10/01/2023

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 37 - Butterfly Wings

With Tomura about to become active, All For One was spending much of his time creating contingencies. They were for himself, and maybe Izuku, though he was telling Tomura they were for his benefit. Technically they were, it would just be him in Tomura's body. It was one of the adjustments to his plan for Tomura.

Tomura was to be the one to incite violence. In that, once the world had been changed, assuming Tomura survived the change, he expected the world to turn on the boy and demand his execution. However, if he was now occupying the body, he would have to be more circumspect. A few, early activities could be forgiven unless he took open control. He was still considering that option.

"You have found someone?" All For One asked the Doctor.

"I believe so," Garaki replied. He sounded tired.

He looked sharply at the man, focusing his sight quirks on him. "Is Mr Tanaihito not helping?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Kyudai replied. "Yakuni is doing well," he dismissed the question. "He's working with the Shie Hassaikai for the moment."

"He is?" All For One asked pointedly. He wasn't meant to be.

"The Shie Hassaikai sent an envoy," Garaki indicated.

All For One cocked his head. No one had told him this.

"It wasn't from the boss, and they wanted Dragon," Kyudai explained, answering his unspoken question. There was no reason to bring an envoy to him unless they showed proper respect. Anything less than the Shie Hassaikai's boss coming would be disrespectful.

"What do they want?"

The Doctor thought for a few moments. "They weren't clear but they wanted some scientific help. Yakuza have no scientific method," he sniffed, obviously dismissing the request even if his chief aid was there.

"So you sent Mr Tanaihito?" he asked.

"At least until he figures out what they are doing," Garaki explained. "They are mucking around with quirks."

"You haven't heard from him?"

"Not details," Kyudai told him. "I know he's alive and doing something for them with quirks."

"He's meant to be collecting samples for my Little Dragon."

"He's been collecting their quirks," the Doctor counted before All For One heard him sigh. "When I say they are mucking around with quirks, they appear to be trying to erase them."

"Erase them?"

"It's part of a scheme they are developing. Use something to erase a quirk and then exhort payment for the reinstatement."

All For One stared at Garaki. This was the type of information he expected to be told! There were erasure quirks in the world. They were rare, but they existed and were temporary. While the Shie Hassaikai's plan sounded as if they were looking at temporary suppression of quirks, he knew that they'd be working on permanent erasure. And he knew he'd be the target.

"I want details," he said firmly. The tone of his voice told Kyudai that he'd stuffed up.

"Yakuni is providing them," the Doctor reassured him.

"He's not trained for that."

"He's doing well enough," Kyudai defended.

All For One flexed his fingers. He did not like this. Mr Tanaihito was useful but he was a lab assistant and general errand boy. He was developing skills but for such an infiltration he was not the man he would have picked. Oh… Mr Tanaihito would not betray him, or his son but this was an unnecessary risk for him to take.

"He's doing well enough," Kyudai repeated.

"You know this?"

"He sends messages every now and then," the Doctor informed him.

It was done now and too late to change. All For One sighed. "I would prefer his resource be here," he indicated.

"It is a way of tracking them," Garaki indicated.

"You are tired," All For One retorted.

"The Nomu," Garaki gave him the reason. He was making lots of them. Hundreds because Tomura would most likely need an army.

"Do you need further assistance?"

Kyudai shook his head. "It's just the latest batch."

All For One looked at the Doctor for a few more moments before he let the matter go. The man was old enough to take care of himself and still had his own Nomu to help with that. "How is progress on Tomura?"

"It will take time," the Doctor replied.

They were strengthening Tomura's body as much as possible. Ostensibly it was to help him master All For One because a stronger body would mean he could better utilise quirks. So the reason was true but the ultimate reason was to ensure that the body he took over was as functional as it could be. He had invested a lot of time in developing his body, he would not accept an inferior form.

"How is progress?" he repeated his question.

"Are you feeling something?" Kyudai asked.

"Feel?" All For One didn't understand the Doctor's question.

"Is your quirk reaching out to you?" the man clarified his meaning.

He considered it for a moment. "I don't believe so," All For One answered. "Should it?"

Kyudai gave him a look and All For One heard him hiss, muttering under his breath. He chuckled at the words. It was true this was experimental so there was no certainty but the Doctor liked to behave as if he knew more than others and it was fun to tweak him on it every now and then.

"I believe you will feel it when your quirk is ready," Garaki told him eventually.

He sighed. "Very well, I will let you know if I feel anything," All For One indicated.

Kyudai nodded.

"Have you found candidates?" All For One moved on to a new topic.

It was a testament to the Doctor that he knew what the topic was about. "I believe so," he acknowledged. "There are two I believe will be particularly suitable," he continued.

"Tell me about them?" He hated being effectively blind. While he had compensatory quirks there were details he missed. The details of Izuku's features were only one thing. He missed being able to read. It meant that information transfer to him was far slower than it should have been.

"Both are male. One is young, with I believe a severe case of agnosia," the Doctor began. "I am uncertain as to his facility."

"Interesting, and the other?" All For One said, thinking about the first possibility. Agnosia was not common and if the person was capable of learning then it would present opportunities… Though the Doctor was correct, there would be issues there too.

"The other is slightly older with a powerful quirk."

"How powerful?" All For One challenged. Kyudai should know better than to call a quirk powerful to him.

"It's weather control," Garaki replied confidently.

That was powerful but he already knew there had to be some drawback. "The issue?"

"Use of his quirk results in cellular degeneration," the Doctor immediately answered.

Now that was interesting, and potentially easily fixed. "What is his view?" All For One asked.

"His view?"

"You said he is older. You wouldn't be considering him if he was a good citizen," All For One explained.

"Ah," Kyudai agreed. "He feels that the world has failed, and that the weak rule the strong," the Doctor explained.

All For One smiled. He could work with that. People like that had obvious desires and were always surprised when they discovered they weren't the strongest. "He's not associated with Yotsubashi's descendent?"

"I don't believe so. I wouldn't have bothered with him if he was."

He nodded his agreement. The Meta Liberation Army as they liked to be known were active but were not yet ready to make a strike. They did seem to be getting closer though. There were hints coming through in the actions of others. They would fall into line when he wanted. "Offer him one of the copies of All For One, and hint that you may be able to offer a cure in due course."

"You don't want me to offer him regeneration?"

"No, don't mention it," All For One instructed. "Tell him if he serves well, then you will be able to work out something."

"Serves?"

He waved one hand dismissively. "I'll have a few jobs for him in due course. And it will be interesting to see which quirks he goes for in the meantime."

Kyudai didn't look convinced but he nodded. "And the other one?"

"See how quickly he can be taught but if it's not quick, cut him loose," All For One instructed. He didn't have time to invest in projects that would not bear fruit, though he acknowledged that with enough time this one could be interesting.

Sometimes opportunities just had to be left and while he'd usually try to find a way, he was having to be circumspect in his contingencies. They couldn't serve him if they were found too soon.

Garaki nodded and AFO turned his attention inwards for a few moments. "Give me the list of quirks you have ready for Izuku," he ordered. "And get in touch with Mr Tanaihito properly. I want to know exactly what the Shie Hissaikai want."

He tapped one finger on the arm of his chair, using each tap to mentally tick items off his list. The enhancement of Tomura's body was progressing. The stockpiling of quirks for Izuku was also on track for when he inevitably came to him. Contingencies were being put in place. The creation of his Nomu armies was progressing. The MLA were preparing to make a move soon and while their actions wouldn't directly feed into his plans, the confusion caused would aid him. The Shie Hissaikai might have something useful to him which would help and if the Doctor's selection was suitable then he may gain another strong asset. He nodded to himself. All he needed now was time and time was… well, he had that in abundance.

-ted-

"We're only going for one of them?" Dabi asked his new boss. He claimed to be 20 but he didn't act that way. He was too interested in playing video games but he had money and that was all Giran had really promised.

"We only need one," Tomura replied, still focused on the small screen in front of him. His fingers were flying over the controller.

Dabi looked at the picture. Sure, the guy looked like a villain but… There had to be a reason the kid had gone to UA. If the kid wanted to be a villain then, he probably wouldn't have gone to high school but joined one of the gangs or factions. That was a lot easier too.

"We should grab second place as well," Dabi said.

That earned him a snort and an odd look before Tomura turned back to the screen. He didn't have a hand on his face today. It was probably so that he could better see the screen. "Endeavor's son?" the question was soft.

Dabi shrugged. "It would look good if the son of the Number 2 joined," he pointed out.

The kid kept playing the game for a while. "If nothing else, Endeavor will pay a ransom," he muttered.

"Maybe," Dabi snorted. It was possible. The old man had plans for Shouto but… it appeared Shouto had his own plans if the performance he put on at the Sports Festival was any indication.

Dabi noticed red eyes on him. That was interesting. The tap of Tomura's fingers on the control had not changed but the boy was examining him. He wasn't quite as distracted as he appeared.

"You have an interest?" Tomura asked.

That was hitting a bit close to home. Dabi shrugged casually. "I think two gives us more chance than one," he replied.

Tomura didn't appear convinced but he turned back to his game. "If we can," he said eventually.

Dabi suppressed a smile. It wasn't that hard. The sutures on his face meant it was painful to smile. He was pretty sure he could convince his little brother of the benefits of a different way of life, especially if he emphasised it was temporary. He just needed a chance.

"I'm back!" the high pitched call was a distraction and the girl who called herself Himiko flounced through the door.

Dabi rolled his eyes and wasn't surprised when Tomura shook his head with a soft snort. The girl was… Giran promised she'd be useful and the fact that she knew Dragon seemed to be enough for Tomura but… She was work.

She'd better be worth it.

-ted-

Yakuni lay on his side as he gasped. It always hurt when Overhaul took him apart. He got the impression that the Shie Hassaikai's leader was only as careful as he had to be, which would be typical of those with strong quirks who didn't really have to work to master them. They knew how to use their quirk but they never had to work on the subtleties of using them.

He took a deliberately deep breath and rolled over onto his back. He kept his eyes closed. They always hurt after Overhaul finished. He released his breath slowly.

It hurt but it didn't hurt anywhere near as much as the thought of betraying Dragon did.

The Shie Hassaikai thought he had given up on Dragon. They thought that the torture from their leader was just to remind him that he couldn't run. They had no idea. The torture just proved that they had no idea what they were doing.

Overhaul said he put him back together the way he always was, which meant that Overhaul had no idea that he really had a quirk. Or, there was another possibility, that Overhaul could tell he wasn't meant to have a quirk but couldn't detect the gifted quirk. The distinction didn't matter. It just reinforced that Overhaul didn't really know what he was doing.

And beyond that, the Shie Hassaikai had proven they didn't know what they were doing with biology. He shown resistance the first few times Overhaul had dismantled him but he wasn't stupid enough to keep showing resistance. Growing up quirkless had shown him that it would have been futile. Overhaul would have just kept at it until he was truly broken. It was better to pretend loyalty. So he was.

He wasn't going to betray Dragon. He'd told the Shie Hassaikai that and he meant it. If they thought he was loyal to them after a few disassemblies then they did not know what true loyalty was. He was helping them with biology but he was using that opportunity to collect their genetic samples. They might not know what they were doing, but they did have some useful quirks. Overhaul's was the first sample he'd taken. With enough practice, someone might be able to use it to heal Dragon's father. That possibility was enough for him to take it. He'd gotten samples from Chronostasis and Mimic next and was currently working on the group called the Eight Bullets. They thought they were careful. They had no idea.

To keep up the fiction that he'd accepted his fate he was helping but they hadn't told him everything yet. They were working with some sort of organic material. They were trying to concentrate something in the material but they couldn't tell him what. Initially he'd thought it was that they wouldn't tell him but he'd come to understand that it was that they couldn't. They knew there was something in the material which nullified quirks but they weren't sure what.

He'd asked about that, indicating he could give them more assistance if he was allowed to examine the material more, or know where it came from but that had just got him disassembled again.

Yakuni took another deep breath, and held it for a few moments before he began breathing out as he thought about his situation. He'd gotten some messages to Daruma but had kept them somewhat vague in case they were intercepted. He figured once he got all their genetic samples, or at least as many as he could, he could send a proper message. And he wanted more information about how the Shie Hassaikai were planning on erasing quirks. That meant he had to stay longer, at least until they thought he was properly loyal.

He slowly opened one eye. The light in the room was soft so it wasn't too bad and he sighed in relief. That was good. He didn't want to use the small stash of drugs he had in the quirk pocket he carried around with him. He couldn't replenish them. Yakuni yawned and then stretched. He could feel that the genetic samples were still in the pocket too. That was good. It meant he just had to be patient a bit longer.

They'd eventually trust him enough to tell him the truth. And then… Well, he knew what Overhaul was not saying. There was no way that Overhaul wouldn't use the ability to erase a quirk on Dragon and his Dad and he was not going to allow that. If he couldn't bring the method to them, then he'd sabotage it. He'd decided that right at the beginning but for both methods he needed to know how they were doing it.

It was a vicious circle. He sighed again.

"Oh, you're awake, Mister."

Yakuni bolted upright, his eyes snapping open and turning towards the voice. The speaker was female and the voice soft. There was a girl in the corner. Her hair was long and gray and she was wrapped in bandages under a simple shift.

There was only one thought in his mind: what the hell was a child doing here?

-ted-

With the request last time not to read too much into the kiss between Himiko and Izuku is not because I'm hiding the ship, it's because thus far (even up to where I'm writing ahead) there is no defined ship!

Now, here obviously is a lot to unpack... going into the training camp and the events that follow but also seeing differences with other things... the butterfly has been flapping for a while and finally those wingbeats are making changes.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

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