Chapter Text
The first thing to return to him was the low, steady purr of an engine.
It wasn't the roaring, chaotic thunder of the battlefield, the decay tearing through the earth, or the deafening blasts of explosions that had defined every waking second of the Final War. It was a smooth, mechanized hum, vibrating gently against his spine.
Izuku eyelids felt as though they were lined with lead. He tried to twitch his fingers, but the signal from his brain seemed to get lost in a thick, lethargic fog that permeated his entire nervous system. He wasn't sleepy—his mind was far too sharp, the adrenaline of the war still echoing faintly in the back of his skull—but his body refused to cooperate. His muscles felt like water.
He drew in a shaky breath, the air filling his lungs tasting entirely wrong. It smelled of expensive leather and a sharp, sterile cologne.
Where...
Memory returned in a disjointed rush. The floating U.A. fortress. The terrifying, shifting mass of Shigaraki's fingers. The desperate, agonizing struggle to keep up, to push One For All past its absolute limits. And then... a sudden, crushing presence flooding his veins with a sudden, icy numbness. A quirk. The world fading to black.
Izuku forced his eyes open.
The light inside the cabin was dim, illuminated only by the soft glow of a high-end dashboard and the passing amber streetlights blurring past the window. He was slouched against a pristine, cream-colored leather seat. The interior of the car was spacious, dripping with a quiet, insulating luxury that felt entirely alien.
Panic, cold and sharp, finally pierced through the lethargy.
He immediately reached inward, grasping desperately for the familiar, burning warmth of One For All. He reached for the thrumming power of Blackwhip, the weightless freedom of Float, the kinetic build-up of Fa Jin.
Nothing.
There was only a hollow, terrifying void in his chest where the combined spirits of the past wielders usually resided. The silence in his mind was deafening. He was cut off. Suppressed.
A soft, amused chuckle broke the silence of the cabin.
Izuku’s head snapped to the side, the sudden movement sending a spike of dull pain down his neck. The steering wheel was on the right side of the console. Sitting in the driver's seat, handling the luxury vehicle with an infuriatingly relaxed, casual grace, was a nightmare made flesh.
Izuku recognised that face instantly from Yoichi's memories.
All For One.
The ancient villain looked entirely out of place, yet terrifyingly comfortable. He wasn't wearing his restrictive life-support mask, nor the dark, imposing suits that had draped his ruined form. The rewinding process had done its work. The man beside him possessed a smooth, unblemished face, sharp features framed by stark white hair, and eyes the color of pure white. But what made the image so horrifically surreal was his attire. The ancient demon lord was wearing a crisp, expensive white dress shirt. The collar was unbuttoned, resting casually against his collarbone, and the sleeves were neatly rolled up to his elbows, revealing pale, strong forearms resting lightly against the steering wheel.
"Ah," All For One murmured, not taking his eyes off the dark road ahead. "You are awake sooner than I anticipated. The quirk I used to sedate your nervous system usually keeps a grown man unconscious for at least another two hours. You truly are exceptional."
"Y-You..." Izuku’s voice was a pathetic, dry rasp. He tried to lunge forward, tried to summon any remaining physical strength to attack the villain, to grab the steering wheel, to do anything.
His body barely shifted. The lethargy was heavy, turning his limbs into dead weight. Worse, the moment he shifted, the heavy, reinforced strap of the seatbelt clamped down across his chest, locking securely into place and pinning him against the soft leather.
"I would not strain yourself, little hero," All For One said calmly, adjusting his grip on the wheel. "Your body has been through a lot. The sheer stress you put your bones and muscles through... it is a miracle you did not shatter yourself entirely. I took the liberty of using a rather gentle regeneration quirk on you while you slept. Your ribs are no longer fractured, and the deep lacerations on your arms are closed. You should feel a dull ache at most."
Izuku looked down at himself. His hero costume was ruined, torn and stained with dirt and dried blood, but the sharp, agonizing pain that had been radiating from his sides and arms was gone, replaced by tight, newly knitted pink skin visible through the tears in his fabric.
"What... what did you do?" Izuku gasped, his chest heaving against the unyielding seatbelt. He brought his heavy, uncoordinated left hand to the door handle. His fingers slipped against the polished metal. He gripped it, pulling with all the meager strength he could muster.
Click. Click. Click. The handle pulled back, but the door didn't budge. A soft, electronic chime echoed in the cabin.
"The child lock is engaged," All For One noted conversationally, finally turning his head to offer Izuku a serene, terrifying smile. "And we are currently traveling at over one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. Even if you managed to open the door, tumbling out in your current, suppressed state would result in fatal trauma. And I simply cannot allow that to happen."
The words felt like a physical blow. The child lock. The sheer, patronizing humiliation of it made Izuku’s stomach twist.
Izuku’s breathing grew erratic. He was trapped. One for All was gone, surpressed, his body was practically paralyzed by whatever quirk the villain had used on him, and he was locked in a speeding metal box with the most dangerous man on the planet.
"Where..." Izuku swallowed hard, trying to fight the rising tide of hysteria. "Where are the others? What happened to the floating U.A.? Shigaraki—"
"Tomura is handling his portion of the board, as planned," All For One interrupted, his tone brushing off the fate of thousands of heroes as if dismissing a trivial nuisance. "The war, the heroes, the fading embers of this society's resistance... none of that concerns you anymore. Your part in that tiresome play has concluded."
"It's not over!" Izuku weakly yelled, though it came out as little more than a strained wheeze. "I have to get back! Let me go!"
All For One’s white pupilless eyes flicked to Izuku, softening into an expression that made Izuku’s stomach violently heave. It wasn't the mocking glare of a victor, nor the cold calculation of a mastermind. It was a look of possessive, sickening fondness.
"No," All For One said simply. "You do not have to go back to the dirt, fighting and the blood. You are safe now."
"Where are you taking me?" Izuku demanded, pressing his shoulder against the locked door, trying to put as much distance between himself and the driver as the seat would allow. Outside the heavily tinted windows, the ruined, apocalyptic skyline of the battlegrounds had long since vanished. They were driving through a sleek, elevated highway. Not many cars were on the road.
"We are just enjoying the view for a while," All For One replied, his voice a smooth, calming baritone that grated against every instinct Izuku possessed. "It has been a long time since I have had the luxury of a quiet, uninterrupted drive. The world out there is loud, chaotic, and messy. But in here? It is just the two of us."
All For One reached over the center console. Izuku flinched, his heart hammering against his ribs, trying to press himself deeper into the leather. His heavy arms refused to lift fast enough to guard his face.
The villain's large, warm hand descended, not to strike, but to rest on top of Izuku’s unruly green curls. Long fingers threaded through his hair in a slow, deliberate ruffle.
Izuku’s breath hitched. A profound, visceral wave of revulsion crashed through him. He jerked his head to the side, trying to dislodge the touch, but his neck muscles were too weak, trembling under the effort.
"Don't... touch me," Izuku whispered, tears of sheer frustration prickling at the corners of his eyes. He hated this. He hated the weakness in his voice. He hated the gentle, almost rhythmic way All For One’s fingers massaged his scalp, treating him not like a sworn enemy, but like a pet. Like a child.
"You are tense," All For One observed, letting his hand linger a moment longer before slowly pulling it back to the steering wheel. "It is understandable. To answer your question, we are heading towards the Kansai region. I have a rather beautiful, isolated luxury penthouse in the heart of Osaka. It is entirely off the grid. No heroes, no villains. No one will ever bother us there."
Izuku stared at him, the absurdity of the situation warring with his terror. An isolated home. A luxury car. A casual drive.
"You have... you have warp quirks," Izuku managed to say, his analytical mind clawing its way through the panic, searching for a tactical discrepancy. "You have the mud warp. If you captured me... if you wanted to hide me away, you could have just teleported us directly into this penthouse. Why... why are we in a car?"
All For One chuckled, the sound deep and genuinely amused. He checked the rearview mirror before smoothly changing lanes.
"Always the analyst. Always looking for the most efficient, logical route," All For One mused. "Yes, I could have warped us from the battlefield directly. It would have taken less than a second. But where is the joy in that?"
"The joy?" Izuku echoed, horrified.
"I have spent the last century rushing," All For One said, his gaze fixed on the endless stretch of asphalt. "Planning, maneuvering, fighting, surviving. I have spent years in the shadows, hooked to machines, denied the simple, mundane pleasures of life. And now? Thanks to that girl Eri, I have my youth back. I have won the board. And most importantly..."
He turned to look at Izuku again, that terrifying, affectionate smile returning to his face.
"...I have you. I am simply savoring the moment. I want to enjoy the mundane intimacy of a drive with you."
Izuku felt a chill settle deep into his bones. The way All For One spoke—it wasn't the gloating of a villain who had captured his nemesis. It was something infinitely worse.
"I'm not..." Izuku started, his voice trembling. "I'm the ninth wielder of One For All. I am your enemy. I'm going to stop you. I will finish what the others started."
"Oh, Izuku," All For One sighed, shaking his head slightly as if indulging a petulant toddler. "Always clinging to the burdens others forced upon you. You are not my enemy. You never truly were. You were just a confused boy, manipulated by Yagi Toshinori into fighting a war that was never yours to inherit."
"All Might gave me a chance to be a hero!" Izuku yelled, the anger finally burning through the lethargy enough to raise his voice. "He gave me a dream! You just want to destroy everything!"
"I want to bring order to a chaotic world," All For One corrected smoothly. "But more than that, I want what is rightfully mine. Yagi stole you from me. He filled your head with delusions of grandeur and martyrdom. But that is over now. The power of my brother, the legacy of One For All... it is finally back where it belongs."
All For One’s white eyes gleamed in the dim light of the dashboard.
"Back in the family."
The words hung in the quiet, climate-controlled air of the cabin. Izuku’s breath stopped. The hum of the engine suddenly sounded like a roaring in his ears.
"What?" Izuku whispered.
"I know it is a difficult truth to process," All For One said, his tone dripping with mock sympathy. "Especially after being fed lies. But surely, with that brilliant mind of yours, you must have noticed the discrepancies when you were younger. The prolonged absences. The fire-breathing quirk that was conveniently just weak enough to be unremarkable. The way your mother, bless her fragile heart, never quite looked at photographs of her 'husband' for too long."
"Stop," Izuku said, his voice cracking. The lethargy in his limbs was forgotten, replaced by a cold, paralyzing dread that seeped into his very marrow. "Stop lying. My father works overseas. His name is Hisashi."
"Hisashi," All For One repeated, testing the syllables on his tongue. "A fitting alias, wouldn't you agree? Derived from 'hisashiburi'—a long time no see. A private, inside joke that Inko never quite understood. I was away for a long time, building my empire, recovering from the grievous wounds Yagi inflicted upon me. I could not be the father you needed during your formative years. For that, I do feel a modicum of regret."
"No," Izuku said violently, shaking his head against the headrest. "No. You're lying. It's a trick. You are just trying to break my resolve."
"If I wanted to break you, Izuku, I would have dragged the broken corpses of your little classmates before you," All For One stated, his voice dropping the gentle pretense for a fraction of a second, revealing the absolute, chilling authority beneath. "I would have brought you the remains of Katsuki Bakugo. I would have let Tomura turn your friends dust."
Izuku stared at him, eyes wide, breath coming in short, erratic gasps.
"I am a man of many titles," All For One continued, the warmth returning to his voice, smooth and suffocating. "Demon Lord. Symbol of Evil. But the title I look forward to reclaiming the most is 'Father'."
No. No, no, no.
"You're not my father!" Izuku screamed, thrashing against the seatbelt. His arms felt like they were moving through wet cement, but he managed to slam his fist against the center console. "My father is a normal man! He breathes fire! He sends us money! He—!"
"He sent you the wealth of a shadow empire, filtered through dummy corporations," All For One interrupted smoothly. "And as for the fire-breathing..."
All For One raised his left hand off the steering wheel. He breathed deeply. A tiny, perfect flame flickered into existence from his mouth, burning brightly in the dim cabin for a moment before he extinguished it with a soft puff of breath and guidance from his hand the next second.
"A trivial quirk," All For One noted. "One I acquired in the early days. It served perfectly to round out the mundane persona of Hisashi Midoriya."
Izuku felt the world tilting on its axis. The luxurious interior of the car felt like a shrinking cage, the walls closing in on him. His mind, always so desperate to analyze, to break down information, was violently rejecting the information being presented to him. It couldn't be true. If it was true, then his entire life—his suffering, his quirklessness, his desperate yearning for a father figure, his fateful meeting with All Might—it was all a twisted, cosmic joke.
"You left me," Izuku choked out, the words slipping out before his rational mind could stop them. "If you... if what you're saying is true... you left me. To be told I was worthless. You left Mom alone."
"A regrettable necessity," All For One sighed, sounding entirely unbothered by the accusation. "As I said, Yagi had reduced me to a shadow of myself. I was attached to life-support machines, hidden away in Kamino. I could not expose you or Inko to that world. The heroes would have used you as leverage. I stayed away to protect you. And I watched from afar, furious when you were diagnosed as quirkless, though it made sense."
All For One turned the steering wheel slightly, guiding the car around a sweeping curve on the almost empty highway.
"But imagine my surprise," the villain continued, a dark, terrible glee lacing his words, "when my quirkless son suddenly appeared on the national stage, breaking his bones, wielding the very power of my rebellious little brother. The irony was exquisite. Yoichi's legacy, desperately trying to defeat me, only to find its way into the very bloodline it sought to destroy. One For All didn't find a savior, Izuku. It found its way home."
"I am not your home," Izuku hissed, gripping the edges of his seat, trying to ground himself in reality. "I am the Ninth. I carry the will of Yoichi. I carry the will of everyone you've murdered. I will never, ever join you."
"I am not asking you to join my empire, Izuku," All For One said softly. "I am not asking you to be a villain. I am simply taking you out of the game. You are my son. You are the vessel for my brother's spirit. You are the two most precious things in this world to me, combined into one perfect, resilient package."
Izuku felt sick.
---
The car decelerated slightly as they approached a tunnel, the amber lights washing over the white dress shirt and the pale, grinning face of the monster beside him.
"In Osaka, you won't have to fight anymore," All For One promised, his voice taking on a hypnotic, soothing cadence. "One for All will remain suppressed, naturally. I cannot have you breaking your beautiful new home in a tantrum. But you will have everything you could ever want. Books, media, luxury. And I will be there. We have over a decade of lost time to make up for."
"I will escape," Izuku vowed, tears finally spilling over his lashes, tracking hot and fast down his cheeks. He hated himself for crying. He hated the overwhelming, crushing helplessness that the quirk suppressant forced upon him. "The moment this quirk wears off, the moment I can move... I will break through the walls. I will fight you."
"I know you will try," All For One chuckled, entirely unthreatened. "You have your mother's stubbornness and my relentless drive. I expect nothing less than a few spirited rebellion attempts. But you will fail, Izuku. You are cut off from One For All. And even if you weren't, I am whole again. I am invincible. You will exhaust yourself, and then you will realize that fighting is pointless. You will learn to accept your place by my side."
Izuku stared straight ahead at the dark mouth of the tunnel rapidly approaching them. The darkness swallowed the car, the only light coming from the sweeping headlights illuminating the concrete walls. He focused on his breathing. He focused on the tiny, microscopic twitches in his fingers. The suppression quirk was strong but it had to have a weakness, right?
He just needed time. He needed to keep All For One talking. He needed to figure out the specific parameters of the suppression quirk. He couldn't afford to break down. He was Deku. He was the hero who saved people with a smile.
But as All For One reached over the console again, resting his large, inescapable hand on the back of Izuku's neck, a possessive, unbreakable grip that held him firmly against the leather seat, Izuku felt the terrifying reality of his situation settle over him.
"Rest now, Izuku," his father murmured in the dark. "We have a long drive ahead of us."