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Izuku breathed in, out, his father, standing in front of him, so tall, retying the lacy cravat that laid around his neck.
“My, my”, Father chuckled. “This is almost endearing!”, he said, with that gentle smile of his as he precisely and gracefully tied the knot in a few short movements.
Izuku turned his face away, reddening.
“I’m… not… I don’t need this tie!”, he exclaimed. “I can just warm my body with Blood Magic, I know how to do it, now!”
Father chuckled once more as his fingers took Izuku’s chin in a firm but careful grip.
Izuku looked up before the hand had the time to guide him where Father wanted him to look.
Father closed his eyes and fondled his curls with his other large hand.
And theeeere it was. Another headpat.
He barely leaned forwards. Barely. It wouldn’t change anything and it’s… not like he liked them.
“Don’t be ridiculous, my child”, Father teased, “that would not be viable. You haven’t yet learnt the techniques that prioritize how to minimise the amount of magic you use. You might last two days, at best, at your current level. And then you would be as thirsty as a starving animal dying in a desert.”
Then Father pushed him in a hug. Izuku was engulfed in those same soft fabrics he knew well. He nuzzled back as he felt a hand petting the back of his neck, as encouraging him to lean in.
Izuku hugged back, his small arms barely managing to reach each other.
His father was just so tall and imposing. He was such a reassuring presence in his every day life, now. He never had knew how much he’d needed it.
He breathed in the smell of fabrics and the feeling of safety, before stepping back after a long minute of that.
He didn’t like it too much.
Father chuckled again as he readjusted Izuku’s cravat.
“And I suppose you look like the most handsome young man with this accessory”, Father said with that twinge of amusement.
Izuku wanted to screech in his hands as he bawled his eyes out.
He nervously gesticulated, dressed all in silks, brocade and expensive black fabrics, lined with Palladium, -and not silver, unlike what he had wrongly believed to be dressed in before-, intricate designs and his father’s sigil, a two headed dragon, embroidered on his noble clothing.
“I don’t… want this to be the first impression they get of me. I’m…
“First of”, father interrupted, giving him a patient smile, “those cravats are very fashionable. You know that, don’t you? Every gentleman wears them. Secondly? Little one, you are a fledgling, and they know this. They do not expect miracles from you, you only have…”, Father said, slowing down there and crouching at his eye level, “You only have to represent your rank, your role. You are my son, my newly sired fledgling, my very own treasured offspring.”
Izuku let his father cup his chin and gently squish his cheeks.
“Be yourself, little one. They owe you respect, know it. I have turned more than a third of them, and those all have a blind admiration and have sworn allegiance to me, by blood. For the rest? A good fifth of the Court is made of vampires sired by the ones I created and moulded into their best selves, their potential refined at its finest. I am known as the King of Darkness for good reason, don’t you think?”
“Yes… Father”, he replied. He felt like he was being both scolded and praised at the same time, it was weird. “And I’m the… Prince of Darkness. Haha.”
Father chuckled once more, closing his eyes pleasantly as he brought a closed hand to his own chin.
He then opened back his eyes, squinting, and hummed.
“You look handsome, my boy”, he ended up murmuring.
Izuku reddened. Damn it! He hated how easily he became flustered whenever his sire complimented or praised him. He despised it with his very being, but- but Father cared, he cared so much, the feeling couldn’t be completely unfounded.
“If a young lady settles her eyes on you, there will be a murder”, his father singsonged, affectionately headpatting him.
Izuku, wide-eyed, stared back, judgementally.
“What?” Father replied, extremely amused. “I was merely joking.”
“Were you?” Izuku shot back, openly hissing back.
Father tutted him.
“No aggressive hissing, no hissing, young one”, he singsonged, once more, giving him two disapproving pats on top of his curls. Shame coursed through his veins. “Of course I was not making a meagre pleasantry. I am going to bury you in my catacombs and only let you out once you reach your first century. Then, maybe, I might let you talk with someone that is neither affiliated to me nor a servant. Only then.”
Izuku huffed back.
“Yes, because that’s a fairly unrealistic idea”, he answered, sarcastically. “But… I apologize, Father. I… shouldn’t have hissed at you in that hostile way. It was rude. I’m sorry.”
Father smiled at him and opened his arms wide, forgiving.
Izuku lunged in the embrace and melt in it.
The unease that had built itself in his guts immediately disappeared.
Large hands were caressing his back, untangling his knots of nerves. He felt so relaxed despite the first spikes of anxiousness he had felt for this meeting.
He was lucky his sire cared so much for him. His Father was such a… kind, benevolent being, he couldn’t just-
“Oh- Izuku, why are you- crying?” Father asked, in that worried voice.
Izuku felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He sniffled, beaming large and wide as he felt those worried eyes on him.
“Tears of- of happiness, dad”, he sobbed, not noticing how his father startled. “It’s- nothing, I’m just- glad, I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you care. I’m glad.”
Father looked at him tenderly.
“Oh, Izuku…”
Father immediately bear hugged him.
He liked the embrace.
It was the most reassuring thing in the world, warm, safe, away from any harm- it felt good. So good.
He ignored the part of him that screamed of how wrong this all was.
XXX
Izuku slipped through the misty purple portal, following closely his father’s footsteps.
He stumbled slightly on the other side, seeing his father gracefully place a hand on his shoulder, stabilizing him. He was thankful for that.
And- oh.
Everyone was already here, around the large, round, lacquered table, finely sculpted in the most noble wood.
Father’s hands gently guided him to his left side as he was pushed in a half hug, his father ruffling his hair with insistence with his left hand.
There were around twenty people around the table, but more around the room, perhaps forty there, including Gigantomachia and Shigaraki. The quiet giant excitedly waved at him as soon as Izuku raised his hand to do a small wave with it.
Father smiled down at him as he saw the action.
Then he looked up.
“My children”, he said.
“My lord”, “Your Darkness”, “Master”, were the acknowledgements in the room.
Father beamed.
“We are here to speak of the future disbandment of UA. We can agree that this institution, this academy, has been a poisonous thorn in our side.”
Murmurs of agreement echoed.
Izuku frowned as he looked around, his father’s hand still gently rubbing his soft fluffy white curls with patience and love.
“Status, Midnight?” Father’s deep voice asked, as a king amongst its people.
Izuku felt a surge of pride knowing this was his sire.
The woman came from the shadows, beamed, radiant in her elegant yet revealing crimson clothes.
“UA believes my mission will soon be completed. They still have no doubt I stand on their side. All Might confessed to me how desperate he had gotten in his search for both the boy and the sword.”
Izuku stared at the woman.
Had he… known her, before? No, during his training, he had… never once seen her, right?
Father chuckled as he fondled with his curls, gently caressing his chin with his thumb.
Oh. Again. He had mumbled.
“She is part of that secretive cell of the Church that pretends to know all, except my whereabouts, of course”, father explained, leaning in his ear. “She was quite the recent addition, but a very useful and resourceful one.”
Midnight gracefully gave a curtsy.
“My lord- your words fill me with joy”, she said, reverently.
Izuku frowned, feeling something desperately scratch at the back of his mind.
Had he seen her before she helped him get used to the gift of vampirism?
“You are most welcome, Midnight; you after all have my gratefulness since you completed that latest task”, Father hummed, deeply, as he kept talking, his voice feeling more hypnotizing and intoxicating than before. His hands were thoughtfully massaging Izuku’s white curls, possessive in their mannerism. “You will get droplets of my blood as your prize.”
Lady Nemuri gasped, a hand on her mouth as she stepped back, wide-eyed.
A low murmur, evil and jealous, raised in the room.
“What about the boy?” someone yelled in the brouhaha. “What now?!”
Izuku tensed. Were they talking of him? Why in that way? It was… strange.
Father raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Silence immediately spread like wild fire.
“You must have heard of the news. He has been sired. The boy is mine to deal with. He was my son; All Might put his greedy hands on what was not his to begin with. Regarding the sword…”
“The sword?” Izuku asked, in a small voice, interrupting the King of Darkness without an instant of hesitation.
Somehow, he felt all eyes on him.
He gulped down.
Father smiled patiently at him, reassuring him within the very same second. He was so thankful for that.
“We will talk of this later on, I will explain everything to you, my boy. It is the holy sword you brought with you; the one All Might forced you to bond with, in a cruel twist of destiny, as he said. He gave it to you, a curse that should never have been yours to carry.”
Father cleared his voice.
“He has been turned, despite his link to the Holy relic. It took time, but it was as painless as possible. After much tinkering, I have come to the pleasant discovery that the sword is corruptible.”
Another murmur in the room, shocked, full of admiration, basking in his father’s achievement.
“I will effectively warp and taint the relic, my child will yield once more the sword. One for All, once in a Corrupt state, will finally aid us in our fight, in quite the delicious turn of events, I must say.”
Father stopped looking around the room, his gaze fixing itself on Izuku. Father was smiling at him, tenderly.
“My boy, will you aid us in our fight?” Father asked.
“H-how could I say no, father?” he answered.
Silence echoed back to this. He knew people were watching him, judging him, observing his every move.
This was getting distressing. He had never liked that. Especially considered the types of ruthless punishments they did in the Church.
Father smiled fiercely as he took him in a hug.
“I am proud of you, my boy. I couldn’t be prouder”, he whispered at his ear.
Izuku squirmed.
“I don’t want- I can’t disappoint you, Father”, he answered.
Father rose back to his full height.
“We cannot let the disease of Church spread to this extent to the new generation. UA has to burn. Agreed?”
Unanimous voices agreed.
What was there to discuss? All those nobles did nothing but agree. Were they more than pawns?
“Speaking of fire… Doctor?”
“We have the night to accommodate the plan from the changes that have been reported to me, my Lord”, said a small fat man, bald, with an enormous moustache on his face. “The Grand Inquisitor’s first son was nomufied successfully as you had asked. He and his batch can start immediately their service, though I would advise not sending them on missions by daylight, as their skin might blacken and scar if exposed to the sun. I would advise for one to ten months of wait for them to work by day to avoid pointless losses.”
Father hummed approvingly, looking afar.
“Good, good”, he said, augustly. “This pleases me greatly, my old friend. Aiming for the Grand Inquisitor’s first born will be a nice touch.”
Father then stopped fondling his curls and took a crystal glass, examining it, before pouring blood from a pitcher into it.
Tension grew imperceptibly in the grand darkened room.
“Drink, my boy”, he said, giving him the cup. “It is fresh and comes from a nice specimen.”
Izuku barely hesitated as he took it with one hand.
Everyone was watching.
He took a small sip, looking back to his father who hummed and nodded approvingly. The tension in the large room soon eased, dissipating suddenly out of a shock.
It was as if everything was… fine, once more. No murmurs, nor worried glances, but a strange sense of awfully cruel victory spread in the sweet air.
“Tomura?” Father asked.
“Yes, my lord?”
Tomura, who had been leaning on a pillar of dark granite, stood straight. Impatience and that same urge to be praised by his sire put clumsiness in his movement.
“Izuku will be watching your next operation. He will be chaperoned, of course.”
“Is- is that wise, my lord? All Might is still searching for his inheritor-
An aura of dread spread through the darkness.
Izuku felt as if death itself was at his eyes' edge.
All for One was staring at Tomura with black, normal human eyes.
Tomura hit the ground as he fell on his knees, the sharp sound echoing in the room.
No one dared to speak.
Izuku had to interrupt it.
“F…father? I am sure Tomura did not mean...” Izuku tried. Meant what? What had Tomura meant?
Then Father chuckled, and one of his hands grabbed Izuku by the neck, just to gently soothe him as he felt strange caresses being done to his scalp.
“Of course he did not mean this, hm? My boy?”
“Father… I-”, Izuku said.
That only word made All for One smile.
Then Father straightened his arm, bringing the cup of blood back to Izuku’s lips.
“As I was saying, Tomura. My son, that is now on the side he should have been borne in, will be observing your moves, as part of his education. Understood?”
“Yes, Master”, Tomura answered, still kneeling, eyes fixed on the ground.
Father cupped Izuku’s chin.
“And you”, he said, red eyes vibrating, drilling themselves on his own eyes, “you will watch, observe, and learn; understood?”
Izuku nodded.
“O-of course, father.”
Father closed his eyes, and his dark eyes were once more looking at him gently. He hit two times the sculpted table with his closed fists, and immediately, the people inside of the room dispersed.
Izuku grabbed back the cup and took a small gulp of it. He only wished to hide the expression he had on his face.
“Now, now, don’t look at me this way. There is plenty to do”, Father whispered. “Including… presenting you to Court, was it not?”
Izuku choked on the blood he was sipping at as he heard those words.
XXX
X
XXX
All Might gritted his teeth as he punched the door of the ruins open. This used to be a monastery. Its inhabitants had been all devoured by creatures of the Night more than fifty years ago;- and this, this was where intel told them Young Bakugo was sequestrated.
He grabbed firmly the handle of the silver blessed sword he had been given as a replacement for One for All; this one felt much heavier than his previous weapon, but this, this was all he deserved for what had happened.
He was a failure, both as a teacher and a mentor.
With righteous fury, he broke the two heavy doors that separated him from the heart of the monastery.
Stealth was not his priority if he was being honest, it had never been.
As a Paladin, his booming voice had always been a reassurance to all.
…Izuku…
No time to think about this; concentration, concentration and a strong, undommitable will was the key to the pursuit of his goal.
There were agitated screaming voices behind the next door.
A familiar voice had yelled a “NOOO!”
His blue eyes were filled with fury.
Never again would this happen. Not on his watch.
Raising a foot, he kicked the dented metallic door; the metal screamed as it broke, splinters of wood barely scratching his heavy white armour.
“NEVER FEAR, FOR I AM HERE!” he boomed, a hungry beam deforming his face. Hunger for justice could never twist a rightuous mind.
Three people were in the tiny room.
Bakugo, bound to a chair, choked yelling, ropes were tied over his mouth, his eyes were wide with panic and surprise, saliva had accumulated at the corners of his mouth.
Tomura Shigaraki had been in front of him.
Had been, as he had slammed him to the side.
He impacted the wall, the ceiling trembling from the power of the blow.
He turned his head to the second Creature of the Night.
It was a white haired young boy, with green eyes, freckles-
Wide eyes opened wider with recognition.
“I-Izuku?” he said, shocked.
He stared again.
This- this white hair. Those clothes.
Izuku- it was Izuku- Izuku opened his mouth, and All Might saw fangs.
No.
No, it couldn’t be.
“My- my boy?” he called.
He heard Tomura groan. He stomped down on the vampire as soon as he slightly moved. He couldn’t take a chance.
“Only Father calls me that. ‘My boy.’”, his student- his lost mentee said.
“Wh-what- what happened to you?” All Might begged. “What- Izuku, Izuku, what did- he do to you?”
Izuku said nothing.
All Might already knew.
Izuku's eyes were panicked. There was no recognition in them.
Only panic.
Then there were tears in his eyes.
Izuku’s eyes turned golden.
All Might, in all his grand rightuousness, stared.
“There’s something wrong with me, All Might”, Izuku said, tears bursting from his eyes in tiny streams on his cheeks.
All Might walked forwards, towards- towards his boy, no, no, it could not be- leaving Tomura behind. He had to do something, he had to act, he had to do- to do what?
His student had been turned into- into one of those- monsters?
It was impossible, One for All protected its users, it was unthinkable, it couldn’t be-
Not his boy, his brave, kind-hearted boy-
“My boy-”
“Sorry”, Izuku interrupted.
Izuku turned into immuable mist under his eyes, he snapped his head in its direction, following it with his eyes, as it fled, through the open door behind him.
It took Shigaraki Tomura with it.
In two seconds, he was gone.
There was only Bakugo and him in the tiny, desolated room.
All Might fell to his knees and screamed.