'Was that too stiff?'
'Too desperate?'
Still, I hoped it was enough to reach him, to remind him of our connection.
Minutes dragged into hours, but no reply came. Not even a single indicator that he'd seen the message. The emptiness stretched, and a bleak thought settled over me: he really was avoiding me, or maybe, something worse had happened. I silently wished for the former, even as uncertainty gnawed at my resolve.
—
Izuku POV
It was time. The day I would finally meet All For One.
A cold, twisting anxiety churned in my stomach, threatening to make me sick. I wanted nothing more than to run away, but Tomura's steady, gloved hand kept me rooted in place. His face was unreadable, his ruby eyes distant, a mask I'd never seen before.
It made my nerves raw; who was this man that could turn my lover into something so cold, so unlike himself?
The doctor greeted us at the end of the corridor, the same eccentric, wild-eyed man who had once mended my wounds. He moved with a strange, loping energy, as if he were already imagining his next twisted invention. I shuddered to imagine the things he created here. He ushered us wordlessly into an ancient, rattling elevator and trailed us as we descended, his smile unsettlingly stretched across his face. Something about it set in the pit of my stomach on edge.
My heart pounded so loudly in my chest that it was almost deafening. The doctor led us down a narrow, darkened corridor. Pale blue lights flickered and buzzed overhead, stuttering shadows across the cracked tiles and making each footstep echo. The sterile air carried whispers and mechanical groans too faint to name, ratcheting up my anxiety. I kept my gaze down, determined not to see more than I had to.
We reached a door, heavily bolted and streaked with rust. The doctor quickly keyed in a code, opening it into a stark, hallway-like chamber. One wall was entirely reinforced glass, looking into a maze of cables and incomprehensible machinery.
"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya." The voice was haunting, old, ragged, carrying centuries of secrets. I stiffened, instinct shrieking danger.
Tomura pulled me forward, but I resisted, legs locked. Every cell in my body screamed to back away.
"Come inside. Let me get a good look at you."
The doctor opened another door, and Tomura guided me carefully, almost gently, past tangled wires and humming machines. I followed the flow of cables, each one leading to the figure at the heart of the room.
He sat like a nightmare made flesh. Deep, jagged scars seamed his face from nose upward, twisted and raw. Eyes milky and pale, maybe blind, maybe not stared through me. Despite the ruined skin, his gaze tracked my every movement, predatory and cold. He seemed ancient, skin thin and almost translucent, no more than a specter clutching at life.
"Master," Tomura murmured reverently, bowing his head.
The man's thin lips twisted into a slight smile. "You're quite small for a successor to Toshinori. Come closer."
I flinched as Tomura urged me forward, an unsettling feeling coursing through me as if I were prey cornered by a predator. Reluctantly, I took a hesitant step closer, feeling exposed and vulnerable. The man before me reached out, his hand gnarled and scarred, a tapestry of battles long fought. To my surprise, his touch was gentle, almost tender, as he cupped my face. Underneath the rough exterior, his hands revealed a surprising strength, a stark contradiction to the fragile appearance he presented.
"I heard what they did to you," he said, his voice low and laced with something unfathomable.
'But what was he getting at?' A deep knot of dread started to twist in my stomach.
"The world discarded you. How cruel." He rubbed his thumb along my cheek, and a shiver ran through me. The attention felt both unsettling and unnerving, igniting an instinctual alarm. My hair stood up on the back of my neck as I studied his expression, which remained a stoic mask, devoid of the empathy I craved. He spoke of my situation as if it were just another story in a long line of tragedies he had witnessed, a narrative that held no weight to him.
"You were lucky to have us backing you. I'm sure you would have been ripped to shreds by those heroes," he continued, his words dripping with condescension.
"W-why... You're talking nonsense. The heroes helped me," I whispered, my voice barely above a tremor.
"Oh, but I heard you nearly committed suicide because Toshinori crushed your dreams," he scoffed, the disdain in his tone cutting deeper than I wanted to admit.
The sheer audacity of his knowledge struck a nerve. He shouldn't know about that. I never told Tomura this. Who had betrayed me? I let out a shaky breath, feeling the weight of his dim red eye boring into mine, a predatory gaze that made my heart race.
"You're wrong..." I struggled to articulate, my voice thick with unshed tears.
"Shh, all is well my child." His voice wrapped around me like a silken noose, simultaneously soothing and suffocating.
A second later, I felt AFO pull me closer, like a magnetic force that made me feel weak, as if the strength was being siphoned from my very bones. The sinister comfort that laced his words felt genuine, igniting a conflict within me.
"May I take your hand?" he asked, his voice a low beckoning me to oblige.
"I-I…" I stammered, freezing in place.
Was I really considering refusing? Stupid, Izuku, I reminded myself this was All Might's old enemy, a figure shrouded in darkness and despair. Even in his frail state, I sensed the raw power simmering beneath his skin, a latent ferocity that threatened to smother any lingering defiance I held onto. His grip felt like a vice, tightening around my will, making it increasingly hard to resist.
He had no scent. It was as if he were already dead, a corpse manipulating the living. The cold void surrounding him was suffocating, impossible to gauge.
His hand drifted from my cheek, reaching for my hand. Instinctively, I recoiled. I knew what his touch could do: steal quirks, maybe steal more than that. How had he asked so calmly for my trust?
"I don't wish to," I whispered, voice tight.
"Iz—" Tomura started, sounding anger.
I turned, panic spiking. Everything about this room was off. Tomura's eyes weren't on me; they watched the monster before us, full of tension and fear. I braved a glance. AFO's gaze bored into him, one eye burning red and relentless.
He was Tomura's master. That meant… what? I began to step away, heart pounding out a frantic rhythm.
But before I could make it even a meter further—