Chapter Text
Toshinori had waited for this. Ever since his master was murdered, he wanted nothing more than to avenge her. Today, he would complete the purpose of One for All...or die trying. Gran and Nighteye had tried to stop him, but as soon as Tsukauchi showed him the intercepted communications, that was it. The only thing that had held him back this long was not knowing where to strike.
The building he arrived at was a repurposed warehouse. It was well kept for the area it was in, but that didn’t surprise him. All for One could certainly afford nice things. Although he was more suited for direct approaches, he was not incapable of stealth. Indeed, his presence could barely be noticed as he crept through the compound.
Everything was empty. Not of furnishings, but of people. Strange, the email they managed to find suggested there would be a deal happening. Perhaps they got the timing wrong. Toshinori’s heart dropped as he imagined missing All for One once more.
It was the last room he searched, the one at the center of the compound, that finally held his adversary. All for One was sitting in a large, ornate leather chair and was turned to face away from Toshinori. There were screens in front of the villain, showing images of every inch of the compound. He was being watched the whole time!
Even now, Toshinori saw himself approaching the chair. It didn’t matter. This was his chance. The battle would end here.
“All for One, your reign of terror ends today!” Without further ado, he spun the chair around and prepared to pummel his foe…only to barely pull back in time as he stared into the eyes of a child.
“Ah, All Might, I have long awaited this confrontation,” the small green haired child answered in a squeaky voice. He was clearly trying to be intimidating, but it was too adorable to be taken seriously. But this couldn’t be right, All for One was supposed to be here. The child was in danger! Without a second thought, Toshinori plucked the child up to rescue him, only to feel a light tugging on his quirk. “What? You have All for One?”
“I am All for One, and I will defeat you at last foolish hero!”
The child leapt out the chair to try and tackle the hero, but Toshinori was able to easily catch him. “No, seriously, where’s the real All for One? Is he your father?”
The small child had the most offended look on his face that Toshinori had ever seen. “My dad was a loser. All for One took me in and gave me a quirk and a brother. And now I’m going to take back One for All and become the new All for One!”
In that moment, Toshinori knew exactly what he needed to do.
————
Sorahiko was going to kill that brat. That zygote thought he could just run out and take on the greatest supervillain of all time. He wouldn’t even take back up, insisting that it was “One for All’s duty alone.” The idiot.
‘ Nana, you couldn’t have picked someone smarter?.’
Sorahiko’s phone had been in his hand ever since the fool ran off. Any minute, there would be a call informing him of either Toshinori’s death or injury. For Nana’s sake, he hoped it was the second. When the ringing finally came, he didn’t even check the caller.
“Is he alive?”
“ Ah, Gran Torino. I have a favor to ask.”
Wait a minute, that was the blond idiot’s voice. Did he fail to find All for One? It was for the best. The confrontation could happen when Toshinori was more prepared and actually had backup .
“So the information was a bust?”
“ Erm, not entirely. There was someone there.”
“A victim or a villain?”
“ Uh. Victim. Probably.”
“Toshinori,” Sorahiko gritted out, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Come to my apartment and I’ll explain everything.”
There was a loud clanging in the background and the sound of high pitched screams.
“I have to go, get here as soon as you can!”
Then the brat hung up on him. Sorahiko was tempted to just call Nighteye, but but he wanted to be the one to scold Toshinori for whatever idiotic decision he had made. There was no doubt that whatever Nana’s successor had done was in haste and without thinking things through.
That still didn’t prepare him for what he found in the apartment. It had started out alright, Toshinori answered the door with a strained smile. What first caught his attention was the pounding on a closed bedroom door, as though someone was trying to get out.
“Toshinori…” he began, “Please don’t tell me you kidnapped someone.”
“I believe this to be a legal grey area.” The brat smiled as he said it.
This was not okay. Sorahiko used the idiot’s face as a launch pad as he moved inside and unlocked the door. Almost immediately, a green haired brat fell out. The kid couldn’t have been older than ten! Wide green eyes looked up at him before narrowing. Years of hero experience made him instinctively dodge backwards from the hand that tried to grab him.
Toshinori had, apparently, recovered enough to move forward and pick the child up.
“Let go of me, filthy hero! Why can’t I take your quirk? You’re even worse about cheating than Tomura!”
Take his quirk? “You zygote! You found All for One’s son and decided to just keep him in your apartment?”
“The boy insists that All for One isn’t his father.”
“I AM SMALL FOR ONE! FEEL MY WRATH!”
They both ignored the screaming child. Sorahiko was not ready to deal with this. “But the kid has All for One?”
“The kid appears to have All for One,” the moron confirmed, “So maybe don’t let him touch you.”
Sorahiko stared at the child that was currently trying to chew through Toshinori’s arm. He sighed. “Okay, we need to ask the kid some questions, but before that…we need to deal with his quirk.”
————
Mirai was tense, waiting for news to befall him. All Might had gone off alone, not even allowing Foresight to aid him. Anything could have happened! All for One could have been vanquished, but the much likely explanation was that his rage had blinded him enough to lose the fight.
‘No, don’t think like that. This is All Might. Surely he wouldn’t act without a foolproof plan for something this important.’
That was right. He just needed to have faith in his friend. When his phone rang, Mirai didn’t even check the caller. Whoever it was, it was about All Might. He took a moment to calm himself before answering. It wouldn’t help to lose his composure.
“Is he alive?”
“ Ah, Nighteye! I was wondering if you —”
“ALL MIGHT! You’re alive!” A tear slipped down his cheek. “Did you do it then? Did you defeat All for One?”
“ Erm, not exac —”
“ YOU WILL COWER BEFORE ME!”
That…had sounded like a child.
“All Might,” Mirai began slowly, “Did you kidnap a child?”
“Move over you blond idiot! Give me the phone.” Ah, that would be Gran Torino. “Listen, we found someone connected to All for One, but he’s not talking. You’re better at this type of thing.”
There wasn’t really any other choice. If All Might needed his help to stop the greatest living threat, Mirai had to answer the call. “Where are you?”
“Toshinori’s apartment. Be ready.”
When arrived at the address, he realized how not ready he was. There was a child on the floor. A screaming child.
They all stared at the green haired child thrashing on the floor, desperately trying to tug off a pair of gloves made to stop touch activated quirks. The long sleeved shirt and pants, combined with socks that strapped on so they couldn’t be taken off, gave the boy very little exposed skin. All of the clothing was designed so the child couldn’t take it off himself. Perhaps a dangerous quirk that activated with skin contact?
“Your reign of heroism will end! I, Small for One, will defeat you! I’ll steal all your quirks!”
“Erm, so the child appears to have been adopted by All for One and given a copy of his quirk.” All Might at least had the sense to look slightly worried.
Gran Torino facepalmed as the number one hero ruffled the screaming child’s hair.
“What’s his name?” If they were going to get answers, they needed some place to start. It would be silly to keep calling the boy “kid”.
“He won’t tell us,” Gran Torino admitted. “That’s why we called you.”
Mirai took in the scene before him.
“I’m going to need a few things.”
————
Izuku glared at the hero in front of him, swinging his legs to get some of his nervous energy out. Things hadn’t exactly gone as planned. He had been practicing using All for One and was really good! Sure, Dad-sensei didn’t let him keep any quirks yet, but that’s what would have made it so much more impressive when he came in with One for All!
Except, One for All couldn’t be taken for some reason. And now All Might had covered all his skin! Unless he managed to headbutt someone or get them with his face, this would be difficult.
‘Although,’ Izuku thought to himself, ‘I haven’t tested whether I could take a quirk by biting someone.’
He eyed the hero sitting across the table from him and rotated his jaw.
“I’m known as Sir Nighteye. I need you to answer some questions for me.”
That was not how this was going to work. “I’ll never tell you anything! When I get out of here, I’m going to eviscerate your organs and make digital art with your blood.”
When in doubt, just start mixing together phrases Tomura shouts at his video games when he’s losing. The other two heroes, lurking on a nearby couch and failing to look uninterested like the uneducated amateurs they were, coughed and shifted uncomfortably.
Night Wannabe adjusted his glasses. “I’ve built my reputation by being observant. The tiniest detail can mean the difference between a successful mission and a failed one. If enough information is gathered, one can even predict their opponent’s actions.”
The hero reached out to stop Izuku’s gloved fingers from tapping. Oh. He hadn’t even realized he was doing that.
“Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
“Your worst nightmare.”
“No. I see a hyperactive child.”
The losers on the couch both shot concerned glances towards their friend.
“Any clever child rearer would likely try to avoid anything that might increase this abundant energy.” Night Guy shifted forward, seeming to gaze into the boy’s very soul. “Tell me, when was the last time you were given anything other than applesauce or straw shaped vegetable chips for dessert?”
Izuku froze. “I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A plastic bottle was placed on the table. He knew that translucent green color. Inside would be a bubbly, clear liquid. It was soda . Green eyes grew wide. Only Tomura was allowed to have soda back at home.
A packet of All Might shaped candies was placed beside the soda. Candy. Dad-sensei never let Izuku have candy. Ever since that first time where the chemical fire almost burned down the bar, it was withheld from him. Not only that, but he could eat All Might’s stupid cartoonish candied face. Without his input or conscious decision, Izuku’s gloved hand reached towards the treats. He hissed when Night Guy dragged the sugar away.
“You seem to not understand how this works. I’ll only give them to you if you answer my questions.”
Green eyes stared longingly. This wasn’t right. He was Small for One! What kind of villain would he be if he could be bribed with candy? Izuku hated being treated like a little kid!
But normally only Tomura was allowed to have soda...
————
All for One tapped on the arm of his chair, waiting for the blond oaf to come for him. Tomura was babysitting Izuku in one of the most secure compounds he owned. Gigantomachia was even guarding it. Still, he couldn’t help but feel as though something was off. It didn’t really matter, all the preparations had been made. After so carefully leaking his location, there was no way the idiot wouldn’t fall into his trap.
Any second now.