05/04/2025

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest!

Just as a note, Garaki DID NOT get a hold of Overhaul in the past to create Decay. That is, IMO, one of the most illogical things to go into canon ever. Firstly it makes AFO look like an obsessed loser, then secondly, how bad a memory does Garaki and AFO have if they didn't remember that Overhaul could potentially heal him? There's an argument that they could have lost track of Kai, okay, sure... But if you look at the ages and when things probably happened, there's about 4 years when Kai was not in charge of the Shie Hassaikai where they could have tracked him down. And while the Shie Hassaikai may not want to have been found, this is AFO... He can track down people in the underworld. So that particular bit of canon makes no sense. I am not arguing with anyone on that, because I won't change your mind, anymore than you will change mine and therefore, because this is my fic, Garaki did not make Decay. So the fact that he didn't know about Overhaul, will not be held against him by AFO.

The Emperor's Dragon
Chapter 107 Look To The Future

Izuku felt his father's anger. He felt the same, but he'd rather carefully kept himself from really feeling it, because by the time he found out, there was nothing that could be done but what he had done. And the anger he'd felt, still felt, that the Shie Hassaikai had dared to injure Himiko had helped conceal it.

But he understood it.

If Yakuni had truly been sending the Doctor good information, then… Things would have been very different. His father would have negotiated with Kai and would have been healed. Kai would… Izuku wasn't sure, but Kai would, no doubt, be very important in his father's organisation and… Kamino wouldn't have happened.

He deliberately steered his mind away from that.

Before he could explain properly, there was another knock at the door. Izuku looked over to it and the same waitperson came through. This time their hands were empty. "Would sirs care to dine?" The question was deferential but with it Izuku realised how hungry he was.

"The usual," his father waved one dismissive hand.

Izuku thought about what he wanted for a moment. Usually, he had cereal for breakfast since it was easy and didn't require much effort, but he did enjoy it when Kurogiri found the time to cook. "Some fruit and something hot would be lovely, please," he asked, knowing he wasn't being specific.

"Would you like the fruit brought first, Sir?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Izuku told them.

The waitperson nodded and withdrew.

"You are getting the hang of this," his father commented.

He felt himself blush. "I don't know what they do well," Izuku objected but he knew he wasn't fooling his dad.

"My Dragon, remember the golden rule," his father murmured.

Izuku laughed and nodded. He supposed that applied here as well. Before he could gather his thoughts, there was a knock on the door again before the waitperson entered again, carrying a platter of fresh cut fruit. From the speed of delivery, it was obvious that it had been pre-prepared but Izuku could tell it was fresh.

The platter was expertly placed on the table and the waitperson produced plates, cutlery and napkins from somewhere. They were gently placed on the table as well. "Sirs, the hot course will take approximately a half hour, if that's acceptable?"

"Yes, thank you," Izuku agreed.

"Very good sir," the waitstaff said and Izuku saw them glance at the tea pot. His father shook his head slightly and the waitstaff gave a small bow and left them.

"They are very efficient," Izuku murmured.

"They should be," his dad agreed. "Now, what happened with the Yakuza?"

Izuku nodded but before he launched into that part, he carefully took a few pieces of fruit from the platter. They were superbly cut and looked amazing. He bit into one and marvelled at its taste. Kurogiri got good food. They all made sure they ate well but there were times when they brought fruit and vegetables that were a bit bland. This was not bland.

"Hey!" he objected as his dad snagged a few pieces, but it was a fun expression and Izuku was glad that he could do it. He sighed before he gathered his thoughts. "I went to see the Shie Hassaikai. At that point, while I knew they had Yakuni and that he'd sent some messages back, I didn't realise what their ambition was. Suffice to say that talks broke down very quickly and they tried to shoot me!"

"With one of their bullets?"

"A permanent one," Izuku confirmed.

He saw his dad clench his teeth.

"Himiko jumped in the way," Izuku whispered. He still didn't like talking about it.

"But you got her quirk back?" his father asked. "How else were you going to use it at UA?"

"You have a copy," Izuku reminded him but could tell that his father didn't quite believe him. "Before I could do anything about that, I grabbed their quirks, and we left."

"You just left them?" There was a warning note in his father's voice.

"The Police were raiding at approximately the same time. They have been convicted and are in custody. And I did manage to get to their secondary facility before the Police," Izuku told him. "That's where their lab was… if you can call it that."

"And Mr Tanaihito?"

"And Yakuni," Izuku agreed. "And the rest of his men." He shook his head again. "Kai did not have the manpower to make his plan work," Izuku grumbled. "We took out the rest of his men and then found Yakuni with the source of their bullets."

"Oh?"

The emphasis his father put on the single syllable was impressive. Izuku gave his dad a smile but enjoyed another piece of fruit before continuing. "She was a little girl, about eight, maybe. Her quirk was named Rewind."

At that, his dad recognised it as the one used to heal him, but Izuku could tell his father was also seeking a delicate way of asking about her. "You can just outright ask," he said. "You are the one who wanted to dispense with the gentle narrative," he pointed out.

"True," his dad agreed. "Is she alive?"

"Yes," Izuku told him with a grin. "Since the little girl didn't like her quirk, I made a deal with her. I gave her one of Kai's men's quirk in exchange for hers. It wasn't a weak quirk either. We only got around it because Yakuni shot the guy," Izuku explained. "She can make barriers now."

"A very functional quirk," his father agreed. "Now, you indicated that you couldn't use the quirk to heal that hero, why not?"

Izuku remembered. "I probably could have," Izuku admitted. "But the quirk has a… best to call it a charge time. The more time you want to rewind something, the longer the charge time before you use it. The ratio is about 12 hours charge for 50 days rewind."

He watched as his dad ran the numbers through his mind, figuring out how much he'd been rewound. Once Izuku knew the quirk would work on his father, he'd saved up all the charge to use on him. "My Dragon," his father breathed after a moment of thought. He seemed shocked. "Is that the only restriction on the quirk?"

"You can't use it on yourself," Izuku replied quickly.

His dad nodded before shaking his head. "Izuku," he said firmly. "If the Yakuza had given me that quirk, and Mr Tanaihito, I would have given him my entire empire. And expected my empire to obey him."

That was huge. It was a useful quirk but not worth that much.

"That quirk, Izuku, is the fountain of youth. Eternal life," his father told him. "It does not guard against death by some means, but so long as you are alive, every half year or so, you can take forty years of someone's life to let them live that again-"

He didn't have to say anything more. Izuku could see what his father was saying now. Sure, you could still die in that time but if you had super regeneration and weren't stupid then… About every 150 days you could rewind someone back to their prime. And someone could do that for you, if you had given them a copy.

He had a copy now.

His father would probably have a copy soon. Izuku couldn't imagine Yakuni not making one for him…

It would take… a lot of trust between the people. And if they had others they were rewinding, there'd have to be a schedule but- He swallowed. He trusted his father.

He knew his father trusted him.

It was… He couldn't think about it too much now. This required time. His father seemed to understand that as well and wasn't bringing it back up but maybe dad already knew there was at least one more copy of the girl's quirk in existence. "And that was the second quirk the Yakuza had that could have healed you," Izuku went back to that point. He lifted his teacup and touched a finger to the saucer, willing it to change. His father watched as the little plate reformed, this time, shifting into a glazed figurine. Impishly, Izuku made it a small statue of his father and watched as gold eyes looked at it, taking in the features before Izuku told the statue to go back to being the saucer. He'd practised a lot with Kai's quirk and was getting the hang of it now. At least on inanimate objects. "The Yakuza's quirk allows you to break something down, and either leave it in pieces or reform it into something new," Izuku explained, knowing his father would have already determined the gist of the quirk.

"And it works on organic material?"

"Yes. I never saw him do it, but Yakuni told me he did it a lot on the girl who had the rewind quirk."

"And on Mr Tanaihito," his father murmured.

Izuku nodded. That was true.

"I had not heard that Roujin was dead, but at least he didn't live long enough to see the fall of his precious Yakuza," his father murmured shaking his head.

"Once they were dealt with, I focused on freeing you," Izuku said. "I could have worked on another plan, or disrupting society or-"

"But you knew I would have thoughts on that," his father interrupted.

Izuku nodded again and watched as his father smiled.

His dad leaned back and took a deep breath. "With Tomura having my quirk he would have been driven to seek me out. Tomura wouldn't have known why but All For One wanted to return to me and it would have whispered to him until he did just that."

Izuku frowned and then nodded.

"You experienced something like that?"

"Not that," he told his father. "I didn't have All For One for long," Izuku explained. He'd wanted to free his father because it was the most logical step. "But when I took it from Tomura, I think it had worked out what I was going to do, or it figured its chances were better with me, because it definitely did not fight me."

"Did Dragon's Hoard?"

"Nope," Izuku told his dad. He knew where that question had come from.

"Ah, it was happy to be in a position of power," his father chuckled. "I take it you had no issues with All For One?"

"You mean like a vestige?"

"Exactly like that."

"No. The Doctor told me about them, when he was explaining how Tomura having your quirk was a way of transferring your mind to his body but-" Izuku paused and then remembered the really odd dreams he'd had with Saicho in them. The old lady was… she had to be a vestige.

His dad waited. He apparently knew Izuku was working out something now.

"I think Dragon's Hoard has something similar to vestiges," Izuku said slowly. "But I only see them every now and then, in dreams. They don't bother me at other times."

"Oh?"

"I dreamt about some of the people who used to have the quirks I have," Izuku said. "Some are happy, and some are most definitely not happy to be there," he added.

"And the unhappy ones don't bother you?" his dad asked intently.

He shook his head. "No, the unhappy ones are chained up," Izuku said. That had to mean something. He thought back to his last dream. Saicho had said the place was a nursery… That was just after he'd gotten all those quirks that Yakuni had collected… And… The next time he had one of those dreams, he was going to have to ask Saicho what it meant.

"I usually only hear them when I sleep," his father admitted. "But that is a small price to pay for the ability."

Izuku agreed with that.

"The timeline for Tomura was not set in stone," his father told him. "It couldn't be when much of it relied on the reactions of heroes, but he would have sought me out and then… If you had not made a decision, then I would have worked something out and if you had… we'd be here."

Izuku laughed. It was nice to know that he hadn't ruined everything. "And here we are," he said dramatically.

"In a far better position than I had ever hoped," his father said.

It was nice to hear. But while Izuku had today with his dad, and he was going to enjoy it, he knew if they waited too long, then it would be harder to start planning again and to start moving on those plans. The villains released from Tartarus would start making their own plans and Izuku wasn't naive enough to believe they'd simply fall into line.

"In a position now, to do what?" Izuku mused, taking some more fruit.

Between them, they'd actually made a fair dint in the tray.

"That is the question," his father agreed, leaning back and looking at him from under half closed eyes. "What do you want, my Dragon?"

Before Izuku could answer, his dad raised one hand, holding up an eloquent finger to delay his response. "Do not tell me you want what I want," came the soft statement. It was a warning. "That is an impossibility. You are not me, therefore you cannot want exactly what I want," he pointed out with impeccable logic. It was obvious logic, but Izuku realised it was an important point. "What we want can be allied, or aligned but there will be differences, and it is far better for us to understand those differences now."

Izuku nodded and actually thought about what he wanted. It seemed so easy, talking to his companions about what he wanted. Now, before his father, he was uncertain. "I told the League I wanted heroes gone, so that people can be acknowledged as people, without the singular focus on their quirk, but that's a naive view," Izuku murmured as he thought. "I believe it. People should be seen as people, without a consideration of their quirk, or bloodline or-" He shrugged. "But people have been judging others on arbitrary things since society began," he said.

His father nodded, offering neither encouragement nor hindrance as he thought.

"It's too much to try to get people to look at each other just as people. To get rid of the social ranks and all the other stuff… I can't even imagine what society would be if that was possible," Izuku continued.

"Maybe think about that for the very long term," his father suggested.

Izuku didn't realise what he meant for a moment before he remembered his father's words about Eri's quirk. Immortality. At least between the two of them. Maybe it would be possible to reform society.

"The very long term," Izuku agreed. "For now, though, I do truly believe that the hero system is outdated. It's a relic of the past that has not been updated for today. I want it gone."

His father nodded at that. "Let me see," he said. "What do I want?"

Izuku realised he was interested in hearing his father's words. He always thought he knew what his dad wanted but he'd never actually asked.

"For the immediate future, I want to wrap my hands around All Might's neck and squeeze," his dad admitted.

That made sense. "I'm not surprised," Izuku said.

"I am sorry that will cause you to break your promise," his father said.

Izuku had always promised Tomura that he'd help the young man kill All Might, in exchange for help getting Toxic Chainsaw but if anyone deserved to kill All Might, it was his dad. Even Tomura would have acknowledged that. "I don't need to keep a promise to a man who is dead… and who would, if he knew what was good for him, acknowledge you always had a pre-existing right."

His dad nodded graciously. "Then… I would very much like to know who has my brother's quirk and to get it back."

Izuku knew that goal as well.

"Beyond that, I believe I want what I have always wanted, to be able to live freely."

That wasn't quite what Izuku was expecting.

"When quirks emerged, my Dragon, I was considered evil for having one," his father explained. "As society settled down, I was considered evil because I could take quirks, and because I refused to be bound by rules, I knew those wanting power would break."

Izuku nodded. He remembered his dad telling him about the past. Some of it was no doubt tinged with the chosen narrative, but he could see the truth of his father's words. Nothing he'd read had said exactly that 'power hungry people would ensnare his father and force him to work for them' but his study of history had shown him how it was a very likely outcome.

And that just wasn't for the past. That applied to now. There were always people who were power hungry.

"So now, after attending to the immediate desires…" his father sighed. "I believe I will reconsider then," he said. "I imagine removing All Might and his successor will take a while and will have a large impact on society."

Izuku nodded. That was quite true. "It's just a way our plans align," he commented.

"Indeed." His father fixed him with a stare. "I told you I would support you, my Dragon. In fact, the only time I won't support you is if you had chosen to go against me," he added. "In the future, I'm sure we will have disagreements, but they will simply be a minor difference of opinion. We will discuss them and decide on a course of action."

Izuku nodded. He was feeling overwhelmed. He remembered his father's words, but he never expected… He didn't know what to say.

"I will say one more thing, my Dragon. Something I told Tomura, but you should know. With your changes to society, you may not get it right the first time, so just try again.

"I will be there to make sure you can."

-ted-

The end is a nod to canon but obviously slightly different since it's Izuku not Tomura who can try again and again... Not that he'll have to try too many times but getting the society he wants is going to be difficult. It's a generational change really.

AFO is mostly caught up now, so they can enjoy their breakfast.

Rewind as immortality is something I'm surprised is not done more often but AFO, with his age and desire to live, saw that possibility immediately. Izuku still has youth and so doesn't quite think the same but he's aware of the possibility now, and of how it might help with his long term goal of a more just society but Izuku is already a bit corrupted, because he does want to live freely and not face consequences for what he's done. It's complicated.

Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn 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! Not just about MHA.

-ted-

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