The weight of power

As Izuku walked down the path towards the dorms after class, he could hear footsteps rapidly approaching him. "Deku-kun!" "Midoriya-kun." Those voices... he turned around with a dull smile on his face, meeting Iida and Uraraka chasing after him.

"I never said this but... you were so cool in that fight! Your Quirk is so powerful! And you always react to things way before they happen, like with that spoon earl... e-earlier..." It seemed as if she had remembered what happened right after, namely the awkward staring into each other's eyes for a good few seconds. Her face was heating up. "A-Anyway, I bet you'll be a top hero in no time, like Hawks! I'm so jealous~"

He scratched the back of his head as he thought of a way to respond to that. In the meanwhile, Iida put a hand on his shoulder, as if trying to reassure him. "Let's head back to the dorms, we can discuss things on the way there."

It had taken him a few steps of contemplation before he answered Uraraka. What could he say? He still was deep in thought about what he should do with his power, and how he had unwillingly affected at least two... no, three women within UA already: Uraraka, Recovery Girl and Kodama. "Y-You were amazing too, Uraraka-san. I couldn't have done it without you and your quick thinking. You came right when I called, managed to stop yourself from puking, and even took a hit so we could win..." Distracted as he was, he still had to give credit where it was due, in his own dorky way.

Iida intervened, noticing the two having effectively fallen into an awkward blushy silence after those words. "You make a good team. I was watching from the surveillance cameras; Midoriya's speed and Uraraka's lightening touch effectively boost each other. I wonder how that would work with my own speed, given Midoriya's acceleration works by leaping rather than running..."

His mind went back to his thoughts now that Iida and Uraraka were talking with each other. Attraction of Hot Things. Given how he now knew the trigger for it was touch, and the mental link seemed to create the sensation of stopped time, he was certain that Uraraka was suffering from its effects, and all evidence seemed to indicate those were permanent. Should he inform her? But if he did, he'd have to explain how he also has super strength, speed and the likes, because there's no way both of those powers are one and the same, and he made a promise to reveal this secret to no one, ever. Can he really trust in someone he's met for so little?

No, the logical way to go about this would be getting to know them better. He has no way to bullshit his way out of having two Quirk effects that are so different to each other. The moment he reveals this, he'll have to reveal One For All's existence. And, by that point... would their relationship be truthful, or would it be a falsehood wrought by his Quirk?

Before he had even noticed, they had already arrived to the school dorms; he nearly forgot to take off his shoes, focused as he was on figuring out how to proceed. "Deku-kun, you've been suuuper quiet all this time. Is something wrong?" Uraraka asked with clear curiosity in her face as Iida went on ahead, presumably itching for a shower.

"It's just... something weighing on my mind, is all. I'll go take a bath and take the chance to think about it." They waved at each other as he left, although Uraraka's smile faded away when he was out of sight at last, replaced by a worried grimace.

Luckily for Iida and him both, the showers and onsen were separate rooms within the same part of the building, so neither of them had to see anything unnecessary from each other when going in at the same time. Izuku had submerged himself almost nose-deep into the rejuvenating waters, letting the heat and warmth lull him to a cozy sleep.

...

...

...

Here he was again. The Nine Thrones Room, as he thought about calling it if it ever reappeared in his dreams. Once he got the chance to walk around and take in the sights, Izuku noticed a few differences.

The ninth throne, apart from being on fire exuding pink smoke, had the burning heart he took out of his body in his last dream, chained to its top section far from the head of anyone who sat on it. Stranger still were the fourth and eighth thrones; the former seemed to be made purely out of... he could only describe it as "lightning waves", or if pressed, "what waves on the surface of water would look like if said water was made out of pure electricity".

The latter, in turn, seemed to be made out of gold and sculpted based on specific body parts - one would sit on the legs, the armrests were shaped as arms, the backrest was shaped as a muscled chest, the back of the throne as a muscular back, and so on. The rest of the thrones remained... normal, in comparison.

What is even going on in my dreams...? Does the ninth throne represent Attraction of Hot Things? I am the ninth holder of One For All, that's true, but... I don't think I understand the implications behind these other thrones... He thought, for he had no mouth to speak with.

"It means that you are not alone." A voice answered his thoughts, making the surprised boy turn his head as quickly as he could manage to find its source. Coming out of the darkness, he could see what seemed to be a... rather buxom young woman in plain, old clothes.

"Hi~ You must be so confused. It's okay, please take a seat and I'll explain everything I can." With a flex of her finger, the first seat blinked to her location, letting her sit in front of him. Izuku couldn't wait to get any answers, regardless of how shocked he was to see someone in his strangely memorable, clear dreams, so he immediately took a seat in the ninth throne, feeling no pain or damage from the flames as expected.

"I should begin with introductions. My name is Ichiko. I am the first user of One For All." Those words stunned him like a blow to the head. "Strange and hard to believe, I know, but we don't have much time. Midoriya Izuku, ninth wielder of One For All... the time is ripe for the singularity to commence; it has already started, in fact."

"Your Quirk Factor was born too weak to fully manifest, and yet it has appeared at the age of 18, soon after you gained One For All. Moreover, you have gained incredible physical capabilities even when not using One For All, And, stranger yet, you tend to receive glimpses of danger to come in the future and your body instinctively moves to protect you against it. These should be the questions that brought you here, right?"

Unable to speak, Izuku simply nodded his head. She continued. "All Might told you about One For All. Someone cultivates power through training and experience, then passes it on, granting access to greater and greater heights of power to the next generations. However, when One For All was passed onto you, it had just developed sufficiently to... evolve, let's say. Quirk Factors of its past users, previously gathered in tiny cores around One For All's billowing flames of power, now have been fed enough to awaken - and not just awaken, but become powered by One For All and your own Quirk both."

Things slowly started to make sense. Of course. Of course it was impossible for his own Quirk to just appear out of nowhere, or for One For All to create many different powers at once on its own. No, those Quirks have been passed down through One For All... much like a ferry through a river of wielders. Or, in his own Quirk's case, awakened from recessive genetics by One For All's sparks of power.

"Hahah, a ferry, huh? That's a neat analogy. A macabre one, too, considering that you're talking to the closest thing to a ghost... while holding seven others inside of you." Well, that was another severe double take he had to make, as turning to his side revealed that all the previously empty thrones were now occupied by women of different appearances and sizes, with the exception of one indistinct golden shade. It reminded him of All Might's silhouette when in his skinny form.

The green-haired shade, still missing many body parts in his dream world, turned his attention back to Ichiko. He needed to know more, and according to her, they didn't have much more time left. "You have awakened, so far, three Quirks besides One For All's raw power. The first is your own, Attraction of Hot Things. The nurse explained it, if itself was all there was to it. But One For All boosts the Quirk of its user, and your own multiple Quirks are no exception."

A rumble took over the dream world, causing Ichiko's body to begin smoking, much like when All Might's body was at its limit. "Ah, it's time already. A shame. Still... Midoriya Izuku. Your body carries nine Quirks, some of them dormant, some of them awakened. Master using all of us, fall in love over and over again, and ensure that the age of darkness never comes to be through your own power, and that of your harem."

He blinked at the mention of 'harem', but he was no longer in the dream world. Instead, he was... on his back? It was hard to know, when the first thing he saw was Uraraka's face being so close to him, and one of his arms being kind of squished against her chest...

thwomp

He was softly dropped in a nicely-scented bed before he could even process anything that was going on around him, apparently having been princess-carried by the soft girl all the way to what he suspected to be her room. "T-Tsuyu-chan, I don't know what else to do... he's not waking up, and everyone else is asleep by now..." The frog girl's voice was audible to his left, probably from the bed next to him. "Kero? Did he accidentally fall asleep in the onsen? I hope he didn't drown, kero..."

He couldn't just stay asleep and keep worrying them, so he put a hand to his face pretending to be lightheaded, mumbling a bit as he 'woke up', "Mmngh... my head... did I fall asleep by accident..." Uraraka immediately lit up, bouncing in place out of joy. "Ah! Yes, he's alright! Yay! I was so worried about having to take you to Recovery Girl in the middle of the night... Are you feeling alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Now that he could take a better look, the room was a little plain in decoration. Frog ornaments, lots of green, family pictures, two laptops, but overall everything was tame and down to earth... and he was only clothed in a towel around his waist.

He wasn't clothed when he was in the onsen. He was also wet back then, and felt fully dry presently.

Did... did Uraraka see...?

The way he fainted back down for a few seconds all of a sudden, the two girls seriously started considering taking him to the nurse's office after all.