Chapter Text
All for One strolled through the dim hallways of the auction house, receiving the nervous bows and murmured excuses of passing underlings. Underneath the main floor, he could hear the footsteps and muted voices of attendees findings their seats. Over an hour remained, but the closer, more prized seats had already been snatched up.
Of course, All for One had no need to scramble for a seat like the rest of the underworld trash. One of the balcony booths had already been reserved and prepared for him as a benefactor of the event. Wine, fine food, and quiet solitude would be waiting for him when he finally made his appearance.
Smoothing out his Armani suit jacket, he flicked off a speck of dust. It had probably landed during All for One's encounter with the heroes. Some pathetic sidekick or d-lister who had gotten too close to determining the auction's location. At least, none of their blood had stained his clothes.
A weight crashed into the back of All for One's legs and fell to the ground, the moveable object having no impact on his immovable force.
With a scowl, All for One smoothed his rumpled suit jacket again and turned to watch absolute terror dawn on his interrupter's face as they realized who it was they had crashed into.
Instead, wide, fearful, green eyes stared up at him, pleading for their big brother for help. A little brother hunched over in pain, coughing until blood speckled the floor.
"Yoichi?" All for One murmured to himself.
"No, sir. My name is Midoriya Izuku," the not-Yoichi said.
Shaking away the ghosts of the past, All for One could recognize his mistake. The body kneeling in front of him belonged to a young boy with round cheeks and green curls. The eyes were the same shade of brilliant green as Yoichi's eyes, but everything else was not his brother.
Izuku stumbled to his feet, glancing fearfully behind him. "I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention; I'll be on my way."
All for One raised an eyebrow and clamped a hand down on the boy's head, stopping him from running away. Despite the boy's momentarily shocking likeness to Yoichi, he was All for One. He had killed people for lesser offensives.
His quirk flared to life, searching for a new power that would make All for One consider sparing the boy's life. However, an empty void existed where the spark of a quirk typically resided. He frowned and dug deeper, flaring All for One and forcing his rake over the boy's quirk factor. But no spark of power shimmered, and All for One released his hold.
The boy flinched away. "What was that?"
"Nothing that should concern you. Not when you bumped into me."
The child's rosy cheeks drained of blood, and the boy stammered over himself in garbled apologies.
All for One should have assumed the boy was quirkless. This was a quirkless auction. Any lost little boys were undoubtedly merchandise that had slipped away without realizing. He eyed the boy, despite being no older than 10, the boy had developed muscles and a freckled face. Most quirkless did not look as this boy did, so rough and worn.
With the advent of quirks, the quirkless had slowly become a dying breed, unable to cope with the changing world. All for One would have let most groups wither and die, for they were utterly useless towards his plans. So it would doubtlessly surprise anyone who learned that All for One had been a critical supporter in pushing the quirkless protection laws. Maybe they reminded him of his brother, something fragile and weak to guard. The early death of Yoichi had always weighed on his mind.
Regardless, All for One's pushed legislation ensured that the quirkless were raised in isolated government facilities from the day of their diagnosis. Pampered and protected, they were carefully guarded until the age of 18, when they were placed for adoption by wealthy, capable caregivers.
This auction would be selling several quirkless children snatched from government facilities. But this boy did not look like one of those children.
"Midoriya, was it?" All for One said, cutting off the boy's rambling apology.
The boy's mouth snapped shut, and he bowed his head. "Yes, sir. That's my name. Midoriya Izuku."
"And what are you doing wandering around in these halls? Are your parents aware you're here? I'm shocked they would bring someone as young as you to an auction such as this."
"I'm sorry, sir. I got lost looking for the bathroom and took some hallway and ended up down here. My mom is looking for me. I need to go find her."
All for One's lips twitched. The boy was an awful liar. He couldn't even look All for One in the eye as he spouted that nonsense.
"I see." The boy had probably slipped away from his handlers and begun running through the underground halls of the auction. Highly unprofessional.
Midoriya licked his lips, eyes darting from side to side. "Are you here for the auction too? I mean, you probably are, your suit looks really nice, and why else would you be wandering here. Not that you're wandering, I'm sure you were doing important things before I ran into you."
All for One should kill this child for blathering on and wasting his time. Instead, he tucked his arms behind his back and listened to the blatant falsehoods and poorly concealed panic. Maybe he would play with the child a bit, watch them squirm. "What's your quirk, Midoriya?"
"Quirk analysis," came the boy's practiced reply. Yes… the boy was obviously never taken to any facility.
"Quirk analysis? Why don't you analyze my quirk, then?" All for One watched the sweat drip from Midoriya's face with inner delight. There was a pleasure to be had in watching the child squirm.
But to his surprise, instead of crying or backtracking or running away, the boy straightened, a steely look entering his eyes. The look of a hero facing death and choosing to tackle it head-on.
"My quirk requires data to properly analyze other quirks and considering that I have most likely haven't seen your quirk in action makes analyzing even trickier. But, you asked, which means I probably have seen something that might hint at it, or you want to see my best guess. I'm seeing no obvious mutations, but some of them can be hidden, especially under a suit like that. Still, the most common quirk type is emitter, and there wouldn't have to be an obvious sign for it…."
The boy carried on, his speech becoming more muttered and frantic. All for One had to even activate one of his hearing quirks to keep up with the boy's analysis.
"...degree of pride which would lead me to assume that it's powerful. Something that could be used to easily defeat your enemies. And that you're down here, which would mean that it's something that intimidates others…."
The boy was entirely lost in his rambled thoughts, his eyes glazed over, hand perched on his chin. He was nowhere close to guessing the true nature of All for One, but considering that the boy was quirkless and had limited information to go off of, his deductions were impressive. It would be fascinating to see the boy's reaction to some of the quirks All for One had nestled deep inside.
Footsteps thudded farther down the hallway, and the boy startled out of his analysis right as the auction's guards stumbled upon them. They were dressed in the white protective gear standard for handling the quirkless.
"All for One, sir," one of the guards yelped, dropping into a bow. "We're sorry for any inconvenience we or the merchandise has caused." Sweat dripped from the guard's head as they waited for All for One's reply.
"I expect more from the auction. My patience is a precious resource."
The guards paled suitably. "Yes, sir."
Midoriya attempted to slink away during the exchange but stopped when guards thundered down the opposite side of the hallway, caging the boy in. All bliss of analysis had been replaced by terror, the look of a mouse cornered by a cat.
"Come here, little boy," One of the guards said, twisting his voice into something syrupy sweet. He raised his hands that were covered in soft, padded gloves, specially prepared for handling quirkless. The government taught that the quirkless were weak and easily broken; they couldn't take violence or harsh words. But judging by the furious right hook the boy threw, catching the guard in the nose, Midoriya was determined to break that stereotype.
The guard stumbled away, clutching a dripping nose. Midoriya curled his hands into fists. "I'm not going with you! I won't be sold and carried away! I'm not weak. I'm not quirkless!" The boy darted for a gap in the guard's circle, but a guard with rabbit legs lunged forward, tackling the boy to the ground.
"Get the chair!" the guard yelled, tightening her hold on the failing boy. The other guards wheeled a padded chair toward the pinned boy. Despite their incompetence in allowing the child to escape, the group efficiently lifted the boy up and strapped him into the chair.
Midoriya fought the entire time, managing to leave what would be colorful bruises on several of the guards. The guards' soft, soothing tones of "there, there" and "you're okay, little one" were becoming more harried as they scrambled to tighten the straps.
Finally, the boy was secured, padded straps crossing over his chest, waist, and forehead. Additional restraints pinned his ankles and wrists against the chair. "Let me go! Let me out of this chair! I'm not quirkless." Midoriya's eyes turned towards All for One, pleading desperately. "Tell them! Tell them I'm not quirkless. I have a quirk, and it's quirk analysis, and I need to go."
The guards turned towards All for One, not believing the boy's claims but unwilling to potentially cross the ruler of the underground.
All for One approached the chair, keeping his gaze fixed on Midoriya. Those green eyes were welling with hopeful tears. "Please, sir."
All for One rested his hand in the boy's hair, carding his fingers through the green curls. The guards straightened, waiting for his order, and Midoriya strained underneath the straps to look him in the eye. Wrapping a single ringlet around his index, All for One spoke, "This little one is lying, I'm afraid. He is, in fact, quirkless."
"Noooo! I'm not. I have a quirk. I do!" The guards swarmed in, Midoriya screeched, but the guards quickly wrapped a thick blindfold around the boy's eyes and inserted a gag into his mouth. Now blind, gagged, and restrained, the boy could do nothing but futilely thrash. “Mph nawapp uirpmklemp. Immnawmp!"
"Again, we're sorry, sir, for interrupting you," said the female guard with the rabbit mutation. She bowed deeply. "We'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."
"Any other product I would have disposed of, but the quirkless…" he allowed his hand to rest on the boy's head again, feeling the child tremble underneath. "The quirkless are rather pathetic, weak in nature, but worth preserving. I'll be intrigued to see what he goes for in the auction."
"Mngrpmh!"
The guards bowed a final time before spinning the chair around and pushing the struggling boy away.
All for One stood watching them leave, even after they had disappeared down the dark hallway. There was something so familiar about the boy, something that brought back memories of his little brother. This wasn't the first time he'd seen his brother in a stranger's eyes. But Midoriya's lingered in a way the others didn't.
Turning, All for One began walking towards the stairs that led to his booth. "Midoriya Izuku," he murmured to himself. He hadn't planned on bidding during the auction, but maybe... he would.
