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Nana cut the carrots methodically, still getting used to having a tangible form. The past users had found that they could temporarily take control of Ninth’s body and had been using it to allow ninth to rest more. Currently, she was making him tea as he'd missed the class wide meal due to studying. Considering how insistent Iida could be, she was surprised he'd managed to. A lock of green hair fell infront of her eyes and she batted it away. Ninth really should get it cut soon. Nana continued to carefully cut the vegetables before placing the pieces in the wok with some tofu.
They sizzled in the light coating of oil as she prepared the spices and the sauce packet. She'd prefer to make her own sauce, of course, but this was what was in the dorms. Stirring the wok periodically, she took out the ‘straight to wok’ noodles and placed them on the side. One by one, Nana added herbs and spices to the wok and continued to stir. Once that was done, she placed a pack of noodles in and mixed them into the vegetables. These ones said they only needed a few minutes to cook which was good as it was getting late. She'd said that Ninth shouldn't stay up this late studying, especially without food, but he'd insisted that he needed to. So, here she was, cooking tea whilst he rested in the void with the others. The sauce was squeezed into the pan and stirred through, then the food was placed in a bowl. She washed up quickly whilst the food cooled, not wanting to leave a mess, then made her way out of the kitchen.
She was quiet as she climbed the stairs, careful not to drop the chopsticks. Padding down the hallway, Nana hoped she had the right floor. It would be very embarrassing for both her and Ninth is she went into the wrong room. Luckily, she was right, and when she opened the door she was greeted with large posters of Eighth's face. It was sweet how much Ninth admired the man. Nana sat down and closed her eyes to prepare to go back into the void. It was best that Ninth eat then do his bedtime routine instead of having her do it. That way, he had more privacy when it came to changing clothes and using the bathroom. Slipping into the void that was One For All, Nana felt Ninth take control of the body.
------
Banjou swore loudly. He'd stubbed his toe on Ninths bedframe. Hard. So he was now hopping comicly and swearing like a sailor, hopefully quietly enough that none of Ninth’s classmates would hear. That would be an awkward conversation considered Ninth rarely swore out loud. The kid should really loosen up a bit, in Banjou's opinion. He was one of the vestiges that had the hardest time adjusting to being in control of Ninths body. Being both very tall and very buff meant that being in control of a much smaller body was a pain in the ass. He flopped onto the bed and sighed.
Banjou was only in control because Ninth was asleep in the void, curled into Seventh after a nightmare. None of the other vestiges had wanted to take control before school, First having had a poor education, Fourth being too antisocial, Second and Third being generally unsuited to a classroom, and Sixth had just said he was too tired. Banjou knew he just didn't want to go back to school. He got up and started to tug on the UA uniform, trying his best to preserve Ninth's modesty. Usually Ninth would change but he was out cold in the void right now so it was Banjou's job. Looking at the clock, themed after Eighth of course, he swore again. He was going to be late if he waited any longer.
— —
Banjou luckily made it to the classroom at a similar time to when Ninth would usually arrive. He was actually several minutes late for that but he just said he got caught up in some analysis and Ninth’s friends didn't question him further. Luckily for him, Ninth had done that before. It would be a nightmare if he was found out, he'd probably get accused of being a shape shifter. Understandably so, really, as no one would assume that he was a ghost possessing Ninth nor would they think that Ninth would be okay with being possessed.
The time seemed to trickle by as Banjou worked to take notes at a similar pace to Ninth. He'd rarely taken notes in school, relying on his memory to get through, so it was annoying to start now. Finally, after what seemed like days, it was time for lunch. Banjou was getting increasingly annoyed as none of the other vestiges took over, not even Ninth was wanting control, althpigh he was probably still asleep. He sighed mentally and prepared to eat lunch and socialise with Ninth’s friends. At that thought, however, Ninth pushed his way out of the void, causing Banjou to stumble. There was a moment where they were both in control and their head hurt like hell. Then Banjou was in the void, wincing as his head continued to throb slightly. Collapsing onto his throne, he complained to the other vestiges.
“I'm never doing that again. Next time one of you can do school.”
------
Yoichi stretched slightly, shaking out Ninths arms as he adjusted to his new body. He'd never actually taken control before, not wanting to risk collapsing because he'd been in the void for too long. However, Ninth needed to be forced to sleep and had ended up leaning on Seventh to do so. Fifth was still tired from the incident a few days ago where he and Ninth had both been in control. Considering how unwilling Second and Third were to take control, it was left to Yoichi, Fourth and Sixth to decide who'd take control. Fourth had said he didn't want to interact with Ninth’s classmates, like the misanthrope Yoichi claims him to be, and Sixth was busy messing with the void. Yoichi didn't bother questioning him anymore.
He slowly climbed out of bed, marvelling at how much healthier Ninths body was compared to his, and tried to stand. Now, despite all of his illnesses and the treatment his brother had given him, Yoichi had been able to move about with relative ease when he was alive. Or atleast he'd thought so. The lack of aching muscles and sore joints when he stayed standing was a strange sensation. He wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand, Yoichi was finally experiencing what it was like to be a regular, healthy person but, on the other hand, Ninth had different proportions to him. That was going to take longer to get used to than being able to walk for longer than a few steps without mild pain. He adjusted Ninths clothes slightly, getting used to the fit of them and tried walking. It was slightly strange, but after slowly pacing Ninth’s room he'd gotten the hang of it.
A small smile played on his lips as he slowly sped up, until he was walking at a similar pace to Ninth instead of his usual slow, aching steps. He wasnt out of breath in the slightest and he was nowhere near tired. Yoichi continued pacing around the room, only stopping to pick up one on Ninth's books to read as he walks. Humming slightly, he waited until Ninth was called for dinner. Usually Ninth would stay in control for much longer but a combination of lengthy training and a late night beforehand had left him exhausted. So, because Ninth needed to eat, Yoichi had taken over. As if on cue, there was a knock in the door. Yoichi placed the book down and went to open the door, grinning at the boy on the other side.
“Ah- Hi Iida!” He said, luckily remembering the taller boy’s name.
“Hello Midoriya! I came to inform you that dinner is ready!” Iida chopped his hand as he spoke, making Yoichi laugh internally.
“Okay! I'll follow you down in a minute,” he injected some of Ninth's cheer into his voice, his usual manner of speaking would definitely sound odd coming from Ninth.
“Don't take too long, otherwise your food will get cold. I'll see you in a moment then, Midoriya!” Iida said, turning to go back down the hall.
— —
When Yoichi did get downstairs, having spent a moment making sure he could act like Ninth, he was greeted with an amazing smell. He'd also checked the shared memories the holders had for the names of Ninth’s classmates and additional information he'd need. Sitting next to Uraraka, he was handed a bowl of food.
“This looks amazing!” He grinned up at Sato, the one who'd cooked for them tonight. “Thank you Sato!”
The food did look great, especially with what Yoichi had been used to when he was alive.
“How are you doing, Deku? You looked kinda tired when we got back,” Uraraka turned to him, looking concerned. Yoichi was glad Ninth had such a good friend.
“Yeah, I rested a bit and feel loads better!”
“That's good, wouldn't want you to miss out on movie night tonight!” She grinned at him. “Not that you have to come if you're too tired! Sleeps important and stuff”
“Don't worry, I know you'd be fine with me not coming!” He laughed a little as she backpedalled. He'd completely forgotten about Ninth’s weekly movie night with his friends. Hopefully, Ninth would be awake by then so he could have some fun, he'd been working himself to the bone recently.
“I'm much less tired now though!”
They chatted a bit more as they ate, the food was absolutely amazing, and Yoichi was finding it suprisingly easy to act like Ninth. Most of it was just being a bit more outgoing, reminding him of how he acted when he was younger. Before his brother became worse. Pushing that aside, he laughed at a joke Kaminari had made with the rest of the class. Hopefully this would last for Ninth, Yoichi wanted him to be happy. The food was eaten quickly and he headed back to Ninth’s room, saying he wanted to change before the movie night. He felt Ninth’s conscious stir in the back of his mind and, after closing the door to Ninth’s dorm, let himself slip back into the void as Ninth took control back.
------
When Hikage finally took control, he expected to hate it. He was only doing it because Ninth had a nightmare and needed comfort. First, Seventh, and Fifth were doing most of the comforting but that didn't mean the other vestiges were free. Second and Third were having one of their ‘secret meetings’ where they just talked about the way the worlds changed and plotted as to how they could make Ninth read their favourite books. Apparently they hadn't finished some things and wanted to know how they ended. So Hikage wasn't going to interrupt that. Sixth wasn't anywhere to be seen either, apparently he and Ninth had been talking about the void and he'd tried one of their ideas out. This meant Hikage had to take control. The body needed atleast one of them there to be awake and, whilst Ninth could just sleep in, Hikage knew he'd want to get through his usual exercise routine.
It was a Saturday, meaning most of Ninth’s classmates were sleeping in. The ones who were exceptions to this shouldn't bother Hikage too much. He changed into Ninth’s work out clothes quickly, having become an expert in changing whilst barely looking at himself, and made to leave. Stumbling slightly on his way to the door, he realised that he'd need to adjust to the new proportions. He also needed to adjust to the lack of his quirk. Danger Sense hadn't manifested yet for Ninth and it put Hikage on edge. It should be fine, logically he knew the school should be safe, but he was used to the assurance his quirk gave him. Danger Sense let him know when something was going to go wrong. Now he couldn't be sure what would happen. He left the dorm hesitantly, trying to relax himself. Seventh had been suprisingly helpful when it came to teaching him ways to calm down. He tried not to show it, fearing it would be used against him, but Hikage was very paranoid. Even in the void he was on edge.
Danger Sense strengthening had led to his own self isolation which, in turn, led to him being awful at socialising. His time in the woods had taught him a lot but now he was struggling to adjust to the city Ninth lived in. Previously, the vestiges hadn't had the near constant access to the current holder as they do now. They'd had to actively open that door but now they had to purposefully close it. It'd been building up since Ninth was given One For All, giving them longer and longer glimpses into his life, but after Blackwhip manifested it'd become permanent. It was difficult for Hikage to adjust to this, the constant noise different from the chatter of the other vestiges. Luckily, it was so early that he should be fine. Even without Danger Sense to warn him of oncoming danger.
He'd made it down the stairs and to the kitchen without any hassle. Hikage grabbed a bottle of water and one of Ninth’s, labeled, protein bars. He wanted to follow Ninth’s routine partly for Ninth and partly so that if he was seen he'd seem normal. His eyes darted around the kitchen as he ate, the bottle already in Ninth's small running bag with his phone. The boy always brought the small bag with him, when asked he said the extra weight was useful even it all the bag contained was a bottle of water, his phone, headphones, a second protein bar, some plasters, some antiseptic, and a pull on brace in case of sprains. Hikage was pleased with how prepared Ninth was, it was always better to bring extra just incase, even if some of his friends had joked abut him overpacking. Really, you never know what you'll need.
He slipped on Ninth’s trainers and tried to remember where they key to the dorm was.
“Hey Midoriya!” A voice sounded behind him, making Hikage jump and reach for a weapon that wasn't there. He forced himself to relax when he turned to see one of Ninth’s classmates. Of course.
“Hello Kirishima,” He pushed enthusiasm into his voice and contorted his face into Ninth’s signature grin. He must have got it slightly wrong as the red head's expression became one of comcern.
“You doing okay?” He asked grabbing his own trainers.
“Yeah, just a bit tired. I didn't sleep very well,” Hikage smiled sheepishly, pushing more emotion into his usually monotone voice yet again.
“That sucks dude, hope you sleep better tonight,” Kirishima smiled at him. “Want to run together?”
“Maybe tomorrow, I need to clear my head a bit,” Hikage definitely didn't want to spend more time with the energetic teen than he needed to. He wouldn't be able to keep up the act if he did.
“No problem dude! Hope you feel better after your run!” Kirishima left with a large, sharp toothed, grin.
Hikage waited a moment before leaving the dorms. He started his run, trying to follow Ninth’s usual route. This, however proved more difficult when there was woodland right there. Giving in, he ended up running down the path into the trees. He relaxed as the surroundings became more familiar. Sunlight filtered through the remaining leaves and the wind gently brushed his skin. Birds chirped in the trees, Hikage still listening out incase of danger. Whilst the less overwhelming environment was helpful for him, he was still scared of a sudden attack. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck as he ran, soaking into the soft jacket. Dead leaves crunched under his feet and Hikage jumped each time he stepped on a twig.
He hated being without Danger Sense. Luckily Ninth should develop it soon, it being marginally easier to manage than some of the other users quirks. Maybe then he'd offer to take control more often. He was curious as to whether he'd be able to find the ending to some of his favourite books from when he was younger. Hikage would have to see about joining Second and Third in their plotting.
------
Today was the day. Kudo strolled away from the dorms, towards the large school gate. Ninth had gotten a pass to go out for a few hours today, 11am-1pm exactly, and Kudo was going to try find some of his and First's favourite manga. Third's as well, he had been helpful in convincing Ninth to let them do this, after all. He'd already checked over everything Ninth brought, grumbling slightly that Ninth still wouldn't buy a pocket knife. He wouldn't even get a Swiss army knife even though they have multiple uses. He was quietly pleased that Ninth had already packed everything Kudo would've told him to bring, despite him never having come up with a list. He was about to scan his student ID so he could leave when he heard footsteps behind him.
“Hey! Deku!” Kudo jumped at the voice, whipping his head around to see who it was. “Are you heading out as well?”
It was just one of Ninth’s friends, Uraraka. At least, he hopes that's her name, Kudo didn't pay much attention to Ninth’s classmates.
“Yeah!” He grimaced internally at the faux cheer in his voice. Hopefully she'd leave soon. “Where are you going?”
“Oh, I'm actually going into the city to find a gift for my mum! Her birthdays coming up and I haven't gotten her anything yet,” The girl grinned enthusiastically, bouncing in place slightly as they both scanned their cards and waited for the gates to open. “Do you want to go shopping together?”
“Ah, I'm actually going into the shopping center, the one nearby. Maybe another day, though,” Kudo definitely didn't want to go shopping with the bubbly teenager but Ninth would. Sadly, Kudo had wanted to be able to properly judge the books he wanted. So now he was stuck making small talk and acting like Ninth.
“Aw! The shop I want is only in town. We cab definitely plan a shopping trip soon though! Oh! We can invite Iida, Todoroki, and Tsu!” Uraraka was practically skipping down the street next to him as she planned the group trip. Kudo kept a smile plastered onto his face, bemoaning the loss of a fully quiet trip. At least the bus stop wasn't far from the school.
— —
By the time he was at the shopping center, he was exhausted. Uraraka had gotten the same bus as him, but he'd still had half the journey to himself. People bustled around him and he cringed as they brushed past him. It was weird, seeing people with such heavy mutations mingling with the rest of the populace expecially when something as small as a different hair colour had gotten him attacked when he was alive. Kudo weaved inbetween the crowds, scanning the brightly coloured storefronts for the one he wanted.
When he finally reached the bookstore, having stopped to get a drink on the way, he was actually excited. The drink he'd found was an old favourite, and tasted almost the exact same. He sipped on it as he browsed the shop, enjoying the peace of the almost empty space. Turns out bookshops weren't quite as full as clothing stores at 11:50pm. Finally getting to the ‘pre-quirk literature’ section, nit an entirely accurate name as it was mostly stuff from the dawn of quirks or just before and older books were in the ‘classics’ section, he was greeted with the exact books he'd wanted. Ninth had given Kudo cash to spend, saying he can't spend more than that the whole day, and Kudo had already separated off the money for travel. Luckily, Ninth had been able to supply a decent amount of money and Kudo quickly grabbed the required volumes. After doing some mental maths and double checking the prices, Kudo determined he had enough for the books he, First, and Third wanted.
Then he saw it. The final volume of one of his favourite book series. He hadn't been able to get it when the fighting amped up and stuff wasn't being supplied from America as easily. Kudo had learnt English for those books when he was younger. Grabbing it, he added it to his total and sighed in relief when the sum was exactly the amount of money he had. Walking over to the till, he payed quickly and thanked the worker before leaving with a very full bag of books.
------
En was annoyed. He was currently stuck in Ninth's maths class, the current holder sleeping in the void. The vestiges had tried to stop him from overworking himself, but Ninth had been too wrapped up in his latest analysis project that he'd barely slept for the past 3 nights. So, En had been shoved into the drivers seat this morning and Ninth was being forced to rest by Seventh and First. He'd been dragged away from his void experiments for this. It definitely wasn't worth it, En had already passed high-school, but atleast Ninth got some proper notes. That was why En was in control, actually, he took the best notes out of him and Fifth. Second and Third were too busy with something and Fourth wouldn't exactly be comfortable in the classroom.
This left En to make sure Ninth wouldn't miss out on school work. Third had asked, at the start of all this, if Ninth was purposefully using the vestiges to miss school. Ninth”s almost teary, incredibly fast and rambley, denial had quickly convinced all the holders that he wasn't. The current holder actually hated missing out on school, unlike literally any other teenager. Except that blue haired guy in Ninth's class. En was pretty sure he'd advocate for longer school days. Personally, he hated school. It wasn't that En was bad at school, he was actually one of the top of his class, it was just boring. Though, really, nothing was more adrenaline filled than running from All For One. So he might have a bad frame of reference.
He still stood by the fact that not even a hero could make a maths lesson exciting. Still, he took notes and did the worksheet, making sure to at least try copy Ninth’s handwriting. Eventually, after what felt like hours, Ectoplasm left and their next teacher walked in. Midnight was a much more exciting teacher than Ectoplasm, if only because En preferred art to maths. Her quirk was similar enough to his that En had decided he liked her, that and the fact she frequently complimented Ninth’s art. He definitely didn't act brotherly towards the younger holder, he just recognised talent when he saw it and Ninth had it in spades. En, however, didn't have much artistic talent, which could pose a problem here. He internally groaned when she announced that their new project was studying an old heroes costume and drawing up a reference for it, like what you'd give to the costume designers.
Then, an idea struck. He had been a fully licensed hero when he was alive. He had also drawn his own costume sheet up and presented it to the designers. This shouldn't be too hard, then. He started googling himself as soon as Midnight said they could use their phones. Suprisingly, it wasn't too difficult to find bits and pieces about himself online. Sure, he hadn't been out of the public eye exactly but he'd died years ago. Scrolling through the misinformation and scoffing internally, En compiled a few different photos and videos of himself to work from. Sure, he could draw without a reference but that'd be suspicious, even if Ninth’s known as a hero fan boy. So, he grabbed a pencil and pretended to study.
------
Bruce had gotten incredibly bored in the void. All the others had spent atleast some time puppetting Ninth’s body but he hadn't. Mostly because he was a terrible actor. The third holder knew that if he took control around Ninth's classmates he'd be caught out instantly. He still wanted to try, though.
So, Bruce took control after Ninth’s training, letting the youngest holder rest for a bit, and just sat in the dorm. He read one of the books Second had bought, getting bored after a few chapters, and snooped a bit around the room. Then, he remembered something Seventh had said.
She’d mentioned how Ninth was getting stressed about the upcoming exam week, and how she'd noticed him taking less care of himself. Bruce took note of the mess Ninth’s dorm had become in recent weeks and made a decision.
— —
Bruce was cleaning. He sorted clean clothes from dirty ones and folded the clean clothes up before sorting them into drawers. The bin under Ninth’s desk was sorted out, it had been overflowing with paper torn from Ninth’s notebooks, and and the few pieces of rubbish laying about were picked up. Ninth was a fairly clean person, meaning all the mess was surface level and somewhat organised.
He tidied it up relatively fast, not able to properly dust without leaving the room, and then sat back onto the bed. That was that entertainment over. He grabbed a new book to flip through until Ninth took control again. It was one of Ninth’s, meaning Bruce got confused over some of the slang, but it was good.
After around an hour, Bruce felt Ninth tugging at his control. He'd had some fun but decided to leave the puppeteering to the other holders. It wasn't particularly fun to hang out in Ninth’s dorm. Bruce wasn't going to be the one who got them caught, though, so he decided to cut his losses as he slipped back into the void.
------
Izuku was glad the holders were there for him. They helped him keep track of day to day activities, like homework and cooking, when he got too distracted training or writing in his notebooks. The vestiges were kind to him, if stern on occassion, and he was grateful for everything. One For All was probably one of the best things to happen to him, after meeting All Might and getting into UA.
He smiled at the note Nana had left on his lunch box. She'd prepared it for him last night, letting him go to sleep early after training.
‘Goodluck! ’ It said.
He tucked it in his pocket and took the box put the fridge, shoving it into his bag.
Meeting the vestiges really was one of the best parts of One For All.