The hum of the air conditioner in Class 1-A returned suddenly.
Izuku opened his eyes. His lungs burned, gasping for oxygen as if he had surfaced after an hour underwater.
Beside him, Melissa bolted upright. A choked scream stuck in her throat. Her hands flew to her chest, instinctively seeking to cover herself from a nakedness her mind still registered as real.
Her fingers touched the rough fabric of her uniform. She paused.
"Clothes..." she gasped, gripping her blouse with white knuckles. "I have clothes on. We're dressed."
She looked around, disoriented. Sweat plastered her blond bangs to her forehead. The empty desks and clean chalkboard clashed with the sensation of cold rain and metallic blood still on her skin.
"It was the Quirk," Izuku said from the floor. He rubbed his face hard. "A mental projection. We didn't move from here."
Melissa looked at him. Heat rushed to her cheeks. The physical barrier was back, but the mental one had been pulverized. He had seen everything.
"Izuku," she said. "The name. The name your great-grandfather said at the end."
Izuku tensed.
"All For One."
The name seemed to darken the classroom despite the orange sunset light.
"He said he would come," Melissa continued. She stood up on shaky legs and leaned on a desk. "He said if he knew we were together... he would kill us. Both of us."
Izuku began pacing. His brain tried to process the visual trauma and convert it into useful data.
"Kenta... my great-grandfather. He had the original Quirk," Izuku muttered, speaking fast. "That villain, All For One, stole it."
He stopped and looked at Melissa.
"But you have it."
"Yes," she whispered. "It's true."
"Then there has to be a line of succession," Izuku deduced. His green eyes shone with frantic logic. "If Kenta lost the power, but you have it... Your father. David Shield."
Izuku snapped his fingers.
"Your father must know. Maybe he's a descendant of the villain's family or there was some blood crossover. If you were born with that power, your father is the key. We have to call him. Ask about Kenta Midoriya."
Izuku already had his phone in hand.
"Izuku, wait."
"We can't wait. If that monster is still alive and looking for the power you inherited..."
"I didn't inherit it!"
Melissa's scream stopped him cold. Izuku turned, phone halfway to his ear.
Melissa was hugging herself, gaze downcast.
"I wasn't born with this power, Izuku," she confessed in a whisper. "I was Quirkless. My father doesn't have this power. I was born with nothing."
Izuku lowered the phone slowly. He had to restart the equation.
"Quirkless? But... Kenta said the Quirks mixed. That they passed from hand to hand."
"Yes. They passed," Melissa said, looking up with damp eyes. "Someone gave it to me. Just a few months ago."
"Who?" Izuku asked. "Who had my great-grandfather's power?"
Melissa took a deep breath. Kenta had bound their fates; there was no turning back.
"Uncle Might," she blurted out. "All Might."
The silence in the classroom was absolute.
Izuku blinked.
"All Might?" he repeated. He remembered the vision: Kenta had mentioned him.
"He entrusted it to me," Melissa explained quickly. "He told me it was a sacred torch passed from generation to generation. He... he was the eighth holder. I am the ninth."
The pieces clicked in Izuku's mind with a deafening sound. All Might's strength. His interest in Melissa. The reaction of his own Quirk, 'Train'. It wasn't family biology. It was inheritance of power.
"All Might has the Quirk, or at least he had it," Izuku whispered, horrified. "He knows who All For One is."
"He knows the truth," Melissa nodded.
"We have to find him," Izuku said, pocketing his phone sharply. "Now. He has to explain why the man who robbed my family is still alive and threatening us."
"He's usually in the staff room at this time," Melissa said, grabbing her backpack. "Or in his office checking reports until Aizawa kicks him out."
"Let's go."
They ran out. The U.A. halls were empty, bathed in long shadows.
They rounded a corner at full speed.
"Do you think he'll tell us the truth?" Melissa asked between gasps, ignoring the phantom pain in her arm.
"He won't have a choice," Izuku replied, voice hard. "We aren't kids anymore, Melissa. We've seen the origin. He can't protect us with smiles."
They arrived at the private staff lounge door. Melissa pushed the door with both hands, slamming it open.
The interior was quiet. All Might was sitting on a sofa in the back, in his muscle form, reviewing documents with tiny reading glasses.
The slam made him jump. Papers flew.
"Young Melissa! Young Midoriya!" All Might jumped up, hiding the papers behind his back and forcing his trademark smile. "What is this dynamic entrance? Emergency with the class reps? Did the coffee machine break?"
He tried to laugh, but his voice sounded forced in the room.
"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Izuku closed the door and locked it. The metallic click sounded final.
"Not a ghost," Izuku said, walking toward the number one hero. "We saw a memory. And we saw the theft."
All Might blinked. The smile faltered.
"Melissa? What is Young Midoriya talking about? Did you train too much?"
Melissa stepped forward, standing beside Izuku.
"Uncle Might," she said firmly. "Izuku knows about One For All."
All Might froze.
"Young Melissa, I told you it was a secret..."
"I didn't have a choice," she cut him off. "Our Quirks... connected. We saw the past. We saw Kenta Midoriya."
"Kenta?" All Might frowned. "That name isn't in the records."
"Because he wasn't a holder," Izuku intervened. "He was the original victim. And we saw who took it from him."
Izuku invaded the Symbol of Peace's personal space.
"Who is All For One?"
The question was dry and direct.
All Might's smile crumbled. His blue eyes darkened instantly.
He lowered his head slowly. Shadow covered his gaze and his shoulders slumped.
"Where..." His voice was a grave whisper. "Where did you hear that name? No one should know that name."
"We saw it," Izuku repeated. "We saw him rip the Quirk from my great-grandfather. In an old gym, in the rain."
All Might staggered back and leaned on the desk. The wood creaked under his hand.
"Midoriya..." he murmured, looking at Izuku with dawning horror. "You are blood of the origin? Of the man the Quirk was stolen from?"
"And my Quirk, 'Train', is what remained. The control system," Izuku confirmed. "Kenta said All For One is still alive."
All Might brought a hand to his mouth and coughed. A trickle of blood escaped between his fingers.
"Alive..." he wheezed. "Kenta told you that?"
"He said he would come for us if he found out we were together," Melissa added. "He said his hunger has no end."
All Might shook his head violently.
"No. That can't be. I defeated him five years ago. I crushed his head. I saw him fall. He is dead or locked up where no one can see him."
So that is the reason for my anguish over finding a successor... The monster is still alive.
"He seemed very sure," Izuku insisted. "And if Melissa's power reacted like that, the threat is real."
All Might looked at them. He saw fear, but also resolve. They weren't ignorant children anymore.
He let out a long sigh. Steam began to rise from his body.
"Young Midoriya, Young Melissa," he said with a less projected voice. "You have seen the demon. There is no point in hiding anymore. You deserve the full truth."
All Might relaxed.
A burst of white steam filled the room. The muscle mass evaporated. In front of them remained a skeletal man, clothes hanging off a body that was pure skin and angular bones.
Izuku opened his mouth, mute.
Melissa ran to support him by the arm.
"Uncle Might..."
"I'm fine," the skinny man said with a voice that was a raspy shadow of the former. He sat heavily. "This is reality. This is the price of my victory against All For One. Izuku."
He lifted his baggy shirt.
Izuku suppressed a wince. On All Might's left side was a horrible scar, a crater of twisted, purple skin.
"I lost half my respiratory system and my entire stomach," Toshinori explained. "All For One did this to me. And I took everything from him in return. Or so I thought."
He looked at Izuku with guilt.
"If he is still out there... I have made a terrible mistake bringing you into this world. I have put you in the sights of an immortal demon."
"It's not a mistake," Melissa said forcefully, squeezing her uncle's arm. "It's our decision. I accepted the power. And I would accept it again."
"You accepted being a hero," Toshinori corrected with sadness. "Not a soldier in a hundred-year war."
"The war isn't personal anymore, All Might," Izuku intervened. "If he wants One For All, it's a war against everyone. And now, against us."
Izuku took a chair and sat facing his idol.
"We have to prepare. Kenta said Melissa is the holder and I am her other half. If we work together, we can complete the power."
Toshinori nodded slowly.
"You're right. Your theory about 'Train'... It always seemed curious. If your great-grandfather is who you say... you are the safety mechanism. One For All is too powerful after eight generations. It breaks bodies."
Melissa touched her right arm.
"My body explodes if I use more than a minimal percentage," she said quietly.
"Exactly," Toshinori said. "But 'Train' could stabilize it."
Toshinori's eyes shone with a spark of hope.
"If you can teach her body to accept the energy without breaking... She could use one hundred percent."
"That is the mission," Izuku said, pulling out his notebook. "Biological adaptation training and synchronization."
Toshinori blinked. "You're already planning?"
"It's what I do," Izuku said, uncapping his pen with his teeth. "Panic is a waste of time. Preparation is the only thing we control. Melissa has to stop breaking her bones."
He wrote 'PROJECT: UNIFICATION' in big letters.
"I need current limits," Izuku said to Melissa. "What happens exactly when going over 5%?"
"I feel like my veins are going to burst," Melissa replied, sitting next to him in scientist mode. "Internal pressure. The energy seeks exit through any weak point."
"Flow problem," Izuku muttered, writing. "I can strengthen your muscle fibers and nerve channels. But gradually."
He looked at Toshinori.
"Can you feel it? The connection?"
"No," Toshinori admitted. "You have the original power. I can't feel that attunement between lineages."
"Then we're flying blind," Izuku said. "Trial and error."
"And trust," Melissa added, putting her hand over his.
A green spark jumped between their skin.
"Trust," Izuku repeated.
Toshinori watched them move from terror to strategy. They were the next generation taking command.
"Young ones," Toshinori said seriously. "There is something else. If All For One is active, he will have a network. You must be careful. No one else can know this. If it leaks, he will attack before you are ready."
"And what about my boss?" Izuku asked. "Yu... Mt. Lady. I live with her. She notices when I lie. If I start coming home late, she'll investigate."
"Tell her the truth," Melissa suggested. "Yu is trustworthy. She looks out for you."
"Alright," Toshinori conceded, standing up with effort. "If you trust her, tell her. But be careful. I have to contact Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi. We need to confirm movements in the underworld."
He walked to the window.
"The peace I built is a house of cards."
He turned to them.
"But I will protect you. Until my last breath."
"We will protect you too, Uncle Might," Melissa said, hugging him.
Izuku stood up.
"All Might-san. Is there a possibility your power returns? If I use my Quirk on you?"
Toshinori smiled sadly and shook his head.
"The ember is almost out. But... perhaps you can help me maintain the muscle form a little longer each day. To keep being the Symbol."
Izuku nodded. "Residual muscle memory stimulation. We can try."
"Thank you."
The clock struck eight.
"You should go," the former hero said. "There are classes tomorrow."
"Yes," Melissa said. "I have repairs in the workshop."
"And I have to go back. Yu must be wondering where I am. It's bad horror movie night," Izuku said, putting away the notebook.
They walked to the door. Izuku stopped.
"All Might."
"Yes, Young Midoriya?"
"We aren't going to lose," Izuku said without turning. "We have the power. And we know he's coming. We're going to win."
Toshinori watched them leave. He slumped on the sofa, exhausted, but the fear in his chest made room for something else. He wasn't alone.
Outside, night had fallen.
"Well," Melissa said at the fork. "That was... a lot."
"Yes."
They looked at each other. The weight of the secret united them.
"Do you think we can do it?" Melissa asked. "Unify the powers?"
Izuku smiled softly at her.
"Melissa, you built an impossible gauntlet in a night. I taught tactics to a pacifist in a week. We're good at the impossible."
He held out his hand.
"Tomorrow. In the workshop. We start 'Project Unification'."
Melissa took his hand.
"Tomorrow."
They separated. Izuku walked to the station checking his phone.
Yu: Where are you? The pizza is getting cold.
Yu: I started the movie. The monster is made of rubber. It's awful. You love it.
Yu: If you aren't here in 10 minutes, I'm eating your share and telling Nemuri you ran away.
Izuku smiled. The world was ending, but first he had to stop Mt. Lady from eating his dinner.
He sped up. The war could wait until tomorrow. Today, he had to survive movie night.