The Emperor's Dragon

Difficult Decisions

"My Little Dragon," All For One greeted his son as Kurogiri let Izuku through.

"Dad!" Izuku said. He was getting older but hadn't moved to calling him Father and All For One wasn't sure if he wanted that. Maybe in formal situations.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you lately."

"You've been busy," Izuku said for him and while Sensei couldn't actually see, he could imagine the shrug his son gave to dismiss the matter.

"I have been," he agreed. "But I will always have time for you." As best as he could, he gave Izuku a smile. "Besides, I have to find out if you have decided to return your friend's chocolates," he teased, already suppressing the anger he felt at All Might. He knew there would be subtleties of Izuku's response he couldn't see, such as the blush he was fairly confident was staining his son's freckles.

"Of course I will!" Izuku said but All For One could hear that he was attempting to be nonchalant about it. "Ochaco is my friend."

He chuckled slightly. "Of course she is," he agreed, leaving at that, knowing that Izuku would know that his friendship with the girl was on a time limit. She still didn't see the truth of the world and Izuku was going to have to choose...

He hated that word. For Izuku to truly help him, to stand with him, he could not afford to have a friend who didn't see the world as it was. He could afford her as an acquaintance, an informant but never as a friend. But he was not going to force that choice. Izuku would have to make it for himself.

The same as Izuku would have to choose to be a villa- All For One suppressed that thought before it finished. He already knew where it went. Instead, he cocked his head slightly towards Izuku. "Is there something you want to discuss, my Little Dragon?" he asked.

He saw his son nod gravely and gestured for Izuku to take a seat near him. Izuku moved quickly and while All For One couldn't see the movement properly he could tell enough to know it was smooth. His son's training with Gigantomachia made him confident. When he was settled, Sensei heard Izuku sigh and mentally braced himself. It would be a difficult question.

"Why do people hate our quirk?" The question was asked softly and All For One knew his son was serious about the answer. He'd almost have preferred a question about sex and girls. Those at least, were relatively easily answered.

"What do you mean?" He asked, equally gently, probing for more information.

Izuku sighed again. "When I was young, you never let me tell anyone my real quirk. I didn't know why at first, but as I got older, I could tell that it was to protect me. If I told anyone my real quirk, they'd hate me, even worse than they hated Himiko or Hitoshi or even the other quirkless students. So why do people hate our quirk that much?"

Sensei could tell his son was close to tears but he could also hear the note of urgency in Izuku's question. He desperately needed an answer for his question. "Not everyone hates our quirk," he comforted his son.

"Most people do," Izuku retorted.

"Yes, most people do," he confirmed. There was no point in lying about that. "But not everyone does, do they?"

"Saisho didn't," Izuku replied.

"And some people don't even care about what quirk we have, do they?" He pressed.

"Giran doesn't," Izuku agreed. "But... Most people hate it, even if they don't know about it."

"So why do most people matter?" All For One asked pointedly. He did not need Izuku to be guided by the masses. "Or rather, why do their opinions matter?" he corrected.