#dad!afo au

[povertygoblin]

Safe in Fathers Arms

[i-cant-sing]

YRG pt 7

 

“Is it- true?” One servant asked. The knight raised a brow, as he fixed his armor. “What?”

“That she’s alive? The princess? Why the king is gathering his army?”

The knight shrugged. “Does it matter? We obey the king. He tells me to sharpen my sword, I do. He tells me to clean the horse shit off his horse’s ass, I do.  He tells me to go to war with an enemy in a place no one knows? I don’t ask questions, I just fucking do. Or else he burns me to crisp. So I suggest you do the same, Berta.” The knight spat as he began polishing his sword, the servant leaving to join the rest of the busy workers, all running around the castle after Dabi had ordered that they were going to war. They didn’t know who or where they were going to war, and they didn’t dare ask the king, well aware of his temper. But they’d figured out this was supposed to be a rescue mission for you after they’d seen concubine Keigo finally sober up after weeks (if not months since your disappearance. Dabi forbade the word “died”) and he surprised them a little when he prepared (and he actually was good at it).

“Is the cavalry ready?” Dabi asked Shotou, who nodded. “Yes, as are the ships prepared to carry them. Well equipped and with enough space for everyone.” Dabi hummed in acknowledgement, before looking over the maps again, trying to figure out where exactly is AFO’s kingdom. The last time he went there was years ago when your mother was still alive. And at that time, he remembers going through land, but he cant find that route anymore, probably due to some quirk AFO used to hide his kingdom. “Did the spies find out where this mysterious island is?” Shotou shook his head. “Havent heard from them yet. They’re still at Emperor Kai’s castle, I should think that Kai isn’t announcing the whereabouts out loud. He’s not stupid.” Dabi shot him a glare. He knows Kai, knows he has spies there, all kings have spies in their homes. “Sure, but he is stupid enough to not come to me the instant that traitorous rat came to him.” Shotou was well aware of who he was referring to- your servant Tomura. “Well, then you know that if  the emperor is aware that you know that he’s also preparing for war with AFO,  then he must have a good reason for not telling you.”

“Yeah? What could possibly be a good reason to tell me that my daughter, my only child is alive?” Dabi was not in the mood to be accepting any excuses. “Don’t speak for others Shotou.”

The younger brother didn’t press further. “I still want to come along, help you find Y/n.”

Dabi shook his head. “I know you do, but you’re more helpful to me here. I cant trust anyone else with the kingdom while I’m away.” Shotou would bring up that their father, Enji, could help with overseeing kingdom affairs in their absence, but Dabi is already on edge as it is and… well Shotou’s not stupid.

“You’ll find her.” Shotou patted Dabi’s shoulder.

“I know.”

“Don’t be mad at her.”

A soft smile formed on his lips. “I’m not.”

At this point, all the man wanted was to wrap his arms around you and never let go.

 

The emperor had already reached the port. Kai remained on his horse as he watched his men board the remaining stuff on the ships, Hari by his side who made sure everyone was doing their job. Though Hari couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to Tomura who stood to the side, face expressionless, which annoyed Hari because he couldn’t read him.

How could he just stand there as if he hadn’t made the grave mistake of losing you, the emperor’s most important treasure?

Hari was well aware of Kai’s favoritism towards you, and anyone who really knew Kai would easily see why. Your innocence, naivety, everything- it reminded him of the emperor’s late daughter. Though Kai only came to know of her value when she was no longer in this world, Hari knew how much it pained him. The emperor may be good at covering his feelings, but Hari, his confidant knew- and saw what the emperor had gone through when he had lost his young one. That’s why Kai had been working day and night to find you.

That’s why Hari couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just kill Tomura, the man who was responsible to bring you to the empire as promised.

But as much as he wanted Kai to reconsider killing the traitor, he knew better than to question his emperor.

With everything now loaded onto the ship, it was time for Kai to board it, only to halt when he heard the sound of horses galloping in distance.

Turning around, he saw black flags with blue flames-

“King Dabi.” Hari said, and Kai gave him a nod and Hari looked back at the soldiers, calling them to take position.

“Be alert! Protect the emperor!” The army took their position, pulling their weapons out, ready for a massacre.

Kai never broke contact as Dabi’s knights neared, neither did his neutral face expression change when he spotted Dabi looking furious on his mighty dark horse.

When Dabi and his men reached them, the silence from both sides were deafening. The rulers locking eyes with each other as soldiers on both sides could feel their hearts beating loudly.

Kai didn’t break a sweat as Dabi glared at him. Why should he when Kai isn’t doing anything wrong?

“Going somewhere?” Dabi sneered.

Kai gave a nod. “I am.”

“Where?”Dabi asked, the smile dropping.

Kai remained silent. It was clear that Dabi was aware of his secret rescue mission. All that remains now is whether Kai should lie and possibly cause a war right here, right now, or tell him the truth and cause a war right here, right now.

“To AFO’s kingdom. I’m going to rescue princess Y/n.”

It was so terrifyingly quite, that not even sounds of nature could be heard. As if the birds and the bugs, the leaves and bushes, they were all holding their breath in anticipation.

“Oh? So you’ve known where my daughter is all this time?” Dabi pulled out his sword, as did his men. “And you decided to keep this information from me?”

Kai held up a gloved hand, signalling his men to hold, to not attack. “The information is news to me as well. Princess Y/n’s royal servant Tomura came to me a few days back and told me about her whereabouts. I only didn’t tell you because I am not sure if this information is true as well.”

Dabi’s glare shifted from Kai to Tomura. “Why should I believe you when that traitor still has his head?”

“Tomura hasn’t been killed because he’s the only one who knows where the princess is. With him dead, the chances of ever finding her slim to none. He came to me instead of you because you would’ve killed him the moment he set foot in your kingdom.” Kai explained, watching Dabi’s eyes full of distrust shift between him and the servant. But with distrust, there was also doubt.

What if Kai is telling the truth?

The seed of doubt had been planted, and now was Kai’s turn to change the narrative.

With his hand pointing towards the ships, Kai spoke. “You’re welcome to join us, King Dabi. We certainly have enough space for you and your men. The more, the merrier.”

Dabi stared at him for a few seconds before snapping his fingers and his men began retreating. “No need, we have our own ships. You may give us the servant so he can lead the way.” With Kai’s orders, his men also began retreating as the emperor got off his horse to speak privately with Dabi, who had also gotten off his horse.

“That is a reasonable request, but I must deny it. You see, I cant risk you chopping off the head of the one person who knows where this mysterious kingdom is. You can follow us.” Kai said with a small smile.

“Follow you? The man who hid knowledge of my daughter’s existence? Every single fiber in my body is screaming at me to kill you and that traitorous bastard!”

“But Y/n-“

Dabi cut him off. “You think you care more about Y/n than her own father?”

Kai shrugged. “I said no such thing. But if these past months have been clear proof that you’re making actions based on your feelings, and right now, that is not the best strategy to save Y/n. I know you think I have ulterior motives, and if I were you, I wouldn’t believe a word coming out of my mouth. But we have to put our differences aside, Dabi. Don’t be so distrusting of the man you would send your daughter to for training. Besides-” The emperor’s smile dropped. “-everyone knows about your strained relationship with Y/n. I’ve heard the last spat between you two was… very damaging. And for who?” 

Who- referring to the little feathery whore Keigo.

“Careful, Kai. I can still bury your empire right here, right now.” Dabi threatened.

Kai didn’t waver. “You could try, but now is not the time to be blinded with your emotions.” He turned around, but casted a glance back. “And lets not kid ourselves, Dabi. You and I both know my men can harm you just as much. But Y/n wont benefit from unnecessary bloodshed.”

Dabi grit his teeth as he watched Kai return to his ship. The emperor puts on his gilded beak mask on.

If Dabi ever thought it was okay to prefer a concubine over his own daughter, then maybe I do care for Y/n more than her own father.

-

Soon enough, Dabi and his men, accompanied by allies like Bakugo and the barbarians, and Empresses Momo and her army set sail, following closely behind Kai’s ships.

Dabi stood on the starboard of the ship, gazing downwards at the water. His mind is occupied by multiple things- you, AFO, Kai’s intentions with you, the supposed “allies”, military strategies, but mostly you.

Are you well? Are you hurt? Do you miss him? Are you still mad at him-

“Dabi?” Keigo called, coming beside him. “What are you doing here? Come inside and eat.” Dabi didn’t move, and Keigo could see that his mind was elsewhere.

Wrapping his arms around Dabi, he kissed his ear. “We’ll find her, Dabi.” Keigo whispered. “We’ll find her and we’ll bring her home and then we will have a huge celebration and everything will be alright again.”

“None of this would’ve happened if I didn’t yell at her.”

Keigo looked at Dabi and he could see the guilt swimming in his eyes. “If I just hadn’t- made her angry, let her go- she would’ve been safe.” He paused. “What happened to us? She- she used to love me, was a proper daddy’s girl, Kei. Her eyes would lit up whenever she saw me and I would pick her up and waltz. She would tell me about her day, ramble on and repeat everything twice. But now… she won’t even speak to me more than a few words- those too out of courtesy and respect for the crown. Not me. She loathes me- I can feel it. And it fucking hurts because I know I’m the one who created this distance between us.”

“Dabi-”

“I put my only child in harm, Keigo. This is all on me.” He confessed remorsefully.

The two of them remained silent, the ocean air blowing through their hair.

Until Keigo dug his nails into Dabi’s arms. “Then you will find her.”

“Kei-“

“No.” Keigo pursed his lips. “No- I refuse to let you- you must find her Dabi, more so now. You must- you must and make amends with her. All is not lost. We can- you can still have everything. Y/n- she needs us right now, and when we find her, she will need you and she will love you more, and she will think the world of you. So get it- collect yourself. Be at one with yourself and find Y/n. I don’t care who you have to hurt, what you have to kill, burn the whole fucking world as long as you bring Y/n home.” He looked at Dabi, the king who’s pupils had dilated. “You understand? Fucking promise me Dabi-!” Keigo spat but was cut off as Dabi crashed his lips against his, Dabi’s heart swelling with love at hearing how much Keigo adored you.

“I promise you.”

 

“Position the cavalry here, and make sure the archers are present here. Make sure that there are soldiers surrounding the parameters of the island. The enemies could attack from any side.” AFO ordered his generals as he discussed military strategies. With Tomura escaping, AFO knew that he would be leading Dabi right to the island. But AFO was not worried. Not at all. He was prepared, and even if Dabi brought a couple of allies, they wouldn’t be able to defeat his army of Nomus.

What he was worried about was, well, you. Ever since your failed escape attempt, you’d been crying and refusing to eat anything at all. Your hunger strike is doing nothing but harm your own health.

And now that he sees a servant that was sent to your room with food return with a distressed look, AFO sighed. “She didn’t eat, did she?” The servant bowed before replying, “No, my King. The princess- she refuses to eat lunch. And the dinner sent to her last night, it also remains untouched.” AFO closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. How much longer will you keep this up? He cant focus on the war when all he can stress about is if you’ve eaten or not?

Sensing the distress of the ruler, Kurogiri stepped up to help. “My King, if you allow, may I handle this matter?”

AFO knows you’re not… exactly fond of him or Kurogiri at the moment but… what else can he do now?

He nodded.

Its worth a shot.

 

The Nomu watched in silence as you laid on the floor, tear streaks now dried on your cheeks, hair unkempt and greasy, complexion sickly pale, disheveled appearance over all. A chain around your ankle, long enough for you to move around the room, yet you continue to lie on the floor, mostly because you just don’t have the energy to get up. The lack of nutrients and dehydration, it was starting to take a toll on you, not only physically but mentally as well. How do you know?

Well, for starters, you could see your dead mother standing in the corner.

“Y/n?” She called out. You blinked.

She was right next to you, on her knees, a very concerned look on her face.

“Mama?”

“Oh baby, what have you done to yourself?” She whispered, blowing cold air on your sweaty forehead.

“Mama?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I cant stay for long, Y/n but-” She smiled sadly. “-I’m here now.”

You smiled back at her, even though you knew she wasn’t real, you still believed for a moment that she was.

“Y/n.”

“Yes, mama?”

“Have you been taking care of dad?”

“Mine? No. Yours? Also no.” You mumbled. “Dad and I fought, we always fight it seems. And grandpa? I- well- I’m mad at him. He kept me here, created more misunderstandings between me and dad and now wants to kill dad for revenge and apparently for “my sake” too.”

She brushed your hair with her fingers. “Seems like you’ve been busy.” She booped your nose. “Still, you’re the only one who can fix it all.”

“How?”

“You’ll figure it out. But the war mustn’t happen, Y/n.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Well I am a figment of your imagination, aren’t I?” She chuckled. You smiled as well. You missed her laugh. Its so delicate.

“I have to go now, baby.” She whispered, a cold kiss pressed to your cheek.

“Mama?”

“Hm?”

“I miss you.”

“I know, honey.” She pointed at the door. “You have company, darling.”

Just then, the door slammed open and your pupils widened at the sight of him.

“Y/N!”

Dabi.

“Dad?”

He rushed towards you, eyes wild as he took in your form. “Oh my- are you hurt?! What did he do?!” He asked checking you over for injuries. You looked so weak, as if the air itself was harsh enough to hurt you.

“You’re here.” You whispered. Dabi’s eyes softened, as he nodded. “I am. And I’m sorry that it took so long. But I’m here now, and I’ll get you out of here. Can you stand?”

With tears of relief in your eye, you shook your head. “I- I cant. Too tired.” Dabi nodded again before pulling out his water container, supporting your head as he helped you hydrate. “Better?” You hummed, smiling at him weakly as he laid your head in his lap. You missed him.

“I have an energy cube- this.” He pulled out a small blue cube. “It should give you enough energy to walk. I’d carry you, but I cant use my quirk without hurting you.” He pushed the cube towards your lips. You turned your head away. “It stinks. Like shrimp.”

He chuckled. “So? Come on, eat it. Then we can get out of here.” You stared at him, brows knitting together.

“Are you still mad at me?” you asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Dabi smiled sadly. “I never was, Y/n. I never truly could be. You- you’re a part of me-” “-and mom.” “-and your mom. You’re my daughter, my pride and joy, my most treasure jewel. You’re the most precious to me, Y/n.”

“I-.” You smiled sadly, nuzzling into him. “- can I ask you something? If you allow-“Always.”

“Did you- did you visit her? Mom?” You asked softly. “I know- you don’t like her, nor do you believe in talking to the dead but… I just wanted to know if you visited the royal cemetery behind my back? The caretakers sometimes forget to clean her tomb.”

Dabi looked into your hopeful eyes, his blue orbs just taking in your appearance. “I did.” He answered. “I talked to her, well I mostly confessed, begged her and god to help me find you. Don’t worry though, the caretakers looked well after the cemetery.” He brought the energy cube to your lips again. “Now, eat this so that we can get out-”He was cut off by you smacking the cube out of his hand and laughing dryly at him.

“Do you take me for a fool?”

Dabi’s brows furrowed. “Y/n-”

“Princess Y/n. How dare you talk to me like we’re equals?!” He shook his head, his hand coming to cup your cheek but you pushed yourself away from him, practically throwing yourself away.

“How dare you try to touch me?!” You shrieked. “HOW DARE YOU PRETEND TO BE A KING, YOU IMPOSTOR?! SHIFT BACK NOW! SHIFT OR I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL DECAPITATE YOU MYSELF!! SHIFT!” The door opened and Kurogiri walked in. He nodded at Dabi.

“You can leave now, Himiko.” The impostor shifted back to a blonde girl. You remember seeing the servant before, when she helped Tomura with ironing your clothes. Kurogiri kneeled in front of you, looking at you with a slightly unamused look you imagine. “How’d you know?” How? How are you to explain that you know your father well enough to know that he would never visit your mother? How do you explain that he hated her so much that he didn’t even think she deserved to be buried in the royal cemetery, but rather in an unguarded, unmarked grave without anyone but you and Tomura to care for?

You laughed dryly at him. “What? You didn’t think I wouldn’t recognize my own father?” Kurogiri shrugged “You haven’t been showing many signs of intelligence; escaping, defending your father, going on a useless hunger strike are just a few examples.”

“Its pissing you off. I’d say they were pretty intelligent decisions.”

“All you’re doing is worrying your grandfather. He can’t focus on the war because he’s concerned about you.”

“Good. I don’t want the war to happen.”

“The war is going to happen, King AFO will win and your father will die-“ “No-” “Yes. And deep down, you know your he deserves to die. You know that it’d better for you to stay here, because you will never be a priority to him, just like your mother never was.”

“Dad didn’t kill her-”

“Perhaps not. But he never loved her, he humiliated her and you publicly when he started sleeping with that concubine. He made your mother unhappy, he kept you in the dark about your maternal grandfather, refused to let him contact you- his only grandchild, his only heir to this kingdom, his- his daughter’s only reminder. Are these not crimes but punishable by death? King Dabi may have not directly killed your mother but he was an accomplice to the murder, he never believed, let alone punish his concubine. He didn’t even believe you, his own daughter, his blood and flesh! What father would allow a murderer around his own child? He does not care about you, never has and never will!” Kurogiri told you. “This war? He’s not fighting it to save you, he’s fighting it to hurt King AFO! You mean nothing to him!’

“No!” Tears escaped your eyes. “You don’t know anything! But I’m telling you to stop this war. If you don’t- countless lives will be lost! Innocent people will die!”

“The people are prepared to die. Not that they will, your dear grandfather is very strong. You shouldn’t underestimate him. He will defeat King Dabi, and he will avenge your mother.” He pulled out another energy cube, placing it on your bed. “Eat it or not, I’m going to tell your grandfather that you’re well. I won’t let your stubbornness distract him.” He turned to leave, halting at your voice.

“Kurogiri, please. This war… it cant happen.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Your father has been begging for a war for a long time. Its about time he pays for the consequences, princess.” He said before leaving.

One of the knights rushed into AFO’s busy court, just as Kurogiri returned. AFO of course looked at Kurogiri first, the latter’s calm demeanor assured the king that he had taken care of the errand he was given. Then he looked at the knight who was trying to catch his breath.

“A-apologies for running in unannounced, my king! But they’re here!” He took a large gulp of breath in to compose himself.

“King Dabi is here!”

The court went silent as they looked to their king, awaiting his panic for Dabi had reached earlier than expected. But AFO remained collected, nodding his head as he turned to address his court.

“Prepare yourself. Alert the people about this as well, so that they may take necessary measures.” He started giving out orders to his generals, pausing to tell Kurogiri to release the several Nomus that are under his control.

“They won’t hurt my subjects, assure the people of that will you?” Kurogiri bowed his head before teleporting to carry out his orders.

By the time he returned, AFO sat alone on his throne, wearing his armor. Kurogiri walked closer to him, and couldn’t help but notice a certain amount of sadness in his eyes.

“Your majesty?” He called out, but AFO didn’t look up at him.

“Y/n reminds me so much of her.” Ah, the late queen. “From the way she looks, to her having the same mannerisms, the same affection for animals-” AFO chuckled. “-they even have the same furrow in their brows when their mad. Y/n… she’s just like her isn’t she?” Kurogiri agreed, because he thought so too. In fact, if it weren’t for your painfully annoying naivety, your rebelliousness, your incessant need to defend Dabi and your urge to make everything unnecessarily difficult for your grandfather, he’d say you were your mother reincarnated.

“I wanted to see her, talk to her one last time before leaving, just to assure her that I’d win, that she need not to worry her head over this matter because I’d take care of everything. Because I’d protect her. But-“ AFO paused, as if the words got caught in his throat. “-I couldn’t. I couldn’t because she’d beg me not to. She’d cry and cry and I just cant- I cant go to war with the sight of her like this Kurogiri. She used to cry like that for him too; my daughter- and now Y/n. They were always blinded by their pure hearted nature, always loved that bastard too much to see that he does not care about them.” Kurogiri will never forget the day your mother had died. King AFO, he was absolutely crushed. He had never seen him like this, the look of utter despair, utter defeat, as if someone had dethroned the king and cut off his limbs with an axe and left him to be feasted on by vultures. The king loved his daughter very much. She was the apple of his eye, his light, his only heir. He never wanted her to marry Dabi, but when she claimed that she had fallen in love with him, he couldn’t help but give in. He would’ve given her the world if she’d asked, but just a few months into the marriage and AFO sensed that he may have made a grave mistake. He gave her several opportunities to escape that marriage, to help her leave that ungrateful bastard, but despite everything, your mother just smiled and continued to claim that she loved Dabi until her last breath. AFO doesn’t know for sure if your mom really loved Dabi as much as she claimed to, especially after concubine Keigo came into the picture. He thinks that you may have been the main reason why she stayed in that unhappy marriage. Perhaps she thought that by birthing Dabi a heir, she might get the love and respect she deserves. But Dabi… he didn’t get rid of Keigo, or even tried to hide his affairs, not even for your sake. You were a child, a product of a broken marriage. AFO wasn’t sure how he felt about you initially, mostly because he thought you’d tied her daughter down in this nightmare of a marriage. But the first time and the only time your mother brought you over to her homeland, AFO (as well as others) were immediately enamored by you. You looked like your mother when she was an infant. When he first held you in his arms, he knew instantly that he was wrapped around your tiny finger for the rest of his life. He swore to himself and to your mother that he would protect you for eternity. But then, Dabi had the audacity to forbid you from visiting AFO, and a few years later, he banned AFO from ever visiting his kingdom, effectively cutting his contact with you, his only grandchild.

That should’ve been enough reason for AFO to start a war with him, but your mother managed to convince him otherwise, promising that she’ll talk to Dabi about this matter.

Later that year, your mother was killed.

And AFO never truly recovered from that loss. What father could?

“This war, she thinks isn’t necessary. She thinks I’m some monster who has it out for her dear father. But she’ll never accept it that Dabi- he isn’t participating in this war to save her. He’s coming because he wants to hurt me. He wants to take her away from me and rub it in my face that she will face the same fate as my daughter did. He wants to take her away so that he can tell me that I failed to protect them both.” He finally looked at him. “I won’t make the same mistake again, Kurogiro. I wont.” AFO stood up from his gilded throne. “I will kill Dabi today, and I will win this war. Your job is to protect princess Y/n. Teleport her to safety if need be.” Kurogiri bowed his head, as AFO continue. “And if things go south due to some unforeseen circumstances, I want you to prioritize Y/n’s life over mine.”

Kurogir’s eyes widened. “Your Majesty, that won’t be-“

“I know, but still. I want you to promise me, Kurogiri. Her life over mine. Prioritize Y/n over me.”

Kurogiri bowed, placing a hand over his heart.

“I promise, my king.”

 

AFO watched the shore from a distance, his army in position with him. His main order was to distance the enemy away from the castle where you were trapped in, guarded by a Nomu, some knights and Kurogiri.

“They’re near, my king.” One of the generals said, watching through his binoculars. “I count about 300 ships, about 200 baring King Dabi’s flag, 70 belonging to the imperial house of Yaoryuzu, while 30 belong to some barbarians.”

AFO didn’t respond for a few moments, simply staring ahead, before his lips quirked ever so slightly. “There’s more. Look again.” He said. The general was confused but he looked again, now with a few soldiers also searching the waters, tilting their heads a little and that’s when they saw it.

Like a mirage in the desert, when the heat starts to play tricks on your eyes, the wind dancing around to create an illusion, they were able to make out the faintest silhouette of very large fleet. It was as if there was a curtain, produced by nature to hide the enemy.

But AFO knew better. It was no natural phenomenon, but actually an invisibility quirk.

Tomura had mentioned about an emperor who was going to take you in before you came here. Perhaps, its him.

Its time to put an end to all of this.

 AFO began giving out orders. “Prepare the canons! Archers, take position! Sakura regiment and Ume regiment, take formation A and charge forwards at command!” The soldiers took their respective positions, holding their breaths as they awaited the king’s next command. AFO wanted to attack first, end the war before it could really begin.

AFO counted down as Dabi’s ships came closer.

5.

4.

3.

2.

I love you, Y/n.

1.

“FIRE!” The canons blasted, followed by- “DRAW!” The arrows flew, but neither the cannonballs nor the arrows ever hit the enemy because they all disintegrated in the sky high fire wall surrounding the entire perimeter of the island.

“What the…” The soldiers, and even AFO was momentarily shocked, and the enemy used that element of surprise to strike. One second the boundaries of the island were surrounded by hellish blue flames, and in the next, thousands of men suddenly lunged through the fire, completely unharmed and charged towards AFO’s army from all directions. On his left, he saw loud explosives going off in the sky, and he immediately spotted the brash blonde roaring as his hands fired blasts after blasts.

Must be a barbarian.

He heard another loud crash behind him, and there he spotted a massive army comprising mainly of female warriors, who were being led by a fierce woman wearing red and gold armor, indicating that she belonged from the imperial house of Yaoryuzu.

And then he heard the screams.

Whipping his head back to the front, he saw the villager’s house up in blue flames, Dabi appearing through the smoke, a manic grin on his face as he locks eyes with him.

Of course, leave it to Dabi to attack the women and children first. He’s a heartless bastard.

With a wave of his hand, heavy clouds appeared over the burning houses and poured rain. AFO’s face remained neutral as Dabi began inching his way closer to him, slaughtering anyone and everyone that stood in his way, even his own men. AFO stared at him dead in the eyes before smiling suddenly because right in the next moment, a Nomu flew and jumped right onto Dabi.

Guess he’ll have to wait for a bit until he can kill Dabi.

Although Katsuki and Momo were tearing through the crowds, swinging their swords and killing enemies easily, and had this been any other war, they might've even enjoyed it. But right now, all they could think about was finding you, both parties have the same motive but neither will attempt to work together to find you quicker. No, not when they wanted to play your "Knight in shining armour", because clearly, whoever saves the princess gets the favour of king Dabi and the love of princess Y/n. Clearly, when they find you, you will throw yourself at them and practically beg them to marry you.

Somehow they had found their way to the high towers where you were locked in, individually taking the opposite routes and hoping the other one dies before they reach you. They killed all the knights and the devoted servants that blocked their way until they stood at the opposite ends of the hallway, bloodied and staring at each other. Words did not need to be shared for the threat to heard-

Back off.

Of course, neither one would. Not when they're this close to making you theirs forever. The two charged at each other, swords drawn and quirks going off, all while neither one of them knew that Kurogiri had already teleported you to the secret passageways underground the moment he saw them coming for the hightower, and now all that was waiting for them in that room up there was the Nomu assigned to protect you.

So, whoever wins Bakugo VS Yaoryuzu battle will have to die at the hands of the Nomu.

Kurogiri almost wished he could watch it all unfold with AFO.

But no, he has to carry you to safety- he promised his king. He paid no mind to you sluring out threats as you went in and out of consciousness, clearly still persistent on starving yourself.

"I'd kill you... my dad- d-dad will kill you and the the- villagers-" you mumbled, eyes closed as your cheek rested against his chest, the man carrying you in his arms.

"Yeah? And then what?" He hummed.

"He'll kill- kill everyone and- and burn thi-s place to- to the the ground and it'll be-" you choked on a sob "-it'll be all my fault!"

"Well, you don't need to worry about that. Your grandfather is a skilled fighter, he will easily decapitate Dabi. Have some faith!" He cheered while you whined into his shoulder. "Now, now, princesses don't whine. I must say, I am excited for your princess training when the war is over. I'll personally see to it that you learn all the manners and ethics of royalty, your father didn't do a good job at finding you a good teacher."

"The late queen appointed me as her teacher, personally. You would be wise not to say anything about the princess's training lest you want a painful death, Kurogiri."

You both looked behind at the source of the voice, opposite emotions coursing through you both as you caught sight of him-

Tomura Shigaraki.

"Tomu~" you whispered, getting teary eyed as you looked at the once gentle eyed, lanky armed, always presentable, invisible servant to now a far more bulked up warrior with his hair unkempt and his eyes wild yet clear.

Kurogiri didn't waste another second as he opened the warp gate and teleported you out of there, Tomura calmly promising you that he'll find you soon. While it would've been easy for Kurogiri to escape along with you, he preferred to deal with Tomura now and be done with it.

Tomura charged at the man, and Kurogiri had his sword drawn out, teleporting just when the former neared. The shadowed man appeared around him and sliced the skin on his arm.

"So weak, its pathetic. How you were allowed to be near the princess is beyond me." Kurogiri said, dodging the swing of Tomura's blade, before kicking him in the stomach, making the latter cough blood. "You were never strong enough to be the princess's guard, or a servant. But I always did think that you'd be smart-" Tomura grunted before quickly jumping and stabbing the sword into Kurogiri's abdomen, but the taller man remain unfazed. "-Guess not." Kurogiri said, before swallowing the sword into his body, warping it to an unknown destination, Tomura's eyes going wide as his hand started to get warped too, but then... he smiled. A sinister grin stretched on Tomura's face as he spoke.

"And your biggest mistake Kurogiri is that you underestimate me." He said before grabbing Kurogiri's neck brace with both hands and disintegrating it until he reached his neck, destroying it too.

Kurogiri was now a pile of ashes at Tomura's feet.

What a waste... of my time.

Tomura thought before he began looking for you again.

On the other side of island, right in the middle, Dabi had just spent the last hour fighting the Nomu that was cannon balled on him. He finally defeated the monstrosity, and it had taken a slight toll on his body. And since AFO saw the battle, he was more than happy to send a couple more his way.

While Dabi began fighting those brainwashed giants again, AFO's mind was still preoccupied by the enemy fleets that were hiding behind an invisibility quirk. They were still nowhere to be seen, and AFO could sense they were plotting something.

AFO looked towards his castle, thinking whether he should call Kurogiri and deal with this hidden enemy and also check up on you, but decided against it because he did not want anyone to know where you were.

He looked back towards Dabi, to see if he'd been crushed to death or not, but instead found him hovering up in the sky, body ablaze and his eyes staring right back at him.

And then... he flicked his wrist.

In just a few seconds, the entire island was covered in smoke. It was dark and suffocating, and when AFO heard people screaming in pain, he could only imagine the horrors Dabi was inflicting on them.

The thick black air made it impossible to see more than just a few steps ahead, and everyone was swinging their swords at anyone and everyone, and those who weren't fighting, were killed by the lack of air.

AFO used his quirks to aid him in breathing and killing, years of training finally coming to use. But truthfully, he couldn't see where he was going even with his quirks. And that's how he ended up in front of you.

You were lying on the ground, unconscious, the side of your head bleeding slightly because after Kurogiri teleported you, your knees buckled and you hit your head on a tree branch.

With neither Kurogiri nor Nomu in sight, AFO couldn't help but wonder what possible trouble could've found them to leave you so dangerously near the battlefield.

AFO kneeled and placed his hand on your cheek, activating his quirk so you'd be able to breathe and not inhale the deadly fumes your father has spread.

He caressed your cheek, silently praying that you didn't inherit your mother's asthma. AFO was sure you hadn't, from the detailed reports he had gotten you never mentioned anything, but... he wouldn't put it past Dabi not to notice you dying to catch your breath.

Poor baby. AFO sighed before calling one of the Nomus (through telepathy) to come. He'd need someone to carry you to safety while he fights.

"Get your filthy paws off her!" Someone yelled from above, AFO barely missing the sharp feather that shot past him.

Keigo.

The winged concubine was hovering above him, wearing battle armour, a sharp contrast to the whore clothes he usually wears. The king remembered him from the last time he visited his daughter at Dabi's place, trying her absolute best to contain her tears while Dabi refused to welcome AFO because he was "busy with important affairs", only for them to hear Dabi and Keigo committing adultery in the court room, your mother hanging her head down in shame as she ushered AFO to move so that she could show him your nursery.

AFO never forgot nor forgave the humiliation he and your mother had to face, and it was even more insulting when he finally saw the bitch Dabi was sleeping with. AFO did consider at first that your father must be either blind and deaf or under the affect of some quirk to be brainwashed enough to think that Keigo was an acceptable replacement for your mother, or even for royalty. It wouldn't be wrong to say that years of resentment had AFO plotting for revenge against him as well.

Another feather shot past him, AFO only tilting his head slightly to dodge the arrow.

The corner of AFO's lips quirked a little.

This ought to be fun.

AFO looked back at your face, still unconscious, and a small part of him wished you'd be awake for this. You'd definitely enjoy this. Oh well.

"I said, get the hell away-!" Keigo's voice got caught in his throat, as if some invisible force was squeezing his throat. Like a fish out of water, Keigo thrashed in air, his hands on his neck trying to release the compression so that air could reach his lungs.

Without looking away from you, AFO spoke.

"Dont yell. I don't want you to disturb my granddaughter." He flicked his wrist and a small domain formed in which all of Dabi's smoke was vacuumed out instantly. The sky was clear, and so was the way he was about to torture Keigo.

AFO further constricted Keigo's throat, making him start to turn blue. In retaliation, he shot many of his feathers at AFO, raining down at him like arrows, but they stopped mid air before they could ever reach him.

"Now that could've hurt Y/n. Involuntary manslaughter... how should I punish you for that?" The king thought outloud, getting up on his feet and looking at the bird that was gurgling for air. "Perhaps, return the attack?" The feathers that had stopped mid-air slowly turned to face Keigo, all glintingdangerously. AFO grinned before suddenly opening his hand (that were controlling the feathers), prompting the feathers to shoot at Keigo.

The feathers revolved and attacked Keigo from all directions, and Keigo felt like he was trapped in a hurricane full of sharpened knives that slashed his skin from all sides.

A few moments later, the feathers stopped and Keigo fell to the ground with them. His armour had protected him from most stabs, but he was still bleeding.

"On to your next offence- killing my daughter and humiliating the royal family. Now, I don't have any evidence for the former except that Y/n accused you, and I don't really blame you completely for either crime because Dabi was mainly involved in it, you were just following orders. Still-" He sighed. "- You were an assailant. You assisted in a crime against royalty, you deserve to be punished." AFO flicked his index finger, lifting Keigo up in the air.

"I've always wondered what Dabi saw in you. Surely, there are prettier sluts than you- thats why he keeps his harem around, eh? It couldn't be possibly that you're strong or smart... and then it clicked! It's those larger than life wings of yours. The fiery red wings that compliment his blue flames. And not to mention how rare your quirk is... haven't seen any other winged humans that could actually fly. And knowing Dabi, that's all he views you as- a rare antique to own. A bird to keep in a gilded cage, if you will. So, thats how I'm going to hurt you and Dabi-" AFO chuckled, his hands making small movements to spread open Keigo's wings.

"I'm going to pluck you like a chicken."

AFO snapped his fingers as feathers began to be pulled slowly, one at a time, from the base painfully, making Keigo scream in agony.

You'd finally woken up by the sound of screams, heart pounding as you saw Keigo strung up in the air with his feathers being pulled out.

Too weak to move, you didn't realise someone was behind you until they covered your mouth, eyes widening in terror before calming down when you saw it Tomura. Placing a finger on his lips telling you to remain quiet as he began lifting you up to carry you out of there, only to stop when you let out an audible gasp as you looked behind him.

Nomu. The one AFO had called just minutes ago.

Tomura only had to take one careful step back to make it banshee scream, making Tomura drop you back down to cover his ears. At the monster's scream, AFO looked back, eyes narrowing at the sight of your traitorous servant.

"Oh, it's just you." He looked at Nomu nodding his head at Tomura. "Take care of him, will you?" You flinched when Nomu punched Tomura, throwing him far away from you. Tomura fortunately softened his landing and jumped back up, pulling out his sword. In order for Tomura to disintegrate the Nomu, he needs to get his hands on him long enough for him to turn into ashes but just before Nomu can crush his skull.

"Dont..." you whispered, eyes fixated on Tomura fighting for his life. Your gaze shifted to AFO,tears forming in your eyes as your lips wobbled. "Please... not him..." you begged, AFO's heart melting a bit at your pitiful sight. He'd give you the world if you'd ask, but getting rid of anyone that stood in his way to protect you was necessary. "Grandpa, please! I promise, I'll be- I'll be good! I won't leave! Ever! I'll do everything you say, just don't hurt Tomura! Please-!"

"Stop it, Y/n. The sovereign never begs." You heard someone say from behind you, making you turn your head to look at the familiar voice.

Dabi stood behind you.

"Have you learnt nothing from princess training? Or has someone been polluting your mind?" He looked at you, his gaze stern but you could see the way they lighted up when he saw you.

Daddy's here.

"Dad." You breathed out. His eyes softened visibly at the word. Oh how he had longed to hear that name again.

He smiled briefly at you before looking back at AFO and then at Keigo, who was still being tortured.

"Let him go. This is between you and me." Dabi said, hands set lighting up.

AFO raised a brow. "How brave of you to man up." He said before throwing Keigo so hard that his body slammed against a big tree, knocking him out. He looked at his Nomu and pointed at Tomura and Keigo. "Get rid of them both. Protect Y/n."

Dabi then launched multiple fireballs at him while AFO jumped back, dodging them all while making sure that you don't get hurt in the crossfire.

Seeing that as Keigo was unconscious and Nomu's full attention was on Tomura, you knew you had to butt in before it kills him.

With all your might, you got on your feet and staggered towards them, picking up one of Keigo's feathers. With unfocused eyes, you walked towards the Nomu, gripping the feather harder as you neared.

"Princess!" Tomura yelled. "Stay back! Stay back, Y/n!" Hearing your name, the Nomu turned around, only to find you holding the razor sharp feather against your neck.

Eyes cold, you stared at the Nomu.

"If he dies, so do I." You threatened, the Nomu's eyes widening. "I'll fucking do it, I swear to god I will. I'm so tired of this "protect Y/n" bullshit, I'm gonna end this stupid thing right here, right now." You slowly inched near the monster. "I should've died, should've killed myself years ago, right after mom died. You all failed to save her, made her life a hell, just like mine is now. My death, my doom is inevitable. But no one else should suffer because of me." You closed your eyes, hands moving to drag the deadly weapon across your neck when the Nomu screeched, falling to its knees, continuing to screech long after you'd dropped your feather.

The Nomu began crying, fat tears dropping down its face as you hugged it, the mutant wrapping its buff arms around you and lifting you up and close.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry I had to do this, but you wouldn't have listened otherwise." It- or well, his tears continued to wet your clothes as you patted his head, and you signalled Tomura not to activate his quirk and kill Nomu. "Its okay, I'm- I'm okay. But you can't protect me without protecting the people I care about. Do you understand what I'm saying?" The Nomu sniffled before nodding, almost like a child. "I care about Tomura, and I care about the villagers. So you must go back to the villagers. The village is under attack, and its burning down. Won't you save them for me? Protect the people I care about?" The Nomu seemed hesitant to leave you at first, but you continued to manipulate him. "If something happens to them, I'll never forgive myself. I'll die-" that was enough for Nomu to agree and leave you behind with a very heavy heart, only after you convinced him that Tomura wasn't a threat.

As soon as the Nomu left, your knees buckled and Tomura caught you before you could fall on your head. "That was... incredibly stupid." He commented. You smiled lazily, nuzzling your cheek against his chest. "I missed you too, Tomu." He pulled you closer to his chest in response, having trouble mustering up the words to express how sorry he was for taking so long, to apologise for not recognising AFO's intentions from the beginning, for being the reason why everything was happening.

But you just looked up at him, staring into his eyes with a soft expression as you whispered "Its okay, Tomura. Its not your fault." And just like that, all was well in the world.

But your happy reunion didn't last long, as Tomura sensed that you were in danger, and in the next second, he'd spun you around to the other direction, gasping as the air got knocked out of him.

You pulled away from him immeadiately, eyes bulging at the large red feather protruding from Tomura's stomach.

"I-" Tomura coughed up blood before falling to his knees, you quickly catching his head before it could hit the ground. Tears falling down your face, you found it hard to breathe as you stared at the crimson staining his shirt

"I knew you'd move." Keigo's voice made you look up, confusion evident on your face. Did he... do this? Keigo walked towards you two, smiling warmly yet with an unsettling look in his eyes, before he grabbed you by the shoulders and hugged you. "I know it looked like I was aiming for you, but I wasn't, love. I could never hurt you!"

Oh no.

You pushed away from him, sobs wracking your body as you tried to help Tomura but far too perplexed as to whether or not you should pull out the feather stabbing him.

But you weren't given much time to ponder upon it as the moment your hands touched his blood, you were instantly yanked back.

"Oh no, honey. You can't let yourself get dirty by his filthy blood. Your father will think you got hurt. Come on, now. Don't fight me on this. Let's go back to the ship." Keigo cooed as he began pulling you away from an unconscious Tomura, and you dropped to the ground to resist Keigo, but he continued to drag you by your arms before eventually picking you up and carrying you. And even though both of you knew that you were far too weak to escape his grip, you still struggled to break free.

Luckily for you, AFO was able to hear your distress calls for help. The moment you wailed to be let go, the instant you called out for Tomura, AFO's head whipped in your direction, veins popping at the sight of that murderer's hands on you, not even looking at Dabi as he blasted your dad away to a distance.

The mere sight of Keigo carrying you crying and sobbing pushed him over the edge, because for a moment he imagined it was his own daughter that was crying.

He is not losing you again.

The deafening sound of AFO's blast made Keigo look back, just to be punched in the face with enough force for him to drop you (as your grandfather caught you and placed you to the side) and land a couple hundred meters away. You immediately scrambled back to Tomura, but the sight of him lying in a pool of blood made you hyperventilate and cry as you prayed and begged for him to wake up while holding his hand in yours, heart dropping to the pit of your stomach as you realised....

There was no pulse.

Meanwhile, AFO jumped over to Keigo again, punching him over and over again until he was an unrecognisable pulp, before flipping him over and he began ripping out the rest of his feathers with his bare hands.

"HOW DARE YOU LAY HANDS ON HER?!" AFO roared, all sense of control out the window as he grabbed hands and snapped them like twigs, Keigo howling in pain.

Suddenly, AFO was kicked off the bird man, Dabi being the culprit of course, who was equally as blinded with rage as AFO.

The battle of quirks began, but as Dabi had one quirk and AFO had an amalgam of quirks, the winner here was clear.

Dabi's fire turned black as he surrounded the two of them with high walls of flames before releasing powerful fire based attacks, only for AFO to use his quirk to create a vacuum and suck out all the oxygen to not only put out the flames but also deprive Dabi of air.

With not being able to either use his quirk or breathe, Dabi didnt have any other choice but to try his luck with hand to hand combat, but the lack of air was getting to him and AFO was a skilled fighter who was able to dodge all of Dabi's punches before he fell to the ground clutching his throat.

AFO stood over him, years of hurt and anger poorly concealed on his face. "Suffocating, isn't it? You've only had to suffer through for a few minutes of something you made my daughter go through for years. For fucking years!" He punched Dabi, who was turning blue now. "She was my daughter, my beautiful daughter and she didn't do anything to deserve what you did to her! You and your slut killed her for what?! For hate? For jealousy? Even if you hated her, had you no heart to have mercy for the mother of your child!? Hell, you could've divorced her, left her, thrown her out of the damn castle if you hated her guts but you could've left her to me alive! YOU DIDNT HAVE TO KILL HER!" He grabbed Dabi by the collar, kicking him in the face. "I've waited to avenge my daughter for years. Today, you will die." AFO pulled out his sword, aiming at Dabi's neck to behead him.

"DROP THAT DOWN OR Y/N DIES!" Keigo threatened, who despite the beating he just took was standing on his feet with one of his sharp feathers against your neck. "I swear to fucking everything, if he dies, so will she!" He yelled as he yanked you by your hair back, and pressed the sharp edge harder against your skin.

AFO's eyes met your face, but you didn't even react as Keigo shook you by your hair, the catatonic state you'd just slipped into as your eyes never left Tomura.

"You wouldn't. You'd never live-" AFO's words died down as Keigo began dragging the feather, drawing blood. "STOP IT! Y/N- OKAY! OKAY!" AFO dropped his sword and released his quirk to allow Dabi to breathe, but AFO couldn't stop staring at you. It just- why didn't you struggle or even flinch at the blade being dragged across your neck, however superficially, it still must've hurt.

Did Tomura's death really affected you this much?

That blank face, that hundred yard stare- it all pained him greatly because it was exactly how he caught your mother when he saw her the last time. And it haunted him all these years that he was so powerless and blind to help his child. That she was so clearly in need of his help and he didn't save her.

But not you. No, no. Even if he has to rewind time itself, he will do so to help you.

"Y/n, Y/n, princess- look at me! I promise you- ill fix this! I'll fix everything! You want Tomura? I'll fix Tomura- just tell me what you want-" but AFO was left at a loss for words once more when you looked directly at him, with the same blank stare but with big fat tears rolling down your cheeks, as if to say that you've lost everything and it can't be helped.

You've failed to protect me.

AFO really did love you, with all his heart and that's why that hopeless, dead look in your eyes hurt him far more than the sword driven through his chest because his heart was already broken by your state. He was far too concerned with you to be aware of his enemy taking advantage of his distraction.

As Dabi began burning AFO, whispering things in his ear, AFO was for once slightly greatful to Keigo for covering your view of your grandfather being burned alive.

He did not want that sight of him to be in your memory.

With AFO being dead and no one to control mind control the Nomus, they stopped fighting and the remaining army of AFO, despite knowing that their king was dead still fought hard until the end to protect their new ruler- you. But with the large armies of the enemy and without Nomus help, they lost.

After finishing off AFO, Dabi walked towards you and Keigo, cold blue eyes staring at you before furrowing his brows as he pulled you in for a hug, you remained limp against him, even as he stroked your hair and said soft words of affirmation to you, giving Keigo a victory kiss.

With your eyes meeting Tomura's dead body, your mind allowed you the mercy of relieving you of consciousness.

Soldiers on both sides, along with the villagers that had now been captured, all watched as King Dabi carried his daughter with one arm, while his other supported Keigo's frail body, walking towards his ship, where his allies stood.

As he was about to climb on the ship, one of his generals asked "Your Majesty? About the prisoners of war, should we sell them or keep them as slaves?" He was referring to the army and subjects of AFO who were still alive.

Dabi didn't look up from your asleep face, smiling softly as you reminded him of when you were a baby.

"Burn them."

What? Even his own allies, even the barbarians, even the ever insane young Empress Momo was surprised at that. Surely, King Dabi would follow the code of conduct for war. Surely-

"Your Majesty-"

"Burn them. Burn it all. Burn the entire island." He then looked up at his assassins/spies Aizawa and Hizashi, nodding at them to see to it that his order is followed before boarding his ship, where Kai carefully took you from Dabi's arms to heal you while other healers came to help Keigo.

With Dabi and Keigo being bandaged and you lying on their in between them, they smiled and kissed once more, their victory only sweetening more with screams of people being burned alive in the background.

War is over.

So... what do u guys think???

PART 8 IS HERE

[gentrychild]

If the ask game is still open how about an Anyone au where when AFO asked about Izuku's family Izuku went on an hour long rant complete with a PowerPoint that illustrated all his special feelings about his dad

1 - In this AU, AFO actually had the courage to ask Izuku about his family and how he felt about his parents. Even if he lived for 200 additional years, he would still regret that decision. He certainly didn't expect for Izuku to spring The Power Point Of All Power Points detailing his hatred for his deadbeat dad, Midoriya Hisashi.

2 - Three hours into the Powerpoint, Izuku notices that AFO is crying. He asks him why and AFO says that it's because growing his eyes back left them sensitive and in need to be hydrated and how he will probably need to retire for the night soon to let let them rest. Izuku opens a drawer, threw eye drops at him, and continues his presentation. AFO should have known better than to open that Pandora Box and isn't allowed to leave until Izuku has ranted away all of his Daddy Issues.

3 - AFO, not wanting to meet his parents' fate, try to introduce Izuku to the idea that his father might have a good reason for leaving, that he might be dead or incapacitated. Izuku. Does. Not. Care. Izuku makes it clear that if Hisashi ever shows himself in front of him, he will throw him from a building as many times as it takes to kill him. AFO believes him.

4 - Time for Plan B: time to convince Izuku that his deadbeat dad is someone AFO wants dead. Since he is an ambitious man, he naturally picks Yagi, thinking that now that Izuku has stolen his quirk, it's time to take his life. He creates "proof" that Toshinori can change appearance and that his secret identity used to be Midoriya Hisashi. It's so convincing that Izuku breaks into the Might Tower with an album picture, several DNA tests and generally emitting a "????" sound.

5 - Now, All Might is an intelligent man who knows when someone is trying to pull an emotionally charged narrative climax where one murders his father. But since he is also dumb, he doesn't say "Mmm, your dad is AFO and is manipulating you. Also, could you give me back my quirk please." Instead, he says "I am so sorry, I had to leave to protect you and your mom, what do you mean you didn't get the child support and the unlimited AM merch I have been sending you every month?"

+ 1 - Now, Izuku isn't dumb either, knows that there is something fishy and if All Might is somehow truly his dad, he can't accept the "I abandoned you to protect you" excuse. But... Unlimited All Might merch. So he is willing to hear him out. As long as he keeps the merch coming.

+ 2 - All Might accidentally sics Izuku on the one who "stole the alimony and the All Might merch"... The HPSC President.

[sabindark]

Shouta shigaraki Au

I LOVE COMICS belonging to @teckmonky and her Au

[hatlordave]

I offer to tumblr my half-baked au where Deku and Monoma are both biologically half brothers through AFO.

[vam1mav]

|| IMPORTANT QUESTION HERE ||

|| Should I put my AU DFO here?? ||

|| it's just that I always keep these things to myself and it embarrasses me to share them anywhere, MORE if it is on social media ||

|| Idk, it's just- My autism is controlling me help- ||

[riahlynn101]

"....For Now...."

Summary: All for One - busy trying to form his perfect vessel - created his clone with the sole purpose of 'taking care' of the last of the Shimura lineage. Apparently, he should have chosen his words more carefully.

TW: All for One being himself and mentions of childbirth (but it's all offscreen).

Based on this nifty theory from marunalu (warning for those that haven't read the most recent leaked chapter. Not the clone part, that, as far as I'm aware, isn't a plot point at the moment....yet): https://www.tumblr.com/marunalu/746843305233530880/it-also-could-work-if-hisashi-is-the-afo-clone

Implied spoilers from 419! Nothing is explicitly said, but they're there.

--

From the moment of Hisashi’s creation (not conception. Conception is a word for other people. People not like him. People like him are made in labs with quirks and are forced to be an exact copy of someone better) he was given a single task. 

His better, the originator of his DNA code, All for One, handed him a file. 

Hisashi gripped the manilla folder. The movement still felt weird, new, he supposes in retrospect. Being confined to a lab, mostly in a tube or laid on a table, will do that to a person. 

“Inko Shimura,” All for One said, tone even, almost smug. “I need you to take care of her.”

Hisashi looked up at him. His mind - which had only seen the inside of a mad scientist’s laboratory - latched onto this seemingly easy task. The doctor - Garaki, if he recalled correctly - made him do endless amounts of lessons in language. 

All for One smiled at him, and he smiled back. 

“Understand?” His better asked, hovering over Hisashi who continued to hold onto the file. 

He did. “Perfectly.”

-x-x-x-

Creating a clone had been the doctor’s plan. He, the doctor, had one. And with his idol worship of All for One, it was the logical next step. 

All for One, though, hadn’t seen the use in having one. Outside of distracting heroes, the idea of having another one of him (literally) running around made All for One feel uneasy. He didn’t need another one of him. There only needed to be one him (just like there had only been one Yoichi). 

But the doctor was persistent, and with All Might growing closer and closer, he finally gave in. 

He gave up a vial of blood, and the doctor worked his magic. From nothing came something. And from that something, All for One eventually gained an extra set of hands. Which was especially helpful, given what needed to be done with the Shimura lineage. Or what remained of them anyway. 

All for One already had Nana’s son, Kotaro, and his family cornered. But it’s hard to keep an eye on and meddle in the affairs of her daughter - the one she tried so laughably hard to keep from him. Even abandoning her with no name in some hospital in the middle of nowhere. 

Inko Akatani was a nobody. Doomed to a lifetime of being ordinary and loveless. If All for One wasn’t so committed to being the most evil, he might feel a bit bad for her. The young woman had certainly never done anything to him, having not even been born when her biological father died. 

But he had a plan in mind. And his plans were absolute, at least when it comes to this. The slightest divergence could result in the whole outcome raining down on him like a house of cards. 

So, it should have been reasonable that he handed Inko Akatani’s file over to his clone. 

His clone that held the exact same memories as him, without the feelings attached to them, stared up at him. “Understand?” He asked. The poor foolish thing nodded, smiling. 

“Perfectly.”

And All for One didn’t think about Inko Akatani again ... until he did. 

-x-x-x-

It’s a hot day in the middle of July.

The Shimura family has whittled down to one. Well, it was supposed to be one.

He stands outside the hospital room. All for One would rather not blow his cover on something as silly as an inferior not following orders. A group of nurses pass him. They don’t spare him a single glance, likely already having been briefed by Garaki. 

All for One thinks about calling the buffoon again, but the last ten have all gone to voicemail. He has much better things to do instead of standing here. The only thing keeping All for One from bursting in is the uncertainty of the situation. 

He knows this is the labor and delivery floor. 

He knows that his clone is on the other side of the door with that Shimura woman. 

And he knows that she’s giving birth. 

Everything else is left up in the air. 

In hindsight, maybe leaving his clone to his own devices was a bad idea. 

There’s another scream. Loud and obnoxious, just as the last several have been. But there’s something different about them this time. Louder perhaps, or more concentrated instead of spread out. 

And then, it’s completely silent. 

Almost eerily so. 

The lights overhead buzz, flickering. And a phone rings somewhere near the nurse’s station down the hall. 

All for One starts to pull his cellphone out. Maybe now he can call-

A cry pierces the quiet. It’s shrill and high-pitch, like babies' cries tend to be. 

He stiffens. The noise is familiar - he’s heard infants cry aplenty - but something about it makes him a bit weak. And what scares him more is the fact that he can’t decipher in which way. 

All for One pushes past his moment of weakness to knock on the door loudly. 

A nurse answers the door, a scowl on her face. The moment she sees All for One her eyes widened. She wordlessly motions him inside. 

The room is filled with the sounds of a brand-new infant’s screams. Nurses huddle around the baby, blocking All for One’s view. He ignores it for now, turning to his real target. 

“Congrats, Akatani-san,” he says, walking over to the hospital bed. They look at him. Akatani-san’s hair is plastered to her forehead, and she’s a bit pale. She looks up at his clone. 

“Hisashi,” she murmurs. “Who is this?”

His clone looks between him and the last remaining Shimura pest (well, outside of Tenko, and now, the baby). He can almost hear him thinking from here, which is a shame because if he put a single thought into any of this in the first place, then none of this would be occurring. 

“A friend from work,” his clone says, pressing a kiss to Akatani-san’s temple in assurance. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“O-okay.”

He follows All for One back into the hallway. 

The minute the door is shut, All for One’s jabbing his finger into his clone’s chest. “You,” he spits, “had one job.”

“I know,” he says. “But I-”

“But nothing. I gave you a task. Not ten, not three, not two. One. The only reason you exist is to make my life easier, and how do you repay me?”

His clone narrows his eyes. “You told me to ‘take care’ of Inko Akatani, did you not?”

All for One blinks, confused. “Yes, and?”

“And I did.” His clone speaks as if it should be obvious. “I thought it would be hard and that I would have to fake it, but I was surprised how easy it was once I got to know her.” He clasps his hands together, swooning. “Inko is something special. Really she is.”

All for One tilts his head to the side. “What?”

“The hardest part was trying to befriend her without suspicion. But after that, we hit it off.” His clone furrows his eyebrows, looking at the ground. His next words are mumbled. “Maybe a little too well.”

Again, All for One can only reply with, “what?”

“Admittedly, it was a series of foolish decisions, but Inko got pregnant after only a few months of us dating. Which was quite a shock to the system, but I think we’re handling it pretty well.”

All for One finally processes what his clone is saying to him. “You….you had a child?” He can’t even summon the energy to be upset - the anger will come later, he’s sure of it. Right now he’s in shock. 

There’s a faint pink hue to his clone’s cheeks, as if he’s embarrassed. “Like I said, I know it was foolish on our behalf. But the baby and Inko are healthy and that’s all that matters.” His eyes sparkle with fatherly pride. 

The weak feeling returns, and All for One has to lean against a nearby wall. His clone gasps, laying a hand on his shoulder. 

“I want to hold it,” he says once the feeling has passed. “And that isn’t a request. Let me hold it, or there will be consequences far beyond your comprehension.”

“Don’t hurt my baby,” his clone pleads, sensing his anger. “I did everything right. I took care of her.”

“You fool,” All for One snaps. “When I said ‘take care of her’ I meant kill her. Not wine and dine and have a baby with her.”

“I don’t care. I won’t let you hurt them,” he says, without missing a beat. His voice is dripping with determination All for One’s only heard from dying One for All users. It brings his slowly brewing anger to the surface. 

“Now!” He hits the wall, denting it. 

His clone remains steadfast. “Promise you won’t hurt them.”

All for One grits his teeth. The weak feeling returns with a vengeance, but he’ll be damned if he shows that side of himself again. “Fine. Now, let me hold the baby.”

-x-x-x-

His clone passes him the baby. The tiny pathetic thing that shouldn’t exist. An abomination. The metaphorical wrench in his plans. 

All for One’s held lots of babies. Little Tenko being the most recent. But it always surprises him how small they are. And this one somehow feels even smaller. 

The white hair on its tiny head almost has a wave to it, and if it’s anything like his, he knows it will one day become untameable curls. His little hands are curled into tiny fists, and when All for One unballs one of them for a closer look, his heart drops into his stomach.

Because there, in the center of this little abomination’s palm, is a bottomless hole. Just like….

He swallows, putting the thought out of his mind.

It coos, tiny body curling closer to All for One’s chest. Its tiny head lays right over his heart, as if listening for his heartbeat. 

He stares down at the tiny pathetic thing, and it chooses right then, as he stares at it, to open its eyes. 

Green. They’re green. The exact same shade as Yoichi’s! 

All for One continues to stare. And in the little being’s eyes he sees everything that could have been. All the suffering and needless chasing of someone that never truly wanted to be his. He sees a life that could have been his, if only he gave up on One for All.

 He sees the innocence in those eyes. An innocence that he was never afforded, but instead of his usual thought of wanting to snuff it out. All he can think of is wanting to protect it for as long as humanly possible. 

This tiny, pathetic being, an abomination, the wrench in his plans, is suddenly the most important person in the world to All for One. To him, this child is beyond perfection. Perfectly imperfect. 

His brother used to say his power, All for One, could have been the kindest in the world. The fool had a heart of gold and a head full of air, but maybe Yoichi had been right about this one thing. Maybe with the right guidance and morals, the little one could show the world how not evil All for One as a quirk is.

And then, he remembers that the HPSC exists and all thoughts of heroics are thrown out the window. It’s through that thought that he remembers who he is. Evil through and through. 

(Then why does his heart feel so heavy all of a sudden?)

Still, the little one’s green eyes blink up at him. A lazy, barely-there smile on its face. He makes a decision right then, placing a palm on the infant’s downy head. 

“No!” His clone shouts, arms outstretched as he runs straight at All for One. “Don’t!” 

He sidesteps the man easily, removing his hand from the infant’s forehead. His clone rips the baby from his arms, backing away.

The clone roves the baby over for any outward injuries. 

“What did you do?” He hisses, eyes wild and wide. He holds the baby protectively to his chest. It doesn’t react, seemingly exhausted from having his quirk factor blocked. 

“I gave him a chance at a normal life.”

“That….that doesn’t answer my question.”

All for One sighs. “I used a combination of…..” he trails off. For once, the allure of monologuing about quirks doesn’t excite him. “It doesn’t matter.”

His clone glares at him. “It does matter. What the hell did you do to my son!?” 

Oh, so it’s a boy. Another thing the baby shares with Yoichi. 

“I gave him a chance.” I made him good. I made him, in society’s eyes, better. “The effects won’t be evident for about a year, but after that it will be like he never had All for One.”

“You- you took his quirk!?” The man looks two seconds from pummeling All for One to the ground. His arms seem to shield the tiny bundle from view. A father’s protective rage driven almost to the brink. 

Even with a weak appearance-altering quirk to help his clone blend in (making him shorter and giving him softer facial features), All for One feels somewhat threatened. Of course, clone of him or not, the pathetic copy of himself won’t stand a chance. All the so-called powerful quirks were withheld just in case. 

“No,” All for One drawls, annoyed. “I blocked it. Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know society won’t accept him.”

“Because of you.”

He smirks, relishing in the way his clone squirms. “I’ll let you think that.” 

The baby cries, and All for One has to fight the urge to reach out for him. His clone shushes the infant, bouncing him. “Shh, it’s okay, Izuku.”

Izuku , he thinks to himself. What a perfect name for such a perfect being.

The weak feeling returns. He watches the scene with a sense of longing. His fingers twitch at his sides. “I can hold him-”

“No,” his clone snaps at once. 

All for One stands down, though he quickly grows impatient. He has much better things to do, especially if his clone can’t even calm a crying baby (Izuku. His name is Izuku. I will remember that name from now until the end of time. My child. My baby. My Izuku). 

“Well, I should be going,” All for One says, turning on his heels. He stuffs his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from trying to steal the baby away. 

“Wait, that’s it?” His clone asks, dumbfounded. 

All for One pauses, his back to the inferior version of himself. “For now.” 

He doesn’t stop walking until he gets outside. All thoughts of murdering his clone for his betrayal put aside for happier ones of his (by proxy) son’s cute little face.

[mamashenanigans]

Official AFO Bad Ending Event Announcement

It’s the end of January and thus the Bad Ending Event is upon us! Read after the gif for all the information and share, share, share!!!

From now until the end of February, writers and artists are invited to take part in the All for One Bad Ending Event hosted by me(MamaShenanigans) and @possiblycringe !!!

Bad endings are fun, but can sometimes be a challenge for writers and hard to depict for artists. This event is meant to be a great exercise in creating a work where the Big Bad(All for One) wins, nobody wins, or a story that takes place AFTER the bad ending(but still is bad). That’s a lot of ‘bad’!

I LOVE bad endings, or rather, when the villain wins! It’s pretty much ALL I write…not counting my still WIP of real world Yoichi being a real world cat lady….we whisper about that in secretive circles.

Types of ‘Endings’

The Big Bad wins: All for One ends up having his cake and eating it too! Doesn’t matter how it gets there, but the self-described Demon Lord HAS to come out on top by the end of the story. In context, it’s bad for everyone else but him.

Nobody Wins: Despite whatever conflict happens, neither side wins. It’s just terrible for everyone including Mr. Comic Nerd in a Suit. So sad, too bad.

After the Bad Ending: This is a fun one! Your story can take place after All for One has eaten his cake, but the platter is still full! This can be a slice of life sort of story or even something wicked where it seems the good guys are finally going to fix that bad ending….except they don’t.

The biggest thing to take away from this is that: there is NO good ending. Even if you write an aftermath(#3), nothing good can come of it. However! You can definitely play around with all three of these. Maybe it’s an aftermath(#3) where nobody wins(#2)…but then AFO wins(#1)? Maybe you continue on past the Big Bad wins(#1) and just continue right on into #3. Or, you can write or draw for each type! Doesn’t matter! Only that it’s bad.

Requirements

Writers

Minimum story length of 1k words

Fits one or more of the above types of endings

Can include any other characters or relationships such as Yoichi(hurray!) and DFO(Dad for One), and any setting such as canon, fantasy au, real world/no quirks au. Etc and so on. All alternate universes are welcome if you want to write one!

Horror and gore are perfectly fine. NSFW is not permitted in this event.

You can submit as many entries as you want!

Artists

Has to depict a bad ending in whatever way you think that would look. All for One must be featured.

Horror and gore are fine. Just no NSFW

Can submit as many entries as you want!

Prizes

Please note that the prizes have changed since the last post was made.

To keep things fair, @possiblycringe and I will be creating prizes based on a “first come, first serve” basis. This way, neither of us will be making more prizes than the other. That would be exhausting for one of us! How that works is, for example, the two 1st prize winners are announced. One for art, the other for writing. The first winner to contact me with what they want(art or fic) gets that pick and the other winner will have to take whichever the first one doesn’t.

Choices for Prizes

Written Prizes

Contact me with a prompt

1st Place: 2k word fic

2nd Place: 1.5 word fic

3rd Place: 1k word fic

Art Prizes

Contact @possiblycringe with your prompt

1st Place: Full body color with cell shading

2nd Place: Half body color

3rd Place: Half body lineart

Timeframe & Submitting

Starting now (January 27th) until the night of Sunday February 26th(I have the next two days off after) by 11:59PM. Please note that there is leeway due to time zones!

Submissions can be made at ANY time, so you don’t need to sit on your work until the 26th! I’d prefer you didn’t!

To submit, post on tumblr, AO3, fanfiction.net, or whatever works for you! Tag me if you are able on the platform, otherwise, tag me in a discord we’re both in or DM me on Discord or here with a link to your work! My discord is MamaShenanigans#9608

AO3 Tag/Collection & Inspiration

For writers that want to keep their bad ending a secret from readers, you can tag your work with AFOBEE2023! I will create a public collection once submissions start coming in!

For inspiration, here are three of my works that hit every type of bad ending!

COLD—example of a nobody wins bad ending. Horror

Alternatives chapters 2-3 & chapter 5 epilogue featuring the bad ending of a Mafia AU

Alternatives chapters 3-4 & chapter 5 epilogue featuring the aftermath of a bad ending where fat!AFO has already become Emperor of the world.

@possiblycringe and I are so excited to see what you all come up with! Have fun and do bad!!!

[shih-coulda-had-it]

Maybe if Sorahiko had gotten AFO pregnant he wouldn't have had time to do all that with Kotarou.

idk man, the timeline of sorahiko putting a baby in afo to kotarou being “inspired” to give hana a sibling… you could argue that AFO simply takes tenko to be his do-over child, especially after the stress turns his hair light (AFO, in denial: he just needs a little more stress and that hair will turn out white!! i know this!!) [this is actually his logic in the dad fails of the week fic]

[povertygoblin]

Crown of thorns!AU Izuku 🤍💚✨

Usually he wears gloves to hide his palms but-- this is not one of those times. :)

[soulless-bex]

that one is SO specific, but just, my hero academia au where, one, afo is izuku’s dad, and two, izuku has a quirk, but not all for one. no, izuku here can see ghosts, and isn’t it just his luck that his dad just so happens to be haunted by the shit ton of people he killed over the years?

specifically, afo is haunted by the past ofa users, and once they realize that the child can see/hear/talk to them, they just keep on trying to get him to turn his dad in, or at least, to leave. but izuku’s also really attached to his dad (duh) and keeps denying the ghosts’ request on the basis that afo “changed”

[vam1mav]

|| I'm just gonna- ||

|| I'm going to make a mini comic with more of the AU's story ||

|| I'm going to call it "Memories" ||

|| Yes, why not? ||

((The first comic only got one like, but I don't give a shit, I'm already into this, there is no turning back for me anymore.))

[riahlynn101]

"I Should Have Listened" (3).

TW: All for One being himself

Hope you all enjoy <3

--

All for One punches the cell wall. It doesn’t do much beyond chipping some of the paint off, but a crackly voice over the intercom is still quick to reprimand him. He pays it no mind. The cowards that run this place won’t act on their threats. 

He slumps over on his bed, holding his hand to his chest. It stings a little, but All for One is no stranger to pain. 

The singular light in his cell is abruptly shut off, right before the crackly voice comes on over the intercom - this time in everyone’s cells - to announce, ‘lights out.’

All for One huffs. The news he received today shouldn’t be making him feel this way. All angry and flustered and a tiny bit sad. If he were the version of himself that hadn’t been rewound, then All for One would only find joy in reuniting with his long-lost son. 

But he can’t. 

He can forgive Izuku’s reaction. Finding out that the ultimate evil is your father can’t be easy. And he’s still young. So very, very young. It breaks his heart that he couldn’t be with him sooner. He remembers what it was like growing up without love (not that that was the case for his son, but missing even an ounce of paternal affection must feel like agony for someone so prone to tears). 

However, he cannot forgive his son’s mother. She took Izuku from him. Robbing him of what is rightfully his. His son belongs to him. And he knows that Izuku is his. More than physical similarities, All for One sees himself in Izuku.

 He can feel it too - their connection. 

The bond that entangles them and denotes them as father and son. He felt it earlier, but chalked it up to the One for All-All for One bond. He just knows that the DNA test will show that he’s right, and once he has the proof, he’s never letting Izuku go.

-x-x-x-

In the countryside, nestled between hills and next to a stream, a large building sits. If not for the dreary colors, tall fence that boxes in the courtyard, and security guards posted out front, Tenko could almost forget he’s trapped here. 

He looks at the calendar, posted to his wall by blue tack (because no one here trusts him enough with anything sharper than a crayon). It’s Thursday, which means Izuku should be here soon. Actually, now that he thinks about it….

Tenko frowns, gazing worriedly out the window. The sun hasn’t started setting yet, but he can tell it’s already much later than Izuku’s usual scheduled visitation. He chews on his bottom lip, twisting in his swivel chair. 

The country is in shambles right now, he knows that. It doesn’t matter what the orderlies and nurses try to keep from him, Tenko saw all the destruction he wrought. He knows how dangerous it still is out there. All the villains, lower in rank than All for One or the league, but better at hiding out. Villains that - if given half-a-chance - would gladly hurt, maim, or even kill an up-and-coming hero (especially one like Izuku). 

Images fill his brain of Izuku, hurt and lost and so, so scared. He tries to ease his mind by doing a sudoku puzzle, but it doesn’t help much. 

Finally, right as Tenko feels like he’s about to burst with anxiety, there’s a knock on his door. “Tenko?” A familiar voice calls out. 

“Come in!” 

 Tenko stands up so fast the swivel chair swings around. He puts his hands on his hips. “ Where have you been?” He asks. 

Izuku looks like a sad puppy, staring down at the center provided slippers. His big green eyes look between him and the floor. He bows low, an apology bubbles past his lips. “Sorry.”

Neither of them say anything for a moment. Tenko sighs, reaching out to ruffle green curls. “Don’t do it again, or at least send word.” He lets his hand drop, returning to his seat. “I was worried about you.”

Izuku straightens. His head tilts to the side. “Why?” 

Not for the first time since regaining control over his body, Tenko wishes he could return the favor and have a look-see in Izuku’s head. He can only imagine what he endured to value himself so little.

But Tenko, unfortunately, does understand his surrogate little brother. At least enough to know how his dorky brain works. He is him. They are two halves of a whole, destined and fated to think alike - even if their methods are different. 

So, instead of reassuring Izuku like he so desperately wants to, Tenko laughs it off. “Because…” You don’t seem to care if you live or die. Because you’re all I have left besides the league. Because you saved me when everyone else thought I was too far gone and no longer human. 

Because I love you.

“Because I’m bored, and you’re the only one who visits me without trying to get answers.” He turns away, digging out some clean pieces of paper and a spare box of crayons so Izuku can draw with him.

Izuku’s mouth forms an ‘o’ shape. “That makes sense,” he laughs. 

-x-x-x-

They sit and talk for a long while. Tenko fills any awkward lulls in conversation with all the mundane details about his rehabilitation. The long, and in his words, pointless therapy sessions. The agonizing hours spent staring at the wall or drawing pictures, waiting for someone (Izuku pretends not to notice Tenko’s pointed stare) to come visit him. 

“And that’s my week. What about you?”

Izuku pauses drawing, perched on the end of his bed. The pad of paper sits on his knees. “Hm?”

“Your week. Did anything happen?”

Dead bodies being pulled out of rubble. Buildings falling down, trapping the few stubborn residents that stayed behind even during the war. Blood and dust and ash and the smell of burning flesh. 

“Not really.” 

“That bad, huh?” Tenko asks.

Not wanting to confirm anything, Izuku shoots out the first thing he can think of. “I went to Tartarus this week.”

Tenko says nothing to that, and he takes that as a sign they can move past the precarious topic of the outside world. 

“Why?” He asks. There’s a hard edge to his tone, like a serrated knife. Izuku jerks back, startled. A firm hand grabs his bicep, dragging him closer. “Izuku,” he says again. “Why did you go to Tartarus?”

His heart beats faster. He’s not afraid of Tenko. He isn’t! But Izuku would be lying if he said memories of the USJ aren’t coming back to him full force. 

“Let go!” He yanks his shoulder back, but Tenko’s grip is unwavering. Gray eyes stare intently at him. 

“Tell me!”

The door swings open. “Visiting time is- is everything okay?” A nurse asks, reaching for her radio. 

Tenko lets go. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Izuku nods quickly, not wanting to make a bigger deal out of this than necessary. “I’ll see you next week, Tenko.”

He dashes out the door before Tenko can utter a reply.

-x-x-x-

All for One watches the nurse poke and prod his maybe, maybe-not son’s veins with a needle. She’s one of the older nurses, definitely past her prime, and it shows in the way her hands shake.

Izuku winces, but keeps his mouth shut. He’s awfully polite for a One for All user , All for One notes. The nurse tries again with no luck. Izuku grits his teeth together, forcing himself to be silent. Or maybe , he thinks to himself, the boy’s need to reassure others is bigger than his need for self-preservation. 

“Are you okay?” He asks. 

“As if you care,” Izuku snaps. 

He chuckles, reaching over to give Izuku’s hand a reassuring squeeze. 

The nurse finally gets a blood sample. Thankfully, they already have All for One’s on file, so his poor veins will be spared another day. 

“The results should be here in a few days. Someone from the prison should contact you,” the nurse says, ushering Izuku towards the door. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He shoots one last scathing glare at All for One before leaving.

-x-x-x-

Three days later, and against his better judgment, Izuku sits in the same stuffy room he did when he got his blood drawn. Instead of the elderly nurse from last time, a middle-aged woman with a stern expression hovers over him. 

“Why is he here?” Izuku asks, peeking over the nurse’s shoulder. 

“He has to be here. It’s protocol.”

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Izuku shakes his head. “No, not him . All for One.”

“Since he might be your father…”

Izuku feels himself gag at those words. The idea of having a father has always been welcomed, but he would rather spend his days fatherless than be tethered to All for One. (Which is ironically probably what his mom thought when she ran away). 

“We gave him the option to listen to the results.” Her radio crackles to life. “I’ll be right back,” she says, leaving the room before Izuku can beg her to stay. 

All for One takes the opportunity to edge closer into his space. He pats Izuku’s leg, squeezing it. “Nervous?” He asks. Energy crackles across his skin. The anxious thoughts of long dead One for All users buzz in his ears, sliding right next to his own. He breathes out, silently begging everyone to calm down. That All for One surely wouldn’t kill him here. Well, he’s like 99% sure of that fact. But that’s more of an assurance than he’s ever had before.

Nana’s voice is the loudest, urging Izuku to run away. Her voice reminds him of his mother, warning Izuku away from doing something stupid and irreversible. “Leave! Now!” 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” All for One says, holding his hand. Izuku pulls it away, feeling the way his skin seems to burn under his touch. “You do know that, right?” His eyes bore into the top of Izuku’s head, but he refuses to look up. 

“I know that you hurt people. Use them to further your plans.”

“Thats….different.”

Izuku summons the courage to glare at All for One. His eyes, he observes, are the same shade as First’s. But still so different. 

When he looks into First’s eyes, they’re warm and welcoming. Like he’s coming home after a long day. Safe and sound and so, so loved. 

All for One’s….not so much. They’re less warm, less inviting. Izuku feels himself shudder under his gaze, eyes dropping back down. There’s bubbling hatred and longtime resentment reflected in his glazed over eyes, but also an unnamable fondness when he looks at Izuku. Like…like Izuku is something precious to him. 

The nurse chooses that moment to open the door. She orders All for One back into his original seat. “Now, sorry for taking so long. But I have the results right here.” She hands an envelope over to Izuku. 

He takes it from her, muttering a thank you under his breath. He tears the results open, grabbing it out. His hands tremble terribly. If he were any less used to stressful situations or were anymore alone, Izuku might have had a panic attack. 

He reads the results.

Once. Twice. Just to be sure he’s not misreading it. 

“No,” he croaks out. Izuku drops the results, standing up and backing himself into a corner. He shakes his head. “No, no, please, no!” 

The nurse murmurs something to him, but he can’t hear her over the sounds of his heart racing. He sees her motion to All for One, handing him a copy of the results.

Izuku grips the ends of his hair, pulling on it. 

What am I going to tell All Might? Or Mom? Or Tenko?

The thought of having to face any of them makes his head spin. He slides to the floor, tucking his face in his knees. 

Strong arms wrap around him, pulling Izuku into their lap. He struggles but only a little. “No,” he cries, trying to wriggle away. 

“It’s okay, Izuku,” All for One murmurs into his hair. He holds Izuku firmly, not budging no matter how hard he squirms. “I’m here. Dad’s here.” He kisses the top of Izuku’s head.

Through his own rising panic, he wonders where the nurse went. Was the prison really allowing this? 

Of course they are . After all, they are the ones that allowed me to go into All for One’s cell alone.

All for One strokes his hair, humming. “My little Izuku.”

“‘M not yours,” Izuku sobs. “Nurse! Guards! All-” All for One squeezes him tighter, cutting off his protests. 

“You must be so confused. But don’t fret, everything is going to be just fine.” He releases Izuku after giving him a kiss on the cheek. 

Izuku is quick to leap to his feet. If he can help it, Izuku would really like to not know what All for One’s definition of “fine” is. 

-x-x-x-

That night, First and Second are waiting for him. The others aren’t there, making the space feel oddly empty.

Izuku stares down at the cracked concrete.

“Well,” Second starts, hands on his hips. “What do you have to say for yourself?” He waves his hand, banishing the shadows from around Izuku’s face. 

“I’m sorry,” Izuku whispers, ashamed.

“And?” Second urges. 

“I was wrong.” He fiddles with his hands. First stares at him, not saying anything. Izuku doesn’t look up, but he can feel his eyes watching him. That, more than Second’s insistent nagging and lecturing, makes him want to break down crying. 

“And?”

“I should have listened.” His bottom lip wobbles. One would think, in a place like this, you wouldn’t be able to cry. 

Izuku wishes that were true. 

“Kudou,” First says. “I think he gets it. How about you go see what the others are doing.” 

There’s a whooshing sound and then, First and him are all alone. 

“Ninth,” he addresses him. There’s a sternness in his voice that Izuku is unused to. Ever since they first met - bonding over the traumatic downfall of First and All for One’s relationship, or at least a snippet of it, captured and stored somewhere within One for All - First has been nothing but kind and gentle with him. 

He must see the fear in Izuku’s eyes, because First sounds more like himself when he speaks. “Little nine. Izuku. My nephew.” There’s a fondness there that, for one brief, terrible moment reminds Izuku of All for One. He throws that thought away. First, mad at him or not, doesn’t deserve to be compared to….that.

He grabs Izuku’s hands, holding them. “I’m not angry with you. I just…” He trails off, letting one of Izuku’s hands go to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear. It doesn’t stay put but that doesn’t stop First from trying again. 

A smile replaces the previous serious expression. His fingers trace down the shell of his ear, across his freckled cheek, and down his jawline. First frowns, lost in thought. “How can you look so different, yet so alike?”

Izuku pulls back as if burned. His eyes widen. 

“Oh, I’m sorry!” First says. “I didn’t mean to. Sometimes I say things without thinking.” 

But the damage is done. Izuku forces himself to wake up, ignoring First’s cries to come back.