Chapter Text
Breakfast at the Paranormal Liberation Front compound was a lavish affair, with traditional Japanese dishes served alongside Western favorites. The dining room the League used was smaller and more intimate than the large dining hall used when the Liberation Front’s forces would assemble en masse, but still large enough to easily fit the group of seven dining. Bowls of fruit and rice and soup circled plates of fish and hotcakes and meat, with pitchers of juice and steaming cups of coffee accompanying them.
Spinner preferred a more traditional fair, while Twice favored the American dishes. Toga ate mostly meats, as rare as she could get them, while Compress would eat anything sweet. Dabi was picky about his food yet always piled his plate high, and Shigaraki ate smaller portions of whatever was closest to him.
Izuku chewed his food mechanically, not really tasting what he was eating.
From the head of the table, Shigaraki gave him a searching look. “Are you alright, Izuku? Your mind seems to be elsewhere.”
The healer shot him a challenging look, nose crinkled in distaste. “I’m fine, thank you.”
The others continued to eat, but eyes darted between the two with obvious interest. Toga was particularly interested in the greenette’s dark circles and bruised neck, while Dabi took note of the large, angry welt on Shigaraki’s jaw.
Shigaraki was unfazed by the healer’s attitude, gingerly rubbing at the sore spot on his face. “Tell me, should I expect you’ll be just as…spirited tonight as you were last night?”
Compress blinked, looking between the two. “What? What does he mean, Midoriya?”
Izuku grit his teeth, shame coloring his cheeks at the mention of his failed escape.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He’d waited until well after midnight, praying that anyone not sleeping at this late hour would be otherwise occupied. Izuku then slipped from the bed and quickly pulled on his boots, making as little noise as possible. Mineta was still posted in the corner of the room, his sickly orange eyes still wide open. His erratic breathing had calmed somewhat and Izuku guessed him to be asleep, though a quick test revealed the Nomu’s erasure was still active despite it. Taking a chance, Izuku made for the door and opened it, closing it quickly behind him to prevent Mineta from following.
The creature began to howl, a mangled, panicked sound that rang out loudly even from behind the door. The healer shot off in the direction of the elevator, finding it quickly and descending. He wasn’t sure who was on which floor, nor how quickly they’d be ready to pursue him, and he readied himself for a fight.
On the first floor, Izuku spotted a few strangers he assumed to be guards milling around. They gave him strange looks but made no attempt to intercept him, so Izuku forced himself to move quickly but inconspicuously. The frigid night air stung his cheeks and numbed the tips of his ears but was a welcome feeling as he ducked outside, moving further and further into the darkness. From the window of his room, he deduced the village at the foot of the hill to be the only direction he could navigate on foot, as every other direction would invariably lead to impassible mountains. He moved swiftly into the woods surrounding the compound, cursing the snow on the ground that crunched with every step he took.
He deliberately set out in the opposite direction of the village, moving as far as he could before the trees thinned then pulled himself into one with his zip lines. He raced back the other way through the treetops, careful not to disturb too much of the thick snow that settled on quite a few of the branches. He also kept an eye out for wild animals, as well as any League members that might very well be chasing him now, Mineta likely waking the whole compound with his cries.
He'd only made it about halfway past where he’d first entered the woods when the ground below began to shake violently. The healer jerked himself back to the tree he’d been swinging from, bracing himself against the thick trunk.
What’s happening? Is this somebody's quirk? Izuku was briefly reminded of Shindo from the hero licensing exams but dismissed the thought. He felt the air leave his lungs as the tree he’d sought protection in was wrenched upwards, the force of it nearly knocking him from the tangle of branches. His shock only increased as he was raised up to eye level with a monstrous beast.
The creature had to be the same size as the compound at least, a veritable giant with rough, stony skin and a matted nest of hair fashioned into spikes. It had no irises nor pupils, merely a wide expanse of white in each eye socket. Its teeth were jagged and sharp, and Izuku was thoroughly terrified.
Instinctively he blew as much mist as he could at the behemoth, shimmering pink filling the night sky and enveloping his assailant. But the healer knew his efforts would be in vain: he hadn’t sensed the creature at all, which meant his mist wasn’t likely to affect it the way he hoped it would. He focused his power on disorienting the beast, hoping to confuse it enough to make his escape, but no sooner had he begun channeling his power did the mist begin to fade, and the healer realized with a cold dread the pressure building in his head was from quirk suppression.
Mineta had found him, which meant Shigaraki had as well.
“You can put him down now, Machia,” came the villain’s clipped voice. “I’ll take it from here.”
The creature- Machia- had released him, placing both the tree and Izuku onto the ground with far more care than he’d used to uproot them. Izuku jumped down, defeat weighing heavily on his shoulders. He spared a single glance to Machia, feeling both terrified and intrigued by him, before turning back to Shigaraki. He blinked in confusion.
The man before him was clearly Shigaraki: he looked as he always did and was even wearing the same clothes he had been when Izuku first arrived. What was different was his posture, standing tall and almost regal before him. His expression was both smug and disapproving, and his eyes-
They weren’t the mirthful, threatening eyes Izuku had become familiar with. They looked older to the healer, wise in ways he’d expect from Nezu or Gran Torino. This was Shigaraki, but at the same time wasn’t.
“Really Midoriya,” came the smooth reprimand, “it’s well past your curfew.”
“No,” Izuku whispered, the cadence of those words tugging at his memory. He knew that voice, felt it’s presence though he’d only heard it the once. “You’re not Shigaraki.”
“Correct.”
“All for One…”
“At the moment, yes; I expect my protégé will want to take the reins again soon, but for now it’s just you and me. And Machia, of course.”
Next to him, Mineta let out a gurgle.
“Oh yes, and the little runt, too.”
All for One gave Mineta a half-hearted kick, watching with amusement as the pitiable creature stumbled forward. Mineta fell to the ground, though his eyes never left Izuku. The healer looked away, pity and revulsion churning in his gut. The villain appraised the healer. “I don’t blame you for attempting to run, though admittedly I’m disappointed in the lack of challenge; I expected more from you, Midoriya.”
Mineta began to push himself up, eyes dropping to the ground for a fraction of a second. Izuku seized his chance, calling on his mist and enshrouding himself and All for One. He attacked quickly, throwing punches and kicks as his mist worked to disable the villain. But All for One had years of experience, countless quirks and Shigaraki’s youth on his side. He fought with more power than Izuku thought him capable, eventually catching the healer by the wrists.
“I have no interest in keeping you here,” the villain commented, his hands beginning to glow. “So let’s finish this quickly, hm? I promise it won’t hurt.”
Izuku kicked him hard, the point of his reinforced boot shooting upwards and into the villain’s jaw. Instinctively All for One let go, swearing as pain bloomed in his face. Izuku scrambled back but All for One was faster, catching him by the throat and squeezing hard. “That’s the spirit, but I’m afraid it’s come too late.”
The glowing from All for One’s palms returned but, just as the power began to flow from them, it quickly retreated. All for One’s eyes widened, and he released his prey to study his palms curiously. He looked back to Izuku, raising his right hand and trying again.
Nothing happened.
All for One seemed to catch on to something, a bitter laugh escaping him. “I see, so that’s the truth of it …”
Izuku wasn’t sure what the villain meant, but just as he’d righted himself to attack again All for One flicked his wrist and dispersed the shimmering mist with a gust of wind. Rotten orange eyes found the healer, and the pressure of quirk suppression returned. All for One turned back to the compound. "Go to bed, Midoriya; we have much to discuss in the morning.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When he’d been called down to breakfast Izuku had expected to be met with only All for One, though he couldn’t say he was relieved to see Shigaraki and the rest instead. It seemed the others weren’t privy to his attempted escape, though he imagined they’d be informed soon enough.
Next to his chair Mineta was chewing mindlessly on some bacon, his eyes still locked on Izuku. His food looked to be a mixture of scraps from the kitchen, laid at his feet in what Izuku assumed to be a dog bowl. It made the healer regret his initial feelings toward the poor soul; he couldn’t say he liked Mineta, but this fate seemed entirely too cruel.
When the meal had concluded the League members were dismissed by their leader. They hesitated to go, particularly Compress, Toga and Dabi, but finally departed, leaving only Shigaraki, Izuku and Mineta. Before the healer could speak, he caught something in the villain’s expression: like the night before, it was close to Shigaraki’s usual demeanor, but altered. Risking exposure, Izuku sensed him.
He’d learned after his failed escape that Mineta’s copy of Erasure was incomplete. It suppressed Izuku’s quirk enough that he couldn’t summon his mist, and likely couldn’t heal anyone, but his senses could still be accessed. He wondered if this had to do with how interconnected his own biological senses were with his quirk, or if perhaps Mineta simply wasn’t a good candidate for the power. Regardless, Izuku had spent the better part of the night testing his senses, even going so far as to scratch himself with the side of his thumbnail to test his sense of the injury as well as his ability to heal it.
It had taken nearly ten minutes to repair the shallow scratch, but he had done it.
In Shigaraki he could sense the transformation into All for One: Like the physical shift there wasn’t much to glean on a biological level, but curiously Izuku could sense a drop in the villain’s blood pressure.
Hypotension can cause a loss of consciousness, the healer assessed, eyeing the man warily. Is that how All for One takes over? By knocking out Shigaraki? It would mean trouble if Izuku ever had to face him, as his usual sedation attacks could possibly switch out one villain for another.
“It appears my protégé and I have differing ideas on how to deal with you,” All for One began lightly. “Taking your quirk as my own would be the most ideal outcome, but it seems Tomura wants you to keep it for now.”
Izuku was taken aback. “What? But why?” Objectively, it made more sense for Shigaraki to want him powerless, unable to fight back or pose any real threat to him or the League.
All for One gave him a mirthless smile. “He still has hope you’ll join our ranks, become the Liberation Front’s top healer and the face of the movement.”
Izuku gave the man a flat look. “That’s not going to happen.”
“I’m well aware of that, which makes this cohabitation a bit of a nuisance; your quirk should be put to use in the Nomu labs but, as things currently stand, I’m not willing to risk your meddling with what few we have left.”
He leaned forward, elbows propped on the table as red eyes bore into the healer. Izuku noticed the difference there, too: Shigaraki’s eyes were often alight with anger or malicious intent, but All for One’s eyes were softer, gentle in a way that caught Izuku off guard. He knew it was a trick, that the villain’s gentle eyes were meant to distract from the pain he was about to cause, but looking at them he could understand why so many had fallen prey to him. “I’m usually a very patient man, but with a quirk so rare, so glorious as yours…”
And there, at the mention of a covetous power, was the spark that was missing from All for One’s eyes. He looked predatory as he spoke, his glee evident in his voice. Izuku had felt several quirks through his research, from the buzz of Kaminari’s to the chill of Shoto’s. He imagined All for One’s quirk to feel like hunger: gnawing and aching and constant.
The villain rose from the table, crossing the room slowly as though approaching a cornered animal. “Give me your arm.”
Izuku declined, then watched in horror as his arm raised on its own. All for One chuckled at his expression. “You should know by now that I always get my way.”
“Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work,” Izuku bit out defiantly. “You should know by now that I always find a way to save the day.”
“Like how you saved yourself last night? Don’t be a fool Midoriya, accept that you’ve lost and maybe I’ll let you live when this is all over. Until then, keep things with Tomura tame while we share a body, hm? You’re a bit young for my tastes and I’d rather not witness anything indecent.”
The comment was enough to make Izuku freeze, his anxious mind fixating on it. From his pocket All for One withdrew a needle and syringe, halting just before the metal pierced the healer’s skin. “Now, now Tomura, a deal’s a deal; besides, it won’t hurt nearly as much as what I’d first planned to do to him.”
He pushed forward again, this time successfully stabbing into the arm and withdrawing as much blood as the syringe would hold. The thick red substance seemed to glow as morning sun hit the container, All for One staring at it almost reverently. Izuku snatched his arm back as soon as his body would allow him, quickly stopping the flow of blood from it with his napkin. “What are you going to do with that?”
All for One retreated to the other side of the room. “Whatever I want; one way or another, I’ll make you useful to me, Midoriya.” He dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand. “Spinner will be escorting you into the village today; I suggest you behave yourself, or even Tomura won’t be able to save you.”