Chapter 23 Why am I on Fire? by Yojimbra

All Might and I had one major flaw in how we went about our day to day hero work.

We had to hold back. Not just a little, but a massive amount. The slightest slip-up from either of us could damage the whole city when our quirks were unleashed. In All Might's case, it was like he was in a city of cardboard. He had to be careful not only to prevent the death of any villain that he fought but also to keep the damage to the city at a minimum; a single punch of his could do more damage than a hurricane, and he could punch a lot.

For me, I was a lit cigarette at a gas station.

The slightest lack of control, the slightest bit of spite, and I could end up burning someone, leaving them with a permanent reminder of their fight with me, or my flames could break away from me, burning the very livelihood of those I was sworn to protect as fire did what it was made to do: consume. If I let my anger get the better of me, it would be so easy for me to just kill someone.

And that terrified me.

From the moment I had entered the hidden base beneath the warehouse, I knew that everyone in here was either my enemy or my victim, with my sole ally being All Might.

A two-man dungeon.

I watched as All Might slammed a villain with several quirks into the ground without even breaking a sweat. The villain didn't even try to get up, simply letting out a low whine as his world adjusted to its currently rocked state. Well, I wasn't going to let All Might carry me through this.

I looked at my own foe, another person that had a few random quirks stapled onto them. This one had a water-based quirk and a quirk that allowed them to change the shape of their bones at will. His slicked back, light blue hair pissed me off for some reason. The difference in our ability was demonstrated right off the bat, when instead of trying to fight me at a range, he charged forward, the bones on his back shooting out from his shirt and turning into water-powered jets that pushed him forward.

"You idiot!" I used my own flames to dodge, giving me just the extra bit of lift that I needed to stray to the side, and pushed myself forward. The speed by which he could grow his bones was great, great enough that I needed to be actively conscious of it. But, breaking bones was easy. I dodged his attack, keeping the spear-like bones out of the way before I grabbed onto his head and pushed my arm around with a burst of flame that roared like a jet.

The bones coming out of his back shattered like glass against the wall, sending bloody water everywhere and making me think that I had killed him. I almost started to shake right then and there, but I steeled my resolve. This was someone that had earned All for One's trust, who had received his blessing. This was someone that had committed their lives to All for One.

"Your boss." He attempted to flail an arm towards me, but I forced it against the wall, the raw bone-shattering again without any muscle to strengthen it. I ignited the back of my hand, providing just enough heat to make it very apparent that the idea of testing the boiling point of a brain was hot on my mind. "Where is he?"

He screamed, legs kicking as he pointed towards the elevator at the end of the large underground room that looked like it was supposed to be some kind of a kill room built for defense. At least it had been before All Might clapped his hands.

"Thank you." I pulled out one of the few tech items I had gotten from I-Island; a gel shell that, once broken, would let out a goo that would inflate with heat. It was a nice little gimmick that allowed me to bind people quickly. Binding his hands behind his back and to his sides, so he looked like a dumbass doing a chicken dance, I pushed him to the floor. "You'll be arrested later."

The cops were on their way already. But All Might didn't want to give All for One the chance to escape.

All Might had decided to take the gravity express down the elevator by just ripping it out of the wall like he was opening his mail. I glanced down the other hallways that connected this room and heavily debated going off to see what else I could find through there.

Probably more criminals. Drugs would be a problem since I had to be careful around anything that was often highly volatile. Could there be Nomu here? Destroying them now would be for the best.

"Endeavour!" All Might bellowed from the elevator shaft. "Get down here!"

I rushed forward and descended the elevator shaft as quickly as I could, using my flames to reduce my falling speed while I gripped the lone cable that had remained in place despite All Might's destruction.

More fights, more horrors, people kept in cages, some chained to operating tables, and more than a few cadavers littered the way towards our goal. I knew I was going to have nightmares about this place.

But, I was wrong about what those nightmares would be about.

XXXX

We pushed through a set of ornate doors and found ourselves in a large ornate room, an entire criminal organization brought to its knees over the course of a single day. All that remained was the head of the snake. And he wanted to make a show of it.

The room was a lavish mixture of a traditional Japanese theater mixed with modern tech to make everything in this room feel out of place, and perhaps the most out of place was the man standing at the edge of the stage, a casual grin on his face.

"Well, to what do I owe the honor of having the number one and number two pro heroes here today?" The man waved his hand. Some device clutched in his fingers as though he was showing it off to me. Specifically to me. "Oh, I know, you're here to—"

Why the hell were we letting him monologue?

I let out a blast of flame that was hot enough to kill a man, and it collided with him dead on. Part of me was afraid I just killed him. Another part was hopeful that I actually had.

"How rude!" The man laughed before my flames had even died down. "That suit was expensive you know, but honestly, Enji~ I'm insulted that you didn't think that I wouldn't be prepared for your flames. It's so easy to find a fire-resistant quirk after all."

I growled, balling my hands into fists. "Sorry."

All Might grunted in acknowledgement. "This is where your reign of terror—"

"Do you know how many heroes have told me that before?" All for One waved his remote towards us. "At least two dozen," he walked off the burning lumber of the stage and continued to wave the remote around, "your master among them. She thought that she would be the one to stop me after all, but here I am, and here you are. But I'm so excited for this confrontation."

He gave a large smile that threatened to split his face. "It's going to be so much more different."

"You're right!" All Might bellowed, "Because this time—"

"You're going to fight each other." The simple tone caught both of us off guard for a second. Some kind of quirk?

He clicked on the remote.

"Hey there Touya, how was school?" The audio played before the lights dimmed, and the projector showed a scene that made my heart drop.

My son. It was my son.

"Fine," Touya mumbled, looking nervous at the woman that was speaking. "Where's dad?"

"Work," the camera shifted towards Rei, who was folding laundry next to the camera, and Fuyumi was trying to help. "He might be gone for a little while, though. He left before you woke up."

"Hmmph," Touya grunted and tossed his bag on a seat. "I know, he didn't walk me to school today."

"Aww," another womanly voice said, and the camera turned to look at the laundry. "It's so sweet that Enji does that, Rei,"

It was Kushina. Kushina was the camera.

Son of a fucking bitch!

"He's such a worrywart." Rei laughed, and the camera looked towards her again, catching a smile that made my heart melt. "But, I like that about him."

All for One tapped the remote again, and the audio cut out. "Families certainly are lovely, aren't they? So heartwarming; they can be your greatest strength or your greatest weakness."

"Don't you dare hurt them." I was seeing red. I was losing control. My flames were burning hotter and hotter as I glared at him. This had gone from pragmatic to personal. Very personal.

"Oh, but that's not up to me." He laughed, showing off the remote again. "You see, Kushina came to me because she couldn't control her quirk, it scared her. I was so happy to help her, but I did leave some signatures inside of her. The camera you already saw, but, the bomb, well, I do hope you don't ever see that. It's simple, really. You kill All Might, and your family lives."

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck!

My entire body was shaking. Fire was spurting from random places as I tried to think about what to do.

"You monster." All Might sounded just as furious as I felt.

I turned towards my friend. "Toshi, I'm."

I paused, biting my lip. What was my choice? What were my options? What was I supposed to do? I couldn't live with either choice. It wasn't possible.

I let my family die, and I'd have nothing. I kill All Might and I couldn't face them.

I felt sick.

"Three." All for one began his countdown.

"Two—"

All Might charged towards him. He moved faster than his scream—the pure power of One for All on full display. A massive fist burst from the ground, grabbing All Might before he could reach One for All and slamming him down onto the ground as Gigantomachia made himself known.

"Ohh, too bad Enji." All for One gave me a fake frown and dropped the remote while looking right at me. "He made the choice for you."

The remote hit the ground. The audio came back for half a second.

"Run."

Followed by screams.

And then red.

Dead?

They were dead?

My family.

Touya?

Rei?

Fuyumi?

Our unborn child?

All dead?

My Flames roared.

I pushed everything to move forward, charging towards the man that had just killed my family with reckless abandon. I launched a dozen blasts of fire, my anger making each one stronger and stronger as I continued to burn. I was going to use up everything.

It didn't matter what happened to me.

So long as he died.

And I would make certain that he did.

That was the only reason why I was alive now.

That was the reason I drew breath.

Revenge.

"Oh, your flames tickle Endeavour!" All for One taunted, standing on thin air as he took blow after blow. "Such a pleasant warmth. I can see why your wife was so fond of you!"

"Bastard!" I roared, turning up the heat, moving in closer and bringing my fist to his face.

He caught it with ease.

A shot to my stomach brought me to my knees. A strength quirk.

Bastard.

"Now, now, that's not nice." All for One mocked me, bending my wrist back. "I know, as recommence, I'll take that quirk of yours. So simple, and so powerful, it's perfect for me."

I turned up the heat.

"Oh my, what part about heat resistance did you not understand?" All for One frowned as I continued to push my quirk to its limits. The ground beneath me melted, and my suit was burning away. "Accept defeat."

Fuck that.

I felt his hand on my forehead.

"I have a plan."

"Eat this."

"Huh?" All for One looked shocked as he pulled his hand back. "Why can't I take your quirk? Why—"

One for All.

If that transfer worked. If All Might's plan meant anything.

Then please.

I grabbed All for One by his arms, holding him to me as I worked my way to my feet. I could feel it. I could feel that raw power finally waking up inside of me after hours of being dormant. Stupid heroic bullshit. I channeled all my anger.

One for All. Please.

Please give me.

EVERYTHING!

"You fool! What part about heat resistance do you not understand!" I felt him lash out against me; his kicks stung, but I kept my grip. "You're only going to burn yourself out!"

There was no logic in what I was doing. It wasn't some brilliant tactic. I wasn't that smart. This was pure brute force. I was going to test everything.

I stopped screaming, letting my flames roar for me as One for All channeled itself into my quirk, causing my body to creak, burst, and spasm as the power rushed outwards.

He might be fire resistant.

But did that apply to the air in his lungs? The air in his eyes? The air in his blood? The air in his bones? What did that mean? How hot could I get? How hot could he get before he stopped resisting? How much heat?

It didn't matter.

I was going to give him everything.

I burned brighter.

I burned hotter.

Every passing second I could feel my flames doubling in size, consuming more and more fuel as I burned.

I was going to burn him away!

I will turn his blood into ash and set his lungs on fire!

I will turn him to ash.

I will kill him.

I opened my eyes and saw a world of fire.

Inhabited solely by a dried and dead husk of a man.

And then.

Darkness.