(Kata POV – OFA Vestige World)
'That took longer than I expected,' I sigh internally.
Longer is relative. Getting in was still as fast, but there was some resistance that caused a delay. The quirk itself fought me, rejecting my entry before I ultimately forced my way through.
'So, the vestiges don't care that I'm not All For One, huh?'
I raise a hand, erecting a barrier just as jagged tendrils of green-black energy lash out, slamming against it with enough force to make the air tremble from the impact.
'…Looks like I have to set everything up here too.'
A cold voice slices through the air.
"What did you do to the Eighth and Ninth?!" Diagoro, the Fifth's, voice echoes across the void, sharp and accusing.
I turn toward him, lowering my hand as the tendrils retract. We're standing on a concrete platform suspended in endless black abyss, eight seats arranged like a tribunal. Only one remains occupied… All Might's. His vestige sits there motionless, only a solid elyellow construct with indistinguishable features. The rest stand, arrayed against me.
Their hostility is palpable.
"I don't know what you did to the Eighth and Ninth, but we let you force your way in here." Kudo, the Second holder of the quirk, says coldly. He doesn't hesitate as his gauntlet clicks, firing jagged blades that accelerate midair with Gear Shift, stabbing towards me with killing intent. With his other hand, he's already pulling out his rifle, loading a clip with military precision.
Bruce, the Third user, surges forward in exaggerated, deliberate strides. Each step winds tension into his body, Fa Jin storing energy for a devastating strike.
En, the Seventh, releases a plume of purple smoke, swallowing the platform in a choking haze.
I activate Radar instinctively—
—and freeze.
'…It's being suppressed?'
What should be a clear, omnidirectional sweep of the entire Vestige World collapses to a paltry ten centimeters around me. And even that sphere trembles, gnawed at by some invisible force trying to shrink it further.
Not just Radar. Everything resists me. Moving feels like wading through quicksand. Even standing here requires conscious effort, like the world itself is trying to eject me.
'Their collective willpower… they're using it to reject my presence here in the same way they did with All For One.'
I narrow my eyes. Deku and All Might's consciousnesses are conspicuously absent. Which means right now, it's just me against seven hostile ghosts in their own house.
'Perfect.' I think sarcastically.
I frown, but don't retreat.
'To assert willpower is simple. Decide what you want… and refuse to be moved.'
I drive my intent outward, forcing back against theirs. My presence burns a hole in their domain and carves out a section of the Vestige World that bends to my will, not them. The void trembles, fractures spreading outward as two forces clash for dominance.
"Stop him!" A voice barks from the smoke.
Kudo's projectiles shatter uselessly against my barrier as more Black tendrils whip forward again, hammering into the barrier from every angle.
But my barrier doesn't tremble. It's pretty much unbreakable unless they can exert over 10 tons of force over a surface as small as an atom.
Slowly, my influence spreads, and fifty percent of the Vestige World is under my control and free of their oppression. I stop there. Not because I can't push further.
But because the Vestige World is already trembling and would break apart if I did.
'At best I destroy OFA, and at worst… I turn All Might and Izuku into vegetables. I can survive, but it'd make me the villain in society's eyes.'
Which, while I don't care, would more trouble than it's worth and potentially affect Eri.
I click my tongue in irritation just as a figure enters my Radar, which covers my half of the world.
The Third launches forward, a punch, that immediately breaks all possible speed limitations, heading straight towards my head.
I barely give him a glance.
Telekinetic pressure slams down from my above, pinning him mid-stride and driving him face-first into the concrete. The ground cracks under the impact from the force. I maintain the pressure, preventing him for moving again without killing him.
'One down.'
I flick my hand, twisting the vacuum into shape until En's smoke collapses into a tight ball, then snuff it out. The fog vanishes, leaving the platform bare again.
The vestiges tense, eyes darting between me and the Third, who's still pinned to the ground as their unease bleeds into the air.
"I didn't come here to fight." I say slowly. "But if you guys fight me… I will fight back. And I don't pull my punches."
I let out a breath and unleash my quirk. Not targetted at them specifically, I just let raw force and power spread across the platform. Telekinetic pressure grips everything, crushing the air itself until the concrete seems ready to crack. I give them back the same suffocating oppression they tried to bury me under through OFA.
"Don't mistake restraint for weakness." I add, voice calm even as the pressure rises. "I'm mature enough to know lashing out solves nothing, but I'm also the kind of person to repay malice."
Then, I release my quirk. The weight lifts, and the vestiges collectively let out a relieved breath.
"Now…" I say, my voice pointed. "Do you want to talk? Or should we settle this peacefully with some violence?"
Their glares harden. A few glance at one another, sparks of defiance flashing in their eyes. I know that look. They're going to choose the hard way.
I sigh. "If I wanted to hurt you, if that was my intent, none of you could stop me. You know it. So why waste time?"
Nana steps forward, her eyes narrowed, but chin high. "If your intentions were good, you wouldn't have forced your way in here without Toshinori or Izuku."
I tilt my head. "And how else was I supposed to get in? You locked the gate. As for them… I don't know why they're not here."
"You expect us to believe that?!" Diagoro snaps, his fists tightening.
I almost groan. 'They're stubborn to the bone. Violence it is then—'
"I believe him."
The voice cuts clean through the tension. It's Hikage. His tone is calm, steady, seemingly unaffected.
Diagoro turns to him. "What?! Why would you trust this brat?"
Hikage doesn't even flinch. His gaze locks onto me, appraising and observing me. "My Danger Sense hasn't gone off. Not once since he got here. That means he doesn't intend to harm us at the very least."
Thebrets of the group pauses as his words carry weight.
Nana exhales slowly, then speaks. "And Toshinori and Izuku both trusted him enough to let him do this in the first place. That counts for something."
"I agree." another voice adds, softer but resolute. Yoichi steps forward. His presence is slightly calming. "If he'd harmed All Might in any way, his vestige would reflect it. But it hasn't changed."
The Second—Kudo—throws up his arms in exasperation. "You can't be serious! Look at him! He's still crushing Bruce into the floor!"
Yoichi's eyes meet mine, steady. "Can you release him?"
I raise a brow. "And if I do, will he attack me again? It doesn't help if we get right back to where we started."
Yoichi holds my gaze. "He won't. I'll see to it."
The others look between us. Suspicion lingers in the air, but Yoichi's authority seems to reign them in.
I shrug. "Alright." With a thought, the pressure binding the Third vanishes. He rises stiffly, glaring daggers at me, but true to Yoichi's word, he doesn't attack. Just dusts himself off and rejoins the group.
I keep my shield up anyway. Trust is one thing. Stupidity is another.
Yoichi turns to Kudo. "Is that enough to at least talk instead of fight?"
The Second clicks his tongue and looks away, arms crossed. "Tch. Doesn't mean I like it."
Yoichi exhales, then turns his full attention back to me. His tone is measured, almost diplomatic. "So. Okada. We are the vestiges of One For All, as you've guessed. I'm Yoichi—the first."
I nod once. "Kata Okada."
His eyes narrow slightly, though not with hostility. "Then let's begin with the obvious. Where are Toshinori and Izuku? The Eighth and Ninth. What happened to them?"
I open my mouth to answer when—
'Hm?' My eyes narrow, prompting Yoichi to tilt his head at me.
I focus, and All Might and Izuku are abruptly evicted from my mindscape.
Their forms shimmer into existence, solidifying in the air. All Might's form materializes on his vestige as he slumps back into the seat, his expression dazed… but also weighed down, his eyes burdened with something akin to guilt.
Izuku appears right beside me instead. His shoulders are tense, his face pale—not worn down like All Might's, but sad.
I roll my eyes. 'My childhood isn't that depressing. I lived through it, didn't I? Much less these two, who only had to watch.'
It's a strange, irritating kind of vulnerability. I know exactly what they saw, what they talked about with "Eri." They saw nothing important or incriminating.
But still… it's sloppy. I'll need to restructure my mind scape and prevent oversights like this. Not even the useless memories will be unprotected.
While I'm already reshaping my mental walls, the others finally begin reacting to Toshinori and Izuku's appearance. The vestiges murmur, shifting uneasily.
I ignore them. They can deal with that. I'm more interested in how OFA strengthens other quirk.
I don't get far before Izuku moves. With tears clinging to his eyes, he suddenly tries to hug me, only to phase through my body as I instinctively go intangible.
I blink at him. "…What exactly are you trying to do?"
He looks at me, lip trembling, eyes spilling over. "I—I'm so sorry you went through all that." His voice cracks, stumbling between sobs.
I frown, keeping my tone even. "You're not responsible, so I don't need your apology."
I know it sounds cold. I don't mean it that way. I just don't… know how else to phrase it.
'I don't need your pity' probably sounds worse.
But it's the truth. I don't want apologies from bystanders, no matter how well-meaning. The ones who did it are gone, and no apology would ever satisfy me anyway. Revenge is impossible. Making them regret is impossible. What's left to do is just… continue existing.
Predictably, Izuku looks crushed by my words, his face crumpling even as he keeps trying to hold my gaze. He wants to help, but I can't give him anything to work with.
I sigh. "It's in the past. Scars mean the hurt is over. The wound is closed, healed, done with." I raise my hand, showing him my palm. "And even those are gone now. So don't cry for someone who no longer mourns themself."
It's the closest thing to comfort I can offer him. I mean it. And yet, hearing myself say it, there's an emptiness in my chest I don't want to examine. It's not sadness exactly. I just no longer feel anything regarding the issue.
Izuku doesn't hear the finality in my tone… of course. He cries harder, shoulders shaking, as if trying to carry grief I won't admit is mine.
'What a hassle.'
I ignore him and look away, turning my attention back to the Vestige World. The oppressive air from earlier has dissipated after my will a d the Vestige's stopped clashing. The platform feels… calmer.
'If I can figure out how OFA strengthens quirks… then maybe I can boost mine, or any quirk.' I think, ignoring a few gazes that remained locked on me.
***********
A/N: Hello Everyone. How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
So, NHL, I'm white fatigued 🫠, so this might be short.
Here's the chapter. To be honest, I personally don't feel I described the Vestiges well enough. I differentiated them, but giving descriptions for each would've been... Exhausting, bit to write, and to read. Is I included their names, and sometimes which worker they were. Hopefully things don't get confusing 🫠.
Also, I tried my best to make the conflict natural. The reason so little time passed despite how much All Might and Izuku went through, is cause mind scape time dilation. I try not to Nerf characters, and how do I put it... It was home ground for the Vestiges, so Kata struggled (he didn't even struggle though) a little. Keep in mind, he could win at any moment, since he can affect the quirk from the outside, overpower and destroy them, and so on.
He's also trying to be diplomatic since these Vestiges would affect All Might and Izuku's image of him, which will have real world effects..
Next will be All Might and Nana's talk, then I think I'll do a small training arc and time skip before the final exams.
You can also read 10 chapters ahead and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
Anyway, that's all from me. I hope you all have a wonderful day/night😁.