103

Chapter 103: Shard

A/N: Another chapter, another step towards the end! Another chapter to go!

The heavy metallic door slammed shut, the force of its closure reverberating through the barren hall.

Through the glass, the sight seen was one of a gangly, grimy figure with chapped skin and an empty look in his eyes.

It was a far cry from the feral expression and animalistic posture that had been broadcast across the country just a few weeks ago.

Izuku was rather ambivalent at the view, though his face relayed nothing but a sense of calm and weariness.

Kaniko, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Despite the wall separating herself from the villain, her face displayed the obvious discomfort she held from standing so close to such a notorious figure.

The split-second tremor of her hand was the only thing that escaped her efforts in suppressing an overreaction from the shiver she felt travel down her spine.

"Well," Izuku muttered, wiping his hands together as the final locks on the door settled in, "that's that."

Kaniko kept a lingering glance at the cell as she and Izuku walked away from it. After some time, Kaniko eventually looked to her ward with unguarded disbelief. "Is that tiny room really going to be enough to keep him contained?"

Izuku scoffed at the notion. "Technically speaking? No. He could break out of there just by snapping his fingers. Heck, the collar around his neck likely can't even generate enough force for the needles installed to pierce his skin."

Kaniko's eyes twitched. "That's not reassuring whatsoever! What the heck Midoriya!"

"It doesn't really matter, promise!" Izuku exclaimed. "He's trapped in his own sort of mental prison and he won't be coming out until I let him. I've got the sensation of overly-chapped lips ingrained in my mind to prove it."

"But as for All For One," Izuku continued before Kaniko could, "he's going to be a problem."

Kaniko's body jerked, her face turning to glare at the green haired boy by her side. "You better not be planning to bring him here."

"Of course not! I'm not stupid."

The two entered the elevator. There was enough space for two, this time.

"Oh?" Kaniko asked. "And yet you're okay with bringing in Shigaraki in the midst of an evacuation center? Do you even know how many people the school is harboring right now? You're endangering them by restraining him right under everyone's noses?!

"Hey! Nezu knows!" Izuku retorted. "And he's the one in charge. So if there's anyone you want to argue with about the sprawling underground prison under U.A. holding some of the nastiest criminals to date, he's the one."

"Don't pretend like you two aren't in cahoots with one another. You're just as responsible as running this thing as the principal is!"

Izuku shrugged. "It's not like it'll be for long. He'll be gone by tonight."

Kaniko shook her head, letting out a sigh. Her face lost its frustration, Kaniko leaning back against the elevator's wall with a sigh. "I still think that your plan is stupid, you know."

Izuku looked over. "And yet you still agreed to it."

"I shouldn't have! You can get hurt— You will get hurt! There's no denying it!"

"But you trust my capabilities," Izuku said. "You believe that I can come through. And I appreciate that."

Kaniko leaned her head back. "You're lucky that I'm not reporting you."

"I—"

"I'm not making up any excuses for your mom, though."

Izuku groaned. "Dang it."

What was it that you called it, Ashido?" Manga asked, looking at the pink girl in question.

"Kaijin-chan!" Ashido exclaimed with full confidence and without a hint of doubt.

Izuku groaned in response. "I thought that we agreed that we weren't calling it that!"

"You lost the right to naming privileges when that thing jumped out at us!" Setsuna argued. "I thought that you were supposed to be controlling it from inside of Shigaraki's head?"

Izuku pointed a finger at his friend. "You try robbing someone of their free will while following some ancient and lovecraftian rules of engagement!"

"At the very least it didn't attack," Momo said. "It merely stood still, so I say Izuku was doing the best he could considering the circumstances."

"But that thing jumped out at us!" Manga retorted. "Do you know how freakin' scared I was when that thing jumpscared me?!"

"Oh, I heard," Pony said. "You sounded like a girl with the scream of yours!"

"Pony! You can't use that sort of insult on me! Aren;t you a girl yourself?!"

Pony's face was smug. "So?"

"AGGGH—"

Izuku leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He and his friends were currently holed away in Momo's room; both for the large comfortable bed and the relative privacy that it provided.

After all, there hadn't been many extra classrooms to spare ever since people had started flooding into the school for refuge. As such, Izuku had to make do in finding spaces to hold their meetings that would at the same time keep out their peers .

As the others argued away at his work, Izuku thought back to earlier in the day. His mother had

It made him feel really bad, knowing what he had planned later in the night.

"Oi! Izuku! Stop dozing around and help with some input on what you think!"

Izuku opened his eyes, looking over at Setsuna. "What was that?"

Setsuna threw a knowing look Manga's way. "See? What'd I tell you?"

"Oh come on! Seriously man?"

Izuku shrugged.

"Ugh, now we have to go through it all over again." Manga let out a sigh. "Point is, I was asking about a group name"

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "A… group name?"

Manga nodded. "Yeah! You know, for our collective presence of individuals who are working to stop crime while technically working behind the backs of the law? I mean, when it was just us, sure, it was just 'us' and I was fine with that."

"And I'm guessing that you want my suggestion?" Izuku asked. "But what about the others?"

"That's just the thing!" Manga exclaimed. "They all suck!"

Izuku looked around at all the others, who were all spouting similar faces of either embarrassment or disappointment. "Really? They can't be all that bad?"

"Oh yeah?" Manga said. "Well here." He cleared his throat.

"Todoroki here argued for 'Soba.' We shot that one down due to its no-make-senseness. Setsuna argued for 'Izuku and Friends,' but that's not inclusive enough. Mei's 'Baby Squad' just… gives off the wrong impressions. And… Yeahn the others aren't much better."

Izuku hummed in thought. "What's wrong with being nameless?"

"Well," Manga began, "I wasn't exactly expecting our numbers to grow so high, you know? First we have a free agent teleporter who acts as our transport. Then we have high ranking heroes like Best Jeanist and Hawks whose curiosity got them tangled with us."

"Our super secret organization is getting bigger by the day, so we should make up a name for ourselves! It's the spirit of the thing, you know! So, "Manga turned to Izuku, "your thoughts?"

Izuku rubbed his chin in thought. "Well… I don't think that it'd be a stretch to say that our group consists of a bunch of semi-crazy individuals, considering you've all stuck with me so far."

"Ha!" Setsuna cheered. "Ain't that the truth!"

"Hmm." Izuku had thought. He smirked.

"And within our group, the heat's always up. Metaphorically, of course. And if our situation escalates enough, I think that it wouldn't be wrong to say that the balance of the world rests in our hands; just one little secret group against the world. Our opponent can hypothetically get strong enough to destroy the world by his lonesome, even."

"Wait a second. You aren't thinking what I thi—"

Izuku smirked. "All that combined, and some nouns we can use as our name stands clear. We need to sound mysterious too. So, my first suggestion: How about Cauld—"

"Oh fuck no!"

The others in the room jumped in their seats at the sudden appearance of Taylor's swarm form.

On the other hand, Izuku kneeled over laughing, barely catching his breaths in between his wheezes.

"What the heck, bug lady!" Setsuna screamed.

Taylor's swarm pointed at Setsuna. "This doesn't concern you!"

"Oh come on, Taylor!" Izuku exclaimed. "You know that I was joking!"

"Wait, what exactly is happening?" Momo asked.

"In—" Izuku took in a breath. "Inside joke."

"And it better stay that way." The swarm dispersed out the window and through the vents.

Izuku took another breather, turning to face everyone else. "Do we… Do we really need a name? I mean, we're all going to beat All For One. Together!"

"Yeah!" Everyone exclaimed. "Together!"

One little lie, but it was fine. Everything would be alright in the morning.

Hopefully.

The locker room was dead silent. Moonlight seeped in through the few windows near the ceiling, basking the room in ethereal light and eerie shadows.

Izuku creeped along towards his own locker, footsteps pounding against the concrete floor like a giant's steps moving across a medieval town.

The noise didn't bother him. It wasn't as if he needed to be quiet, necessarily. Nobody would know he was gone till morning. The only reason here bothered to visit the lockers was due to the fact it was where the bulk of his gear was: he didn't even fathom the idea of going out tonight without everything he had.

He opened up his locker with little fanfare, eyes falling over his costume, his repaired flightpack, and all the little things that he carried with him that ranged from ropes of silk to his weapons.

With a sigh, he took everything out one by one, placing it on the bench before him. It was when he began to strip down to just his bare essentials when he noticed movement at the corner of his eyes.

And considering that he had his bugs watching all over, there was only one individual who could really prove to be the sudden presence.

"Yes?" Izuku asked with a grunt. "What do you want?"

"Hmm… remember that conversation we had about guns?"

Izuku paused in the middle of putting on his boot. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his gaze towards Taylor.

"Excuse me?"

"A gun. You know?" She made a gesture with her hands. "Pew pew?"

Izuku shook his head, rolling his eyes a bit before going back to gearing up.

"You're not serious, are you?"

Taylor crossed her arms. "Guns have a great synergy with our power. Get some bugs, pinpoint the shot and—"

Izuku placed one of his gloves on. "We've gone over this already. I already said 'no' about this when we went after the Nine; the case hasn't changed since."

"You literally just need to walk into Nezu's office to get his. Heck, he might even hand it to you if you just ask! It's not like he doesn't know that you're doing this right now."

"We're on a schedule," Izuku argued. "Walking to Nezu's office just for a gun takes time."

"I wouldn't give it to you anyways. No need to give you an extra element that you're unfamiliar with for such an important climatic battle."

Izuku moved his gaze up, atop the lockers. He found Nezu there, sitting whilst brewing some tea. "And besides. I, for one, don't think you will have need of it tonight."

Izuku huffed, sighing before going back to his gear. "Here to see me off then, Nezu?"

"Hmm…" Nezu poured out his cup. He sat there looking at it, eventually taking a sip of it before speaking. "You do know that your friends will be… less than pleased if they were to know what you are doing tonight?"

Izuku narrowed his eyes up at the principal. "You're not… planning on stopping me, are you?"

Nezu chuckled. "Of course not, Izuku. Of course not. You know me by now." Nezu gestured to the brewing pot. "Tea?"

Izuku nodded. He grabbed his flightpack, purviewing its contents and ensuring it was still in working order. "Good. And no, I'm good.

"If you're sure." Nezu took a sip. "Though, in that case, what of your friends?"

Izuku sighed, taking a long glance at his eskrima sticks before answering. "They can deal with it."

Nezu hopped down, landing on the bench next to Izuku's gear. "Not what I mean."

Izuku looked over. "I've learned a lot since I've started to attend U.A. And I know now that there's nothing wrong with asking for help."

"But…" Nezu trailed off.

"But what I'm doing tonight is dangerous. Getting everyone involved will just get them killed."

"And what of the individuals in our lockup?" Nezu asked."You're bringing them along with you, are you not? Are they simply… cannon fodder? Meat shields that will enable you to reach All For One?"

Izuku stayed silent, moving to sit down on the bench.

"I'm not judging you, of course." Nezu walked over, placing his paw on Izuku's shoulder.

"I understand that sometimes… Sometimes despicable things must be done in order to achieve a favorable outcome for the greater good. I'm sure that Taylor has an intimate understanding of that as well."

"It's not just that," Izuku muttered, the words coming out just barely above a whisper. "All For One is interested in me. "Probably just a little ways below how much he wants One For All. Specifically, he's interested in knowledge about shards; wants to know their ins-and-outs. He could find a whole slew of other shardbearers to interrogate, of course. But coupled with his small grudge on me..."

Izuku sighed. "I'm something that he wants. He would do whatever he needs to reach me. The only reason he hasn't come here to get me is because he's busy building his army and looking for Togata."

"And that's why you don't want to bring anyone that you care about," Nezu cut in. "You're expecting him to mow down anyone that would arrive with you."

Izuku nodded.

"We know how he is," Izuku said with a grimace. "He's one to gloat, one to stall and rub his victory in his opponents' faces. He likes seeing his victims squirm, likes seeing the look of defeat or the anguished expressions on their faces. Him seeing me with anyone would just prove reason to escalate; for people to die."

"But of course, going to fight All For One single-handedly is a fool's notion," Nezu interjected. "That's why you wanted to prioritize Kentaro's group first, isn't it?"

The silence was telling. Nevertheless, Nezu understood. He left a few light pats on Izuku's back. "Try not to think too hard on it, okay? If it's worth anything, I say that you've found yourself on the best path possible. Sure, your mother and friends won't be happy, but you've got something to do, no?"

"Heh." A small smile came to Izuku's face. "Yeah. I suppose I do."

A/N: A lot shorter this time around. In fact, it's the shortest chapter in the whole fic! Let's pin that to it being a transitory one. After all, what's next? The one and only: All For One.