12/02/2022
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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 46
"Good morning, my Little Dragon," All For One greeted his son.
"Good morning dad," Izuku replied.
"Did you have a good day yesterday?"
It had been Izuku's birthday and he had spent it with his friends, so this morning, All For One had made sure he had time to spend with his son.
"It was great," Izuku replied.
"Oh?" He already knew what the answer should be. He hadn't had Izuku tracked yesterday but Kurogiri had gotten a short summary from Izuku last night and had told him already.
"We went swimming and then to a festival!"
He chuckled. "It's convenient to have a birthday in summer?" All For One teased.
"It does enhance the festival options," Izuku responded happily.
All For One grinned. It was nice to be able to casually talk to someone like his son. Most of his conversations were far more serious and sometimes it was nice just to relax. "With an appropriate sugar fix?"
Izuku just laughed.
"Happy Birthday, my Little Dragon," All For One said.
"Thank you, daddy!"
He patted the arm of his chair. Izuku came over and gave him a hug before he sat down. It was a special occasion after all. He placed his hand on Izuku's curls and actually felt his son change the colour of his hair then.
"Aren't you meant to pick one before you get there?" he murmured.
Again, Izuku giggled before he sighed. "What happened with my uncle?"
The question caught All For One by surprise. "What do you mean, my Little Dragon?"
"Last year, you told me about my uncle, but I fell asleep," Izuku said.
"Ah." He took several deep breaths as he cast his mind back. "I think I told you we fought?"
"You did," Izuku confirmed.
"Well, it wasn't much of a fight," All For One said. "I would not raise my hand against my brother, so we yelled at each other. That was our first fight."
"But not the last?"
"No, my Little Dragon, not the last. The next time I saw my brother, he was trying to kill me."
"No," Izuku whispered. He sounded horrified.
"Unfortunately yes," he confirmed. Izuku must have fallen asleep very quickly last year, so it was probably a good thing they were talking in the morning, rather than after he had come home last night. "I didn't believe it at first, my Little Dragon. This was my brother. This was Yoichi. I'd practically raised him and all I could see was the boy I loved. The brother I still love. But I could not die, not even for him. And so we fought." He sighed loudly.
"What happened?" Izuku asked, tilting his head back.
"I won," All For One told his son simply. "I had more experience with actual combat, and so I won. I couldn't kill him though, my Little Dragon. He was my brother. I couldn't kill him so I walked away. It was the last time I saw him but it was not the last time I saw his quirk."
"His quirk is different from mine. I can give and take quirks, my brother, your uncle Yoichi could give his quirk away. There is a difference though. You and I can take quirks from people who don't want us to take them, your uncle had to be willing to give his quirk away. I suspect I injured him more than I thought, even though I held back, and that prompted him to give away his quirk. When he did, he gave away the stockpiling quirk too. That quirk, my brother's quirk and the stockpiling quirk are the origins of All Might's quirk."
It was Izuku's turn to sigh. He rubbed his son's curls. "So I probably won't be able to take it from All Might?"
"I just wouldn't be disappointed if you can't," he replied. "Dragon's Hoard is a little like your uncle's quirk."
"Oh?" There was a lot more interest there.
He hoped Izuku was old enough to hear this but he could phrase it such that he wanted to help him. "When you were younger, and your quirk just came in, you never used it, and I wanted to help you figure out what it was, so I tried to borrow it," All For One said. "Dragon's Hoard would not budge from you," he added with a chuckle.
"Hmm," Izuku hummed. There didn't, superficially, appear to be any anger there. Over the past few years he had become far better at detecting subtly in speech. He heard all the sarcasm and annoyance Tomura put into his tone and all the delighted excitement Izuku's voice held. "So do you think I could give it away, like Uncle?"
"I don't know," All For One admitted. "But I do not think it is something you need to try," he added. "I don't think Dragon's Hoard would like it."
"No-" Izuku said slowly. "No, I don't think it would," he confirmed.
All For One wondered what Izuku's quirk was making him feel. It was an interesting thought. He stroked Izuku's curls. Even with the changed hair colour they were soft and he knew his son did not spend an inordinate amount of time taking care of his hair. "Well, you aren't going to give away Dragon's Hoard, so it needn't be worried," he said with certainty.
"No, I won't," Izuku agreed but he was obviously still thinking about something.
"Is Dragon's Hoard not happy?" All For One asked after a few moments.
"No, it's not that," Izuku replied but he didn't give a better answer.
All For One waited. He'd found that this tactic worked with Tomura. If he just waited, the other teen would eventually tell him what was wrong. If he enquired then he often got shut down. He truly hoped that they both grew out of this phase quickly.
"When you asked me about how to take over the country," Izuku said eventually.
"Yes?"
"Why did you do that?"
He allowed himself to chuckle. "I wanted you to think about society," All For One told his son. "I wanted you to think about how the behaviours you've seen weaken society and how they can be exploited," he answered honestly, not bothering to put a nicer facade on the words.
He felt Izuku nod. "I looked into history before and after quirks," he said.
"Yes?" All For One prompted.
"As you said, there was a lot of chaos at the beginning. And then some countries nominated some vigilanties to be heroes and outlawed the rest," Izuku said, obviously remembering what he'd studied. "Why weren't you picked?"
It was something else that took him by surprise. It appeared that fourteen year old Izuku was going to be surprising. All For One titled his head upwards as he took several deep breaths. Memory threatened to overwhelm him. Especially the last real conversation he'd had with Yoichi. He exhaled audibly. "I was," he told his son.
"You were?" Izuku was surprised.
"I was," All For One confirmed. He rubbed his finger tips over Izuku's head, which kept his son quiet as he thought about it. "History simplifies many things, my Little Dragon. The offer was not as straightforward as simply becoming a hero," he began to explain. "They knew what my quirk did. I suspect Yoichi told them. They wanted me to take the quirks of those deemed criminals," he told his son.
It was pleasing that Izuku did not immediately claim that was a good thing. He felt Izuku nod slowly. "Such a position would be good to collect quirks but, it would mean you were maintaining the status the government wanted."
"Very good, my Little Dragon. What else would it have meant?" he prompted. He was very pleased that Izuku could see the advantages of such a position and… actually, if Izuku thought it was okay to take quirks from criminals then that was another source of quirks for him. The first few would have to come from those who had committed crimes which held no ambiguity with either execution or circumstance but those conditions were easy enough to come by. He would think on that later.
"People with quirks would have been afraid of you," Izuku immediately answered.
"Some would have been," All For One corrected gently. "When quirks first developed there were those who didn't want them, and there were those without quirks who desperately wanted one. I helped both. I found those who wanted a quirk and those who didn't want theirs and I exchanged them. That's how I helped people then."
"Would they have let you continue that?"
"No, my Little Dragon, they wouldn't have," he replied instantly. "Infact, let's say I did that. Let's say I genuinely helped someone who didn't want their quirk by taking it for them. They would have happily said that I took it from them on their request. What do you think would have happened then?"
He could almost feel Izuku thinking through his finger tips. "But you would only have helped someone!" He objected.
The objection was enough for him to know that Izuku had thought of at least some of the issues.
"I would have. But the Government would have claimed I used my quirk illegally. They would have silenced the one I helped. And then there were several ways it could have gone. They could have used that action, that of me helping someone to then declare that I was a criminal myself and since they couldn't remove my quirk, and they couldn't realistically imprison me, they would have executed me."
"No!"
"Yes," All For One pressed. "But there was another alternative they could have done. They could have used the action of me helping someone, and their later claims that I took a quirk without permission to control me more. I would have been nothing more than a drone for them." He took a deep breath, and patted Izuku's head. "In some ways, it would have been good to be considered a Hero. I could have sculpted the system from within," he admitted. "But even then, the system was flawed. It was about maintaining power. Then it was maintaining power over those with quirks. As time has gone on, it has changed to maintaining power over everyone and keeping things the way they are. Making sure that some quirks are viewed with suspicion, while others are viewed as heroic. Why do you think that is, my Little Dragon?"
He was actually interested in Izuku's answer. It would tell him much about his son.
Surprisingly, Izuku chuckled as if it was the easiest question in the world. "Because if everyone's quirk was good, then there would be no easy way to show that people were villains," he replied.
All For One smiled. "Very, very good my Little Dragon. That's it exactly. The current domination of heroes, and vilification of even those who need help is easier to maintain if those who need help or break the law have 'bad' quirks and are therefore destined to do that. It makes everyone else, those without so-called bad quirks less likely to believe it could happen to them."
"But they aren't bad. They just need help," Izuku objected.
"And that is why, my Little Dragon, I went with a third option," he announced. "That's why I want to change the world," he explained. "The current system is too entrenched. It is based on the past. It is based on the reactions of those without quirks to control those with quirks. It simply is an excuse to maintain all human prejudices. Nothing more. It does not help. I want to make a system that is more compassionate, one that is more accepting."
"One where people can use quirks?"
"Not necessarily freely, my Little Dragon. I think we can be sensible and agree there are some quirks that are best not used, or only used in certain situations. But for other quirks, I see no reason why they could not be used more freely and openly. They do not hurt anyone, and they are useful! It would mean that more people are accepted and it would mean that those who do need help with their quirks are not stigmatised for needing it. They would feel free to request the help and they would get it, not just the suppressors or villainous tag that they get now."
"Yes, that would be good," Izuku agreed. "Himiko's quirk could be used in so many ways in a society that accepted it. Same with Hitoshi's! Or Ochaco's!" He said.
"And yours," All For One told his son. There was very little point in doing this if they could not use their quirks!
They sat in silence. All For One found that he didn't mind just spending quiet time with his son. They didn't have to be talking or planning. He enjoyed it when Izuku was there. He hoped his son felt the same.
"If…" Izuku said tentatively.
"If?" He prompted when his son trailed off into silence.
"You've said I will help you change the world, but all I'm doing is going to school at the moment," Izuku said.
"Yes, my Little Dragon," All For One agreed, already knowing where his son was going this time.
"Is there anything I can do to help more? Now, I mean," Izuku asked.
"No, my Little Dragon."
"But I can help!" The objection was so predictable.
"I know you can," All For One agreed. The agreement took Izuku by surprise, knocking out a lot of his fervent objection. "You are still young, my Little Dragon and still learning and I do not want you to be hurt."
"I wouldn't get hurt!"
"You might," he countered. "Imagine if you came up against someone like Gigantomachia?"
"There's no one like Gigantomachia."
"True, but there are those who are as strong," All For One explained. "While you could take their quirk, that would leave you exposed, and potentially hurt. I won't let that happen, not while you are still learning. Plus, just learning is helping. It means when you are ready, you really will be ready," he added.
Izuku was silent to that. All For One had learned with Tomura. He could just deny the teen something but Izuku was old enough now that he was capable of accepting rational explanations. He may not fully agree with them, or the reasoning but he could accept them.
"This also may seem odd to you, my Little Dragon, but I do not use children to do my work," he said.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked curiously.
"You are young, my Little Dragon. Not just in my eyes, but in the eyes of society. You are not even old enough to go on a hero internship! But even if you were, I do not use children to do my work," he said. "People will see you as a child. They will not take your conviction seriously, and that will hamper your ability to help." He stroked Izuku's curls. "It is better to wait a few years, and then crush them," he added.
"You might think that the children on hero internships are getting experience. That's what a hero would tell you but it's not true. Many are injured. Many turn away from the profession. Those that don't… well, they are simply low paid labour to continue the status quo. Those who are 'trained' that way are conditioned to think the world is normal. They aren't encouraged to look at the status quo and wonder what can be done better because to them, there is nothing that needs to be improved, and that's what they want you to think."
"I want you, my Little Dragon, to be able to look at a situation and to know what can be done better, or to at least realise that something can be done better. And you will not be able to do that unless you continue your education and then have your own experiences-"
At that, All For One bit the inside of his lip, cutting off his sentence. Izuku didn't realise but he did. Have his own experiences...
Yoichi had said…
He'd said to Tomura…
Choice. It was about choice but choice could only come from experience.
No, he'd given Izuku experiences. He'd made sure they were learning opportunities. He'd done what any parent should, would and could do for their child!
But… He had controlled the experience because he didn't want Izuku hurt. He wanted him to learn. He controlled them for Izuku's benefit.
But… Yoichi's words echoed through his mind. Society is defined by control but relationships aren't.
He didn't control Izuku. He controlled the experiences but he allowed Izuku a choice. He allowed others to choose. He always allowed them to choose. You've controlled what he learned and when. You controlled everything he knows. So is there really a choice?
Izuku had a choice. Like everyone else he had a choice, All For One told himself before internally he sighed…
Darn you, Yoichi!
Darn you!
-ted-
So important father son bonding time. Izuku got the end of the story from last year and AFO got to see how his son is growing. The obvious question of why can't I help now has been answered. I know there are children and teenagers who are criminals IRL but they aren't near the top of the organisation, not really. They are doing grunt work and AFO has far more plans for his son than that! So Izuku's best course of action is to study hard, and use his dad's contacts to become the absolute must know person in society. But more on that as we go on.
Now he knows what happened with his Uncle and I have tried to keep AFO at least factually correct to MHA (in as much as I could remember and interpret from what we are shown). Obviously AFO gets to add his spin to it because what would he be without spin? But talking about Yoichi reminded him of the last time he spoke to his brother... and that is going to haunt him.
Again.
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!