"J-join your ranks?!" Izuku cried out in disbelief. Of all the things his wild imagination could have dreamt up that All for One would say to him, that certainly wasn't one of them. "B-but why would I do that? You're a villain, aren't you?"
"A villain? Says who, All Might?" All for One asked him with a chuckle. "That entirely depends on your perspective. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and that requires there to be a 'villain' in your life. What I do benefits myself, and those beneath me. So, to them, I am a hero, but to someone like All Might, who is the hero of his own story, sees me as the villain he has to overcome."
Izuku had never thought of it like that. 'Everyone is the hero of their own story.' It was true, though. A lot of people did bad things for good reasons, like stealing food or money to support your family whilst in poverty, or hurt someone to protect someone close to you. In your own eyes, you'd be the hero for saving that close person, but to the one you harmed, and to their family, you'd be seen as the villain of their story.
"There's a thin grey line that we all walk, and it's up to us which side we fall upon. Do we fall on the side of 'good', the ones who stick to all the rules, or do we fall on the side of 'evil', the ones who break the rules for the benefit of themselves or those close to them?" All for One continued. "Tell me, Midoriya. Hypothetically speaking, if you had a gun, and I threatened your mother's life, would you shoot me?"
"Y-yes!" Izuku blurted out without even needing to think about it. Then he paused, realising that he had just told someone he'd shoot them if necessary.
"Good answer. You would be your mother's saviour, her hero." All for One paused. The word 'hero' this time dripping with venom. "But to me who you just shot to save your mother's life, and my subordinates who just lost their master, you'd be the villain. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
Izuku nodded quickly. He did understant now. It all came down to perspective. He always looked up to All Might as a hero, as an idol who protected those in need. But now he was seeing the other side of the coin. What if the villains he beat up and hospitalised had families and loved ones they were all trying to provide for? Sure, they were going about it in immoral ways by shoplifting and robbing banks, but it was for the right reasons.
But then, the shopkeeper that they stole the food from needs to make a living from selling the items that they stole from them. Izuku's head was starting to throb painfully as he was torn in a moral dillema, not really sure what to believe anymore.
"Believe in what you want to believe in, young Midoriya. That way, you can't be wrong." All for One told him, dragging him out of his thoughts and reminding him where exactly he was at that moment.
Izuku looked at him in disbelief. 'Did he just read my mind?!' All for One let out a laugh. After a few bursts he began to choke and wheeze. Izuku drew similarities to a broken-down car engine desperately trying to start up.
"No, I can't read your mind, but I have a sense that's of what you're thinking about. This will all be so new to you, having no idea what to do with yourself now, right?" All for One explained. "These kinds of things are, difficult for most people to understand, but you're a smart boy, I'm sure you'll figure it all out."
"I understand about people doing bad things for honourable reasons, but what about those who just go around killing people? What do they have to gain from massacring innocent people?" Izuku asked him.
"They will all have their own reasons for doing that as well. It's all a matter of perspective, and how you interpret the reason for one's actions." All for One answered. A small screen to his left began flashing and beeping, drawing both of their attentions to it.
All for One appeared to be reading what was written on the screen, which made Izuku wonder if he could actually see, given that he didn't appear to have any eyes. In fact, the only facial features the man had, was his mouth.
The rest of All for One's face was scarred and burned, leaving him without any distinct features. Izuku was wondering how he had gotten the wounds. Was it in his fight with All Might, the last time anyone saw him, or had he perhaps received them earlier or later?
"That's a story for another time, young Midoriya. For now, let's talk about the reason you were brought here." All for One said, turning his attention back to the green-haired teen, startling him out of his daydreaming.
"O-oh, yeah. Y-you wanted me to join you right?" Izuku asked, cautiously. He still wasn't too keen on the idea of being seen as a 'villain'. "I'm not sure..."
"Of course, I can't expect you to make a decision right now, but let me just say this. You have been shunned and ridiculed by those around you for years, haven't you? For not having a quirk. Well, like you: Shigaraki, Dabi, Toga and Kurogiri had all been tossed aside and shamed by their friends and loved ones. By their classmates at school. I gave them all the same option as I'm giving you now. Join me, live a life free of ridicule and bullying." All for One told him.
For a moment, Izuku actually began to consider it. He had been shunned by everyone around him for years, everyone besides his mother and the school nurse, who probably had to be nice to everyone anyway.
He was a quirkless nobody, a societal reject with a hopeless dream of attending UA and becoming a pro hero, even if he didn't have the power to do so. "But what use would you find for someone like me? I don't have a quirk, so I probably can't help out very much." Izuku said, still surprised at the responses he was giving.
Still torn between two minds, with his lifelong dream of becoming a pro hero and everything that All for One had told him up till that point were yanking him in different directions, as if they were a pair of selfish kids who didn't want to share the new toy their parents had gotten them.
"That can be easily rectified. You see, young Midoriya, All for One isn't just my name but also the name of the quirk I possess. It allows me to take the quirks of those I come into contact with, and make them my own, but it has another purpose. It also allows me to transfer one of my stored quirks to another, should they be able to handle the process without perishing that is." All for One explained. "If you like, stay with Shigaraki and the others for a few days to see how they all function. If you decide after a few days that you wish to remain with us, I will grant you a quirk if you desire. If you wish to return home, then I'll make sure that Kurogiri takes you there."
"B-but what about my mom? What will I tell her?" Izuku asked, suddenly hating the idea again if it meant leaving his mother behind. "I'm all she has left, and I don't want to do something like that to her."
"Hmm. I shall figure something out. Return to the others for now. I shall be in touch. It was a pleasure to meet you at last, young Midoriya. I hope our next one shall be just as favourable." All for One said, a wide grin on his featureless face.
Despite everything, Izuku still minded his manners and bowed slightly, silently thanking the man for his time before turning away from him. Purple smoke surrounded him once again and in just a few seconds, he was back in the well-lit cafe/restaurant.
Kurogiri was the only one left in the area, with the others nowhere to be found. "Ah, you made it back. How was it talking to the boss?" Kurogiri inquired, whilst standing behind the counter wiping a glass with a dampened cloth.
"He was surprisingly, I don't know, nice?" Izuku replied, still not quite believing the whole thing happened.
A sudden nausea wave hit him, and he almost collapsed, but he managed to catch himself on one of the nearby stools and remain on his feet for the time being. "I think you should go to bed. It is just after midnight after all. Toga has gone out for the night, but Dabi and Shigaraki are already in their own rooms. One has already been made up for you as well, with a change of clothes." Kurogiri explained, placing the cup down on the polished counter and filling it up with water, before walking round to Izuku's side and placing the drink in his hands.
Once again, Izuku thanked the man, before quickly gulping it all down, placing it back on the counter in just a few seconds. Attempting to walk, he headed toward a door that Kurogiri pointed out to him as the one leading to the hallway lined with rooms.
Izuku was starting to wonder what this place actually was. A bar? A resturaunt? An inn? He had no idea, but found himself too tired to really think about anything else for the moment.
"Third door on your left! That's your room!" Kurogiri called after him as he made his way through the door and down the hallway.
Pushing open the third bedroom door on his left as instructed, Izuku tiredly shuffled his way inside. Not bothering to change his clothes or even look around first, he wandered over to the comfy looking bed and collapsed upon it, passing out almost immediately.
Back at the bar, Kurogiri was standing in front of a laptop computer with the screen showing static. "How do you plan on having the boy join us, sir?" he asked, earning a laugh.
"Trust me, I won't have to do anything. He'll join us himself." All for One's voice replied through the laptop. "Once he realises that his life will be so much better here, without any more needs or worries to stop him, he will join us. One obstacle may be standing in our way, however. His mother, Inko. I have big plans for young Izuku Midoriya, so see to it that you take good care of him Kurogiri, especially if something were to happen to his mother. He'd definitely need someone there for him, and I want that to be you."
"Understood, sir." Kurogiri said, reaching over and shutting the laptop down. This wasn't the first time that the man had been in this situation, having had to act as a loyal servant to Shigaraki since he was a young boy and one to All for One for even longer than that.
He had made it his duty to protect and raise Shigaraki in All for One's stead once he was forced to go into hiding, so he was already like a father figure to the young man. That's what he liked to believe at least.
Dabi and Toga floated in and out every so often, choosing to be by themselves rather than with others. When they did turn up, Kurogiri would always make sure they were cared for as well with food, water and a place to sleep at night for however long they decided to stick around for.
Kurogiri himself had ran this bar/restaurant/ inn for many, many years as a place of haven for those on the run from the law. He had one rule, no fighting within his establishment due to the cost to fix things if they get broken.
Young Izuku Midoriya was a strange exception to All for One's usual crop of youthful rejects in the fact that he didn't have a quirk. According to his boss, the boy had no idea who his father was, and only had his mother throughout his life, with everyone else around him choosing to despise and bully him due to being different from them.
It sickened Kurogiri to see things like this, young children like Midoriya being treated in such a way that leads them down a path of loneliness and depression. It wouldn't have surprised Kurogiri if the boy decided to grow up to destroy the entire planet for his mistreatment, and he couldn't help but shake the strange feeling, that it was what All for One wanted.
He never knew of the boss' intentions, but always tried to be there for council should the man need it. Something that he had said at the end of the phone call was still bothering Kurogiri though. 'Take good care of him, Kurogiri. Especially if something were to happen to his mother.' What did that mean? Did All for One plan on having the boy's mother killed?
Whatever his reasons for doing it were, Kurogiri made the assumption it wasn't going to end well for a lot of people. All for One's plans usually didn't.