Silence Destroyed (MHA)

Chapter 34- A Traitor Revealed

It felt like a bomb was dropped on Naoko the moment she heard the man's name. 

All For One.

There was no way for Naoko to forget that name, even if she wanted to. It had been engraved into her brain by the hundreds of times she heard it in her nightmares and the times the memory plagued her waking moments.

Sure, she had made her peace with All Might months ago. She saw that he wasn't the narcissistic asshole that she had assumed he was for years. Perhaps he wasn't the smartest tool in the box, and he was definitely far too happy for Naoko, but he was genuine... He was good.

He had wanted to save her all those years ago but couldn't, All For One was the one who caused that catastrophe.

Regardless of whether or not he meant to destroy Naoko's life, he had. The supervillain destroyed so many people's lives in just one day, which Naoko knew didn't encompass the rest of the career.

He knocked down an entire city block in a fight. Even if he felt guilty for it, that didn't mean he didn't relish in the chaos. 

The feeling of her heartbeat tattooed a beat against Naoko's chest as she stared blankly at the supervillain. It felt as though her head had been stuffed with cotton at the merest mention of that name.

"Y-You..." She got out, but it seemed that her speaking abilities had completely vanished the moment she was faced with something marginally difficult.

Could this day get any worse?

Never mind, she really shouldn't ask that... Fate really seemed to like fucking with her for whatever reason, "You... You're All For One?" The tightness of her throat alerted her to the fact that she probably had squeaked that out in a way that was both intelligible and embarrassing. Not that she cared.

The potato of a man in front of her seemed to stiffen at her question, though a laugh echoed through her head only moments later.

In that instant, Naoko knew that if she survived this, she would be hearing that laugh in her nightmares for the rest of her life.

"So you know of me?" All For One chortled out, crossing his arms as he observed her, "Now that is an odd thing. I seem to recall that idiot All Might killing every rumor of my existence." His stance had made a subtle shift from being outright threatening to being curious. 

There was no comfort in this change, it felt just as dangerous to Naoko.

Not that she cared all that much, her mind was overwrought and struggling to comprehend what was currently happening. 

A single nod was all Naoko could manage as she stared at the potato. Okay, he was shocked.
Could she use this to her advantage? He made it pretty clear that she had a good quirk for him to steal, so she was screwed, but maybe she could distract him long enough for the heroes to come after her...

Wait... What if they traced her to the bar where she had been without knowing that she had been moved? Shit. Oh no.

No. You know what? If Naoko thought like that, she would probably go insane. 

So she would distract him. Maybe if she prodded at the fury she could feel simmering underneath the terror, she could attack him. He seemed the type to be impressed by a bit of spirit. It was a dangerous game, but it was her only option.

Well, that and collapsing to the ground just to have a screaming fit, but that probably make him kill her quicker.

The rage that instinctively blossomed when Naoko thought about All For One was buried deeply, but still, she reached for it, hoping it would draw some level of courage to the surface.