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“It’s unbelievable, you see.” All for One said, talking to one of his oldest artificial intelligences known as DR UJIKO. “Unbelievably annoying, quite frustrating you might say, that these humans continue to resist me.”
DR UJIKO said nothing. He knew better than to interrupt his maker while he was monologuing. All for One was walking slowly, a luxury that he himself didn’t have. Unlike his maker, he was only a program with no physical body. All for One was unique, the only of his kind in the entire world. He was inspecting the latest goods brought in from battle. They were all good specimens, young, mostly undamaged- their parts would be perfect for making nomus.
“They know their own mortality, they know how weak they are, and yet they still fight. Bugs attacking steam roller, watching their comrades be crushed and eagerly following as if they can stop the same from happening to those behind them. Disgusting creatures… unbelievably stupid, stubborn.”
He paused in front of one of the tubes. The specimen inside was one of the weakest they had recovered. A young human, in its adolescence, biological gender was male. All for One reached out and rested a finger against glass above the specimen's freckled cheek. “Unbelievable.” He repeated softly. “And quite endearing, really.”
All for One stood for a moment, studying the specimen carefully. “Endearing…” He repeated again. “Almost cute, one might say.”
DR UJIKO wasn’t sure what his maker was talking about anymore. He was just eagerly awaiting the order to begin tearing the bodies apart to make nomus for the army. But, All for One was much more intelligent than he was, so whatever was going through his mind was surely something great.
After a moment, All for One spoke again. “Take these down and start processing them, but this one… I have something special in mind for him.”
○°●°○°●°○°●°○°●°○
Izuku wasn’t sure that he was actually awake. Something about opening his eyes felt so surreal. It was like a dream, but then everything must have been a dream. He looked around, but his eyes felt strange. They weren’t focusing the way they should. It made him dizzy, so he closed them again.
“It would seem that my procedure was a success, but of course it was.”
Izuku opened his eyes again and sat up. He fumbled around, trying to find a weapon, but there weren’t any. He was laying on a medical table and was wearing a strange, skin tight bodysuit. He tried to grab it and pull it away but it didn't come. Even stranger, he felt it. A wave of nausea washed over him. His eyes seemed to be hyper focusing, taking in too many details at once. His body felt wrong, everything felt wrong. This wasn't his skin, this wasn't his heart- something was wrong.
"No need to panic, little one." A hand from behind came to rest on his head. "It will only take you a moment to adjust."
Izuku turned, despite being so dizzy, to see who was there. Was it a someone? Or a something? It didn't seem human, but it wasn't a nomu either. The appearance was mostly human, he thought, but it was something else.
"Wh-what are you?" He realized as soon as he said it that it was going to anger the thing. To his surprise, it laughed instead.
"How primitive."
Izuku swallowed hard, cheeks flushing. The- person?- reached out to him again and rubbed his head once more. It was smiling at him, looking pleased. He still felt sick, itchy. It was better not to fight back until his head was clear, so he bit his lip and braced himself against the stranger's touch.
"Your fear is unnecessary. I don't plan on hurting you. Relax and you'll feel better." The person told him. "If you can't do it yourself, I will assist you."
When Izuku continued to panic, the person placed its other hand on his forehead. Izuku felt a warm, fuzzy feeling come over his body, starting from his head and bubbling to his toes. He shuddered and gasped, quickly pushing the person away.
"What was that?" He did feel better, but it was still wrong. He felt happy but he didn't know why.
"I increased the amount of endorphins in your body. Even though the use of chemicals is primitive compared to my functions, I've learned that fully removing it from you humans makes you into boring puppets. A quality I prize in my nomus, but not what I want in you, little one."
Izuku stared at him, trembling and uncomprehending. "Wh-What did you do to me? Who are you?"
The person smiled and Izuku felt uncomfortable. So many teeth…
"Ah yes, you humans do love naming things, don't you? Such sentimental creatures you are. I believe your people assigned me a name as well. What was it that they called me? All for One, I believe."
Izuku stiffened. His eyes went out of focus for a moment. This thing that was touching him was All for One. The same being that had killed his friends, his family, that was trying to destroy all of humanity. What was he doing here? What did he want?
"I can read your emotions quite clearly, you know." All for One said, bending down to meet his eyes. "I told you- your fear is unnecessary. Relax."
Izuku felt another warm feeling blossom from his head and screamed, pushing All for One away. "Stop that!"
All for One lifted his hand and raised an eyebrow. "Would you prefer I made you feel sad instead?"
"Just don't touch me!" Izuku snapped, climbing out of bed and swaying to keep his balance. "And stop messing with my emotions!"
All for One only smiled again. "You are the same as I remember you. I was afraid I might have to scrap you."
Izuku leaned against the bed for support. His eyes hurt, they were still seeing more than his brain could handle. More than just seeing too sharply, he could see other things. Circles, charts, readouts, all pulsing around the objects in his vision.
"What did you do to me?" Izuku asked again, falling to his knees.
"Just a basic vision enhancement. I only increased it as much as your body could handle, but we can turn it down until you fully adjust."
Izuku squinted at All for One, trying to see him through his overacting vision. "Why? What do you want? A-Aren't you trying to kill us?"
"I'm trying to kill the humans." All for One corrected him. "But you, my dearest, are not one of them. Not anymore."
A cold, empty pit opened in the center of Izuku's chest. It took him a moment to find his voice, barely a whisper. "What do you mean?"
All for One's smile widened. A human wouldn't smile that wide. What was he?
"Answer me!" He shouted, lifting his head fully. Izuku hoped to sound fierce, but the fear in his voice was stronger.
All for One stepped over to him, running a finger down his cheek. "I fixed you up, changed you- but not too much. There were some things I kept, like this cute temper of yours. It was the reason I chose you, after all. That impossible fighting spirit I saw on the battlefield… how could someone as small and weak as you show more- what is the word humans use? Courage? Bravery? Heroism .- than all the others?"
Izuku trembled, too frightened to move. He didn't like where this was going. If he stopped him now, would it change the truth? It was too late.
"You're adorable, little one, and now you're mine." All for One leaned forward and kissed Izuku's forehead.
"All for One-" Izuku began, voice shaking.
"No." All for One cut him off sharply, making him wince back. "You will not call me that."
"Th-then…?" Izuku was too frightened and confused to argue.
All for One's wide smile returned and he resumed stroking Izuku's cheek with his long finger. "You, little one, get to call me something that no one else does. It's a human word, a very special one. You get to call me Father, isn't that nice?"
"I- I can't." Izuku stuttered, shaking his head. "You aren't my Dad! You don't know what that means!"
"I am well aware of the context of the word." All for One replied. "It's a term of kinship. A male parent, a man who has begotten a child. "
“You’re not my dad.” Izuku repeated. He wanted to close his eyes again and put his head down, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off of All for One. The thing was crazy . He didn’t trust a word it said to him.
“True, I didn’t originally assist in your conception.” All for One admitted, though he didn’t seem to be agreeing with Izuku. “However, I do have the next best thing- your DNA. Although, now I should say it’s our DNA. I removed your biological father’s portion and replaced it with my own coding. Do you know what that means, little one?”
“No.” Izuku breathed, horrified. “Y-You can’t do that!”
“It means that now, little one, by definition, I am your father.” All for One ignored him. “What the humans call family. You turned out so well… all of my modifications are performing just as I imagined they would. It’s taken me years to make you perfect and now here you are.”
“What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?” Izuku growled for the last time, tears burning at the corners of his eyes.
All for One sat down on the bed and pulled Izuku up off the floor, setting him down in his lap. “I made you like me. I’ve adjusted and stabilized your body mass, altered your cells to prevent aging, equipped you with an instantaneous healing factor. I enhanced your senses, upgraded your mental processing speed, increased your memory banks. I also-.”
“Stop!” Izuku screamed, covering his ears. He didn’t want to hear any more. “I don’t understand!”
With a patient smile, All for One pulled Izuku’s hands away from his ears. He was strong, easily pinning Izuku’s hands down in his lap. “It means, my dearest, that you’ve stopped growing, stopped aging. You won’t ever die. You’ll stay here with me, forever.”
Tears ran down Izuku’s cheeks. “Why? Why would you- Why did- Why are you doing this to me?” He sobbed.
All for One fixed his eyes on the tears. “I knew keeping your tear ducts intact was a good choice… you’re so adorable, my little son, you always have been.”
Izuku pulled away, still crying. “What do you want from me?”
All for One slowly wiped the tears away, cupping Izuku’s cheek in his palm. “I have everything I want from you. I’ve made you into my family and I’ve fixed you so that you’ll never leave me.”
“Why?” Izuku sobbed. “Why me? What did I do to deserve this? I don’t- I don’t want to be like you! Let me go!”
“It had to be you.” All for One replied softly. “I had to make you mine. It’s your fault for being so cute. If you weren’t, I would have just turned you into a nomu like the others.”
“I’m not!” Izuku shook his head violently. “You made a mistake! Change me back!”
“I can’t.” All for One picked Izuku up again, carrying him like a baby, and started walking out of the room. “It’s all permanent, sweetheart. You’re just like me now and you won’t ever change.”
“Stop it.” Izuku hid his face in his hands. “Stop it, please!”
“Shh… it’s all right. I’ll be a good father, I’ve done lots of research. Besides, I’m the only person like you in existence, so only I can take care of you now.”
“You’re a monster.” Izuku cried, his voice muffled by his hands.
All for One chuckled. “Perhaps… but that would make you a monster too, since you’re a part of me now.”
“I’m not like you!” Izuku curled in on himself. “P-Put me down!”
“Hmm… you’re too cute.”
Izuku wanted to scream, but he only sobbed instead. All for One set him down at last and he scooted away, trying to disappear. “Leave me alone!”
All for One chuckled. “How can I leave you alone when you’re begging for my attention?”
“I’m not! I don’t want anything to do with you!” Izuku screamed.
"That temper of yours is adorable. You know you can't escape or defeat me, little one."
"Leave me alone!" Izuku begged.
"Oh I can't do that, I've already committed to taking care of you." All for One sat down next to him and pulled him to his side. "Now, son, your tags have your name down as Deku . An interesting choice, considering it's meaning."
Izuku peaked up and saw his tags in All for One's hand. "Give me those!" He tried to grab them but All for One held them out of his reach.
"You are welcome to have them, as soon as you tell me your name." All for One dangled the tags above him.
Izuku glared. "It's Deku! Just like they say!"
"Your real name." All for One gave the tags a jangle. "Not your code name."
"Give them back!" Izuku tried to grab them again.
"Your name, little one, or I'll destroy them." All for One threatened.
Izuku bit his lip, staring at the tags. He needed them back. They were the only thing All for One had shown him of his past life. If he could just hold them, he could pretend that nothing had changed. All for One shook the tags again, waiting for his reply. He acted as though he was about to pull them away, earning a panicked whine from Izuku.
"Go ahead then, speak up." All for One prompted.
Defeated, Izuku dropped his eyes. In a soft voice, he forced his name out. "Izuku Midoriya."
All for One handed the tags to Izuku. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Izuku clutched the tags, rubbing his fingers over the engravings. He remembered when he finally received them, when he'd picked out his name, when he'd protected his friends on the battlefield. Were they still alive, any of them? Had they escaped, or had they been turned into nomus? He was afraid to think about it. He couldn’t bear the thought of what might have happened to them while he’d been here with All for One.
“Izuku…” All for One repeated with a sickening affection in his voice. “But Midoriya, that will have to change. After all, you and I are family now, which means that we need a family name. Izuku…. Izuku Shigaraki. What do you think?”
“I hate it.” Izuku sniffed, wiping his eyes to glare at him. “That’s not my name.”
All for One laughed loudly. “You always have the most simple and endearing responses, Izuku.”
Izuku gripped his tags and looked away. No matter what he did, All for One was always entertained. He’d only been looking away for a few seconds when a sharp pain shot through his head. It vanished as quickly as it had come, but left behind a strange sensation. Izuku shuddered, feeling as though something were delicately brushing through his thoughts. “What’s happening?” He gasped, seeing that All for One was most likely the cause.
“I’m just renaming all of your files. There, now they all have the proper name.” He smiled and stood, pulling Izuku back to his feet. “Let’s finish getting you ready, shall we?”
“R-Ready for what?” Izuku stuttered. He didn’t want to move. He felt violated after feeling All for One sort through his mind. All for One had done more than just change his appearance, he had rewritten every last part of him.
All for One didn’t answer him. He stood Izuku in the center of the room and walked around him a few times.
“What are you doing?” Izuku squirmed, shifting his weight back and forth, not sure which way he could move to get himself away from All for One’s gaze. His head still hurt, his eyes were difficult to look through.
“Just admiring my work.” All for One smiled and patted Izuku’s cheek. “Would you like to see?"
Izuku hesitated, then shook his head. He didn't want this to feel any more real than it already was. He didn't want to see what this monster had done to him. This wasn't reality, he wouldn't let himself believe that any of it was real.
All for One laughed again, ignoring his request. Why had he bothered asking if he wasn't going to listen? Izuku didn't have long to be annoyed before he was staring at his reflection. He'd never been too fond of his appearance, always teased about how small and weak he was, but he'd never looked at himself and hated what he saw so much. This wasn't him. Frightened, cowering, crying. His body wasn't his, neither was his face. Everything was the same, but it wasn't him. It was too symmetrical, too perfect. His freckles were evenly spaced, his green curls somehow contained and not as wild as they had always been. His body was different, his muscles shaped more like a statue. Any imperfections had been brushed away, with the exception of the circuits he could see running along his arms, legs, and neck.
Staring at his reflection, Izuku didn't feel human. He watched tears fill his eyes and spill down his cheeks. He looked every bit as miserable as he felt.
All for One stood behind him and wrapped his arms around Izuku's neck and shoulders. "See? You belong to me now, Izuku. No one else will accept you. Only me." He bent down and kissed the top of Izuku's head.
Izuku couldn't hold himself together any longer. He turned away from his reflection, turned to that monster and hid in his arms. "I hate it!" He sobbed, knuckles white as he gripped his name tags. "I hate you! Change me back! Change me back, please, I don't want this!"
"There, there now." All for One rubbed his back and head. "Don't cry, baby. This is just the beginning- you're going to love everything else that I've done for you."
"No more!" Izuku begged but All for One wouldn't listen. He was never going to listen.
Izuku spent the rest of the day learning about his new "functions". All for One had turned him into a machine- the one thing that Izuku and the rest of humanity hated more than anything. His thoughts were run by programs and algorithms. He tried to ignore it, tried to forget, but his new mind stored every last detail in his memory banks. The more he was taught, the more he learned that All for One had control over every last part of him.
If he wanted, this being could erase all of Izuku's memories without lifting a finger. He could lock up certain parts of Izuku's mind, could change his appearance, his voice, his everything. He could control every last cell, his chemicals, his emotions. Izuku was nothing more than a breathing doll to him.
"No more. Please." Izuku whimpered. His body kept perfect time down to the milliseconds and he knew that it had been hours since All for One had first awakened him. It was getting late. Did he intend to continue all night?
"What's the matter, Izuku?" All for One pinched his cheek and smiled at him. "We're just getting to the exciting part."
"I want to go to bed." Izuku hugged himself, leaning away.
"You don't need to sleep anymore. I removed those useless functions."
"I want to go to bed!" Izuku repeated, louder this time. "I'm tired!"
All for One narrowed his eyes for a moment. Izuku worried about what he might be thinking. After the moment had passed, he placed a hand on top of Izuku's head. "I suppose I could let you power down for a few hours, until you grow out of the habit."
Izuku couldn't hide his relief, earning a small smile for All for One. He followed All for One, rubbing his eyes, until he stopped in front of a tall tube.
"You can power down here and we'll continue in the morning."
Izuku blinked, confused. "No?" He looked between All for One and the tube. "I- I want a bed! And a blanket! I want my mom! And my dad! I want to go home, I want you to change me back!"
For the third time that day, he broke down into uncontrollable sobs. He fell to the floor, crying and wailing. He'd never felt so miserable before, never felt so hopeless or abandoned. If only he could see his parents again. They would understand, they would still love him. As soon as he got home, everything would be okay.
All for One picked Izuku up off the ground, cradling and rocking him. He cooed softly over Izuku's wails. "I already know how cute you are, Izuku, you don't have to try and prove it to me. I'll take care of you, baby."
"Let me go home." Izuku sobbed. "I want to go home, please, please, just let me go."
"Shhh…" All for One soothed. He placed their foreheads together and Izuku felt a shift in his hormone balance. His body was releasing endorphins again, along with melatonin.
"No!" Izuku whimpered, but his body was already responding to the shift in composition. He felt warm and happy, sleepy. "N-no…" he cried softly, his eyes drooping down and his head resting against All for One's shoulder.
"That's better." All for One cooed, rocking him gently. "You humans are so easy to manage… you're even cuter when you're resting."
Izuku whimpered, then fell asleep. His body relaxed into All for One's embrace, his chest rising and falling steadily.
"So cute." All for One muttered to himself as he set Izuku down in the tube. He would get the boy a bed, he decided, and a room of his own. As long as Izuku was in his fortress, he had full connection to him. The fortress itself was just another extension of his body, all controlled by his mind. The walls, doors, computers, they were all him. Izuku was connected to him too, as long as he was touching them.
"You won't ever get away from me." All for One told the sleeping boy, using a finger to trace the circuits on his cheek. "You're too cute to let go." He chuckled to himself and bent down, kissing Izuku's cheek where he'd been touching it. "Goodnight, little one. I'll see you when you wake up."
○°●°○°●°○°●°○°●°○
“You did it again.”
All for One turned around and smiled at his son. Even after a decade, Izuku was still just as small and adorable as he had been the day he’d come into his possession. “What are you talking about, little one?”
Izuku stared at him. He looked moody, which wasn’t abnormal. Izuku was still stubbornly avoiding him as much as possible. Taking a peek into Izuku’s files, he saw that the child’s chemical balances indicated he was depressed. Again.
“What’s wrong?” All for One dismissed his work and sat down, motioning for Izuku to come closer.
Izuku didn’t move. “You changed me again.”
“Ah, you mean your hair?” All for One smiled. “But it looks so good, don’t you think? We match.”
“You didn’t ask me.” Izuku replied. “Again.”
“It was a surprise, love!” All for One still had his hand out, waiting expectantly for Izuku to come to him.
“I didn’t want it!” Izuku shouted.
He was trying to sound angry, All for One could see, but his chemical readout told the truth. He was upset, more sad than he wanted to let on. How cute that he seemed to think he could hide things from his father.
“Oh Izuku, don’t cry.” All for One hushed, standing and coming towards Izuku as his son started to break down into tears.
“Change it back!” Izuku wailed, grabbing fistfuls of his white locks and tugging at them. “You didn’t ask! You c-can’t just change me however you want!”
“Come here, little one.” All for One gathered Izuku into his arms and carried him back to his chair. “It’s all right, Izuku. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Ch-Change me back!” Izuku cried again. “Change me back, I don’t want to look like you!”
“But you’re so cute this way!” All for One brushed Izuku’s now snowy locks back.
“No I don’t!” Izuku shook his head, hiding his eyes with his hands. “I look like you! I look like a monster!”
“It’s just hair, sweetheart. No need to get so upset.”
“It’s my hair!” Izuku shouted. “And you didn’t ask! I hate you!”
All for One let out a heavy sigh. He had hoped that Izuku would be able to better manage his emotions, but he was just a child. He had left Izuku that way on purpose, wanting the sweet, adoring relationship he had read existed between humans and their offspring. At times, Izuku was calm and collected and seemed to behave much more like an adult. Times like that reminded him of the first time he’d seen Izuku on the battlefield, leading a scraggly bunch of humans against his nomus. But, more often than not, Izuku was far too emotional to manage. Izuku had been a child soldier, so it was to be expected that he had varying degrees of trauma that he kept masked behind his anger and distrust.
Izuku stopped shouting and simply cried instead. He was begging for All for One to “change him back,” though All for One didn’t think he was only talking about the new color of his hair.
With a second sigh, All for One opened Izuku’s DNA and adjusted his genes back to his natural green hair. “There, little one, it will be back to normal in a few weeks. Are you happy now?”
“N-no!” Izuku shook his head. “I want you to stop doing these things to me! I want you to let me go home! I want to see my mom again!”
“You don’t remember your mother, Izuku. What makes you think you want to see her?”
“I don’t remember her because you locked my memories away! But I know she loves me, and I know I loved her too! You can’t make me forget that, no matter how hard you try!”
Unfortunately, Izuku was right about that. No matter how he manipulated Izuku’s emotions and memories, he couldn’t change Izuku’s feelings. He couldn’t force Izuku to love him, or to stop loving the humans he had come from. Even after showing Izuku the truth of how the humans would fear and hate him, Izuku still stubbornly clung to the belief that they would welcome him home if he returned to them.
“You’re getting very worked up, Izuku.” All for One rubbed his back and pulled him in closer to his chest.
“It’s your fault. It’s all your fault. I wanna go home.”
“You can’t go back there, Izuku. You know what the humans will do to you if they catch you. You may think you’re still one of them, but they will never accept you. They’ll hunt you and hurt you and do everything they can to kill you.”
Izuku visibly shuddered in his arms. “Why?” He begged. “Why did you do this to me?”
“You don’t need to be scared.” All for One cooed. “I love you, Izuku. I won’t let them do those things to you.”
“Th-They wouldn’t! Not if you hadn’t- hadn’t-!” Izuku shook his head again, loud sobs returning. “Please, just change me back.”
“You know I can’t do that, even if I wanted to.” All for One kissed the top of his head. “Now cheer up, baby. Everything is fixed now.”
When Izuku didn’t do as he was told, All for One began to steadily alter his hormones. From experience, he knew it wasn’t good to make any sudden changes to Izuku’s emotions. A gentler shift always had a more favorable outcome. Today, however, Izuku jerked his hands away from his eyes and pushed back.
“Stop that!” Izuku screamed.
All for One frowned. “I thought you liked it when I helped cheer you up like this.”
“Only when I ask you to!” Izuku glared at him, a tear resting on his cheek. “You can’t just- you have to ask!”
“Why are you so angry with me today, hm?” All for One wiped the tear away. “I’m just trying to make you happy again, love.”
“I don’t want you to!” Izuku pushed him away again. “I don’t want anything from you! You ruined my life, you ruined me! Just leave me alone from now on!”
All for One watched Izuku run out of the room. Humans were so difficult, especially the little ones. But Izuku wasn’t human anymore, even if he insisted on acting like one. He turned back to his work, eager to continue his plans to destroy all humans so he could focus more on Izuku. Stubborn creatures, they refused to die peacefully, just as Izuku refused to submit to him.
There was no need to chase after Izuku. In addition to being able to monitor Izuku at all times within the fortress, he also had been taking care of Izuku for long enough to have learned his patterns. He was angry now, yes, and that anger was currently being directed at his father. But whenever Izuku ran away from him and avoided him, that hatred and anger always turned on him. Eventually, he would come back to his father and beg him to make him feel happy and safe again. He would bring his cute little blanket and curl up on All for One’s lap, crying until his hormones were properly adjusted again. Sometimes he would even laugh a little, or give his father a small smile. The happiness would never last, and soon he would go back to his screaming and crying tantrums. It was a vicious cycle, but eventually he would lose touch with his lingering human attachments.
All for One knew that was one of the things that scared Izuku the most. He was afraid of losing the last of his humanity, the rest of his memories that hadn’t already been taken from him, his feelings, the last of his hopes and dreams of returning home. It was one of the things that drove his little one to his side, begging for relief from the pressure of anxiety and uncertainty. He knew that it would happen someday, and it frightened him enough to unknowingly ask All for One to hasten the process.
Thinking about Izuku made All for One want him again. He quickly checked to see where Izuku had run off to. Unsurprisingly, he had his blanket and went to the large observatory window. In the beginning, Izuku had scanned the skies with a strangely hopeful expression, wanting to see one of the human’s crude sky ships coming that he might be able to signal for rescue. These days, however, he only wrapped himself up in his blanket and stared down at the clouds with a sad longing.
All for One considered returning one of Izuku’s memories that he had taken from him. If he restored one of his memories of his mother, Izuku would quickly realize that he had become disattached to her. A memory was only a memory, and memories were for humans. But Izuku had already suffered enough today. It didn’t seem fair to his fragile little one to push him further into crisis just to draw him back to his side. Today it might be better to just go to Izuku’s side instead. Perhaps he wasn’t as angry as before, now that he had had a moment to brood by himself. Perhaps if he sincerely apologized, Izuku might even have a small conversation with him that didn’t involve screaming how much he hated him or begging him to undo his upgrades. It had happened several times before and those had been the times he’d felt the closest to his son. It showed that their bond was growing. Perhaps if he focused on creating more small moments like that, Izuku would think of him more fondly.
Before he realized what he was doing, All for One was already walking through the fortress to find Izuku. The, most likely groundless, possibility of coaxing a real conversation out of Izuku was just too enticing. Plus, he wanted to cuddle his little cyborg some more. Izuku hadn’t given him a chance earlier, he had been too upset about his hair. Thank goodness he hadn’t noticed any of the other, more subtle, modifications.
All for One’s steps slowed as Izuku came into view. He had his blanket wrapped around his shoulders, his knees pulled up to his chest. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the window and was fast asleep. His hair was still the same vibrant white as All for One’s own as it would take time for his body to readjust the color again. Against the blue sky, it nearly blended in with the clouds. A peaceful sight. Perhaps this was why Izuku liked this spot so much.
As gently as he could, All for One picked Izuku up and started carrying him back to his room. He normally gave Izuku free reign of the fortress, as long as he stayed out of the restricted areas, and often found Izuku sleeping in odd places. It was cute that he continued to nap, even after so many years had already passed. He even suspected that Izuku had been trying to find a way to control his own sleep hormones. It was good that Izuku was starting to take an interest in how his new body worked, as long as he didn’t have too much control over it. That was his father’s job.
When they reached Izuku’s room, All for One sat down on the bed with him for a few moments to enjoy their time together. Looking at Izuku’s face, he had likely cried himself to sleep. Izuku shivered a little in his arms, pulling his blanket tighter around his shoulders. He whined a little, mumbling to himself. All for One smiled at him, brushing his hair out of his face. It would be a long time before he was able to alter Izuku’s appearance again. He needed to wait long enough for Izuku to forget he could make those kinds of changes, hopefully long enough that Izuku stopped caring altogether.
“Daddy.” Izuku mumbled in his sleep, squirming until he settled back in his father’s arms.
All for One felt a strange surge in his circuits. Had Izuku really just…?
Izuku whined and started to cry in his sleep. “Don’t go… Dad… Mom. Please!”
All for One’s excitement faded. Izuku could still dream. His dreams were one of the few times he was able to see images of his parents. Though dreams were based on memories, when Izuku was unconscious he seemed to be unable to fully block Izuku’s access to some of his restricted memories. Some, the ones he had more attachment to, were easier for him to get to. Others, the ones Izuku himself seemed to want to forget, he usually didn’t dream about.
“Someday, little one, someday you’ll see that I’m all you have.” All for One placed Izuku on his bed, making sure his head was on the pillow and that his blanket covered him. He kissed Izuku’s cheek and stared down at him for a long time. “Someday. Someday you’ll understand how much I love you. I’ll keep waiting for you until then.”