Life and Death

Izuku hummed softly to himself as he glided through the air, enjoying the cool wind on his face.

He was a few thousand feet above the ground, riding an updraft, enjoying the absolute solitude that came from being so high up as he waited until it was time to do what he needed to.

Part of that meant waiting for the city to fall asleep. For it to grow late enough for him to do what he'd planned with the discretion it required.

And part of that meant waiting until he worked up the nerve to do it.

He and Rei had been on the lookout for a quirk to help him shore up his weakness to cold temperatures. And now they had finally found one.

Ever since his fight against Todoroki, he knew that he would need something to ensure that he wouldn't be pushed so far in such a way ever again. It was a weak point, one that would forever pose a threat to him, at least so long as he planned on keeping 'Oni,' and subsequently his quirk, a secret.

Obviously, he could – and would if the situation ever necessitated it – simply deactivate his snake tail quirk to eliminate the threat, but he'd put far too much effort into maintaining his separate identities to expose them frivolously any time soon.

Besides, the sports festival was fast approaching, and if Yueii kept up with the pattern they'd set in previous years, there was a good chance that he would end up going against Todoroki in a head-to-head fight at some point. Izuku wanted to make sure that he was ready for that eventuality.

Everyone else was preparing for the sports festival, and as far as he could tell, they were giving their all to do so. It stood to reason that he should prepare as well. It just so happened that his methods were a bit more direct and sinister when compared to others. And they would probably be considered unfair if anyone that cared knew about it. Because he wasn't simply training his quirk, or training himself in hand-to-hand combat – though he was doing both of those things. He was hitting the Triad much harder than ever before as a way to prepare, and as a petty act of vengeance against the original user of 'Conqueror' –, he was actively gaining a new ability to cancel out one of his biggest weaknesses.

Normally, he would have no issue at all taking the quirk and moving on to the next. But that was if it were coming from his usual source: a criminal.

That was why he was taking time to build up the nerve to take the quirk. This one didn't belong to a villain or criminal, but to a, by all accounts, innocent civilian. They weren't even struggling with it either, not like the original user of 'Insomnia' had been.

The only reason he'd even begun to consider taking the quirk in the first place was because the person it belonged to was on their death bed, in a very literal sense.

The woman – Noriko Amaya – was ninety-eight years old and in hospice care. Some light digging around on Rei's part revealed that she wasn't expected to live much longer than maybe a month, and that was being very generous.

Really, even that fact alone wouldn't have been enough to make such a decision. The tipping point was the fact that, in addition to being days from death, Amaya also had no surviving family. She hadn't had any visitors in so very long.

She was completely alone, on her deathbed, and her quality of life was essentially nonexistent.

The physical shock of losing her quirk would likely kill her.

The removal of something so integral to one's DNA would be a shock to anyone, it was merely a case of the shock not being great enough to have much impact on most people. Even purposefully causing as much pain as possible and drawing the process out as long as he could wasn't enough to kill a healthy adult. But Amaya was old. Old, frail, and tired. She was in no way capable of withstanding it.

He was able to reduce the shock to a certain degree – it usually went hand-in-hand with the amount of pain one experienced – but he couldn't eliminate it entirely.

Izuku did his best to rationalize what he was about to do as an act of mercy.

Because he wasn't about to simply show up at her side, steal her quirk, and leave. No. Not only was this the greatest thing he had ever stolen with his quirk – someone's life, along with their quirk – but she also deserved more respect than that.

She wasn't some piece of garbage criminal, to be punished and tossed to the side, but an innocent, who had lived her life to the fullest.

He would do his best to ensure that the process was as comfortable as possible.

Izuku sighed as he shifted his wings a bit, adjusting his course towards the hospital. It would be late enough by the time he arrived, and it would be better for him to dwell on it as little as possible.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he started flying a bit more actively. He was looking forward to what he had planned for later in the night far more than he was his current task.

It was another Triad location of course, but fighting and punishing those that deserved it was much more appealing to him than what he was about to do. Plus it gave him a reason to spend less time in Musutafu as Oni, in addition to the advantages it held in preparing him for the sports festival.

He was trying to avoid Eraserhead as much as possible, at least as Oni. Though, admittedly, it wasn't as if they really saw each other all that often unless Oni was trying to give the man grief, but now he was actively trying to avoid him, even though it had been a week and a half since the incident.

Izuku's feelings regarding Eraser were quite mixed at the moment. Some odd combination of shame and anger.

Once he'd had the chance to soothe his temper, and after sleeping for a solid twelve hours, Izuku realized just how out of line he'd been in that interaction.

Eraser had approached Izuku, concerned for his safety, and all he'd responded with was anger and threats. Sure, Eraser certainly could've approached the situation differently – Izuku had thought the man was smart enough to handle that sort of situation with a bit more delicacy – but had Izuku not been injured and more exhausted than he remembered being in recent memory, he would've realized that the man only confronted him out of concern, and he certainly wouldn't have reacted so harshly.

The next day, Izuku had sought out Eraser, with the intention of apologizing for his out-of-line behavior, with Eraser doing the same.

After he'd done so, Izuku reiterated, much calmer than before and with fewer threats against Eraser's life, that he was safe at home.

Despite their apologizing to each other, Izuku still wasn't entirely content with the situation. He was still upset – though admittedly less than before – at Eraser's implication, however indirect, that Rei might be abusing him. Eraser might not know their past, might not know that, because of their past, they would both rather die than hurt the other, but that didn't do much to lessen Izuku's anger. And at the same time, he could still feel the shame burning away within him at how he reacted to Eraser's – and Kirishima's – concern for his well-being.

Which left him where he was now. Shame and anger.

So, for the moment, with the immediate damage repaired as best as it could be, Izuku felt that the best way to proceed would be to simply avoid the problem for the time being.

Izuku shook his head, clearing away that train of thought. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that. For now, he would focus on the task at hand. He was approaching his destination anyway.

---

Izuku walked slowly down the dark, silent halls of the hospital, with 'Ghost' active to hide him from view.

Even if he weren't using that quirk though, no one would be able to recognize him. No one except for Amaya, at least.

He'd prepared himself for this similarly to how he would for an outing as Oni; deactivating his snake tail and changing his appearance. The only difference was that for this particular outing, he'd put on a different face. With a little help from his shapeshifting quirk, and a picture that Rei had found, Izuku had shifted and changed his body until he was practically identical to Amaya's late husband. His wings, tail, and horns were nowhere to be seen. As far as anyone would be able to tell, he had become one Shinji Amaya.

He intended to make this as comfortable and painless for her as possible, and if he did it right, she might just get to experience a bit of happiness and peace before it was over.

As he made his way through the hospital, it wasn't long before he'd reached the floor dedicated to long term care. Everything from non-infectious illnesses, to people that could not function because of their quirk, to elderly patients in hospice. He ignored most of the rooms he passed, already knowing exactly where he needed to go.

One such room that he passed had its door open. He could hear movement coming from inside; most likely a night-shift nurse doing her rounds to check on everyone.

He didn't slow down, but a quick glance as he passed revealed a vaguely human-shaped blob settled on the bed. As best as Izuku could guess without going back for a proper look and without using 'Appraisal,' the person, whoever they were, had a quirk that liquified their bones.

Izuku had no idea how someone would be able to survive like that, with no skeleton to hold them together, especially with their muscles likely being atrophied, or how their internal organs handled the strain. Maybe the quirk did something else to the user's bones to make them more durable?

He shook his head. That wasn't the point of his coming here tonight.

Maybe some time in the future he would come back to help the person he'd seen, along with some of the others that were here because of their quirk, but for now he had something else occupying his mind.

A few short minutes later and he was standing outside Amaya's door. With a quick glance in the small window in the door to confirm his appearance, he pushed it open, stepping into the room.

The only noise in the space was the quiet beeping of the heart monitor, and Amaya's barely audible breathing.

The woman was skin and bone, and looked so frail that it seemed like the blanket she was under would be able to crush her at any moment. If it weren't for the heart monitor next to her, and the faint breathing he could just barely make out, he would've thought she was dead already.

Shutting the door, he took a deep breath, before dropping his hold on 'Ghost.'

Visible once more, he made his way over to the side of her bed, settling down on the edge. Reaching a hand out, he nudged her shoulder as gently as possible, attempting to rouse her from her sleep.

A few seconds later, her eyes cracked open, ever so slightly. She peered up at the ceiling above her, before glancing over at him. Her eyes widened a bit when she finally made out his face.

"Shin…ji?" She asked, voice hoarse, and little more than a whisper.

Izuku forced a soft smile onto his face. "Hello again, Noriko."

He shifted his hand up to her face, barely brushing against her cheek. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

"Is it… Is it really you?" She asked, her voice a bit stronger, but shaky.

Izuku let out a small laugh, more a huff than anything, before properly settling his hand on her cheek.

"Yes. It's me." He said. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

Amaya's own hand lifted towards his, shakily laying overtop. "It's been far too long."

Her eyes drifted shut, and Izuku saw tears gathering. "I've missed you so much. It's been so lonely without you."

Amaya and her husband had been married for nearly half a century when he died. They'd had no children, and neither of them had any surviving family by that point. She'd been alone for nearly twenty years.

His other hand came up to gently wipe the tears away.

"I know, Noriko, I know. I left you here all by yourself, with no one to keep you company. I'm truly sorry for that, that you had to be alone, but that's why I've come to you now, to tell you that you don't have to be anymore."

Her eyes opened again, and this time they held much more clarity than before.

She looked up at him. "It's time, isn't it?"

Izuku nodded. "It is. You've survived for so long, and I'm so proud of you, but now it's time to come home."

He lowered himself towards her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. In the same motion, he pulled her quirk from her as quickly and gently as possible.

Raising back up, and looking at her once more, he could see where her eyes were already beginning to droop.

"It's time to let go."

As he looked into her eyes, he saw full awareness there. It was the understanding and clarity that came from standing at death's door and fully knowing that it was the end.

She brought her free hand up to where his was still against her cheek and took it in both of her own.

The she closed her eyes, and a final, drawn out sigh escaped her lips.

A second later, Izuku heard the heart monitor let out the dull, steady tone that signified the end.

Letting his forced smile fade away, Izuku pulled away, gently manipulating her arms so that they were settled on her chest.

He took a second to look down at her, as he pulled on his newest quirk and felt its heat settle into place.

Then he turned to the door, not glancing back as he pulled the door open and stepped out into the hall, where he could see two nurses rushing towards the room, still some distance away.

By the time they made it, Izuku was on the roof of the building, looking up into the sky and focusing on the sensation of the wind on his skin.

He couldn't really discern a temperature from it anymore. Logically, he knew it was cold, as it was still only April, and because it had been cold earlier, but all he registered was that it was wind. Amaya's quirk was already hard at work.

Izuku wasn't quite sure how far the quirk could go, but in his and Rei's research of Amaya, they'd found pictures of her standing in snow wearing shorts and a t-shirt, while everyone else around her was bundled up as if they were in a blizzard. So even if it turned out that the quirk wasn't strong enough to protect against something quite as extreme as being frozen solid, it would still offer a significant boost.

Additionally, one of the quirk's most appealing features was that its protection went in the opposite direction as well. Not only did it increase one's resistance to colder temperatures, but it did the same with warmer temperatures as well.

He would be sure to remember Amaya every time the quirk did its job.

After a few minutes of silence, Rei's voice cut through it, soft as she spoke.

"Are you okay?"

Izuku closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You know, I think I just might be."

He opened his eyes to look out over the city.

"I'll never be okay with the idea of taking quirks from innocent people, and the fact that my doing so was the final push that ended Amaya's life will likely stay with me for a while, but… it helps to know that I gave her some form of comfort in the end. She didn't have to die alone, and she got to see the face of the person she loved one more time. As far as I'll ever be able to know, she was at peace in her final moments."

Izuku wasn't sure if he would ever be content with his quirk and what it did to people, but in this one instance, he could at least take solace in the fact that he hadn't used it to make anyone suffer.

"Are you still planning on patrolling tonight?" She asked. "Or would you rather call it a night?"

He let out a small sight, before taking off into the air.

"I'll still go out tonight. But first, I need to head back home to change. I don't feel quite right with this body. The height is off, as is the arm span, and my face feels weird."

"Alright. I'll see you in a few minutes then."

Izuku hummed in confirmation as he turned in the right direction, heading towards the apartment.

---

Oni stretched his arms up over his head as he walked towards today's Triad base of choice. He didn't bother with any theatrics or playing around as he approached the entrance, simply pulling on his claw quirk.

Upon reaching the door, he simply sunk his clawed hand right into the center of it and yanked it off its hinges, tossing it behind him a moment later.

As he stepped through, looking around at the empty interior, he flexed his hand and a sword materialized in his grip. It was his katana.

"Still no word from Shadow?" He asked, making his way to where he knew the entrance to the rest of the base was, keeping a close eye on his surroundings with 'Proximity."

"Nothing so far." Came the response. "He's been completely silent."

Oni frowned at that. They hadn't seen Shadow or heard anything from him since the incident. And they'd tried a few times so far. He didn't respond to anything. Oni could only hope that the man was okay, and that he wasn't simply avoiding him because of what happened.

He liked Shadow. He was a good man, and a skilled ally, on par with Eraserhead in both aspects. Not to mention the fact that he willingly put up with Oni's antics. It would be a shame to lose out on that.

Some movement ahead of him, picked up by 'Proximity,' pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head, he'd have to think about this later. Maybe he'd pay Shadow a visit, just to make sure he was okay.

Spinning the sword around in his grip, letting 'Weapon Mastery' guide his movements, Oni let a smile begin to form on his face as he approached the imminent fight.

The criminals came into view as he rounded a corner; three of them, all with mediocre quirks. As soon as he laid eyes on them, he launched himself forwards.

He was on them in an instant, sword flashing through the air. Before any of them had a chance to react, they were on the ground. Two of them had a severed Achilles tendon, and the third had a clean stab wound straight through his thigh, severing enough muscle and causing enough pain to send him to the floor.

A quick exertion with 'Conqueror' rendered all three unconscious before they could scream.

Oni had been focusing primarily on fighting with more specialized quirks in preparation for the sports festival. He already had years of experience under his belt when it came to direct hand-to-hand combat, so he would benefit far more from experimenting with his quirks and developing other forms of combat, such as with his newly acquired weapons.

He found himself enjoying it quite a bit.

There was – and always would be – a unique enjoyment that came from fighting someone and putting them down with his bare hands, but learning to fight with weapons, or fighting solely with a nonphysical quirk gave him a different form of enjoyment altogether.

On the other hand…

He frowned as he eyed the wounds he'd just dealt to the criminals, with blood already beginning to pool on the floor beneath them.

That was the other side of the coin. As much as he enjoyed learning to fight with weapons, blades tended to leave injuries that were more life-threatening than his usual.

Kneeling next to them, he brought a first-aid kit out from 'Hotbar' and set to work bandaging their wounds.

Blades were fun, but maybe he ought to consider looking into a blunt weapon as well…

---

Oni's smile returned full force as the occupants of the next room all noticed him at the same time, their expressions flickering through a number of emotions before settling on some combination of anger and determination.

There were six in total, with quite the mix of quirks. One had what looked to be ridges across the inside of her hands, that would sting a victim like a jellyfish. Another had long, segmented, chain-like blades hanging from his ears, that floated up around his head like Eraserhead's capture weapon. The third had fire blazing across his head in place of hair, while the fourth had steam coiling up from his bare arms. Number five had lights blazing on his fingertips, almost blinding Oni, and the last one had a quirk that made her tongue stretch out of her mouth, not unlike Tsuyu's.

Oni licked his lips as he took in their quirks, even as he blinked to shift his vision to the UV protection provided by 'Spectrum,' lessening the severity of the lights. Such interesting quirks. He wanted them.

He wanted all of them. He released his grip on his claw quirk, letting the scales recede.

Deadly Earrings and the Tsuyu knockoff moved first, charging him and lashing out with their quirks.

A low chuckle worked its way out of Oni's throat as he watched them move. He waited until they were almost on him. Then, when their attacks were a fraction of a second from landing, he moved.

The sword flashed through the air, catching the blades that were aimed directly at his head, and his free hand darted out, snatching the tongue out of the air.

A quick jerk of his wrist and the chains were thoroughly tangled around his sword, which he planted into the floor a moment later. Immediately after, he yanked on the tongue in his grip, sending the Tsuyu knockoff sailing through the air towards him.

Releasing her tongue, his hand latched onto her head once she was within reach. He ripped her quirk from her, and slammed her into the floor, taking her out of the fight.

He jumped backwards just as a barrage of steam surged towards him, with Fire Hair following just behind. Bringing his hands together, he brought out his glaive, spinning it in his hands as he charged his attacker. The blunt end of the weapon impacted Fire Head, but before he could drop to the floor, Oni had stored the weapon away and grabbed the back of the man's head, relishing the way the fire didn't even register.

A headbutt, and a swift yank on the man's quirk at the same time, and the criminal was flying away from Oni, head extinguished.

Oni raised a hand at the blast of steam that the criminal launched at him once again. A snap of his fingers, coupled with 'Air Cannon,' released a shockwave that scattered the steam. A second shockwave, this time from 'Conqueror' and much more targeted, slammed into the man, sending him toppling to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

Spinning in place, Oni pulled his knife from 'Hotbar,' throwing it at the approaching criminal, the one with the lights on his fingers.

With help from 'Bullseye,' the knife sank into the man's leg, slicing through muscle and breaking bone from the sound it produced. Another flex from 'Conqueror' silenced the man's screams before they began.

Before the final criminal – the pseudo-jellyfish quirk – could decide what to do, metal flashed across Oni's figure, and he made a grabbing motion at her. The criminal sailed towards him, arms flailing as she tried, and failed, to correct herself. As she reached him, Oni stepped to the side, sticking a metal arm out to catch her, clotheslining her and putting her into a full backflip before she hit the ground.

One last shockwave from 'Conqueror,' that sent cracks spiderwebbing across the floor at his feet, and the deadly earring quirk fell to the floor.

Oni rolled his shoulders as he took in the scene, the pathetic criminals scattered throughout the room.

"Excellent." He said to himself. "What a wonderful way to start this off."

He made his way over to the nearest criminal, the one with the lights, and knelt down to take his quirk.

Once he did, and just as he was extracting his knife from the man's leg, Oni felt movement behind him.

Immediately, he spun around and launched the knife in his hand at the newcomer. It sank into their leg in a mirror of the move he'd used on the man he just retrieved the knife from.

Oni's eyes widened as he finally realized what he was looking at.

It wasn't a newcomer that he'd just attacked. It was Steam Quirk.

The man was standing again. He was shaky, swaying in place, but he was standing nonetheless, and his eyes were trained on Oni.

Oni narrowed his eyes, the look in Steam Quirk's was different than before. Not just in the sense of it displayed a different emotion, but as if he were a different person altogether.

He also wasn't falling, even though there was a blade in his leg that should've done enough damage to make him fall.

Oni didn't waste time. In an instant he was on his feet and charging the criminal. He aimed a kick at the man's uninjured leg, breaking it, before headbutting him hard enough to send him flying.

He remained in place, watching the criminal for any more signs of movement. When he didn't see any, he returned to what he'd been doing, moving over to the criminal with the jellyfish quirk.

A few minutes later, he had six new quirks added to his collection, and the injuries he'd dealt to Steam Quirk and the one with the lights had been bandaged, and he moved on.

Oni still wasn't quite sure how or why Steam Quirk had gotten back up. Maybe he simply hadn't put enough force into his attack?

For now, he'd chalk it up to that, to inexperience with 'Conqueror.'

Not even five minutes later, he spotted a lone criminal at the end of a hallway, who stared right back at him.

Just as Oni was about to charge forwards and take the newcomer on, and deal with the others that were likely just out of sight, something impacted the back of Oni's head, making him stumble a half step forward.

The attack, whatever it was, barely registered, as 'Shock Absorption' all but nullified it, but it still caught him off guard.

There wasn't anyone behind him, as far as he could tell, and nothing even hinted at anything being thrown at him.

Tilting his head, Oni looked back up at the criminal he'd spotted. They had a smirk on their face.

Oni narrowed his eyes, before heading towards them. He walked this time, instead of charging them. He had a theory he wanted to test.

Just as he expected, another strike came from directly behind him, almost perfectly opposite from the criminal. This time, having expected the blow, he didn't stumble, but he pulled to a stop nonetheless, turning to look behind him.

As soon as he did, he felt another blow. Once again, it seemed to come from directly behind him.

Smirking, he turned back towards the criminal.

"So that's what it is." He muttered. "Interesting."

A quick activation of 'Appraisal,' and the confirmation to his suspicion appeared.

[Name: Soseki Murano]

[Quirk: Blindside. Focus. Kinesis.]

[Creates a concussive blast of air to impact the target from their blind spot.]

Oni smiled as he took in the information. He'd figured it was something that specifically targeted a person's blind spot. What with how perfectly it had hit the back of his head each time.

He raised a hand in the criminals direction, ignoring the blows that were raining down on him from behind, that were quickly increasing in succession.

A shockwave careened down the hallway at the criminal, creating small cracks along the walls as it traveled. As soon as it hit its target, the criminal fell to their knees, collapsing to the ground a moment later.

Oni smiled as he made his way towards them. Another quirk to add to his collection. One that had the potential to be used outside his vigilante work, provided he was subtle enough when he did.

He froze in his tracks though, when he saw the criminal's body jerk, before shifting his arms beneath himself, picking himself up off the ground.

Oni narrowed his eyes at him. He should not have been able to get up.

And just like before, there was now a different look in the criminal's eyes. If Oni wasn't mistaken, it was exactly the same look as before.

Another use of 'Appraisal' had Oni's head tilting in confusion.

[Name: So-ato---seki Mura--uga-no]

[Quirk: Blinds-ousness. Focus. Kines-tection.]

[-- - - -]

This was something Oni had never seen before. Something was interfering with Appraisal.

There were a few explanations he could think of that might be the reason behind the interference, but none of them were likely.

He made his way towards the criminal, ignoring the resumed strikes to his back. Evidently, despite the interference to 'Appraisal,' the man's quirk still worked just fine.

As soon as he was close enough, Oni planted a foot in the man's chest, sending him flying into a wall. Oni was on him immediately, stealing his quirk the moment he made contact.

As he had before, Oni watched over the fallen criminal to ensure that he wouldn't be getting back up.

Frowning, and thinking the situation over, Oni approached the fallen criminal to take his quirk, before turning to continue deeper into the building.

Something was definitely going on. Despite his inexperience with 'Conqueror,' Oni knew, without a doubt, that the two criminals had been down for the count. Something else was at play that made them get back up.

'This is dangerous.' He thought. 'Going against the unknown is dangerous.'

Unknown variables always made any situation more dangerous. Not knowing what to expect or what one was up against could lead to a situation becoming deadly faster than one could react.

'I shouldn't be here.'

Oni froze in his tracks.

A moment later, anger, white hot and nearly blotting out all thought, burned through him.

A shockwave from 'Conqueror' rocketed out of him, shattering the floor beneath him.

"Get out of my head." He all but whispered, rage and bloodlust carrying through his words.

Before the first word even finished leaving his mouth, Oni felt something disappear right from the edge of his mind. Something that he hadn't even noticed before it was gone.

Those thoughts hadn't been his own. He hadn't been able to distinguish them from his own internal voice, but he knew without a doubt that they hadn't originated from him.

He was alone in this fight. Which meant that he had no one to look out for other than himself. What reason did he have to care whether or not he was going up against something unknown? To him, unknown didn't mean dangerous, it meant walking into a fight where he didn't know everything, which more often than not meant a more interesting fight.

He was mildly confused and somewhat wary of whatever was happening, sure, but that by no means meant that he was worried, and it certainly didn't mean that he was scared.

That the thoughts hadn't originated from him left only one possibility. One that also served to explain the peculiar situation of criminals getting up after they'd been incapacitated.

"What was that?" Rei asked. "I was distracted. I didn't quite hear you."

Oni took a breath, pushing down the flare of anger he'd felt.

"Man." Oni said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. "All the criminals seem to be wearing red today for some reason."

Rei took a moment to respond. Oni could practically feel her hesitation.

"Maybe there's a party, and they all wanted to match."

Good, she understood the situation.

"Well to me it looks like shit."

The phrases they'd both said were codes. That much would be obvious to most people, but it had served its purpose to pass along the information he'd needed to.

Sure, it was a random and rather obvious code phrase, but in his defense, Oni had come up with it when he was ten. It was right when he'd started entertaining the idea of taking on a name for his vigilante work. And despite both his life and his enhanced intelligence coming together to force him to be more mature than any ten-year-old should ever be, the thought of having code words and phrases to use while he was out and about excited whatever childhood was still left in him at the time.

And childish or no, it still wouldn't necessarily be obvious what he was trying to communicate, especially since the color he'd specified could be changed to indicate something else.

What he said specifically though, was one of the more serious ones.

There was a mind control quirk at play.

That was the only explanation for the thoughts that had gone through his head. And it explained why the two criminals had stood back up.

Oni hated mind control quirks with a burning passion. Hated the way they ripped someone's free will away from them. It was for the same reason that he considered 'Siren' to be his least favorite quirk out of the now one-hundred-thirty-four quirks that sat bundled in his chest.

And now there was such a quirk at play here. And whoever was using it had not only forced their comrades to keep fighting after they had already fallen, but then they'd used it to try to control him?

Oni might feel nothing but disdain for criminals on the best of days – they made their own choices after all, they had the ability to not break the law and take advantage of innocent people – but he hated the thought of someone taking a person's free will even more.

Oni felt another surge of anger. Oh, he'd be sure to remove a body part or two by the time he was done.

The second part of the code communicated to Rei that the quirk at play had the ability to manipulate his thoughts, but not necessarily his body, and that he would be communicating his thoughts out loud moving forward.

…Perhaps some of the codes he'd created were too specific.

He was ten at the time, excited, and was far too smart for his own good. Sue him.

"I can't wait to break the legs of whoever is making their allies keep fighting after they're injured to the point of incapacitation." Oni announced, before taking off once more in the direction he'd been headed in before.

He would likely end up taking their quirk as well. It didn't really matter how useful it ended up being. He was opposed to the idea of leaving a mind control quirk in the hands of a criminal.

---

Now that he knew what to look for, Oni felt that same presence brush up against his mind a few more times as he proceeded further into the building. Each time he felt it, a quick exertion of 'Conqueror' brushed it off. Though he got the feeling that he wouldn't even need to use the quirk to fend the presence off. It seemed that now that he was aware of it, it wouldn't be very effective against him.

Stepping into what he knew was the final room, Oni faced down the crowd of criminals.

The piece of shit with the mind control quirk was somewhere in the room.

Oni didn't waste any time. The presence of such a quirk had eliminated any enjoyment he might've gotten from such a fight. Now, he was only interested in finding them.

Focusing on the anger he'd been feeling, Oni stretched his arm out towards the crowd, even as the first few were beginning to move.

Each and every one of them fell as he released his pent-up anger in the form of a shockwave.

Under normal circumstances, he might've found the sight of all the criminals falling in sync amusing, or he might've at least felt disappointment at losing the opportunity to fight them all. Right now though, he only felt satisfaction – and admittedly the smallest amount of relief – that the piece of shit was incapacitated.

Just as he stepped forward though, preparing to use 'Appraisal' to sort through the quirks of the fallen criminals to pick out the mind control quirk, and to see if there were any others that were worth taking, one of the bodies began to move.

Just as all the others had, the man pushed himself up off the floor, a bit unsteady – though this one was far steadier than the others –, and when he was finally standing upright, Oni saw the same look in his eyes.

"Not mind control?" Oni muttered to himself. "Something more, perhaps?"

Mind control would explain everyone else getting back up, but not the user himself.

Suddenly, the man started walking forwards, and Oni felt the same anger course through him once more. Anger at the man's existence, and at the fact that he had the nerve to stand back up, even if it was for a different reason that On initially suspected.

He stretched his hand out once more, only this time, instead of releasing a shockwave, he poured all of his focus into the quirk and spoke.

"Kneel."

The criminal's legs crumpled beneath them mid-step, sending them collapsing to their knees.

The irony and hypocrisy of using 'Conqueror' like a mind control quirk when the reason he was so angry was because of such quirks was not lost on him. Were the person he was using it on anything but a criminal, Oni would probably hate himself for it. But they were a criminal, so that line of thinking didn't apply.

Oni approached the kneeling man slowly, using 'Appraisal' as he did.

[Name: Satoru Tsuga]

[Quirk: Remote Consciousness. Focus. Mental/Manipulation/Protection.]

[Allows the user to separate part of their consciousness and use it to influence or control people and objects. Can also use it to control themselves if the user falls unconscious.]

"A segmented consciousness?" Oni muttered as he walked closer. "Truly segmented, or is it merely an extension? Likely truly segmented, given that they stood back up."

Whatever the case, Oni would have to experiment for himself later. Placing a hand on their forehead, he pulled the quirk from them. As soon as it was settled in his chest, the criminal fell to the floor, apparently finally truly incapacitated.

Oni took a moment to let his anger begin to fade away, before looking around at the rest of the group. Unfortunately, there was only one that he felt was worth taking.

As he moved to them, he made sure to step on the man's leg, changing his lower half to metal at just the right time. A resounding 'crack' echoed through the room as Oni broke the man's femur. Were he conscious, the man would've been screaming in excruciating pain.

It was almost too bad he was incapacitated.

A few minutes later, with the quirk taken, and anything of importance that he'd found as he traversed the building taken care of, he made his way back to the entrance, retracing his steps.

Despite some of the things that had happened, Oni felt that tonight had been quite exciting. Amaya and the mind control quirk that wasn't really a mind control quirk aside, he was ending the night with ten more quirks than he'd started it with. That, and at least the first fight or two had been fun. Even if his focus was elsewhere for the rest of them.

Having reached the ground level of the building, Oni headed for the door. The one he'd torn off its hinges. As he did, he sorted through his quirks, almost absentmindedly.

It was something he did so often that it barely even registered anymore. Simply trailing metaphorical hands through the heat in his chest, counting through them as best he could while not putting any focus into the task. At this point, it was almost nothing more than a mindless action to relieve tension and stress, similar to cracking one's knuckles or tapping on whatever one happened to be touching. It was something that brought comfort, knowing that everything was as it was supposed to be, and that everything was within his grasp should he need it.

Or at least it was until he hit one that made him freeze in place, one foot through the door.

The quirk he'd brushed a hand up against felt just the same as every other one in his chest. A small, flickering flame, ready for him to grab . Only, when he'd touched it, the quirk had reacted.

It went without saying, but usually quirks did not react when he focused on them. The only time anything changed about them was when he activated them, at which point their heat suffused his entire body.

But Oni had felt a distinct movement with this quirk. It had twitched when he felt it.

He knew instinctively, even without taking a second look, that the quirk in question was one of the new ones he'd taken tonight.

Specifically, it was the one that had been giving him trouble. 'Remote Consciousness.' The almost mind reading quirk.

Honestly, he had no idea what it meant, the fact that it moved on its own. It was something he'd never encountered before.

Taking a breath, he did the only thing that he really could do. He pulled on it.

It responded how his quirks always did – except for the fact that it twitched at his touch once more –, it immediately suffused his body with heat, focusing primarily where the functions of the quirk were centered around. In this case, it was centered around his head.

As the quirk activated, he felt the presence press up against his mind once more, just as he had before, when it first appeared and manipulated his thoughts. Only, this time the presence felt much larger than before, and instead of feeling like something invasive, Oni almost felt some form of familiarity in it. Likely a result of the presence being from the quirk.

That sense of familiarity was the only thing that prevented Oni from attempting to forcefully eject the presence from his mind, just as he had done before. Instead, he focused on it, giving it his full attention.

'What are you-where am I?'

Oni froze, more so than he already had. Something was off. The second half of that train of thought hadn't originated from him. It was just like when he'd first discovered it. The thought had been communicated using his internal voice, but he hadn't been the one to think it.

He narrowed his eyes, not really looking at anything, as he continued to focus on the new presence in his mind.

Could it be?

'Where…? Where is my…? What is happening?'

Izuku did his best to keep his mind blank, only focusing on the strange new thoughts that were rising up in his mind unbidden.

He felt the presence turn its attention towards him.

'Who-? No. I know you. You're the one who I- I mean he- I mean…'

Oni continued to watch and wait. The thoughts seemed to be slowly becoming clearer and more developed. It was weird, experiencing them as if he was the one having them, but he pushed past that.

'But wait. Why am I here? Where's-? Why are you here?'

Suddenly, Oni felt a bolt of panic run through him, originating at the presence, and his eyes widened an instant later as he finally realized what was happening. Thought was one thing, but emotion was another matter altogether.

"Oh shit." He cursed. "No fucking way."

"What is it?" Rei asked. "Everything alright?"

"I'm not too sure what's happening, honestly. I'll let you know when I am."

He reached up to his earpiece. "I'm sorry Phantom, but I'm going to have to turn the communicator off for a few minutes."

"Don't worry." He added, cutting off whatever she was about to say. "It's nothing dangerous. It's just something that I need to figure out, and I need to be able to focus on it entirely."

"…Alright. Do what you have to."

He immediately switched the earpiece off.

With that done, he turned his attention to the presence once more.

"You aren't just a quirk, are you?" He asked. "You're sapient."

'Sapient?' The presence questioned. 'I'm-. But I'm-. I thought that quirks were-.'

Izuku felt pure confusion radiating from the presence, which was an odd feeling given that-that meant he was feeling confusion as well.

As he watched them work through their confusion, he was drawing some conclusions based on what he was seeing.

For starters, the quirk was clearly a sentient one, or technically 'sapient' would be the correct term. It was obviously thinking for itself, held memories – in some capacity – of its previous user, and it was experiencing emotion.

Memories on their own weren't indicative of anything, and basic thought could be simulated, as could emotion. But all three together left sapience as the only option.

Looking at the confusion it was currently experiencing – ignoring that which was likely simply a result of being in a new body – and thinking back to the description he'd gotten from the original user, Oni felt that he had an idea of what was happening.

There was a very good chance that the original user had grossly misunderstood the nature of his quirk. That he had been under the impression that it truly was only an extension of his own consciousness that he was utilizing. Something with enough personality to function without his direct input, but was still just a quirk.

Oni could understand how such a belief could arise. If a sapient quirk had no way to physically manifest itself, and could only communicate through the user's – or other's, apparently – internal voice, then what evidence was there to give validation to its existence?

If the user had grown up thinking he merely had an overactive mind, or that the 'extension' of his mind was a vague copy of his own and nothing more, then there would be no proof whatsoever that the quirk is alive and sapient. Or worse, he could've actively suppressed the quirk, removing its ability to communicate.

Because even now, Oni knew without a doubt that he could suppress it if he wanted to, aside from simply deactivating it. Just as he had pushed the presence away before, he could do the same thing now; push it so far to the edge that it couldn't access enough of his brain to communicate, or experience anything.

Take that idea, and stretch it out across thirty-some years – assuming Oni had correctly guessed the man's age – and it was no surprise that the quirk – the presence – was reacting how it was.

'I'm… alive?' They asked. 'Sapient? But I'm just… a quirk.'

"No. You aren't." Oni said out loud, finally addressing them directly. "You are quirk, yes, but you are more than that at the same time. The very fact that you are having your own thoughts is proof enough of that.

Feeling such confusion from them as to the legitimacy of their own existence, Oni found himself wishing that he'd hurt the original user far more than he had. Unintentional or not, he had suppressed a sapient being for years. To the point that they weren't even aware that they were alive. He deserved more than a simple broken leg.

The only reason he didn't turn around to deliver a more suitable punishment, was because this new addition to his mind was far more important.

'Important… Am I…? If I'm alive… then what do I do? I've never… I don't think I've ever spoken this much.'

Oni ignored the anger that flashed through him, and hoped that the presence didn't think it was directed at them.

"For now, the only thing you really need to know, is that you're free to do just about whatever you like. I can tell that you're seeing the world through my eyes, my senses. I can also tell that you're able to see my memories. And I'm fairly certain that the last person you were attached to blocked you off from all of that."

"I don't intend to do the same thing." He continued. "While you are in my head, I don't intend to prevent you from seeing the world, or from speaking."

This was his quirk now. Which meant that this being. This living, sapient being, was now his responsibility. Because he sure as shit wasn't going to return them to the original user.

'…Thank you.' They said. Oni could tell it was just as much for his saying that he wouldn't suppress them as it was about his resolute refusal to return them.

"You're welcome. And I lied, just a little. There's one more thing we need to know. As I've said, you are alive. You're able to think and communicate for yourself. That means you need a name."

'A name?' They repeated. 'But isn't it just 'Remote Consciousness?' That's all they ever referred to me as.'

Oni shook his head, despite the fact that they couldn't actually see the action. "No. He called you that because he thought you were nothing but a quirk. I'm talking about a real name."

'A real name? But I'm-. I don't know what-.'

Izuku hummed to himself – though technically it was no longer just to himself? – as he wracked his brain. They likely wouldn't be able to come up with one on their own, so why not help them out?

He sifted through all the unisex names he could think of – he felt it probably wasn't a good idea to ask the question of male or female just yet, assuming there would be an answer in the first place. Not when they'd only recently learned that they were alive at all.

"How about… Tamako? Yeah, Tamako. How's that sound to you?"

Technically speaking, 'Tamako' was a feminine name, but Oni felt it was fitting nonetheless.

'Tamako…' They said, seeming to test the sound of the name in their mouth, as much as one could do that without a mouth. 'I think I like it.'

"Excellent." Oni said with a smile, one that was much more pleasant than those that usually decorated his features.

'Hello Tamako. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Izuku Etsumi.' Izuku greeted mentally, mostly to avoid saying his real name out loud while dressed up as Oni.

'Hello Izuku.' They greeted in return. 'It's nice to meet you too.'

Oni felt the tentative happiness that the presence – Tamako – was experiencing. If they had a physical body, they'd likely be smiling right now.

With that settled, at least for the moment, Oni reached up to turn the earpiece back on. Rei's voice sounded out almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "What's going on?"

"Everything's fine," he reassured, "but, uh… I. I think we have a new sibling?"