It had been two weeks since All for One had found his daughter, and she'd already driven him insane.
Carrying a food tray, All for One stepped through a portal into a large bedroom. The white bed in the middle had been piled high with pillows. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in light across the silk carpet. An orchid sat on the end table and half a dozen succulents in pots spread across the dresser. He'd filled the room with plants that his daughter loved.
Ibara sat on a white armchair, facing the wall. She did not move. She did not read, despite the wide variety of books on the shelves. Not a vine on her head twitched.
All for One cleared his throat. "I brought you clam chowder with a baguette."
Ibara grunted neutrally. She did not turn to look at him.
All for One set the tray down on the round wooden coffee table. "I brought water, but I also have juice and milk."
"Anything is fine," Ibara said. Her stomach rumbled. But she did not move toward the food, despite the steam and tempting scent rising off the soup in the porcelain bowl. She would not eat until he left. At least she ate her food, unlike Yoichi. After the first ignored meal, he'd prepared force-feeding equipment. But he'd returned to find that she'd eaten as soon as he'd left the room.
All for One said, "I found you living in a shoebox apartment likely full of asbestos, consorting with the low-class thugs." That stung. His daughter ought to rule over a higher class of criminal. "At my side, you could rule my empire with me."
"Could I?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question. For the last two weeks, Ibara had refused to answer yes or no to anything. She always gave indifferent or neutral answers. All for One knew this was her plan to drive him out of his mind or at least make him leave her alone. Knowing did not stop it from working.
"You're only hurting yourself with this silliness."
"As you say."
"Are you worried about your mother?" All for One watched his daughter carefully. "I still haven't found her yet." He'd refused to give her any information about her mother this far. Surely this would provoke a reaction.
Ibara's face could have been carved from stone. Her pale hands resting in her lap did not move. "It will be as God wills."
All for One's eye twitched. All for One had never liked defiance in his relatives, but this indifference gave him even less to work with. Ibara was like the wind, slipping away from him even when he closed his fist around her. He had her captive, but he did not feel like he'd truly caught her. At least with Yoichi, All for One had been able to argue. Ibara gave him nothing to fight against. This was even worse than the silent treatment. And he knew she was doing it on-purpose.
Coaxingly, All for One said, "You could leave this room at any time, as long as you agree to join me. I might forgive your mother, for your sake. Otherwise the penalty for stealing my child would be very high. Imagine how you could soften the worst excesses of my organization, at my side."
Ibara was silent. She could not say anything neutral to that veiled threat, so she did not speak at all.
All for One jabbed at the faith he knew his daughter held so near and dear to her heart. "Doesn't your religion say to honor your father?"
Ibara's mouth flattened. "The devil can quote scripture for his purpose."
All for One wished he hadn't let his wife raise their daughter to be Catholic. The rot had infected her brain, giving her a twisted belief that suffering was somehow noble. Her religion forbade suicide, but she still longed to make herself into a martyr. How typical of Catholic hypocrisy. He supposed she came by it from both sides of the family. His younger brother had been a suicidal idiot, too.
Flashing his teeth in a twisted grin, All for One said, "Come now, dear daughter. I'm not Satan."
"You're not. You're just another mortal man," Ibara said mildly, the apparent agreement only slightly concealing her contempt.
All for One wasn't just anything. "You have a rare chance to bargain with me, the Demon Lord of Japan. You could use this power for the greater good. Do you not have anything you want?"
"Nothing comes to mind," Ibara said, her eyes half-shut. She did not even request her freedom. If he asked, he knew she'd say that was also up to God's will. Though if he ever lowered the security around her room, he knew she'd zoom out of here fast enough. Her religion hadn't yet rendered her completely braindead.
"I'll bring you anything you'd like for your room. No bargain necessary."
Very slightly, Ibara stiffened. All for One waited patiently. After a moment, she said, "I would like votive candles."
All for One had planned to grant any request, but this made him choke. "You'd use them to burn this room down!" He'd learned better from his pyromaniac brother.
Ibara frowned. "I wouldn't. Your staff might be harmed in a housefire. I'm pacifist."
All for One crossed his arms. "You shot me when I came to pick you up. With a gun." He still couldn't get over his annoyance at her choice of weapon. What daughter of his should ever need a gun when he had so many quirks he could give her?
Ibara shrugged slightly. "I knew you wouldn't die."
All for One laughed. He couldn't help it. No matter how her mother had influenced her mind, Ibara was still his daughter. "Very well. You may have your candles." He stood up and patted her hair, careful of the thorns.
Ibara sat very still, her eyes as empty as a church statue. Her hands lay lax in her lap. Her lips had flattened to a thin line. Yet a spark gleamed in her eyes. He had seen it many times before: in his brother, in One for All's successors, in Ibara's mother. Defiance.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: A Proud Uncle
Yoichi: Refusing to argue with All for One, why didn't I think of that? Excellent job, niece! He hates being ignored more than anything. From now on, I'm not talking to my brother no matter what he says.
All for One: Captain Hero was a bad main character.
Yoichi: YOU LISTEN HERE—
#
Omake: Not Coming Next on October 8
Mineta: My father is All for One and he vaulted me! I'm expecting a beautiful lady to show up and rescue me any day now.
Everyone: …
Mineta: No one? Dammit! I'm not leaving this vault until my demands for a harem are met! Stop cheering!
Thank you to Toricon for suggesting the Mineta omake. I can't bring myself to write full fic even though All for One deserves it.
All for One insults Ibara's Catholic faith in this fic. To be clear: All for One is not an author mouthpiece. This story is in his POV, but he's still the villain.
This fic takes place in pocketramblr's Dad for Ibara AU, which can be found on Archive of Our Own. Many thanks for letting me play in your sandbox! Your Ibara was fascinating and immediately grabbed me. The story occurs after Ibara's capture by All for One in "the most familiar of swine" but before the sequel "neither hot nor cold."
Pocketramblr also drew some art for this AU at:
pocketramblr.
tumblr.
com/
post/689669374517428224/neither-hot-nor-cold-pocketramblr