Kyouka Jirou heard a high-pitched wail coming from the second floor and knew that her father was being melodramatic again. Sighing, she set down her book and headed up the stairs.

Her father paced in the hallway, scowling. He wore a sparkly red sequined suit with the top of his shirt unbuttoned. "I can't possibly be expected to appear on television under these conditions!" With a huge sigh, he threw up his hands in the air.

Dad was a rockstar who went by the stage name All for One. With his immortality ability, he'd been internationally famous since the dawn of the age of quirks. Today, he had a TV interview to generate publicity for his upcoming concert at Musutafu Dome. It was considered a big deal to perform there, though the great All for One had done so many times already.

His bodyguard, Gigantomachia, trailed after him with a worried look. Gigantomachia had a quirk that let him swell up in size, but today he'd shrunk down to be an inch shorter than his boss (as All for One insisted.) Gigantomachia wore a black suit with a striped tie, a taser strapped to his hip. All for One had been in all kinds of messy romantic relationships over the years—he'd long ago divorced Kyouka's mother—and throughout it all, Gigantomachia had been the only person to stick by All for One's side. They'd literally been together for over a century. Gigantomachia did everything for his boss, from bodyguarding to acting as a personal assistant to raising his daughter whenever he got busy with work. Kyouka considered Gigantomachia like a second, very slightly more responsible dad. Upon seeing her, Gigantomachia's eyes lit up. "Little Lady! The Lord's phone went missing. I've been calling him nonstop but I can't hear the ringtone."

"Already on it." Kyouka extended her ear jacks. Faintly, she heard a vibration. "It's coming from the bedroom."

Gigantomachia trailed after her as she pushed open her father's bedroom door. His walls were covered with posters of himself and trophies. She lifted up his mattress. Dad's phone had somehow gotten wedged underneath. Once freed from the heavy weight on top, it vibrated. Kyouka switched the phone to the highest possible volume. This would prevent further mishaps, since her dad lost his phone once a day. Fortunately, his ringtone was quite distinctive, a clip of one of his heavy metal songs. She handed the phone back to Gigantomachia. "Found it."

"Little Lady, you're a wonder!" Gigantomachia swept her off her feet with a hug. Then he ran back into the hallway. "Lord, your daughter found your phone. Lord?"

From his dressing room, All for One shouted, "My mask has a scratch!" He poked his head out into the hallway, holding a red oni mask. It was his trademark for all his performances. A very small white line ran across the top. "I can't possibly be expected to go out in public with a scratched mask." He snatched his phone from Gigantomachia. "We'll have to reschedule."

Gigantomachia looked ready to burst into his usual effusive tears. "Lord, your concert is tomorrow—we don't have time to reschedule a pre-concert interview."

All for One snapped, "We'll have to cancel the concert too with my mask in this tragic state."

"Lord…the stadium is sold out…people have been buying scalped tickets for a hundred thousand yen…"

"I know that—I purchased half the stadium myself so I could scalp my own tickets. What's your point?"

"I would never dare to question you, Lord!"

Ignoring the discussion, Kyouka walked past her father into the dressing room. This had to be handled before Gigantomachia started crying. The dressing room had a bank vault attached as a quiet place for practicing music. The cherry-red walls had even more posters and a life-sized statue of All for One. She retrieved a small jar of red paint from the dressing stand. Her father often threw his mask during performances, scratching or cracking it on a regular basis. She took the mask from his hand and painted over the tiny scratch. "There, Dad. Good as new." She set the mask down on the dressing table. "The paint is quick-dry—it will only take a few minutes to be ready to wear. You can still make your interview."

"You're as brilliant as ever, my shining star." All for One kissed the top of her head. "I don't know what I'd do without you." A giant smile spread across his face. His moods often shifted mercurially. "Will you come with me to the interview so I can show you off to the world?"

"Can't, Dad. I have school."

"Oh, that hero school." All for One's nose wrinkled. "Are you sure you don't want to focus on your singing instead? I'll use nepotism to make you an overnight sensation."

"I'm gonna become a hero and succeed in the music industry under Mom's last name so that I don't benefit from your connections, Dad. But thanks anyway." Kyouka kissed her father on the cheek.

"I'm sure you can, my little superstar. You inherited all my talent." His smile softened as he stroked her hair. "We'll drop you off at school on our way to the TV station."

Gigantomachia moaned, which meant they were late. Kyouka said, "That's okay. It's nice out, and I'd rather walk." She headed downstairs before her father could argue with her.

All morning, Kyouka received a string of texts from her father complaining about the interview. His bagel didn't have enough poppyseeds. The camera had been at the wrong angle to capture his good side. The interviewer's voice was too peppy. Furthermore, that idiot interviewer had the nerve not to recognize the song on his ringtone.

Kyouka ignored all the texts, since she'd been trying to train her father not to bother her at school.

As she headed to the cafeteria for lunch, Izuku Midoriya dashed up to her. His eyes were wide and worried. "Can I speak to you for a moment, alone?"

Curious, Kyouka said, "Sure." She'd already been familiar with Izuku even before she'd started school, because he was an up-and-coming idol. Since he seemed like someone with similar goals to her, she'd been wanting to befriend him.

As they walked down the hallway, she noticed that Izuku's backpack was covered in All Might pins and keychains. All Might was All for One's biggest rival rockstar, although he'd been performing less frequently due to his age. Some reporters said that at this rate, All for One would win their competition by simply being immortal, to her father's fury. All for One wanted a real win. He'd been mumbling about setting up a dual concert at Kamino Ward to settle their longstanding rivalry.

Izuku opened the door to an empty classroom. A short old man sat on top of one of the desks. Kyouka asked, "I thought you wanted to talk to me alone?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Izuku said, "I thought Gran Torino could explain the situation better than me. Um, I hope we don't appear suspicious…"

Torino hopped down and peered at Kyouka. "Eh? Where is this place? Is this the police station?"

"We're at a school," Kyouka said politely, even more confused.

Izuku face-palmed. "Please don't do this right now, Mr. Torino."

Pointing at the All for One keychain on her backpack, Torino barked, "Are you a fan of that loudmouth All for One? His music sounds like a cat dying. Kids these days, they'll listen to any nonsense."

"Everyone is entitled to their own tastes." Kyouka shrugged. "Heavy metal music isn't for everyone."

"That's a limited-edition keychain from All for One's hundred year anniversary concert." Torino's eyes became sharp, the senility dropping off his face so quickly that he must have been faking it. "You're All for One's daughter, aren't you?"

Kyouka recoiled. "Isn't that a strong conclusion to reach over a keychain?" Her parents had kept all information about her strictly secret to preserve her privacy. (Although her dad forgot about the need to be secret unless Gigantomachia regularly reminded him.) Her father had some insane fans. People knew that All for One had a daughter, but not her name or what she looked like.

Torino barked out a laugh. "What a weasel answer! You're related to All for One, all right."

Izuku cleared his throat. "Please pardon our presumptuousness. All Might is my mentor, and an old friend of Gran Torino. He said that your father brags about you regularly and showed him pictures."

That made sense. Kyouka sighed. At least All Might wasn't the loose-lipped type. She'd met him a couple times at private parties, and he'd always been kind to her. If he'd told these two, then there must be a good reason. "Fine, there's no point in denying it. Why did All Might send you to talk to me?"

"We need your help." Izuku glanced sidelong at Torino. "It's a long story, and I'm not sure where to begin."

"Your father used to be a villain," Torino said.

Izuku choked. "We were going to break that to her gently!"

Kyouka laughed out loud. "My dad, a villain? He's too delicate! He throws a temper-tantrum if his dry-cleaning comes back with a wrinkle. He won't eat yellow foods because they remind him of All Might's hair tufts. He claims he's too sick to sing if his drink has the wrong color of sprinkles."

Crossing his arms, Torino asked, "You can't see your father using his many quirks to dominate other people and enjoy their fear and suffering?"

Kyouka hesitated. That did sound like Dad. He terrorized every assistant that he hired. Not a single employee except Gigantomachia had lasted longer than a year. She pulled out a chair and sat down. "Fine, I'll hear you out."

Izuku exhaled, his body sagging with relief. "Thank you." He pulled out a notebook. "I've compiled everything that All Might told me about All for One. According to the records of past One for All holders, your father first started attending music lessons at age ten because someone told him that rock music came from Satan, and he took it literally. Also, his younger brother had joined a choir at school so he was feeling competitive. He wrote his own villain theme song called 'The Demon King Never Dies' when he was twelve."

Kyouka sat up straighter, a little more interested. The entire world knew that her father had a deceased younger brother, because he'd written dozens of angsty songs on the topic. But her father never played "The Demon King Never Dies" except for family members and the people he referred to as "those pesky One for All holders." Perhaps her classmate did have insider information about her father's past. Speaking of which: "What's a One for All holder? Dad mentioned the same term but never explained it to me. He just cursed them out a lot."

Izuku said, "Your uncle, Yoichi Shigaraki, named his quirk One for All. After your father became involved in organized crime, your uncle was determined to stop him. Yoichi passed on his quirk to a vigilante to form a lineage of heroes dedicated to defeating All for One. Then Yoichi retired and stared a band. That made All for One competitive again, and he created his own band. He got so distracted with becoming Japan's top rock star that his entire evil empire crumbled. Yoichi realized that music was far more effective at stopping his brother than heroism ever could be."

Although Kyouka still didn't believe this insane story, she had to admit that pettiness and competitiveness sounded a lot like her father. "Then Dad hasn't been a villain since the dawn of the age of quirks?"

"If only!" Torino slapped his legs. "Yoichi got tired of his brother interfering with his love life, so he faked his death and fled the country with his two lovers."

Kyouka blinked. "I heard that my uncle died a tragic death rescuing a cat stuck up a tree."

Izuku shook his head. "Not according to our records. Although the First, Second, and Third holders have probably died of old age by now unless they found some way to become immortal. We lost track of them after they left Japan."

Torino said, "Without sibling rivalry as a motivation, All for One got bored. Then his band broke up, and he went back to villainy."

All for One's bands always broke up every couple years. Three years was the maximum time that anyone except Gigantomachia could tolerate his personality. People in the music industry believed Gigantomachia couldn't possibly be human—not because of his strength or long lifespan but because he could remain in All for One's employ for so long. The top two theories: either he was a quirked cat or a robot.

Torino continued, "The Fourth One for All holder, Hikage Shinomori, knew he had a duty to stop All for One. So he promoted All for One's previous music to bring it back into fashion and arranged for All for One to meet potential new band members. Hikage even made the enormous sacrifice of becoming All for One's drummer. His plan to make All for One's newest song win the Musutafu Music Competition involved a massive heist and electoral fraud. It worked. All for One got interested in rock and roll again, and Hikage fled to the forest to become a hermit so he didn't have to listen to the insufferable music he'd unleashed on the world."

"Hey!" Kyouka protested. If Torino had called her father's personality insufferable, then she only could have agreed. But her dad's music was actually very good.

Flipping through his notebook, Izuku said, "Apparently All for One chased Hikage around the forest for several decades because he really was the best drummer he'd ever had. Hikage remained hidden until old age and passed on his quirk to the rapper Daigoro Banjo. As the fifth One for All holder, Banjo played the part of All for One's rival to keep him interested in music while also working behind the scenes to find him new bands every time they broke up. The Sixth Holder, En, did the same. But by the Seventh holder, All for One's popularity had started fading. His music only got better over time, but people were tired of him. Nana Shimura became a hero both to fend off All for One's rising as a villain and to promote his music."

"Nana hated that part of the job," Torino muttered. "She couldn't stand All for One's deeply self-pitying and melodramatic pop songs. But she knew the higher his sales, the less crimes he committed, so she had to pretend to love his music and encourage her fans to buy it. Eventually she solved the problem by getting All for One into heavy metal. When he changed genres, he picked up new fans and had a resurgence in popularity. Nana retired to focus on her family after that."

"All Might became the Eighth holder." Izuku's entire face lit up when he spoke of his mentor. "It was a difficult time in One for All history. All for One broke up with three bands within the same year. He started using Nomu as bandmates, but while his fans liked the scary look, they just couldn't improvise."

"What are Nomu?" Kyouka asked.

"You're happier not knowing," Torino said.

Izuku said, "All for One nearly quit music, but All Might told him that he'd become a total sellout, and that made All for One pleased with himself. So All for One focused on appearing in as many advertisements as possible and playing deliberately badly to troll people. The world was saved from his boredom for another decade. Fortunately, having a baby distracted him from villainy even longer. You were a hero from the day you were born." He winked.

The pride in being a sellout sounded so much like her father that Kyouka couldn't find this funny any longer. "Why are you telling me all of this? Did my father become a villain again?"

"No, not All for One, he seems safely focused on his first attempt to go solo while using quirks to play all the instruments himself." Izuku shook his head. A huge sigh shook his body. "The problem is my cousin, Tenko Shimura. He's become…he's become…" Izuku covered his eyes. "An edgelord."

Kyouka blinked. "My condolences."

Torino snorted. "That idiot boy is going through an emo phase and declared his intention to become a villain."

"I can't let that happen to my cousin. Fortunately, the past One for All holders left behind a foolproof plan to prevent people from becoming villains." Izuku held up his notebook. "Turn them into rockstars instead! I still remember the day I asked All Might if I could become a hero, and he told me that I could save the most possible people if I became an idol and ate his hair. He told me I had a main character aura. I decided to attend hero school too, of course."

Kyouka eyed the door. "Uh, what does this have to do with me?"

"We need you to get us tickets to All for One's concert tomorrow." Izuku made pleading eyes. "Your father's extremely edgy music will appeal to Tenko so much that he'll forget about destroying Japan. If you can arrange an introduction, then we hope All for One will take on Tenko as an apprentice. That will distract both of them. Please? Pretty please?" Izuku's eyes kept getting wider and wider until they took over his whole face. It was like a superpower.

Kyouka could not resist the ultimate puppy eyes. Besides, this sounded interesting. "My father gave me half a dozen black cards that grant me front row seats to his concerts, including back stage access."

Izuku pumped a fist in the air in victory. Torino chortled.

Kyouka smiled at Oboro Shirakumo as he held open the limo door for her. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." He winked as he got into the driver's seat. "You're always an easier client than the master."

"You're damning me with faint praise." Kyouka snorted. Oboro laughed too, knowing she was kidding. She said, "I don't know how you've stuck with this chauffer job for so long."

"Heroing doesn't make much money." Oboro shrugged as he turned on the motor. "Your father pays me a full-time salary to drive for him about an hour a day." It went unspoken that no one else would take the job. And no one else lived up to All for One's exacting standards for transportation.

The family limousine was bright red with demon king and bank vault decals all over (aka the band logos). They pulled up into the Shimura driveway. Kyouka had promised Izuku a ride to get them past the crazy crowds. Izuku and his cousin were already waiting at the doorstep. Tenko was dressed in black from head to toe, with dark eyeliner, leather gloves, and a spiky collar.

Rolling down the window, Kyouka joked, "Hey, you stole my fashion."

Tomura stared at her with dead fish eyes. "The universe stole my family, and with it all my joy."

"Oh! I'm so sorry for your loss." Kyouka flinched, feeling guilty.

As Izuku got into the car, he whispered, "My cousin's parents and sister are fine. His dog, Mon-chan, recently died of old age. That triggered his meltdown."

"That's still plenty rough," Kyouka whispered back. "Has he considered getting a new dog?"

Izuku sighed. "I asked, but Tenko insisted that nothing could replace Mon-chan."

Overhearing, Tenko said, "Call me Tomura now. I have changed my name to mean 'I mourn' to express my sorrow about the futility of existence."

Izuku massaged his forehead and muttered, "He's either going to become a villain or a goth. We're trying to achieve the latter, even if it's only marginally less annoying."

Loudly, Kyouka said, "Nice to meet you, Tomura. Thanks for coming with me to this concert after my friends had to last-minute cancel." That was their excuse for bringing along Tenko/Tomura. "My dad's been in a bad mood ever since one of his earliest demon king figurines fell off a table and cracked, so I think his current music will really speak to you."

Tomura leaned backward in his seat. "Peace can only be found in destruction. That's the only way to calm this rage inside of me. My quirk craves violence." One of his hands slipped out of a glove.

Izuku tackled his cousin. Kyouka yelped, "Hey! No destroying the backseat! That's genuine Katzkin leather!"

Their car was allowed to skip the line and park in the area reserved for staff. Kyouka found her father sitting on his custom demon king throne with his legs crossed and lecturing Gigantomachia. "I asked for a macha cappuccino mix with whole soy milk and sprinkled chocolate on top delivered in a golden goblet. Yet this clearly tastes like fat free soy milk!" He waved his drink, sloshing it. "My voice is delicate. How can I be expected to perform under these conditions?"

Gigantomachia lowered his head. "Sorry, Lord. I relayed your instructions clearly to the fools at Starbucks."

"You should have checked if it was correct!"

Kyouka had a strong suspicion that her father's drink order had been correct, and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference anyway. He was just looking for an excuse to act like a diva. She grabbed a creamer from the paper bag in Gigantomachia's hand. "Here, Dad, try this."

All for One mixed in the creamer, then took a sip. "Perfect! You're my good luck charm, my darling star." Turning to his bodyguard, he added, "Find the imbecile barista who made this drink and beat them up anyway."

As Gigantomachia turned to leave, Kyouka hissed, "Just walk around the parking lot a few times, and he'll forget about it. Remember, Dad doesn't need more bad publicity for bullying."

"Who are these people?" All for One asked. He squinted at Izuku. "Oh, you're that helpful boy who found me a new drummer after the last one quit. Ah, I still miss Hikage Shinomori, the only decent drummer in Japan."

Kyouka said, "Izuku Midoriya is my friend from school, and Tenko—I mean Tomura—Shimura is his cousin. They're excited to meet you."

Tomura grunted. "I've never heard this guy's music before. I've seen his face on billboards, though. Why are you dressed like that?"

All for One wore a demon king costume complete with bat wings, horns, and heavy makeup. He sneered. "Because I have more taste than to dress like you?"

This wasn't going well. Kyouka decided to switch to her father's sole strong point. "Let's play some of your music so Tomura can experience it up close." She scrolled through the list of All for One's greatest hits on her phone, picking the classic song Vaulting My Foolish Little Brother.

When the first heavy metal notes filled the room, Tomura screamed, "This is torture for my ears!" and ran away.

"Oh, no." Izuku paled. "We couldn't even get him to last until the concert. Plan aborted." He ran after his cousin.

Kyouka followed them. On her way out, she heard All for One shouting at another employee: "How dare you order me cheap food! When I say I want to eat Chinese, I want the genuine stuff, not the knockoff fast food. I'll ruin the restaurant that dared try to pass off crab wontons as Chinese."

Kyouka caught up to Tomura outside. "It's okay if you don't like heavy metal, it's not for everyone. What kind of music do you like?"

Tomura shrugged. "Whatever is catchy. But not mainstream because I'm not a normie. I don't listen to music much."

Izuku moaned. "This is a disaster."

Kyouka couldn't understand someone who didn't like music, but she said, "Fine, everyone has their own preferences. Let's try something else instead." She scrolled on her phone. "There's a community theatre performance of Oedipus the King across town. It still has tickets available. I'll call Mr. Shirakumo to drive us."

Lowering his voice, Izuku asked, "Is it okay for you to miss your father's concert?"

Kyouka said, "I've seen plenty of his concerts. I've watched him rehearse this one a couple times. Once he gets on stage, he doesn't notice anything else. He won't even know I missed it."

As the curtain fell on the ending of Oedipus, Tomura leapt to his feet and gave a standing ovation. "It was magnificent! Beautiful! The perfect ending to encapsulate the tragedy of existence!"

Kyouka said, "I heard the community theatre is auditioning for new members."

"I must get a pamphlet at once." Tomura ran off.

Izuku chuckled. "It looks like we found the perfect artistic passion to distract my cousin from villainy. How did you know?"

"He seemed like a theatre kid." Kyouka shrugged. "If that didn't work, then I would have tried other forms of art until I found the right one for him. Everyone has a passion for something."

Izuku held up his hand, and they high-fived.

A week later, Izuku found Kyouka after class. "Your idea was perfect. My cousin is completely distracted with his theatre group. Now that theatre is draining all of his drama, he's even gone back to dressing normally at home. Admittedly, he normally dresses like a homeless person under house arrest."

Kyouka grinned. "It's for the best—the music world couldn't take a successor to my father. To say nothing of all the poor, oppressed staff."

"I have a friend who wants to talk to you, too." Izuku pushed Shouto Todoroki forward.

Shouto gazed at Kyouka seriously. "I heard that you're a villain whisperer. Can you do my big brother next?"

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Dabi's Turn

Dabi: I have no interest in becoming a rock star. My father is a fan of All for One's music, therefore I hate it.

Kyouka: Oh, yeah, they collaborated for a music video when I was just a baby. My dad gets along with Endeavor because they both hate All Might.

Dabi: Your father gave mine advice on childcare.

Kyouka: Oh, no.

Dabi: My dad locked me in a bank vault for an entire year.

Shouto: But on the plus side, you didn't burn alive at Sekoto Peak. Look at the sunny side of life, big brother.

Kyouka: Let's introduce Dabi to theatre, too. I know this crusty guy you're going to become rivals with.

#

Omake: Take the Win

Enji: Shouto, I heard that you've been hanging around All for One's daughter and started listening to his music. I'm a fan, too! We finally have something in common!

Shouto: I was listening to his song about foolish, ungrateful brothers, and it was like I forgot all about you. So yeah, my trauma is cured now. Somehow.

#

Omake: Edgelord Fashion

Denki: Hey Jirou! Your hero outfit looks a lot like Dabi's coat…OW!

Kyouka: (Stabbing him with an earphone jack) It's a coincidence! My dad insisted on designing my costume, okay?

Denki: Come to think of it, I saw a masked extra with a costume a lot like yours appear in All for One's concerts…

Kyouka: You really want to die, I take it? (Dammit, Dad promised me no one would ever find out.)

#

Omake: One Thing Never Changes in Any AU

All for One: I don't know why people think my song about vaulting my brother is symbolic. It's a legitimate way of resolving family conflict.

Yoichi: Big brother first locked me in the vault because his band split up and he wanted me out of the choir. He's petty like that.

Kyouka: Solitary confinement is great for composing music, don't ask me how I know this. The family vault locks automatically, so I got stuck a few times. But Dad lets me out after I tell him how much I love him.

#

Omake: Get Off My Lawn

Gran Torino: I love being old enough to CONDEMN THAT LOUD GARBAGE! (Shakes his cane at teenagers playing All for One's music.) Not you, Izuku and Toshinori, your music is great.

#

Omake: Prima Donna All for One

All for One: I find that I can be evil to people on a more personal level as a rockstar.

Kyouka: You definitely torture every person employed by our family.

All for One: I lost interest in official villainy a long time ago, but every time I pretend I might go back, the One for All holders help me find new bandmates.

Kyouka: You're like a badly trained dog who gets treats when he misbehaves.

All for One: The worse I act, the more publicity the media gives me, and the more money I make. I love being a celebrity.