The Emperor's Dragon II

Sympathetic Families

All For One looked at his son with a soft gaze that betrayed his pleasure. Izuku was... delightful. He'd developed in ways that he had only hoped would come to pass. And the conversation now... It was like talking to his brother but a brother who ultimately knew he was right and would accept his guidance.

Izuku was more than he'd hoped for. All For One could sense that his son still had a deep need to help people, but it was tempered by the knowledge that most people wouldn't want his help. He had to limit it to those who would truly appreciate it.

It had only been a few months, but he had grown so much.

And there appeared to be a central figure for the growth. He had missed so much but he could not focus on that. Part of Izuku's growth was always going to be alone.

All he could focus on was now.

"You learnt that quickly," All For One sighed. "It took me a while to realise that so long as my people acted as I wanted them to, then I could not blame them."

Petra had taken him aside one day and told him he was being a dick about it. She'd then pointed out that if his people hadn't done what he'd wanted, he'd have been pissed about that. It wasn't their fault that things hadn't worked out. He'd been angry at her. He'd been angry at them. He'd been angry at the situation and ultimately, he'd realised, slowly, that his anger was misdirected. His people were doing their best. They were doing what he told them to. The fault lay with... well, with those who were dead now.

"I blame Tomura," Izuku said, "but he was never my people so-" he shrugged.

"True. What happened then?"

"I sent a challenge to all the students who went on that rescue mission and to the two Tomura kidnapped."

"UA allowed that?"

"I think they were hoping to trap me," Izuku told him.

All For One was pleased Izuku recognised the possibility, even as he had the evidence that his son had not been trapped.

"Bakugou arrived first, then the others, though two of them didn't show up. And, heh-" Izuku snorted. "At the Sport's Festival, All Might spoke to me."

This was something All For One didn't know.

"He asked me why I had pulled out, so I told him that because if I was a hero, I'd be too controlled by the status quo. I don't know what he thought of that, but I also told him I'd wipe the floor with the hero students if we got into a fight.

"When they accepted my challenge, I demonstrated that, and Gigantomachia," Izuku said, looking up at his bodyguard. "I followed your advice."

All For One didn't need to look to know that Gigantomachia's smile was pleased. His bodyguard radiated pleasure at the words. "But I was careful. I didn't let them know I could take quirks from a distance," Izuku continued. "I think they believe I need to touch to take a quirk, but I'm much faster at it."

He nodded at that information. It was a good compromise and still gave his son the element of surprise later.

"Just as I was finishing, All Might appeared, and I called Garaki to get me out of there."

"Not Kurogiri?"

"I was just a day or so after Kamino. I didn't know how to get in touch with him," Izuku explained.

All For One nodded. That made sense. Garaki did like that pet of his. "And the Doctor never told you about Tomura and a few days later you saw him and-"

"I killed him," Izuku admitted.

There was no need to belabour Tomura's demise. "Did you use the UA quirks? Which quirks did you get?" he was curious. He recalled the minnows at the battle but he didn't have a good chance to find out what their quirks were.