Chapter Text
Izuku, Nighteye, and All Might all sat in a lobby within the Nighteye agency. They had just gone over the capabilities One for All grants its user. Super strength, super speed, durability, and reaction time were all part of the quirk. In All Might’s case, his muscles also expanded in size, the effect increasing dramatically when he began to lose weight due to his injury. In Izuku’s case, this seemed to be substituted for red lines and green lightning.
None of this proved to be any help in helping Izuku limit the output of the quirk. So far, the only idea the trio had was for Izuku to temporarily bring out the quirk while remaining completely still. However, this still resulted in pain and a great risk of injury.
Izuku turned to his mentor, “Is there anything else? Anything at all, however weird, that you’ve noticed about One for All?”
All Might pondered his answer for a bit before simply saying, “Vestiges.”
“Vestiges?” questioned Izuku
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.” replied Sir Nighteye.
“Some kind of… vestige… or maybe residue… of the past users also seem to be a part of the quirk… somehow.”
Izuku ceased his scribbling in his ‘Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume 16’ journal. “So, OFA is haunted?”
“Well I don’t think my quirk is haunted per se… it was more like a comforting presence. A spooky comforting presence.”
“How was it ‘spooky’?” asked Nighteye
“It was kind of like these inky black silhouettes that randomly showed up and whispered into words of encouragement in my most dire time of need.”
The student and investigative hero stared blankly at their friend for a moment before Izuku broke the silence by saying, “Yagi-sensei, I hate to suggest this, but could that just have been a stress induced hallucination?”
“Possibly, but there were also several very odd dreams where I was in some kind of void. There were seven bright lights and corresponding silhouettes reaching out to me. I got the same sense I get when I tap into OFA, although I was in my true form, as I am now.”
The other two shuddered, but pushed aside their fear to begin pondering.
“Hmmmm, do you think it’s possible that the mental portion of the past users’ quirk factors transferred along with OFA?” suggested Izuku.
Sir Nigtheye picked up on the thread, “Good suggestion, Young Midoriya. Do you adhere to the dualistic theory of quirks?”
“Umm, what?” The oldest member of the trio was getting increasingly puzzled by this conversation.
“Not really, my personal theories certainly don’t imply that quirkless people are missing part of our souls.” replied Izuku with a bit of scorn.
Yagi rapidly looked back and forth between his former sidekick and successor, “Can someone please explain, like, any of this to me?”
“Sorry Yagi, I assumed you might know some quirk theory. Not that there’s anything wrong with not knowing!”
“I understand, Young Midoriya. I’ve never ventured into the field of quirk theory and analysis due to my quirk’s sensitive nature. I love how passionate you are about the subject but I hope you don’t mind explaining it to this old man.”
“You’re not old, All Might! And my passion really just comes from my father, but anyways. There are several competing theories on the general nature of quirks themselves. There is undoubtedly a genetic component and we can biologically describe the features of a lot of quirks, but there remains a lot of speculation. The dualistic theory of quirks posits that alongside the genetic quirk factor, there exists a mental quirk factor. This serves as an explanation for some of the quirks that defy scientific explanation, particularly mental ones. Of course, many people tie this into quirks having a supernatural or spiritual nature.”
Nighteye nodded, “I personally don’t believe that quirks are supernatural in nature. But the theory does explain how my quirk activates without any physical changes.”
Izuku continued, “The problem with the theory is that it directly ties quirks to some kind of spirit or soul. Thus, quirkless people, as a result of not having any kind of quirk factor, are thought to be missing a part of their souls, or even be completely soulless.”
“That’s horrible!”
“Agreed, that’s why my personal theory is rather different. For one, I don’t think of people as having two separate quirk factors, merely one quirk factor which resides in both soul and body, both the metaphysical self and the physical self. The genetic alteration is not the quirk factor itself, but merely an effect. The actual quirk factor is an expression of our true self, but not an extension of it. The quirk factor then enables a change in a person’s genetic code, or metaphysical capabilities. The quirk factor isn’t actually the quirk itself, that is determined by a person’s genetics, nor is it a person’s soul. What the factor does is “activate” the quirk and enables quirks to have supernatural aspects. Pretty convoluted, but it makes sense once you consider that the alpha string is located on the alleles responsible for general changes in quirked people, and the omega string is located on the alleles responsible for specific quirks.”
Nighteye placed a hand on his chin and nodded. “The idea that quirks can be explained simply died a long time ago.”
Yagi, reeling slightly from all that jargon, asked, “A-Anyways, what exactly do you think the vestiges are again?”
“Well unless you want to go fully into the realm of the supernatural, I don't think the vestiges are actual ghosts or spirits communicating from beyond the dead. In my theory’s philosophical framework, there exists three potential options for this kind of behavior, or three potential ways for a person to exist. The body, an incorporeal soul, and simultaneously corporeal and incorporeal. The third level is where the quirk factor resides and is the truest form of ourselves.
This would be the Hielomorphic view. Mind-Body Dualists would assert that a person is only or mainly the soul. Quirk Dualists would include the quirk factor as a part of the soul. Materialists ditch the incorporeality, generally trying to place the cause for a quirk like Nighteye’s in some part of the brain. I think the strangeness of quirks necessitates the existence of a spiritual or incorporeal element to our existence.
This led me to the view of Hylomorphism, where a person is the union of both body and soul. It is my view that since the dawn of quirks, this union also occasionally produces a quirk factor, the result of some type of spiritual power from the soul and a specific piece of genetic code, the alpha code. We’ve always had dreams of possessing fantastic powers, but a genetic change finally made it possible for our wills to alter our genetic code via the existence of the true quirk factor in order to give us genetic quirk factors.
This theory of course has its objections, such as the complexities brought up by the existence of quirked animals. I think we can go back to Aristotle’s Metaphysics to get a good idea for a counterargument. But that really is just quirk philosophy rather than quirk science. My father held the exact same beliefs, and referenced virtue ethics a lot in one of the journals he left me. Uh… Virtue ethics is another branch of philosophy that was first argued by Aristotle. Dad seemed like a fan.”
Sir Nighteye seemed intrigued, “I myself tend towards materialistic theories. But you make a very good argument for the hylomorphic view.”
“Right… so… you think the vestiges could be a part, no, an expression of the previous user’s souls? Wait, but I thought you didn’t believe in incorporeal souls?”
“Well, there’s two options for how to explain it. One, only the mental portion of the quirk factor, so not the true quirk factor, got passed on. Two, the entire quirk factor was transferred, but not manifested physically. It probably remained in the epigenetics of One for All’s genetic changes. This means both the previous user’s genetics and spirit were passed on.”
All Might seemed to have a realization. “Wait, wouldn’t that mean the previous user’s quirks would also get passed down?”
Izuku seemed surprised before putting his hand to his mouth and mumbling. Sir Nighteye stepped in before he could finish his thought process, “If they were passed down, they would be vastly weakened compared to the original. It’s possible that nobody noticed them.”
Izuku nodded, “There could also be some barrier or mental block that restricts the usage of past quirks. Regardless, I should focus on mastering the energy stockpile before trying to access other quirks. My father always emphasized learning one thing at a time in a new field of study.”
Nighteye and All Might both nodded, agreeing with that wisdom.
“So now we can move onto the purpose of this analysis,” Nighteye continued, “to try and get you to properly harness One for All.”
Izuku agreed with the subject change. “The relevant parts of our previous discussion is that when a quirk is passed on, there is both a genetic change and a metaphysical change.”
Nighteye pondered, “Perhaps these changes take time to fully manifest, and that is why you lack control right now.”
“A valid hypothesis, to see if it is accurate, let’s test the amount of OFA I can access. I was able to send a training dummy flying across the gym from a distance using only a finger flick. Will All Might achieve the same results if he uses his full power?”
“Let’s test it!” announced All Might as he transformed. Nighteye brought out a training dummy and All Might repeated Izuku’s earlier feat. The training dummy was indeed knocked into the wall of the gym, but was not destroyed.
MI: “That seemed like the same amount of force. Did you use full power or only partial power?”
AM: “That was my full power."
SN: “Well then, Midoriya must have fully integrated One for All. His full power is the same as All Might’s full power.”
MI: “Not so fast Sir. You are forgetting that there are two separate changes that must occur for me to fully integrate OFA. A physical change to my genetics, and a spiritual/mental change to my metaphysical self.”
SN: “You are correct, Young Midoriya. But how would we tell one change apart from the other.”
MI: “I suppose we could run some genetic testing, but there is no need for that. Tell me Sir, what are the three possible states a quirk factor could exist or not exist in a person?”
SN: “That’s a rather interesting way to put it, but I will humor you. A quirk factor could simply not exist, as was the case for you originally. A quirk factor could be dormant, as is the case for children who have not manifested a quirk yet. Finally, a quirk factor could be active, as is the case for healthy quirked individuals. Scientists have found no difference in a person’s genetics based on whether an emitter quirk is active or inactive. There are, of course, biological changes involved in transformation quirks that sometimes involve a change in cell structure, but that does not create a genetic change.”
MI: “Of these three states, it is clear that I have a quirk, and thus a quirk factor. Furthermore, I was able to use my quirk, so it is not dormant. Thus, my quirk factor is active.”
SN: “Isn’t it possible that you have undergone some genetic change but not a fully genetic change?”
MI: “Unlikely, genes are either one way or another. The only way such a thing could happen is if some cells in my body contained a quirk factor but not all. However, you claimed earlier that the quirk was fully integrated. If I am able to use all of the power of OFA, my body must have fully integrated OFA.”
SN: “So if there is some part of OFA that remains to be integrated, it must be metaphysical.”
MI: “Correct, if we assume there is no user error and I am properly controlling the quirk to the best of my abilities, there are two options for my lack of control. The first is a mental block. This is unlikely given that mental blocks are often developed at a young age because of preconceptions about a quirk. Given that I have just received the quirk, there would have been no time for a mental block to form. Further, I do not imagine that I am currently as strong as All Might, yet my quirk refuses to bend to my will. Thus the second option, that some mental portion of the quirk, the part that will give me control over the energy stockpile, remains locked.”
SN: “But why would such a thing occur? If the body and spirit are one, surely a full bodily integration would equal a full mental integration.”
MI: “You misunderstand the Hylomorphic view. Body and Spirit are one, but that does not mean everything has the same effect on both. When I received OFA, I received it both in body and spirit. The body, being simpler, was able to fully integrate the quirk. The spirit, being more complex, has not integrated the quirk.”
AM: “This is all well and good, but what does it mean for a quirk to be fully integrated?”
MI: “Excellent question. Two things in relation to each other can either be in harmony, in conflict, or a mix of the two. An integrated quirk here means that there is no conflict, only harmony. Therefore, there must be some conflict between my metaphysical self and the quirk.
AM: “How does an average person, one born with a quirk, achieve total harmony.
MI: “In a healthy individual, there is no conflict between quirk and self. After all, the quirk is an expression of the self. The only way a quirk could be in conflict with a person is if a person actively seeks conflict with the quirk, or actively distances themselves from it.”
SN: “But OFA is not your birth quirk. Therefore, it is not an expression of yourself.”
MI: “Precisely! However, it is clear that OFA is somewhat an expression of myself. The evidence of this is the green lightning that surrounded me when I activated it. Therefore, it is quite possible that the fault lies not with me as a person, but with the quirk. I find it likely that the quirk takes time to adapt to me and become nothing but an expression of myself.”
AM: “That explains why, when I first received the quirk, I had trouble controlling it as well. I figured it was simply an error on my part that you would not repeat. In fact, the quirk had to adapt to me just as it has to adapt to you. Luckily, I had control within a month. So you should be able to control it in time for the U.A. entrance exam.”
SN: “Perhaps not…”
AM: “What do you mean?”
SN: “The energy within OFA is much greater than when you first acquired it All Might. This may pose a problem.”
AM: “Young Midoriya, do you agree with this assessment?”
MI: “It depends on what exactly the energy stockpiled by OFA is.”
SN: “Perhaps it is the potential energy described by physics.”
MI: “But if it was potential energy, it would drop as it was converted to kinetic energy. The energy within OFA only grows, and never declines.”
SN: “Then OFA must store kinetic energy. Are those not the only two types of energy, potential and kinetic?”
MI: “The same problem occurs with kinetic energy in that it does not grow ceaselessly. In fact, the way kinetic energy is stored is potential energy. So, for the sake of this conversation, both forms can simply be called physical energy. There must be an unobservable metaphysical energy stored within OFA.”
SN: “Then how can we study, or know anything about such energy if it is unobservable.”
MI: “The same way we study other unobservable phenomena, but looking at the things they affect that are observable. OFA increases physical attributes, but also mental reaction time. It restores All Might to the height of his power. It causes visual effects when I use it. Its effects thus include physical (kinetic and potential) energy, the ability to actualize one’s potential, and the ability to bring forth aesthetic changes.”
SN: “What does this mean about the nature of OFA itself?”
MI: “What else brings forth physical energy, actualization, and aesthetic changes?”
SN: “I haven’t the faintest idea. All of these things happen ordinarily simply when we will them to.”
MI: “Ah, you have the answer but you do not know you have it. OFA must stockpile willpower. Willpower is what enables us to move, to grow, to change ourselves for the betterment of the world.”
SN: “I follow what you are saying. How is pure willpower stockpiled?”
MI: “When a user of OFA wills something to happen, that will becomes metaphysical energy that strengthens the quirk. Over time, more and more energy accumulates. Because the users of OFA have been heroes with great wills constantly fighting tough battles and exerting their willpower to the fullest extent, OFA has grown into the most powerful individual quirk to ever exist.”
SN: “I see, an example of this phenomena is the massive increase in energy within OFA over the course of All Might’s career. More than any other hero he worked tirelessly to make his dreams a reality. His will was so great it literally gave him the power to make his dreams come true.”
MI: “Indeed. Now shall we transition to practical matters?”
SN: “Let us do so.”
AM: “Please do so, my head can’t take much more philosophy.”
Izuku stepped off his metaphorical soapbox and clutched his fist. “I can easily get stronger by exercising my willpower and pushing my limits. UA’s plus ultra philosophy will guarantee it.”
“Be careful not to overexert yourself though.” All Might chided. “Your quirk may be strong, but your body is still an imperfect vessel that gets exhausted. Plus, it’s important to have free time and form bonds. That is a lesson I did not follow during my career, and I regret it deeply.”
Izuku nodded, “Yes sir! The second thing I need to do is wait for OFA to adapt to me. It may take more than a month, but I should continuously try and call upon it and regulate it. Let’s say, once every two weeks.”
Sir Nighteye replied, “Sounds good to me. We’ve done good work here. Identifying why Young Midoriya has such a hard time controlling OFA, and identifying what needs to be done to fix it. Let’s take a lunch break, our cafeteria has great options.”
“Good idea Mirai. Let’s eat!”
Izuku’s eyes sparkled with the excitement of having lunch with his two favorite heroes. He couldn’t wait to get stronger and make them proud.