‘Is this… how I’m going to die?’
Midoriya Izuku thought, his vision fading to black from the lack of oxygen intake.
“Quit struggling, kid. It’ll be over in less than a minute,” said a voice belonging to an individual whose body was made entirely out of sewage and all things unpleasant in the sewers. The villain was also the one currently trying to force his liquid body through his mouth into Izuku’s body to wear as a puppet.
Slowly losing consciousness, Izuku’s thoughts wandered to territories normally forbidden by himself.
‘Would anyone care if I died?’
So was he depressed? Maybe. Did he lack confidence? Definitely. Did he seriously think over Kacchan’s words and ask himself if he would ever consider acting upon the suggestion? Well…
If it was one thing Izuku hated about this moment of dissociation that comes with suffocating to death would be how agonizingly long it felt. What was agonizing wasn’t the process of dying, but rather the things that kept flashing through his mind.
Because if there was one person that would miss his presence, it would be the one that Izuku could never bear making them sad.
‘Mom… ‘
With what little energy he had left, he clawed at the sludge with futile desperation.
‘Mom… Kacchan… ‘
Would Kacchan miss him too? The bully really made it sound like he wouldn’t, but what would be his reaction if he found out Izuku had died from a villain attack? Would he attend his funeral? Would Kacchan mourn his death?
‘I want to be a hero.’
And his dream, something that had never changed throughout the years despite his quirkless status. Was his story really going to end before it had even started?
…
Did he have a choice?
‘I… I don’t want to die!’
Tears poured from Izuku’s eyes as he felt unconsciousness washing over his body. He really wanted to keep living. He wanted to be a hero, no matter what others might say. A hero that could fight to the end to protect others.
I want to be a hero!
Breathe.
“H-huh?” Izuku voiced.
Wait. Voice?
In the black of the void that encompassed all that he could see, he grasped at his neck and checked all over his body. He was still wearing his school uniform which still had scorch marks on it but he was missing his backpack. Oh, he also stopped dying.
He took the time to glance at his surroundings only to find nothing but the darkness of a new moon night. The ground wasn’t concrete anymore and felt more like wooden floorboards found indoors in traditional houses.
‘Where is this place? My mind? No, that’s ridiculous, it’s more likely to be-’
His eyes widened in horror and he covered his mouth with a trembling hand.
‘Purgatory.’
“I… died?” He said, not quite believing those words. His tears were renewed and currently streaming down his face. “I didn’t even… I didn’t even… get to say…”
Izuku’s body quaked with every sob that escaped from his mouth. He managed to find a way to have a break down when he wasn’t even conscious.
“G-goodbye…”
At this point he was wailing with grief and sorrow, not caring for his appearance. Since he had died there was nothing holding back the torrent of sadness and tears that was the crying wreck Midoriya Izuku.
Breathe, boy.
His head shot up to reveal the disastrous state of his face which gained an additional feature of bewilderment.
“Wh-who…?” Izuku’s eyes darted across the plane of darkness for the voice but to no avail.
Have you already given up? Where is your drive, Midoriya Izuku?
“Where is it coming from…” He muttered lowly, drying his face with his sleeves.
How can you be expected to become a hero for the people if you can’t even protect yourself?
“How… how am I expected to f-fight back against a villain like that?”
That is for you to think on. Breathe, child.
“Wha- but I’m dead!”
No you are not. You are merely unconscious.
“W-well I’m going to be dead at any second!”
But you are currently still alive. You can still fight.
“How?! I’m not conscious, like you said. I can’t control my body!” At this point he was yelling into the void, not lucid enough to be aware of how strange it looked. Not like there was anyone looking.
Your mind may be unfocused in your actions, but as long as your body is not immobile, you can fight.
“That- it doesn’t work that way!” Right? “What kind of person…”
Breathe, boy!
Now his irritation spiked again. “My lungs! Are filled! With sludge! How am I supposed to breathe like that?!”
Then give yourself an opportunity to breathe. No matter how little air you can take in, as long as you can breathe you can strike back!
“I…” Izuku clenched and unclenched his fists. He let out a sigh.
“I don't know who you are… and how we’re able to have this crazy conversation, but you’re speaking from experience, aren’t you?”
He took a breath inside of wherever in his mind he was in and his gaze fell. “I can’t do any of that… I’m not a fighter… hell, I don’t think Kacchan is enough of a fighter for that either.”
“Since you already know my name and the current state of my body, I’m assuming you also know what kind of person I am…”
No response from the disembodied voice. Not even after he was able to correctly assume the entity’s knowledge of his memories.
“It was nice talking to you… I don’t remember the last time I’ve bickered with someone else like that.” He said softly. “I have a lot of questions on why you’re in my head, but I’m not sure we have enough time to keep talking.”
Once again, his words were met with nothing but silence. Just as he thought he had finally passed, the low sound of creaking floorboards made itself known. Izuku raised his gaze-
To see a man’s back.
The figure kept their long black hair in a ponytail which contrasted their brightly colored kimono. Despite the distance between the two, Izuku eyed their sword. He could’ve sworn he saw something move on its hilt.
‘Samurai’, was his first thought when he took in the man’s appearance.
“So you cannot move…” The man said, his kimono strikingly violet despite the lack of light. Izuku was also able to make out how pale the man was. “But have you given up?”
“Who… are you?” He couldn’t help but ask. There were just too many questions going through his mind centered on this single mystery person.
“Answer the question.”
He flinched at the demanding tone. Izuku felt as if he was the prey, despite the fact that his predator was in his territory. The intimidating aura that passively oozed from the man had sent him trembling on instinctive fear. A reaction that practically demanded him to run far, far away from the swordsman despite not consciously knowing the threat.
What would happen if he answered with a ‘yes’? Would he sound truthful enough if he said ‘no’? There were so many scenarios running through his head that he had forgotten to give more thought on the question itself.
Have you given up?
The voice echoed inside his mind, putting his thoughts to a halt.
‘Give up…’
Give up trying to be a hero?
‘I could never do that, Kacchan.’
After all, it’s his dream. It’s all he ever wanted to be.
‘Give up…’
Give up living?
‘No. Never. I would never do that to myself. Or mom.’
His gaze hardened as he raised his head once more. He had decided, with determination in his voice, “No, I have not given up. Even in this situation I don’t want to give up. I want to become a hero.”
The man in front of him did not move. Izuku waited.
Then suddenly.
“ … Then a hero you will be.” The swordsman said.
The world twisted and vertigo hit him like a truck. The mysterious person was gone from sight and there was a beacon of light shining brighter and brighter until white was all he could see.
Then he woke up.
Throwing up in front of the number one hero probably wasn’t the best thing to do in the case of making a good impression. At least All Might was understanding and patted his back with a good amount of force to try to get as much sludge as possible out of Izuku’s system.
Everything after that was a bit of a blur, he watched as All Might leapt away with the villain inside two soda bottles, went home with a dazed look, let mom fuss over him for a while and ate dinner.
Currently, he was lying on his bed, mulling over the things he had seen and heard when he was supposed to be dying.
‘Was that just my imagination? Did my mind create a person to tell me not to give up? Do I need to see a psychologist?’
Bold of you to assume me a figment of your imagination.
“Eh?!” Izuku rolled out of his bed in a flurry, eyes darting about his room. “That voice…”
“Have you already lost your drive? What happened to the boy that proclaimed to me that he would become a hero?”
‘Behind!’
Izuku turned, catching the violet kimono of the tall samurai-
And six eyes bore into him.
He blinked, feeling a little out of it.
‘When did we step outside to the park?’
Once again, Izuku could only see the back of this mysterious samurai. Something in his brain gnawed at him that he’s seen more before.
The crescent moon shone down on the park, illuminating the unsheathed blade in the man’s hands. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, but Izuku could’ve sworn there was something writhing on the blade just a moment ago.
“Pay attention, Midoriya Izuku,” The man all but demanded of him, not that he had his attention anywhere else. “For you have been fated to inherit my breathing style.”
Izuku opened his mouth to make a comment, but found that the air had left his lungs. Scratch that, the air around him seemed to refuse to be inhaled by him. Instead, it seemed to converge to the samurai in front of him.
“Breath of the Moon.”
The man swung his blade. Izuku’s eyes went wide.
It was as if the fragments of a shattered moon hailed upon the world in a day of reckoning.
He woke up drenched in sweat.
‘Is it possible… for me to do something like that?’
I will make sure of it.
Both in the waking world and in his dreams, Izuku trained. He trained to become as physically fit as possible in the next ten months. Not even in his sleep was he offered respite. The numerous different forms were taught to him, as his dream body got used to the movements in preparation to convert it to real muscle memory.
Two months in and he asked his mother to buy him a wooden sword so he could experiment something. She acquiesced, albeit reluctantly, as she still wasn’t all that supportive of his career choice for the future.
Then he slashed with it, producing a single razor sharp yellow crescent that spun in the air for a few circles.
Izuku had his extremely late blooming quirk registered that day.
Six months in, and it was only by sheer willpower and power naps that Izuku had not collapsed from mental exhaustion. Kokushibo(a name Izuku was allowed to call him) was a slave driver and would not tolerate slacking off.
Apparently, the samurai had trained for much longer than Izuku had lived to attain his level of strength and Kokushibo believed that the boy belonged to his bloodline and was born with a special constitution for swordplay.
Izuku was inclined to believe him nine months in.
Shortly after learning total concentration breathing, he was then forced into learning total concentration: constant.
He never asked, but knew one thing for sure. This speed of growth was far from normal. Even though he had no one to compare himself to, the exponential growth in strength in his body was simply too miraculous.
That’s not even mentioning that he had mastered the art of constantly doing total concentration breathing without stopping even in his sleep.
During the time of his training, Kokushibo spoke of Japan in the old days. The years that the country was plagued by demons in the shadows. A progenitor of all demons whose blood could convert any human. Whose sheer prowess in killing outmatched what the strongest heroes and villains were capable of.
Izuku wanted to reject the notion, but always kept his mouth shut for some reason.
Perhaps he had unconsciously believed everything his mentor had told him.
So he listened, opening an ear for the samurai’s tales as he trained in his dreams. He was told of a hierarchy of demons. The moment Izuku heard what they were called, his mind descended to static.
“Lower Moon SIx and Upper Moon Six.”
He woke up distraught and his mind wandered for the rest of the day. Midoriya Izuku was practicing methods to kill from a demon. He had already come to the conclusion that Kokushibo was not human.
As he slept that night, his mentor berated him for acting like a child. Izuku said nothing, unsheathing his blade created in his dreams and attacked.
It was as if a typhoon had hit a dense forest in autumn, but instead of dead leaves, it was pale yellow crescent blades.
Izuku never stood a chance, but Kokushibo did not force him to wake up by killing him. Instead, as Izuku’s bloodied form lied breathlessly on the ground of his dream, the demon finally showed his face, revealing the familiar six eyes that bored down on him before.
During the entire fight, his mentor had not faced him even once.
Kokushibo stood in place and spoke of his life. Izuku could do nothing else but listen, as he had always done in the last several months, accompanied by the ever-present crescent moon.
By the end, Izuku apologized for losing his temper like that. To his surprise, his mentor too apologized for hiding so many things from his inheritor. The upper moon demon also revealed why Izuku could grow so quickly.
There were demonic cells in his body.
Not Muzan’s cells, but mutated cells that were passed down from generations without the need for their progenitor’s existence. He wasn’t a demon himself however, just a carrier of these cells, which was how he was not harmed by sunlight. But it was enough to ignite his potential and demon blood art, which was the same of Kokushibo’s, Crescent Moon Blades.
However, his mentor had no idea how these cells came to be and why his will resided in Izuku’s mind space.
It was with a heavy heart and clouded mind that the student entered the entrance exam.
‘Breath of the Moon, First Form: Dark Moon - Evening Palace.’
Izuku drew his sturdy wooden blade, chaotic crescents following the slash and slicing up the three-pointer in front of him. He could hear the splintering of the inside of the sword and his face soured a little.
Swords made of wood were too fragile for his demon blood art, so he was limited to his first form, but even that was a bit too much.
So when he slashed for the fourth time to take down a two-pointer and witnessed his sword break apart completely, Izuku was unphased, reaching to one of the scraps of metal that vaguely resembled a blade.
The cycle continued like that. A sword lost from being too fragile and a sword gained from the spoils of his enemies. Some of the spectators, either watching from the sidelines or through cameras, couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for this boy.
He paid it no mind, racking up points steadily with slightly scarred hands because of the scrap metal in his grasp.
Then came the zero-pointer.
Izuku regarded it for a moment before turning around and walking away. That was until he heard a cry.
He head spun, eyes locking on to a girl trapped under a large piece of rubble. The zero-pointer’s foot began to raise higher and higher, most likely stepping down on-
He didn’t wait a second longer. Veins bulging unnaturally on his face and eyes reddening madly, Midoriya Izuku breathed .
‘Breath of the Moon, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail.’
With the inadequate weapon in hand, he made it under the machine’s colossal foot and slashed upwards. Large pale blue crescents were expelled from the metal as it broke apart inch by inch, and by the end of the attack, only a small piece of the metal that Izuku was holding remained.
The crescent moon blades sliced into the zero-pointer’s foot and they continued unimpeded up its entire leg as if cutting through butter. The force of the blow unbalanced the robot and it toppled backwards, crashing loudly against the concrete road and structures behind it.
And even with that, Izuku still breathed slowly and steadily. The deformities that were on his face subsided, but his current strength was enough to carry the debris high enough for the girl to crawl out.
Recovery Girl arrived, healing the girl who introduced herself to be Uraraka Ochaco. Izuku introduced himself as well, feeling a bit at a loss from the lack of social contact he had because of his busy life. If he wasn’t still mulling about the revelation of him being akin to a potential next progenitor of demons, he would be much more embarrassed with talking to a girl.
The next several days were spent in the same manner as always. Training while awake and asleep. Then came the acceptance letter, which was expected, but Izuku was still very happy to receive it.
He did have to evade Bakugou’s attempt at interrogating him though. Getting the number one place out of all contestants was no doubt a very effective way of attracting attention.
Other than that incident with his mentor, Kokushibo’s teachings had tempered his emotions quite a bit. He didn’t mutter anymore, nor did he fidget under the scrutiny of others. His determination in becoming a hero was also never snuffed out from the beginning.
Quirk apprehension test.
That’s what his homeroom teacher called this process. The one in last place would be expelled. Different from himself in the past, Izuku was confident he could score around the middle, if not better.
He was no demon, but had the physical strength of one, along with near-infinite stamina- No, rather than near-infinite stamina, his constant total concentration breathing supplied more than enough oxygen for his muscles. Add that with the demonic cells in his body, Izuku had no idea how long he could run at his full speed.
He also had no idea exactly how fast his ‘full speed’ was. That said, his reaction speed was heightened thanks to his dream training.
In the 50-Meter Dash test, he reached the finish line in a little over three seconds. That was still within expectations, as it wasn’t as if total concentration breathing or Breath of the Moon was created for track runners. It was only in the unpredictable field of battle that Izuku could show his true speed.
Veins bulging on his forearm, the grip strength tester displayed ‘244 kg’. This one was a bit above what Izuku expected.
The standing long jump, sustained sideways jump, the ball pitch… He relied on his demonic strength to achieve scores far beyond what a human body could manage.
Izuku also noticed that Eraserhead scrutinized his form more than once. He was actually a bit nervous at being stared at by such an impressive underground hero, but was able to keep a calm facade.
In the end, Aizawa-sensei did not call him out and displayed the results of the test. Fourth place, just behind Bakugou with only his body and no use of his demon blood art. Well, he wouldn’t have known how to apply his crescent moon blades to this test anyway. He didn’t bring his sword either.
So it turned out the expulsion thing was just a farce, and despite him not being anywhere near last place, Izuku dispelled the small amount of tension built up in his body after hearing Eraserhead’s words.
He had already forgotten about that one time that Bakugou tried to assault him for having a quirk.
He wasn’t surprised to be pulled aside by a teacher to be asked about the danger of his quirk.
Izuku wasn’t offended, and it wasn’t as if the teacher had the intention to offend him anyway. It was a fact that his demon blood art was extremely dangerous. He just accepted that they weren’t villainous.
That didn’t tone down their lethality though.
Izuku just didn’t expect the teacher to be All Might himself. He couldn’t help the shine in his eyes at seeing the number one hero.
“I’m very sorry about this, young Midoriya, I truly am,” All Might said in an apologetic tone. “But I hope you will not resent me for imposing these restrictions on you.”
Said restrictions entailed that he could use his strength and sword(which was made of a dense metal but had a blunt blade), but could not use the crescent blades aspect of his quirk. Effective immediately and lasting the entirety of his stay as a student. Izuku could only train that aspect if a teacher allowed it and he needed to be under supervision.
Harsh, but still reasonable. His demon blood art was exactly the same as Kokushibo’s and its supposed original purpose would also be the same. To slaughter all enemies.
Izuku had no problem ignoring that purpose. His mentor didn’t comment on that either.
Perhaps UA could help him evolve his demon blood art to something as less lethal? Only time would tell.
The battle trial was quite a chaotic event. How chaotic?
Probably as bad as his Sixth Form. Not the most chaotic form, but still pretty bad.
He entered Grounds B fully changed into his hero costume. He had donned a violet checkered haori. Initially Izuku wanted to wear a kimono like his mentor, but Kokushibo gave an offhand comment that a haori might suit him more. So there he was, with traditional-looking clothes made of a high-quality fabric that provided good insulation. Strapped to his hip was his sword, or something like that.
It wasn’t sharp, but was very heavy and extremely sturdy. For Izuku who had demonic strength, it might as well have been another wooden sword.
He was partnered up with Uraraka, and he was glad to work with an acquaintance, no matter how little time they had been acquainted with. Unfortunately their opponents were Bakugou and the boy with engines on his calves, Iida Tenya.
Bakugou’s ambush was not particularly difficult to deal with, as Izuku sent Uraraka to a solo mission to complete the objective whilst he stayed to test his skills against a former childhood friend.
It was underwhelming.
If the explosions hit him at point blank, he would definitely feel it, but therein lies the problem. He simply didn’t allow the explosions to hit their mark. Izuku all but danced his way out of harm’s way as Bakugou became increasingly agitated.
As he was considering going on the offensive, it happened. Bakugou pulled the pin of his gauntlet and aimed his palm right at Izuku.
His instincts screamed, his veins bulging, the air around him disturbed as he breathed .
‘Breath of the Moon, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Incessant,’
Pale yellow crescent blades flew as Izuku unleashed a wild barrage of slashes at the ensuing blast. It not only dispersed the explosion, but also sliced through the floor and walls chaotically, causing tremors in the entire building. It was this distraction that Uraraka was able to float to the bomb, unimpeded by Iida who had lost his balance.
If the explosion had not weakened the crescent moon blades heading straight towards Bakugou, he would have been sliced to ribbons, judging by how deeply they gouged into the concrete around him.
Izuku hoped he wouldn’t be reprimanded too harshly for breaking the restriction imposed on him. It was self-defense after all.
The USJ, a place to train in the art of rescue. Izuku was quite excited for this, as all his demon blood art could do was harm. He would like to put his strength to use in rescuing people.
Then came the villains, and his day was ruined. Kokushibo was unusually talkative in his head though.
The muscular one with purple skin. It is strong. It is also not human. Not anymore.
‘Not anymore? Hold on, is it a demon?!’
No, it is not a demon. It simply is not human either. A pitiful creature in my eyes that deserves to be put to death swiftly.
‘Put to death?! But I don’t want to kill anyone with my demon blood art…’
Who said that you had to kill it?
At that, Izuku froze. He realized that the first thought he had was to follow his mentor’s way of thinking and considered slaughter as an option. Even if he took no joy in it, the problem was that he thought about it in the first place.
Eraserhead jumped into action and started taking care of the thugs down in the plaza. The villain with black fog for a body, Kurogiri, left the side of the morbidly masked leader, Shigaraki, and reappeared on top of the stairs. His body expanded in an attempt to swallow all the students into the mist.
Izuku was already a step further, feet kicking off the ground and leaping towards the villain. Kurogiri wasn’t fast enough to avoid the blunt blade of a metal sword impacting his metal guard, denting it slightly and sending his body reeling back.
Thirteen was immediately on it, taking advantage of the distracted villain and sucking in most of the mist into her quirk. Iida managed to escape outside and ran to get help.
The leader was audibly pissed off by Kurogiri’s failure and beckoned the large creature by his side to take care of 1-A’s homeroom teacher.
And take care of it, ‘Nomu’ did. In seconds, Aizawa was subdued and bleeding on the ground. Thirteen couldn’t move from her spot as she needed to keep Kurogiri’s mass in check.
Shigaraki gazed up at the students. “Your students look quite terrified of your current state, Eraserhead. What good kids. Would you like to see how much more terrified they will become?”
His tone was mocking, and Eraserhead couldn’t do anything about it.
No. There was one more thing. But he would not do that, for he would be a failure of a teacher.
“Aizawa-sensei! Permission to fully use my quirk?” Speak of the devil. With what strength he had left, Aizawa tilted his head and looked up the stairs to see Midoriya Izuku with his sword in hand.
He would not allow a student to fight his battles. “No… get back…!”
It was unknown if Midoriya had heard him, but the boy’s expression hardened, as he seemed to tighten his grip on the handle of his sword. Shigaraki was quite amused.
“Fully use your quirk, huh? What, you’ve been hiding your true strength or something? Samurai brat. Nomu!” He exclaimed.
Instead of feeling relief from the missing weight pressing down on him, Aizawa instead felt horrified. His student had become the target of a villain. “Stop!”
But no one listened. Shigaraki commanded the creature, “Attack that brat!”
The Nomu jumped into action, leaving cracks on the concrete below with each step. Izuku did not linger in place. He met the beast in the middle of the stairs.
‘Breath of the Moon, First Form: Dark Moon - Evening Palace.’
He tested the waters with the first form. Unexpectedly, the creature simply smacked away the crescents spinning towards it. That said, it still drew a small amount of blood.
The Nomu pulled back a fist for a punch and Izuku followed up as well.
‘Breath of the Moon, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail.’
With a single massive crescent slash, familiar pale blue crescent blades spun into existence and cut deeply into the Nomu’s offending arm. As Izuku dodged out of the way, he noticed the quick regeneration of the monster.
Behead it as you would a demon.
Izuku did not even question it.
‘Breath of the Moon, Third Form: Loathsome Moon - Chains.’
He performed two crescent slashes, each containing a storm of blades. The Nomu blocked it, but not without incurring several minor injuries.
‘Breath of the Moon, Ninth Form: Waning Moonswaths.’
Izuku then performed one slash after the other, all striking the Nomu’s blocking arms. The sheer chaos and spread of the pale blue crescents only grew in strength over time, cutting up the creature’s arms faster than it could regenerate.
The Nomu seemed to realize the lethality Izuku possessed in mid-range, and promptly lunged forth in a burst of speed as it intended to crush the boy in its arms.
Huge mistake.
‘Breath of the Moon, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe - Tenman Crescent Moon.’
One of his strongest forms. A vortex of crescent slashes sliced in all directions as the Nomu’s arms closed in on him. His sword was not sharp, but his demon blood art was. What seemed to be a tornado of razor blades burst upwards and outwards, causing the Nomu to shriek in pain as the pale blue crescents dug into its face, neck, and torso.
It was still not enough. A half-hearted slap by the Nomu was enough to send Izuku flying, giving it the opportunity to heal from its injuries.
He crash landed at the bottom of the stairs, the fall rattling his ribs more than the initial smack.
Izuku still breathed unimpeded. It occurred to him that he was being a bit too conservative with his energy. His battles against Kokushibo in his dreams were much more intensive, as he could just perform form after form without regard for his stamina since they were sparring in his mind space.
Perhaps he underestimated himself. Kokushibo would want him to learn from such a mistake through failure.
And underestimate himself he did.
As the Nomu arrived to attack once more, its dulled instincts picked up on a peculiar change in the air.
Then the cry of danger .
Too late.
Not even it could stop the ever-growing torrent of crescent moon blades. Form after form, breath after breath.
The first, second, and third forms shredded the Nomu’s arms right off. The fourth, fifth, sixth forms sliced into its body to a point of no repair. Then came the seventh, eight, ninth, tenth…
He had long forgone the beheading route in the case that the Nomu could even live through that. Izuku finally arrived at the final form his mentor taught him.
‘Breath of the Moon, Sixteenth Form: Moonbow - Half Moon.’
He slashed downwards whilst airborne, his blunt blade impacting the only identifiable body part of the creature- the head. The first impact was done by Izuku’s slightly mangled metal sword, dealing no damage at all to the Nomu.
But it didn’t have to. What followed after was the true attack of the sixteenth form.
Six elongated crescent blades stabbed into the Nomu’s head and what’s left of its body and led countless crescents into the six openings, mutilating the creature from the inside out.
Izuku was only slightly out of breath.
Then All Might burst into the facility.
By the end of it, Izuku was sent for a psychological evaluation. He underwent tests, both written and spoken. He answered with complete honesty.
Hound Dog and a number of psychologists he had never met before took part in the evaluation and came to a conclusion. Izuku was much more mature than his age would suggest. Not just temperament, but also outlook.
His answers were compiled and analyzed before being broken down into categories, each with a description that was to be read by his teachers to understand the situation.
Nedzu made a decision and countered all opposition before pushing Izuku into a unique position.
He was still technically a student… but with some extra privileges, for the lack of a better term. If the situation called for it, he could act without a license. He was also given the option to skip out on the Sports Festivals if he really wished to.
He didn’t hesitate to take that opportunity.
Now Izuku was in Hosu. Quite a turn of events, he would admit.
Initially he was to stay in UA during the other students’ internship duration. Izuku was strong, unmatched even, in UA. If not for the unpredictability of quirks in the school, he would without a doubt take the spot for the strongest student in UA, perhaps even surpassing All Might’s prowess during the number one’s first year.
Which was why he had been scheduled tutoring classes with Nedzu himself to improve his intellect and wit instead of strength, which he already had plenty.
But then hearing the news of Ingenium’s hospitalization and Iida’s location of internship, Izuku felt inclined to voice his concerns to the principal during the end of his first class.
To which Nedzu only replied with, “Then go after him.”
He did.
With an actual sheathed sword on his person, of his specifications given by Kokushibo in assessment to his current physical strength and future growth. It wasn’t a nichirin blade, but it was heavy, sharp, extremely resilient and very high in quality.
He was given an exceptionally high amount of free reign. It was a nice gesture from Nedzu to show that the principal fully trusted him.
So under the light of the Moon, when he witnessed the immobile form of his classmate and a Pro-Hero along with Stain himself preparing to go for the kill, Izuku vowed not to break that trust.
In Stain’s perspective, it was as if the spirit of the Moon descended upon him to punish him for his sins.
The fight was pathetically short. Stain was simply outclassed to the point of being a target for curb-stomping. Izuku had performed the first form of Breath of the Moon but without activating his demon blood art, yet it was enough to cut cleanly through the villain’s own sword.
Stain appeared as if he was about to monologue, but was knocked out by the flat of Izuku’s blade.
Despite not being particularly close to his classmates, Tenya still sincerely thanked him for saving him. It seemed his appearance gave Iida an epiphany. There, Izuku learned that even if he wasn’t a very sociable person, most- if not every student of class 1-A acknowledged him to be a hero ever since that day.
After their initial fears of the brutality displayed by his actions, they were mature enough to realize over time that Izuku was truly the only person at the time with the strength to get them out of that dire situation without All Might.
His heart warmed at that, and a smile came naturally to his face.
On an unrelated topic, one can find many kinds of things in dumpsters.
Izuku came out of the alley with Iida and Native behind him, dragging a bound Stain with them. All of a sudden, a screech tore through the air and a winged Nomu flew straight for him.
‘Breath of the Moon, Second Form: Pearl Flowers Moongazing.’
It could not even react as the Nomu was butchered into numerous chunks. Not even a drop of blood landed on Izuku as he sheathed his blade. He turned to look at the stunned audience of Endeavor and Todoroki along with a few other Pro-Heroes.
“Don’t worry, I had permission from principal Nedzu to come here,” he said amicably with a smile.
The final exams were simple enough. Izuku scored rather highly in the written test, but instead of going up against a teacher, he had to face a horde of specialized robots.
Apparently, an entire year of support course students had to design a robot each to best counter him without exceeding a certain weight limit. Any robot that managed to make it to the end somewhat in one piece would have its designer be awarded extra credit.
Was it worth mentioning that third years worked on them?
It did not matter anyway. Izuku simply breathed and drew his sword.
One form, five robots.
No support student gained even one extra credit that day.
What followed was a shopping trip with his classmates that ended with no incidents. Izuku only showed a small smile to express his joy of being involved with the class.
Izuku was not launched into the forest like his classmates as his presence would probably make the test a breeze for them.
‘Fair enough.’
He was then introduced to the Wild, Wild Pussycats in full. There was also a child that stared at him with spite-filled eyes under their cap.
Izuku tried to get acquainted with him, but could only take a step back to dodge a punch aimed at his crotch. In the end, all he got from that reaction was that Kota must have had a unique past experience to act like that.
And an experience there was, as told by Pixiebob and Mandalay after the incident at the hot springs. Izuku was reminded of why he wanted to become a hero. To save people with a smile on his face- like his idol, All Might.
He was not oblivious to his mentor’s influence on his slightly detached personality, but Kokushibo himself had pointed out that since Izuku did not chase strength to the point of obsession, the demon was glad to see him not lose sight of his original goal.
Even so, no one told Izuku of this saying:
It’s lonely at the peak.
A peak that he would arrive eventually. It was only a matter of time. Those were Kokushibo’s thoughts.
Despite his thoughts lying on somehow helping Kota heal from the scars of his past, Izuku felt inexplicably lonely. How ridiculous. He was still in his first year, surrounded by excitable classmates and passionate teachers.
Yet the cold feeling persisted in the back of his mind.
Some time passed, and… the class was attacked. Again. The fact that it happened twice was very concerning.
His classmates were not weak. They could protect themselves. But what of Kota? So with a short exchange of words with Eraserhead, Izuku took off.
Muscular was the name of his opponent. The man looked too far from redemption, in his opinion. With exception of the Nomu from USJ, Muscular would be the strongest villain he’d faced. It would also be the hardest fight yet, since he had to hold back from displaying too much bloodshed.
There was a child watching, after all.
So Izuku practiced fine control over his demon blood art. Finer than ever done before. His mentor had not bothered to do such a thing as there was no reason for the demon to expend energy just to lessen the destructiveness of the crescents. But he was not his mentor.
Using Muscular as a personal whetstone, he refined his techniques. Layers of muscles grew into existence just as quickly as they were sliced away as if done by a veteran butcher performing choice cuts.
It was a good thing these quirk-created muscles did not spill blood and they were plentiful.
Muscular was slowly suffering from quirk exhaustion- but he could not allow that. So with a roar and the last of his strength, his muscle mass exploded outwards more than it ever had in his life. Yet…
All of it was beautifully cut from his body, just shy of cutting his skin as well. Muscular, somewhat bloodied and wretched from the crescent blades that Izuku could not control as finely- fell unconscious, acknowledging the hero student in front of him to be a monster.
If Kokushibo knew of his thoughts, he would agree. Just like his brother Yoriichi, Izuku was truly a ‘monster’.
Descending down the mountain after sending Kota on his way to the safest location currently, he received information that Bakugou had been kidnapped. Tokoyami too, if not for the best efforts of his classmates.
Izuku did not lose his temper- not outwardly, but the air around him behaved in contrast to his calm expression. He did not reject Shouji’s offer to throw him towards the enemy. He welcomed it, even.
So what greeted the gathered villains was Izuku’s sixteenth form descending upon them, tearing their Nomu and confidence to shreds. Kurogiri was only able to react after the deaths of the Nomu, swiftly transporting his allies and hostage away without the opportunity for mocking the students.
Many of the top ten heroes were mobilized. The objectives were clear, rescue the kidnapped student then finally dispose of the evil organization known as the League of Villains. Endeavor could easily deal with any Nomu with his fire and the rest of the heroes could apprehend the members of the League. All Might’s presence was merely insurance- and also because he could move faster than the eye could see, making him quite suited for dealing with a warper.
But inwardly Toshinori knew of his true role. Even if that man had yet to show his disfigured face, he knew.
All MIght was to battle against All for One once more, and he was to make sure of the villain’s defeat.
In the end, his students and the Pro-Heroes did an excellent job at rescuing young Bakugou without incurring losses, ignoring Mount Lady’s downed form. All Might could free himself from his restraints.
It was still not enough. Not only that, All for One did not even mock him. The villain was deadly serious- using his centuries’ worth of experience to perfectly block and counter All Might’s every attack.
All for One made full use of his arsenal of quirks from the beginning. Impact Nullification backed by a dozen quirks of a similar nature, because One for All was truly that powerful. A combination of Mechanized Mind and Efficient Thoughts ensured he would make no mistakes in choosing which quirks to suppress All Might. He used fire, water, earth, air- everything at his disposal to put the symbol of peace in a helpless position.
And All for One did not even gloat about it.
For he was waiting for someone. Someone that could slay his anti-All Might Nomu with barely any effort, if the words of his protege was to be believed. A wildcard not part of his calculations.
All Might, he could spare, if only to make his life a living hell by destroying everything he loved after the embers of One for All were all but extinguished. All Might’s successor and his own student would then become rivals, giving Tomura another goal to pursue.
Then came Midoriya Izuku. A late bloomer whose growth in strength eclipsed that of All for One’s first twenty years of owning his quirk. The boy that must be removed from the board at all costs.
A distance away, far enough to avoid All for One’s perception quirks- stood the Midoriya Izuku. He was watching the live feed of All Might being overpowered by an ancient villainous mastermind. In his mind, he requested of his mentor:
‘Please help him. I am currently too weak to fight this villain.’
What makes this villain so different from what you’ve already faced?
Izuku was about to say All for One was too strong, but stopped himself. It was not specific enough. Strength? The Nomu from USJ and Muscular were much stronger than him physically yet he defeated them all the same. So what really stopped Izuku from rushing in to help his idol?
‘ … All for One is wise. Very wise. Accompanying his vast ocean of powerful quirks is a mind specially tailored to manipulate, calculate, and plan. His observation quirks will no doubt find weakness in me and he will ultimately defeat me with superior intelligence.’
“So please, Kokushibo-sensei. Is there anything you can do for All Might?” There was no one around him to witness it as he had moved to a more isolated area, but Izuku prostrated himself to plead with his mentor.
There was silence for a few seconds… before the reply.
Have I ever given you my true name?
‘No you have not, sensei.’
It is Tsugikuni Michikatsu.
The mutated demonic cells in him ignited . His flesh rippled all over his body and undulated. His skeletal structure shook and extended in length. His green hair grew longer, wilder, with each beat of his powerful heart.
Some of his blood was spilled, but the red liquid did not fall to the ground. It instead flowed around his limbs and torso as if washing him- before completely encompassing him from the neck down. Seconds later, the blood was absorbed back into his body, but not before leaving its mark.
A violet kimono, identical to the one worn by Kokushibo was draped on his body.
His sword was also coated with his blood, and the after-effects stared back at him in the form of several bloodshot eyes.
Michikatsu breathed in the taller and temporary form of Izuku, kicking up dust from the strength of the inhalation. He sheathed his blade and six eyes gazed into the distance, towards where the fight took place.
All for One could have sworn the moon shone a little brighter in tandem with the feeling of foreboding.
The feeling was not unwarranted, feeling a dark presence in his range of perception. He immediately tossed away the weakened All Might as if throwing trash and zeroed in on the new arrival.
He activated as many quirks as possible that could counter sharp weapons without putting down his initial series of impact nullification quirks.
Then the presence disappeared.
‘Below!’
Whilst airborne, the soles of his feet spewed deadly projectiles and gasses that could kill the average hero. Like with All Might, he asserted his own flow of the battle to reach a somewhat advantageous position and outcome. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
Under the light of the waning moon, a sea of massive pale blue crescent moon blades razed the attack into non-existence before reaching All for One in the span of a single breath.
The helicopters recording the event were forced to retreat under the threat of getting cut up by the skybound blades. They were unable to livestream the ensuing battle closely.
“You are not Midoriya Izuku!” All for One bellowed, cycling through tens of quirks with each attack. His assailant did not bother participating in the dialogue.
The villain lost his grip on the tempo of the battle pitifully. For all his experience and intelligence-boosting quirks, he was still somewhat human in a sense. How can a mere human face off against what seemed to be the humanoid manifestation of the Moon?
It is the Moon that influences the tides of the oceans on Earth. Breath of the Moon then influenced the tides of battle.
Form after form, breath after breath. The one known as Upper Moon One of the Twelve Demon Moons, strengthened by the mutated cells carried in this body, slowly but surely cut apart this ‘ancient’ villain who was much younger than himself.
It was not quite enough to finish off this All for One, who pushed all of his regeneration quirks to the forefront to repair as much damage as possible done to his body.
Michikatsu sheathed his sword, the battlefield still crowded by spinning crescent blades. All for One was still airborne and his demonic instincts told him that his opponent was about to escape. He would not allow it.
There was one more form. Its existence was theorized by Izuku, but the boy had never dared to try adding another form to accompany the already existing sixteen forms. Izuku drew inspiration from their second time ever meeting, when Michikatsu took advantage of the fact that it was a dream to drown the entire world with crescent moon blades.
Now it was time to check if his student’s seventeenth form deserved to be with the other sixteen.
The Upper Moon One breathed .
Breath of the Moon, Seventeenth Form: Shattered Moon - Fragments of Reckoning.
The skies were alight with pale yellow and blue crescents. The breaths of the spectators ceased as beautiful chaos spread upwards. Clouds were sliced apart and the crescent Moon above everyone displayed its majestic splendor.
It was impossible for All for One to resist, so he did not. The mastermind embraced his death, witnessing his last moments.
It was truly the most magnificent sight he’d ever seen.
Even after Michikatsu had left the scene and his body slowly shrunk to its original form, Izuku watched on in the mind space. He felt no less lonely, and his breathing style was no less lethal…
But he was hopeful. Hopeful for the future. Whether he’d be feared by his classmates- whether he’d be able to lessen the danger of his demon blood art… it felt good. Saving the day.
He would use the Breath of the Moon to do more than destroy. He would become a hero and save people.
