A Collector

Izuku walked into the school library, his mind already drifting as he approached the history project he had been procrastinating on.

Not that it really mattered. Most of the history he'd been taught felt like a lie anyway. The so-called "Luminescent Baby" was often hailed as the first person born with a quirk, but as Izuku dug deeper into his research, he found something far more troubling. There were fifty people born with quirks in India, two hundred in the United States—none of which had made it into mainstream history. And worse still, there were entire groups of people dedicated to killing quirked individuals, quirk eradication groups that used their power to suppress and annihilate the different.

It wasn't just about the facts—it was about what was hidden.

Izuku clenched his fist. History was a tool, a weapon in the hands of those in power, but it could be so much more. It could teach us to avoid repeating the same mistakes. It should've. And yet, here they were, covering up so much of the past—especially the parts that dealt with people like him.

He sighed, trying to focus on the assignment. They should've taught more about the oppression of those with mutant-type quirks, the kind of quirks that affected a person's skin, their very identity. It was the modern-day equivalent of racism, but it wasn't race—it was quirk-based discrimination. Izuku's thoughts wandered to a line he had uncovered while researching: Emperor Hirohito had worked with the early government officials to suppress and control the rise of quirked individuals.

It was all so messy. Everyone wanted to sweep things under the rug when quirks started to appear. But Izuku was fascinated by one thing—history's revolutionaries. Those who fought back.

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of his own voice interrupted his inner monologue. He was sitting in a dimly lit room with All For One, who was leaning against the wall, eyes intent on Izuku's every word. A figure Izuku had grown to trust—in a sense—but a constant reminder of his complicated path.

"There are a few things you absolutely have to do if you want to take control of a country," Izuku said, his voice more sure than he felt. He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. He was simply processing his own thoughts aloud.

He wasn't looking at the man in the mist who stood behind All For One—Kurogiri, his new caretaker—but rather, his own theoretical roadmap for seizing power. "But then there are other things that only sometimes have an impact."

"Oh?" All For One's voice rumbled with interest.

Izuku gave a small nod. "If your country exports, you make sure that continues. If your country imports, you keep paying those bills." He paused, watching Kurogiri's faint mist swirl in the corner of his vision. "And... you can't involve foreign powers. At all. Make sure the others know that things won't change for them."

Izuku tapped his fingers together, gathering his thoughts. "And since Japan is a democracy, it's best to take control from within the system. Then you shift things to maintain control. It helps to reassure the foreign powers too, that nothing will change."

"What about military force?" All For One asked.

Izuku sighed, looking at the floor as he considered it. "It's doable. But more often than not, it'll trigger other countries to either invade or try to reinstall the rightful government." He shook his head, unwilling to dwell on the dark possibilities.

"So, what happens if you combine the two?" All For One's voice was calm, but it held the challenge of someone looking for insight. "Military force and internal takeover."

Izuku thought for a moment before replying, "That's tricky. You have to be on both sides. You'd have to keep both fronts working, or else one will collapse under the weight of the other."