——~(6)~——

"There are wounds that never show on the body that are more deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."

-Laurell K. Hamilton

"So you're the brat that Sensei said would join us?"

He carefully drew up the little muscles that composed the entirety of his lips. Just enough to qualify as a smile, but too little to be 'actual' happiness. He directed his eyebrow to twitch and fall just a slight bit lower. In the end, it formed the expression of irritation and calm. He preferred oxymorons, in contrast with the rest of the figurative language spectrum. The beauty of controlled chaos... The irony of a deliberate mistake...

It was a kind of rotten purity all by itself.

It seemed like he took a little too long to answer, as the white haired man started to itch his neck of all things.

"Yes, I would be the brat you are speaking of," He looked at Kurogiri's relative position and came to a understanding. "I assume that you are the leader around here, then? Sensei's protege that he spoke of? It's a pleasure to meet you." He finished off his performance with a fake smile that looked true and genuine.

Despite the very small gaps that existed in his ensemble of hands, it was actually quite clear to see when his eye widened in anger.

"...Why are you calling him, Sensei? Why does your scrawny little weak ass think that you can call him Sensei?!"

He seemed to feed off the anger in his own words, as he slowly inched closer, with his many hands primed and ready. Like a little cub intimidating a big lion- most likely Sensei- he strode forward with a deliberate clang in his step. He projected his killing intent into the world, but the thing about killing intent was this; it leaned heavily on comparison. If you were able to withstand the murderous intentions of a beast, then it was natural that you would be able to withstand the intent of a cub. Only in the case of a change in quality or quantity would the other beast be able to frighten him. But no matter how much the cub tried to be the lion, it hadn't grown up enough yet. Mentally or physically.

"As to why I can call him Sensei, there is a reason to that."

"Spit it out."

"Like I was saying, Sensei implicitly spoke to me on that very subject. More specifically, he said I could call him Sensei."

The words seemed to have diffused most of the man-child's anger, but a sliver of anger still existed. A fraction of madness that lay stabbed deep within the heart itself. It was evidenced by the slightest crease of a brow, and the faint indecipherable glean in his wine-like eyes.

'It seems that I've managed to piss off the boss of this whole operation so easily. How quaint. Why does All for One put him in charge? Perhaps it could be his quirk... How any one person can affect the number 1 hero is doubtful though. I need to reevaluate All for One if white-hair was put in place for strategic purposes... I'm still missing something. Something big.'

"If I may ask, what are the organization's current goals?"

The answer came back immediately.

"Kill the useless piece of trash that is All Might!"

'He definitely doesn't seem like the strategic type... It sounds like a personal grudge, which could provide some interesting twists.'

"How are we going to achieve that? Do you have any plans?"

Kurogiri who was staying silent up until now, opened his mouth and answered instead of the white haired man.

"We are currently in the process of recruiting. With more manpower-"

'Could they be planning what I think they're planning.. No, it couldn't be. All for One would get competent subordinates. I can only probe.'

Deku simply looked Kurogiri dead in the eye and asked a simple question.

"You want to kill the world's greatest hero relying simply on human wave tactics? I simply cannot see the possibility of that working out."

"You're saying that getting more people on board is wrong?"

'He's not wrong but... There's more to it than that.'

Deku let his gaze wonder, until he found a rather nice (ripped up) poster of All Might.

"Of course not, the deciding factor of wars is never the tactics," He took a step forward. "It's not the strategies, either," He was right in front of the poster now. "It's always the numbers that get the win in the end. One man will drown if ten thousand others spit. But, you are forgetting one thing."

Kurogiri's 'eyes' were barely visible slits of light, and the white haired man looked like he wanted t0 kill him immediately, but Deku simply continued to talk. His face was as placid as a stone, his eyes were as still as a frozen lake, his entire being radiated calmness. Perhaps that was what made them stay their hand. A lion grazing out in the prairie was not to be despaired: they were predictable, out in the open, and could be avoided. A viper on the other hand... They hide in the grass, in the shadows. They struck out when their target was least aware, and it was always lethal.

"You are forgetting that All Might isn't the only hero that exists. Even if you gathered a big army the likes of which the world has ever seen, All Might isn't without his either. A single call from the World's beloved Symbol of Peace will gather heroes from all over the world like moths to a flame. And what do you need when armies are of similar size? You need tactics. Strategies."

"You need long-term plans," He strode to the side to grab a dart off the table.

"You need me."

The dart hit the middle of All Might's forehead.