The Emperor's Dragon

Back to the Beginning

All Might looked at the boy. He'd done something to the students... and he had a horrible feeling he knew what that something was. But... the boy had barely touched them and All For One needed a few moments to take quirks... so hopefully he'd done something else. It almost seemed as if he was having fun and apart from Bakugou, he hadn't been too brutal.

For a moment, Toshinori wondered if things could be different but then the boy's hair colour shifted, from the fire blue it had been to a white All Might never wanted to see again. His eye colour changed after that, and the boy gave him a smile. He knew what the colours represented and knew the boy was old enough to know what they represented as well.

The boy was wary and Yagi could tell he was of the mindset that he couldn't win but he would go down swinging. He was sure he could win, now but... He had no idea what other support All For One might have left out there in the world for his sons. He'd have left something. The man was overly prepared that way. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to simply give up on the boy.

"You could be an amazing hero," he told Izuku sincerely.

"What? Like you?" the boy spat.

He recognised the trap. "No. Like you," All Might countered.

The boy shook his head. "No. Because I can't live with the hypocrisy shown." He sighed. "I was going to stay in school," he announced. "But... My friend gets expelled because she might have a connection to a villain and a student who deliberately travelled to a combat area, and then attacks someone on national television get's nothing?" He shook his head again and in the gesture was the demand for an explanation.

Except he didn't have one. The girl shouldn't have been expelled, not with the punishment given to Kaminari but how did he explain the vagaries of politics to the boy? He took a step forward. All For One's son tensed and seemed to be judging something. But he wasn't moving to attack yet. His gold eyes glared at him and Yagi watched as he jerked his head up. "You can't answer, can you?"

All Might sighed. "It was wrong," he admitted.

"And you wonder why I won't be a hero," he mocked as he relaxed slightly.

"I can't let you leave," Yagi told him.

"Yeah, this doesn't exactly thrill me either," Izuku growled. "I promised myself I'd never run from you again and yet... here we are." He shrugged but his eyes were wary.

"Again?" All Might wondered and then he remembered the Sport's Festival. It took on a whole new tone now.

"Ah, you remember," Izuku said as his expression changed. He looked almost proud. "I told you I'd wipe the floor with them. Maybe you should train them harder?" Izuku got the final question out before he pitched forward, retching black ooze.

"No!" All Might yelled but it was too late. The ooze was quicker than he remembered and Izuku vanished.

Yagi took a shuddering breath. The boy had radiated hate. He had projected it with everything he had and while he wasn't as strong as his father... Izuku might have his mother's height but he had his father's demeanour. He shouldn't have hesitated but he didn't want to be everything the boy said villains were. And now...

He had no idea what the future held.

-ted-

Izuku knew better than to complain about the mode of transportation but he did spend a few moments just breathing as he centred himself. He swallowed a couple of times, to get his mouth feeling the way things should again. The black stuff was odd. It tasted terrible but at the same time the taste vanished almost as soon as it came.