Archive of Our Own

The first thing he registered was voices yelling in the background. Despite this, Izuku still awoke slowly and groggily, head pounding. His eyes took significant effort to open, and he shifted, groaning as a dull ache swept through his body at the movement. Whatever he was lying down on was soft, and so Izuku made no move to get up right away as he racked his brain for his last memory.

What had happened?

“Can you guess who was on my mind the entire time I was in jail? You.”

Oh.

“Now it’s…YOUR TURN!”

Oh no. The explosion! The others—!

Izuku shot upright, hissing in pain. The surprise explosion that had occurred after All For One’s video message had knocked him out, but clearly he had been moved from the wreckage. For a hopeful moment, he thought that maybe the other heroes had grabbed him and retreated, but the bed beneath him didn’t look like a hospital bed.

Izuku rolled out of it and onto his feet, body tense as he looked around, dread filling his stomach. He didn’t recognize this room at all.

Wait. Hadn’t there been voices before?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a voice spoke up, “Izuku! Izuku, don’t panic.”

It took a moment for him to register the voice as being familiar—though one he hadn’t heard in years and years. But once he had, Izuku whipped around towards the voice, eyes wide. ”Dad?!”

As his gaze landed on the other people in the room, his jaw dropped.

Black hair, wild and curly like Izuku’s. The same smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. And red eyes—eyes that were filled with poorly concealed fear. It really was him: Hisashi Midoriya.

He didn’t even look a day over thirty; just as Izuku remembered him before he had left.

But the sight of his long-lost father wasn’t the most surprising part. No, the most surprising part was seeing his father sitting on All For One’s lap, the villain’s chin resting on his dad’s head. The sight was so shocking that the only thing Izuku could think to say was, “I thought you were in America?”

All For One barked out a laugh. “Is that what you told them, Hisashi?” One hand reached up to pinch his dad’s cheek, and Izuku watched his dad cringe. “Come now, I taught you how to lie better than that.”

Hisashi Midoriya wasn’t exactly a short man, but in comparison to All For One’s hulking figure, he looked small—and incredibly uncomfortable. All For One’s arms were wrapped around his dad’s waist, forcibly holding Hisashi on his lap. And if Izuku didn’t know any better, he would almost say that the villain was holding his dad affectionately.

Still, the sight of his dad—a grown man—sitting on another grown man’s lap was…weird.

“Let him go,” Izuku growled. He didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know why his dad was here. But from the expression on Hisashi’s face, Izuku understood that his dad didn’t want to be here. So he concluded that All For One must have kidnapped him—probably to use him as a hostage against Izuku.

All For One simply laughed again. “And why should I?” he asked, leaning back further against the couch he was seated on. One hand moved up to caress Hisashi’s hair, and Izuku’s teeth ground in anger.

“Get your filthy hands off of him,” he hissed.

Izuku didn’t really know how to feel about his dad. After all, the man had simply walked out on him and his mom one day. And despite Inko repeatedly claiming him to be working in America, Izuku had never heard from him once. No visits. No phone calls. Not even an email.

But no matter what his personal feelings were on the matter, Hisashi Midoriya was still a civilian. Still his dad.

“My, my. What poor manners your boy has, Hisashi. I’m going to have to correct that,” All For One commented idly.

Izuku tensed, hands clenching into fists, knees bending, prepared to spring forward at a moment’s notice.

“Izuku!” Hisashi’s voice sounded strained as he spoke. “Izuku, please calm down.” His eyes were pleading with Izuku, making him hesitate.

“Mm, yes. Let’s not doing anything rash now, little one,” All For One chimed in.

Izuku didn’t really know if he even could. His everything felt like one big bruise, the explosion having done no favours on his already tired and sleep deprived body. But still, he would fight if he had to. All For One’s breathing equipment was right next to the couch, the villain not wearing his black helmet, leaving his scarred face on display. If Izuku could get to the equipment and destroy it, he’d gain a major advantage.

All For One seemed to sense his unwillingness to back down, for he tilted his head to the side with a grin. “Oh? Are you not tired out enough, little one? You still want to fight?”

Hisashi stiffened. “He’s probably just confused!” he blurted out. “Of course he’s going to be defensive when he doesn’t know what’s happening. Let me—Let me go to him.”

Izuku watched warily as All For One’s wide grin softened, his arms giving Hisashi a gentle squeeze. “Now, now. You know how to ask properly. What do you say, Hisashi?”

Hisashi looked resigned, but the words that came out of his mouth next shook Izuku to the core.

“Please, Dad.”

“Good boy.” All For One patted Hisashi on the head and released him.

Izuku was still frozen in shock as his dad walked up to him, smiling nervously. “Izuku. Son.” Hisashi’s hand came up as if to touch his shoulder, but only hovered indecisively in the air before dropping. “It’s…It’s good to see you again,” he said awkwardly.

All For One scoffed from behind them. “Is that any way to greet your son after being separated from him for so long, Hisashi?”

“I doubt Izuku wants us in his personal space right now,” Hisashi protested weakly.

All For One shifted on the couch, his mouth twisting in disapproval. “Greet your family properly, Hisashi.”

“But—”

All For One moved to stand. “Do you need a reminder on how? I’d be happy to show you—”

Hisashi quickly flung his arms around Izuku and pulled him into a tight hug. Izuku watched All For One settle back down with a pleased smile.

“Sorry,” his dad whispered into his ear, so quietly Izuku assumed All For One must have had some sort of advanced hearing quirk. “Please don’t fight right now, Izuku. Please. Now isn’t the time. Just play along.” At a normal volume, he said, “I missed you, Izuku.” He then let Izuku go.

Izuku…had no idea what was going on. He felt like some wires in his brain had been permanently crossed. “Y-You? Dad? Why did you…? He’s…?” He gestured to All For One vaguely.

Izuku had always assumed that if he ever got captured by All For One he’d face torture or experimentation or death. Probably all three. Not…whatever this was.

“I’m your grandfather, yes,” All For One answered in his dad’s place. “I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you, Izuku.”

“I thought your parents were dead?” Izuku asked his dad.

All For One sighed. “I’m not surprised Hisashi didn’t tell you about me. I didn’t even know you existed until that silly sports festival your school put on. Hisashi did such a good job of hiding his little family from me that I was too impressed to be upset with him once I found out.”

The villain stood and approached them, his life-support equipment floating behind him. Izuku immediately shifted in front of his dad and into a defensive position. “Don't come any closer!”

“No need to get all wound up.” It grated on Izuku that All For One was acting so calm, as if Izuku wasn’t a threat at all. “I do have places to be, but I want to go over some ground rules with you first.”

“Rules?” Izuku muttered in confusion.

“Of course! Now that you’re going to be staying here with us—in this One For All proof room—you’re going to have to obey some rules. You’re such a smart boy, I’m sure you can already guess what they are.” All For One waved a hand. “Don’t attempt to run away. Don’t attack anyone—don’t even use your quirk at all in fact. And obviously, listen to me when I’m speaking and obey me.”

What crap. Izuku opened his mouth to spit an insult, “Wh—”

All For One reached forward and patted Izuku’s cheek, interrupting him, and the only thing that prevented Izuku from lashing out was his dad grabbing his arm from behind in warning. “Just be a good boy and everything will be alright,” All For One said.

“And what makes you think I’m going to do any of that?” Izuku challenged.

The villain’s smile somehow managed to get wider. “Because if you don’t, I’ll punish Hisashi in your place, and I’ll make you watch.”

Izuku went cold.

The hand around his arm trembled. “D-Dad, please—” Hisashi stuttered.

“Hush, Hisashi,” All For One scolded, although not unkindly. He turned his attention back to Izuku, ignoring the quiet apology Hisashi gave him. “I’m well aware that the threat of punishment won’t work on you. You’re far too stubborn and courageous to let such a thing frighten you into obedience. But I’m also aware of how morally righteous you are, corrupted by those heroic ideals as you have been. You would never risk someone else’s safety, would you?”

“That…” No. No he wouldn’t. Izuku couldn’t let somebody else get hurt for his mistakes. “That’s not fair…” he trailed off, hating how childish his protest sounded.

All For One tilted his head. “Is that a problem? Hisashi,” he called, “would you willingly take your son’s punishments in his place?”

Izuku’s dad squeezed his arm gently before his hand fell away. “Y-Yes,” Hisashi answered quietly.

All For One clapped his hands. “There you have it, little one. No more crying about fairness now, alright? So be a good boy or you’ll have to watch your daddy get punished for your disobedience.”

This thoroughly complicated any plans Izuku might have to escape. Someone else’s well-being was on the line—his dad’s well-being.

With his threat made clear, Izuku didn’t fight when All For One stepped forward and hugged him. He stood incredibly stiff in the villain’s arms as All For One rubbed his back. “Welcome home, little one,” the villain said warmly. “I’ll get you lots of nice things, ok? You’ll be happy here, and most importantly, you’ll be safe. I promise. Now,”—he let Izuku go with an affectionate hair ruffle—“I will return in time for dinner. Be good, boys.”

All For One teleported out, which drew Izuku’s attention to the fact that the only door around was an open one that lead into a bathroom. There were no other doors, or even a window, which made the prospect of escape that much worse.

“I’m so sorry.”

Izuku turned to his dad, who looked distraught. “This isn’t your fault,” he reassured, even though he didn’t know that for certain.

“I should’ve done more to protect you.” Hisashi looked down, fidgeting with his hands. “After the sports festival, he…Well, I think he already knew, but he—he made me admit it. That I had a family.”

Izuku frowned. “He forced you? I thought he said he wasn’t upset with you about it.”

“He wasn’t. He didn’t really force me to admit it, he just kind of talked circles around me until I slipped up. At that point, trying to deny it was futile and just as good as an admission. But I should’ve tried harder to hide the truth. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. I’m sorry.” His dad seemed so earnestly apologetic, but Izuku’s frown only deepened.

“You do know that it’s not your fault when someone else manipulates you, right?” Izuku asked.

Hisashi huffed a humourless laugh, running a hand through his hair. “I know. But I also know all of Dad’s techniques; I know what he’s like. So I shouldn’t have let him manipulate me when I could recognize the tactics he was using.”

“Whether you’re aware of it or not that someone is manipulating you, it’s still not your fault,” Izuku said firmly.

Hisashi didn’t look convinced, but he simply shook his head and placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, his face turning serious. “Either way, Izuku, I need you to promise me something.”

Izuku eyed him. “…What?”

“Don’t let him manipulate you. You’ve got spirit. Keep it. Fight back.” Hisashi squeezed his shoulder.

Izuku reared back. “No! You heard him, he’ll hurt you!”

“Don’t let his threats stop you from trying to escape. You are your main priority right now, ok? Don't be afraid to do anything you have to in order to get out of here.” Hisashi grabbed Izuku’s other shoulder, shaking him slightly. “It’s alright, Izuku. I agreed to it.”

“Under duress!” Izuku protested.

“Maybe. But I would have offered even if he hadn’t pressed me.” Izuku looked at him wildly, and Hisashi gave him a weak smile. “I would take any punishment for you.”

Izuku stepped back, his dad’s hands falling off his shoulders. “I can’t let you do that.”

“You can’t stop me. You’re my son, I’ll do anything to protect you,” his dad said. There was a tinge of desperation to his words that made Izuku pause.

Tentatively, he asked, “Has he…Has he punished you before?”

Hisashi flinched, various emotions rapidly playing out across his face. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled.

Izuku’s brows furrowed in concern. So he had. “Are you ok? What did he do to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” his dad snapped loudly, and Izuku jumped in surprise at the volume. Hisashi’s face immediately crumpled with regret, and he hunched in on himself. “Sorry. I’m sorry,” he apologized in a whisper.

“No, it’s—it’s alright. I shouldn’t have pushed,” Izuku said.

An awkward silence fell over them, his dad refusing to look him in the eye.

“…It’s good to see you—despite the circumstances that is.” Hisashi hesitantly broke the silence. “I missed you. You’ve gotten so big since I last saw you.”

Izuku’s lips thinned, his mood souring a bit. He knew he shouldn’t let it get to him, especially given the situation, but he couldn’t help the old hurts that that sentence brought up. “Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you screw off to another country for a decade and don’t even bother trying to get into contact with your family again,” he retorted snidely.

Hisashi winced. “I was never in America,” he admitted.

“What?” Izuku had assumed All For One had tracked down his dad in America to use as leverage against him.

Hisashi made his way back over to the couch, sitting down heavily. “That was the excuse I told Inko to give to people.”

Izuku, who had been heading to join his dad, froze. “Mom knew?”

“Yes, b—”

“She knew this whole time?!” Izuku asked in a strangled voice. He more or less collapsed onto the other end of the couch, his injured body protesting.

“Izuku, please.” Hisashi licked his lips and stared down at the cushion between them. “You have to understand. I managed to escape from your grandfather shortly after my twentieth birthday. I met your mother a year after that, and, well.” He gestured vaguely with his hand. “You know the rest. But even as the years passed and things seemed safe, I always knew there was still a chance that he would find me again.”

“And Mom knew?” Izuku repeated. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that his mother had lied to him for most of his life.

“Yes. I told Inko everything. I wanted her to be prepared in case the worst happened, so I told her all of it, and we made plans for if he ever found me.”

“How did he find you?” Izuku didn't remember his parents ever panicking about anything. His dad had simply gone to work one day and never came home. They had moved shortly after that, and a week later his mom had told him Hisashi had been suddenly transferred to work in America. Izuku had been young enough that he never questioned it.

“Through sheer bad luck—on my end at least. One of my old coworkers at the office, her husband was one of Dad’s inner circle lackeys. Of course, I hadn’t known she was married to a villain because I’d never met her husband before. Not until the morning he came into the office because he and his wife had accidentally switched briefcases before leaving for work...” Hisashi trailed off, his eyes going distant.

Izuku waited a moment, but when he realized his dad was getting lost in his head, he prompted him, “So? What happened?”

Hisashi blinked back into the present. “Ah, sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Well, we recognized each other right away. He’d been a loyal follower of Dad for a long time, and he remembered me from when I was young. I knew right then that I had been compromised. I texted your mother our pre-established code word and left work immediately.”

“Code word?”

“We agreed that should he ever find me, she was to pack up and move to a different city as soon as I sent her the code word. As for me, I destroyed my phone and any identification in my wallet right after. Then I ran in the opposite direction of where we lived to prevent him from finding out about either of you. I had hoped to be able to lay low for a while and eventually make my way to the new house you had moved to. But in the case that I never returned, Inko was to tell everyone that I had transferred to work in America.”

“So All For One had you this whole time…” Izuku winced internally. Ten years. An entire decade of being bitter because he had assumed his dad had abandoned them. And it turned out this whole time his dad had been held captive by the worst villain to ever exist. “I thought…I thought you had left because I was quirkless,” he admitted quietly.

Hisashi looked surprised. “What? Of course not! I would never leave you over something like that. It would be very hypocritical of me anyway, considering it’s my fault you’re quirkless.”

Izuku’s brow furrowed. “…What?”

“I’m quirkless too,” Hisashi told him casually, as if he hadn’t just rocked Izuku’s world for the hundredth time that day.

“But you have fire breath!” Izuku objected. “I remember seeing you use it!”

Hisashi shrugged. “I was born quirkless. When I was young, Dad used to give me various quirks to play with—though never more than one at a time. He gave me fire breath on my twentieth birthday, and I still had it when I managed to escape.” A brief sadness flashed across his features. “Of course, he took it back after he caught me again.”

“That’s…” Izuku had no idea what to say. He knew very well what it was like to be quirkless, and now that he had One For All, he couldn’t imagine losing it, going back to having nothing. “I’m sorry.”

Hisashi shrugged again. “It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not yours either, he did that to you.”

Hisashi huffed a humourless laugh. “It’s not like it was ever actually mine to begin with. Dad loves to remind me that everything I currently have was given to me by him. And if he gave it to me, he can easily take it away.”

Izuku squinted. “Would you take away something you gave to me?”

Hisashi blinked at him in surprise. “Of course not! Once you give something to someone, it’s no longer yours; it’s theirs. You can’t take back a gift.”

“So then he shouldn’t be taking away the things he gives to you, should he?” Izuku pressed.

Hisashi looked back down at his hands. “That’s different.”

“How?”

“It just is!” His dad stood, shoulders stiff, before he turned to Izuku with a fake smile. “I know there’s not much to see, but how about I give you a tour of your new…temporary residence?”

Izuku stared at him silently for a long moment, but finally decided to allow the previous subject to drop. Hisashi clearly didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Fine.” He tried not to allow his displeasure to show in his tone, but judging by his dad’s small wince, he wasn’t fully successful.

There really wasn’t much to see. They were in a huge, open-concept room. The large bed Izuku had woken up on was in one corner, with other bedroom furniture surrounding it, and in a different corner diagonally across the room was a small kitchen area—though Hisashi told him the oven and stovetop didn’t work unless All For One was around. The couch they had been sitting on was part of the living room section of the place, complete with a television that had no cable and was only really good for watching the movies that were stored in a nearby shelving unit. As Izuku had noticed earlier, the single door in the room led to a bathroom, which was complete with both a huge tub and a shower.

“So where are we then?” Izuku asked. “Location-wise I mean.”

Hisashi shrugged. “I don’t really know. I haven’t been out of this room in all the ten years I’ve been here.”

Oh yikes. Izuku cringed. That would explain a few things about his dad. “Is there anything at all you can tell me?”

Hisashi looked around nervously, as if he expected All For One to suddenly pop up or something, before whispering, “We’re underground somewhere. That’s all I know. Hopefully still in Japan, but I have no idea. The only thing I’m sure about is that we are far, FAR underground. And there’s no secret passage out of here that I’ve ever seen. The only way in and out is through Dad’s teleportation quirk.”

The very idea of being buried under the earth—even if it was in a nice room—made Izuku feel slightly ill. “There…There has to be another way out,” he mumbled. “All For One is the kind of person to have backup plans for backup plans. Surely he would have some sort of alternative way out set up in case he ever died or lost his teleportation quirk. Otherwise we’d be…we’d be…”

Hisashi looked a bit paler at that. “I don’t know. I try not to think about it.” He gestured around them. “Trust me, I’ve searched every inch of this room. I’ve never found any indications of there being a hollow space in the walls, or a place where a door used to be or might be hiding behind.”

On second thought, maybe All For One would leave it so that if something ever happened, Hisashi (and Izuku) would never get out; would die down here. The villain did seem like the type of jealously possessive bastard to not want anyone to have his things if he couldn’t have them either.

But Izuku still shook his head and gave his dad a smile more confident than he truly felt. “Everything will be fine,” he said (lied, but he had to). “I’m here now. I’ll do my own search, and I’ll find a way to get us out of here, ok?”

Hisashi didn’t look convinced, instead seeming concerned. “Izuku, if you have the chance to escape, you must take it. Don’t try to wait for me or come back for me. Don’t risk yourself like that. If you have the opportunity to get out of here, you take it. Understand?”

No, he didn’t understand. It went against everything he stood for to leave someone, especially a civilian, behind. But Izuku also knew he wouldn’t be able to argue it, so he said, “I understand.”

Hisashi smiled tightly and patted him on the shoulder. “Good.”

“What time do you think he will be back?” Izuku asked.

His dad shrugged. “No idea. If you haven’t noticed, there are no clocks in here. Makes it hard to tell any sort of time.”

Izuku’s lips twisted in displeasure. “Well,” he sighed, “I’m going to poke around a bit. See if I can find anything…interesting.”

“Ok. Let me know if I can help at all.” With that, Hisashi wandered back over to the couch and picked up a book that was laying on the coffee table.

Izuku had to push down his initial reaction of incredulous offence that his dad would just sit down and read a book when they were stuck in this situation. He had to remind himself that this had been Hisashi’s life for ten years. His dad had given up, seeming convinced there was no way out. And he might well be correct, but Izuku couldn’t not look for himself.

So he began to search the walls carefully, looking for any cracks in the paint, placing his ear against certain spots and knocking to see if he could hear any sort of hollow echo.

The room was large enough that it was slow progress, but he made sure to thoroughly check every section of the walls he could. However, he had only managed to get three-fourths of the way around the room when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Izuku whipped around in time to see All For One materialize in the middle of the room, holding bags of takeout, his life-support equipment floating behind him.

“I’m a little late, I’m afraid, but I wanted to pick up something special tonight,” All For One announced. He released the bags, and they floated over to the dining table in the kitchen area. “I order from your favourite restaurant, Hisashi, in celebration of my darling grandson’s homecoming.”

Homecoming? He called this a homecoming? Izuku felt a twitch start up in his left eye. All For One was still just standing there, almost like he was expecting something, but Izuku didn’t know what.

He soon found out when Hisashi set his book down and promptly went right over to the villain and hugged him. “Welcome back, Dad.”

All For One looked annoyingly self-satisfied, hugging Hisashi back. Though in Izuku’s opinion, All For One’s “hugs” didn’t really seem like hugs. They were too…possessive. Too much like a predator clutching prey in its claws and not enough familial warmth. All For One also held on for much longer than a normal hug would usually last for, continuing to hold Hisashi long after Hisashi’s arms had dropped to his sides, clearly indicating that he wanted to pull away.

When All For One finally let go, he turned expectantly to Izuku, arms open.

Izuku didn’t move.

“Come now, Izuku, won’t you greet your granddad?” All For One asked lightly—although lightly in a way that was clearly a warning in disguise.

“Greetings, Grandfather,” Izuku said in a flat tone, still making no move to approach All For One.

All For One clicked his tongue. “That’s no way to properly greet your family. Don’t be difficult, Izuku. You saw how Hisashi did it.”

“Dad, i-it’s his first day,” Hisashi cut in tentatively. “Surely y-you can let him off—”

“Be quiet, Hisashi,” All For One ordered firmly, a finger pressing to Hisashi’s lips to shush him.

Izuku watched as his dad immediately shrunk in on himself, trying to look small. “…Sorry, Daddy,” Hisashi whispered.

All For One pet a hand through Hisashi’s hair. “You’re not in trouble,” he soothed. “But Izuku has to learn how things work around here, and the sooner the better.”

Izuku couldn't help but feel incredibly offended on his dad’s behalf. Watching the man get consistently treated like a young child by his father, and not even protest it…It was awful. It made Izuku angry to see just how much All For One had clearly broken Hisashi down. He knew Hisashi’s will wasn’t totally gone, considering the things he had whispered to Izuku about escaping when All For One wasn’t around, but to see how cowed and nervous Hisashi was in his father’s presence…It didn’t say good things.

“Now, Izuku,” All For One addressed him. “Remember what I said about being obedient. I expect you to greet me properly whenever I return.”

Izuku held back a snort. “You expect me to drop everything and run to hug you every single time you show up?”

“Yes,” All For One said simply. “Now come here.”

And oh, Izuku didn’t want to. But one look at the silent plea in Hisashi’s eyes had him reluctantly walking over and wrapping stiff arms around All For One. He tried not to shudder as he was enfolded in one of those horribly greedy hugs, the villain squishing Izuku far closer than Izuku ever wanted to be to him.

“Good boy!” All For One praised, dropping a kiss on Izuku’s head that made Izuku want to crawl out of his skin. He continued to hold onto Izuku even when Izuku began to squirm after a few minutes, having tolerated as much as he could. When All For One finally released him, he did so with an, “Alright, let’s eat before dinner gets cold. This is a special day, after all.”

Hisashi rushed to set the table while All For One began to unpack the food from the bags, and as Izuku took a seat (after a pointed stare from All For One) he noted that there were no knives in sight. In fact, all the cutlery at his and Hisashi’s placemats were plastic, including the chopsticks. All For One though, had normal, metal cutlery and chopsticks.

It was strange. What was equally strange was watching his dad sit down quietly and then make no move to serve himself. Though Izuku quickly saw why once All For One picked up Hisashi’s plate and began to pile food on it. When Izuku reached towards the dishes set out, All For One gently smacked his hands away.

“Be patient, little grandson,” All For One chided, “you’re next.”

“I can serve myself,” Izuku protested.

“When I’m here, I’ll help you,” was all the villain said in response. “That’s what family is for.”

Izuku thought that sounded rather toxic and codependent, but he knew he had to pick his battles carefully. “Why is everything plastic?” he asked.

All For One set the now-full plate down in front of Hisashi, and grabbed Izuku’s plate to fill it up next. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself, obviously.” He smiled at Izuku like Izuku was a young, stupid child.

“How on earth would I go about hurting myself with chopsticks, spoons, and forks?” Izuku barely prevented himself from rolling his eyes. He supposed you could stab someone with a chopstick if you put enough force into it, but they were blunt and didn’t make good weapons beyond an initial surprise attack. The prongs of a fork were too short to do much damage, and a spoon…What the hell could someone do with a spoon?

“Metal cutlery is very dangerous around electricity,” All For One explained. “I don’t need one of you trying to poke a fork into an electrical socket. Again.”

Izuku’s teeth ground together. What did All For One think they were?! Toddlers?! Why the hell would they—Wait. Again?

“Again?” Izuku echoed. “Are you implying that—”

He noticed then that Hisashi had guilty expression, shifting in his seat and keeping his eyes lowered, cheeks a faint pink.

“Dad?” Izuku blurted out incredulously. Had he seriously done that?! “Did you actually—?”

“Izuku, there’s no need to raise your voice,” All For One interrupted, giving Izuku a stern tap on the nose as he set the full plate of food in front of him.

Izuku ignored him, staring at Hisashi who was refusing to meet his eyes. “Why the hell would you—?”

“Izuku,” All For One repeated more firmly. “There’s no need to bring up past mistakes that have already been forgiven.”

Mistakes?! “Adults don't stick metal objects into electrical sockets by mistake,” Izuku insisted. “And what do you mean ‘forgiven’? What about that would need you to—”

“Enough!” All For One snapped, causing Izuku to jump at the sudden shout.

Hisashi had his face hidden behind his hands, and Izuku felt a sliver of regret for pestering him about something he was clearly uncomfortable with.

“Izuku,” All For One lowered his voice to an even tone once more. “You must understand that your daddy has gone through some very difficult times.”

Yeah, caused by YOU, Izuku sneered mentally.

“Depression isn’t something to make fun of, alright?” All For One continued. “We’ve been through a lot of different medications, and it’s taken a long time for Hisashi to get where he is now—though I couldn’t be more proud.” All For One leaned over and gave Hisashi a peck on the temple.

“You drug him?!” Izuku hissed furiously.

All For One looked incredibly disapproving. “He takes antidepressants, Izuku. He needs them to help regulate his moods and stabilize the chemicals in his brain. I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth shaming him for it or you and Hisashi can leave this table and go hungry for the night.”

Shaming him for it?! Izuku wasn’t shaming his dad! He didn’t trust a damn word out of All For One’s mouth, nor that the villain was actually giving Hisashi real antidepressants. All For One was probably drugging Hisashi all the time to keep him complacent!

But he couldn’t voice those thoughts. Hisashi would be punished as well, and his dad didn’t deserve that. So instead, Izuku took a deep, slow breath through his nose and ground out, “Fine.”

“Good boy.” And oh, Izuku hated the praise in All For One’s voice when he spoke. “Now, eat everything on your plate and you can have dessert.”

He wasn’t really in the mood for dessert—he was in the mood for violence—but Izuku began to methodically (and irately) shovel food into his mouth as All For One attempted to make light dinner chitchat. He had no interest in engaging All For One in further conversation, but he also knew he couldn’t ignore the man unless he wanted All For One’s wrath to fall down on Hisashi.

Surprisingly, it was his dad that came through. Hisashi actively worked to occupy All For One’s attention, talking quietly but fervently about inane things. Occasionally, Izuku would see his dad’s eyes flick over to him, seeming to assess his mood. Hisashi would then continue to ramble on, preventing All For One from asking Izuku too many questions, and would change the subject when All For One tried to talk about something that made Izuku visibly bristle.

It was…touching. When All For One became insistent on bringing Izuku into the conversation, making mention of how quiet Izuku was being, Hisashi even made a mess to draw attention away from Izuku. Izuku watched as his dad “accidentally” missed his mouth with his chopsticks, spilling food into his lap.

All For One chuckled and cooed in response, using a napkin to wipe Hisashi’s chin and clean up the mess with the help of a quirk. “You’re so clumsy!” he commented, not sounding bothered at all. “After all this time you still need Daddy’s help.”

Izuku’s food sat heavy in his stomach as he witnessed the demeaning interaction. But, at the very least, his plate was now empty. He began to stand.

“Where are you going?” All For One questioned immediately.

“I’m finished eating,” Izuku said.

“You haven’t even had dessert yet, nor have I dismissed you from the table.”

Izuku racked his brain for an excuse. “I need to use the bathroom.”

All For One’s lips thinned, but he nodded. “Alright. Come right back here when you’re done though.”

Izuku tried not to show how eager he was to get away as he headed for the bathroom. Once inside, he sank down against the door, a sigh leaving him as his eyes closed, able to relax just a tiny bit now that he was out of All For One’s presence. For a man who had no eyes, the villain certainly didn’t seem to have any trouble with his senses. He still managed to make Izuku feel like he was being keenly observed, even when his attention was elsewhere.

Izuku stayed in his pseudo-sanctuary for as long as he thought he could reasonably excuse—about five minutes—before forcing himself up and making his way back to the dinner table.

Thankfully, All For One and Hisashi had finished their food as well, so Izuku hoped he wouldn’t be made to stay there much longer. Dessert was small, which meant by the time All For One had finished boasting about having it imported directly from Belgium, where it had been freshly handcrafted that same day, they were done eating. Izuku had to hold back his relief that the worst dinner he’d ever experienced was now over. The food had been amazing, admittedly very delicious, but the company had left a lot to be desired.

All For One dismissed them from the table, vanishing the dishes and leftovers with a wave of his hand. He then immediately pounced on Hisashi, making Izuku tense reflexively and ball his fists up in preparation for a fight. But All For One held no aggression. Instead, he looked delighted, pinching Hisashi’s cheeks.

“Oh, you did such a good job trying to divert my attention from little Izuku!” he praised, rubbing his…well, he didn’t have a nose, so his scar-tissue really, against Hisashi’s nose in a bunny kiss. “Yes, you did! You’re such a good daddy, looking out for your son! All day you’ve been trying to give him time to adjust so he’s not overwhelmed. What a good boy you are, putting family first like that.”

All For One was…happy about Hisashi tricking him? He’d known the whole time? Izuku felt his head spinning. All For One hadn’t wanted (and still didn’t want) to give Izuku time and space, insisting he needed to learn the rules off the bat. So why was he so happy about Hisashi trying to act like a barrier between them? Shouldn’t he be upset about it? Izuku didn’t understand the villain’s mind.

It had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d been kidnapped, and yet All For One’s hypocrisy and inconsistency in his words and actions were giving Izuku vertigo.

Hisashi looked decidedly resigned to the coddling, standing there limply and allowing All For One to do what he wanted. All For One continued to croon degrading little praises a while longer, before his attention shifted back to Izuku. “How about you pick the movie tonight, little one?”

“Oh, you…want to watch a movie with us? But you don’t…” Have eyes, Izuku stopped himself from saying. “Have time?” he finished weakly.

All For One just laughed, patting Izuku’s cheek as he walked by him. “Of course I have time for my wonderful son and grandson! Come, come.” He sat in the middle of the couch, arms stretched out across the back of it. “Pick a movie and sit down.”

Izuku couldn’t see a way out of this “bonding activity”, and so with great reluctance he perused the selection of movies (and there were a good many of them) in the shelving unit near the T.V. He took his time, and when he finally picked one and wandered over to the couch after, All For One already had Hisashi pressed up against his side. Izuku sat on the other end of the couch, squishing himself up against the arm of it to be as far away from the villain as possible.

But unfortunately, he was not far enough to be out of All For One’s reach. All For One snagged him by the shirt, dragging him close until Izuku was cuddled up against his other side. He wrapped his arms around both Izuku and Hisashi, looking incredibly smug. Izuku had to fight down the instinctive urge to lash out, feeling his quirk bubbling under his skin. He reminded himself that he would only get his dad in trouble, and that now wasn’t the time.

But oh, it was so hard to resist the urge to rip that satisfied smirk off of All For One’s face—what was left of it anyway. Izuku could barely pay attention to the movie, too focused on the man he was being held against, on the arm around him and the hand that occasionally patted his side affectionately. Hisashi, on the other hand when Izuku glanced over, looked fully invested in the film playing out on the television.

…Actually his eyes seemed a little bit vacant, as if he was disassociating from the current situation. They weren’t flicking back and forth, following the action happening on the screen. Instead they stared blankly forward, a foggy, distant look to them.

Izuku suffered over halfway through the movie like that when All For One straightened up suddenly. “Sorry boys, I have to take this call. You keep watching, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The villain stood then, stepping away from the couch and teleporting from the room.

“…Call?” Izuku asked the room at large. “What call?”

His dad shrugged, shifting to a more comfortable position on the couch and looking much more relaxed than he had seconds ago in All For One’s arms. “He does that sometimes. A quirk of some sort I suppose.”

Izuku perked up. “Do you know how many quirks he has? What they are?”

Hisashi shook his head. “Not really. I know he has a lot. A lot. But he won’t tell me how many, nor what they are. I can tell you my guesses based off of the ones I’ve seen him use? Sorry that I don’t have better information to help you.”

Izuku frowned. “It’s not your fault he refuses to tell you anything. I would like to hear about the ones you’ve seen though.”

His dad turned more towards him, both of them completely ignoring the movie in the background now. “Hmm. Ok, so. Obviously he can teleport; you’ve seen that one. And he can receive phone calls? In his head, I guess? What he just used. I know for a fact that actual cellphones and internet and the like don’t work down here, which is why I think we must be really far underground.”

“How? Did you get access to a cell or a laptop at some point?” Izuku asked with hope.

“It was many years ago, before Dad got whatever that quirk is that he has now for calls. I managed to steal his phone out of his pocket at one point. He caught me pretty much right away, but it didn’t matter in the end. The phone had no service. I tried to call for emergency services and there was nothing. No signal this far down,” Hisashi explained.

“Ah.” Izuku’s shoulders slumped a bit. “I see. Well…what other quirks have you seen?”

Hisashi pursed his lips in thought. “He can vanish things, like he did after dinner. I don’t know exactly how or what the limits are, but I’ve seen him wave his hand and small messes just…disappear. I think he also has some sort of pocket dimension quirk? I’m not sure on that one, but I swear there’s been times he’s just pulled something out of nowhere. Maybe that and the vanishing thing are the same quirk though? I don’t know. Umm…he can also levitate items, as you’ve seen. Kind of like your mother, but more powerful.”

“Do you think he’ll go after her?” Izuku asked quietly. “It wouldn’t be hard for him to find her now that he’s got me.”

“…I don’t know,” Hisashi answered, voice sullen. “He hasn’t said anything about her, and I’ve been afraid to bring her up in case it gets his mind fixed on her.”

Izuku worried his lower lip. Surely All For One would say something if he was going after his mom? Right? He would boast or taunt or something. Would want Izuku and Hisashi to be aware that he had Mom or was about to get her. “All For One took me after the explosion he set up,” Izuku mumbled, a new thought forming in his mind. “What if Mom thinks I’m dead?”

“Well, would they have written you off as such? They never would have found your body, after all,” Hisashi pointed out. “It would make more sense to consider you as missing in action versus dead.”

True. But even him being labeled as missing would have his mom in tears. “I can’t imagine how she must be feeling right now. I know she never wanted me to be a hero—neither of you did. She was always worried about me; worried about my safety.”

His dad glanced away. “It’s not that we didn’t want you to be a hero, Izuku. Or, well, I didn’t. But not for the reasons you maybe always thought I didn’t. It had nothing to do with you being quirkless or weak or anything like that, it was just…well. I’m sure you can guess.”

“All For One,” Izuku murmured as it clicked in his brain. “You didn’t want me to be a hero because of him. Because you knew he was out there and didn’t want me to possibly gain his attention.”

Hisashi nodded. “You look a lot like me. I was always afraid that if you became a hero he would…find out somehow. Find us.” He chuckled bitterly. “Not that it matters. Look how it all turned out.”

His dad had been right that becoming a hero would lead All For One to finding out about him. After all, the villain had discovered Izuku during U.A’s sports festival. Still… “I don’t regret becoming a hero,” Izuku said firmly.

“I know.” Hisashi looked at him warmly. “Despite everything I’m—I’m proud of you. I haven’t seen you in action, or know all of what’s happened in your life, but I’ve heard you have One For All. Which means you must be spectacular to have caught All Might’s eye.”

Izuku blinked in surprise. “You know about One For All?” He hadn’t been sure how much his dad knew about that, considering All For One seemed intent on keeping Hisashi in the dark about most things.

Hisashi nodded. “It’s the one thing Dad is willing to talk to me about. Well, more like he rants about it really. So I know some of One For All’s history—although I can’t say if the version Dad told me was actually correct. It was probably very biased.”

“You don’t have to keep calling him ‘Dad’ you know. He’s not around right now,” Izuku couldn’t help but point out with a grumble. It annoyed him a bit, to hear his dad refer to All For One by a familial title. The villain didn’t deserve it.

Hisashi ducked his head, seeming ashamed. “Sorry,” he whispered. “It’s just. It’s habit.”

Izuku sighed. Yeah. It probably was. All For One had likely ingrained it into his dad at this point. “It’s fine. Don’t apologize for things you can’t help. I shouldn’t let unimportant things like that bother me anyway. It’s nothing to do with you, it just…irks me to hear it because he doesn’t deserve to be family to you. To us. Not when he treats us like this.”

“Sorry,” Hisashi said again.

“Stop apologizing.”

His dad flinched. “S-Sorry…”

Ah geez. Izuku had just opened his mouth to speak once more when All For One suddenly reappeared in the room, and the words died in Izuku’s throat.

“Enjoy your movie, boys?”

Hisashi was immediately up and off the couch, rushing over to embrace the villain. “Welcome back, Dad.”

All For One enclosed Hisashi in a hug just as long and as tight as the other one had been. When he eventually let go, he turned his attention to Izuku expectantly.

Izuku looked to the television, seeing credits playing across the screen. The movie was over, which meant All For One had been gone for maybe half an hour or so. It hadn’t even been that long; did the villain really expect Izuku to greet him like that every single time he entered the room, no matter how long or how little time had passed?

Just play along, he reminded himself. You’ve done that so far, just get through today. But ooh, Izuku was being tested. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and he was at his limit of “good behaviour”. How had his dad put up with this for an entire decade?!

He approached All For One robotically, resisting the urge to sink his teeth into the man’s flesh as he was trapped in that terrible embrace for the second time that day. “Salutations, Forefather.”

All For One just laughed at that. “Oh, you are so cute!” he cheered, seeming rather happy with Izuku’s attempts to annoy him—which in turn, annoyed Izuku. “What a bright little mind you have!” He ruffled Izuku’s hair, much to Izuku’s irritation. All For One then released him to wander over to the bedroom area, and began pulling pyjamas out of the dresser. “Alright, Hisashi,” he called, “it’s bath time.”

Bath time? Izuku frowned. Was he implying that…

“Come now, Hisashi, don’t dawdle.” All For One beckoned Hisashi over.

No. Uh-uh. Absolutely not. Izuku could not just keep quiet about this. “Hold up,” he said, raising a hand. “Wait a second. What are you doing? Are you going to bathe him?!”

All For One just smiled. “Yes. It’s his bath time. I bathed you earlier, darling grandson, so there’s no need for you to take one right now.”

And ugh. Izuku had been aware that he had to have been washed up while he was out, considering he had woken up clean and in fresh clothes when the last thing he’d remembered was being in his dirty hero costume. But to have it confirmed that it had been All For One himself who had bathed him? While he had been unconscious and defenceless? It sent shivers down Izuku’s spine; made his gut churn with nausea.

“That's—That’s not the point here,” he protested, trying to not think about All For One giving him a bath. “Why are you trying to help Dad bathe? He’s a grown man. That’s a violation of his privacy and autonomy.”

All For One snorted. “Nonsense. It’s not a violation of anything; I’m his father. Honestly, Izuku, when you word it like that, you make it sound like I have bad intentions. I’m helping your daddy because he won’t do it himself. He’s proven that to me multiple times.”

“…I will,” Hisashi interrupted, so quietly Izuku hadn’t been sure he had even spoken at first. But Hisashi looked up at All For One earnestly and tugged on his sleeve. “I’ll do it this time. I can—I can do it myself.”

All For One expressed disbelief very well for someone who lacked most of their face. “Will you?”

Hisashi nodded, though he didn’t look very confident. “Yes.”

There was a long pause, before All For One placed the clothes in Hisashi’s hands. “Good boy,” he praised. “This is progress for you, Hisashi. I’m proud.”

Hisashi simply ducked his head, clutching the pyjamas to his chest and refusing to look at either of them as he scurried off into the bathroom.

Izuku would have sighed in relief, except that now meant he was alone with All For One. His…grandfather. And he had no idea what to say.

All For One beat him to it before he could figure it out. “Come, Izuku. You should change into your pyjamas as well.” He dug around in another drawer of the dresser, holding up pyjamas that were covered in little All Mights. “Look! I even got your favourite hero—though I can’t fathom why you like him.”

Izuku just stared. “That’s a onesie.”

“It is!” All For One agreed cheerfully. “You’ll look so cute in it!”

This time Izuku didn’t care about being rude. “You can’t even see me!”

Thankfully, All For One didn’t seem offended. “That doesn’t matter, I have my ways. I’ll know.”

“I don’t want to wear a onesie!”

“Do you need help putting it on?” the villain asked, ignoring his protest.

Izuku figured that meant he would be forced into the onesie if he refused to comply voluntarily. Huffing, he stomped up and snatched the pyjamas out of All For One’s hands. The villain simply hummed and sat down on the end of the bed.

Izuku paused. “…Are you just gonna sit there? Can I maybe get some privacy to change?”

“What’s the matter? You said it yourself: I can’t see.”

“And you said you have your ways. So I assume you have some sort of quirk to make up for your lack of physical eyes,” Izuku shot back with a scowl.

All For One laughed. “Clever boy! Alright, alright.” He put his hands over the scar tissue on his face, covering where his eyes would be if he still had them. “Go ahead.”

Izuku…didn’t think that really did anything. It was a silly move made for show, one meant to appease a young child. But Izuku was no toddler, even if the man tried to treat him as such. Still, he realized he wouldn’t be getting anything more than that. Why would All For One turn his back to Izuku when Izuku still held One For All? It would be a stupid thing to do. Especially since Izuku knew he probably wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity to attack.

Sighing, he began to change as quickly as possible, slipping on the onesie, which was actually rather comfortable—a fact he resented.

All For One lowered his hands once Izuku finished, though Izuku hadn’t even told him he’d finished. The villain clapped. “Adorable!” he praised.

Izuku just scowled.

“Why haven’t you tried to take my quirk?” he asked abruptly.

All For One, for his part, showed no sign of being phased at the sudden change of subject. “You know perfectly well I can’t forcibly take it from you.” He crossed his legs, casually resting his hands atop his knee.

“I didn’t think that would stop you from trying.” Izuku worked hard to keep his voice even, but he couldn’t help the slight accusation that slipped through his words.

All For One’s head tilted to the side. “Have you ever had someone try to forcibly take or give you a quirk? It’s a very unpleasant experience, to be certain. I have no interest in causing you harm.”

For some reason, Izuku didn’t believe that. “For now.”

“For now,” All For One agreed, nodding. “You’ve been a very good boy so far, Izuku. I’m quite proud of you. The only harm you can expect from me would be a justified punishment for any mistakes you make. And even then, I have no desire to cause you permanent or undue damage.”

“I thought you said you’d be punishing Dad in my place?”

“I will be. But that doesn’t mean you won’t also receive repercussions if you do something very naughty. I’d have to punish the both of you.” All For One wagged a finger. “But don’t think that means I would take any joy in your pain.”

“Let me guess; it would hurt you just as much as it hurts us?” Izuku asked snidely.

“Watch your tone,” All For One warned. “But yes, exactly. I’ve had to spank Hisashi many times over the years, but it never gets any easier to see him cry.”

Izuku practically choked on his tongue. “You spank him?!” he yelled in a strangled voice.

“Of course.”

“What the FUCK is wrong with you?!”

“LANGUAGE!” All For One snarled in a vicious tone. He then touched his throat and cleared it delicately. “Sometimes a firm hand is needed. It’s not an uncommon punishment for children.”

“He’s not a child!” Izuku tried to reign his volume in, but it still came out as more of a shout. “He’s a grown man!”

All For One waved a hand, as if what Izuku said was ridiculous. “He’s my baby boy. As are you.”

Oh, Izuku couldn't stand the way this man treated them! His nostrils flared as he took a few deep breaths, trying to control his anger.

“But we digress from the topic at hand,” All For One continued. “Why did you ask me about your quirk, little one? I doubt you’re interested in giving it to me freely.”

“Hell no,” Izuku shut him down immediately.

“Language,” All For One chided again, but this time in a more sing-song like tone of warning.

Izuku blinked. “For what? Hell? That’s not that bad of a word at all!”

All For One’s lips thinned. “My little ones don’t need to be using any sort of foul language. This will be your last warning before I take action about it.”

Izuku held in the automatic swear that wanted to slip from his lips in retort to such a ridiculous demand. “I won’t ever give you One For All,” was all he said.

All For One sighed. “No, I didn’t think you would. But that’s alright, we have time to work on it. That quirk won’t do you any good in here anyways.”

Work on it? There wouldn’t be any “working” on it! Izuku wasn’t going to give it up. Ever. Non-negotiable. “The only way you’ll ever get your hands on One For All is if—”

The bathroom door opened and Hisashi shuffled out, breaking Izuku off from continuing his sentence. Which, that was probably for the best. Izuku likely would have ended up in trouble if he’d finished what he was going to say.

“Ah, Hisashi. Did you have a good bath?” All For One asked.

“I took a shower,” Hisashi answered quietly.

All For One smiled. “Good boy! Did you wash behind your ears?”

Hisashi nodded.

“And did you use hair conditioner?”

Hisashi nodded again.

“Did you brush your teeth?”

Another nod.

“Floss them?”

And another.

“Did you moisturize?”

Hisashi paused, fiddling with his hands.

“Did you?” All For One pressed.

“No…” Hisashi admitted. “But I did all the other stuff! Isn’t that good enough?”

“It’s very good,” All For One praised. “I’m so proud of you for getting all of that done on your own.” He stood. “But you can’t neglect your skincare, Hisashi. We don’t need you getting into a habit of skipping it. You’ll end up with dry skin.”

All For One headed for the bathroom, gesturing for Izuku to follow him. “Izuku, come. You should brush your teeth as well.”

Izuku didn’t particularly want to obey the villain, but he did want to brush his teeth, so he followed. All For One handed him a brand new toothbrush and rummaged through a drawer while Izuku took it out of the packaging. He set about brushing his teeth as All For One exited the room with a container of moisturizer in hand. Izuku leaned around the doorway after he left, watching the villain apply the product—with great care and gentleness—to Hisashi’s face as his dad sat on the side of the bed.

Izuku managed to finish up just as All For One returned to put the moisturizer away, and as he followed the villain back out of the bathroom, he had a front row seat to the spectacle of All For One pulling a bottle of pills out of thin air.

Ah. So his dad was right, All For One did seem to have some sort of pocket dimension quirk. But what was…?

“Hey!” Izuku jumped forward as All For One tried to approach Hisashi with the pills, blocking him from doing so. “What the hel—heck do you think you’re doing?”

All For One looked incredibly unimpressed. “It’s bedtime now, little grandson. Don’t go getting all worked up. It’s time to calm down and get ready to sleep.”

“What are you trying to give him?!” Izuku demanded to know.

All For One held up the bottle, which suspiciously had no label. “This is a sleep aid. Your daddy needs a little help at night getting to sleep.”

“He doesn’t need whatever drug it is you're pumping into him under the guise of ‘helping’,” Izuku spit, hackles raised. He didn’t believe for even one second that those were normal sleeping pills.

All For One scowled. “Izuku. That is a very rude thing to say. Your daddy doesn’t deserve to be shamed for the fact that he needs medications to help him.”

“What a load of garbage! Your medications are as fake as your help!” Izuku pointed a finger at him accusingly. “If you th—”

A hand covered his mouth, one that was trembling. “I-Izu-k-ku…” He could hear Hisashi right behind him, sounding terrified.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why. All For One’s entire countenance had darkened, his jaw set and the very air around them thick with anger.

Whoops.

Izuku had no compunctions against continuing what he had been saying. He could feel his quirk buzzing under his skin in response to the danger All For One was exuding, wanting to lash out and fight. And he would. Izuku would have gladly come to blows with All For One right then and there.

If Hisashi hadn’t also been right there, practically cowering behind Izuku in fright.

He couldn’t do that to his dad. Which meant he needed to break the tension and run damage control stat. Fortunately, if there was one thing he was good at as a Midoriya, it was crying.

Izuku forced tears to his eyes and faked a sob. “I’m sorry!” he cried. He rubbed at his eyes, reddening them and getting a few tears to spill down his cheeks. “I’ve been having such a hard day and there’s been so many changes and I—I didn’t mean to snap!”

“I-Izuku?!” Hisashi sounded both confused and alarmed, hands hovering over Izuku and fluttering anxiously, as if he wanted to comfort but wasn’t sure if his touch would be welcome.

Izuku knew his best move would probably be to throw himself into All For One’s arms and act out a whole “woe is me, have mercy on your poor little grandson” skit, but…he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He just couldn’t. The very idea made him gag. So instead, Izuku turned and buried his face into Hisashi’s chest, hugging his dad tightly.

“I’m sorry, Daddy!” he wailed. “I didn’t mean to insult you for needing help!”

Hisashi’s arms came up to hug him back automatically, and despite the shaking of them, it was…actually really nice. Hisashi’s hugs were nothing like the suffocating, possessive embrace of All For One. And in spite of the fear Hisashi was clearly feeling, he immediately began to try and comfort Izuku, rubbing his back gently and murmuring soft words. “It’s okay, Izuku,” he reassured. “This has been a lot for you to try and adjust to. No one expects you to be perfect right away.”

All For One probably did, but they both ignored that.

“I’m not offended. It’s okay. I forgive you,” Hisashi said.

All For One hummed, and Izuku felt his dad tuck him closer at the sound. He could hear his dad’s pounding heartbeat from where his ear was pressed against Hisashi’s chest. But the danger in the air had faded, and Izuku let his cries start to soften into sniffles.

“Aww, look at you two!” All For One cooed, and Izuku turned his head to see that the villain looked absolutely delighted. “You both look so adorable that I can’t even be mad at Izuku’s attempt at manipulation. It’s just so cute!”

Izuku wasn’t surprised All For One had seen through his act, but it didn’t matter. He had accomplished what he had been trying to accomplish. The threat was thwarted. For now.

“Alright, alright.” All For One stepped forward, and Izuku pulled out of Hisashi’s embrace, not wanting to keep his back to the villain any longer. “For that display, I’m willing to let things slide just this once. As long as you both go to bed nice and quietly now, sound good?”

They both nodded.

All For One smiled and clapped his hands together. “Wonderful. Now, Hisashi, why don’t you show Izuku how to properly say goodnight?”

Hisashi wrapped his arms around All For One—who, of course, returned the embrace with greed—and stood up on his tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to All For One’s cheek, the villain leaning down for him to reach better. “Goodnight, Daddy. I love you.”

If All For One could purr, Izuku was sure he’d be doing so now. He planted a not-as-chaste kiss on Hisashi’s cheek in return. “Goodnight, my darling, precious baby. I love you too.” When he finally pulled back, he held a pill up to Hisashi’s lips. Hisashi obediently opened his mouth, and All For One placed it under his tongue, patting him on the head afterwards. “Good boy.”

Izuku, who had watched the entire display with visceral disgust, felt a sense of dread when Hisashi proceeded to crawl into the bed, as he realized it was his turn now. He had to hug All For One. Again. For the third damn time that day.

Izuku stepped up to the villain like a man walking to his execution, internally frothing at the mouth at the idea of giving All For One a kiss. He hugged All For One, goosebumps erupting on his skin as he was once more ensconced in the villain’s arms. “Goodnight, Grandpa,” he bit out, working to keep his voice light. “I lo—I-I lov—” Oh, he couldn’t do it. The hated words were stuck in his throat.

“Hmm? What’s that?” All For One prompted, making it clear he wasn’t going to let Izuku off the hook for this.

Izuku knew if he failed here, it could bring back All For One’s wrath. So he took a deep breath. “I love you!” he blurted out, and the words tasted like poison.

All For One cooed happily. “I love you too, my adorable little grand-baby!” Instead of bending down the way he had for Hisashi, All For One then picked Izuku up off his feet until Izuku was at face level with him.

Izuku yelped in surprise, tensing immediately. But All For One simply kissed his cheek (sending shudders down Izuku’s spine) and looked at him expectantly. Izuku fought his own repulsion down as he reciprocated with the quickest, lightest peck on the cheek ever, resisting the urge to immediately wipe his mouth after.

All For One then carried him to the other side of the bed and set him down after pulling the blankets and sheets back. “Uhh. Do we really have to share a bed?” Izuku asked, glancing to his dad who was on the other side. The bed was a king size, but if Izuku reached out he’d still be able to brush his fingers against Hisashi’s arm. “I can totally sleep on the couch. That’s perfectly fine with—”

“Nonsense!” All For One cut him off. “The bed is plenty big enough to share, and you will sleep in it.” He pushed Izuku to lay down, tucking him in securely and planting another kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, little one.”

Izuku eyed him sourly as he walked around the bed to Hisashi, unnecessarily readjusting the blanket around him and giving him a kiss on the forehead too.

“Now where is—? Ah!” All For One plucked a teddybear off the top of a nearby bookshelf. He clucked his tongue. “You keep misplacing your teddy, Hisashi, you silly boy. How are you going to sleep properly without him?” All For One tucked the teddybear in next to Hisashi with an indulgent smile. “There we go. And don’t worry, Izuku, we’ll get you your own little stuffed animal too. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Izuku didn’t particularly care to have one, no. “I don’t—”

“Sleep well, boys!” All For One talked over him. “I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast. Be good now!”

He teleported away. As he did, the main lights in the room went out, leaving behind only the soft glow of a nightlight in the bathroom.

“Fuck that guy,” Izuku said to the pitch-black ceiling.

“Mhm,” his dad hummed an agreement next to him. “I keep hiding this stupid teddybear, but he finds it every night and brings it to me. I think he views it as a game.”

He probably did. Izuku snorted and rolled out of the bed.

“Where are you going?” Hisashi asked.

“To sleep on the couch,” Izuku replied. “No offence or anything. I’m just not used to sharing a bed and it’s…kind of weird.”

“I understand,” Hisashi said softly. “But you really shouldn’t. He’s got cameras set up in here, you know, and he’s coming back in the morning. He won’t be happy with you for not sleeping in the bed.”

Izuku froze. “He’s got cameras?!” he hissed. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?!”

He couldn’t make out Hisashi’s form in the dark, but the nervous stutter reappeared in his dad’s voice. “I-I-I’m sorry! I just—I didn’t think about it. I didn’t mean to…”

Izuku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s fine. I’m just worried, because if All For One goes over the footage for today, I could get in trouble for all the swearing and looking for a way to escape. And then he would hurt you.”

“Well, the swearing you don’t have to worry about. The cameras don’t capture audio, just video—or so he says. As for the other…you could say you were just exploring your new home?”

Izuku stared flatly at the vague form of his dad in the dark. “Exploring my new home. By inspecting the walls?”

Hisashi sighed. “Just come back to bed. We can put one of the pillows in the middle between us if that makes you feel better.”

“Sure.” Izuku reluctantly crawled back into the bed. “He’s not even going to bother getting a second bed, is he?”

“No. You’ll have to get used to sharing.” He heard Hisashi roll over. “Just be thankful he decided not to stay the night too, or this bed would be really crowded.”

Izuku, who had been trying to get comfortable, sat up ramrod straight. “HE SLEEPS WITH YOU?!”

“Unfortunately,” his dad mumbled. “He likes to cuddle.”

And that…brought up something Izuku had been wanting to ask, but was nervous to. It was a really awkward question, but he had to know. He took a deep breath to brace himself. “Hey, All For One…does he, uh…does he…touch you at all?”

“Yes? All the time? What do you—?” He could hear the confusion in Hisashi’s voice before it clicked. “OH. Oh, you mean—Ew, no! Izuku, that’s gross! Why would you even ask something like that?!”

Izuku held his hands up in defence reflexively, even though his dad couldn’t really see him. “Sorry! I just—I had to know.”

“No, he doesn’t touch me. Not like that,” Hisashi said firmly.

Izuku let out a huge sigh of relief, his whole body slumping. He let himself fall backwards to lay down once more with a loud thump. “That’s good. Sorry, again. It’s just…he’s a huge creep. I honestly wouldn’t have put something like that past him. And the way he treats you really freaks me out.”

“You get used to it.” Hisashi sounded resigned.

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“Yeah, well. ‘Should’s and ‘shouldn’t’s don’t matter down here,” his dad said bitterly.

There was silence between them for a moment, as Izuku didn’t know what to say to that, before he spoke up once more, “So why didn’t he stay tonight then?”

“Probably because he doesn’t trust you not to try and kill him in his sleep yet.”

Izuku snorted. “I would. I can’t believe you haven’t. Or have you? It wouldn’t be hard to rip out that tube from his neck and cut off his life support before he could do anything about it.”

“D-Don’t!” his dad shouted frantically.

“What? Why not?!” Izuku asked incredulously. “He’s evil to the core! First chance I get I’m gonna—”

“Not in here! Please don’t kill him down here!” Hisashi begged. “He might be our only way out! If you kill him, we could—we could get trapped down here! No one would ever find us!”

That…was a really good point actually. “You’re right,” Izuku admitted with a sigh. “We don’t yet know for sure if there is another way out of here.” He looked over at the dark form of his dad. “I won’t kill him until I know for certain we’d have a way to escape this place after.”

“You promise?” Hisashi asked in a small voice.

Izuku sighed. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” Hisashi sounded tired now, words slurring a bit. The sleeping pills must have started kicking in.

“…Goodnight, Dad,” Izuku said quietly.

“G’night…” Hisashi mumbled.

It didn’t take long before Izuku heard the soft, even breathing that indicated his dad had fallen asleep. He knew it would be a while before he managed to do the same, and rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling as his mind raced.

Things had gone very, very badly. The war was still happening up above, and now Izuku and One For All had been taken out of the picture. The only bright side was that he had found his dad, but that never should have been something for him to find anyway. Hisashi should have been safe in America. Learning that he never had been in the first place was…a lot. And the way he acted, the way he behaved…it worried Izuku. He couldn’t help but look at his dad and wonder if that could be him after a decade in All For One’s hands. Meek. Obedient. Resigned.

Izuku knew he could not afford to keep playing the good boy act the way he did today. He also knew he had to wait for an opportunity to escape to open up to him, but biding his time when he knew his friends and allies where out there dying…No. He had to find a way back up and soon. He had to get out. But…

He glanced over to where Hisashi lay.

He didn't think he could leave his dad behind. Even if Hisashi himself had told him to do so. After seeing the way he was treated, Izuku didn’t think he’d be able to leave his dad in All For One’s clutches.

And yet, he might have to.

“I’ll save you, Dad,” Izuku vowed quietly. “I promise.”

It was a promise he would keep, no matter what it took.