Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Taylor Pov.
"Izumi!" I couldn't help but exclaim in relief as I approached. "You were able to get out of the confrontation with All For One." I said in surprise. Deer-Izumi walked over and shook his head. I could see the other three Izumi grab the fallen Altor Orcs' weapons and run off in different directions.
True… Izumi doesn't have any more weapons within his shadows for his clones to borrow, but they seemed quite comfortable with those makeshift weapons. I quickly tagged the clones with my insects and began following them around the battlefield.
As I expected, they went to kill the High Orcs. Now that they had weapons, the High Orcs began to fall easily as they moved from one side to the other.
"Not really." Deer-Izumi said as he looked over to where AFO was fighting All Might, Ryuma, and- another Izumi, an Izumi who was brimming with aura and haki as he moved at breakneck speeds and wielded terrifying strength and had…bunny ears.
"They're clones." I said immediately, looking at Izumi with a Totality on Rabbit Escape, "You did a Totality with your shikigami... that's why the rabbit-deer clones disappeared." I said quickly. Deer-Izumi nodded with a grimace.
"It was the only option, All For One wouldn't let me escape, she was able to keep me in the fight no matter what I did, or how I tried to hide, even with my Selfless State she was able to follow me… so, I created clones of myself, hid them in my shadows and pushed them through to here, while I distracted All For One." Deer-Izumi said with a grimace.
"And you decided to send the clones towards us? You didn't think you'd need more help to fight her! " Ruby exclaimed incredulously as she pointed to where the original Izumi was.
I quickly watched AFO's fight against All Might, Ryuma, and Izumi. The fight seemed like a stalemate —neither could gain an advantage over the other. It was ridiculous; I didn't even know how Izumi could be in the middle of that.
I couldn't keep up. For every attack I could barely perceive, there were another dozen I couldn't see —just mere flashes, dozens and hundreds of attacks in a fraction of a second.
And every blow was horrifying; they were on another level. I'm sure every blow in that fight would have been capable of casually killing anyone present. I could see Haki clashing with Haki, causing the sky to crack now and then.
Still, they were hurting each other. The cuts Ryuma inflicted with Shusui were a world away from what I could achieve. They were able to cut All For One and her haki with a little effort, but it was more than evident that the villain had healing quirks from the way she regenerated so quickly.
All Might didn't know what was backing him up, even against All For One's enormous, mutant, quirk-filled fists. All Might's punches shook the entire earth and pushed AFO back; her mutant fists broke under All Might's force.
And even Izumi, while definitely not the main force, was being as annoying as possible, not dealing as much damage as the two National rankers, but was strong and fast enough to keep up with the three monsters and create openings for All Might and his grandfather.
It was a shame that none of the attacks seemed to have any lasting effect on stopping the villain. She would heal, regenerate, or simply ignore the wounds; she would just keep attacking, using new attacks, new Quirks, new combinations.
I could see how horrible it would be to face that monster. But even so, the three of them faced that monster, able to react and adapt to the new quirks AFO unleashed from her repertoire.
I was hoping AFO had a limit — aura limit, energy limit, physical limit — something — and that it would only be a matter of time before she fell.
But until that happened, it was impossible to get close, and it was suicidal to try; they were utterly alone. No one here was strong enough to help in the fight, and Izumi detached his shikigami to help us.
"You're an idiot." Azula said what we were all thinking. Deer-Izumi burst out laughing.
"Yeah, I guess." Deer-Izumi said nonchalantly. I gritted my teeth.
"Don't worry about us, Izumi. Go back to your original." Darkness said firmly, Deer-Izumi smiled kindly.
"It's okay, don't worry... All Might and my grandfather sent me. I'm here to help." Deer-Izumi said, "I bit my lip."
"but-"
"If you want me to help my true self, then we have to close this Broken Gate as soon as possible." Deer-Izumi said with a wide smile. I froze and glared at him.
"Idiot." I growled as I ran my hand through the hair sticking out of my costume. "You win, let's get this over with quickly." I snorted angrily.
"I'm glad you see it my way, now, situation?" asked Deer-Izumi as she looked at the others.
"High Orcs, communications have been interrupted. I've been put in charge of everything. I'm coordinating them. I still don't know where the dungeon boss is." I said quickly. Deer-Izumi blinked slightly before smiling.
"Very well, tell me where to go, I will follow your orders... Warlord Skitter." Deer-Izumi said with a shit-eating smile. I froze and groaned loudly, remembering the supposed vision Izumi had had a long time ago.
"Fuck you, Izumi." I growled in annoyance. Deer-Izumi burst out laughing.
"You'll do it after all this." Deer-Izumi said as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. I blushed slightly until Azula cleared her throat.
"We have monsters to kill, in case you forgot." Azula said dryly, and I blushed a little more, but this time for a different reason. True, High Orcs, I hated how Izumi could joke around in any situation and drag me along with him, but... I couldn't deny that I was much calmer now than before.
Ignore the smug expression Azula had on her face, after all, she had totally guessed Izumi's reaction.
"Okay, you're right, sorry," I said, clearing my throat. "What... can your clones do? What range are they at? " I asked immediately.
"Upper A-rank, lower S-rank," Deer-Izumi said immediately. "Clones normally have physiology and strength similar to a civilian in excellent condition, which, with Total Concentration Breathing, would be at a solid A-rank, but I managed to push my shikigami's powers into my clones, so it raised my rank a bit."
"The powers are the same as my shikigamis, like when I use Totality. Nue, Orochi, and Ox can fight head-on. I can heal, faster and better than the Jackalopes, so just guide me to the wounded." Deer-Izumi said, I nodded while thinking quickly.
"Okay, let's close this damn Gate," I said immediately. The conversation with Izumi had barely taken a minute or two, and I had continued to guide everyone present, but now I had to reorganize everything.
Izumi's clones, even if they were much weaker than her original, were a complete game-changer. Each of them was able to kill a High Orc with ease, so she could separate them without any problem.
It could reinforce different points, help rescue groups, and the most densely populated areas of High Orcs.
"What happens… if your clones die?" I asked quickly.
"I summon them again. Escape Rabbit's power is in my original body, so I can continue making clones indefinitely and push the power of another shikigami back into the new clone." Deer-Izumi said immediately. I smiled widely.
Perfect, disposable clones — disposable clones. I'm sure there would be a few seconds of delay if any clone died and until they got back to their position, but having the clones die was much better than letting the heroes and hunters do it.
So, perfect. I quickly asked who needed healing most urgently, received several responses, and mentally traced a path, my instincts already forming the path.
Well… it was time to change that.
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Izumi Pov.
"I see you were able to help the others." AFO commented casually as she shot a laser beam in my direction from her... belly button, fuck, I really didn't want the damn confirmation that something had happened to Aoyama.
I could only hope she'd just taken it off again, but it was too much to hope for that when AFO had proven herself to be a complete psychopath. I cut the lightning bolt in half.
"Well, you said it, I was never good at following orders, especially from villains." I said dryly as I swung my swords to cut the metal spikes that, for some reason, grew out of the ground.
"That's a pretty interesting quirk you've got there," AFO said quietly, and I grimaced. Otherwise, there was no way I was giving you Ten Shadows. "He certainly doesn't get it from you, Ryuma."
"Enough talk, All For One." Grandpa said, cutting AFO in half once again, I was really hating this world.
A world where healing quirks were more common and powerful than their canon counterparts made it possible for AFO to acquire several of them. If it had been her canon version, her weakened self, I would have been more than capable of matching her, but now she was in top form.
The worst part was that we couldn't accumulate any damage; it felt like we were fighting an immortal.
But there was an obvious limit: she could only regenerate. The right blow could still kill her. The problem was that it was harder to say than to do. Her head and heart were the most protected parts of AFO's body.
And the ones that AFO cared about the most, I wasn't the only one to notice it. All Might and Grandpa had tried to give her a killing blow, but AFO kept defending herself or slipping away at the right moments to avoid a hit in those places.
I needed to make room for it, but again, easier said than done.
I could feel the sweat running down my body; my aura was declining faster than I expected, but I still had enough to hold on. I could see All Might and Grandpa; they were definitely getting tired.
Even when they were fighting at such a level, their conditions were taking their toll. All Might was burning his coals too quickly, and Grandpa was no longer young; his age was taking its toll on him. It was a miracle that both of them could still fight as they were until now.
I quickly focused on my clones. I was actually glad that the stupid thing I'd done had worked out. Creating clones, each with the power of a shikigami, had been a success.
I'd considered pushing them all into one and creating something on the level of Agito. I had Nue, Orochi, and Round Deer, and all I was missing was Tiger Funeral, but Ox could be a good substitute. But for the moment, I'd preferred quantity over quality, especially with the High Orcs spreading out so thin.
I didn't really believe that version of Agito could move fast enough to kill all the High Orcs, plus I needed my deer-clone to be clear so I could heal the wounded.
At least until I found the damn dungeon boss, I couldn't find it with my haki; it was camouflaging itself among the other High Orcs. I was sure it was emitting energy similar to the others, so that I couldn't tell them apart.
Besides, I was busy enough to turn my attention to the rest of Kamino. Once I found it, I could merge all the clones to kill the damn dungeon boss as quickly as I could.
And the only reason I didn't draw on the full power of my shikigamis to fight AFO was because of All Might and Grandpa. Despite still being in a stalemate, I could see how both of them were more tense when they saw my clones helping the other heroes, hunters, and civilians.
Meanwhile, I still had to find a way to create a damn hole within AFO's defenses and her insane amount of quirks.
I had to get rid of them, but the question was how... the only thing I could think of... was to awaken the vestiges of the quirks she absorbed somehow. But... I didn't have OFA; I couldn't push any magical vestiges to awaken the vestiges inside her, or even New Order to create a new law within the vestiges, or anything similar.
But… there was the old-fashioned way, pushing my aura into my All For One.
This might be the stupidest thing I've ever done, but I could only grin broadly. The girls pushed their auras into me, somehow able to resonate with my quirk to awaken it. I had to try mine and make AFO's quirks resonate. I had to release the Vestiges.
Resonance… I had to do a damn soul resonance.
Shibusen existed… people with quirks that transformed them into weapons, and the people who wielded them, too, but soul resonance itself? I had no idea, but that wasn't going to stop me, not now, not ever.
It was Izumi Midoriya. I had Zoro's and Yoriichi's skills. I had mastered more than a dozen sword styles. I am Ryuma's grandson, and I wasn't going to stop something as trite as having never been attempted. If it didn't exist, I would reinvent it in this world, as I had been doing until now.
I dropped my haki and stopped for half a second.
"Izumi!?" my grandfather asked worriedly.
"Oh? Have you reached your limit, Miyamura? " AFO mocked, I squeezed Enma tightly, pushed its Haki absorption to the bottom, and surrounded it with my aura. I approached AFO, who obviously didn't even try to dodge me.
Enma punched AFO's arm, and in that instant, I thrust my entire aura into AFO. It was like a bolt of lightning striking me. Oh, I knew there were repercussions for poor soul resonance, but trying to resonate with someone like AFO? It was horrible.
It felt like my whole body was being electrocuted, and I could feel the palms of my hands burning rapidly, but the worst part was that I could feel, from the first moment, the insane amount of hatred, death, and madness inside her.
Still, I gritted my teeth and thrust my aura into AFO without stopping. Her aura was a corrosive miasma of evil, like swimming in tar. But even so, I sent my aura like an echo, a vibration, a call, anything into AFO's body. AFO took advantage of my slight stillness and backhanded me.
"Izumi!" "YOUNG MIYAMURA!" I ignored the screams as I flipped over in the air and landed on one knee, having to pull the sword out of my mouth to spit out the blood that pooled in my mouth as I looked down at my trembling arms. All Might and Grandpa landed in front of me, shielding me.
"What did you try to do?" AFO asked, genuinely confused, and I just smiled proudly.
"The stupidest thing of my life," I told her honestly as I stood up.
"I see, you tried to push your aura into me, but why would you do something so ridi-" All For One stopped stiffly as she vomited blood. She stared in disbelief at her arm as it seemed to slowly begin to detransform before gritting her teeth and forcing her Quirk to maintain the transformation. " WHAT DID YOU DO, BASTARD?! " All For One roared, sounding completely enraged for the first time.
I smiled widely.
"Well, I thought it was really unfair to ignore the others, so I'm trying to call them to the party." I began to smile almost painfully, stood up, and pointed at AFO with Enma. "What do you say? Round two? You alone, against the three of us and every vestige of the quirks you stole? " I asked cheerfully.
That seemed to surprise All Might and Grandpa, and they quickly understood everything.
"YOUNG MIYAMURA, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DID."
"We'll cover you, Izumi, keep awakening the vestiges, don't let it rest."
They both said it at the same time, realizing the plan, then shot off in AFO's direction. I took a deep breath, gripped my swords tightly, and imbued them with my aura once again.
Oh, I was sure that little push had been only a minimal call, barely marginal — a scratch behind a wall, barely a whisper — the vestiges that heard the call definitely had no power to stand up to AFO.
But… it also meant it was working, what if I just had to hit AFO's body hundreds of times to awaken all the vestiges while receiving the side effects of rejection?
So be it, I would do it anyway.
I grinned maniacally as I placed Wado Ichimonji between my teeth once more. Okay, it was time to do this. Even if it ended with my entire body burned and internal injuries from the effects of rejection, I would do it.