Bad Feeling...

After the events of last week, I spent most of my time lying on my couch while staring at the ceiling, in the small apartment that I shared with my group. 

I didn't want to get up but I had a meeting to attend. 

It had been a week since my encounter with Midoriya. I was on a time crunch but if things went smoothly I'd be back in my bed with enough sleep to function properly for the exams.

Exams.

Psychically I was ready for them as I'd ever be, I was confident in my quirk, mental prowess, and strength. There was no doubt in my mind that I'd pass. Mentally, though, I wasn't ready. The foreseeable future saw me spending a ton of time at school building my fake persona. I really didn't want to work that much.

Not even to mention the pain it was going to be attending 1-A. I really wanted to just go general but I can't pass up the opportunity to learn more about the "future generation of heroes." Like it or not those kids were gonna cause me problems and I don't know enough about their weaknesses. There's also the fact that I could also get closer to AFO since his spy is that laser beam stomach kid.

I chuckled thinking about that dumb power. What an awful roll of luck to experience.

Rolling over, I checked the clock. It was almost midnight and Haru and Sam, also known as Leech and Axis, still hadn't returned. I wasn't worried, they were probably fine, I was just annoyed that the job had taken longer than expected. I'd been having them take mercenary jobs, extra muscle on a job, or protecting some sleazy rich guy, things like that. The point of this was to gain some quick cash and notoriety. 

Much of our group had left, and I only had a few members left. It was to be expected, we hadn't made any big plays since the bank robbery so long ago. Anyone who wanted to leave was allowed to do so… I just had Sam track them down and take care of them discreetly. 

This wasn't my game plan moving forward for any who decided to leave, it was just that… they knew my identity. When I first killed the boss I never put on a mask. I put my face in my hands. It was embarrassing how stupid that decision was.

As I was self-reflecting someone busted through the door. I slid my hands down just enough to see Haru and Sam walk in. 

Haru saw my hands on my face and grinned, "What's this..?" He put a hand to his chin, "Crying!? Does the fair maiden miss us so?" He placed the back of his hand on his forehead in a fainting motion. Sam just stepped around him.

Over the years I've learned that Haru was the incarnation of exaggeration. So, Instead of focusing on him, I put my eyes on Sam. She was eighteen now, almost nineteen if I recalled her birthday correctly. She hadn't changed much since when I first met her. A few more piercings riddled her ears and she'd gotten her tattoo larger. 

I sat up from the couch, wincing slightly, my neck was sore.

"Did it go fine?" I asked.

"No problems, It was quick and easy." She said, standing rigid in front of me. Haru moved over to collapse into the loveseat just beside the couch.

"And the payment?" 

She tossed me the backpack that was situated on her shoulders. I opened it and wads of cash were lined inside. A quick calculation told me it would be about 2,000 dollars USD.

"Did you count this all up?" There was always a chance of being lowballed. I wouldn't put it past them though, I would do the same. You rule with power; there was no honor among thieves. That said, being on the receiving end wasn't pleasant.

"Yes, the exact amount was there."

 "Good," I breathed, letting my body fall on the soft cushion below. Even as I lay there, paying her no attention, Sam still stood before me.

"Dismissed. You can relax now," I said, rolling my eyes. As I finished that sentence Sam's posture softened and a smile crept up her face. She moved over to sit on the second loveseat. Sam was determined to always be professional when it came to "business". Strange but it made her incredibly loyal.

"They were afraid of us, I think," She said, "When I offered our services for a second time they declined, rather politely too. We were a little too effective I guess? Not to mention Haru creeping them out with his positive attitude,"

"Hey! Positivity has numerous health benefits! And I don't want to hear it from the ice queen who makes villains shiver with her stare." Haru argued.

She rolled her eyes and reached for her pocket but abruptly stopped. Instead, she grabbed a book off the small table. I'd ordered her not to smoke in the apartment. But even then, the habit was so ingrained that it could put even someone as loyal as Sam off balance. I might have to do something about that in the future.

For now, seeing as they were all there, I went to my room to put on my costume. It was laid out on my bed, a simple black school outfit, and a full-cover plastic mask with a checkered pattern. I really wanted to just wear a crown but I still had use for my secret identity.

 Underneath the outfit, I wore a lightweight silk-like full-body suit that let only my hair flow free. The suit itself was knife-proof and semi-bulletproof though it wouldn't feel like it. I would have bought the same for Haru and Sam but this suit was expensive and we just didn't have the funds. I'd buy some for them later, when we had more money, for right now I was more important.

Looking myself over in the mirror, everything was perfect. It was nothing fancy and I liked it that way. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing some embarrassing over-the-top costume. Not to mention the un-practicality.

When I walked back to the living room Haru was still scrolling on his phone and Sam was still reading.

"What are you guys doing?" I said coldly, they stopped what they were doing and looked at me, "Get dressed. We have to pick up Gale and go."

"Go where?" Sam intoned.

Now I knew why they took so long. "I thought Haru told you. We're meeting with a gang tonight to discuss an exchange of services."

Sam turned her head slowly to Haru while he skillfully avoided her gaze. "That's right! I totally forgot, errr my bad Sam. I'll get ready right away boss." He sputtered out before escaping to his room. 

Sam glared daggers at his door before she stood up, giving me a slight bow, and ran to her room. 

They were out in less than three minutes. 

They both wore generally the same style as I wore. Casual clothes. The only exciting thing about our costumes was our masks, Haru had a jester mask on, fitting, and Sam dawned a demon mask that covered just her jaw.

"Wearing plain clothes," Haru said as he walked to me, "Is so cool, it makes us stand out in a weird way."

Sam merely grunted in response.

"Let's go," I said.

—-

Gale wasn't far, in fact, I placed him in a small sealed storage area in the basement of the complex. He was my most important asset, I wanted him close to me at all times. 

We arrived at the sealed door and I signaled Haru to do his thing. He walked up to the door and activated his Quirk, I could feel the energy drain from me as he moved the concrete slab.

The entrance to the room was pitch black and a deep voice growled from within. "I could do it myself, you know?"

"Yeah, but you'll leave claw marks." Haru replied, "Come on let's go."

He stepped out, his furry head nearly brushing against the ceiling. "I can be delicate," He said, almost offended.

"Let's cut the arguing short, where's the place," Sam said.

I opened my phone to the message I'd gotten from the gang's leader and put the location in my GPS. It told me that the place was some warehouse deep in villain territory. I gestured for Gale to step down and he got down on all fours, letting me take a step up onto his back. Haru and Sam joined me.

"I have the location just go where I tell you. Be discreet"

"This is demeaning." He grumbled out.

"Just listen," I sighed.

—

We made it relatively quickly, Gale was faster than I estimated. Unfortunately, we made it early so we were stuck waiting for the other group.

"Bossss can we go? We've been waiting forever." Haru whined from the corner. He'd been playing with some scrap metal since we'd gotten here.

 "Be patient and watch our rear. We don't want to get jumped. Also, stop playing with that, are you even up to date on your shots?" Sam said from my right side.

"No clue," Haru said as he situated himself behind me. Sam gave me a look but I ignored it.

"They're not getting past my senses," Gale said, eyes closed. He was curled around me as I sat on a metal chair we found. It wasn't comfortable but it was worth it as Haru standing behind me, Sam to my right, and a Wolfman at my feet made a quite intimidating scene.

"Now what if their invis-" Haru tried but Gale's head shot up. Instantly everyone was on alert. Haru quit his lounging and stepped over to my left side while Sam took a ready stance.

"We got company," Gale growled, teeth bared and claws unsheathed.

Looking over I could see five figures walking in from the other end of the building. The grunt's outfits weren't of much note, typical masks, and beat-up clothes. They were street-level, not professionals. The only one who looked like he made an effort in his appearance was their leader, Quickshot. He had red-dyed hair, a mask that looked like two guns pointing out from either temple, and a typical biker outfit accented in red. 

"Well, this is quite a welcoming sight!" Quickshot said.

I stepped forward, "Quickshot, looks like you finally made it."

"I think I'm quite punctual actually, er, what were your guys' names again?" He was smiling, taunting me. I didn't like it but I'd have to swallow my pride.

"Leech!" Haru chimed.

"Axis," Sam said roughly.

"Silverback," Gale growled.

"Not sure yet," I said.

That seemed to take Quickshot by surprise. He looked directly at me, "Ah I see, "Not sure yet," what are the origins of such a na-"

"I don't want to waste any time Quickshot, are you taking the deal or not?"

"Hm, you mean the… alliance?" 

Could this guy be more annoying?

"Yes."

"Ah yes, I see, to that… I accept."

I kept my excitement below the surface. This guy was annoying, but everyone has their uses. This alliance meant one step towards expansion, towards my goal.

"Great. Let's go over our game plan on how this will wor-" 

"I just have one caveat," He said, "I want our roles swapped."

"What?"

"You heard me. Clearly, you're going into this thinking you're gonna be the one calling the shots. I don't like it. I don't like the fact that a little girl thinks she can boss us around." He turned back to his group, "What do you guys think?" They sneered at us in response.

 "Well, there's your answer,"

He approached slowly hand out, "You guys are a bit in over your heads, I'll show you how things go in the underground. That sound good?"

I stared at him blankly. The audacity of this two-bit thug baffled me. This guy was barely even known, I went through actual effort to find his villain alias. I gave a sidelong glance at Haru and Sam and based on their expressions it was clear they knew what they had to do. Even Gale had started to growl slightly.

I sighed, putting my hand on my forehead, "At least you can't say I didn't give it a try." I looked dead in Quickshot's eyes, "Kill them."

In an instant, the mood darkened. Quickshot stretched out hand flew up and a ball of air shot at me. I backstepped but Gale rose and tanked the shot. 

"The hell?! Those aren't painless!" Looks like he assumed Gale's Quirk to be your typical Mutant Quirk.

"I want two on him," He yelled. Causing his thugs to advance.

"Split up guys," I said, "Take your enemy down in a timely fashion, I got Quickshot."

They dispersed and I sent a barrage of bubbles at Quickshot before he could shoot at me again. He easily sidestepped and his face was almost abashed. 

"Bubbles!? For real?" He laughed incredulously.

As he was about to stick out his hand again I urged the bubbles to pop and the gas that was within spilled out.

He immediately abandoned his attack and booked it to the opposite side of the room. 

"Gas!" He warned and his gang quickly followed suit, moving away from the cloud that was forming in the center of the warehouse.

"Out of all the battles I will have faced in the future you're not even going to be a footnote,"

He turned his body around to take another shot but it was too late. The moment Quickshot had started running I began forming a new bubble I'd been testing. It was relatively harmless but when it popped it would conjure a huge amount of force as well as an extremely debilitating sound. Before Quickshot could even register the gigantic bubble before him I triggered it and it popped, loudly. All heads turned to see Quickshot flying towards the crates at the end of the room. 

It was over.

—-

What happened? Why did everything feel so numb?

Disoriented I tried to stand up but that caused all my sensations to come rushing back until the pain was all I could feel. 

"Th-that's right," I grunted, "The girl."

I thought these kids were just going to be small fry. The wolf guy maybe would pose a problem but the five of us could easily take him. 

It didn't matter now, though. I had to get up and move.

With conceited effort, I managed to pull myself from the wreckage. A quick note of my body told me that both my arms had been broken but, gritting through the pain, I hobbled towards the nearest window.

I managed to make it all of two steps before stumbling to the ground. The pain caused me to roll over and I was met with the girl staring at me, not even four feet away.

She pinched the bridge of her nose letting out a deep sigh, "Why did you make me do this?"

I could only wheeze in response as the girl slowly approached. Each step felt like an earthquake rattling through my broken body.

I have to get moving again. Slowly in a half-crouched position, I began slithering across the ground.

"For what purpose? Your ego? Did you really think you stood a chance? Especially with a Quirk like that-"

She paused. I risked a check back and could see her face was tilted to the side as if she was confused by her own words.

"Sorry, It just.. annoys me, annoys me when you act so... so, cliche. I could have had everything I needed! If you had. Just. Said. Yes."

Was she... monologuing? I could barely hear what she was talking about over the blood rushing in my ears. I spared another glance and I could see her pacing back and forth with her hand on her head, her lips were moving fast and I thought I could hear the faint sounds of mumbling.

This is good. This is really good. If she keeps breaking down I might be able to make it out. See, Halt... Patch things up with Sarah. I'll do what she wants; stay a regular citizen, and leave this life far behind.

Just as I was about to make it to the window a deafening pop echoed throughout the room. I found myself buckling from a lack of balance and face-planting into the rubble.

What just happened?

I looked back and was met with air and blood pooling where my right leg should have been.

My leg was gone? No... No! I slapped my hand on the pavement where it used to be, causing the blood from the pool to splatter on my face. Desperately I started scratching around for my leg.

"I still feel it there. It's still there!" I yelled far too loudly.

A single stomp stilled my thoughts. The girl was stepping on the stump where my leg used to be. The pain was as bad as I thought it would be. Probably due to the intense pain I was already in canceling it out. That was good, wasn't it? No pain? Did that mean a faster recovery? 

I couldn't help but let out a deranged chuckle. So these are the thoughts of a dead man.

I looked up at the girl and was met with those chilling eyes... But her face was different, it was flushed and her breathing was heavy. I began to hold out hope that she would pass out before she killed me.

The girl bent down until she was an inch away from my face, staring directly at me. She reached out and held my neck firmly. I couldn't even move to defend myself.

 "You know, I don't like killing people. Surprised?"

I couldn't respond.

"It doesn't make me feel satisfied or anything. I'm not that type of crazy. It is just useless, and wasteful. It doesn't benefit me at all. Even if it seems so, it just causes me more problems."

I looked at her. Really looked at her. Perhaps earlier I could appreciate that the last person I would ever look at was pretty but I could only shudder at the thought. Before me was not a person. All that was there was a demon.

"Liar," I half mumbled, wincing at the strength of her grasp, "You can keep telling yourself that. But I can tell. I know that look all too well: the desire for control. Deep down you're just like me... A bloodthirsty crimi-"

"No!" She shouted, tightening her hold, "I am not even remotely on your level!"

Bubbles started forming off of her arm. I could only grunt as I felt the burning sensation go deeper and deeper down my neck. Bubbling blood gushed down my chest as I felt myself become light-headed. Before I closed my eyes I glanced at her one last time.

She was smiling.

—

I stared down at the mess of flesh that was Quickshot. 

With the death of their leader, his lackey's spirits seemed to die quickly. They were all easily taken down by my crew. Eventually, they were all in a pile, sapped of strength due to Haru's power.

"What should we do with them, boss?" He put his hands to his face as if he was shocked, "Kill them!?"

"Let me handle it," Gale intoned, "These scum don't deserve life."

I looked at the pile of people. Someone had to let other villains know not to screw with us again, the rest didn't matter.

"Leave one alive, I want the word of my actions here spread." I eventually intoned.

"Which one?" 

I regarded the pile once again looking at the pleading drowsy eyes. "I don't care," I said, walking towards the exit. Sam fell in line, following.

"Alright then! Who's gonna be our lucky winner? Let's find out! Eeny, Meeny…"

—

"This is disgusting." 

Detective Naomasa looked over the scene of gore before him. Officers and heroes were spread out examining the four villains who had been massacred, Forensics said one had been melted, two beaten to death, and a third torn to shreds.

"Villains are starting to get bold," Erasure Head grumbled, "I don't like it."

Truth.

"You can say that again," Naomasa huffed, "You think it's new players?"

"It could be."

Half-Truth

"Come on, don't hold out on me."

Erasure Head sighed, "My theory is that this was the result of those hiding in the shadows finally making a move on the surface."

Truth.

"Hmm. It's probable. Either way, we need to handle this fast. If the media gets their hands on this before then it's going to cause problems. Exams are coming up soon and this being in the news could scare off aspiring students"

"If this is what it takes to scare them off then they shouldn't become heroes in the first place"

Truth.

Naomasa sighed, Erasure Head was always so serious, "Nevertheless, tell Nezu about this, will you? His insight could be useful."

"Will do."

Truth.

Feeling that the conversation was over Naomasa said his goodbyes and stepped away from the scene. He'd been planning to go and grab something to eat but after witnessing that scene he doubted his stomach could take it.

As he was getting in his car a thought came to him.

"Maybe I should tell All Might about this?"

Detective Naomasa mused over it for a second before deciding it was probably best to have the number one hero at least aware of the situation. 

Pulling out his phone he sent the man a quick text.

- - - -

Contacts > All Might

**Naomasa Online**

Naomasa: All Might, some Villains had a fight at an abandoned warehouse tonight.

**All Might Online**

All Might: Any escape? Do you need me out there searching?

Naomasa: No, none escaped, if you don't count the perpetrators. We found four dead, massacred. It was bloody.

All Might: Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep my eyes peeled. *All Might thumbs up GIF*

- - - -

"I swear that man can't take anything seriously." Naomasa huffed before putting his keys in the ignition.

—-

All Might stared at his phone while his disciple, young Midoriya, pulled the fridge he was sitting on. 

The cleaning beach progress had made considerable progress but it was not completely clean. There was still a lot of garbage left and All Might wasn't totally sure Midoriya could make it in time. He would never voice that though, he didn't want to crush the boy's hope.

"Let's take a break Midoriya!" He said as he hopped off the top of the fridge.

Midoriya's response was collapsing onto the ground, heaving. All Might quickly grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it to the boy. The boy thanked him, took the drink, and almost drank the whole bottle in a single breath. 

Concern writ his face, "What's wrong All Might?"

"Nothing! Just some Villains fighting! It's probably nothing but I'm going to head out on patrol just in case they're still around. Head home Midoriya, I'm sure your mother is starting to get worried."

"I can't All Might. There's still so much work left. I already called my mom to tell her I was going to be late so I'll just stay here for a little bit longer. Is that okay?" His face was desperate.

All Might wanted to protest but he could tell that the boy would break if he told him no.

"Well… don't stay up all night. You need rest for your muscles to work properly," He pulled a pose and Midoriya's eyes gleamed.

"Don't worry All Might I got this!" He said, taking a similar pose.

All Might took a careful look at Midoriya's eyes and all he saw was determination. 

"Well alright! I'll be back tomorrow morning!" He laughed his signature laugh as he launched himself from the ground.

The laughter faded quickly and there was no smile present on All Might's face. He pulled out his phone, someone was calling.

"Nezu? You know what's going on?"

"I've already heard, All Might."

"You think it could be the wolf?"

"It's very probable! One villain was in fact torn to shreds with some sort of claws according to Aizawa!"

All Might winced at his cheery words but chose to save his comment for another time.

"To me, it seems like a deal gone sour. I doubt he would show his face so soon after such an event. I can tell you're probably about to patrol the area so I'm telling you not to worry about it too much and get some rest!"

Before he could respond Nezu ended the call. 

Sighing, All Might decided to listen to the mouse bear and go home. After a few mighty leaps, he landed in the concealed area near his apartment and reverted back to his usual form. He casually walked into the building and entered his apartment room.

Leaning back onto his couch he tried to focus on other things but as much as Nezu told him to not worry he couldn't shake the bad feeling taking hold of him…

"I'm sure everything will be fine!" He exclaimed before leaning back and closing his eyes.

Sleep quickly took hold of him.

–

So it's been quite a long time… Basically, as it goes with most fanfics, I lost all motivation and interest in fandom and dropped it. Still don't have much interest in MHA, but this story was fun to write and I decided to at least finish up this chapter that I was writing.

You can tell I don't like writing fight scenes since it was over so fast. 💀 

I'm also noticing the rampant past and present changes within the book but bear with it please, I'm too lazy to fix them at this point.

Been really into JJK and my favorite character is Maki so maybe I'll make a one-off fic where post-awakening Maki finds herself in MHA but idk.

Also is it just me finding out that Naomasa was never confirmed to have a lie detector quirk??? I guess it's just a fanon thing. I'm too lazy to figure out another way to implement him so I'm just rolling with it.

Hope you enjoyed my 4,000-word masterpiece.