All For Myself Chapter 42

I hate this plan. Truly I do. What regular human being would want to risk rotting within the depths of Tartarus? What man would throw caution to the wind and gamble with his life? A crazy one, that's who. And that's definitely me, but at the same time I can't help but doubt myself, and doubt my friends.

As much as I try to act with certainty, some things just aren't sure. I could be enduring the hellish conditions that prisoners in Tartarus endure for decades. But, no matter what way you slice it, this is the best way to make the Heroes lower their guard. They have no idea that more people than just me possess 'All For One'. They believe that I'm the only massive threat on my side. If I were to allow myself to get captured then the Heroes would undoubtedly get arrogant, and that will be their downfall. They still won't think outside the box, it's one of the reasons I'm willing to gamble with my life like this. The Heroes will never see this coming.

My plan is essentially to allow myself to be captured by the Heroes, once that's done I'll undoubtedly be sent to Tartarus prison and that is where I will sit until the U.A sports festival in... two months, around the end of April. Once the others make their move they'll come to Tartarus and break me out, where I'll make sure to grab some extra Quirks and two certain individuals, before I come back to a society that's lost faith in Heroes. That's the lazy explanation anyway.

My time in Tartarus will definitely not be pleasant. In the anime All For One was literally strapped to a chair that stopped him from moving at all. That means he'd have spent nearly a year not moving at all, and if the rumours I've heard about that place ring true, then the prisoners kept there are treated as less than human. Who knows what could happen to me in there. I may never get out. I'm putting everything on the line just to give myself that little edge.

Oh well, I've long since made up my mind. Perhaps there is a better plan I can use, but I wouldn't pick one. This plan of mine isn't a sure thing, but it's the best chance I have. Certainty is boring, not to say that it's bad, but I need something to think about when I'm rotting in Tartarus.

Izuku is ready, everyone in my organisation knows at least the basics of my plan, and I'm bored of waiting. It's too late to fall back now.

The plan might be to get caught, but I don't plan on making it easy for them.

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"So, this is the place. The one where All For One decided to build his base of operations?" Rock Lock questioned as he stood besides several high-ranking Heroes. All Might, Endeavour, Hawks, Best Jeanist and Mirko amongst them. That should tell a person a lot, this mission was so important that they called upon four of the top five Heroes for a single raid.

Because the Villain they're taking in is just that threatening. They need to pack as much strength as they can into the smallest team possible. They need the strongest Quirks they can find to take this Villain down.

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi stood in front of the Heroes involved with a serious expression on his face. He nodded when he heard Rock Lock's words." That is correct. The Hero Public Safety Commission managed to catch sight of Ryoto Saito around Jaku Hospital." Tsukauchi then switched the slides numerous times to show several different images of the Villain entering the same room in the hospital on a number of different occasions, but the one photo which stood out was the final one, he was seen talking with an elderly man, the two appeared to be laughing together.

Naomasa continued to tell the details of the explanation to the Heroes present." Apparently all of this came from an anonymous source, they didn't leave any explanation or anything to go off of, so I decided to send a guy in to investigate and the intel was found out to be genuine. The old man is called Doctor Garaki, foremost expert on Quirk based medical care. It can be assumed that, due to the nature of Ryoto Saito's Quirk, he may have been providing him with Quirks and their users. Though, the only Quirks we know for a fact he's taken are the Quirks of the many Heroes from back then, among some other seemingly random individuals who were also Heroes. We don't know what he's really doing for Ryoto for a fact, we can only gue-"

"I'm sorry, but do we have any evidence that he's actually going to be there, they've shown that they have a warper on their side, how do we know that they won't just bail at the first sign of trouble?" Rock Lock questioned, gaining the attention of his fellow Heroes and Naomasa himself. This all seemed like a bit much to him, the guy could not even be there for all they know, he didn't like the idea of them being played like suckers again.

Naomasa answered him with his expression remaining neutral." Because he has a routine. The information was given to us two months ago, and since we sent someone to that hospital to plant a few cameras, every single week without fail he will enter through the hospital at the exact same time. We're banking on him doing the same tomorrow night. Hopefully we can apprehend him with the combined might of the forces we've assembled."

Rock Lock still wasn't convinced, so he spoke again." What if this just turns out to be another trap? He tricked us before, who's stopping him from doing this again?"

Naomasa paused for a moment, before answering the Hero." Nothing really. He could just be tricking us again." He admitted to the dark-skinned man, with a few other Heroes actually showing surprise at his admission that they may be getting tricked again.

Rock Lock seemed to gain an irritated look at his answer." Then what are we even doing this for? Hundreds of Heroes had their careers ended by this guy, if we're fooled again then what-"

"If we don't try then he's won."

The words of the detective made Rock Lock pause and look the police officer in the eyes. He still appeared stoic, but his eyes held a grim determination in them. He continued to speak with complete seriousness." It's been three years since his attack, and we've got absolutely nothing that would help us find him other than this. He left literally zero tracks wherever he went, every time we tried to locate him resulted in dead-end after dead-end. Every single spy we tried to send his way would just be thrown back to us, Quirkless and all, and you know what? I'm tired of getting nothing, if we're so scared of failure that we aren't even going to try, then he's beaten us. No, he didn't even need to beat us, we will have just given up!" Naomasa finished his explanation with his voice raising slightly and some more of the Heroes present showed surprise, particularly All Might who wasn't used to seeing his friend loose his cool.

Naomasa locked eyes with the Hero who questioned him and continued." So yes, this could be a trap. We could just be making fools of ourselves right here. But, our job is to put people like him away. We need to act, now. If we don't then things will only get worse. And I'd rather be a fool who tried than a coward who just gave up." The man just seemed tired by the time he ended his speech.

It was true as well, Japan's crime rate has, slowly but surely, been rising ever since the attacks on Hosu and Kamino. All Might's failure was part of it, but Villains have been getting bolder and bolder for some unknown reason. Heroes are constantly having their hands full, Japan previously boasted the best worldwide crime rate at just 5%, but now it was at 8%. It might not seem like a lot, but it is. That's 60% more criminals and Villains on the street, 60% more work for Heroes, and 60% more victims of Villain attacks. As a result people are questioning whether or not Heroes are even capable of protecting them, some even went as far as to start trying to defend themselves.

It went unsaid, but... the Heroes needed a big win. A really big one. Capturing Ryoto Saito, the Quirk stealer? That would definitely be big enough. No matter how you slice, the Heroes needed this.

Naomasa steeled his gaze to Rock Lock, and then around the room." So, does anyone else have any doubts that should be addressed about this operation?" His voice carried a cold edge to it, as though he were just asking them to challenge him.

Tsukauchi didn't really care at this point if he was being more than just a bit commanding. He's spent literal weeks of his time trying to find a single morsel of evidence that could lead him to Ryoto Saito, and he came up broke. It was like trying to find a ghost. He was so elusive that sometimes the detective would question if he was even alive. But no, he was definitely out there, committing heinous acts and stealing Quirks as he pleases.

And... all of that is, at least partly, Tsukauchi's fault. He went against what his moral compass was telling him to do that day, he didn't give that woman the justice she deserved. He denied the request of a crying boy, and he chose following orders over doing what he thought was right. Maybe, just maybe, if he'd just charged that Hero back then, he could have-

No. Ryoto Saito is still the most wanted Villain in Japan. Who knows what he's really done? He's simply too dangerous and too far gone to return to normal life, not with his Quirk anyway. No matter the reason, breaking the law is still breaking the law. He has to face justice.

There's no better way.

Rock Lock heard his words, seemed to pause for a moment, but ultimately decided to relent and fall back in line with the rest of his fellow Heroes. Accepting the detectives words at face value.

With that finished Tsukauchi continued with the report on what roles the Heroes would be providing in the coming raid." As law enforcers, we need to secure the safety of those inside Jaku Hospital, we cannot risk getting innocent people caught in the crossfire. In fact we're lucky that in the last attack no innocents were killed. So, any rescue Heroes on duty will help with the evacuation of civilians in the hospital. We'll need to act extremely fast when it comes to the evacuation, the entire area could become a battlefield for all we know. Any combat orientated Heroes will go ahead and try to take care of him, All Might will be leading this group to charge the enemy head on. Eraserhead will follow with them and try to erase his Quirk, rendering him helpless. That is all, our job is to take this criminal in, for our people, for Japan, and for the world! We'll stop him, even if it takes everything we've got!"

If only they realised what they were doing back then, maybe they wouldn't have played right into my hands.

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I'd be lying if I said that I never loved playing the bad guy, the rush of taking a Quirk, the power I had over others, showing this society that I reject it's ways. It's been very fun for me. Perhaps along the way I truly have lost some of my conviction, maybe I'm no better than this society of fakes and hypocrites. I'll admit that sometimes I got drunk with power and even acted like a tyrant.

But... I still can't accept the way things are now. The world is a truly messed up place, not everyone is horrible, in fact I'd even go so far as to say that a number of people are good in this world. But, those good people never feel the need to act. They just think these problems we face are inevitable, that discrimination is something that will never end, never have they ever thought 'Hey, maybe there's a better way.' Well I'm tired of it, this society, it's people, their twisted values that lead to discrimination. There's always a better way, it's just that nobody is willing to stand up and challenge this current system. I can do better than them, I know I can.

Truth be told my goal is partly due to revenge, but it's more than that. People have treated me like shit my entire life, as though I was second-class, because of my past Quirklessness and because I was different.

I strive to create a world that accepts the difference in us all, because in a world with Quirks the concept of what's normal is nothing more than an excuse to try and maintain order. I want to shatter this worlds value. That will be the mark I leave on this world.

Maybe then... I'll be able to finally rest.

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Staring down at the beautiful city of Tokyo I made sure to appreciate the sight before me. I traced the lights which littered the homes of so many people, I watched people simply walking around and enjoying the night, a couple holding hands, a woman pushing her baby in a stroller, an old man merely sitting on a bench and watching people walk by. They were all so ignorant, so sheltered, so pampered, so foolish. It hurt just to look at them.

More than anything these people are coddled, the area below has next to zero Villains. This is because All Might's agency, the Might Tower, is hardly even half a mile away. You'd have to be a fool to so much as steal a purse when you're that close to the number one Hero. The people below are enjoying the temporary peace All Might provides them with, after tonight that will all be gone and Japan will be stirred up once I retire that fake. He's a hinderance to my plans that needs to be dealt with.

But, I can't exactly kill him, no, if I did then I'd just be seen as the monster who killed the Hero All Might and took over Japan. That is not how I wish to lead this country, what I want to be is the righteous man who dethroned the fraud All Might, my last attack didn't do much. I was just trying to show the world what my group was made of and to show myself to the world, but now it's different. My goal is to expose All Might and let the world see the real him, it won't be without a cost, but my plans will be realised and I won't even have to do anything. The world will see who I am.

Though... who am I really? I've formed such a large group to overthrow this corrupt system, due to the problems it causes people like me, but... what am I doing this for? I know why I'm doing what I'm doing, but what drives me? Why do I continue to take this burden on? I've been thinking a lot on this question and I can only say that I'm doing this for vengeance. It's rather simple now that I think about it, the world treated me badly and rejected me for so long, why can't I do the same to them? Why should they just be allowed to hurt people without consequence? Why should parents be dumping their children into orphanages because of a random genetic factor based on luck?!

My expression darkened as I continued to look down on the bugs below me. I could wipe them all out, I'd literally have to lift my arm up and fire an attack. I could destroy this whole city if I wanted. I could-

I shook those thoughts out. No. People won't follow a monster with no principals. I can't walk the path of a mass murdered. I think I'll stay as just a regular murdered, thank you very much.

I've killed before. I try not to make it a habit, but if it'll further my own goals then I'm fine with murdering others. As I did with Nighteye. As I did with Garaki. And as I did with All For One.

Thinking about him now I can't help but snort slightly. What reason did that man even have to be evil? In the manga he just said that his goal was just to be a 'Demon Lord' and rule the world as an immortal god. Seeing through his memories has always been an enlightening experience, I had no idea that a person could be as egotistical as him. That's the reason he wanted to live forever as a god. It was the ultimate extension of his ego, to lord over others and indulge himself for all of eternity. But, like all men All For One feared one thing, wanna know what it was?

Death. He was scared of dying. Being forgotten, not being able to linger around and allow people to know who he was. The stupid thing was, he could have done it. Easily. He was the ruler of Japan for over a century, he had access to any Quirk he wanted, he held the world in his palms, yet he let it slip through his fingers. Someone with an unbeatable ability managed to somehow lose. Do you want to know why? It wasn't All Might, it wasn't his brother, it wasn't the Heroes either.

More than anything else what killed him was his obsession with 'One For All', his ego just wouldn't allow him to let that power evade his control. He needed everything, be it his dead brother's power, the world under his heel, or to prove he was a superior being. He believed himself to be a god, and maybe for a while he was. But, how can something be a god if it bleeds? His ego couldn't accept that he was, at the end of the day, just a human being. If he couldn't have everything, then he would have nothing. He was driven by his own ego, nothing else. There was no real weight behind his actions. Just being evil, plain and simple.

I've said it before, but I am nothing like him. We have similar Quirks, but that's where it ends. If he wished to rule all, then I wish to free all. Everyone will be a perfect equal in my new society. The world will come to bow before me, because someone needs to stand up and tell the world the difference between right and wrong.

I activated 'Warp Gate' and opened a portal behind me that I hovered through, I still had one thing left to do. I needed to give Izuku my Quirk.

To think that the boy who would have received 'One For All' would end up receiving 'All For One'. It's more than a little ironic.

But, this world did seem to love it's irony.