Chapter Text
Yoichi was dead, to begin with. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. All for One had spent enough hours in the laboratory trying to resurrect his brother’s corpse to be tragically very certain of it. Yoichi was dead as a doornail. The memories of that death had haunted All for One’s nightmares for decades until he’d found a peaceful sleep quirk. After murdering an innocent civilian to obtain the quirk, All for One slept like a baby every night.
Thus it was strange when one Christmas Eve Night, All for One woke up to the sound of rattling chains. He sat up and activated his shielding and infrared vision quirks.
A hallucination of Yoichi stood on the carpeted bedroom floor. “Hooooo! Hooooo!” he wailed like a ghost from Scooby Doo.
All for One knew this wasn’t real. This Yoichi had no body heat yet All for One could still see him as clearly as when he’d been alive. Also, as already mentioned, Yoichi was dead. That was a less-than-subtle clue.
Yoichi wore jeans and a Captain Hero T-shirt. A chain coiled around his body and dragged along the floor, decorated with comic books, hero merchandise, and quirk support items. Crossing his arms, Yoichi said, “It’s about time you woke up! I’ve dragged this chain across your room five times now. It’s hard to get a proper rattling sound on carpet. Oh! I mean…” He made his voice raspier. “In life, I was your brother, Yoichi Shigaraki. Tonight I have business with you.”
All for One rubbed the scar tissue where his eyes used to be. “This is a new dream.”
“I’m not a dream!”
All for One laughed. “Yeah, that’s what you always say in my hallucinations.”
“Do you hallucinate me a lot?” Yoichi frowned. “You should get help, big brother. Haha, you wear Demon King pajamas! Did you get those custom made?”
All for One grimaced. “I’ll have you know these are top of the line. But if you insist on speaking with me then here.” He created a small smokescreen while he put on his best black Christmas suit (with cloak and cane included).
“What’s with the new suit? Wanted to hide that you can’t tie a tie?”
All for One grimaced. “For your information that’s a fashion choice.”
“Sure it is.”
“Besides, ‘tis the season. If I’m to be spreading misery and despair for Christmas (like defrauding widows and orphans), I ought to dress the part! It was this or committing murders dressed as Santa!”
“Wow, and here I thought your usual tastes were bad.”
All for One snorted. “I got enough sass out of you when you were alive. If this isn’t going to be a good dream where I get to vault you, then go away.”
“I’m here to warn you, All for One!” Yoichi raised his arms. His eyes flashed green. The comic books on his chain rattled against the hero figurines. “This shall be your fate, should you not change your evil ways! To wear a chain after your demise like all evildoers!”
All for One squinted. “Why are you wearing the chain for evildoers, Mister Hero Complex?”
Yoichi blinked. He did not seem to have a good answer. After a moment, he said, “Um…as a demonstration of your DOOM!”
“Is it because you used to pirate anime?”
“I always supported the official release.”
“You don’t deserve to cosplay as a villain when you were such a goodie-two shoes in life.” All for One grabbed the chain and yanked. It completely fell off.
“Hey!” Yoichi tugged his chain back up over his hips. “That’s valuable merchandise! Look, I have to wear a chain because I’m a Marley equivalent. Didn’t you ever read A Christmas Carol?”
All for One shrugged. “I read the first part when Scrooge abused his employees because that was funny, but I never finished the story.”
“Of course you didn’t.” Yoichi massaged his forehead. “Please, just try to have a redemption arc for me, big brother. I spent months preparing this.”
“You always did work harder, not smarter.” All for One sneered. “No way. Redemption arcs suck.”
“Yeah, that’s what you always say.” Yoichi rattled his chain in his brother’s face. “If you don’t change your ways, then you will be forced to wander the earth forever. You will see the suffering of the weak and sick and be unable to do anything about it!”
As a support glove dangled in his face, All for One sneered. “To laugh about how much their lives suck and marinate in their misery? What a splendid idea!”
“Wha–no!” Yoichi glared. “You’ll wish you could help them.”
All for One threw back his head and laughed. “Ha! Fat chance! If I was a ghost, I’d taunt poor people about how they’re starving while I no longer need food.”
“…What is wrong with you?” Yoichi asked sadly. “Anyway, you’ll be visited by three spirits who will help you learn a valuable lesson. Hopefully they’ll do better than me. You never did listen to me. The last ghost is quite the feral one. He doesn’t even speak for maximum spookiness!”
All for One frowned. “How would my hallucination know that? I never read the part where the third ghost showed up. Hmmm.” All for One wasn’t certain that this proved the ghost before him was real, but he was intrigued. “Let’s discuss this further in the vault.”
Shaking his chain, Yoichi growled, “I’m a ghost. You can’t vault me. Neener-neener.”
“We’ll see about that.” All for One went to his book shelf and sorted through the nerdy memorabilia. He’d ordered Dr. Garaki to make everything functional, from the lightsaber to the sonic screwdriver. Where was his Ghostbusters Trap? Under his breath, All for One hummed the theme song to Ghostbusters. “If there’s something strange; In your neighborhood; Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Ah-ha, here it is!” He pulled out a small black and silver box, with yellow and black safety stripes on one side.
“That can’t possibly be real,” Yoichi said. “Even if it was real, surely even you wouldn’t stick me into a tiny airless box…oh, who am I kidding? Of course you would! I’m out of here!” Yoichi vanished.
Glaring at his trap, All for One said, “It’s out of power! Humbug!”
All for One went back to bed, still in his suit, with his ghost trap primed and armed. Just as he’d started to drift off, he heard a sound, suspiciously like someone trying to make that cliché ghostly wail. “Hooooo!”
All for One was up in a shot. “HA!” He slammed his foot on the petal. The trap activated on the wrong side of the bed. “Curses.”
He turned to the source of the noise, finding himself face to face with the apparition of a woman clad in a black bodysuit, a white cape billowing behind her. Her ebony hair was tied in a ponytail which fluttered in a nonexistent wind. Her body was transparent, allowing him to see the door which he was sorely tempted to exit from.
“All for One…” she said, stretching out her words to sound more ghostly and mysterious. “I have come to do business with you. Come, for we have much to see.”
“How are you making your cape flap behind you?” All for One said.
“Because I’m a ghooost!”
“Humbug,” All for One said, trying unsuccessfully to poke her with his cane. She floated out of reach with an unimpressed grimace.
“Why are you here, Nana Shimura? Did you draw the short straw when everyone did lots?”
She said nothing, but the annoyance on her face gave it away.
“Ha! Knew it! Also have you gained weight since I last saw you?”
“Really? You’re that desperate to insult me? That’s cliché even for you.”
“Evil never rests! But seriously, last I saw you, you were…how much do two hands weigh?”
Nana Shimura looked at him with confusion and disgust. “I am not asking for context.”
“A shame. It was such a lovely wicked deed!”
She sighed, then steeled her face for what they both knew would be a long night.
All for One smirked. Well if she’s going to ruin mine, I can ruin hers!
She grabbed him by the arm.
“Unhand me! This is assault and battery!”
“We must go All for One,” she said in that ghostly voice (did Yoichi coach them or something?) “For we must tour…your past!”
She dragged him out into the cold without even giving him time to put on a winter coat (probably on purpose).
All for One looked around at a familiar street corner, the vision of the past hazy and glowing. “Why, this is where I used to conduct business with my original gang! See, there they are right now!”
He pointed to a group of kids running down the street. A young All for One held his little brother’s hand, and two spikey-haired brothers raced after them. The fifth child had a pineapple ponytail and bandana.
“Business?” Nana said. “You were like, ten.”
“Eleven actually! At least physically, mentally I was practically an adult!”
Nana muttered something sarcastic about the maturity level of grown men with Ghostbusters traps.
“What was that?”
Nana cleared her throat and intoned, “Recall the days of your youth. You and your brother were poor. You used your quirk and wits to provide for both of you. However, you loved each other dearly.”
All for One raised an eyebrow. “Yoichi definitely coached you. Did he give you a script?”
Nana looked sheepish. “Listen, I’m only tolerating your noxious presence because First cried and begged for a week until I agreed to help with his big plan. I’m sure we both want to get this over with, so hurry up and watch. Quick! You’re about to miss the important part!”
All for One turned to look in time to see an angry mob chasing the children, shouting anti-metahuman slurs. One man fired a gun. It would have hit All for One, but the older spikey-haired brother pushed him down, causing the bullet to nick his own shoulder. The children fled together.
In a slightly desperate voice, Nana asked, “Do you see how happy this made you? Having friends? At the least, see how your friend saved your life. Having friends can be useful. Am I getting through your incredibly dense skull even a little bit?”
All for One said, “Having patsies is useful. On the other hand, that kid’s bullet injury got infected and he died. That goes to show how stupid it is to save someone else’s life.”
Nana winced and rubbed her forehead. “Didn’t younger you feel sad when your friend died? Look, you’re all crying.” She pointed at the group of sobbing children huddled around the dying one. Even young All for One’s face was grim as he kept trying to use a minor stamina-gifting ability to help, even as the color faded from his friend’s face.
All for One suddenly felt a sense of loss. “If only…”
“If only you’d saved him?”
“If only I’d known how to extract quirks postmortem back then. That kid had a good one!”
Nana’s shoulders slumped. “Seriously?”
“What? He wasn’t using it,” All for One said.
“You weren’t so heartless at the time.” Nana pointed as the dream leapt ahead in time. The spikey-haired and the ponytailed boy had gotten sick. Young All for One returned carrying antibiotic pills. “You pawned your most treasured Demon King figurine to get medicine for Second and Third. Isn’t that because you were grateful to Second’s brother for saving your life? Don’t you feel anything watching this? That might have been the one selfless act in your long, long life.”
All for One scowled. “Humph. Those two ungrateful brats didn’t do everything I said. Then they ditched me when my activities got more illegal. Waaaaaait a moment…did you say Second? Those two brats are young Second and Third?”
“Didn’t you know?” Nana frowned. “Second and Third were your childhood friends. They thought you already knew. They even called out to you using your past friendship when you met again!”
All for One nodded. “Oh, yeah, Second kept saying something about how he was going to redeem me from villainy because of our past together. Then I killed a few of his friends and he shut up about it. I thought he was making it up. So he really was my childhood friend? That means…”
“You regret killing him?”
“Nana Shimura, did your brains evaporate when your head exploded? This means that I regret ever saving him!” All for One threw up his hands in the air. “He should have worshiped at my feet for saving his miserable life. Instead, he stole my brother. This just goes to show that I should never, ever save anyone because they might later screw me over.”
In a voice that shook the air, Nana growled, “Second wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t VAULTED YOUR BROTHER!”
All for One beamed proudly. “Is vaulting a verb now? Did I invent a new crime? Tell me more about how awesome I am. But seriously, did your brains evaporate?”
“How would I know? You apparently found my hands!”
“Yes but I never found the head.”
Nana mumbled, “If First hadn’t bribed me with baby Izuku pictures then I would be out of here. Come on, we still have more memories to see.”
All for One floated over to his younger self and whispered, “Psst! It’s not too late to kill Second while he’s weak and sick. Then go murder the pawnshop owner and taken back your Demon King figurine.”
Nana grabbed All for One by the collar of his pajamas and dragged him off as he protested, “I never found that figurine again no matter how many collections I robbed.”
Her eyes bloodshot, Nana growled, “Let’s get this over with. I’m going to speedrun the next part.” The world around them froze. The atmosphere became colder as the sky plunged into darkness. A series of images formed in a row, each with a glowing spotlight over them. Nana dragged All for One to the first image. “This is your uncle.” A black-haired man with a kind smile sat in an armchair, reading.
“Pshaw, I don’t have an uncle,” All for One said. “Did you make this up to be more like the original Charles Dickens story?”
“I don’t care enough about you to make anything up,” Nana snapped. “Your father’s brother got disowned by his family for being gay, so you never met him. He didn’t learn about your parents’ deaths until months after the fact. Then he wanted to adopt you, but you two were already living on the streets. He couldn’t find you.” Nana waved her hand at images of the uncle hiring private detectives and crying late at night in his room.
All for One asked, “Are you sure Yoichi didn’t make this up? Because this reads like one of his fanfics. Very sappy and oversaturated with sweetness and light.”
Rolling her eyes, Nana shoved him at the last image. “Here is where your uncle died protecting a metahuman child during a riot.”
“Nope, not one of Yoichi’s fanfics,” All for One said. “He exclusively writes happy endings.”
“Yeah, bittersweet heroic sacrifices were more Toshi’s thing…”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” In a lower voice Nana added, “I’m not letting you troll my son’s writing hobby.”
“Hmph, I didn’t want to know anyway,” All for One said. As long as All Might wasn’t that insufferable fanfic writer EightTime’sTheCharm…
The last picture showed a funeral. A long line of teary mourners stood before the coffin. In her ghostly voice, Nana intoned, “Your uncle lived a virtuous life and helped many people.”
All for One gasped. Then with genuine sadness he whispered, “How tragic…if only I’d known…”
“You actually feel some hint of emotion over your uncle’s death?” Nana asked in a tone torn between hope and disbelief.
“No, I mean that.” All for One pointed his cane at a document in his uncle’s lawyer’s hands. “That’s a life insurance policy! And I was the sole beneficiary! That money could have really helped me in the early days of my criminal empire. What a waste!”
Nana squinted at the document. “You weren’t the sole beneficiary. Yoichi got half.”
All for One sniffed. “As dear, pathetic Yoichi’s guardian, I would naturally have to control all the money. Yoichi would have spent it on stupid things like charity and Captain Hero merchandise.”
“Whereas you would have spent it on crime and Demon King merchandise.”
“Exactly! Instead the insurance company must have kept it when it went unclaimed, while the rest of the estate, my inheritance, went to the government. This is the first truly heart wrenching thing that you’ve shown me, Shimura.”
Nana’s eye twitched. “Your uncle was a good man who did his best for you. Even after his death he tried to make sure you were looked after. Don’t you feel any sorrow at all? If he’d raised you, that could have been your last chance at redemption.”
“Sweet villainy! You’re right!” All for One staggered backward, clutching his heart. “What a lucky save. No amount of money is worth a redemption arc. Luckily I made my starter funds for my criminal empire running scams instead. I used to secretly give people quirks and then make them pay me to take them back.”
Nana threw up her hands. “What is wrong with you?”
Cheerfully, All for One said, “Bah humbug.”
Nana demanded, “What are you, a card carrying–?”
All for One cleared his throat and handed her a business card. It read:
All for One: Card-Carrying Demon King.
Nana grabbed the card and stared at it. “No. No way. You even gave yourself a promotion from villain to demon king?” She looked at him with utter disdain.
All for One glanced back at the funeral and– “Wait, what is Yoichi doing there?! And signing my documents to get my money!”
“Oh right!” Shimura said, then slipped back into character. In her narrator voice, she said, “You and your brother received a communication from your uncle in his last days, requesting to meet you both.”
“I don’t remember that. It must not have been important.”
“However, you refused to go, and prevented Yoichi from going until your uncle had passed–”
“See? Not important.”
“So, your brother arrived at the funeral to mourn what might have been.”
“And to take my money.”
“Yoichi left the money in a bank account for you both. He tried to tell you, but you would always leave the room or end the conversation before he got past the words, ‘About our uncle.’”
“Well how was I supposed to know he was going to talk about something important?”
“After you locked him in a bank vault, he lost interest in telling you.”
Indignation filled All for One. “So that’s where he got the money for his vigilante activities! Stupid uncle! I wish I could’ve killed you myself!”
“You kind of did. He died in one of the riots you helped orchestrate.”
“Ha! Take that uncle! You got what you deserved!”
Nana growled, but soon steeled herself and straightened. Ugh, she wasn’t going away yet. All for One braced himself for another sob story. So, imagine his surprise when he found himself inside a familiar and much-beloved vault. The door opened, and a devilishly handsome figure appeared.
“I’m sorry it had to come to this Little Brother–”
“No, you’re not,” First said with a mix of sadness and rage.
“I am. I wanted you to see reason, to join me willingly. But instead you tried to run away. Worse, you tried to report me. If my enemies knew you existed, you’d almost certainly be killed or locked away by the government. This is the only way to keep you safe.”
“Yeah, I’d really hate to be locked away by a corrupt, power-hungry wannabe dictator!” Yoichi said. “More to the point, you were already locking me in your mansion before this! I begged you to stop, I begged you to turn your empire legitimate, you’re already rich and could be an effective politician–”
All for One, past and present, yawned.
“I even asked you to throw me out of the country where I couldn’t stop you anymore! But nooo, because apparently–”
“–You’re meant to rule by my side!” the All for Ones said together.
“That is why,” the past All for One continued, “I am putting you in here. To think on your actions, to consider that maybe I’m not the worst choice you could make. Then you’ll finally join me as a trusted lieutenant in my organization!”
“I’ll never join you!” Yoichi snarled, lunging at his brother. However, with his frail health, he only made it halfway before his brother happily skipped away.
“Oh you will…” The younger All for One said. “And until then, stay here. Alone. In the dark. Think about it. There are worse things than choosing me.”
The vault door closed, leaving them all in darkness.
“Disgraceful…” All for One said.
“Indeed. Doing that to your own brother,” Shimura said.
“Finally! We agree! Yoichi totally should’ve become my lieutenant instead of betraying me, right?”
“Yoichi’s resolve would not break,” Nana Shimura said. “However…his love did. He went into that vault with some love for his brother left, hoping they could reconcile. But…by the end–”
There were sounds of fighting outside. The vault opened again, but it wasn’t All for One waiting on the other side. It was his two most hated enemies, Scarface and Ponytail (or whatever their names were).
Yoichi looked up at them. All for One saw a light in his eyes. One he never remembered seeing after vaulting him.
“Are…are you here to rescue me?” Yoichi asked, a pitiful wobble in his voice.
The two looked at each other. Scarface held out his hand. “We are now.”
“Don’t you see?” Shimura said, a not so small amount of desperation in her voice. “Your own attempts to control him, and refusal to compromise only ended up driving him away! You got your money, but lost the brother you so valued, the one you originally turned to crime to protect. His escape and later death shows the futility of your evil–”
“No! It proved I was correct about vaulting him!” All for One said. “After all, he was perfectly safe until he left the vault! Now go back and show me how they broke in! I want to make my next vault even harder to crack!”
Nana Shimura facepalmed.
“Bah, humbug! You’re just jealous that you didn’t vault your family when you had the chance! If you had, maybe your son would be safe and happy, instead of his hand being worn by your grandson, who totally works for me! Neener-neener.”
Nana Shimura gave him a look. “Do you seriously expect me to believe you would have left my son alone if he’d been in a vault?”
All for One folded his arms. “No, but I would’ve loved to break into a One for All holder’s vault for a change.”
“Ninth keeps his All Might merch in a vault, you could break in there–”
“Nice attempt to trick me into committing suicide. I’m evil, not stupid.”
“That’s debatable,” she muttered, then stood erect and said in her ghostly voice. “Our time is at an end, All for One. Think hard on what I have told you. Very, very hard. For soon you will be visited by another spirit. One much jollier. Fareweeeellll…”
Nana Shimura finally began to fade, muttering “I should’ve listened to Third and boycotted First’s stupid classic literature LARP session…”
And with that she was gone. All for One sighed with contentment. “Finally. Some peace and quie–”
“I AM HERE! To wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: If Marley was Played by All for One’s Old Business Partner
Marley Equivalent: I have come to warn you and offer this chance!
All for One: So the spirit of charity moved you to help your old partner?
Marley Equivalent: Ha! Heck no! I owed your brother a favor! I only agreed because I knew you’d never be redeemed and I wanted to laugh at you about it!
All for One: And I was so close to actually putting flowers on your grave. They would have been belladonna, but still.
#
Omake: If Second was the Ghost of Christmas Past
Second: Hey, I’m here to redeem you. (Tosses a hacksaw at All for One). Oops, my hand slipped.
All for One: (Pulls out the ghostbusters trap) I’m going to run this through a woodchipper after I catch you.
All Might: I am HERE to spread the Spirit of Christmas Present! Hey, you two never left the bedroom. Did you even watch a single vision?
#
Omake: If “Forgiveness is the Attribute of the Strong” Hisashi was the Ghost of Christmas Past
Small for One: And again we get a moment where, unlike me, you screwed up your family by–
All for One: Enough! Are you just doing this to rub in how much better you are than me?
Small for One: What? I deserve a Christmas treat too. Besides, what better way to reform you by pointing out how you messed up while I did it better?
All for One: I hate you, I hate this night, and I especially hate that that’s actually a well-thought out plan.
Small for One: That’s because I made it, not you.
All for One: Grrrrr…
Notes:
Before anyone even asks, yes we’re aware that most of these characters are not Christian and Japan treats Christmas like a lover’s holiday. This story is a parody, don’t think too deeply about it. In our defense, the manga treated Christmas more like a family holiday too.
Chapter Text
All for One’s shoulders stiffened at the fateful words, emanating from a maddeningly peppy voice echoing behind him:
“Hello? I said, I AM HERE! To wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
No.
“Come in, and know me better man!”
It couldn’t be.
All for One turned around, the spirit of Krampus filling him with each passing moment. Not even Yoichi could be this cruel.
And yet, there he was. His mortal enemy, clad in long jolly robes of red and blue. All Might, in his powerful muscular form, flashed All for One his widest grin.
“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look upon me! You have never seen the like of me before!”
All for One lunged for his enemy’s throat.
“Haha!” All Might said as All for One passed right through him. “You can’t hurt me! I’m a ghost!”
All for One got up and leapt through his enemy again. And again. And again. “I’ll! Be! The judge! Of! That!”
After several minutes of trying and failing to strangle his greatest foe, All for One slumped to the ground and glared. “So you’re the next ghost.”
“Yes, I’m here to show you the meaning of Christmas! I am the ghost of Christmas Present, and today is my day!”
“I doubt I’ll see–” Realization dawned. Then, a joyful smile came to All for One’s lips. “Wait! I think I see! You’re a ghost. That means you died!” Holiday spirit filled All for One until he was ready to burst into thanksgiving and jolly caroling. “It’s a Christmas miracle!”
“No, I’m perfectly alive!” All Might said with a joyous laugh. “I am simply appearing as a ghost through the power of One for All, and the spirit of CHRISTMAS!”
And like that, All for One’s heart turned into cold hard coal. “Bah humbug.”
All Might let out a hearty laugh. “Don’t be like that All for One! Don’t you want to see the joys of Christmas? People caroling? Neighbors spreading joy and happiness to each other?”
“If Yoichi had threatened me with that instead of seeing their misery, I might’ve considered his offer of changing my ways!”
“Such a shame, because you’re going to be seeing that joy all day,” All Might said, relishing those last two words. “And you’re stuck with me!”
All for One fell on his knees. “NOOOOOOO!”
He turned to run, but alas, it was too late. All Might placed a firm grip on the villain’s shoulder and lifted him into the sky. “Come All for One! Let’s go and find all of the joy of the holiday season!” And with that, the cruel oaf lifted All for One out into a beautiful sunny morning.
Children sledded in the park, while people milled about, exchanging holiday greetings or having pleasant conversations. A feeling of joy was in the air.
All for One hated it.
“Why can you touch me and I can’t touch you?!” he demanded, trying to hit him again.
“Power of spirits. Specifically, the–”
“Don’t you DA–”
“Spirits of CHRISTMAS!”
“I hate you.”
They landed. Nearby, All for One recognized the Wild Wild Pussycats, accompanying a small child.
The green-haired one said, “Come on Kota. We can’t disappoint the others.”
“Will Midoriya be there?” the boy asked.
“Yes, he was excited to see you. Eri will be there too. She’s excited to play together.”
“Good. She’d better like these…” The boy held up a wrapped present the size of a shoebox.
“I think she will.”
All for One pointed at the vision. “Who is that brat and why is he relevant?”
All Might said, “Kota Izumi. One of your minions killed his parents and tried to kill him.”
All for One yawned. “You’ll need to be much more specific. I’ve killed a lot of parents. Did I at least take their quirks before I killed them?”
“No, Muscular killed them.”
“Then that’s the real tragedy.”
All Might boomed, “But now this young boy is on his way to recovering from his trauma and will enjoy a happy Christmas despite everything that happened to him. No matter how hard you try, good will always triumph over evil. Just like how I destroyed your empire and left you with a potato for a face.”
“I left you missing your stomach!”
“And yet not even the loss of getting drunk on eggnog can dampen my Christmas spirit!”
All for One tried to strangle his old enemy again. In the process, he also tried to steal One for All. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even feel the quirk inside the insubstantial form of its Eighth holder. As his hands went through the ghost, he growled, “Are you here to redeem me or torment me?”
All Might’s grin widened. “I can do both.” He turned. “Now, let us move on to the Christmas party.”
The dream shifted to a pink bedroom decorated with unicorns dancing along the wall trim. Lacy pink covers fell over a bed containing a little white-haired girl. She coughed.
“This is a bedroom, not a Christmas party,” All for One said, pleased to point out his enemy’s stupid mistake.
“Ho ho ho!” All Might beamed. “Here is your lesson on compassion. Look at poor, sick, suffering little Eri.”
All for One spotted the crutch lying by the girl’s bed. Sweet villainy, this was Tiny Tim. His least favorite part of A Christmas Carol! Wait, was that the girl with Rewind? If he had that quirk, he could heal his face.
All for One lunged forward. His hands passed through Eri’s hair. Alas, he couldn’t steal quirks from the dream vision either.
Grabbing the villain by his collar and yanking him back, All Might glared. “You’re trying to rob a sick little orphan girl!”
How unfair, that his enemy could touch him when All for One couldn’t kill him or steal One for All. Double standards, how typical of Heroes. Jerking free, All for One snorted. “And that surprises you?”
“No,” All Might sighed.
Eri coughed again.
Aizawa ran into the room, carrying a tray with a mug of hot chocolate. He set it down on the end table. “My poor angel! Are you in a lot of pain? Should I call the doctor?”
All for One tried to steal Erasure out of habit. When that failed, he settled for putting bunny ears on Aizawa’s head.
Sitting up, Eri sniffled. “I’m fine, Dad. I promise. I want to attend the party and give my gift to Kota.”
Aizawa put a tissue to Eri’s nose and fussed over her. “I’m worried about you. You’ve got a nasty cold. You even hurt your foot.” Looking down at the foot, he said, “Why did Recovery Girl have to take her vacation as far from this school as humanly possible right now? The only message we’ve gotten from her at all was, “If anything bad happens, especially involving Midoriya, feel free to not bother me.”
“It’s only a sprained ankle.” Eri made pleading eyes. “I want to show off all the cute unicorn stickers on my cane!”
Aizawa hugged Eri. “You’re so brave.”
Midnight and Present Mic entered the room, both carrying bags.
“I brought every bit of cold medicine in the store,” Present Mic said, holding up a grocery bag with a hint of resignation. “Shall I buy the rest of the pharmacy too?”
“Not yet…” Aizawa said.
“Poor baby!” Midnight hugged both Aizawa and Eri. “You’re too young and adorable to die!”
Muffled in their arms, Eri said, “I’m fine.”
With great fanfare and fussing, the band made their way outside and toward one of the dormitories, the Rewind girl limping all the while. Was she trying to look pitiful or something?
They entered the room, which was filled with a collection of the only people dumber than small children, High Schoolers.
“Eri!” A pink girl with black sclera and pale horns slid up and pulled Eri in for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you! Please, stay for the party! We need our unicorn mascot to live! Don’t enter the light!”
“What light?” the muffled voice asked.
“Never you mind, come on!” she lifted the girl up and placed her atop the couch, all while All for One tried to steal her fascinating quirk. Would she appear like a normal human after losing her acid, or would she still have residual mutations? I want to know!
Eri coughed, leading a teenager with glasses and engines on his legs to say, “Eri! What are you doing without a proper handkerchief?” He gave her one and said, “When coughing or sneezing, doing it into a handkerchief or sleeve is much more responsible than doing it into the air!”
“Oh great, a rule-follower,” said All for One. “I bet he’s never even jaywalked!”
“Indeed he hasn’t,” said All Might, before muttering, “But he has attempted first degree murder.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Eri!” cried a boy who All for One quickly realized was the Ninth One for All holder, Izuku Midoriya. All for One quickly stabbed his hand through him, hoping to either take the quirk, or defeat him in one shot. Alas, neither happened.
“Are you alright?” Izuku asked. “Do you need hot chocolate? Snacks? Rare Hero merchandise from Kacchan?”
“Hey!” bellowed a blond spiky-haired boy.
“I already had some, but thank you,” Eri said. “Do you have any apples?”
“I’ll get them right away!”
Izuku scurried off, and quickly retrieved some cut apples which Eri began scarfing down. All the while, Izuku watched like he was observing her final moments.
“You do know she just has a cold and sprained ankle?” said a girl with a quirk that made her look like a frog. All for One tried (and failed) to steal it.
“Does she?” A boy who had to be Endeavor’s son frowned. “I wasn’t sure. Some of them are acting like it’s so serious…”
“Is Kota coming soon?” Eri asked.
“Soon,” Eraserhead said, his voice wobbling. “Just stay strong for a little longer.”
“Oh,” she said, her face falling.
“Eri, do you want to do crafts with me?” asked a girl with a brown bob cut. “I was banned from Monopoly again.”
“Ok!” Eri picked up her crutch and walked after the girl.
“She’s so brave…” a boy with blond hair and a black lightning bolt said, struggling to hold back tears. “Keeping up a smile in spite of her illness…”
The frog girl put a hand to her mouth and said, “Kaminari, how sick do you think Eri actually is? Ribbit.”
“Tsu! You saw Aizawa! He wouldn’t act like this unless it was actually serious. He’s a very logical person!”
“Uhhh, Kaminari, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Aizawa’s actually–”
“No, no,” a purple-haired girl with earphone jacks dangling from her cord-like earlobes said, “I’ll handle this.” She took Kaminari by the arm and pulled him away with all the gravitas of a parent about to tell a young child there was no Santa Clause.
Moments later came a piercing screech of, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S NOT LOGICAL?!”
All for One glanced around the corner.
“Yep,” the purple girl said. “Aizawa is actually one of those ridiculously doting dads.”
“Then why is he so strict with me?” the blond boy demanded, looking like his entire world was falling apart before his eyes. How marvelous. All for One felt amused.
“Probably because you’re not his adorable daughter who he loves more than life itself.”
“Aizawa plays favorites! Everything I know is a lie!” the blond boy exclaimed, fleeing from the room sobbing. As he ran through All for One’s ghostly form, the villain tried to steal his quirk.
All Might glared. “What is wrong with you?”
“I didn’t even want that lame discount rate electricity quirk anyway,” All for One lied.
The door opened and the Pussycats poured in, wearing tacky Santa hats. “Merry Pawsmass!” Ragdoll cried, striking a pose.
I’d say please kill me, but All Might might actually comply.
Kota ran past his guardians and into the room where Eri was adding puffballs to a paper Christmas tree. She sat in the lap of the girl with the bob cut.
“Psst,” Kota hissed, gesturing for her to come to the hallway.
Eri grabbed her cane, tucked a package under her arm, and hopped over.
Proudly, Kota held out his gift. “You’re going to love this,” he said confidently. “I searched half a dozen stores.”
Sitting down, Eri ripped the tissue paper out of the gift bag to reveal a pair of red shoes. “Just like Deku’s!” She gasped. “Thank you so much!” She hugged him.
“Hey wait! Are you contagious?” he cried, flailing either out of fear of being sick or of receiving any sort of reputation-ruining public affection.
Eri ignored his flailing and said, “Here, you deserve this.” She handed him a box in red-and-green striped paper.
Kota opened it to reveal a Deku figurine. His eyes widened.
“The arms and legs move.” Eri grinned. “I designed it and Yaoyorozu created it.”
“You topped me. I thought for sure I’d win.” Despite his words, Kota couldn’t disguise his big smile. He hugged the figurine to his chest.
Izuku Midoriya poked his head out into the hallway. “Hey, what are you two doing sitting on the floor? Come join the party! Todoroki is letting us roast marshmallows on him.”
“Nothing!” Kota cried, hiding his gift behind the hallway end table. He mumbled, “It will be too embarrassing if he sees.”
All for One made an idle attempt to grab the present (evil never rests), but apparently he couldn’t steal physical objects either.
Eri blushed as she stuffed her present back into the bag. “Uh, Kota got me, uh, a copy of A Christmas Carol. Uhhhh…God bless us, every one?” She stood up and reached for her crutch. In her haste, she fell forward.
“Whoa!” Izuku shot forward and caught Eri. “I’ve got you.” He set her on his shoulders and carried her to the party, holding her crutch under his arm. Kota ran after them.
Hugging Izuku, Eri said, “The real Christmas gift is spending time with all my friends and family.”
All Might sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. “Such marvelous Christmas spirit!”
Solemnly, All for One asked, “And tell me…will Tiny Tim die?”
All Might said, “That’s not her name, but…if these shadows are left unchanged, I see an unused crutch lying in her bedroom.”
All for One startled. “You’re saying she’ll die?”
“Wha–No!” All Might glared. “I meant she’d make a full recovery!”
“I see,” All for One said. “She seems like a kind, virtuous soul.”
A tiny bit of hope dawned in All Might’s eyes. “And the idea of her suffering a premature death upsets you?”
All for One threw back his head and laughed. “Heck no! I love seeing goodness snuffed from the world!”
All Might’s shoulders slumped. “Why did I get my hopes up?”
“I used to feel sadness when people died.”
“Back when you were still an innocent child with a conscience?”
All for One shook his head. “No, back before I could steal quirks postmortem. Speaking of which…” He lunged for Eri’s retreating head and tried to steal her quirk again.
All Might moaned. “What is wrong with you?”
All for One snorted. “You all keep asking that like you don’t already know.”
All Might, in an uncharacteristic act of mercy, moved them both out of the Christmas party and onto the streets. However, this was not much of an improvement since the streets were choked with an oppressive cloud of joy. As they entered one suburb, All Might pointed to a girl with vines for hair.
The girl hummed a tune as she walked up to a house and knocked. When it opened she said, “Merry Christmas sir! We’re collecting donations to help the poor! Could you help?”
“Say no!” All for One said. “If you feel guilty, just remember: If you give the poor money, they won’t be poor and you’ll be putting this sweet girl out of a job. Can you really put her out of a job on Christmas day?”
“I’d love to! Here you go!” The homeowner, unmoved by All for One’s appeal to the Christmas spirit, signed her a nice big soon-to-be-unemployed check.
“Thank you sir,” the girl said, “May the Lord’s blessings fall upon you like the dewfall for this act of blessed mercy!” As she spoke, she held out her arms and a ray of heavenly light shone down upon her.
“Looks like the sun’s coming out,” All for One said, looking at the clouds.
“This is Young Ibara Shiozaki, a Hero student in Class 1-B. She’s collecting donations to help the poor due to her boundless compassion and religious devotion.”
“Oh great, a religious nut,” All for One said. “Always so self-righteous, trying to force their morals down our throats.” In a mocking tone he added, “Don’t steal, murder is bad, how could you evict all those widows and orphans, they had the money coming within the hour! What a load of humbug!”
“Seriously?!” All Might sighed. “Do you consider having any morals self-righteous?”
“Of course!”
Meanwhile, the insufferable vine girl (All for One knew she had a name, he just didn’t care), began singing. “Hark the herald angels siing, Glory to the newborn king! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!~”
“And now she’s assaulting our ears with that insufferable claptrap! Hey! That loser is only known for being nailed to a stick and refusing to let death stop him from annoying us! Cease that noise!” All for One said. “That horrible noise!”
“Actually her singing’s pretty good,” All Might said.
“That makes it worse! If it sounded bad people could pelt her with ice balls like I used to do to carolers!”
“You attacked carolers?!”
“Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to. Besides, they threatened to burn my house down twice. It was self defense.”
“What.”
As the little zealot passed, All for One reached out to silence her singing (and get a new quirk). “Why! Won’t! It! Take?!”
“You can’t steal her quirk! You aren’t even physically here!”
“That won’t stop me from trying!”
“You don’t even have hair!”
“Well then I’ll give it to Tomura to make up for missing his last ten Christmases.”
“Does he even want a new quirk?”
“Who cares what he wants?”
“Don’t you see the joy around you?” All Might asked. “In places like this, and even places far worse!” He waved his hand, and they moved to the countryside. A poor community, the kind All for One’s agents in the government obstructed charities and social workers from helping. This made them stagnate and suffer. Good for either radicalizing followers, or just causing misery.
All Might took them away from the main town, to a little shack in the countryside. There he saw a group of heteromorph children gathered. “These children faced discrimination from their neighbors, yet even today they have come together to celebrate.”
“Here you go!” a boy with a lizard quirk said, giving the box to another who looked like Cthulhu.
The Cthulhu child opened it. “A Gang Orca toy? Whoa!”
“It took three months to save up for it!” said the first proudly.
“Thank you!” The Cthulhu one hugged the other.
“You’re welcome! We-”
There was a knock at the door. All for One hoped it was a Santa cosplayer with an ax. Sadly they opened the door and it revealed another child. This one had no obvious mutation.
“What are you doing here Koji?” A fox-boy said with suspicion.
“I, uh, snuck away here to, um, give you this,” he said. He threw a bundle at their feet. “The, uh, lunch money my brother took. And some army toys I made with my quirk!” All for One noted the stick of wood he was holding in his hand, slowly shaving it to a fine point. What a fascinating quirk.
The other kids looked amongst themselves. “So, what? You gonna come in?”
Koji looked surprised. “Can I?”
“Sure,” a small girl who looked like an alien shrugged. “But if your parents come, you were here alone.”
“Yes!” the boy sat down while All for One gagged.
“Come on! It’s a heartwarming story of children from two worlds coming together!” All Might said.
“Exactly! It’s awful! Unless this is secretly an attempt by the boy to make them indebted to him so he can turn them into loyal followers? That’s what I did!”
All Might huffed. “They’re innocent children. There’s no malice in their hearts.”
All for One sighed. “Humbug. This is the worst.”
“Before you taint the moment, we’re on to the next one.” All Might showed All for One a sweatshop filled with wretched, dirty children. “This is one of Detnerat’s secret facilities for children with weak quirks.”
“What are those children doing exchanging gifts and singing carols?” All for One demanded, pointing to a gathering in the corner. “They should be miserable! They’re poor and exploited!”
“Yes,” All Might said, walking next to a child who was comforting another with his shining light quirk, “Yet even here joy persists. Even the cruelty they face on a daily basis cannot conquer them. Christmas does not come from a store. Christmas means a little bit–what are you doing?”
“I’m looking for a handler! These kids need to stop slacking off!”
“Very well, we shall leave,” All Might said. “Instead let’s look at the capacity for merriment even from darker hearts.”
All for One sneered. “What kind of pathetic villains will you show me? Christmas is the perfect time to do evil! Everyone has lots of goods to steal and the stores are stocked with stuff! And if you want to demonstrate your villainy then what better way is there than robbing widows and orphans on Christmas?”
All Might stared in incomprehension. “But Christmas is a time of joy and happiness!”
“Wanton acts of evil make me happy! And really, who else’s happiness matters?”
“What is wrong with you?!”
All for One crossed his arms. “I’m evil. Duh.”
The vision shifted to show light coming from a one-room apartment. All for One became even more convinced these so-called villains must be pathetic for being so poor. A wreath of holly hung over the door. Laughter drifted out the window.
Who were these losers?
All Might ghosted them through the wall to reveal a Christmas tree surrounded by presents, an electric fireplace, shelves full of games, and the League of Villains all wearing Santa hats.
All for One groaned and covered his nonexistent eyes. Of course. These were his losers.
Backed into the wall, Dabi growled, “I’m not wearing a Santa hat.”
“It will look good on you!” Toga said cheerfully. “Go Twice!” The clones dogpiled Dabi while Toga tied a Santa hat to his head.
Tomura sat by the fireplace. He wore his usual hands, except his father’s hand, which was missing. Tomura took off one of his hands and set it next to the fireplace. “Here you go, Hana. You always did like to sit near the fireplace.” He sounded near tears. “Christmas is a time for family to be happy, so I locked Father away in a box. It will just be the rest of us and Mon-chan.” He put down a picture of a little girl holding a corgi next to her hand.
All Might sniffled. “This is just…so sad…”
Waving his finger at his successor, All for One shouted, “I’m very disappointed in you, Tomura! Even Re-Destro is taking this opportunity to force children with lousy quirks into child labor like a proper Dickens character.” He turned to All Might. “Thank you for showing me that, by the way.”
All Might’s eye twitched. “I meant to show the aggrieved children still having a sense of joy.”
“Well, that was the downside,” All for One admitted. Since the only living people present were his allies, he grabbed All Might and made a half-hearted attempt to steal One for All. Once again, his hand went straight through. Humbug.
Meanwhile, the League of Villains placed a clone of Twice against the wall with an apple on his head. They took turns throwing knives at it.
Slicing open his own arm, Twice sighed. “Aw, I’m so bad at this. It’s all because you keep moving!” he shouted at his clone.
“It’s because you have terrible aim!” the clone shouted back.
Toga tossed a knife straight through the middle of the apple, pinning it to the wall. “Ninth bullseye in a row!” she said before cheerfully retrieving her knife and putting the punctured apple back on the clone’s head.
“I’ve got six bullseyes,” Spinner said smugly.
Mr. Compress scowled and played with a marble in his hand. “I still say that turning the apple into a marble should count.”
Dabi stood up, looking like a disgruntled raccoon in a Santa hat. “Alright, give me a knife, it’s my turn!”
Twice handed him a knife while Toga said, “Maybe you shouldn’t–”
Dabi threw the knife straight through the clone’s heart. He fell over sideways with a gurgle while Twice staggered backward, clutching his heart. The clone disintegrated into mud-like sludge.
“Uh…I meant to do that!” Dabi said.
Toga said, “Huh, I’m impressed. I thought you could only kill guys immune to fire.”
Mr. Compress said, “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him kill anyone weak to fire. Maybe Dabi’s incompetence overruled his inability to kill flamable people since he was attacking an ally?”
Dabi growled, “Oh, shut up!” He stomped away, muttering to himself.
The blood and sludge soaked the carpet until it reached Tomura’s feet, causing him to finally look up. After patting Hana’s hand one last time, he stood up with a scowl. “Since Kurogiri is imprisoned, someone else had better be planning to clean this mess up.”
Toga said, “But Dabi ran off crying like a little bitch.”
Spinner said, “We’ll all pitch in to help! It’s Christmas, after all.”
All for One sighed. “Just one death and it’s your own ally. This is embarrassing, Tomura. Where’s my doctor? He’s always got corpses.”
All Might said, “Dr. Garaki is in bed and injured after Toga, Hawks, and Twice placed a banana peel in his lab.”
All for One laughed. “Oh, yeah, I remember now!” The accident had delayed the modification of Tomura’s body. This caused All for One to break out of jail early because he got bored. The lovely view of Garaki sobbing in a body cast made it all worth it. “I wonder where Gigantomachia is now? He should be destroying a town.”
“He’s celebrating Christmas with the secret community of sasquatches that lives in the mountains. They let Machia celebrate with them. One of their sons goes to UA.”
“You’re making that up.”
After cleaning up the corpse, the League of Villains sat in a circle around the Christmas tree. Tomura said, “Time for our Secret Santa swap. Toga, I got you a set of knives and a Deku doll that I stole from the house of some kid wearing a red hat with horns.” He handed her a present.
All for One muttered, “Finally, some actual crime here.” What a lucky coincidence that his successor had stolen the figurine he’d failed to grab.
Toga gasped. “It’s perfect! Thank you!”
Spinner raised his hand. “I drew Tomura’s name out of the hat. Here’s your gift.”
Tomura ripped off the paper to reveal Nintendogs with corgis. He stared in shock, then hugged it.
All Might cleared his throat, then boomed, “See, on Christmas even villains think about making other people happy.”
All for One nodded, the sight stirring memories within his dark, frozen heart. “Once, when Tomura was young he asked for a corgi for Christmas. But looking after another living being would have gotten in the way of his evil. But, he wanted it so bad that I compromised and watched a movie with him, about a boy and his dog.”
Raising an eyebrow, All Might asked, “Really? What movie?”
“Old Yeller.” All for One grinned. “I laughed at the end, while he cried enough to flood the apartment.”
All Might screamed, “What is WRONG with you?”
“Don’t worry, I showed him another dog movie to cheer him up.”
“Do I even want to–”
“Cujo.”
Suspiciously, All Might said, “I’ve never seen that movie.”
“You should! In fact, read the book!” All for One beamed. “You’ll love the ending.”
“My turn!” Twice shouted. He shoved a bag into Spinner’s hands. “You’ll love this. You’ll probably hate it.”
Spinner pulled out the tissue paper, then a fidget spinner, video games, and some paper and rocks. “This is very thoughtful! Uh, why the paper and rocks?”
“Probably so he can write his code of honor to the paper and tie it to the rock next time he decides to throw his morals out the window,” All for One said, rolling his eyes.
“So you can write down your code of honor, then tie it to the rock next time you decide to throw your morals out the window!” Twice said, cheerfully shooting a big thumbs up. “We appreciate you doing that for us, buddy. It just goes to show what a good friend you are. You can never, ever go back.”
Spinner stared at his gift. “...I need to think about this…”
All for One howled. “What a well-deserved burn!”
All Might said, “Truly, hypocrisy thy name is Spinner.” He shuddered. “Did we just agree on something?”
“Stop that. It’s giving me goosebumps.” All for One rubbed his arms.
Mr. Compress looked around. “Where’s Dabi? I got him some non-ripped clothing to wear.”
Tomura said, “Dabi left. He said something about spending time with family.”
All Might thrust out his chest and laughed. “Ho-ho-ho! Even the prodigal son Touya Todoroki is spending time with his family at Christmas. I’m sure the Todorokis are having a Christmas reconciliation.”
“You are? Then can we go see it?” All for One asked skeptically.
In the distance, a scream of rage could be heard along with the sound of flames crackling. All Might’s smile faltered. “It sounds like young Touya helped his father and brothers get closer. Truly, a Christmas miracle.”
“You’re spinning this as a win?” All for One snorted.
All Might looked away and whistled.
“Me next!” Toga stuck up her hand. “I drew Mr. Compress’ name from the hat. I got you a stabbing, because I stab all the people I love the most.” She pulled out her knife.
Mr. Compress edged away and laughed nervously. “I donate my gift to Dabi, since he couldn’t make it to this wonderful celebration.”
“Okay!” Toga put away her knife.
Twice looked around. “What about me? Who got me a gift?”
The silence was deafening. Tomura said, “Dabi must have drawn your name, and he bailed on us.”
Twice sniffled. “That’s okay! Your company is all I need! I feel so unloved.”
Mr. Compress said, “You can have the clothing that I would have given Dabi. You two look similar in size.” He handed over a box wrapped in red paper with green trees. “Dabi probably wouldn’t have worn it anyway, he has no taste.”
Toga said, “You can have one of my knives.” She added it to the pile.
Tomura said, “You can raise corgis with me virtually.”
Spinner just stared at the fireplace and rocked back and forth, muttering, “What have I done with my life?”
“All of you are the best!” Twice threw his arms around his friends. “Merry Christmas!” He pulled them all into a group hug, including Spinner.
All Might swept out his hand. “See! The Spirit of Christmas!”
All for One said, “Humbug.”
“Now,” All Might said, “Let’s go to the next place of CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!”
All for One groaned. “What trite nonsense do you have next?”
With a wink, All Might whisked them to HPSC headquarters.
“Hawks, you’re working late tonight,” the HPSC president said.
“WHAT?!” Hawks cried.
All for One smiled. Some pleasant Christmas content at last.
They’d materialized in a dull office room, where the HPSC president was looking at Hawks with all the warmth and affection of the polar tundra.
“But I’ve been working so hard every other day of the year!” Hawks said. “Isn’t it proper for me to have one day–”
“It isn’t proper, nor is it fair,” she said. “Your work is needed, so you’re working.”
“But it’s Christmas! Can’t I have some time off? At all?”
“Hmmm…No.”
“But–”
“Besides, your most recent mission had plenty of goofing off, like that prank you helped Toga and Twice pull–”
“That was a totally legitimate act of sabotage!” Hawks said.
“Huh, good on him to know how to spin events for his resume,” All for One said.
All Might turned to the villain. “Wait a minute, I can’t have you here, you’ll find out–”
“Oh don’t worry, I know he’s a spy. However, I have full trust in Tomura to either turn him or to eliminate him discreetly before battle in a way that wouldn’t cost us any powerful assets. So I’m letting that be his problem,” All for One said. “Trust in subordinates.”
“That sounds more like laziness,” said All Might.
“Same difference. Tomura does the work and bears the potential consequences while I focus on more important tasks.”
“Like refine your monologues?”
“Exactly! Or enjoying misery like this! I’m glad Hawks will suffer on Christmas.”
“Will he?”
All for One paused. “No…Don’t you da–”
He was grabbed by the arm (assault and battery from the number one hero!) and dragged to a late-night festival.
“Hey kids!” Hawks said, passing out toys. “Come and get your toys!”
“C-can I be a Hero like you Hawks?” asked one.
“I don’t see why not. Just work hard and eat your vegetables!”
“Awww!”
Another walked up and said, “You’re my favorite Hero!” The child then hugged Hawks.
“Aww, thanks,” Hawks said, a gentle smile on his face.
All for One scowled. Great, this stupid hero was actually enjoying being near the noise machines that were small children.
“Ms. Mirko!” a boy said to the heroine next to him (how could she be outside in the snow without sleeves?), “I think you’re tough! I wanna fight you!”
Mirko grinned. “HEL–MPH!” Several red feathers jammed themselves into her mouth.
“I’m afraid my totally-not-foul-mouthed friend and I are taking a break this evening! Sort of!” Hawks said.
Mirko ripped out the feathers and muttered, “Hey! I wanted to fight him!”
“I think beating up a grade schooler’s a bad look.”
“It’s training!”
“My handlers weren’t that cruel!”
“I’d have gotten him a chocolate bar afterwards!”
“Ok, never mind, you’re better than them.”
“Ha!”
Hawks slyly grinned and said, “Despite your complete lack of any kind of common–”
Mirko stepped on his foot.
“…sense!” he finished at a much higher pitch, while obviously holding back several swear words.
“Oh, sorry. My lack of common sense made me step on your foot.”
“Screw you Mirko.”
“Sorry, species reputation aside, I have standards.”
Both were now smiling. They began playing with another group of children, genuinely enjoying their time.
“See?” All Might said. “Even working late, they can enjoy that time because of their friends and the smiles they put on children.”
“I see…” All for One said.
“What is–Wait, you do?!”
“Yes. I do the same thing by listening to the screams of children and looking at their tear filled eyes!”
All Might sighed. “Anyway, the day is–”
“What is he doing here?!” All for One pointed to a particularly rough individual standing on the edge of the crowd, moving toys into a truck. “That’s the civilian identity of Creoshock, the bank robber!”
“He’s volunteering at the toy drive for poor children.”
“As part of a heist I hope? One where he robs them? If so I’d love to join him!”
“No,” All Might said with a cruel smile, “Even he is moved–”
“Don’t you dare say it!”
“–by the–”
“Don’t you da–”
“SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS!”
“AAAUUUGGGGHHHH!”
Once All for One was done with his scream of rage, he looked over to All Might. He’d shrunk to his bony, emaciated form, his bangs now sagging as his robes looked on the brink of slipping off. He looked so small and frail. It was…wonderful!
“The end of the day draws near,” All Might said, his voice now more a quiet rumble instead of a boom. “And with it my time.”
“Are the lives of spirits so short?” All for One smiled. “Perfect! I can finally watch you die!”
“My time shall end, with the stroke of the bell.”
“Can’t wait!”
“Then another spirit shall come to you.”
“I’ll bear it I guess. After all, this is my chance to finally see your life snuffed out. I’ve waited a long time for this.”
There was a long GONG! above All for One. He looked up. The clock had suddenly gone to twelve. Uh-oh. His gaze snapped back, but All Might was gone, not a trace of even a corpse.
“OH COME ON! CAN’T I HAVE ONE NICE THING? CHEATER!”
In that one Christmas Carol movie, the scene where the Spirit rotted away on camera until all that was left was a chuckling skeleton was probably his favorite part.
All for One looked around, expecting another annoyance to leap from the shadows any moment and start lecturing him about the spirit of Christmas. However…none came. It was almost quiet now. All for One smiled.
Peace at last.
Then, the bells chimed and the last ghost arrived.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Old Yeller was Just the Beginning
All for One: Don’t worry, I made sure to occasionally have Tomura read classic children’s books.
All Might: You did?
All for One: Of course. My only criteria was that they involve a dog and have a Newberry medal on the front!
All Might: You just wanted to make him cry from more dead animals didn’t you?
All for One: Of course!
#
Omake: If Twice Got Dabi’s gift
Twice: I felt Dabi deserved to win something, so I got him a participation trophy!
Spinner: Seriously? Are you insulting all of us on-purpose?
Twice: I wanted to get him a trophy and this was the only thing I could think of that Dabi could actually win.
#
Omake: Christmas at the Todoroki’s
Natsuo: I never thought I could enjoy spending time with you, Dad.
Endeavor: I didn’t think you and Shoto would ever want to bond with me.
Toya: (lying on the ground, burnt and bruised) I didn’t think this day could get any worse.
Fuyumi: And I think you all have five minutes to sit down at the table before you’re all grounded!
Toya: Ha! I don’t live here, so you can’t… (gets frozen to the ground) Hey!
#
Omake: Christmas at the Todoroki’s Version Two
Fuyumi: Everyone! Dinner’s ready! Inside please. NOW.
Natsuo: Why are you dragging an ice block behind you? Wait, is that…?
Toya: (Frozen in a block of ice) Mmph! Mmph!
Fuyumi: (holding up a bag) Desserts.
Toya: Mmphh!
Fuyumi: Natsuo, Shoto, please carry that in while I get another place setting.
#
Omake: Incorrect Quotes, Scrooged
Nana: Is this gonna be like the Bill Murray version of A Christmas Carol? If so, can I play the Ghost of Christmas Present? I want to slap All for One every few minutes.
Yoichi: No! We’re doing the traditional version with a proper redemption arc.
All Might: Awwww…and I wanted to Detroit Smash him into the joys of others…
Yoichi: No slapstick! This is a classical tale, of dignity and grace!
Nana: (Mutters.)
Yoichi: What?
Nana: I said if I can’t throw a toaster at All for One then I’ll be the Ghost of Christmas Past!
#
Omake: Scrooged Part II Best Christmas Ever!
All for One: All you’ve done is show other people celebrating and hit me! Shouldn’t you be giving presents or something?
Nana: (Smiling) Alright, here you go! It’s a toaster!
All for One: A toaster? What is that fo—
Nana: (Smacks him with it.)
All for One: Next can we watch grandma get run over by a reindeer like Elmo & Patsy promised me in their classic musical number? You’re a grandmother, right?
Nana: (Hits him again.)
#
Omake: Choosing the Next Ghost
Yoichi: Now we need someone to be the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The person must be dark, brooding–
Izuku: Me! Me! Please let me be the next ghost! I wanna act all dark and mysterious! Please? (Uses puppy eyes. It’s super-effective.)
Yoichi: Alright Ninth! You’re the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come!
Second: But I wanted to show All for One his own grave!
Nana: Ninth called dibs. Go face a wall.
Notes:
FYI, Gfan97 has several extra versions of this fic's cover art on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/gojifan97/704547855449358336/gojifan97-a-cover-i-drafted-for-my-and.
Chapter 3
Notes:
We're back with one last chapter and one last ghost! Gfan97 drew art of last chapter as one last present for all our readers at https://www.tumblr.com/gojifan97/704951485364158465/gojifan97-a-moment-from-me-and. Thank you for all the kudos and comments.
Chapter Text
A dark figure emerged from the shadows. At first All for One thought it was a demented Easter Bunny, here to attack him to protect its big brother Christmas. However, as it came closer, it became clearer and clearer it was something else. The Ninth Holder, his costume worn and frayed until it had a truly monstrous appearance.
His gloves had become claws, his ears torn and battered as if from several fights, his mask covered his face, making him seem to have a cold glare with only his irises and pupils visible within. The teeth of his costume were chipped and cracked. This looked more like a villain than a Hero.
All for One looked up and down. “As annoying as this whole encounter is, I must admit I like the look.”
The Spirit said nothing.
“Are you then the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?”
The Spirit nodded.
“Oh very well, I suppose I’ll have to last one more ghost. I’d better see something nice this time.”
The spirit lifted his right arm, revealing an exposed hand. He pointed, and All for One’s gaze followed to see a devastated city.
The streets were covered with pieces of cement, broken glass, even some fallen street signs. Of the cars parked on the curb or even in the middle of the road, not a single window was unshattered.
The buildings had fared little better. Many had large chunks missing, while further down the road one had toppled to the ground. Not a soul could be seen in this ghost town. This was clearly the aftermath of some horrible disaster.
“Yes! That’s more like it! I like you better than the others already!”
The Spirit glared at him, but said nothing. Another improvement! This one didn’t talk.
The Spirit pointed out at the devastation. Snow began to fall, covering everything in a thin white sheet.
“What caused this?”
The Spirit pointed to All for One.
“Me?” All for One looked at the destruction. “I did all of this?”
The Spirit nodded.
“Personally?”
A shake of the head.
“But my actions led to it?”
A nod.
“YES! Look at this! I’m a great villain!”
The Spirit’s shoulders sagged. He walked away, beckoning.
“Come on! I was basking!”
The scene changed. They were now in front of a long wall, inscribed with countless names, with “Dedicated to the Fallen” written on top.
“It’s over now, right?” a small boy asked. He looked about six or seven, with spiky black hair covered by a red hat with horns. Wait, hadn’t All for One seen him recently?
Oh well, he must not have had a quirk worth remembering.
“Yes,” said the woman next to him, a slender brunette with a bob cut. “At least the war is. But like all grave wounds, it leaves scars. Scars that will take a long time to heal. Some though…”
“Some can’t fully heal.”
“I’m sorry Kota.”
“Why? They were your teammates.”
“You cared about them too. You’re too young to lose this much.”
He nodded, clutching the plastic figurine of the Ninth Holder closer. “I’m glad you made it out,” he said, leaning closer to her.
“Thank you Kota.”
“And I know it’s not nice, but I’m glad that scumbag is finally dead.”
“Don’t worry, Kota. I think everyone feels that way.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t punch him in the balls.”
“I think everyone feels that way too.”
All for One nodded. “I like that kid. Taking solace in the death of his enemies. Good on him.” All for One sneezed. “If I catch a cold from this, I’m suing all of you One for All wielders!”
The Spirit gave him a look.
“What? I can use the legal system. Not legitimately, but it’s still fun!”
The Spirit shook his head, then pointed. The scene shifted again.
“I heard he died last night!” said someone dressed like a delinquent.
“I thought he’d never die!” said a man who looked like a predatory bird.
“I recognize those two,” All for One said. “Minor villain group leaders. I forced one into villainy by threatening his family.”
“Now that my family’s safe, I’m going straight,” said the delinquent. “My brother Soga’s gonna slug me hard enough as it is.”
“Wimp!” All for One said.
“Good luck then,” said the bird. “I’m gonna stay in the business. I wanna see where I can go now that I can stretch out my wings!”
“Good luck. It’ll be rough now that Ol’ Scratch got his due.”
“You too. Enjoy your family.”
“Who were they talking about?” asked All for One. “Who made them speak so contemptuously? Was it Tomura? Heh, I bet it was a loser villain like Tomura.”
The Spirit gave him a very odd look. All for One brushed it off. Clearly it had nothing to do with his remarks.
The Spirit led him to UA, which looked shattered and devastated, a much-needed improvement. A strange crack ran along the ground around the school, almost like someone had lifted the school into the air and put it back.
But that would be crazy.
The Spirit led All for One to one of the dorms, which was damaged but intact. Inside he saw several of those wretched Hero students.
On the sofa sat the one with the black ponytail and beautiful creation quirk, the one with the earphone jack quirk, and that electric one who wasn’t very bright. Earphone Jack was lying on the sofa, a bandage covering her ear as she verged on the edge of unconsciousness.
“Is there anything else we can get you, Jiro? Anything at all?”
“No Kaminari,” she said. “I’ll just…rest.”
“We’ll stay here together, Jiro,” Ponytail said.
“Thanks. You’re both…good friends.” The Earphone jack girl lay down and closed her eyes.
“Jiro!” Kaminari said, “Don’t leave us! You can’t–”
“I’m not dying you idiot!” she said. “I’m just resting. I did just lose my ear after all.”
Ponytail said, “Don’t give up hope, I know our teachers are looking into healing you.”
“I hope so.”
“If not I’m sure you’ll think of something,” the blond said. “You’re really cool. You even taught me how to play guitar!” He strummed a nearby guitar for proof.
“Thanks. I’m just glad that old bastard’s finally dead.”
“And he died naked!” Kaminari said. “He totally deserved it!”
Both Earphone Jack and Ponytail snickered.
“Maybe things will be alright,” Ponytail said.
Near the window, another student with a bird head said, “Indeed. But there are far too many still reveling in the dark.”
“What is this weirdo talking about?” All for One asked, making an idle attempt to steal Dark Shadow.
“Shadows have enveloped much of the nation,” said a silver haired boy with skin like the night sky.
A girl in a mushroom themed dress nodded. “You’re right, Kuroiro! Shroom!” She then slid up to the three on the couch. “Do you know what they’re saying?”
The three shook their heads.
“At least the progenitor of these shadows has finally been consumed,” Birdhead said.
“Yes, the shadows he unleashed finally consumed him,” said the other. “Light may dawn again.”
“I have no idea what either of them are saying,” said All for One.
The Spirit raised a hand. Then dropped it.
“You don’t understand them either, do you?”
The Spirit shook his head.
A small child(?) with grape-like balls in his hair stepped into the room, a jagged scar forming an X across his face. He was wearing a Hero costume with–was that a diaper? Either that was an elementary schooler cosplaying as a hero or Principal Nezu was now recruiting them straight from kindergarten. All for One wouldn’t put it past the rat. The purple-haired boy said, “All of you should come join the party. We’re playing charades!”
The frog girl stretched. “Alright. We were just talking about how much we hate a certain dead guy.”
The boy nodded. “I’m glad that monster’s dead, Tsu.”
“Me too Mineta.”
“Say, you think girls will find my new facial scar–”
“No.”
Chuckling, the group headed off to play the game.
“Well, as unpleasant as times seem, we must look at the bright side,” All for One said. “We may have lost a powerful villain of some sort, but at least a Hero student got horribly maimed!”
The Spirit shook with indignation, clearly trying to hold back screaming “What is wrong with you?!”
This Spirit was fun to bother! More reason for him to be All for One’s favorite!
Wind howled around the Spirit like a choir of damned souls. With a sweep of his hand, they appeared on a devastated street where a statue of All Might lay fallen sideways, smashing a bench.
“Nice!” All for One rushed over and started kicking the statue until the ghost dragged him back.
Present Mic and a blond girl with lyre-shaped horns and pony-like features approached. Present Mic sobbed, “Pony, how can I bear the horror? So many villains I was forced to kill…to protect my students, I had no choice but to use lethal force…”
She patted him on the back. “I’m sure it haunts your nightmares.”
“But I didn’t kill Dr. Garaki!” Present Mic wailed, tears falling from his eyes. “It’s not fair!”
Pony-girl said, “He’ll rot in jail for the rest of his life. And the one person everyone (but Garaki) wanted dead is gone.”
“True.” Present Mic wiped his face. “I guess I wanted him dead a little more than the doctor.”
“Also on the positive side, I have a gun now!” She patted the pistol holstered to her side. “No one would let me have one of these before the collapse of society!”
All for One nodded. “Ah, yes, I see, people are finding silver linings even in the death of thousands–such as better-armed child soldiers. I love seeing just how low the hypocritical hero society can sink. I hope no one bothered to train her on how to use that thing, so she accidentally shoots her teacher and then lives with the guilt for the rest of her life.”
The Spirit sighed. Not a sound escaped the invisible lips, but the expression was obvious.
Meanwhile Pony turned to a bunch of cans propped against some trees. She whipped out her pistol and fired six shots from the hip. Six cans fell to the ground. She blew on her gun. “State champ of Texas! Still got it!”
“Humbug.”
Present Mic stopped at the fallen All Might statue. He said, “This looks mostly intact. Help me stand it up, Pony.”
“Got it, Mr. Yamada. We’ll rebuild everything we can.”
“Stop that!” All for One shouted as the two heroes righted the statue. “That ugly thing deserves to be destroyed! Hey, don’t you heroes have something better to do with your time, like rescuing kittens from trees? Instead you’re glorifying that buffoon and wasting my tax dollars? Bah, humbug!”
The Spirit cocked his head.
All for One said, “Yes, I pay taxes. I’m already cheating death, and I’m not fool enough to take on the taxman too. But I work hard to install corrupt politicians so my money won’t be spent on anything beneficial to society.”
The Spirit face-palmed. With a distinct lack of enthusiasm, he waved his hand, carrying them off to the next scene.
Aizawa ran a vacuum down the hallway, stopping in front of a little girl’s bedroom. The door was covered in decals of pink flowers, with a nameplate reading “ERI’S ROOM.”
Staring at the door, Aizawa sniffled. He switched the vacuum off. As he gazed at the nameplate with his remaining eye, his face grew more and more mournful. He reached for the doorknob, but stopped. “I can’t,” he whispered. “The memories would be too much.” His shoulders shook. “Eri…why did you have to leave?” Tears fell from his remaining eye.
All for One stood up straighter. “Hey, are you finally showing me something good? Did the obnoxious Tiny Tim rip-off die?”
The Spirit waved his hands, attempting to convey something.
Aizawa leaned against the wall for support. His pants leg hiked up to reveal his artificial silver leg as the man wept.
All for One snapped his fingers. “Hey, I finally figured it out! Everyone must be celebrating that stupid Tiny Tim girl’s death. Deep down, everyone hated her as much as I did. Even heroes can’t stand that much obnoxious cuteness and goodness. Who can blame them? I got nauseous every time she bravely overcame her past to seek happiness. People with that kind of noxious virtue always think they’re better than everyone else. She reminded me of an adorable sad-eyed kitten so much I wanted to shove her in a burlap sack and toss her into the river.”
The Spirit hopped up and down, waving his hands.
All for One asked, “Hey, can we visit her grave so that I can dance on it? Pleasssssse? I want to get at least one pleasure out of this interminable nightmare.”
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” the Spirit shrieked. Then he clapped his hands over his mouth. The tiny bit of skin visible around his mask had flushed crimson.
“Ah, so you can talk.” All for One circled the Spirit, prodding him. “What was with that dark and mysterious act, then?”
The Spirit shuffled his feet and looked away.
All for One said, “Give me winning lottery numbers or stock market investments! Say something useful. Or cool.” He poked the Spirit’s cheek, knocking his mouthguard loose. “Stop pretending.”
The Spirit nearly bit off All for One’s finger. The villain scowled as the ghost readjusted his mouthguard. “Don’t be like that just because Tiny Tim died. Anyone who read the book would have predicted that plot twist. The world will be a darker place without her, and I for one revel in it!”
From the lower level of the house, the front door crashed open. Eri shouted, “I’m home!”
“Eri!” Aizawa shoved aside the vacuum and ran downstairs. Throwing his arms around Eri, he lifted her off her feet. “Never leave me again!”
“I was only gone an hour,” she said, her voice muffled by his arms.
“That hour felt like eternity.”
Eri tilted her head, “Dad, are you going to be like this every time I go out with Uncle Kurogiri?”
“You called me Dad!” Aizawa gasped. “We must celebrate at once. Would you like a treat for dinner? How about candy apples?”
Eri blinked. “I call you Dad all the time?” Her confusion turned to glee. “Are you going to celebrate every time I call you that?”
“Yes, absolutely.” Aizawa spun Eri around in a circle as she laughed.
All for One staggered backward, clutching his heart. “The sweetness…it’s giving me diabetes…I feel faint…” Whirling around, he glared at the Spirit. “You tricked me! You deceived me into thinking that Tiny Eri died just so you could tear my happiness away. That’s so evil, I’m a little impressed.”
The Spirit stared with a weary expression.
All for One asked, “Then who’s the person who made everyone happy by dying?”
The Spirit pointed directly at All for One.
All for One looked over his shoulder, where the father and daughter couple danced behind him. “You’re still pointing at Tiny Eri. Does everyone else think that she’s dead? Hey, at least you could let me see all the heroes’ disappointed faces when they find out that she’s alive after all.”
With a deeply embittered growl, the Spirit waved them to the next location.
Izuku Midoriya sat on a rooftop, looking over UA. The school’s wall had been heavily damaged. The students looked small, almost doll-like from up here. All around the school, people were putting up Christmas decorations. Working together, students and civilians strung up brightly colored lights and hung wreathes of holly around.
The Ninth holder gazed down at the All Might cards spread out in his hand. One of them was covered in blood. Sighing, Izuku said, “I’ll keep this card to remember you, Kacchan. I’ve found a specialist to remove the bloodstains. I’m sure that you would want your favorite All Might card restored to perfect condition before All Might signs it. I will fulfill your dying wish.”
“STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT I’M DEAD! AND GIVE ME BACK MY CARDS!” A blond boy stood in the stairwell with his hands on his hips. Explosions danced down his arms.
The Ninth sighed. “Sometimes I can still hear his anguished death cries.”
“I’LL KILL YOU!” The explosion boy charged.
The Ninth hopped off the rooftop and ran down the side of the building. Explosions followed as the other boy pursued. Izuku grabbed a Christmas tree from two students and threw it at the explosion boy. Screams and foul profanity emerged from his mouth as Explosion Boy got tangled up in the branches.
“What a shame,” All for One said, turning to the Spirit. “I was hoping you’d robbed a dead person. Ugh, I suppose you’re far too noble a hero to ever do that.”
The Spirit grew stiff. He twiddled his thumbs.
All for One asked, “Wait, did you actually rob a dead person?”
The Spirit looked away without replying.
Running to the edge of the school, the Ninth hid behind a block of rubble from the walls. He took out the cards and carefully examined them for any damage. “Phew, I should be more careful with these. I’ll keep them in the vault with the Tenth Anniversary poster that I ‘inherited’ from Sir Nighteye.”
“Young Midoriya! Where are you?” Even in his skinny form, All Might’s voice boomed across the school.
The Ninth sprang to his feet as All Might approached.
“I’m sure you must be tired from all the Christmas decorating, so I made you a bento.” All Might held out the box.
Ninth took it tenderly in his hands, saying, “Thank you, All Might. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“I’ll always make bentos for you, my boy. You’ve worked hard lately. You should rest,” All Might said, his voice filled with pride as the Ninth tearfully hugged him.
“I will, thank you All Might!”
All for One frowned. “I don’t get it. This is what you brought me here to see? A bento?”
The Spirit nodded.
“Is the Ninth going to get food poisoning? That’s the only way I could see this inane exchange mattering.”
The Spirit clenched his fist, then stalked away, changing the scene in the process.
They were now at a graveyard, filled with mourners lined up around a single grave.
“They’re all mourning this one individual,” All for One said. He approached closer, as a thought that had been formulating throughout this journey formed. “Spirit?”
The Spirit looked up.
“Who was it who died? Who were they all gloating over the death of, if not Tiny Tim?”
The Spirit pointed to a newspaper on the ground.
“I didn’t know they were still making these,” All for One muttered as he looked down.
He gasped. The headline read: ALL FOR ONE (FINALLY) DEAD
“Impossible. Nationwide celebrations…parties…all for my death…how can…how can I have left Japan in enough shape for them to do that?!” All for One looked up at the line of mourners, hoping against all hope that they were weeping tears of despair at the horrors he’d inflicted.
The Spirit was standing next to the grave. In front of the grave was a small mound of ice. All for One’s confusion turned to horror at the words inscribed upon the grave:
All for One. He should have finished that comic book.
“NOOOO!!!” All for One fell to his knees. “How? How could this have happened?! Who even knew I didn’t finish–”
Wait, the Ninth holder was still alive. The one who’d spoken with Yoichi.
“CURSES! But why? Why would they make me a grave?! Why is there a line of mourners?! Why the mound of–?”
The next person in line spat on the ice mound. “So long you old scumbag!” The liquid froze, making the ice mound a little larger.
“Oh. That makes sense.” All for One looked out at the mourners, or in this case, gloaters, standing around the grave. He overheard their conversations.
“I’m going out drinking to celebrate his death!”
“I’m so glad I came. After everything he put us through this is a blast!”
“When everyone else is gone, I’m dancing on the grave!”
“I think everyone else is too buddy.”
“You should all be mourning!” All for One said, pointing.
The Spirit held out his hands in bafflement.
“Not me! They should be mourning the devastation I unleashed around their towns! Their lost families! How could Christmas come? It came without giving! It came without tags! It came without presents, boxes or bags!”
The Spirit face-palmed.
All for One sighed. “At least they’re all filled with rancor and vengeance in their hearts instead of Christmas joy. Otherwise this would be–”
“In nomine Patris et Filii, et Spiritus Sanсti,” a young female voice said.
Is that Latin? Who would speak–
No.
No. No. No.
No! No! No! It couldn’t be!
Turning around, he saw her.
That insufferable vine haired zealot! For a moment, he hoped the Almighty would show some uncharacteristic mercy despite All for One’s lack of faith, virtue, or the slightest ounce of repentance.
It was not granted. Instead the girl crossed herself and prayed. At his grave!
“So much for my ever joining the clergy!” All for One fumed. “Not that I would’ve anyway, unless it was the corrupt kind.” At the very least, he could take solace in corrupting her enough to pray for his eternal damna–
“What are you doing?” a bystander asked.
She replied, “Praying that his wicked soul might’ve found repentance in his final moments. Despite my personal feelings, it is my duty.”
With a feral scream usually reserved for One for All holders with spiky hair, or with an All and a Might in their hero names, All for One lunged for her throat, diving straight through her. He then tried to take her quirk, screeching, “Get that filthy virtue, kindness and forgiveness away from my grave! Didn’t your parents teach you respect for the dead?”
“Why would you do that?” asked one of the other gloaters.
“Exactly!” said All for One.
“Because even though he lived a life of foul wickedness, and is almost certainly screaming in the pits of Hell as just another vile soul in torment–”
“Saying I’m in Hell is one thing, but you don’t need to be rude! I’m a Demon Lord!”
“Revealed as the pathetic boy playing dress-up that he was–”
“Hey!”
“Nevertheless, it is my duty not to let him corrupt my heart with hatred!”
“You and Yoichi would get along!” All for One spat as he tried desperately to wrap his intangible hands around her throat. He slammed his foot against the headstone. “Ow! Why can I hit a headstone but not a person?!”
Across the crowd, people murmured to themselves.
The girl stepped away from the grave, standing by a ruined streetlamp. “Don’t you all agree? We should not allow this wicked man to poison us! It is Christmas! A time of joy and hope, of friends and family!” The light flickered to life, washing her in a holy glow. “Let us celebrate together!”
The gloaters looked amongst themselves. Most just shrugged and ignored her.
“Good…” All for One said.
“She has a point,” someone said. “If he’s somewhere looking up at us, is this what we want him to see?”
“Yeah, what would he hate more? Bitterness, or joy?”
“That is a poor reason, but perhaps you can cast it off after we begin celebrating,” said the zealot.
It can’t be.
She began to sing. “Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call. Their favorite time of year~”
“No…”
At first they ignored her. Then someone else began to sing. Then another. And another.
“No, no, no!” All for One turned to the spirit. “Spirit! Take me from this place!”
The spirit shook his head and pointed at the crowd as yet more began to sing! The joy was spreading like a virus!
“Please! Stop this torment!” All for One said.
The spirit pointed at the crowd, as they all began to break into caroling.
Soon they were all singing Christmas carols! It was sickening! He couldn’t stand it!
The filthy vine girl smiled at her horrific work, humming Silent Night as the foul feeling of joy polluted the air!
“NOOOO!!!!” All for One fell to his knees. “Please! Make it stop! I see now! I see the truth! I see what I must do!”
The Spirit turned his head.
“Despite all I’ve inflicted, all the death and destruction, joy has persisted. They still sing and laugh while I have died, alone, unmourned, defeated.”
The Spirit nodded.
“Therefore I must become ten times worse! I’ll accumulate even more power so I can win! And I’ll sow the seeds of such great destruction that they can never celebrate, even if I die! HAHAHAHAHA!”
The Spirit facepalmed.
“HAHAHA–ahhh?” All for One got to his feet. He was back in his room. He was free! No more spirits! No more morals! No more obnoxiously virtuous people! He was free!
He felt light as a feather! Absolutely giddy at his freedom! He quickly began thinking of all of the joys he’d seen so he could ruin them. Wait. Where were they? He remembered his talks with the spirits, Yoichi stealing his money in the past, but the rest was a vague indecipherable mass, like a dream he’d forgotten.
The closest he had was a feeling of disappointment in Tomura and the strong desire to kill some zealot at UA. But he had no idea who, or even why.
Humbug!
However, looking back on what he could remember, he couldn’t help but think…
“Perhaps, this night has given me some things to think about.” All for One sat at his computer. “Like writing a new ending to A Christmas Carol and removing all that humbug about redemption! Instead Scrooge gets over his sadness, gains a new lease on life, and finds true happiness as an evil old miser, now enjoying evicting widows and orphans over paying an hour late with a smile on his face! And since A Christmas Carol is public domain, unlike my Captain Hero fanfic, I can officially publish this as if it was canon! AHAHAHA!”
One of All for One’s greatest annoyances was how his little brother had purchased the copyright to Captain Hero many years ago through foul, treacherous means (saving the author’s life), changed the law to keep it out of the public domain for many more years, then handed it down to One for All holders ever since. To All for One’s fury, this meant he still couldn’t publish any of his Demon Lord wins fanfictions. For this reason, obtaining that copyright was almost as big a priority as getting his little brother’s quirk back.
But this time, All Might couldn’t stop him. This time, it would get published! Scrooge would finally have his due!
All for One emailed his contacts in the publishing and cinema industry. The epic tale Scrooge Strikes Back would soon become not only a book but also a movie and TV show. Finally, All for One put in a custom order for a brand new bank vault full of the most high-tech ghost traps.
Yoichi said, “And so All for One’s heart shrank three sizes that day, causing it to become a singularity from which no joy can escape.”
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Izuku asked the ghost floating in the air, “Basically, your plan didn’t work?”
Yoichi pouted. “Not necessarily! I mean sure my brother’s as evil as ever, and he’s purchasing a new bank vault and his home is full of ghost traps so we’ll have to all be careful. In fact, I should get back to the Void. But remember, Ninth…just because my brother’s still evil doesn’t mean our plan was a complete failure!”
Izuku cocked his head. “Really?”
Yoichi smiled. Opening his arms, he said, “Maybe the real Christmas Carol was the friends we made along the–”
Nana materialized behind Yoichi. “Get him!” she screamed, putting Yoichi into a chokehold while the other vestiges dogpiled him.
“I’m sorry!” Yoichi shouted. “I admit it! It was a lame joke and a lame plan! I’m sorry!” Yoichi’s voice faded away as the vestiges vanished.
Izuku made a mental note to avoid the Void for a while. Frankly, Izuku never seriously expected to redeem All for One. Just watching All for One suffer had been pretty fun. But seriously, another bank vault? Izuku had no idea how someone could be that bad at learning from his mistakes.
There was a knock at the door. Izuku leapt to his feet. All Might must have arrived to take him to the UA Christmas party! The real Christmas gift was spending time with his friends and family (without All for One).
Therefore Izuku would wash his hands clean of this whole affair and go to the party with All Might instead. That sounded like a merry Christmas to him.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Incorrect Quotes, Pride and Prejudice / MacBeth
All for One: It is a truth universally acknowledged that every older brother with a pretty younger brother is in need of a bank vault.
Nana: Wrong book!
Second: By the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way–Awww we’re doing A Christmas Carol? But he doesn’t even die in that!
#
Omake: Mickey’s Christmas Carol
Izuku: Tormenting All for One is great fun! I just wish I could’ve laughed evilly while kicking him into Hell like in the Disney cartoon.
Yoichi: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! We could’ve done that?!
Izuku: Yeah? But I thought you wanted this done like the book? Besides wouldn’t he see it as a compliment?
Yoichi: I don’t care, that would have been so cool! Disney did something so dark?!
Nana: Have you ever actually watched Disney?
#
Omake: Regrets
Second: Wait, you got to see All for One driven mad in rage? Maybe I shouldn’t have boycotted this after all!
Nana: Well maybe you should’ve thought of that before you left me to do it instead. Go face a wall.
Second: (Grumbling) Big talk for someone who didn’t want to do this either and drew the short straw.
#
Omake: If All for One Cared About Being Mourned
All for One: Is there no one who mourns me?!
Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come: (Points at Garaki.)
Garaki: Why Lord?! You were so magnificent! So perfect! (Sobs harder than a Midoriya.)
All for One: Is there no one with a shred of dignity who mourns me?
Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come: (Points at Machia firing flaming arrows at a boat while surrounded by sasquatches.)
All for One: Close enough.
#
Omake: Incorrect Quotes, The Grinch
Yoichi: Now all the whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But All for One, who lived just north of it did not. Some said his head was not screwed on right. Others said his suits were too tight. But I think the most likely reason of all…IS THAT HE’S A COMPLETE JERK!
All for One: It’s not my fault that all the children cried when I stole their presents!
Yoichi: YES IT IS!
All for One: You’re just mad I proved Dr. Seuss a liar!
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