When Izuka opened her eyes, she discovered herself alone in an empty field. The grass beneath her was green and crisp, and the blue skies, fluffy white clouds and shining golden sun completed the image of paradise that she was met with. Her body was free of the aches and fatigue she'd been experiencing due to her continuous battles with Stain and the Precepts, and even the heaviness that had settled in her heart from taking the life of Chizome had faded to naught but a muted sadness; a single tear left unshed. The green haired girl sat up, noticing she wasn't in her costume or any clothing she recognised; she was instead wearing a feather-light sleeveless white dress that ended just below her knees, leaving her ankles and feet bare as the day she was born. The material was like nothing she'd ever felt; it barely felt like it was there at all, as if it was little more than a wisp of white smoke turned solid.

Getting to her feet, Izuka flexed her muscles, feeling none of the usual power there... she was either dreaming, or had died for the final time and passed on. Truthfully, she doubted she had died; Izuka recognised the peacefulness of this place was much like the void, but she hadn't been in a life-threatening situation when she lost consciousness, so unless she was killed in her sleep, she was just dreaming. Either way, her quirks were not here and only the ever present sensation of the links let her know that any part of them still existed.

"Where am I?" she whispered to herself, a slight echo to her voice.

"You are sleeping." came a familiar voice, and Izuka turned to meet the speaker.

In front of her was a huge tree that had not been there before; a mighty oak with a trunk as thick as Izuka's house, and as tall as a sky scrapper. The tree was so massive, every branch was as thick as a full grown oak and the countless leaves, while normal sized, seemed to spread out for miles, causing the ground around the base of the tree to be shaded, illuminated only by the thin beams of light that escaped between the swaying foliage. Izuka expected that Mimic's Colossus could have comfortably rested beneath the humongous tree... it reminded her of the legends of Yggdrasil, the God Tree of Norse Mythology. At the foot of the tree was a man, thankfully normal sized, but his appearance made Izuka pale and do a double take to ensure she wasn't mistaken.

He was the spitting imagine of Tomura!

The man was skinny, with unruly shoulder length hair that was a pale white. His eyes were sunken and exhausted, with Izuka being unable to make out the colour and he was wearing a plain white shirt and black pants with no shoes. If his hair had been tinted blue and he'd had the facial scars, he'd be a dead ringer for Izuka's old captor.

"Who are you?" Izuka asked warily.

The man tilted his head, "Do you not remember me? We spoke before, during your battle with the boy you love..."

Izuka's eyes widened; "One for All!"

"Indeed... That is who I am. Tell me, do you like this tree?" the man asked. His tone was much more peaceful than any Izuka had heard from Tomura, to the point that it felt uncanny to have that voice coming from that face.

"Wait, I don't understand! I'm asleep and dreaming I guess, but why are you here? What's going on?" Izuka asked, confused.

One for All sighed and gestured to the patch of grass before him, urging Izuka to sit. The girl did so with some trepidation, too weirded out to fully relax. Once she was seated, One for All began to speak; "You are asleep. I cannot see or hear anything that you yourself cannot, as I am a part of you, yet I can sense the echoes of my self. One such echo is currently nearby, so I believe you are safe in the hands of your father. As for why you are here... this place is within you, a kind of visual metaphor for the power of your soul. I built it for you using the same techniques you use to seal and control your emotions."

"My Mental Fortress?" Izuka questioned, getting a nod in reply. "You've said something like that before, about building things, though before it was Seraphic Light..."

One for All smiled, "So that is what you call it? It is a beautiful name. It was your use of it against the Criminal that roused me from my slumber. I expected you to use it often... it was a powerful new toy handed to a gifted girl with dreams of becoming a saviour, yet you have barely used it and have not yet experienced its true power."

Izuka blinked, "Well, I would like to use it more, but it does a number on my body, so I can't use it for more than a few seconds."

The man sighed; "You have been given what is essentially a new muscle, how do you expect it to grow stronger if you don't exercise it? Have you not noticed the powers of your friends growing stronger as they used the powers you gifted them? By neglecting this power, you have not let it grow!"

"Oh! Of course, I should have known that... I'll need to talk to Aizawa-sensei about it. But I still have a lot of questions!" Izuka said, her hands twitching as if reaching for a pen and notebook that wasn't there.

One for All smiled, like a kindly teacher with an enthusiastic pupil. "I will answer what I can, but I am limited. You can only use about 20% of my power safely, so I can only pass on 20% of the knowledge I possess. Combined with the time limit, as you will likely wake soon... I'd say I can answer three questions."

"Okay, then I'll ask the main one first! You said I haven't been using Seraphic Light's true power, but what does that mean? Is there something else I could be doing with it?" Izuka asked.

"Indeed there is. Tell me, you have already learnt of how that power came into being, correct?" the man asked.

"We have a theory. My teachers and I believe that One for All, you, stockpiles fragments of the quirks I link with, then use my Evolution to fuse them into new quirks, or Plus Ultra Modes." Izuka explained.

One for All nodded sagely; "You are 90% correct. You see, your Link Evolution quirk is special as it is half naturally yours and half gifted to you by my hated counterpart, All for One. He gave you a quirk related to linking two beings together and it combined with the natural evolution part of your Phoenix quirk to create Link Evolution. When I was added to the equation by your father, I too was evolved. All for One is a quirk that revolves around stealing the power of others and making it your own... but thanks to you and your natural abilities, combined with my counterpart's hubris, I, One for All, have developed the power to take the powers freely given by those you link to and combine them together into new strength; quite literally "One" power born from "All". There is a limit however; you cannot use the power of these created quirks at the same time as Phoenix, Link Evolution or myself... your open links will remain open, but you will not possess the quirks they provide and while I doubt you'll stay dead, your body won't be able to heal itself properly. In addition, the fragments of these linked quirks is not enough, I must use either Phoenix or myself as a base to stick them too, or else there is no quirk factor to manage the created power; that is why you call these Plus Ultra Modes rather than new quirks."

Izuka's eyes widened and she brought a hand to her chest; she'd never thought of it that way... the people she linked with had quite literally become her strength! They had fought beside her and helped her the entire time, even if they'd not been there physically. It made her feel warm on the inside, like she truly did have all her friends within her heart. Seeing that Izuka was understanding, One for All returned to the original point; "As such, Seraphic Light was born from two fragments fused to Phoenix as a base. Can you tell me who those links were?"

"Aoyama and Momo! Naval Laser and Creation!" Izuka exclaimed. Without further guidance, Izuka put the pieces together herself; "Naval Laser's contribution to Seraphic Light is obvious; it lets me produce light in the form of lasers! With Phoenix as a base, my wings are changed and instead of healing fire, I can produce light that drains a person's stamina... my Healing Fire burns away injuries, while my Light burns away stamina! But while Momo's Creation could explain why my wings split into six, that can't be all it does!"

One for All clapped, "Well done! Creation is indeed responsible for the additional wings, as well as the crystal that forms from the locations you fire your light beams, but it has one other ability. With the light you produce, you can reshape it and change it, using it to build things much like your friend, Momo Yaoyorozu. However, there are two forms to your Light Creation, each with their own limitations. Firstly, you can manipulate light to create illusions, but you must be intimately aware of every facet of the object you are attempting to make, and as an illusion, it will be intangible; the concentration and control is also a lot more than you can currently manage. The second form of Light Creation allows you to create solid objects like Momo's normal quirk, but everything you make will be made of the same crystal as the lens that protect your skin from the light you produce. It is a strong material, probably just a bit stronger that steel, but practically weightless, however as the material is always the same, you're really just making shaped sculptures than real creations. For example, you could make a gun and ammunition, with all the internal workings identical to the real thing, but it won't shoot as the "gunpowder" would just be light crystal in the shape of gunpowder. Get it?"

Izuka nodded vigorously. The Illusions would likely be impossible to use practically for at least a couple of years, considering the control required, but the crystal constructs would be very useful! Feather-light constructs as strong as steel would be ideal! One for All did have some bad news however; "Be aware though; do not rely on your Light Constructs too much. They exist only while Seraphic Light is active; deactivate it, have it erased or pass out and they'll vanish. Each creation also requires a modicum of your concentration to maintain. It is an extremely powerful ability, but one that relies on firm control and a deep well of stamina. Until you have trained yourself to maintain your Plus Ultra Mode for at least ten minutes, I don't recommend using it at all, outside of training and emergencies."

The Girl focused carefully, trying to commit every detail to memory. Without thinking, she blurted out; "How do you know all this? You're a part of me, but I don't know it..." she asked, not really realising that this could be one of her three questions.

One for All chuckled however, and decided to throw her a bone; "I am a part of you, like your subconscious. You don't need to be consciously aware of how your body works for your brain to make it work. Every single thing that is a part of you has full knowledge of every other aspect of your being; it's just your conscious mind that is unaware."

"I see... That makes me wonder though... for my second question; why do you look like that? You look a lot like Tomura..." Izuka asked.

The pale man looked down at himself, then touched his face a bit. He then shrugged; "I honestly don't know. I am One for All, brother of All for One; this is just how I look."

Izuka's eyes widened; she'd been told the story of One for All's origins, but when ever she'd referred to it, she'd just spoken of the quirk. It never occurred to her that the first wielder would call himself One for All, just as his brother called himself All for One. "So are you the first wielder, or the consciousness of the quirk?"

"I believe it is both. You know already that when I am passed from wielder to wielder, I take pieces of those past wielders; both power and spirit. I am most likely the consciousness of One for All, given the shape of its first wielder by the echoes within me. Unfortunately, I have no concrete answer." One for All explained as best he could. Izuka was a bit unsatisfied with that answer, but couldn't really blame One for All, especially as he likely only became conscious because of her evolution quirk.

"There is so much more I want to ask... Is there a way for me to contact you again? Like during my match with Kacchan or now?" the girl asked.

One for All shrugged again; "It is... complicated. When not directly speaking to you, I am usually in a deep slumber. Using my power lets me briefly experience things as you do, but it is like a dream in my slumber. Using the Plus Ultra Modes I created are usually enough to rouse me, but it requires you to be mentally and physically exhausted and for your emotions to be running high for me to actually communicate with you. I can't be certain, but I believe this is because when you are in such a state, the barrier between your conscious and subconscious mind becomes weak enough for me to slip from one to the other."

"I suppose that makes sense... both times I've spoken to you, I've been unconscious or on the verge of it...." Izuka muttered. That but a hole in her plan to get more information... she doubted her friends and family would be supportive of her constantly pushing herself to such a serious level, and making her emotions as strong as they'd been fighting Kacchan or from killing Chizome would be next to impossible.

"Now, you will no doubt awaken soon, so as you have asked three questions, I would like to ask one of my one. In fact, it is one I have already asked, but you have no doubt forgotten... Do you like this tree?" One for All asked, an odd lilt to his voice, like a mix of nostalgia and curiosity.

Izuka blinked and looked up at the massive tree. It looked no different than it had when she'd first noticed it, but it was still an incredible sight simply by its sheer enormity. "I like it. It's the biggest I've ever seen! I think you could build all of U.A in it's branches."

One for All smiled, standing for the first time and patting one of the tree's massive roots. "This Tree and I are the same... we are both visual forms of One for All."

"Wait... you said something like that earlier. Something about this place being a visual metaphor that you made." Izuka pointed out.

"Correct. I am the consciousness of One for All, created when that quirk was evolved by Link Evolution. The true reason I wanted you to be here was to see this; this Tree was created as a visual representation of the power of One for All, planted and cultivated from wielder to wielder." One for All stated, and with a snap of his fingers, he and Izuka were floating in an empty black void, much like the one Izuka was banished to upon dying. Between them was a bubble of water that showed a vision within it, portraying the field they had been in previously.

As Izuka watched, a scrawny and terrified man; the first Wielder of One for All, dug frantically at the ground of the empty field and planted a glowing speck of light, no bigger than a sesame seed. The First Wielder vanished and the second took his place, appearing as nothing more than a messy haired shadow, he place his hands on the mound of dirt that held the glowing seed and light poured from him, causing the seed to grow and sprout. The Second Wielder vanished and the third appeared, again as a shadow though this time with their hair tied up. The Third place their hands on the sprout and poured light into it, making it grow. The same thing repeated itself four more times, the tree growing larger and larger with every drop of light poured into it but this time, Izuka could see real bodies and not just shadows. The Fourth Wielder was tall and muscular with hair much like her father's when it was in civilian mode, though it lacked the bangs, and the man also had a pair of scars running down his face that crossed his left eye and his lips. The Fifth Wielder was a nondescript man with short black hair in a large trench coat. The Sixth Wielder was a bald man wearing goggles, and open jacket and bandolier. The Seventh Wielder was impossible for Izuka not to recognise... it was Nana Shimura; her Grandpa's friend and her Papa's Master... the woman would have been Izuka's Grandma if she had lived. The resemblence to Izuka's mother was striking, though it was mostly the hair style and kind eyes. Without those features, Nana and Inko weren't much alike. The Eighth Wielder, Toshinori, oddly appeared as a ghostly being made of fire and light, who seemed to shrink and disappear as he flooded the now massive tree with light. Lastly, Izuka saw herself as a scrawny and terrified ten year old, looking so weak and terrified, seemingly emulating the first wielder with her fearful posture. Izuka watched her younger self pour her own light into the tree and it grew to its current size.

The Present Day Izuka tried to reach out and touch the bubble, feeling an incomprehensible urge to feel the energy flowing into the tree, when the bubble suddenly burst, shining light in all directions that Izuka was forced to shut her eyes and shield her face. When she opened them again, she was once again standing in the field in front of One for All, the massive tree at his back.

"Everything we are... All the other Wielders, Nana, Papa and myself, we all poured everything into One for All. This Tree is the representation of all our power... its amazing." Izuka whispered to herself, though One for All heard it.

The Man smiled kindly, "I thought this would be the best image for you. The Eighth, Toshinori and his predecessor Nana liked to think of One for All like a great flame, a torch to be passed down. Like many things, One for All can be controlled more efficiently through visualisation. A flame is a forceful image, a symbol of attack, of combat and strife. For a warrior such as your father and his master, that is a worthy image, but for you, a more peaceful and protective image is suited, hence the tree. It is somewhat ironic, considering your powers revolve heavily around flame."

Izuka grinned sheepishly; fire was more of a Kintaro Family Trait, but even if it didn't suit her, the girl had still made it her own. "Um, can I ask what this is all about? It's not that I don't appreciate what you've told me, and I've learned a lot, but I feel like there's a greater significance to all this."

One for All pointed up into the foliage. Directly above them, hidden amongst the leaves was a bird, perched peacefully on one of the tree's many branches. The bird was massive, easily the size of All-Might, with even larger wings, a swan-like neck and a crest and tail consisting of long golden feathers. The rest of its body flickered and moved constantly, appearing to be part fur and part flame. It was the most beautiful bird Izuka had ever seen, and a clear reference to Phoenix.

As Izuka gazed at the bird, the man before her spoke; "I wanted you to see this for two reasons. The first is simply so you could see what lies within you; the burden and the blessing of One for All... the second is much more serious. You know how this quirk... how I came to be? The man I was, or the First Wielder had a hidden quirk that allowed one to pass his quirk on to others, and he was then given a Stockpiling Quirk, the two of which combined into One for All. Something similar happened to you, when your Evolution combined with the Link quirk to form Link Evolution."

"I know, Papa explained it all to me." Izuka said.

"What you might not have realised, is that the idea of two quirks fusing into one is quite rare and usually only occurs in the womb, when a child's genetics are in a malleable state and as a result of them obtaining the quirk genetics from both parents... Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugou are both fine examples of this. One for All and Link Evolution are one in a million events. For One for All it was a fluke, brought about by the First Wielder having similar genes to All for One, due to their blood relation. For you, it was because your Evolution abilities made your genetic code highly adaptable. That adaptability had not changed; as it stands, Phoenix, Link Evolution and One for All may eventually combine within you into a single quirk."

Izuka froze. She was highly aware that all her abilities made her very powerful, with her main weaknesses being the high physical cost combined with her own inexperience and naivety. Strictly speaking, the combining of those powers into a single quirk would have no real bearing on her personally, but it would definitely effect One for All being passed on! The Quirk's consciousness immediately knew what she was thinking and nodded sagely; "Yes, my Beloved Wielder... Should you pass on One for All, whoever you pass it too will also receive Phoenix and Link Evolution, as well as whatever Links and Plus Ultra Modes you possess. As that would mean you'd be left with only an echo of your original power, which would eventually fade, this would mean you'd become mortal again. As it stands, you will likely never die permanently and may even cease to age if Phoenix and Link Evolution continue to adapt your body; passing on your power would be accepting your mortality and the inevitability of death."

"So I'll have two choices; live forever as the last wielder of One for All, or pass it on and eventually die." Izuka gulped, "To be honest, living for eternity doesn't really have any appeal to me, so it's not a hard choice to make, but with immortality thrown in, this power could be a huge burden on any successor I have... or worse, if I or another successor chose poorly, it could fall into the hands of a villain!" She suddenly looked up, realising she'd just called the man before her a burden, but he smiled and waved her off.

"It is a lot to take in, I know, but you deserved to be told the truth. For the record, the combining of these quirks, while an inevitability, hasn't occurred yet. Should you pass on One for All before that happens, then the problem would end. However, considering your every death or near-death experience causes you to evolve a little further and the rate at which you've been in these situations recently, I'd say you have little more than a year." One for All told her.

Izuka nodded and yawned. With all the information she'd learned, she felt worn out and desperately wanted a nap. Without really thinking, she sat down beside One for All and rested her head on his shoulder, noticing the man smelt of apples. Due to the appearance of the man, Izuka felt an old memory come back to her from her time as All for One's prisoner; Tomura had often had her sit with him like this, with her leaning on his shoulder and falling asleep whenever the unstable boy wanted to watch some random show. In her memory, whenever she fell asleep with Tomura, she'd reawaken in whatever place All for One decided was her room now (usually a dog crate, cell or sparse bedroom depending on how obedient she had been). This time however, Izuka doubted she'd awaken in such a place. As her mind began to fade to black, One for All began to hum a vaguely familiar tune and right before she finally succumbed to sleep, he whispered to her; "My Beloved Wielder, yours is not the only tree in the forest. Many other saplings grow nearby... they will be your strength, greater than any quirk. Trust them; none of the twenty will betray you."

[THE WAKING WORLD]

Izuka slowly awoke, discovering she was now in a hospital room. Her clothes were a simple hospital gown and all the aches and fatigue of the previous day came flooding back, though thankfully lessened. Her body was tired and felt heavy, especially her chest. Wiggling a bit so she could look down at herself, Izuka smiled as she realised why her chest felt heavy; Little Eri was peacefully dozing on her.

"Izuka, you're awake." Inko said quietly from the chair beside Izuka's bed, "Thank goodness. The doctors said you were healthy, but so exhausted you might be out for days!"

Inko leaned forward and stroked Izuka's face, whereupon Izuka noticed the tears rolling down her own face. Just as her fatigue was back, so too was the pain from killing Chizome. It burned in her chest and made her heart feel tight and heavy inside her. Inko picked up on her daughter's feelings and kissed her forehead. "Oh my dear, I know it was horrible for you, but you did the right thing. Your father told me all about what happened; if you hadn't done what you did, Poor Tenya would have been killed."

"I know Mom, but it still hurts. I had such a strange dream too... I need to talk to Papa about it. How long have I been out?" Izuka asked, bravely brushing away her tears.

"Only a single night. It's 9AM on Friday. Today should have been the last day of your Work Experience, but everyone decided that you, Shoto, Tenya and Koji had all done enough for one week!" Inko said jovially. She didn't push Izuka to talk about what happened; Inko would wait until she was ready. Needless to say, Izuka would be having a few more sessions with Doctor Nekozawa.

Izuka was glad she hadn't been out for too long. Her week had been a damned long one; fighting Blade Jester over and over on Monday, battling Gammon and Overhaul on Tuesday, a day off on Wednesday and then Stain and the Eight Precepts on Thursday? The Poor girl deserved a break, and as she looked down at her snoozing little sister, she knew exactly what she'd be doing. Izuka playfully poked Eri's cheek, making the girl coo like a baby and snuggle further in to her Big Sis. Inko giggled at this and stroked both her girls' hair. "We saw the Eight Precepts attacking Hosu on the News. When your father said they had kidnapped you, Poor Eri overheard and wouldn't sleep until you were safe. The moment she saw you and we assured her you were just sleeping, she crawled into your arms and passed out!"

"She's a real sweetie. The Eight Precepts are all gone now; they won't be coming after her again. Eri is safe for good." Izuka said with finality. Inko didn't say it, but she thought that was an understatement... her eldest daughter had killed a man when there was no other way to protect her friend, so Inko didn't want to think what Izuka would do if someone threatened Eri.

"Mom, where's Papa and everyone else?" Izuka asked.

"Your Father is talking to Principal Nezu. Other than you, both Shoto and Aizawa-sensei are in hospital too. Shoto for exhaustion from overdoing his Plus Ultra Mode, and Aizawa-sensei from an accidental Trigger dose which did something strange to him. They're both alright, but between them and the Press and Police, your father stepped out so you could be left in peace. He'll be back shortly."

Izuka sighed with relief. The Press had witnessed the whole final moments of the Precepts fight, including Stain's death. Izuka didn't want to deal with that for now. With thoughts of One for All and his words to her running through Izuka's mind, the girl leaned back in her bed and rested. She wouldn't worry about One for All's revelations until she'd spoken to All-Might, and until then, she was content to stroke Eri's hair.

[ELSEWHERE]

Tomura sat at his usual stool in Kurogiri's bar, scratching angrily at his neck. Everything had been going so well in Hosu! His Noumus had wrecked the city, and while most had died, Chameleon and Gargoyle had managed to capture the Little Bird! She was in their grasp and they just had to get to a clear spot for Kurogiri to open a Warp Gate and she would have been theirs! But that damnable Hero Killer had interfered and then teamed up with those Precepts!

"FUCKING TRAITORS!" Tomura roared in a fit of rage, decaying another bar stool and a pair of mugs.

"Be calm, Tomura." came the voice of Sensei, speaking through a monitor to the side of the angry young man, "The Eight Precepts have fallen and Stain was personally killed by Phoenix, or Seraphim as she now calls herself."

"For real? The Little Bird actually killed that Hero Killer? HA! I knew she was still ours!" Tomura cheered.

Sensei nodded, "Indeed, though All-Might will no doubt seek to "fix" this defect in his little saviour. We must be ready to take her back. I still have contacts in the Press and Police, which is how I learned of all this before the news broke. The Precepts and Stain were nothing but tests; experiments to see how strong our young friend has grown... now that we know the truth of her power, we can prepare our own forces. Tomura, I am giving you command of the Thirteen... let us see how they fare."

Tomura's grin was demonic as the back door opened and his new subordinates entered the bar. He had new toys to play with, and the prize for this game would be his Little Bird. Tomura couldn't wait!