18/12/2021

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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 29

As Izuku walked back to the office he looked around. It was quieter now but he was several hours later than usual. He'd told Kurogiri he would be, so the misty man wasn't waiting for him. They had a group project to do and since Izuku couldn't go around to Ochaco or Hitoshi's house, and they couldn't come to his, they had to work on it after school.

They'd almost got it finished today but they would have to do a bit more tomorrow.

Izuku smiled to himself. He didn't mind. It was nice working with his friends. The street he was walking down was empty. The office was in a commercial part of town. It was surrounded by other offices and the occasional shop. Even they were closed, though Mrs Ioshona from the Doutor's had seen him go by and had given him one of the breads they were disposing off. She'd been surprised to see him so late but hadn't asked questions.

He nibbled the bread as he walked. It was kind of interesting to see everything when it was empty. There was an eerie quietness to the street that was appealing and it made it seem as if the street was there only for him. Izuku smiled to himself at the thought. He knew it wasn't but it was sometimes a nice thought.

In hindsight, he should have been paying more attention.

The bread went flying as Izuku was yanked into one of the alleyways that littered the area. They were there to service the buildings, as companies didn't like to admit that they had to have rubbish collection and sanitation services to their buildings. His bag slammed into his side and appeared to be fixed there.

The sudden movement and constraints knocked the air out of his lungs and Izuku felt himself hit a wall before the world turned upside down. He shook his head, trying to figure out what was happening but he couldn't move beyond that.

"Oh! This one is nice!"

Izuku felt himself slammed into the wall again. It should have knocked the wind out of him but shock absorption meant that he didn't feel much.

"Yep, real nice."

Belatedly, fear washed through Izuku. He hadn't been afraid yet, because everything happened so fast but now, looking into the gloom of the alley he felt afraid. He could make out a figure standing on the far side of the alley but he couldn't tell anything else. Izuku struggled. Gigantomachia had taught him better than this but whatever was holding him did not budge.

"Let me go!" Izuku demanded.

"Oh, you can still talk!" With the words, Izuku felt something wrap around his forehead before his head was slammed backwards into the concrete. Again shock absorption took care of him and he didn't feel much. If he didn't have it, he was sure regeneration would be fixing a cracked skull.

"You are gonna earn me a nice price," the person said again.

"No! I'm not," Izuku growled out. He remembered everything Gigantomachia had taught him and he reached out with a quirk. His quirk. Dad had told him he usually had a delicate touch, in that he could take quirks without knocking out their owner, but he'd been practicing on how to take quirks more like his Dad. This was the time when he had to do it like Dad.

Dragon's Hoard reached out and surrounded the guy's quirk. It was a nasty colour. Izuku snarled again as he yanked it towards him. The man collapsed and Izuku fell to the ground. Gigantomachia had spent a few days just teaching Izuku how to fall, so he rolled and immediately sprang to his feet. The large man was big on ensuring that anyone Izuku fought couldn't later cause problems so Izuku knew what Gigantomachia would expect him to do now. Kick the man such that his knee was ruined but as the guy was already unconscious, Izuku opted for calling Kurogiri.

When the misty man answered, Izuku collapsed to the ground. He looked at his legs, wondering what had happened as he felt tears stream down his face..

"Izuku?" Kurogiri called.

"Kurogiri," Izuku managed to force the words out. He felt light headed.

"Are you ready?"

Izuku gasped. The sound must have been enough of a warning for the misty man.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

He trembled, and hit his thumb on the screen of his phone a few times before he got the coordinate application working. "I'm not in the office," he managed to say, before sending Kurogiri a screen shot from the app.

A moment after his phone pinged that the image had been sent, a warp gate appeared. Izuku gasped a few more breaths, looking up at the misty man. "Izuku!" Kurogiri's concern was evident in his tone. He immediately knelt next to Izuku, laying both hands on his shoulders, and examining him for injuries.

Nothing was evident. Even whatever had been used to yank him into the alleyway and hold him had disappeared when Izuku had grabbed the man's quirk. "He-" Izuku gasped the word. "He grabbed me," he finally forced out.

Kurogiri nodded and rose, turning to look at the man. He was still unconscious, and Izuku was appreciative of the way Kurogiri kept his body between them. "Right, let's get you home," he said as he expanded.

Izuku didn't even move but suddenly he was in the kitchen, though he was still sitting on the floor.

A moment later, the warp gate formed behind him. The misty man helped him to stand. "Let's take you to Sensei," Kurogiri announced.

Izuku swallowed hard but nodded, and wiped at his face before Kurogiri scooped him up again.

When the misty man delivered him to his father, he immediately sensed dad's surprise. "My Little Dragon? Kurogiri?"

"Someone attacked him," Kurogiri offered the short explanation.

That changed the surprise into concern and Izuku ran to his father. All For One was happy to accommodate his son and held him when he came close and patted his shoulders and back as Izuku sobbed into his lap.

"What happened, my Little Dragon?" Hisashi asked gently. Behind him Gigantomachia stirred.

"Someone," Izuku gasped the word. He was trembling again but he did feel better now that he was with his dad. "They grabbed me," he rushed the sentence.

"And?" All For One prompted. He trusted that Kurogiri would have already checked Izuku for injuries. Not that he should have any, between shock absorption and regeneration, physically Izuku would be fine.

"I did what Gigantomachia said I should and grabbed his quirk," Izuku managed to say.

"Ah," Hisashi said gently, recognising what was wrong. "This is an adrenaline rush," he added. "It's alright, my Little Dragon," he soothed his son. "It's alright. This is normal," he tried to explain, knowing that Izuku wouldn't really process the words yet, but that his tone was important. He had to be calm, so that Izuku would know that nothing was unusual. "And you do have a new quirk," he said, not needing to feign excitement when he looked at Izuku with All For One.

While Hisashi couldn't see, he could imagine the pleased smile on Gigantomachia's face. The huge man had been training Izuku and this was… not the culmination but at least one of the outcomes of this training.

"It's okay, my Little Dragon. This will pass," All For One said, as he shifted to stroke Izuku's hair. "This is normal," he added.

"Normal?" Izuku asked in a small voice.

"This is normal," Hisashi reassured him. "All your emotions, and stress and excitement have overwhelmed you. That's why you feel weak and are trembling," he explained. "It won't be so bad next time."

"No! No next time," Izuku objected.

That thought was something he had to head off immediately. "There will be my Little Dragon. It's inevitable," All For One added.

"No, no next time!"

"Izuku," All For One said seriously. "Sometimes, you can't stop others," he explained. It wasn't a comprehensive explanation but it did seem to get through to his son. He looked resigned. "Why don't you go practice with Gigantomachia?" he suggested. "To work off your energy."

Izuku nodded and got up. Gigantomachia moved and Kurogiri created a warp gate to the training room. It looked a little odd when Izuku walked beside the huge man through the warp gate but All For One knew his son would be safe, and Gigantomachia would praise Izuku for his actions. The reinforcement would be needed.

As soon as Izuku was gone, All For One turned his sightless gaze to Kurogiri. "You've secured them?" he demanded.

"Yes, Sensei," Kurogiri was quick to reassure him. "Izuku had knocked him out."

"Do you know who it was?"

"No."

The answer wasn't surprising. There were a lot of idiots out there. All For One sighed. "Bring him here, but leave him in one of the secure rooms. I'll have Gigantomachia ask him later who he was."

The statement was perhaps odd, but Kurogiri knew what it meant. "You don't want Izuku to-?" the warp gate didn't finish the question.

"No, he's not ready for that," Hisashi replied. "For the moment, we will have to do Izuku's killing. After Gigantomachia has spoken with him, I'll have him dispose of both him and his faction."

Kurogiri nodded. It was fair. Izuku was still only twelve.

"Do not be concerned. Izuku is developing. He will be ready when the time comes," All For One reassured his servant. He saw Kurogiri's form bow his acquiescence. 'Now, I think this will be a good practice session to watch," he said, and the warp gate knew what he wanted. Another opened, and All For One passed through it to the viewing room that was above the practice room.

This was going to be an interesting session to watch.

-ted-

"You did well, Little Lord," Gigantomachia said as soon as they cleared Kurogiri's warp gate.

"I got caught!" Izuku objected.

"But you got away, and you got his quirk, and he didn't get what he wanted, which means you won," the huge man countered. He had a very good idea of what counted as victory. For him, it meant a bleeding, broken body at his Lord's feet but for Izuku, it meant that he escaped and was fine. When the Little Lord was older, victory would look similar to what it did for him.

"But-" Izuku objected again.

"You got away. And he didn't get what he wanted. So you won," Gigantomachia repeated. "We are not here for that," he added.

"But I was weak-"

"You are not weak because he attacked," the huge man cut off Izuku's sentence before he could complete it. "That was his choice. You are strong because you got away. Now, we are here for practice. This time, you don't need to pretend to take one of my quirks," Gigantomachia added. "So, come at me with everything, including your new quirk!"

"I don't know what it does," Izuku protested.

"Then we will find out. Come at me!" Gigantomachia ordered again and this time he lumbered towards Izuku. He didn't move at anything like the speed he was capable of, instead he was giving the Little Lord openings.

For an instant it looked like Izuku wouldn't react but then he leapt to the right and threw his hand out. Gigantomachia had seen the gesture before. It could mean several things. Izuku could be making a barrier with Caeli Imperium, or he might be making a thinner, rope-like pressure wave that could be used to trip him up. The Little Lord had very, very good control over that quirk and was very imaginative in its use. Occasionally All For One lamented that he had given it to his son but Gigantomachia knew that his Lord was proud of his son's achievements with it.

It came as a surprise to both of them when something that looked like chains flew from Izuku's hand. One wrapped its way around Gigantomachia's ankle but he broke it easily. Izuku froze as he stared.

Gigantomachia chuckled. "Now you know what the quirk does, Little Lord."

"Yes," Izuku replied. "It's not very strong though," he added, gesturing to the shattered chain that was around Gigantomachia's ankle.

"I am very strong," the giant replied. "Why don't we try again? I'm sure you can think of a way of making it stronger," he encouraged.

This time he let Izuku make the first move. The Little Lord was getting over his shock and the exercise would do him good. Izuku circled him, taking careful steps to the left. As Gigantomachia watched, Izuku's body covered itself in scales and his eyes glowed an eerie green. It didn't intimidate the large man but he was experienced enough to know it would have that effect on others.

Izuku dived forward, blowing out a gout of fire. Gigantomachia stepped to the right to avoid it and was surprised when there was a resistance on his foot. He pulled at it again, and this time his foot moved enough that he was out of the range of Izuku's fire breath though he felt the heat from it. He looked down. A double loop of chain was there and he thought it was reinforced by an invisible air barrier.

Even so, he was ready to catch Izuku's fist. The strength behind the punch told him that Izuku was using his strength quirk. It didn't make the boy as strong as him, and he had no way of keeping up with his speed, yet, but the Little Lord was working on his base abilities. When he got a quirk to help with speed, and another strength quirk or two, he would be formidable. Gigantomachia was excited about those future sparring sessions. Izuku had one way of keeping up with his speed at the moment but it did put a lot of strain on him. He could use Caeli Imperium to push his limbs to be faster and while it was effective, there were better ways.

Izuku was quick to react and spun around with a kick that Gigantomachia also blocked. He grinned at the Little Lord, seeing more chain spring to life around him. They wrapped around his torso this time and he felt Izuku pull on them with all his might. He was trying to drag him down! It was a good move, but even with a strength enhancement quirk, the Little Lord wasn't strong enough. Still, it was enough to tip him slightly over.

The Little Lord leapt back, abandoning the chains when Gigantomachia swung at him but almost before he landed, he was leaping forward again. This time, Gigantomachia was expecting the gout of fire and was moving before Izuku could trap his leg. Izuku ducked under him and before Gigantomachia could turn to him, he felt something wrap around his ankle. This time, when Izuku pulled, Gigantomachia was already moving and the tug on his limb was in concert with his movement. He felt himself come off balance.

It wasn't enough to make him fall but it was enough to compromise him for a few moments. Izuku took advantage of that, and Gigantomachia felt the chain wrap around his torso. It was definitely reinforced with air barriers. More and more chain came at him.

He grinned. The Little Lord was doing but it would not be enough to win. Still, his willingness to use that quirk was pleasing and he was showing that he was adept at quickly coming up with uses for new, and unknown quirks. The giant knew the Little Lord was good at that. Even when Sensei gave Izuku random quirks, the boy was good at adapting to them, and using them in surprising ways. It was to be expected from the son of his lord.

Gigantomachia let Izuku wrap him in the chains. He was curious to know what Izuku would do. The boy was out of breath when he stopped and he looked up at Gigantomachia for an instant before he bolted across the training room, taking cover behind one of the far pillars.

The giant laughed, and flexed his arms. The chains broke and fell away from him. "Very good Little Lord!" he praised. "You made the right choice," he added. If this had been a real fight, and taking away his quirk hadn't worked to subdue him, then immobilisation and running was Izuku's best hope. It wasn't glamorous but it was realistic.

From behind the pillar Izuku grinned at him but didn't move.

"The fight is over," Gigantomachia said. At that Izuku moved. They had certain rules and once the huge man had said that, they could discuss things. Before that, anything went.

"They still aren't strong enough," Izuku complained, looking at the pile of chain surrounding Gigantomachia.

"But they are useful."

They both recognised All For One's voice as it came from the observation room.

"What do you mean, Daddy?"

"Usually, my Little Dragon, you use Caeli Imperium to create small wind barriers that act like rope. With this one, you will have something physical do the same task. And that will give you a tactical advantage," All For One explained.

Gigantomachia nodded. "When you are older, people will see the chain and assume you are using that. Then you can trip or trap them with your wind barriers," he told Izuku.

The green haired boy nodded.

"You are doing very well, Little Lord," Gigantomachia said, scooping up Izuku when the boy came close. His scales disappeared and his eyes were back to their usual green. "You are doing very, very well!" He praised.

Izuku smiled at him and while the giant could still detect a hint of sadness, he knew the Little Lord would be okay.

And all was right with the world.

-ted-

Welp, attacking AFO's son is the last mistake that guy made, and he and his group will now go bye bye. Gigantomachia isn't going to show them mercy for attacking his Little Lord, though he might thank them for reinforcing his training. But that's not enough to let them live.

As for Izuku, he's had a scare but he reacted the way he was meant to and now got a new quirk! He has now also felt an adrenaline rush and doesn't like it. Calm please from now on! Except we know that his life won't be calm. But he can hope, and then work to control events so that he doesn't feel that again. AFO though is pleased that he isn't worried about giving back the quirk.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!