Not a lot moved All For One. Things other people called cute were usually weak to him. He was a person of logic. There was cause and effect, choice and consequence.
But the sight of Izuku in a business suit was -
It was adorable. Kurogiri had gone all out. In addition to finding a suit somewhere in Izuku's size overnight, he'd slicked back his son's curls. Except for the colouration, Izuku was a mini Hisashi.
Certainly the people at his office thought so.
That he had a son was a revelation to most but they had adapted. His Executive Assistant, Suke, would no doubt volunteer to babysit Izuku at any time. Not that he'd let that happen. That's what Kurogiri or even Gigantomachia were for.
Izuku sat beside him at his desk. They'd wheeled in one of the chairs from the board room for him. Hisashi was meeting with a variety of people today. Thus far they had all considered Izuku captivating but the person he was meeting next would not be affected by cuteness. He'd better not at least.
"We are meeting one of my direct employees next, my Little Dragon."
"Aren't they all your employees?" Izuku asked.
"Yes," Hisashi agreed, taking a deep breath and resting his chin on his hand as he leaned on his desk. "I have two sets of employees," he began to explain. "Those that work for my businesses, and those who work for me directly."
All For One could tell from the way Izuku looked at him that he didn't understand.
"Let's use Kurogiri as an example," Hisashi offered. "Kurogiri works directly for me. That means he does what I want him to. He doesn't have set hours. But someone like Suke works for my company."
"I don't get it," Izuku said. He knew who Suke was. Suke was Dad's Executive Assistant.
"Kurogiri never goes to work, does he?" Hisashi asked, trying to explain in another way.
"He goes to the bar," Izuku said.
"He goes to the bar, but that's for himself. The bar isn't my company is it?"
"No," Izuku agreed.
"Kurogiri works for me but not for my company. The person you are going to meet next is the same."
Izuku frowned but nodded. Hisashi could tell he still didn't get the fine details of the arrangement but he would. He sent the signal to Suke to send in his next appointment.
The door opened and Nasutto came in. "Sensei, it's go-" the man paused, looking sharply at Izuku.
"My son," Hisashi made the introduction.
"Ah, little Izuku!" Nasutto said. "It's good to finally meet you."
All For One nodded and saw Nasutto relax slightly. He'd passed the first test. Hisashi waved one hand at the couches that were in his office. "I'll get your usual report a little later. While I work on some paperwork, why don't you explain to my Little Dragon what you do for me?"
Nasutto was wise enough to recognise an order when he heard it.
"Of course," he said and then gestured for Izuku to go ahead of him.
They settled quickly on the couches and Hisashi pulled out several data tablets to read. His work was never done after all, but he did keep an ear on their conversation.
"Hi, I'm Izuku," his son introduced himself. He was looking at Nasutto curiously. Hisashi knew why. The man was one of those unfortunates who had been born with a mutant look but no actual quirk. He had dark, dappled skin and nothing else. Given it was the dappling of water, in any other era, he would have been considered to have a quirk. These days, that just wasn't enough. When Hisashi had found him, and recognised his intelligence, he'd given him a slight concealment quirk. It wasn't a strong one, like Hide Away, in fact it could be described as Hide Away's little sister but it was enough for Nasutto to gain social acceptance. Which was the entire point.
The man had then turned into one of the best information brokers on the planet. Others wanted Nasutto to work for them. They wanted the information he gained, and sometimes, he gave it to them - for a price. Most of the underworld knew the man worked for him. They knew where the information went.
Izuku, with his gaze, was wondering what Nasutto's quirk was. He could see the skin, and the man's dark eyes. The dappling was all over, even in his hair! But izuku was polite and had been taught that quirks weren't everything - despite what the rest of society thought - therefore, he wouldn't ask straight off. But he would be curious.
"My name is Nasutto," the man said with a slight bow.
Hisashi skimmed through the first memo. Ikyu was doing good work with the drug. The initial results were promising, especially for the enhancement. All For One put a mark on the document, approving Ikyu's request for further funding.
"I work as a broker for your dad," Nasutto was saying.
Izuku frowned. "Do you mean like Giran?"
"You've met Giran?"
"Briefly. He sometimes deals with Kurogiri," Izuku explained.
"I'm a bit like Giran," Nasutto said. "Giran though will work for whoever is paying him. I only work for your dad. Also, Giran brokers things. I broker information."
"Information?"
Nasutto smiled and nodded at Izuku. "Information," he confirmed and Hisashi could see how he was now slightly wary again. No doubt he was wondering exactly how much he could tell Izuku. Nasutto was smart. All For One was sure he'd work it out from what he knew of Izuku and what he knew of his plans. There was a reason Nasutto had been around for several years, and it wasn't because he was stupid.
"How is information important?"
The broker chuckled at the question. It was not a mocking chuckle but rather one of amusement. "Information is always important, little Izuku. I help your dad find people."
"Dad needs people found?" Izuku was obviously confused.
Nasutto nodded. "I help him find people he can help," the broker clarified.
All For One smothered a laugh. That was one way of looking at it. He certainly helped people to a more simple lifestyle.
"I look for people who are having trouble controlling their quirks," the broker continued. "Or even those who don't like their quirk."
"So dad can help them?"
Nasutto nodded at the question. "The reason I'm needed is that people don't want to admit they can't control their quirk. There's a lot of elderly people who just can't do it anymore, but there's also children. They can learn but it's a difficult thing, so for everyone's safety, your dad helps them."
"So you're like a sidekick?"
Hisashi didn't wince, nor did Nasutto but he imagined for the man it was a close thing. Izuku may have had his eyes opened to the reality of the world but he didn't yet have the terminology to describe everything. They'd have to work on that.
"No, not really, Little Izuku," Nasutto said after a few moments. "The work we do doesn't get noticed by society. Otherwise-"
Izuku's green eyes went wide. "They'd come after dad," he whispered.
"Yes," the broker said sadly. "And me, and you and everyone else. All we are trying to do is make the world a better place and we don't need the recognition of society to do it because the changes we make are for everyone."
That concept seemed to fascinate Izuku and he nodded. "What else do you do?" He asked eagerly.
Nasutto laughed. "I help your dad research drugs for quirk control. The government has some, but they have terrible side effects. So we are looking for something better," he explained before Izuku could ask. "Basically Little Izuku, I do whatever your dad wants!"
All For One continued to read his tablet but he made a mental note to give Nasutto a bonus. The man was doing a superlative job of explaining to Izuku without actually being brutally honest. Right now, Izuku was at a delicate time. His faith in society was gone but he still clung to the social norms because they were what had dominated his life. Therefore, he'd still think villains were bad automatically because he didn't yet have the mental understanding to reframe thoughts to his truth, rather than society's truth. They would lay the groundwork this week, during his suspension.
Truly, he should be thanking the school for giving him this opportunity so soon. He couldn't have arranged things better himself! He gave Nasutto a clandestine nod to tell him to continue and went back to reading, all the while making a list of the other people Izuku would need to meet.
-ted-
"Just pick a character already!" Tomura growled at the younger boy. "You always pick one of the heroes, so what's the problem?"
He was having to spend a few hours with Izuku so they were playing games. That meant he didn't have to talk to him but Izuku was being infuriating, even at that. He just refused to pick out a character. Usually, he'd have picked out All Might or Endeavor or one of the annoying heroes by now but no… not today. Today he was going through every single character looking at their stats.
"I don't want to be a hero."
The response was definitely not what Tomura had been expecting. Red eyes blinked and he mentally ran through the sentence again.
"Say that again?"
"I don't want to be a hero," Izuku repeated, still looking at the screen.
This could be interesting. "So you finally see them for the frauds they are?" He demanded.
"They're not-" Izuku paused and for once Tomura was willing to let him take his time to answer. "Heroes do what society expects," the boy explained. This was not the type of answer Tomura had been expecting and if anyone had been watching them, it was not the type of conversation they'd have expected of boys of their age. Tomura and Izuku were not regular boys. "But society doesn't always want what's best for it," he continued.
Tomura knew that Izuku understood his words on one level, but he also knew that they definitely sounded like something Sensei or Kurogiri had told him. Izuku had a very good memory for these things.
"So what do you want to do?" He probed.
Izuku gave him a smile. It was bright and cheerful, exactly the type of smile an eight-year old should produce. "I'm going to help Daddy," he informed the older boy.
"Like me?" Tomura demanded, with an edge to his voice.
"No," Izuku said. "Not the same. Don't you remember? Daddy has always said that he needs us both. I don't think we'll be doing the same things."
Tomura huffed. That was something Sensei had said. Especially when he was younger. Sensei didn't lie to him so it was true but it was also annoying, though Izuku was correct, it was unlikely they'd be doing the same things. "Well, at least you see the truth about heroes now," he grumbled. "So hurry up and pick a character," he added.
Despite the kid's change in beliefs, there were still games to play.
-ted-
Hello?
Himiko looked down at her new phone at the message she'd just sent. Gold eyes watched the screen and she hoped it would be answered quickly. She almost squealed when the little dots came up indicating that someone was looking at her message. The status changed to read too!
Hello, who is this?
She grinned at the message. She hadn't said who she was. But she could tell who that was.
Izu-kun! Himiko quickly typed back.
Himiko?
Yes, it's me! I finally got a phone! It had taken quite a bit of nagging, and pointing out that there were safety considerations but her parents had finally gotten her a simple phone. It could make calls and send texts but not much else. It was marketed as a simple phone for old people or for children who only needed one in emergencies. She wasn't complaining. She didn't need the stuff the other kids seemed to rave over.
Yay! I missed you so much!
Izuku was quick with his answer. And there were still dots on the bottom indicating that he was in the 'chat'. He was probably waiting for her reply. What, you didn't make a zillion new friends? She typed. He should have. He was a good boy! So what if he was quirkless? He understood so much more about quirks than others.
I have Hitoshi, he's great!
Izuku had mentioned Hitoshi in his letter. She didn't know anything about him but Himiko knew one thing with absolute certainty. He better not have replaced me!
It was gratifying to see that the dots that told her that Izuku were replying appeared immediately when she sent that text. It made her feel good. Izuku never lied to her and he was the first person to look at her quirk and accept it so he was hers. It was good that he knew it.
Never. You are both my friends. I wish you could meet.
Himiko wasn't sure about that. Izuku was always so positive. Though if this Hitoshi was one of Izuku's friends, the only friend he'd mentioned so far at his new school, then he was probably a good person. Even so, they weren't going to meet any time soon. You're in Saitama and I'm in Niigata. That's not happening. Not to mention I'm only nine, and you're eight.
Maybe one day then.
She could hear Izuku's sigh in the response. Himiko could picture the way his face would fall with disappointment even as he simply accepted reality. But the chance to see Izuku again, and to see his friends would be welcomed. Definitely!
She could imagine the smile Izuku would give at that. He might be only eight, but Himiko was sure he'd remember that and she was equally sure that when he wrote 'maybe' he really didn't mean that. With him, it was definitely one day.
Have you made any friends?
That was a question she didn't want to answer. Izuku knew what her school life was like. It was one of the reasons she'd been friends with him. I have lots of friends, she wrote back flippantly. He knew that.
…
Oh, she could feel the doubt in those dots. It made her feel better. It made her feel as if Izuku was just there. Himiko sighed. At least she had some news. I don't know if you know them but I've been talking to Hiroto and Kyou. They're okay but they aren't you. They think it's weird that I like red, red meat.
Give them time
Izuku always thought the best of people. Even if she gave them eternity it wouldn't change one fundamental fact about them. They aren't you, Izu-kun. They won't ever be you.
It took Izuku a while to reply. Himiko thought he was embarrassed.
I miss you
Himiko gave her phone a weak smile. There was only one response to that. I miss you too.
You can text me whenever you want
Izuku sent that through quickly. The most touching thing about it was that he meant it. Whenever was literal with him. Ha! I'd do that anyway.
ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Himiko laughed. Ah, he knew what she meant. Oh, I like it! Let me find one for you.
o(*ω*)o That was appropriate.
(｡ ‿ ｡)
She laughed again. Izuku apparently loved his emoticons! (-ted-^▽^-ted-)
(*^▽^*)