I returned home after my not-so-small discovery at Dagobah Beach.
I didn't want to worry Inko too much; I promised myself that, after all.
I got home and, with the excuse of being tired, went to take a shower. When I got out, dinner was fortunately ready.
The faster I can get to sleep, the better it will be for me.
If what I think is going to happen is going to happen, then I need to get some rest.
"How are you, son?" Right. Inko was here. This habit of ignoring others in favor of my own thoughts is quite problematic.
"Honestly? Tired, a little angry, and... scared," I decided to answer her honestly; after all, I gain nothing by lying to her. "But I also feel proud."
"Proud?"
"Yes, Mom. I feel proud for having been able to defend my classmates and myself from those villains." That's a half-truth. I couldn't protect them the way I wanted to, and some are hurt because of it, but that doesn't take away from the merit of my actions. "I know I've thanked you once before, but I want to do it again. Thanks, Mom, for letting me continue on this path I've chosen."
Her eyes are already starting to well up; all those jokes about the Midoriyas and their tears were no exaggeration. "You have nothing to thank me for, Izuku. You're a wonderful son, and I couldn't ask for anyone better."
(She's wrong. She could have someone better right now, but I'm the reason that's not the case). A month ago, when I arrived in this world, I would have felt guilty for this thought. But now I see there's nothing to blame myself for. I didn't ask to transmigrate into this body or anything like that; someone else made that decision for me, period.
After the emotional family dinner I had with Inko, I prepared to enter the core of One For All and verify if my theory was correct.
And how would I do that? With some super crazy training or something? With meditation, perhaps?
Nope, I'll do it by sleeping.
It's for things like this that I love One For All... And also for giving me an excuse to meet Gran Torino, I won't deny it.
So I simply prepared to sleep and waited.
Who knows, maybe I'll die again. It would be funny if that happened.
Maybe I'll end up in another anime.
And with that thought, I finally fell asleep.
"I was wondering when you'd deign to show up, brat!" At that shout, I would open my eyes.
And in front of me was the man I've been trying to meet since I got the whips.
Daigoro Banjo. Fifth wielder of One For All, whose Quirk has decided to awaken in me.
I'm pretty excited to be able to see him.
And his serious, intimidating aura is impressive.
"What's wrong, kid? Cat got your tongue?" Gran Torino does it better. I'd like to tell him that, but my whole body is filled with this strange mist.
(How useful it would be to be able to speak right now... Wait, can you hear my thoughts, perhaps?)
"If you're wondering if I can hear your thoughts, then I'll be direct. No, brat, I can't hear your thoughts." Well, shit. I can only hear him, then.
"I'll be brief, brat, because we don't have much time."
Yes, time really does pass quickly in this strange mental escape that is One For All.
"We've seen your effort to make this power your own, brat. We watched you from All Might's perspective while you were cleaning that beach, and then we saw you save that girl from the giant robot." They saw the Izuku before me.
"And then you began to understand and master this power at an alarming rate. Just between you and me, even the second wielder marveled at your understanding of One For All."
"...It seems I'm about to leave. Listen, kid, I have no idea why One For All assimilated into your body so abruptly and quickly, but that meditation of yours wasn't the cause, that's a fact."
So there's no doubt anymore; the fusion of souls between Izuku and who I used to be caused this accelerated progress.
"But understand this. My Blackwhip responds to two things that go hand in hand," he said, raising two fingers.
"Your anger and your willpower! So control your anger and get the most out of it! Master my Quirk! Good luck, ninth wielder! We'll probably see each other again when you improve your control, so until then!"
And just like that, I was left alone in the core of One For All.
I guess I'll wake up now, right?.....
Nothing's happening.
Does anyone else want to talk to me?
I guess Daigoro miscounted the time and...
"I can finally see you."
No... This isn't possible.
In front of me was Izuku Midoriya.
The real Izuku Midoriya.
He's in his Aldera uniform and everything.
Shit.
It seems my surprise is quite noticeable because he couldn't help but smile at it.
"Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are... the last thing I remember is destroying the zero-pointer, and then I wake up here, in this void."
His soul... his soul has been tied here all this time. Is it because the fusion hasn't completed yet? I feel like a monster right now.
"And I've noticed that I'm slowly fading away."
It's true. Even though his figure is complete, he looks somewhat transparent.
"I've managed to see fragments of what you've been doing, and I can only say... Thank you."
Thank you? I usurped his body, and he's thanking me? This is wrong, very wrong.
"You've improved in a way I couldn't have, and you even made peace with Mom in a way I never could. Plus, it seems you've made friends at UA, and All Might looks proud... You are better than me."
Don't keep talking, damn it.
If only he knew what he would have achieved if it weren't for me, he wouldn't be saying that.
I just took what he learned and adapted it to my knowledge; my achievements aren't fair.
"I just want to ask one thing of you."
You could ask for anything in the world, and I wouldn't have the right to refuse. Fulfilling just one condition is the least I can do.
"Become the next Symbol of Peace and make everyone proud!"
All I can do is bow my head to express my agreement.
"Thank you... Be a great hero, Izuku Midoriya, and... be happy."
And with that, he vanished. Our souls merged completely.
My former spirit and that of this body are now one.
Thank you, Izuku Midoriya. I won't fail you.
I woke up with a start after that unique experience.
I don't need to touch my face to know that I'm crying.
It's 6 in the morning.
The first signs of dawn are already showing.
There's only one thing left for me to do.
Train.
Not just for my survival. Now I carry the wishes of this body's original soul, and it's my duty to fulfill those wishes.
I will become the greatest hero, not to defeat All For One, nor out of obligation.
I will do it because it is now my duty.
This world will see the greatest Symbol it has ever produced.
And my first step is to understand how Blackwhip works.
Without wasting any more time, I headed to the gym that Toshinori acquired for training with One For All.
I used the hidden spare keys I had under the plant at the entrance.
A terrible hiding spot, but that's All Might for you.
I positioned myself on the mat in the center of the room where I tend to meditate to improve my control, but instead of doing that, I grabbed various objects and placed them in a circle, leaving me in the center.
"Blackwhip works based on my anger. In the canon, Izuku awakened it during the Class A vs. Class B tests... but the awakening was sudden and dangerous. If it weren't for Uraraka, everything would have gone to hell." It's hard not to be a little scared at the thought of losing control and destroying the gym.
Daigoro mentioned it all depended on my anger along with my willpower.
Well... nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I took a few deep breaths before extending my right arm.
Since I have no idea if there's a specific stance for these Whips, I'll do the only thing I know that's similar.
I'll make the Spider-Man hand sign!
Now I just have to... get angry?
That's not difficult. Ever since I arrived in this world, I've done nothing but get annoyed by the way things unfold around me.
I think about Shigaraki and his disgusting way of acting, about All Might and his irresponsibility, about myself and how unprepared I was for what happened.
About how my classmates got hurt when they shouldn't have.
And about the last words of the original Izuku Midoriya, who couldn't enjoy his dream because of whoever put me in his body.
I open my eyes, and there it is: a small whip holding the weight I placed.
It doesn't have the necessary strength to lift or move it... but it's there.
The Whip comes out of my palm, as if I were Spider-Man.
I'm tempted to sing the opening of Spectacular Spider-Man right now.
But it still burns. It's strange, but it burns, as if a lighter were grazing my hand with its flame.
Now I understand why the canon Izuku exclaimed in pain.
At the same time, I can feel it wanting to go out of control.
As if I'm the only barrier preventing a disaster.
As quickly as the Whip came, it disappeared.
It seems it's like Super Saiyan at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z; they could only access it when they remembered the anger that led them to awaken it in the first place.
Eventually, that was not necessary. Goten and Trunks could transform just by virtue of being born with enough S-Cells to do so.
I'll have to alter my control times for One For All, but I'll be able to train everything in a single day.
I'll have to explain my new Quirk to Toshinori and Gran Torino and how it awakened, although I'll never tell them about my talk with Izuku.
That's something that will stay with me, for my own mental well-being and for the well-being of his loved ones.
We've been given a week off at UA to rest, and if we have any kind of trauma from what happened, to talk to Hound Dog.
This means that from today, I have six more days to gain greater control of the percentage that One For All offers me and to be able to use at least one Blackwhip without running the risk of it going out of control.
Will I have to do this for every Quirk I activate along with the percentages of One For All? It seems so... It's tough being a reincarnator.
But it's worth it.
For me.
For the rest.
And for Izuku Midoriya.
Author's Note:
Hey.
How was the chapter?
The talk with Daigoro didn't cover most of the protagonist's worries because he can't express them, so he'll continue to have doubts until he can communicate with the other wielders.
To maintain some mystery and for the sake of the plot, I don't want to resolve everything with a single conversation.
Speaking of conversations, ever since I started this story, I wanted to include a conversation between the original Midoriya and the MC. It was impossible not to. On one hand, there's the MC and the guilt he feels, and on the other, there's Izuku who has seen pieces of what this new soul has achieved in his body and feels grateful for the accomplishments.
It also serves as a before and after for the protagonist and his way of acting.
One For All is a marvel that allows me to do illogical things without breaking any pre-established rules.
It's one of my favorite powers, along with Chakra and sorcery in Marvel.
And the protagonist has his first breakthrough in controlling Daigoro's Quirk. I thought about having everything go to hell, but without Aizawa to turn off his Quirk, everything would have been lost.
The next chapter will cover more training and maybe a little interaction between the MC and Bakugo.
See you.