage.
But only for a moment.
"HAHAHAHA!" Seiki cackles, doubling over in laughter. RELOAD. Save & Load protecting him as he loses himself in his laughter. "Oh, oh man, that's t-too good. You don't even realize, do you? But I guess it makes sense. You've been blocked from the outside world, but... it's been like, a week since you first tried to kill me."
Silence.
Yoichi looks over to the others, and Banjo shrugs. "Hey. I mean, you did jump the gun. I mean the kid's already beat All For One, so he's got that going for him."
"...Truly?"
"Well... the brat did go back before it, since he wasn't all that happy with how he won—"
Yoichi immediately exerts his Quirk— RELOAD.
Only to try again— RELOAD.
"You're not helping, Banjo," Seiki said. "Actually..."
UNLOAD.
They vanish...
RELOAD.
And then only Kudo appears. And this time, Seiki loads the Quirk without any of its memories, so to Kudo, Seiki has just received One For All. The other three watching as everything unfolds, curious as to just what Seiki's playing at.
"Hey, Kudo, buddy, pal. Just wanted to chat with you, if that's okay."
"Where is Yoichi?"
Seiki blinks.
"...Sure, but let's talk for a bit—"
"Yoichi isn't here... you did something to him." True, not that Seiki will admit it.
"Okay, Let's take a step back. What do you want, Kudo? Don't tell me what One For All wants, or Yoichi. No, what are Kudo's goals? What do you want to achieve, trapped in this little pocket dimension of mine?"
"To help Yoichi," he says. As if it's obvious.
"Where is Yoichi?"
And that's when it finally clicks. Because Seiki knows idolization, he knows worship. The way that Konan looks at him, that Rinka and even Azula look at him. The way his mom looks at him. People that would die for him if he asked, because that's how he molded them... or how they always were.
To his followers, he's the hand that reached out when they needed it most, the hand that never scorned them, the hand that saved them from their fates.
And to his mom, he's perfection itself. The family that she's always wanted more than anything else, family that she'd do absolutely anything for.
But this right here... it's a step beyond that.
UNLOAD.
Seiki's breath hitches. "F-Fuck..."
"What is it?" Nana says, worried.
RELOAD. Then Seiki vanishes from his current location, appearing right in front of her, staring down at her with intense scrutiny. "Yoichi. What do you think of him? After what he did to you, what he tried to do to me?"
"...It, it makes me sad," Nana says quietly. Looking down at her feet. Small tears forming in both of her eyes. "I know why he did it, but I disagree with him. And I'm sad that he forced me to choose you over him, to choose my ideals over him."
Seiki shivered. "Fucking Christ..."
"W-What?"
"When All For One takes Quirks, he has to reign them in. They're never loyal, but they also can't betray him, because All For One— both man and Quirk— don't allow it. But One For All, Quirk Assimilation... it's the opposite," Seiki whispers, a haunted look on his face. "It can't take Quirks, sure... but it can take what All For One can't. It takes loyalty. You're all still loyal to Yoichi, even now. And you don't even realize it."
"What, what do you mean?" Float asks, genuinely confused. Because she did betray him—
"But you didn't betray him. You simply stayed true to your ideals, something that Yoichi was willing to let you guys do... because he doesn't want to be his brother," Seiki said scathingly. "And if you think I'm wrong... the proof is right there. Because you won't even explain the true nature of One For All, because you are physically incapable of betrayal. Or maybe you were never allowed to understand what One For All is."
...Something that not even Seiki knows. Not yet.
"...It's spirit too, ain't it," Banjo says, staring off into the distance. "I've always been a wild one, Nana's too kind for the world, and Hikage has always been a lone wolf type a guy... but the others, they're followers. And us Quirks, we resemble the users. So even if we've been made loyal, we're still independent. And as long as Yoichi ain't here, we can't betray you to 'em."
And then he sniffled.
"And even if I'm Banjo now, I'm g-glad we're Quirks," Banjo says, tears in his eyes. "I found that knucklehead out on the street, a smalltime wannabe vigilante. Simply wantin to do what's right. So when I took him in, s-showed him the ropes, how to fight proper... he listened. Quiet kid, never voiced any complaints. Took One Fer All without complaint too. Just took my words to heart, and made himself into a hell of a hero. Fightin that bastard to the very end, not a single complaint the entire time. S-So, I'm g-glad he died his own p-person. Cuz if I had m-made little En into that, I, I'd never be able to live with myself."
And even though Banjo said that... he still can't betray Yoichi. None of them can.
Because even when unloaded, Quirk Assimilation's influence remained.
"...Are you still going to get new Quirks? New copies of us?" Hikage eventually cut back in.
"...No," Seiki decided. "Because S&L can't get rid of vestiges permanently. So if I were to get another you..."
"You have to have a full second set," he concludes.
"Yeah. It's like desktop clutter. I've got a recycle bin, but I can never empty it. And I don't know if Save & Load has limits... so getting another set of voices in my head who'd kill me simply on principle with no apparent gain just seems like a bad idea. But even if I won't be getting One For All again, we still have another Quirk to collect...
"Just not for me."
*
*
*
Later That Night, Tokyo.
D'Vorah.
"How does it feel?"
"It's... it's..."
D'Vorah couldn't put it into words.
Bug Generation.
That was her Quirk.
It's why she had yellow and black chitin covered skin. It was why she was completely hairless, it was why she had pincers on her mouth, it was why she had spiked limbs furled behind her back. It was why she had pupil-less eyes. It was why... why her pussy was filled with tongues, it was why her womb could grip cocks and wring them dry.
And it was also why she could generate bugs.
As long as it was a bug that existed, and it was one that she could picture within her mind... then she could generate it. Brown recluses, black widows, bullet ants, killer hornets... she could generate tarantulas, even, but that took a lot out of her. It was better to go smaller. And not only was her Quirk great for reconnaissance, letting her sense and see through them, it was also great for eating people to death.
And Queen Bee...
"You know... I honestly can't fathom it," Seiki says, staring off the rooftop's edge. Watching as slips of Konan carry Kuin— now Tamao Oguro, off into the distance. Dropping her off at a nearby hospital.
"He's the Quirk Thief, the boogeyman himself... but. He leaves so many things to rot, to be taken advantage of. I know that his mind has been warped, being a copy and all, but... how can he let this leave his sight? Because it's just a bug, so it'll never threaten him? Even if it has a Quirk that rivals his own?"
Queen Bee. Quirk, Parasitism.
When it chooses a host, it crawls through the eye socket, and hooks itself up to the target's brain. Then it becomes a new individual. Part bee, part host. A merge of personalities that lets the Queen Bee function with the mind of a human.
Letting it take full advantage of both their Quirks.
Parasitism... that's the name that Seiki gave it. Because not only is it a parasite to its host, but each bee is a parasite itself. Letting her hijack the brains of others, crawling into their ears and manipulating any human in her vicinity with a single sting.
Each bee capable of not only stinging, but of sucking up any liquid into their stingers and injecting said liquid right into the blood stream of others. And after numerous modifications, Queen Bee can create template bees. One with poisons, toxins, and Trigger far more deadly then what can be found in nature. Explosions too.
And most importantly...
Taking the blood of others, and injecting it into someone else.
Parasitizing Quirks themselves.
"With a single sting, you can take any Quirk, and inject it into yourself or someone else. A widespread temporary version of All For One. And after finding it in the wilderness, he... he just hands it off to Kyudai, who just hands it off to some random side project," Seiki scoffs.
"Queen doesn't have much of a personality. It only really has its base instincts— and programmed loyalty to All For One, which is why it listened to Six. But it's also subservient to you, because not only can you generate and control bugs... you can also take bugs into yourself, and control them that way. A function of your Quirk that trumps Queen Bee."
Something that D'Vorah can feel.
Crawling beneath her skin, the Queen listens to her call. Connecting to her in a way that, that shouldn't be possible...
"Quirk Resonance. When two Quirk's functions resonate in such a way that they can intertwine themselves, allowing for uses not previously possible. A step above Quirk synergy, which nearly every two Quirks have, to a degree," Seiki explains. "All For One had quite a few— it was also why he stole so many Quirks only to immediately discard them. Stealing Quirks at random, hoping to catch one that could amplify any of his current stock..."
"...What's next?" D'Vorah eventually asks.
Because she can already tell— Seiki has plans for her, for her new gift. Plans that she will help him achieve no matter what.
"We need to test a few things..." Seiki says.
And then his eyes swirl.
"Unfortunate."
"Uh, what's unfortunate?"
"We're cheating, but we're not cheating cheating. Injecting Quirked blood into someone who already has a beeQuirk just overrides the first one... so only one beeQuirk per person. And beeQuirks themselves only last... for a single Quirk activation. 3.4 seconds, to be exact. So... maybe not as useful as I thought. Practically useless, really. You also can't keep blood forever, so it really is a temporary version of All For One. I also can't take beeQuirks with me through time, which is incredibly infuriating, but I guess it makes sense, the application is physical, not spiritual..."
But even with all of those restrictions...
"This changes things, doesn't it?"
"Yes. Save & Load... it lets me pick and choose my battles, but most importantly, it lets me weaponize my reactions. Creating pinpoint strikes with the tools available. When I was limited to just my body, I was already a Titan. But now..."
The clock closes in.
The scraps left lying around by the Titan of Fear, both in the present, as well as hundreds of years in the past, coming back to bite him.
Creating an exponentially growing threat.
One that's already defeated him.
One that will only continue to defeat him more and more thoroughly as time continues to pass...
*
*
*