The Emperor's Dragon II

Hearing the Truth

Izuku flexed his fingers as he looked down at his hand. He'd taken a lot of quirks recently and while that made it easier to avoid absorbing them, he felt oddly bereft now that he'd given up some of them. The Doctor had made him a holder and he was looking at the tank holding the flesh. He'd shoved Yaoyorozu's, Kaminari's, Iida's and Bakugou's into it. He was keeping Kirishima's and would have to give back Todoroki's. At least that was probable. If it didn't happen the quirk was useful and relatively easy to use. For the moment though Izuku had two concerns. He had far more than that, but two were immediate.

He'd left All For One with the Doctor earlier but he had to be sure it was safe. If he didn't absorb quirks, he'd have kept it but... All For One belonged with his father and he would give it back but... He had to keep it safe. If there was any hint that his father no longer had his original quirk then Izuku knew the Heroes would hunt relentlessly for the person who now had it.

So he had been considering what he could do. He could give it to someone but... he didn't trust anyone enough. Which meant that the storage creation had to be guarded. And there were risks with that. If the Heroes found it, then... They wouldn't expect it to have a quirk and would put the mass of flesh down and think it mercy.

He could store it in Pocket but he had to be sure that he could retrieve it without incident. That did seem to be the best option, except he'd need to practice.

Izuku looked at the Doctor. "Can you make another storage and give me a quirk for it?" he asked.

"What for?" Doctor Garaki asked.

"For Dad's quirk I left it here but I think it would be best stored in Pocket. Though, I have to be sure that's not going to damage anything," Izuku explained. The Doctor understood.

"The Nomu will protect it with their lives," the Doctor pointed out.

Izuku didn't like the thought of leaving it, but without practicing with Pocket he couldn't take it with him at the moment. Not now. He nodded to indicate he agreed with the suggestion. "I still want that storage to practice with."

"What do you want to do with the others?" Kyudai asked, gesturing to the storage.

He signed. "I don't know," Izuku admitted.

"You won't give them back?" the Doctor asked.

"They'll never agree to my price," Izuku replied. "Oh, they might say they'd agree but they wouldn't."

"The price?"

"There is only one price," Izuku shrugged, without bothering to explain what the price would be. The Doctor should know.

Kyudai nodded. "And," Izuku continued, "they all have a weakness."

"Weakness?"

"Yaoyorozu's requires body fat and a large degree of understanding. Kaminari's needs a more delicate touch than I realised, Iida's relies on his mutation and Bakugou's-" Izuku shook his head.

"What is it?" The Doctor pressed.

"It's a very powerful quirk but it's difficult."

"Can I use them?"

Izuku thought about the request for a few moments. It would be tempting to say yes, but it would also be too easy. "I think I can come up with some alternatives," he announced. He could imagine what would go through society when some quirkless people showed up with those quirks. Everyone would know who had given them but... That was petty but it was also an attractive thought.

And there was always the possibility that one of them would pay his price.

Kyudai gave him a look but eventually nodded. While Izuku cared about that storage, he could afford to lose it. If the heroes destroyed it then he'd simply laugh as he told them what they'd done.