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Shouta threw back his sake in one go, slamming the glass down on the counter with a loud thump.
It was quiet enough to go unheard over the chatter filling the bar. The words he followed it up with, however, were not.
“Does anyone know where I can get a quirk?!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.
Dead silence fell, absolutely everyone staring at him. At least he could hide behind his hair, even if he had opted to leave his capture scarf behind.
No one spoke for a long moment.
“Is that a I don’t know shit silence or the answer is obvious silence?” Shouta asked. He didn’t have time for nonsense such as fear.
Every day Izuku Midoriya remained quirkless, preventing him from being labeled as a vigilante, brought him one step closer to death or major injury.
If his quirklessness was the one reason for why he wouldn’t stop endangering himself, Shouta was going to get him a fucking quirk.
He wanted to see the kid become a hero, not be forced to attend his funeral.
“There’s always-” One of the more thug-like patrons started, only to get immediately elbowed in the side by his neighbour.
“There’s always what?” Shouta jumped on that immediately.
The man shot a side-eye at the one who elbowed him, making sure it wouldn’t happen again, before continuing.
“All For One,” he whispered, as if the words alone were going to summon the man. That would have been incredibly convenient. “The Boogeyman of the Underground. Word around goes that he can give and take quirks at will…”
Oh, yes, Shouta heard of him.
“That’s just a fairytale,” another patron scoffed. “There’s no such thing.”
“No, he’s real!” Another person piped in.
From Shouta’s limited experience with that name, that was the general reaction - half of the people were convinced it was a myth, half had some sort of an anecdote to prove he was real.
Still, any such proofs were all older than five years. With no fresh evidence, how was Shouta supposed to track the man down?
The bartender slammed his hand down on the counter. “We do not talk about All For One in this bar,” he said, his mist flaring slightly.
...Interesting.
“Why not?” Shouta questioned, immediately gaining the man’s undivided attention.
“...It’s a rule,” the bartender said lamely.
“I don’t buy it,” Shouta smirked. ‘You must know something if you want everyone to stay quiet.”
The bartender’s sigh almost made Shouta feel bad about the pestering. But then, he remembered what was at the stake here - his kid’s life - and his determination grew.
The bartender sent a glare across the room, sending everyone else scrambling back to their previous activities.
“If you don’t stop asking about him,” the bartender whispered, leaning in close. “I will be forced to remove you from this bar.”
“That’s a pity,” Shouta shrugged. “But I won’t stop till I get to meet the man.”
...It wasn’t his original plan, but if he was this close to finding All For One, he might as well seize the opportunity.
The bartender’s phone chimed, sending him rushing to check it.
“...Fine,” he said. “If you want it this badly-”
Almost before Shouta could react, a portal opened under his feet, swallowing him whole.