The Emperor's Dragon

No More Plan A

After another breakfast of cereal, Kurogiri came to get them. He dropped them into a dark room and reformed behind Tomura and Izuku.

"Where's Sensei?" Tomura demanded.

"In the treatment room," Doctor Garaki indicated. "If Kurogiri drops you off in there, Gigantomachia will attack, so you have to come through here. You can go and see him but there is no change," The Doctor concluded.

Tomura nodded and quickly left. Izuku made to follow but Kurogiri placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I need to speak with you, Izuku," the Doctor said.

Izuku looked over at him. He looked tired. His face was sagging and his lab coat, which was usually white and crisp, was instead stained and crumpled. He had a bad feeling at the words but couldn't do anything but nod.

The Doctor sighed and indicated to Kurogiri. The misty man pulled back his hand and took one of the seats in the room. Izuku took another one, next to him. He swallowed hard. He wasn't going to cry. Not now. He forced himself to listen.

"You've seen the extent of your Dad's injuries yesterday, didn't you?" The Doctor asked.

The question made Izuku feel worse. His stomach felt like lead. His throat was constricted but felt slick. He felt like he was going to throw up. Izuku bit the inside of his lip and nodded. He had seen it yesterday. He didn't know what it meant but he had seen it.

The Doctor sighed again. "There is a very real chance that he won't survive."

Izuku shivered. He didn't want to hear this but he knew, there was no escape.

The Doctor had no pity as he continued. "In that case, it would be best for you to take as many quirks from your Father as you can. I'm sure he wouldn't want his skills to go to waste. He would want you to have them."

Izuku just sat there. His eyes were wide and the tears he wanted to cry burned them but did not fall. He was conscious of his breathing. The usually silent function was a roar in his ears and his heart pounded.

"Today, I want you to sense your Father's quirks," the Doctor told him but then realised that Izuku wasn't really listening. He wasn't able to.

"Izuku," the Doctor prompted.

The boy kept staring at him.

Kurogiri moved, rising from his chair to stand in front of Izuku where he knelt. He reached out, placing his hands on Izuku's shoulders. That startled the boy enough that he blinked.

"This is very difficult for us all, Izuku," Kurogiri told him.

"How?" Izuku sniffed. Tears still didn't fall but he felt like they should.

"Your father is very important to us," the misty man said earnestly. "Without your father I would probably be in some government lab," he told the boy. "Warp quirks such as mine are not just rare, Izuku, they are non-existent. There would be too much desire to know how it worked for me to be safe."

Garaki picked up on what Kurogiri was doing. He nodded solemnly. "Without your father, Izuku, I would not have been able to make the advances that I have, in the fields that I have. Human knowledge would still be at least fifty years back."

"We want your father to get better, Izuku," Kurogiri said. "But it is going to be very difficult, and if the worst was to come, we know your father would want you to have his quirks."

If Hisashi died, Izuku would be the nine year old heir to his empire. An empire which would no doubt crumble before Izuku could take control. But if he had the quirks, assuming he remained alive, then he could rebuild one day. The Emperor would rise again in his son.