Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku is dead.
This is a truth that Katsuki holds onto for five years. This truth is what keeps him going. When he endures endless nights battling instead of sleeping, or trudges through snow for miles on end praying that the frostbite won’t be too bad, or sneaks into a monster camp to fight ten versus one, he’s reassured by the unequivocal fact that Midoriya Izuku is dead.
For five years, Katsuki ventures through Hyrule, and he stops looking for green hair and green eyes wherever he looks. He stops hearing the ghost of Izuku’s voice beside him, debating the merits of using violets versus armoranth to create purple dye, or rambling on about Hyrule’s history and his favorite iterations of the princess and her chosen night.
He stops waiting for the world to change, and instead faces everything head on. Fight, eat, sleep, travel. His life is an endless blur of towns, forests, fields, fights, and early mornings spent hunting for the rare chance of actual meat. He rarely speaks. He trains. He updates Aizawa every few months.
Kirishima keeps him sane. He’s still new to his human form, so he stays as a dragon most of the time anyway. Katsuki doesn’t mind. He feels more animal than human most days too. It also helps that most fights become trivial when you have a fire breathing dragon on your side.
In five years, he travels every corner of Hyrule more times than he can count. Each trip, he discovers something new. One time, he ducks behind a waterfall to find a cave made entirely of luminescent stone that bathes the cool alcove in a deep green. Katsuki stays there for a long time. Another time, he finds a hollow containing only dead trees, dead grass, and rocks. He lays on a large boulder and thinks how beautiful it is to see a stretch of land destroyed by only nature. No monsters contributed to this death - the land simply died out of its own accord. Katsuki gazes upon the dried, cracked trees and whispers over and over, Midoriya Izuku is dead. Midoriya Izuku is dead.
It’s the first thing he thinks of when he wakes and the last thing he thinks before sleep.
On just another expedition, Katsuki and Kirishima leave the Faron region for Hateno village. They could have flown there in half the time, but the trail that winds northeast from Faron to Hateno is heavily traversed by travellers, which attracts monsters. Katsuki hasn’t walked this path in a while, so he figures they might as well clear it out while they’re here. It’s always preferable to defeat the monsters before a civilian is under attack. Katsuki avoids most encounters by hunting down the monsters first before they can find a human to prey on.
The trail to Hateno winds across the bridge over Lake Hylia, along the side of the Great Plateau, and through the Dueling Peaks - a mountain cracked right down the middle that allows travelers to walk straight through it instead of climbing over. A river flows lazily through the cracked mountain, showing travelers that civilization awaits at its end. It’s a hotspot for monsters because they can hide on the side of the mountain or inside the river, and then pounce on the passerby.
Katsuki and Kirishima walk along a cutout embedded in the side of the mountain, waiting for a monster to inevitably show itself. They walk in silence, the bated breath of an impending fight hanging between them.
In the distance ahead of them, Katsuki catches sight of a traveler. From what he can tell at this distance, it’s a young man with dark hair. A bow is strapped to his back and a sword is drawn at his side. Katsuki can’t see a monster yet, but he picks up his pace just in case.
Sure enough, the man steps to the side, dodging a blow from a lizalfos that crawled from the river. The man doesn’t seem entirely incompetent with his fighting, but Katsuki still rushes ahead. Lizalfos are quick bastards, and they’ve caught even Katsuki off guard in the past.
Even running at full speed, Katsuki isn’t able to make it there before the lizalfos whips its long tongue around the man’s ankle and sends him flying down the river bank.
“Fuck,” Katsuki mutters. He draws his own sword and leaps from the trail down to the riverbank. He lands behind the lizalfos and curves his blade in a wide arc. The lizard monster jerks back just in time, narrowly missing what would have been a decapitating blow. It dances in front of him, light on its feet.
Kirishima runs to the fallen traveler. He shouts over his shoulder, “I’ll let you have this one!”
“Lazy ass!” Katsuki calls back. He widens his stance and grins, the excitement of the fight thrumming through his veins. He lunges with the sword, keeping his eyes on the soft part of the lizard's belly. It once again jumps away just in time, but Katsuki expects it. He turns his first strike into a feint and calls upon years of battle experience to adjust his blade’s trajectory. The lizalfos looks down at the sword embedded in its gut, then back up at Katsuki. He kicks the monster off his blade, and it’s dust before it can hit the ground.
Another demon slime returned to its hell hole. Good riddance. Katsuki looks back to where Kirishima is bent over the traveler. “How’s he doing?”
Kirishima holds out a hand to help the man to his feet. He takes it with a smile. “Thank you! I wasn’t expecting that-“
The man turns to Katsuki. The passage between the mountains is dark and blocks most sunlight, but a beam shines down onto the man’s hair, turning it from black to a dazzling emerald. When his eyes meet Katsuki’s, they’re as green as the forest, as green as the luminous stones in that cavern.
Katsuki tackles the man to the ground. He pins the man’s legs under his ankles, bracketing his knees around the man’s hips. He bears down his full weight, catching his hands in a tight grip and pressing his forearm against the man’s throat. “You have five seconds to explain yourself before I crush your windpipe and send your corpse back to the demon king.”
The man’s eyes are wide and so, so green. He doesn’t try to fight against Katsuki; he just lays there, staring up at him. “Kacchan?”
****
TWO MONTHS EARLIER
A man wakes up in a warm bed of water. He blinks his eyes against tendrils of blue light that swirl around the otherwise dark room. It’s not an unpleasant place, just distinctly lifeless, save himself.
He rises from his resting place, taking stock of his surroundings. The water sleuths off him, leaving him unexpectedly dry. The dim room, lit only by the blue light, is empty with one door. Only one way forward, then.
It’s only when he places his hand on the door before him that he realizes: not only does he not recognize his surroundings, he doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t know how he got here. He doesn’t know what this place is, or how long he’s been here. He doesn’t know his own name. Unease builds within him, but he has no choice but to push forward.
He pushes the door open into another dark room. He finds clothes laid out for him - a simple shirt and pants, with belts that have loops for weapons. The clothes are stale and covered with a fine layer of dust. They’ll do the job, but they’ve clearly been here a long time. There’s a few storage pouches that he attaches to his belt, but they’re empty.
He leaves that room and ventures onward into a long corridor. At the end of the tunnel, a light shines. It’s so strong against his eyes that he shields himself from it, suddenly missing the dark seclusion of the tunnels as his eyes burn.
A voice reverberates - inside his mind, he’s pretty sure - as the light grows stronger. Izuku. Izuku, you are the key. You are the light Hyrule needs. You must find me. Find me, and we’ll fight together.
The voice is rough but sincere and urgent. He wants it to keep talking, to tell him where he is, who he is, anything to keep him grounded. That voice. That voice…
His complete lack of memories bars him from remembering who the voice might belong to, but he knows he must have heard it before. It feels familiar in the same way that breathing and walking do. No one had to tell him how to stand up and walk; no one has to tell him he’s heard this voice countless times.
Izuku.
That must be his name. Izuku. He likes it, he supposes. Not that it makes a difference. But similarly, it feels familiar and comforting and right.
Izuku presses forward, toward the dazzling light. The tunnel opens up into a cave mouth, and past the cave mouth, a swath of rich green grass covers a wide ledge. He walks to the edge, as quickly as his weak and atrophied legs can carry him.
Before him stretches an endless expanse of land. Izuku’s breath catches in his chest as he takes it all in. Miles upon miles of lush, green forest lay ahead of him. Beyond the forest is a steep drop off on all sides. He must be on a plateau. In the distance, snow capped mountains line the horizon. In the center of it all sits a castle. Even from here, he can tell that it’s massive and that something is very clearly wrong. Black clouds billow from underneath it, obscuring most of it from view.
Izuku forces himself to look away, and instead focuses on his immediate surroundings. He needs to find food and shelter. He could use the cave he came from as refuge, but now that he’s breathing the open air and can feel the warm sun on his face, the idea of going back into the dark corridors makes his skin crawl.
He ventures through the surrounding forest, collecting apples and mushrooms and nuts. He narrowly avoids what he can only describe as a monster - a red creature with large teeth, leathery skin, and a wooden club in its hand. After that, Izuku grabs a large stick of his own - barely a weapon, but better than nothing.
From what he can gather, he’s on a wooded plateau that’s devoid of people. Izuku explores and scavenges and searches, but the only sign of life that he finds is a small, one room cabin. It has a cooking pot outside, but it’s clear that the fire under it hasn’t been lit for a long time. As the sun sets, Izuku starts a fire and cooks his mushrooms and nuts. There’s a lumpy bed in the cabin with a thin blanket, but he’s grateful to have anything to stay safe from the monsters that roam this land. He trades his stick for a rusty sword lying against the wall of the cabin. Trying to ignore the wind whistling around the cabin, Izuku crawls into the bed and falls into a fitful sleep.
When Izuku wakes, there’s a man sitting at his bedside. He shoots up, immediately reaching for the small sword.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to take you by surprise,” the man says. He has short white blonde hair and a wide smile that shows too many teeth. Izuku tightens his grip on the sword, trying to determine if this man is a threat.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Izuku asks. It’s only then that he notices his voice is raspy and dry. He hasn’t tried to speak since he woke in the cave, and it’s clear that his time spent sleeping has taken a toll on his body in more ways than he anticipated.
“I actually am here to tell you what you are doing here, Midoriya. There’s no need to be frightened of me. I am just a spirit - even if I did intend to harm you, which I do not, I’m incorporeal.”
Izuku studies the man. There’s a faint shimmery quality about him, and if he unfocuses his eyes, he can vaguely see the other wall of the cabin through his body. He tentatively lowers his sword. “I thought my name was Izuku.”
The man raises his eyebrows. “It is. Midoriya Izuku. What do you remember from before waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection?”
Shrine of Resurrection? Had he been resurrected?
Izuku doesn’t want to admit the truth, but his desire for information overrides his caution. “Nothing. I heard someone talk to me, and call me Izuku, but that was it. I don’t know anything else.”
“Hm.” The man nods thoughtfully. “I guess that would explain why you didn’t recognize me, then. It’s not surprising that the shrine turned out to have side effects - it is ancient technology, and not used except in the most dire of circumstances. Memory loss is inconvenient, but thankfully not fatal.”
Izuku’s head is swimming. What on earth is this man talking about? He feels nauseous, his meager dinner churning in his stomach. “How long was I asleep?”
“Oh, I’d say about five years. You were seventeen when you were…injured, so that would put you at about twenty-two now.”
Izuku’s jaw drops. Five years in a bathtub, asleep while the world passed him by. Five years of his life, gone. Did that even matter when he’d lost all twenty-two years of his life by no longer having any memory of it? And if he’d truly been brought back from the dead, five years seemed small in comparison.
“My apologies, I’m doing this all out of order. I promise there is an explanation for this. You may call me All For One. I am an ancient being who has roamed this land for thousands of years. I’m here to watch over you and protect you as you regain your strength.”
Izuku narrows his eyes. “Did you know me? Before?”
The man nods. “Certainly. While our bond was not known to many, you were like a son to me.” He flashes that wide smile again.
Relief pours through Izuku. He sits down heavily on the bed, letting the sword drop by his side. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” he says.
“Is your memory a blank slate? Or are there fragments left?”
Izuku pushes to the reaches of his mind, searching for any trace of this man. He finds nothing, just the same as it had been since waking. “Nothing. I don’t think it helps that I don’t know what I’m trying to remember since I’ve forgotten it. I tried searching my mind for you, but nothing.”
Disappointment flickers over the man’s face before it’s quickly replaced with that smile. Izuku knows it’s not his fault, but he still feels guilty.
“What do you mean by ‘our bond wasn’t well known’?” Izuku asks instead.
“Well, Midoriya,” All For One pauses. “I’m not sure I should tell you this so soon. You’re still in a delicate state.”
Izuku glares for all of two seconds before All For One speaks again.
“But, you are a strong man and deserve to know the truth. I won’t reveal it all to you at once, because that would surely be overwhelming. But as you heal over the coming days, I will tell you more about my past and yours.”
Finally Izuku can get some answers. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate anything you’ll tell me.”
“Long ago, I used to share power over this land with another goddess, Hylia. She ruled over the skies, while the earth was my domain. There were also the Depths, a world underneath the surface that is dark and full of wild magic. There were dragons as well, powerful creatures that contain the very essence of the elements. They weren’t restricted to any one domain like Hylia and I, as flying grants them complete freedom. In that time, I simply sought to live freely. I’ve been denied that right time and time again by Hylia and her…spawn.” He says the word with heavy disdain, his lip curling. “As the god of the surface, the humans worshipped me dutifully. But Hylia, isolated in the sky with no constituents, grew jealous and greedy.”
“She wanted to control all three domains, to wipe out anything that did not bow down before her, but she was sequestered in the sky. In order to encroach onto my lands, she mated with a surface dwelling mortal, and not just any mortal, the human king of the surface lands. Her divine power infiltrated humanity through their spawn, and her bloodline lives on to this day through the royal family, determined to wipe me and my brethren from existence.”
“I tried to fight against her of course. I tried to stop the insurrection of the surface lands, but she was already too powerful. She banished me to the depths, to scrape out a pathetic existence where I had to fight just to stay alive. Occasionally, I will gain enough power to make an appearance on the surface, but each time, the newest generation of goddess spawn will send me back to the pit. After a few thousand years though, you start to learn the lay of the land. So I’ve patiently bided my time, gaining power and new constituents from the creatures down in the depths. Not the most sophisticated creatures, but they’re loyal and strong.”
Izuku stares in astonishment, unsure of what to say. This man, if he could even really call him that, looks devastated by the story, despite the events being thousands of years past. And it does sound unfair, to be forced to live under the rule of a divine being against your will, to have your lands and constituents stolen out from under you.
All For One lays a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with you. Well, the goddess did not stop there. No, she abused her power even further,” he says with another sneer. “She bestowed part of her power into her half human spawn. But another piece of her power she imbued into a sword. Each generation, this sword chooses a human to wield it against me. This human is destined to join forces with her spawn and fight against me in the hopes that they defeat me once and for all. This battle has been waged for thousands of years with many generations and reincarnations. I have not known peace in a long time. You don’t remember, Izuku Midoriya, but you are that human of your generation.”
Izuku’s grip on his sword tightens. “Then I am your enemy.”
The man shows all his teeth in a smile. “Not quite.”
Izuku stares for another minute, debating once again between the merit of a battle fought versus gaining more information. All For One is merely a mirage though, and Izuku can’t begin to imagine how to fight against such a thing.
“We formed an alliance long ago, Midoriya. You grew up in the castle, groomed from a young age to be a prime soldier in the misguided fight against me. You didn’t want this for yourself, but the sword chose you anyway. It took your choice away, when you just wanted to be left alone. Just like how I wanted my freedom, and the goddess barred me from it. You might have grown up within the castle walls, but I raised you. I gave you purpose. I showed you another way of life.”
Izuku searches the man’s face for any slip, any sign of a lie. He shows none, and his eyes are alight with an enthusiastic gleam. “You knew me then? Before I lost my memories? What was I…” Izuku trails off, suddenly overwhelmed with all the questions he could ask.
What was I like? Did I have any family? Are they alive? And if I was the sword’s chosen hero…
“The goddess spawn. The one I was destined to fight alongside. Are they still alive?”
All For One sighs. “As far as I can tell, yes. The princess is still alive. I haven’t seen her since before you fell in battle, but I can sense her presence. There is someone else, however…” He pauses thoughtfully. “After you died” -Izuku fails to resist a wince at the choice of words- “the sword was once again without a master. There was another man who seized control of the sword. He had longed for it for years, had lusted after it when it was in your possession. He waited for his moment of opportunity, and when you fell in battle he took the sword for himself, forcibly becoming its master.”
Anger flashes through Izuku. “That’s horrible.”
The man nods. “Certainly. But I suppose now that you’ve awoken once again…the sword should respond to you as its true master. It will call to you.”
“Then I am to seek the sword.” A fierce possession Izuku can’t explain courses through him. All he knows is that this sword shouldn’t be in the wrong hands, and he’ll do what it takes to protect it.
“For now, you are to regain your strength. But yes, in time, the sword is yours to reclaim. And with it, we will have the power to reclaim the surface lands from Hylia.”
Izuku buzzes with the need to ask more questions, to learn as much as possible, but he’s been standing on guard for too long, and his weak legs sag beneath him. All For One rises and then seems to realize that as an incorporeal being, he can’t do much. Izuku tries to wave him off. “I’m fine. Just still adjusting to being alive, I guess.”
“Of course. This was probably a lot to take it at once. I’ll leave you to rest.”
“Wait! I wanted to-”
All For One raises a hand. “I’ll still be here when you wake. I’ll help you through this unprecedented time. You are like a son to me, after all.”
Warmth blooms in Izuku’s chest. After a day of everything being so unfamiliar to him, the knowledge that someone cares about him is as comforting as a warm blanket.
“I’ll answer all your questions in the morning,” All For One says. “For now, sleep.”
Izuku thinks it’s ridiculous that he has to rest when he’s been sleeping for five years, but he can’t deny the heavy exhaustion pulling at his eyelids. The promise of a mission, of some kind of attainable goal, reassures Izuku. He’s felt directionless since waking, only thinking far enough ahead to ensure his own survival - finding his next meal, a shelter for the night. Looking further ahead was too intimidating, too incomprehensible.
An entirely unknown world awaits him, waiting for him to accept his own script in the elaborate play of the fight between the gods. All For One is right - for now he’ll rest. And then tomorrow, his journey will begin. Despite having gotten enough sleep for a lifetime, it pulls him into unconsciousness once again.
****
It becomes quickly apparent that Izuku is far off from beginning his journey. Despite not doing anything particularly strenuous the day before, Izuku wakes to stiff joints and sore muscles. He attempts to stretch what he can, but it seems that whatever stretching knowledge he had in his previous life hasn’t continued with him in this one.
After Izuku makes use of the stone cooking pot outside the abandoned house, All For One reappears. In the morning light, it’s much more apparent that he’s an apparition. There’s a faint foggy look about him, and if Izuku looks at him from the corner of his eye, he can see straight through him.
All For One thankfully begins their training with a thorough stretching routine that reaches all of Izuku’s atrophied muscles. All For One doesn’t sit down and instead opts to pace with his hands behind his back as he talks Izuku through the stretches. He speaks sporadically of stories of the past or descriptions of the depths, the place he’d made his home.
“It takes great effort to appear here in person,” All For One explains. “I reside in the depths and am technically banned from the surface lands. All I can manage is this mirage, but it hardly compares to a physical body.”
“Why not bring me to the depths then? Surely it would be better for me to train with you in person.”
All For One shakes his head. “The depths…it’s no place for a human to heal. There are no natural sources of light. Creatures lurk in the darkness, and while I have made alliances with most of them, it’s tenuous. The ground itself is toxic to humans in prolonged amounts. Best for you to regain your strength here.”
All For One never uses the word heal. He talks exclusively of regaining your strength, to the point where it makes Izuku wonder just how strong he’d been before.
All For One hasn’t mentioned much of Izuku’s past, and he’s getting desperate for it. How did he decide to betray the princess? Was his life among the nobility so terrible? Was he the only one that All For One took under his wing? He longs for any guidance from his previous self.
They start small with training - stretching and running for the first few days, and then the basics of sword fighting. With the small iron sword he found in the cabin, he learns everything from basic fighting stances to complicated spinning attacks. All For One instructs him through each move, ordering repetitions with the repeated again, good, again. It’s grueling work, but Izuku ends each day a little less exhausted than the day before.
All For One is a stern teacher. As he notices Izuku’s improvement, he pushes him harder and harder, sometimes keeping him training from sunrise until past dark with no break. Izuku doesn’t mind because his methods, while strenuous, are clearly effective. The rush of joy Izuku experiences when he finally lands a kick he’s been practicing or succeeds in running across an entire open field at top speed without losing his breath makes it all worth it.
But eventually, Izuku has enough. He knows All For One is keeping information from him, and while it made sense for the first few weeks, he isn’t weak anymore. He can handle it. In the middle of learning a jumping attack, he asks, “What aren’t you telling me?
He’d been so caught up in his own thoughts he’d unintentionally interrupted All For One’s ongoing monologue about the attack. The look he gives Izuku sends ice running through his veins. All For One has been invaluable to Izuku these past few weeks, but he’s still intimidating.
“Why must you know?” A question for a question. A common tactic he uses.
“To do my mission to the best of my ability, I need the most information possible. How will I find the man who stole the sword? If I run into anyone who knew me previously, how do I pretend to know my past? Sir,” He adds on, almost having forgotten the honorific. All For One had implemented that rule early on - Izuku is always to address him as ‘sir’ or ‘master’.
All For One clenches his jaw. “You would do best to not question me. But very well, I will answer what questions I can.”
They continue their session, and All For One doesn’t mention it again. Izuku wants to know when his questions will be answered, but he knows better than to ask his master twice. After they finish their training for the day, well past dusk, Izuku sees All For One standing at the edge of the plateau. Usually he disappears after they finish and only returns in the morning, so Izuku figures this is his chance.
He goes to join All For One, and before speaking takes a moment to capture the world laid out before him - more woods, two mountain ranges, the sea. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and a lump forms in Izuku’s throat every time he fully gazes upon it.
“I suppose it’s time to tell you how you came to be here. I’ve been hesitant, but you’ve improved much and I believe you’re ready now.”
Izuku looks up to see a flat expression, and is taken aback once again by how ageless All For One appears. For being thousands of years old, he doesn’t look any older than forty, but the weight of his years shows in the harshness of his jaw and the storm clouds behind his eyes.
“You were not killed by the goddess spawn.”
Unease coils in Izuku’s gut as he tries to remember the specifics of their first conversation. “But Master, you said-”
“I purposely misled you, Midoriya, but it was for the best to wait. You see, this is a rather delicate situation that is difficult to explain.”
All For One pauses before continuing. “You were killed by a man you were very close with.”
Izuku feels the air expel from his lungs. “How…how close, sir?”
“Very, from what I could tell. A childhood friend. You grew up together, but he was always a bit harsh with you. And then something caused him to become very jealous of you."
Izuku waits for him to continue. When All For One gets in these pensive moods, he likes to pause and let his words breathe, as if Izuku will remember them better if All For One speaks them slower.
“You already know that you were the chosen hero of your generation - chosen by the sword to fight with the goddess spawn against me. And I told you of a man who was jealous of you, who wished he was the one to wield the sword instead.”
Another pause where Izuku barely dares to breathe. He doesn’t like where this is going.
“Izuku, that man was your childhood friend. You grew up together, trained together. Yet glory was more important to him, and he envied your closeness with the princess. Five years ago, you aided me in the strongest effort I have ever made to regain power. I came close, but in the midst of the fighting, he killed you and took the sword for himself. It must have deemed him worthy, because he still wields it to this day.”
Izuku’s heart hammers in his chest so hard he can hear the blood rushing in his ears. The reality of it seems too tragic, too horrible to be true. “How do you know this? How do you know he still wields it? And are you sure he didn’t discover my loyalty to you? He couldn’t possibly have just - killed me outright in cold blood, right?”
It sounds desperate, even to his own ears. Despite not even knowing this man, what he looked like or his name or even any memories Izuku made with him, it felt wrong. There had to be something All For One was missing, an explanation -
“I know he still wields the sword because he fights against me every few months, to ensure my power stays depleted. I’ve grown stronger over the past several years, because our attack five years ago was not entirely in vain. But as I remain banished to the depths, I’m unable to regain my rightful place here on the surface.”
“What about the princess? Is she still alive? You said he envied my closeness with her.”
All For One nods thoughtfully. “I haven’t seen her in years, but I know she must still be alive somewhere. I can only imagine he’s keeping her somewhere, if they’re not working together. It’s hard to tell. Why has he been the one fighting me instead of her? She has the power to banish me to the depths completely. Why hold back?”
Izuku hesitates, not sure if All For One meant it rhetorically. But after a few moments of silence, he suggests, “Maybe she can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe she doesn’t have the power to fully banish you. If she’s still alive, and she’s still against you, it’s the only other option that makes sense.”
All For One hums. “I hadn’t considered that. I don’t think it’s likely. I’ve seen her use the goddess’s power before. The night you died, actually. You asked how I knew this all to be true. It’s because I was there. I watched it happen.”
In the time Izuku has known him, All For One has shown minimal emotion. He’s been pensive, determined, frustrated. But never sad. Even his expression right now isn’t quite sadness, but there’s something like regret on his features. Izuku can’t imagine what it must have been like, to come so close to your freedom, only to watch your pseudo son betrayed by someone he held dear.
“And it’s not just that, Midoriya. You were dutiful in your work to protect the princess as her sacred knight. It’s…tradition almost, for the princess and her knight to have a deep affection for each other. I believe it was the same with you and your princess. You joined my cause because you were taken advantage of. You were only a child when you drew the sword and assumed your position. And just like that, your life was set out for you. Your freedom taken away, much like mine was. But despite your allegiance to me, you always held an affection for the princess.”
It doesn’t take much for Izuku to fill in the blanks between All For One’s words. “So I loved her? I loved her, and he killed me?”
All For One merely nods. “Do you see now where your mission lies, Midoriya? It’s not just about me and my cause. It’s about reclaiming your life from these people. It’s time for you to reclaim the sword and reclaim the princess from the imposter.”
“But…don’t you despise the princess? Since she has the blood of the goddess?”
All For One’s eyes tighten. “It’s not that simple. With the affection you hold for her, I’m sure we could reach a compromise. I merely want to reclaim my rightful place as ruler of the surface lands. I don’t want any more struggle or bloodshed. I doubt the princess does either. I’m sure she’ll see reason.”
Izuku holds that reassurance close to his chest. He understands why All For One hadn’t told him all of this immediately. It’s overwhelming to have his life laid out before him, and to be told who he is and what he’s meant to do. It feels good to regain some form of purpose in his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that it’s like hearing about a complete stranger. Regardless, he trusts his former self completely. He must have made the best decisions he could at the time. To go against his former self now would feel like a betrayal.
“I can’t guarantee that the swords wielder feels the same. If he was willing to kill you once, there’s no reason he wouldn’t do it again.”
Izuku stares out at the landscape, unable to find the right words at first. “My mission is to find him?” He means it as a statement but it comes out more of a question. “I’m to reclaim the sword from him, find the princess, and ensure your victory?”
All For One hadn’t mentioned his own personal goal in the matter, but Izuku can imagine the bigger picture. All For One nods. “You’re correct, Midoriya. The only way for me - us - to win is for you to reclaim the sword. That is what will tip the scales of power in our favor.”
Now knowing the full picture, Izuku goes through the next few days with reignited vigor. During their hours of training, All For One constantly drills it into Izuku’s head - who the enemy is, how Izuku is indispensable, how balance will be restored to the world with All For One’s victory. Izuku believes more than ever in All For One’s words and his cause, and he will not fail.
One morning, Izuku wakes early to find All For One waiting outside his cabin as usual. “It’s time,” All For One says.
Finally. “Yes, sir,” Izuku says. “I’ll prepare to leave as soon as possible.”
Anticipation thrums through Izuku as he organizes his supplies into his storage pouches and makes himself one last breakfast in the cooking pot. As he clears the cabin and begins his trek to the edge of the plateau, he feels a pang of sorrow. This plateau is all he knows. He’s grown used to the way the afternoon breeze flows through the tall grass outside the cabin, and he finds comfort in knowing which cliff faces have the best mushrooms. He’ll miss this place. His travels will likely take him all across Hyrule - maybe he’ll get to return one day, but he won’t be the same.
Izuku joins All For One where he overlooks Hyrule from the border of the plateau. It’s an outcropping of rock he hasn’t yet explored, because despite having spent two months here, there are still unexplored corners. Nestled in the cove of rocks is an unassuming chest that All For One doesn’t address as Izuku approaches.
“You know what you must do,” All For One says in lieu of a greeting.
“Yes, Master. I won’t fail you.”
All For One nods. “I’ve purposefully kept some information from you. That’s intentional, so that it’s realistic that you woke up with no memories. When you meet your murderer, you must remember: you cannot trust him, no matter what. He will do anything in his power to deceive you. He will lie, he will manipulate, but you must remember: he doesn’t care for you. If you give in to his deception, it will be your downfall. You will only be able to contact me through the chasms that lead to the depths. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that you are not to reveal your allegiance to me. There will come a time for that and we will join forces. But until then, you are the chosen hero, miraculously returned.”
Izuku doesn’t know how he could possibly be swayed into trusting his own killer, but he nods anyway. “Yes, sir. And thank you, for everything.”
All For One merely nods again. “Before you go, there’s something for you in that chest. It will aid in your journey, and in your descent from the plateau.”
Izuku kneels before the chest and breaks it open. Nested inside is a jumble of finely carved wood and dark woven fabric.
“It’s a paraglider. So that you may descend from high up areas safely.”
A lump forms in Izuku’s throat. “Thank you, master. I don’t know how I can repay you for all you’ve done.”
If Izuku didn’t know better, he’d say that there was a ghost of a smile on All For One’s lips. “I think you do know. Your first destination is Kakariko village. Tell them All Might sent you. He was a previous wielder of the sword, and they will trust you if you claim to have spoken with his vestige. I can’t give you any more information than that. Good luck, Midoriya. I will see you soon.”
All For One fades into nothing, and Izuku is alone.
He unfolds the paraglider, walks to the edge of the plateau, and jumps.
****
After landing safely at the foot of the plateau, Izuku analyzes his map of Hyrule. If he’s judging distance correctly, the journey to Kakariko village should take the better part of a day. It’s already mid morning, so he’ll probably have to stop midway before nightfall. As Izuku treks along a well worn path, he takes in as much of the scenery as he can. So far, it’s pretty similar to the plateau - the same types of trees, the same plants. It’s comforting to see things he knows are edible.
Occasionally, he sees the outlines of ruins, often inhabited by monsters. The pig-like creatures he saw on the plateau were called bokoblins, All For One had told him, but out here there are larger monsters, towering to almost twice his size. Thankfully, Izuku’s much better equipped now than he had been after two months of dedicated training. All For One had warned him that although the monsters are loyal to him, they will still view Izuku as an enemy, and to not hesitate to protect himself. They may be my constituents, he’d said. But you’re essential to this plan.
Izuku’s first major roadblock comes when the trail bisects two mountains. It actually looks like it had once been one mountain that had been split down the middle. Now a river runs through the crevice, and Izuku’s trail follows right alongside it. The issue is the monsters scurrying along the bank of the river and swimming in the tide. This is a new type of monster too - lizard like, and clearly capable in the water. Swimming down the river to avoid a fight isn’t an option. His other choice is to go around the mountain, but that’s even more daunting and would likely add an additional day to his journey. Through the mountain it is, then. Izuku draws his bow and ventures onwards. Hopefully he can take most of them out from a distance instead of trying to face them all head on.
The monsters are centered around a camp right on the bank of the river. He stays hidden behind an outcropping of rock and notches an arrow. It flies straight into the bokoblin’s head. The creature vanishes into a pile of ash before it can hit the ground. He notches another arrow, this time aiming for one of the lizards. Before he can release the arrow, the lizard whips around. Its beady black eyes center on Izuku, sending a chill up his spine.
The lizard slithers towards him, faster than he thought possible. He switches his bow for his sword and shield, just in time to block the lizard's tongue flashing out at him. He gets in a few good hits with the sword before the creature slashes at him with a wickedly pronged weapon. He dodges, jumps back, and tries to regroup. The creature stalks around him, waiting for an opening.
Izuku waits patiently. Sure enough, the creature strikes first, whipping out that weapon again. Izuku parries the hit with his shield, the force of it reverberating up his arm. It gives him the opening he needs to finish off the lizard. He strikes once, twice, and just as it’s turning to ash, a different lizard tongue latches around his waist and sends him flying.
Izuku slams into the ground, his bow digging into his back. As he struggles for air, he watches two men jump from a ledge alongside the mountain’s interior. One man races towards him while the other draws a sword with a wild grin and faces the last lizard head on. The man in front of him kneels down to his level.
“Are you alright?” he asks, eyes wide. Izuku struggles to get words out, the air still sucked from his lungs. “You’re so red,” he chokes out.
The man lets out a raucous laugh. His hair is flame colored, matching the patches of fiery scales that cover his bare chest. Jagged red horns arch upward from his hair, changing color in the evening light. His grin is full of sharp teeth.
Behind him, Izuku watches the last lizard turn to dust with a strike from the other man. He shakes the dust from his sword and walks over to them. The red man holds out his hand, and Izuku takes it gratefully. “Thank you! I wasn’t expecting that-“
As Izuku stands, he gets the first full look of the other man’s face - spiky blonde hair, dark red eyes, and harsh, angular features. He’s not wearing much of anything, only a cape and rows of necklaces stacked around a bare chest.
Izuku is about to thank him but in that split second, recognition flashes across the man’s face. Fury burns in his red eyes, and quicker than he can prevent it, the man full body tackles him. Izuku is back on the ground, the air out of his lungs for the second time in five minutes. The man looms over him with a feral scowl on his face. His legs fully bracket Izuku’s hips and his hands pin both of Izuku’s arms next to his head. The cluster of necklaces drape down from his neck, and they’re so close together that they brush against Izuku’s chest.
The man growls, like he’s some kind of animal. “You have five seconds to explain yourself before I crush your windpipe and send your corpse back to the demon king.”
Izuku knows logically that he should be struggling against him, trying to get away, but for some reason, he isn’t afraid of this man. For the first time since waking in the shrine of resurrection, Izuku feels almost comforted. He doesn’t know what it means at first, until a name comes to him. It falls into his mind - absent one second and there the next, as if he’d known it all along. Kacchan. This man’s name is Kacchan. And that warm feeling he’d gotten in his chest, the feeling of comfort - that was recognition, so unfamiliar of a feeling that he hadn’t even known what to call it. Izuku had known this man in his life before.
“Kacchan?”
The man’s face, which had been screwed up into a snarl, drops in shock. It lets Izuku see his eyes even more clearly. They’re such a beautiful, rich red. In a second, the snarl is back in place, this time even more vicious.
“Shut up! Shut the fuck up!” The man spits. “How do you know that name? Who the fuck are you?!”
Every part of this man is so familiar. He knows that this man is crucially important to him. There’s a thread that binds them, something that tightens between them as the man presses his forearm down on Izuku’s throat. The place in his brain where this man is meant to reside is completely empty, the memories ripped away. The thread tugs and tugs at that vacant cavity in his mind.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Izuku rasps.
“Yeah, right. This isn’t my first time seeing one of you fake fuckers. Tell me who you really are and what your plan is, and I might consider letting you live.”
Panic siezes Izuku as his breaths become more shallow. His vision starts to darken at the edges. In his terror, it clicks. Who else would be so quick to kill him on sight? Who killed him the first time? Izuku hadn’t thought he would find him this quickly. He hadn’t even been traveling for a day yet, and he already found his target. All For One had purposefully given him little information, but he’d said Izuku would know when he’d found him. Undoubtedly, this was him - his murderer and childhood friend. Kacchan.
“My name is Midoriya Izuku. I’m on my way to Kakariko village. I swear to the goddess that I’m not hiding anything.”
Kacchan bares his teeth and growls again. “You’re lying. Midoriya Izuku is dead. And if he wasn’t, he would know who I am.”
“I’m not lying! I don’t remember anything. I was resurrected so that I can fight the demon king. I lost all my memories. I need to find the lost princess.”
For a split second, Izuku can see through the man’s mask. His face stays in a scowl, but his eyes widen in shock. It’s gone as quickly as it came, and the mask is back.
“I don’t believe you,” He spits. “Tell me something only Izuku would know.”
“I told you! I don’t remember anything!”
“Well, you better figure something out because I feel like killing you for good measure anyway.”
Izuku needs to play his cards carefully. This is why All For One gave him such little information - his reactions need to be as genuine as possible to be believable.
“I don’t remember your name. But I know that you were important to me. I know that I trusted you, maybe more than anyone else.”
“That’s not good enough.” Another press of his forearm.
Izuku wants to scream. What could he possibly say to make his own murderer trust him? But he can’t fail All For One already, and he does know one thing that should convince Kacchan. He can’t say that the sword was stolen from him, but he can hint that he knows about it.
“I trusted you with something. A sword.” Izuku’s eyes flick to the weapon at the man’s back. It’s finely crafted, but still a typical sword. “But you don’t have it with you. And - Kacchan. Your name is Kacchan. It’s the only thing I remember.”
Izuku hadn’t meant to let the last words slip, but they were true. Surprise flickers over Kacchan's features, and he jerks back as if struck, just enough that Izuku can take a rasping breath.
“Another one of the demon king’s lackeys?” the scaled man asks. Izuku’s blood runs cold for a split second, certain he’s been found out. But Kacchan leans back, taking his weight fully off Izuku’s throat and instead letting it rest on his waist. Izuku’s able to take in yet another full body view of this man.
He’s gorgeous. It’s undeniable. His features are sharp and angular, his eyes bright with intelligence. His body is made of thick corded muscle, but he’s still lean, like a dancer. Almost half of his visible skin is dotted with scars - under his eye, down his arms, along his waist. The largest scars are near perfect twins of each other, curving under each of his pectorals. What kind of wound could have caused that?
Izuku loses his train of thought when the man shifts on top of him. In the panic of two near death experiences, he hasn’t stopped to think about how close they are. But Kacchan’s full weight presses down on him. Izuku’s face flashes hot and his breathing gets shallow for an entirely different reason.
Focus! He chides himself. It doesn’t matter that he’s probably the hottest man that’s ever lived! He literally killed you!
“Something like that,” Kacchan says. “He claims he’s the real deal. I fucking doubt it.”
“He looks just like how you describe Midoriya.”
“So did all the others. I’m tired of giving these fuckers any more chances.”
“Loosen up, Katsuki. Let’s see what he has to say for himself. If he’s a fake, it’s nothing we can’t handle. Remember how I said we should send the next one back to the demon king without his tongue?”
Kacchan sighs. “What did I tell you about weird forms of torture, Kirishima?”
“Save it for the demon king, I know. You don’t have room to talk, you’re pinning this poor kid. Let him up.”
Kacchan huffs. “Well, Izuku?” He says his name like a taunt, as if it’s a ridiculous prospect that it might actually be his name. “Are you going to try to stab me in my back if I let you go?”
Izuku shakes his head. “You saw me with those lizards. And I saw you with them. It probably wouldn’t be worth taking the chance.”
Kacchan’s teeth show in a cheeky grin. “Izuku always did have a harder time with those fuckers. I still don’t believe you though. And as soon as you betray me, I’ll take deep pleasure in spilling your guts.” He releases Izuku’s hands from where they were pinned and stands over him.
I believe you, Izuku thinks but doesn’t say. He must do everything in his power to keep this man from suspecting him. He has to befriend his murderer.
Kacchan reaches out his hand, and Izuku takes it.