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When he cracked his eyes open, he groaned when he was almost blinded by a bright white light shining in his face.
For a moment he tried to remember what happened.
Earlier he was just walking down the street, enjoying a rare day off from his work.
He went to a flower shop to pick up some flowers for his mother’s grave.
Then there was a group of kids playing Heroes and Villains in the park, a sight that had him smiling from under the medical mask he wore to better hide his face.
After that he went into an alley that acted as a shortcut to the cemetery.
That was when everything went dark as something hard and heavy hit him in the back of the head.
“Ah ha! You are awake!” A voice spoke with some cheap modulator that made his(?) voice crackle like a bad phone connection.
It grated on his ears slightly, but curiosity was enough to stop him from saying anything.
That was when he noticed a camera pointing directly at him.
“Good thing too, because I just started the livestream and it would be boring if you stayed knocked out,” his kidnapper said, keeping just out of his sight while holding the camera up.
“So as you can see, my dear audience, I have the one and only Shigaraki Yoichi in my custody! Also known as the Number One Hero, All for One’s very own little brother! You may gasp in horror now,” the stranger continued, sounding more and more childish as he went on.
Toshinori could only stare quietly.
Did this boy seriously think he was some guy who died over a century ago?
How did he even get this information?
The boy turned the camera away from Toshinori and stepped into the light, wearing a plastic mask that looked like some mascot from a popular children’s show.
In his hand was a knife, though it shook slightly as he pointed it at the camera. A gesture that should have been threatening, but he couldn’t take this obvious lack of experience seriously.
“Fair hair, light eyes, and in poor health. If you’re watching this, All for One, then you know I have your precious little brother! Take this as me officially challenging you as a full fledged villain!” The boy announced with a laugh, only to fumble slightly when the knife went off balance in his hold.
It was like he never held a knife before in his life.
Toshinori gave a sigh.
It seems the boy didn’t even bother with tying him up properly as the ropes simply fell down when he moved his arms just right. Then the gag came off as he stood out of his chair and walked over to the boy who was still going on a monologue for the camera,
He glanced at the stream set up on the laptop and noticed not a single person was watching.
With minimal effort, he allowed One for All to flow through him as his muscles became more defined.
His large hand reached and grabbed his wannabe kidnapper’s wrist.
“You’re holding the knife wrong. Here, let me show you how it’s done,” he said.
The boy turned around and gave a small squeak when he saw that his prisoner was no longer bound and gagged.
And then, from within the holes of the cheap mask, bright green eyes widened.
As if the boy only now realized who he just kidnapped.
All Smite smiled as he reached and crushed the camera, effectively cutting off the stream.
“Also I take full offense that you would assume I’m related to that murderous fake.”
He waited for the boy to scream and cry, to beg for mercy with the assumption that All Smite was going to kill him.
It was only natural that this would be the first reaction anyone had for him, especially a fledgling Villain who didn’t realize he just crossed the line.
Instead, this boy knocked himself on the head.
Mumbling an insult directed at himself as he removed the mask and gave a sheepish smile.
Though there was not a lick of fear in this boy’s face.
He looked even younger than All Smite assumed.
Probably around twelve or thirteen, when he thought the boy could have been sixteen or even seventeen.
He released the boy’s hand and took a step back before crossing his arms over his chest.
Waiting for an apology or even an explanation.
“I’m sorry, I honestly thought you were Shigaraki Yoichi. I’ve only heard about him on the streets, how he was the first to stand up to All for One despite having poor health. No one knew what he looked like or even had a picture, but they also said All for One loved him more than anything and I thought. Well, that is to say- I assumed if I kidnapped him and held him as ransom then maybe they would actually, you know, take me seriously.”
After a few seconds, All Smite couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He started to laugh, though not in the way he does in public to strike fear into the hearts of those around him.
“Shigaraki Yoichi died over a hundred years ago. Not to mention the fact that his existence has been buried away. Save for a select few people, no one even knows that All for One had a little brother,” he explained, looking down at the boy.
“Just who are you even?” All Smite asked.
He also wanted to ask this boy why he wasn’t scared, but it was none of his business at this point.
Plus he doubts they will even meet again.
More than likely he’ll just bring this boy outside of the nearest police station so his parents can come pick him up or something.
The boy shifted slightly before looking down.
“Quirkless,” he finally said. “I’m going by the name Quirkless because that’s all I am to people.”
He lowered his arms, now seeing this boy in a new light.
With a sigh, he walked over and picked up the knife that remained on the ground and pressed it into his hands.
“Keep a firm grip on this, but not too firm. You don’t want to drop it in the middle of an attack, nor do you want to strain yourself,” he explained, watching carefully as the boy listened to him and changed how he was holding the knife.
The boy looked up at him once more before shaking his head.
“Why are you doing this? Shouldn’t you be upset that I basically kidnapped you or something? Then again I was worried I accidentally killed you when I hit you with that wok I picked up from the trash-”
All Smite chuckled.
So that’s how the boy knocked him out.
“I was at first, until I realized that you didn’t have a real plan for this. A villain who had my kidnapping planned well in advance would have known how to secure me properly. Plus, you remind me of someone I used to know,” he said, taking the knife from the boy’s hand when the grip went lax.
“So why challenge All for One directly like that? What bone do you have to pick with that man?” He asked, setting the knife on the table.
The boy looked down, hands wringing the bottom of his shirt as he shifted slightly.
“He killed my friend’s chances at becoming a Hero. All because we were horsing around.”
Large tears fell from the boy’s eyes when he said that, his arm moving to wipe them away as he quietly berated himself for crying over this.
With a sigh, he released his hold on One for All and pushed himself into thinking like Toshinori once more.
Because unlike All Smite, Toshinori at least knew how to handle kids.
Especially crying kids.
He brought a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.
The boy’s body shook, but other than that he didn’t say anything.
Trying to hold back the tears that just continued to fall onto the floor.
“Here, let’s get you to the police station so they can get you back to your parents-”
“No!”
Toshinori blinked.
The boy quickly covered his mouth and shook his head.
He recognized that look in the boy’s eyes, feeling like he was looking at a reflection of himself from so long ago.
Long before he met Nana. Back when he was just some punk kid who always got in trouble for stepping in where he shouldn’t.
With a sigh, Toshinori turned to head towards the door.
“Alright, I won’t take you to the cops. But I suggest you find someone who can take care of you or something,” he remarked, ready to completely brush his hands off this encounter before it brought more memories back.
He can’t afford to be wrapped up in them for too much longer, or else he will lose sight of his purpose.
“Also, kid? I suggest you find a better name. There should be more to you than being Quirkless.”
–
When the door clicked shut behind him, Toshinori groaned as he sank into his old beat up couch.
He quickly pulled out the can of coffee he got from the vending machine just outside of his apartment and turned the TV on, only to have the face of his nemesis shoved into his retinas.
The broadcast discussed how he recently removed yet another Quirk from some Villain who attacked a Quirkless child.
Yet another hoax and excuse for All for One to lift Quirks from whoever he wants in broad daylight.
He took a long sip of his drink, knowing he will need the caffeine boost to stay awake if he wants to challenge All for One once more.
But his eyes remained on the screen, only for the drink to spray out of his mouth and nose when he saw All for One had an arm wrapped around said Quirkless child he saved.
A boy with green hair and a blank look in his green eyes, but also a frown on his face.
It was like he wasn’t happy or even overjoyed at being saved from such a dangerous encounter that could have taken his life.
He killed my friend’s chances at becoming a Hero.
Toshinori swore under his breath as he crushed the can.
Of course All for One would pull something like this. Only that type of monster would stoop so low as to use a child for bait.
A valid excuse to remove Quirks whenever he wants without a single bat of an eyelash from the general populace.
Disgusting.
He stood up, prepared to go out and do something to catch that rat bastard’s attention, only to stop when he heard a knock on his door.
No one bothered him in this apartment, instead everyone wished to just keep to themselves.
The only one who bothers visiting him never knocks.
He moved with slow and careful steps towards the door, opening it only to freeze at the sight of green eyes staring up at him.
The very same boy from the news broadcast.
"Can I come in?" The boy asked, his hands holding the straps of a heavy looking yellow backpack that threatened to bust open at the seams from how much stuff was packed in there.
Toshinori shook his head and blocked the boy from entering.
After seeing that broadcast, he found himself wanting answers first before even thinking of letting this boy in.
Especially since he could very easily be a plant, someone in All for One’s pocket designed to flush All Smite from his home.
“How do you know All for One?” He asked.
Even if he remembered the boy’s attempt at challenging the Number One Hero, how he wanted to avenge a friend of his, he still didn’t want to take any chances.
For all he knew, it could have been fabricated.
The boy’s shoulders slumped.
“He bought me from my mom. She tries to say otherwise, that it’s a job. We get paid, and he gets to use me and a few others like me for a few years to boost his popularity further, and at the end he’ll give us Quirks,” he explained, looking down at his feet.
So his suspicions were correct.
“And how do I know he didn’t send you straight to me?”
The boy looked down.
“I ran away.”
“I can tell by the bag, but that doesn’t prove anything to me.”
“It’s because he has zero plans of giving me a Quirk, ok? He already gave Quirks to the other kids, but he thinks it would be a waste to give one to me,” the kid ranted, hands dropping from where they gripped at his straps earlier.
“So that broadcast from earlier?”
“You mean from this morning? That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Commission complimented him on how his ratings skyrocketed, that the people love it when he “Rescues” people like me. The “Cute Quirkless” types who can’t defend themselves.”
Toshinori frowned.
He could tell that this boy was telling the truth, and he wanted to let him in at this point.
But there was still one question that threatened to claw its way out.
“Why are you telling me this when you could report it to the tabloids?”
The boy snorted.
“It’s my word against his, and he has the backing of the Hero Public Safety Commission and the general populace. Who would believe a Quirkless middle schooler?”
It’s my word against his, Gran! Who would believe a Hero School dropout?
He recognized the desperation in the boy’s eyes, almost like he was looking into a mirror that revealed his past self.
From the day after Nana died.
Slowly, Toshinori stepped aside.
“You can stay, for now. Until we find you a better home.”
Hopefully he won't regret this.
That the boy was being earnest.
The boy started to step in before stopping.
He looked up at Toshinori before giving a small bow in thanks.
“My name is Midoriya Izuku.”
Midoriya Izuku.
He will remember that name.