Work Text:
Inko spun in front of the mirror one last time as she readjusted the collar of her emerald, green blazer. She frowned at the matching skirt, thinking it was a little much, but she knew that it was a priority to be as eye-catching as possible. With a sigh, she rolled up the hem of her skirt and slid a knife into a scabbard. Styling her hair into a loose bun, Inko muttered to herself over how much more she would have preferred a gun. Unfortunately, it lacked the subtlety she needed.
Putting a poisoned dart in place in her hair, Inko grabbed a couple of vials of cyanide and her keys of the counter before heading out the door. The bus sped around the corner, and Inko settled in the back row where she could revel in the hum of the engine. As pink petals drifted in the wind outside of the window she leaned against, Inko decided that even without a gun she was armed sufficiently. After all, her stilettos did have hidden knife compartments.
As the bus ground to a halt, once it reached Kamino, Inko gathered her breath and approached a looming office building. The sun beat down on her while she craned her neck and looked at the panels of glass, wondering whether the building would become her burial site. Her stomach turned as he pictured her target ramming a quirk-infused spike through her chest. Sweat formed on the back of her neck while she dug her fingers into her scalp.
Am I in over my head? But the paycheck had been too much to resist. The HPSC hardly ever outsourced to assassins when they had their own agents to rely on. Standing taller, Inko marched toward the revolving doors. Perhaps the HPSC’s hiring of her was a testament to her competence – to her ability to take down even a virtually immortal target. Or it’s a sign of how desperate they are.
Suppressing intrusive thoughts, Inko held her chin high. The click-clack of her heels echoed through the foyer, branding her as a force to be reckoned with. She had never failed an assignment before and she sure as hell wasn’t going to now. Even if it meant going up against the legendary Quirk Thief.
All for One knew that hiring a new secretary practically every week was likely not the most economical business move. But was it really his fault that they got squeamish about the weaponry brought into his office? Frankly, he thought their attitude was ridiculous. His secretaries likely watched bloody hero fights on television all the time – so he could not fathom why a few thousand throwing knives would be a dealbreaker.
At least, All for One could gain some amusement from stabbing his secretaries with said throwing knives, but he found the process of hiring new employees incredibly tedious. So admittedly, he didn’t even bother with interviews after two dozen previous failures. He just hoped that approving the first application he had gotten his hands on wouldn’t come to bite him back later.
Yet the coldness with which Midoriya eyed the guns upon a shelf as she scanned files into the copying machine, assured All for One that his newest employee was the one. The one was in a secretary worth keeping, not a romantic partner of course – because that would be ridiculous, right? Not that Inko’s deep green hair that gleamed like sea glass wasn’t alluring. Hisashi wouldn’t be one to deny that she was attractive – objectively speaking. He did have eyes, after all. It wasn’t as if he were so glorified faceless Mr. Potato Head in a fine Italian suit. Shaking his head, All for One chuckled at the notion that his sculpted face could ever be reduced to a scarred eyeless mess.
Wandering past rows of desks, All for One tapped a pen against a clipboard with files recording the most recent additions to the quirk registry. One gigantification quirk caught his eye, but he was not inclined to go out of his way to get it considering that twenty meters paled in comparison to Gigantomachia’s maximum height.
As All for One crossed out the quirk from the list of options of consider, one of his goons set a box of knives onto the floor with a little too much force. All for One pinched his expression as he resisted the urge to activate Air Cannon. His treasured reputation could take a hit if he was shown to explode of the most miniscule of infractions. Plus, HR had informed him that the spike in his contribution to weekly murders in his office was having a negative impact on employee productivity, which simply would not do. Sighing, All for One decided that he would have to take a bit of time out of his day to sneak into the man’s home and kill him there.
Pursing his lips, All for One grinned. Yes, waiting is indeed the best option. Plus, killing his underling later would prove the perfect opportunity for All for One to test the efficiency in homicide of any new quirks he happened to gain over the course of the day.
Just as he was about to step into his office, All for One spotted his underling slap Midoriya on her ass. Half a dozen quirks raced to Hisashi’s fingertips as a scowl sharp enough to rip a man in half crossed his face. Murder was one thing. In fact, Hisashi strongly encouraged it – sexual harassment was completely unforgivable.
He raised his arm, prepared to fire off Air Cannon in the most dramatic way possible even if that meant having to hire several contractors to repair the office space. Yet Midoriya beat him to the punch when she didn’t miss a beat and snatched one of the several knives lying around.
She hit the underling right through the eye socket with the throwing knife. And Hisashi could not control his blushing as blood gushed from his minion’s face. An unfamiliar flutter filled his chest, but he dismissed any notion that the butterflies in his stomach meant anything more. After all, a cold-hearted villain like him could not possibly care for someone who wasn’t his flesh and cold, right?
As Midoriya sent the corpse lying before her a frosty glare, Hisashi set a hand over his suit tie. He attributed the crackle in since nerves to frustration rather than affection. Hisashi was longing for a reality in which he could have given his minion a long excruciating death.
Still, he couldn’t stop replaying the scene in which Midoriya rammed the knife through her harasser’s head. Because if that’s what Midoriya could do without a quirk who knows what she was capable of with her quirk? Hisashi’s palms were devoid of the usual tingle that came with wanting to probe around in someone’s DNA. To snatch their ability and test the limits for himself. He found that he didn’t want to steal away Midoriya’s quirk – for it wouldn’t be the same without her. But don’t misunderstand, Hisashi wasn’t going soft, okay? It was only natural that years of practice made Midoriya the most suitable person for her quirk – so who was Hisashi to take it from her?
At the other end of the office, Midoriya yanked the knife out of the underling’s face. Swiping a tissue off a nearby desk, she wiped the blood off the blade in one swift motion. Hisashi gulped deeply as heat rose to his cheeks. What are doing? You’re All for One. You cannot let foolish emotions puppeteer you. You’re meant to be the puppeteer!
Setting his clipboard aside, Hisashi shuffled through his desk for the folder containing the secretary applications. He opened the file and scanned over the details of Midoriya’s telekinetic quirk, and all the puzzle pieces fell into place. Of course, everything makes sense now! Hisashi had plenty of telekinetic quirks, therefore, he hardly needed even more – hoarding problem be damned. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Hisashi concluded that the way his heart skipped a beat and how clammy his hands had gotten had no deeper meaning.
“Sorry about killing your employee.”
Hisashi's head whipped around behind him where Midoriya was looking at her shoes sheepishly. He hadn’t even noticed her sneak up on him. He began to question whether he was losing his touch. Yet as he set the files aside, Hisashi dismissed the notion, instead coming to the conclusion that Midoriya must have a talent for merging with the shadows. Hisashi held his head high, marveling over his ingenious hiring decision and he decided that going forward he would select employees at complete random.
“It is quite alright. I planned on murdering him anyways.”
“Oh, okay.”
Midoriya’s hypnotizing green eyes widened but the gesture seemed performative. Tell-tale precision lingered in her gaze. Swift calculated movements. Probably an assassin. But for the first time in centuries, for the first time since losing his brother, Hisashi was more than willing to let someone willing to kill him get close to him.
Pulled in by her vaguely homicidal aura, Hisashi found himself readjusting his tie as he struggled to look at her directly in her enchanting eyes. He tried to ignore the thumping in his chest as he strung together a question that he was asking for completely-professional-definitely-not-romantic reasons.
“Would you like to go to dinner later? I’d like to discuss your promotion over a meal.”
“Promotion? But I only just got here.”
“Well, you’ve proven your competence. Plus, we just had a job opening.”
Hisashi nodded toward the corpse lying face-first on the floor. Blushing, Inko brushed her hair behind her ear and the sharp edge in her expression softened slightly. “I suppose I can find time in my schedule.”
Hisashi paced back and forth across the lab as he held up two bags of dry cleaning. Navy or black? Of course, black suits were a classic – but what if Midoriya perceived him as boring for going with the most conventional option? Then again, she might fancy him too adventurous for selecting navy. Why was choosing which quirks to steal so easy, but picking a suit to wear practically impossible?
Dragging a hand through his white curls, Hisashi let out a deep sigh. He was a supervillain for Christ’s sake. Freaking All for One! He was meant to overthink his schemes, not dinner with a ridiculously gorgeous assassin. Plus, it was not as if the meeting was a date or anything. Just a classy professional dinner. So, what if booked out the entire floor of a restaurant on top of a skyscraper? Because please Hisashi had standards – he always went all out, so it didn’t mean anything that had ensured he would be eating the finest French cuisine together with Midoriya.
Hisashi’s inner little brother voice cackled maniacally at the back of his mind. Looks like someone has a crush! Midoriya and Hisashi sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Snarling, Hisashi cupped his hands over his ears and if that would cut out the taunts from his own subconscious. Plus, he didn’t even know whether Midoriya was actually the last name of the assassin out to get him. It could be a cover for all he knew. Besides, he had to admit that the name was a little on the nose considering her hair and eye color. Though Hisashi was hardly one to judge since his villain moniker indicated a lack of talent when it came to names.
Settling on the navy suit, Hisashi placed a hand on his chest. His heart was still pounding over how Inko had ripped a man’s eyeball out with her quirk later the same day. Attraction of small objects. What a brilliant use of a quirk that idiots would hail as simple!
With a deep sigh, Hisashi sat down on a plastic chair next to Garaki’s surgeon’s table. Maybe his inner little brother voice had a point. After all, Hisashi was far too much a brilliant mastermind to let denial run wild. But can you blame him for crushing on Midoriya? She was absolutely perfect in every way down to her aim.
“Sir, you simply cannot let the assassin the HPSC hired even get close to killing you.”
Garaki frowned at Hisashi with such an unsettling look of disapproval that All for One would have set him ablaze if not for how integral the doctor was to the success of various ongoing schemes. Shutting his eyes, All for One settled on imagining the doctor’s murder instead – which was far more satisfying anyhow. Hisashi could only murder Garaki once but he could envision the doctor’s death as often as he wanted.
“I can assure you she won’t,” All for One said.
Still, Garaki wordlessly placed a bottle of cyanide into All for One’s hand. Hisashi called Air Cannon to his fingertips, prepared to burst the vial into a million pieces – but then he gave pause and let the quirk die out. Right. All for One had spent centuries building his empire. He could not let his castle crumble to dust simply because his heart had decided to be a fickle little thing.
Inko’s target certainly had exquisite taste. A crystal chandelier glittered over as orchestral music resounded in the background. Tokyo’s neon cityscape shone below as steam rose from the countless gourmet dishes piled in front of Inko. Tempted to lick her lips, Inko glanced at a bowl of ratatouille. She could hardly remember when the last time she that dish had was. The time she poisoned the French ambassador perhaps?
As her thoughts pivoted back to assassinations, Inko gripped the locket around her neck. An odorless translucent powder rested inside. A specialized poison that she was mostly immune to from consuming small amounts daily. But hardly anyone else knew this poison existed. As All for One shooed the staff away, Inko eyed his platter of escargots. Now was the time to sprinkle her poison on it. Poison that could easily be mistaken for salt. Yet Inko remained rooted in place. The night was still young and Inko wasn’t inclined to ruin the ambiance quite yet.
Inko’s organs melted into a gooey puddle as deep viridescent eyes looked her way. Scarlet. The perfect complimentary color to her viridian. He set his palm on the table mere inches away from Inko and jolts coursed through her nervous system even though she was certain All for One hadn’t activated any quirks. She’d heard so many rumors about him. That he rippled with such a string murderous aura it made basking in his presence quite an ordeal. But Inko found that All for One’s homicidal tendencies did not set off the adrenaline in his veins. No, the way he had seemed ready to slaughter an underling who dared to disrespect women felt like a reflection of Inko’s own soul more than anything else.
“So where did you learn to stab like that?” All for One asked in a low baritone.
Turning beet red, Inko noticed her stomach twist into knots. No one asked her about her stabbing skills – though admittedly most of those who saw Inko in action ended up dead. Still, the air of genuine admiration that enveloped All for One’s voice filled Inko’s head with a dizzying haze.
"I’m self-taught,” Inko whispered.
“How marvelous! You have such a gift. You wouldn’t believe you many lessons I needed to take to aim half as good as you can.”
Inko swatted in his direction. “Surely, you’re exaggerating.”
“No, I meant it. I’m only a natural talent when it comes to quirks, and I don’t necessarily have to patience to adopt new skills.” All for One took a deep sip out of his wine glass, prompting Inko to wonder how his lips would taste. “All the hard work you put into your aim is truly admirable.”
“Thank you.” Inko blushed. “Your criminal empire is impressive too.”
“I’d sure hope so after all this time,” All for One chuckled.
Swooning at All for One’s deep laugh, Inko dug into her ratatouille and tried to picture a world in which she was on a normal date without the weight of her assignment weighing on her shoulders. But as she swallowed down her soup, Inko shoved her want for more into the darkest corner of her mind. Inko knew romance wasn’t in the cards for her. Because she was a killer, and no one could possibly love a woman who had made a career out of murder.
When All for One called for another bottle of wine, Inko took advantage of the opening to sprinkle her concoction onto his escargots. Beaming like the sun with a smile that would have terrified most, All for One offered Inko wine and she graciously accepted. Inko sure could use all the alcohol she could get to chase away the guilt for poisoning someone who could have been her date in another life.
“So what do you do in your free time?” All for One asked as he twirled his fork. For a split second, Inko thought she had him blushing, but decided that she was likely hallucinating. Perhaps lingering PTSD from past murders was making her see things.
Trembling, Inko struggled to come up with an answer since he spent the majority of her time on all things assassination. Tuesdays were for polishing her knives. Thursdays were for refining disguising. Saturdays were for printing false passports. Inko pursued her lips together as she reflected on the time spent in her personal lab to distill her poisons. At last, she had the perfect idea for how to spin a half-truth.
“I quite like chemistry.”
“Phenomenal. I too just the sciences though my preference lies with genetics.”
“Because of quirks? Isn’t that what you do for work as well.”
“What can I say?” All for One grinned. “I was blessed with the opportunity to make my hobby into a career.”
Tapping her chin, Inko tried to make sense of All for One. Someone who didn’t look down on her. Oddly enough, Hisashi stared at her like she was the sun and the stars. But there was also a tautness to his shoulders – as if he thought she was capable of razing an army. Somehow this pillar of the criminal underworld did not seem like the type to underestimate Inko for the fact that he had breasts and a skirt. Even more reason to be precautious about poisoning him.
She made sure not to look too intensely at his meal lest he discover that he had tampered with it. Still, lumps formed at the back of her throat. Usually, she could make herself numb toward the targets. Toward the bloodshed. But this time the guilt twisted in her chest like a blade.
In unison, Inko and All for shot upright and called out, “Let’s trade meals!”
Dumbstruck, they blinked at each other for coming up with the exact same suggestion at the exact same time. Relief pooled from Inko’s chest as she accepted All for One’s escargots. Maybe she was being an idiot for rejecting a big enough paycheck to pay for a yacht. She sure was not looking forward to how such a large dose of the poison was bound to wreck her bowels for the next week. But for whatever reason she was determined that both her and All for One made out of the restaurant alive that night.
As Inko chewed on the snail’s flesh and All for One downed the soup, Inko felt flashes of hot and cold run across her body. A horrid scratching sensation ran down her throat. Not bad enough that she felt like she was dying, but she had to bite her tongue bloody to resist the urge to scream. After inhaling deeply several times, she, at last, looked at the opposite end of the table once again and saw that bluish foam was spilling out of All for One’s mouth.
She furrowed her brows with concern only for All for One to wave dismissively. “Don’t worry. Just a quirk for neutralizing poison.”
Inko flashed All for One an indignant glance once she had looked at her ratatouille and realization dawned on her. “Wait, did you try to poison me?”
“Don’t give me that look! I changed my mind.”
Snickering, Inko massaged her forehead at the utter ridiculousness of how they had both poisoned themselves for the sake of the other. “It’s alright. I did the same thing.”
All for One coughed foam into a napkin and smiled softly. “Brilliant minds think alike.”
“More like lovesick fools think alike.”
“Lovesick fools, you say? Want to change this assassination attempt into an official date then?”
Inko paused for a moment but she did not doubt her answer in the slightest. “I think I’d like that.”
There were so many red flags. Going on a date with the boogeyman of Japan’s underbelly was likely the foolhardiest idea Inko had ever had. Still, perhaps the fact that she and All for One saw all the signs in each other – the fact that they both had a sea of blood trailing after them but were willing to put the bloodshed aside for one another – is exactly what could make a relationship between them work.