Endeavor's POV:
I yanked Eraserhead over to me by the end of his pathetic capture scarf, locking him in place.
"You damn bastard! You had something to do with this. You and that rat!" I exclaimed, flames rising from my body.
I gritted my teeth and tightened my grasp on the man, resisting the urge to burn him to ashes immediately.
"I can assure you, Endeavor. We did not expect this to happen," Nezu stated, taking a few steps towards us. Instead of paying the rat any mind, I shot a menacing glare towards the useless detective, sending him a very clear message without having to say a word.
"Get your hands off of me, Endeavor."
I snapped my gaze back over to the underground hero within my grasp, hardening my gaze even more at the man's words.
"And who do you think you are to be ordering me around?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at his foolishness.
Eraserhead didn't respond, instead controlling his capture scarf to wrap around my arm, removing my grasp on him while also shoving me to the side.
"That's it!" I thought to myself, anger rising within me. I raised a hand summoning flames around it, fully ready to end the underground hero right then and there.
But before I could, I could feel my quirk factor immediately fade away, as if it had been momentarily pulled away from my body.
I met the man's bloodlusted gaze, hair, and capture defying gravity as both floated up in the air.
"That's enough! Both of you!" Nezu exclaimed, momentarily breaking his calm and unbothered demeanor.
I snapped back at him. "You aren't in any position to give me orders. I warned you. The HPSC will not be very happy once they learn about your illegal involvement," I reminded, shifting my attention away from Eraserhed and to Nezu instead.
"While that may be true. I'm certain the HPSC also won't take kindly to your failure as well. In their eyes, they'll also see you as a failure, Endeavor. You also allowed for Emerald to escape. Perhaps if you didn't leave Emerald alone once you arrived, he wouldn't have been able to escape," Nezu responded, small smile returning on his face.
I gritted my teeth whilst balling my hands into fists, veins bulging from underneath my skin.
"So I suggest, at least for now, you refrain from informing the HPSC of the child's escape. Nothing was caught on camera, and we are the only ones who know of this. Besides, you can't prove that the two of us were ever here. Like I've already stated, all cameras were powered off," Nezu continued, putting his paws behind his back as he stared up at me.
"You damn rat..." I muttered, barely containing my anger, resisting the urge to crush the rat into a pool of blood.
Nezu only smiled at my statement, and I watched with seething anger as he nonchalantly walked over to Eraserhead.
"I swear... If none of us retrieve that damned brat, I'll dispose of both of you myself," I threatened, turning away from the two heroes, walking past the detective who hadn't spoken a word this entire conversation.
"Oh, and Endeavor!" Nezu called out from on top of Eraserhead's shoulder. I snapped my head back around. "What?!"
"Tell me. Did you hurt Emerald at all while the two of you were alone? Before you brought the child here to this precinct?" Nezu questioned.
I only scoffed, rolling my eyes in disinterest as I turned away from the rat and underground hero once again.
"I was trying to get information out of the brat on our way here. He wasn't complying, so I decided another method was necessary for extracting information," I explained, continuing to walk away from the group.
"Sometimes, as a hero, you have to be willing to use violent methods to put a criminal in their place. It's as simple as that."
Despite my anger at the rat's questioning of my methods, I knew Nezu was correct about one thing. I couldn't prove anything. I couldn't prove that they were ever present in this precinct. I suppose I could always threaten the detective, but that wouldn't get me very far. Besides, I would also be blamed for Emerald's escape. I can't allow for that to happen.
But that doesn't matter. Emerald is too injured to fight anyone. If I can find his location, I should be able to capture him quite easily. The HPSC can never know about this. They will never learn about this.
I'll make sure of it.
<•------------•>
AFO's POV:
I narrowed my eyes, resting my head on my fist, staring over at the center of the room as a large cloud of purple mist enveloped a large portion of the area.
"Has he succeeded?" I contemplated, sitting up straight in attention.
My small grin quickly widened into a large smile as Emerald stepped out of the purple mist, handcuffs still clamped over both of his wrists, an extreme amount of injury all over his body.
"I see. So this is the famous Emerald I've heard so much about," Dr. Garaki observed, quickly returning his attention to several of the test tubes on the desk in front of him. "He's quite the resilient one, moving around with such injuries."
"Indeed he is," I agreed, watching as the child looked around the room.
"All For One," Emerald said, taking a few steps closer.
"Emerald," I greeted, smile widening, as I memorized a last facial feature down to the diamond-shaped freckles. The second time I'm meeting him, I already get to see his appearance. This could be incredibly useful. "It has been a while since we've last met, hasn't it, young one? I apologize for the sudden assistance. However, I assumed you may have desired help," I explained, leaning forward in my chair.
"I do hope the heroes treated you well."
Emerald didn't say or do anything for a few seconds, only staring up at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Some of them did. Endeavor was less than kind, though," Emerald responded, eyes drifting over to Dr. Garaki.
"Well, isn't that a shame. Don't worry, I have a feeling Endeavor will be punished," I stated, watching as Kurogiri fully reformed himself behind Emerald.
"By you?" Emerald asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Not quite," I replied.
Immediately noticing the growing nervousness and skepticism on the child's face, I decided to quickly dismiss his unspoken concerns.
"Do not worry. I have no intention of harming you. I simply found from the kindness of my heart that I should send Kurogiri there to assist you. I can assure you that as soon as you are healed of your injuries, you may be allowed to leave," I said.
The boy's skepticism didn't fade, but he did seem a bit more willing to cooperate.
"I appreciate your help, All For One, but I can't just accept that you decided to help me out of kindness. You don't strike me as one to help purely based off kindness," Emerald accused, seeing right through my facade.
I chuckled lightly, genuinely impressed by his observant side.
"That's true. I was hoping to get something out of this. Although, I meant what I said about allowing you to leave once you are healed. However, I can only allow that if you agree to a... a small favor," I explained, allowing for a bit of my true intentions to seep through the tone of my voice.
"A small favor?" Emerald asked, taking a step back.
"Yes. You do owe me after all. Besides, it isn't something completely ridiculous. If anything, it aligns with your own goals to some extent," I assured. "It has come to my attention that you have grown an... interest in Dragon, ever since your fight with him at that underground fighting arena. It was in Hokkaido, if I am not mistaken."
Emerald seemed quite taken aback by my knowledge but at the same time, and even flinched a bit at the mention of Dragon. In that moment, it seemed as though his aura quickly changed to that of a strong one to that of a weak and quivering one.
However, the child quickly seemed to come back to his senses, a strong aura returning as he returned my gaze.
"How?" He asked, a more serious undertone in his voice.
"Oh, please. I was wondering if you had yet noticed, but it seems you haven't. I have been sending Kurogiri to watch over you on certain missions. In fact, it was Kurogiri who removed all of the blood from the Hokkaido incident that could've been used by the heroes and police to trace back to you and your little friend," I said.
"So you've been stalking me?" Emerald questioned.
"For lack of a better term, yes. However, I only do so on certain missions of yours, and for good reason."
"What reason could that be?" The child asked, sarcastically.
"I am seeking to find a cure. A cure for demons," I responded, smile widening at the shock evident on Emerald's face. "The first time we met, I told you a small portion of my desire to defeat Tanjiro Kamado. My desire exists, partially due to what he's done to me in the past. I understand that it may be incredibly difficult to defeat such a powerful being while he's at full strength. So why not make it easier on ourselves and inject him with a serum that removes said powers? Turn him into a normal quirkless human."
"What did he do to you that's motivating this?" Emerald asked.
"Smart child," I thought to myself.
"Unfortunately, I can not say. Just know that, at least for the time being, I am aligned with the Demon Slayer Corps. At least until Tanjiro Kamado has been defeated. But, I'm certain you already have an idea as to what my favor is, don't you?"
Emerald nodded, sucking in a breath before speaking. "Since you mentioned Dragon and how our goals align, I'm guessing you want me to bring you a sample of his blood for you to experiment on, right?" His voice shook slightly, almost as if he was scared when saying this. However, the way he said it exemplified some type of determination. For what is unclear to me.
I chuckled softly.
"That is the gist of it, yes," I replied.
"How can I trust you?" Emerald asked, still seeming incredibly skeptical.
"I can not give or say much that will allow you to trust me. However, Dr. Garaki over here will break you out of those handcuffs and will heal every single one of those injuries. I'll even have Kurogiri over there bring you directly to your sensei once you're fully healed," I said, revealing yet another piece of information I knew about Emerald's life.
He stayed quiet for a while, likely contemplating on the little options he had. It was either paying me back for helping him or never leaving this place. The choice was his.
"Why Dragon specifically?" Emerald asked, eyes shutting slightly as he awaited an answer.
"Well, it is simple. The more powerful the demon, the more concentrated the blood. The more concentrated the blood, the easier it is for me and Dr. Garaki to create a proper cure," I explained. This wasn't exactly a lie. I did, in fact, need more concentrated blood for my goals, and Dragon's blood would do quite nicely.
The young demon slayer took a deep breath before looking back up at me with a determined expression.
"As long as you leave me and my friends out of your plans once I do this, then I'll agree."
A wide smile spread across my face while laughing.
"Of course, young one. I promise to do so once the deed is done. Dr. Garaki, why don't you get rid of those handcuffs around the poor boy's wrists. Once that's done, begin to tend to his injuries," I ordered.
"It shall be done, All For One," Dr. Garaki said, reaching out for one of his sharpest tools, sharp enough to cut through metal. It's the perfect tool to get rid of those handcuffs as quickly as possible.
"In case you were wondering. Your sensei is already looking for you," I announced to the child, watching the shocked expression sprout across his face as Dr. Garaki began to cut straight through the handcuffs.
"How do you know that already?" He asked.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere. I believe she has recently made contact with Stendhal for information. I doubt you knew much, though. I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to track us down on her own. She seems like quite the stubborn one. Won't stop until she gets what she wants," I observed, as Emerald rubbed his now free hands, cracking them as they had likely been in quite the strange position for a while now.
"However, that is not what's important right now. What's important is your well-being. Dr. Garaki, try not to experiment on the child. That would hardly be good for our plans."
<•------------•>
Author's Note: And that is it. Much shorter chapter this time, but I hope it was still enjoyable. As you can see, All For One is planning something. Do you believe he wants to make a cure? Or does he want Dragon's blood for something else?