Earlier That Day.
Seiki.
All For One is far from the first person that Seiki's tested in false time.
Just to name a few...
There's the Hazy Hero, Sleepyhead. His Quirk, Sleepy, can make people near him drowsier and drowsier, before eventually... well, putting them to sleep. Not the most dangerous Quirk... but one of the most vulnerable aspects of Seiki's Quirk is sleep itself. And while it takes 40 seconds for Sleepy's mental effects to put some one to sleep... that makes him a threat to Seiki. Somewhat.
Because even if he were to somehow manage to put Seiki to sleep— which, given that Seiki can instantly load away from the encounter, is incredibly unlikely— then he'd "win." Or at least he would until Seiki woke up and loaded a save from before their encounter.
Not even killing him after he fell asleep would help Sleepyhead defeat him— no, Sleepyhead would have to deliver him to Eraserhead or All For One.
So, a threat on paper, but not really that much of one in practice.
Then there was the Knockout Hero, Knockdown. With just a single touch, he can instantly knock someone out.
A Quirk with very scary prospects when concerning Seiki's.
But... after personally testing the hero's Quirk in false time, with a version of Konan that knew that he wasn't actually a precog, and that he just needs to be protected until he wakes— Seiki learned that all of that preparation was for nothing.
Because to Seiki, a touch from Knockdown and a touch from Overhaul were one in the same— a way to instantaneously load his last save.
Midnight, on the other hand... that heroine was dangerous to Seiki.
In more ways then one.
Being an impressionable youth in modern day Japan, of course he knows of the woman. Midnight is an inspiration for young men anywhere and everywhere... and her Quirk is more than capable of putting him to sleep, in a way that time continues to flow.
A little more dangerous than Sleepyhead, but not by much.
But there was one hero that Seiki had yet to test. One that he had investigated thoroughly, to the point that he knew nearly everything possible to know about him, to the point that he knew every street the hero in question would patrol, all without letting the person in question lay eyes on him a single time. Not even in false time.
Eraserhead himself.
Quirks capable of directly interacting with other Quirks were rare— incredibly rare. Only 1,014 of them worldwide, at least when counting the ones registered in their respective countries databases.
Before All For One, Seiki had never met one in person. And Quirks that were capable of outright nullification were even rarer than that.
So the question was... what would Erasure do to Save & Load?
Seiki wanted to know. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? But when Seiki could not know how their Quirks would interact, it was a risk that he could not take. Oh, Seiki was almost certain that if he died while his Quirk was erased, he'd stay dead. That was almost a given. But... what happens when his Quirk is erased?
Presumably, he cannot manually load his saves. That was fairly obvious.
But... what if it deleted his hot-saves? What if a single glance from Erasure was all it took for him to do exactly what All For One did with a touch?
Or what if... what if it erases everything.
Not in the way All For One can take everything... but in a way that's almost worse.
No...
What if, the moment Erasure erases Save & Load, Seiki loses all the time he has accrued? Unable to go further into the past ever again. And the moment Eraserhead blinks, Seiki's hard-save reactivates. The next time he wakes up from sleep, his soft-save reactivates. Trapping Seiki in time from his interaction with Erasure forwards.
An absolutely ridiculous notion, yes, but... but there was no way for him to know for sure.
Because, even knowing what he knows now— and knowing that Shota Aizawa would almost never kill him, because no matter how gruff his exterior, the hobo hero would refrain simply on killing children on principle— Seiki still fears Erasure more than he does All For One.
And he was never willing to test it...
Until now.
Because as it stands now, Seiki has the least to lose.
His hard-save something he cannot bring himself to load.
His soft-save earlier this morning.
And all of his hot-saves spread throughout today.
All For One has chipped away at his hold on the timeline in such a way that, even if the absolute worst case scenario were to come to pass... he would manage. Because was it really all that bad, if Seiki were to be trapped from this point on? Trapped in the timeline where he finally confesses the truth of his Quirk to his inner circle, and they support him fully? Trapped in the timeline where he has so many wonderful women that he can rely on, just as much as they rely on him? Women that he's come to love?
No, it wouldn't be that bad at all. Not at all.
*
Later That Night.
Eraserhead.
Venturing out into Musutafu, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Aizawa hummed to himself.
"To think that I'm a teacher now..." he muttered. "And Yamada too. I wonder what Oboro would think..." And while being a teacher will cut into his patrols, he was willing to admit that it was worth it. Nezu had put it best— using his experiences to guide future generations of heroes was simply the most rational decision.
But just a few minutes into the night, he sees a man— no, a boy, standing on the edge of a rooftop. Just a few blocks away from his current location.
Staring right at him.
After a moment's hesitation... Shota approaches.
Black hair, with a purple tint. One red eye and one blue. With a build that almost makes him think of All Might... but with proportions that actually make sense— given that the kid isn't freakishly tall for a teenager, but actually a little on the shorter side. But if Eraser were to know that the boy in question was only physically 11, he'd probably choke on his spit.
And when he's just a single rooftop away. Both of the boy's irises, red and blue, swirl.
Eraserhead holds his Quirk on a hair-trigger—
"Ah... it really was a ridiculous fear of mine, wasn't it," the boy chuckles in... relief, throwing his head back slightly. "And while not being able to feel my Quirk is far more frightening than I want to admit... I can live with it. Erasure... it's a bit misleading. Really, your Quirk should be called Suppression— you don't even erase my hot-saves."
"...Do I know you?" he eventually asks.
"No, but I know of you," the boy says. "And I'm going to recruit you."
"...Recruit me." he says flatly. 'Is he a hero fan boy?'
And while that thought made sense when he lacked the proper context, the truth of the matter was far more dire. "Let me give you a scenario. The Quirk Thief, the boogeyman, is not only real... but he is still alive, operating out of Japan to this day." Aizawa stills. "And then, The Quirk Thief tries to steal a Quirk on the same level of his— mine. The ability to endlessly loop time."
It takes him a few seconds to process that... and when he does...
"And now I have infinite time to kill a myth. And before me is a weapon perfectly suited for the task."
His heart skips a beat.
"But... before that... I want to test my weapon," the boy— no, the Titan says. "And with both of us being ambush predators— one far better than the other— I have to give you a fighting chance if I want this to be a fight at all. Starting us off with both of us knowing each other's Quirks, both of us fighting to incapacitate.
"One on one.
"And before we start, I'll give you a single point of advice..."
Eraserhead activates his Quirk.
"Try not to blink."
*
Seiki.
'Meta Quirks might just be my weakness,' Seiki thinks. Really though, the truth of the matter was that the only powers that could make him uneasy were wildcards of the highest caliber— something that Quirks that affected other Quirks almost always were.
Erasure and Save & Load. The nature of their Quirks couldn't be more different, and that was reflected in their bodies.
Shota Aizawa had trained for flexibility, for stealth, for endurance. With a quick glance, his build didn't look all that impressive... but he could fight for hours on end. And when his Quirk made it so that he was practically defenseless against anything that wasn't a Quirk, he needed to make sure that he was fast enough to dodge. That he'd last long enough to dodge. That he'd last long enough to win.
While Seiki had trained explicitly for strength.
With Save & Load, he didn't need flexibility, or anything else really— he had an infinite amount of time to get the actions "right." But if he was not physically strong enough to do something... it wouldn't matter how much time he had— he would never do it.
And while Aizawa is a premier hero...
Seiki is an experienced assassin. One with 7 years of experience— which, in truth, was 12 years of experience thanks to his Quirk. Followed by an entire second timeline of polishing his skills, and improving his body to the absolute limit.
Seiki's missing a tooth, he's got a cracked jaw, and three broken fingers, and a sprained wrist...
But it's his win.
"You've pushed me farther than a lot of people," Seiki tells the hero, that he's managed to pin to the ground. His arm broken, his ribs cracked, his metallic scarf tossed aside. Neither of them in top condition after falling off the rooftops.
"And while he almost certainly knows of your Quirk, I can see why he hasn't managed to take it," Seiki said, truly admiring the hero beneath him. "You are truly a beast to fight."
Eraser groans underneath him.
"Well, this's been fun. See you on the other side, Shota Aizawa."
And before the hero can respond—
LOAD2.
*
*
*
Earlier That Day.
Nezu.
"Save," Seiki said. "I just used my Quirk. If you couldn't tell."
"I may be a rat, but I'm not a stupid rat at that."
"And now you're going to find those Quirks for me, right? And if I need you to find a different Quirk— because let's be honest, he's going to be using Quirk after Quirk after Quirk once I truly start to push him— then I'll come right back here."
A pause.
"Save," Seiki said. "Used it again, so you know, I don't have to explain that every time."
"I've got it. You can stop saying save out loud."
*
*
*
"Load."
"Now you're just messing with me," Nezu sighed, shaking his head. "And I didn't even notice a single thing. It's just as incredible as it is horrifying."
"It wouldn't be a very good Quirk if you did."
"Certainly. Now, what Quirk do you need me to find this time?"
"I'm... here for a different reason," Seiki says... sounding... detached? The sudden weariness of Seiki's voice almost made him uncomfortable.
"...And what's that?" Nezu asks.
"I have All For One's location. I can make him show up to a remote location reliably. I can kill his teleporter, his go to method of escape, the moment All For One arrives," Seiki states. "I know that, it takes 0.2 seconds for him to take a Quirk without resistance. It takes up to 5.1 seconds for him to take a Quirk if the target resist to the upmost degree. And he must take a Quirk with his bare hands.
"And most importantly... All For One, the Quirk, does not prevent the target from using their own Quirk in the process of taking it."
"Ah..." Nezu says, momentarily taken aback. "He really stands no chance, does he? Not when he's up against infinite time."
"Yeah... he really doesn't," Seiki chuckles.
"So... why are you still here? Talking to me in a timeline you won't keep?"
"Who said I wasn't going to keep it?"
And then it clicks.
This... is NOT the first time that Seiki has had this conversation.
"A photographic memory," Nezu says. "And an infinite amount of tries to recreate what you experience."
"You really are the world's smartest animal," Seiki admits. "You know, I'm usually better at managing my timelines... but All For One cut down the amount of time I had to a single day. And even if I have infinite time, I cannot rearrange my 'time loops' once I'm lived them— something that you've probably figured out already. And I came to you first, because I needed to know just what Forcible Quirk Activation was capable of... and then I came clean to those I cared about afterwards in my own personal time, but chronologically before it.
"And while I think we could be friends, I cannot bring myself to re-enact my confessions to those I love, not when I'm still allowed to choose which experiences to re-live."
A single conversation, and Nezu could tell. Seiki Yamazaki was absolutely sick of it.
To do that for 7 entire years... not to a fond acquaintance, but to women that he loves, to his mom that he treasures... even if he had infinite time at his disposal, even if he was physically capable of it, mentally... he would not be able to it. The boy would crumble at the task, and the world... the world truly would suffer for it.
"So... what happens now?" Nezu eventually finds himself asking again.
"Now we kill All For One, with the Quirk that he and I both fear more than anything else."
"Ah..."
It looks like he'd have to pay his newest teacher over time.
*
*
*