Work Text:
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
All for One watches from the back of a secured police van. His arms and hands are shoved in a metal contraption, blocking his quirk. The effects of rewind have thankfully run out. (Unfortunately, it wasn’t until he reached the tender and annoying age of sixteen).
He lays on a stretcher. His arms and legs restrained. The detective, All Might’s friend, talks to a guard. They discuss where they’re taking him. Arguing about ethics and concerns for all the injuries he sustained after rewind disappeared.
He pays them no mind.
His eyes are glued to the scene off to the side of them. The carnage.
An ambulance loads Tomura’s body, covered in a black bag, in the back. His face had been deformed and his body was falling apart. All for One wouldn’t be surprised if it fell apart entirely before they reached the hospital.
And then, a second body, uncovered and in one piece but lifeless (from where he sits), is loaded in second.
Izuku.
All for One swallows down bile. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to get involved.
He clings to the fact that he hadn’t been covered like Tomura was. There was still a chance he would pull through. Izuku had always been a fighter.
The detective turns to him. He looks downright exhausted. “All for One,” he says, drawing his attention away from the ambulance. “We’re taking you to a hospital. They’ll treat you and look you over for any after-effects of rewind.”
“Fine,” he answers. The ambulance is gone by the time he looks over again. A large part of him hopes they take him to the same hospital as Izuku.
-x-x-x-
The drive to the hospital is agonizing, and not only because of his aggravated wounds, the guard’s constant ridiculing, or even the bumpy terrain from debris. Despite not wanting to, trying to think of anything else, All for One’s thoughts always come right back to Izuku.
He must be in so much pain.
Izuku got his arms back, All for One had the pleasure of observing his so- Izuku’s homeroom teacher handed him the horn from that little girl that possesses rewind. But his vestige didn’t go easy on the boy, and by the end of the fight, he wished the little girl hadn’t given Izuku his arms back.
If only she had been a little more selfish. Izuku might be better off for it.
His vestige was operating on borrowed time anyway.
All for one is taken to a secure hospital room. The quirk suppressant is removed for a second, before another, less obvious one is attached to one of his wrists. It looks like a bracelet.
The attending doctor looks him over. “You have a sprained wrist, and a few wounds that need stitches, but besides that, you’re fine.” He stitches All for One up, and hands off his care to a nurse.
It’s the best news he could have possibly gotten in these circumstances, and yet….
“Midoriya Izuku,” he starts, trying to mask the concern in his voice, “is he here too?”
The nurse looks up from where she bandages his wounds. “Mhm…I don’t see why that’s any of your concern.” Her hands shake in barely concealed rage. Under her breath she mutters something that sounds like, “poor boy….crying mother….terrible condition….”
“I need to see him.” All for One winces as the nurse’s grip tightens on his sprained wrist.
“Sorry,” she says unapologetically. “But I cannot allow that.”
“I can fix him.” His heart races. If the nurse is familiar with Izuku’s condition, then that must mean he’s here in this hospital. And if he’s here in the same hospital, then he can use his quirks to ensure he recovers. “Please,” he begs.
It has no effect on the nurse.
“No. Talk to someone else about it.”
-x-x-x-
All for One asks each and every one that enters his room. All of them seem thoroughly uninterested in letting him anywhere near Izuku. They ignore him.
It would drive him mad, but he has more pressing concerns.
He thinks about Izuku, small and pale and in pain, laying in a hospital bed. His mother crying over his lifeless form, perhaps hooked to an IV. She seems like a crier.
As the hours pass, he grows more and more frantic. Helpless rage takes over him.
These very same people that ignore his simple request only care about Izuku because of the circumstances. If there were no war, and Izuku hadn’t fought for them, they would happily allow All for One to see him. Especially if he threatened them.
When Izuku was smaller, weaker, and less important in society’s eyes, they wouldn’t have spared him a second glance.
But now that he’s saved them, proved himself as capable, they want to protect him from the very person that can fix him.
His blood boils.
The door opens, but he doesn’t look at whoever enters. He knows what their answer will be anyway. It’s not ideal, but he’ll have to find a way to break out when everyone’s-
“All for One,” a familiar voice says. He turns his head to look at them. The detective from earlier stands in the doorway. “I heard you’ve been asking about Midoriya.”
“Yeah, and?”
“I’ve also heard you can fix him. Is that true?”
All for One nods. “Yes.” His heart that he just got under control starts beating against his ribcage. This is the moment he’s been waiting for. He just needs one person to listen to him.
The detective’s eyes widened. “You’re telling the truth.” He tilts his head. “Or at the very least, you think you’re telling the truth.”
“I am. Please, let me help him.”
The detective runs a hand down his face. He steps further in the room. “Okay, but there will be conditions placed and you will be under heavy watch. The boy’s mother is currently incapacitated, so the best time would be now.”
“Yeah, okay, fine. I don’t care. Just take me to him.”
-x-x-x-
“You have five minutes. There are guards stationed outside the hospital, cameras outside the room, and I’ll be right outside. Don’t make me regret this.”
The door is pulled shut, and All for One is left alone.
The room is dim and cold. Izuku is hooked up to so many machines, it’s hard to see his face from here.
On shaky legs, he sits in a chair next to Izuku's bedside.
“Hi,” he says, voice hardly above a whisper. “Long time, no see.” He takes Izuku’s hand in his own. It’s clammy.
Izuku’s breathing is shallow and deep, supported by one of the many machines he’s hooked up to. The fluid in his lungs rattle around. All for One grimaces.
His eyes burn. When he left them, it was for two reasons.
To not get distracted from his original goal of getting One for All (and more importantly, his little brother) back.
And to keep them safe.
Look how that turned out.
He can’t bring himself to say their relation, outloud or otherwise. It feels wrong. All for One failed Izuku in more ways than one. And now…..there’s no way he can fix it. Their relationship. Izuku’s abandonment issues that he started. Izuku’s involvement in the war. None of it.
But there is one thing he can fix.
Placing a hand over Izuku’s - mostly bandaged - forehead. He calls upon a series of healing quirks. All of them are minor on their own, but together are more than sufficient. His own wrist has healed in the short five minutes he’s had the quirk suppressant bracelet off.
He takes his hand off Izuku’s forehead. He watches the boy’s face, waiting for the scar on his face to disappear, or for his breathing to sound less labored.
Nothing happens.
His brows furrow.
All for One tries again, pressing his hand down a little harder. He is younger now, so maybe his output isn’t as strong as it used to be.
Again, nothing happens.
He breathes heavily.
“Why isn’t it working?”
Tears leak from the corners of his eyes. He can’t fail. He can’t!
He tries again and again.
None of it works. Izuku’s skin remains pale and clammy. His breathing labored, and the stupid EKG machine hasn’t changed in the slightest.
All this effort, and his s- Izuku won’t even look at him. It feels unfair. It reminds him of his younger brother running away, leaving him alone, not sparing a second look at him.
Frustrated, he hits Izuku. And then, hits him over and over and over again. He’s vaguely aware of strong arms pulling him off Izuku’s lifeless body. Blood covers his knuckles, and the heart rate monitor is going crazy.
He pants, vision blurry.
There are people talking above him. Their voices are harsh and far away. He catches a glimpse of the aftermath.
Izuku is bloody, and much more lifeless than when All for One first visited him.
He gags.
What has he done?
Izuku, his son.
His baby.
Dead.
Because of All for One.
Just like Yoichi….
He doesn’t protest when he’s dragged back to his room, quirk suppressant locked on his wrist.
All for One had one chance to make things right, and he failed.