31

And back to Izuku it is! Just some fun happenings and stuff this time around. Talking, some new things, talking, characters, etc. Well, let's go on to it!

Chapter Text

For the second time in just a few days, Izuku woke with a start. As the haze faded from his eyes, a dull brown unfamiliar ceiling came into view. It was in disarray and slightly dilapidated, almost to the point as if the roof would cave in at any second. 

Izuku shook his head; he had others things to be worrying about other than the structural integrity of the building he was in.

He attempted to get up, but his efforts yielded little in results. The sweet, cold kiss of metal greeted his wrists, preventing him from rising. The same was for his ankles, the smooth grip of the shackles holding him bound tightly.

While further wriggling around, Izuku began to notice something strange pressing down on his limbs. Looking around, he noticed that another material had been surrounding his arms and legs aside from the shackles. Weirdly enough, the material was oddly comfortable, which most likely was the cause for Izuku's initial ignorance of it.

Pushing his legs upward to press against the substance, Izuku found the green coating to be a weird blend of being crusty, yet smooth at the same time. They fully encased his limbs — doing what the shackles couldn't — and thus leaving him completely immobilized.

Izuku tried for his bugs next, but that proved useless as well. That horrible miasma from the forest was back, forming a protective barrier around the building. Worse yet, there wasn't any sight of anyone within his range, so calling for help wasn't something he could do either.

Further reaching out proved the interior of the building to be entirely cleared out too, with not a single insect within reach. 

Whatever is was that the villains did to ensure the building's security and my vulnerability, they did it well, Izuku mused.

Nonetheless, he set his bugs to work. A small swarm gathered outside, looking for potential openings into the building and for people around that he could ask for help. 

Izuku sighed, there wasn't much he could do after that. A little more moving around revealed to Izuku that his bandages were fresh; unlike the thin rags of Shoji's clothes, his wounds were covered in thick, industrial wrappings reminiscent of his time in Recovery Girl's care.

They itched just a bit, but Izuku wasn't necessarily complaining. The villains were nice enough to treat his injuries with proper care, after all.

Strange contrast… Why did they even capture me, anyways?

As if by command, Izuku saw the blur at the corner of his eye. Without a moment to spare, the figure came into view and stood over him.

"Hiya, Izuku!"

It was that girl again. The glint in her eyes freaked Izuku out all the more now. It was only becoming ever more clear to him now; it wasn't one of bloodlust, or rage, or psychosis — it was infatuation. And it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Its a real shame they covered you all up, you know," the girl continued. "You looked so wonderful when Compress brought you out of his marbles! But then he said that you could die if we didn't patch you up, and I couldn't let that happen. I'm the one that has to kill you, after all!"

Right. Psychotic.

"You've got that right."

Izuku stilled. The sudden onset of pain rung in his head. Get—

"I can't wait until we can have some fun again! Oh, I knew you were the right one when we met all those weeks ago!"

"You know him, Toga?" Turning his head, Izuku saw another figure coming into view on the right, this villain being one Izuku hadn't seen yet.

The boy's face was marred with various stitch lines and purplish scars running ragged under his eyes and along his lower jaw down to his chest. Other than that, he looked remarkably plain looking.

"I certainly do!" the girl — Toga — responded. "We met up a few weeks ago! I was enjoying myself in this dingy alley when all of a sudden, Izuku here showed up being all shady and stuff."

"Wait," Izuku started, "that—"

"We had a bit of a scuffle then," Toga interrupted with a grin. "And wow, was so rough! And he was so good! Especially the part where we went against the wa—"

"I don't want to hear about your sex life," the other villain snapped. 

Toga merely giggled at the statement. Izuku, on the other hand, immediately felt the blood running to his cheeks. Izuku sputtered the first words that came to mind.

"No, w-wait! We didn't— I m-mean, yeah we did— No! You're taking it out of context!" 

He immediately regretted it, of course. He had barely helped his situation, after all. He hid his embarrassment by turning away his gaze.

"Sure I am," the villain yawned. "Like I said, I don't care. You can do whatever you want with Toga as long as I'm out of the room." He turned, leaving Izuku's view. "I'm going to go get the boss."

And then Izuku was left with the girl. She reached down at something behind Izuku, and suddenly the surface he laid upon shot forward. He was upright again, with Toga's face just inches apart. A few gazes past her revealed a few tables and chairs, and a couple boarded up windows as well.

A restaurant maybe? A bar?I think those are some pints up on that table over there. And I think I see some menus—

"You know," Toga began, "I didn't think that you'd be so cute under that mask of yours."

Izuku flicked his eyes back towards Toga's own. The words she had spoken sprung another question into mind regarding something he wasn't exactly so keen in figuring out.

"Wait… H-how did you figure out that that was me that night? You didn't even see under my mask!"

Toga giggled in response. "It's a secret~" she chirped.

"You shouldn't stand so close to him, Miss Toga," interrupted a deep, familiar voice. 

Izuku turned his gaze to find the monstrous villain from before. Only now, up close, Izuku noticed other features that did little to balance out against the villain's presentable trousers and brown coat. 

The eyepatch of the villain bared a toothy grin, haphazardly carved into the face of the patch's leather. His branching arms were much more muscular than Izuku thought, and both were currently to his side. 

Down from the villain's face, it almost looked as if gills ran across the length of both sides of his neck. And if that wasn't strange enough, his skin seemed pretty unusual. It was a strange blend of scales and patches of much rougher looking skin that dotted the exposed areas of his body.

"He might shoot insects out of his mouth," the monstrous man continued. "You never know with quirks these days."

"I can't do that!" Izuku exclaimed with a disgusted look. "That'd be cruel! All those bugs would be all uncomfortable and stuff with all that moisture and stomach acid!"

"Don't tell them what you can and can't do!"

Izuku flinched again at the thought. If the villains saw him, they didn't care to call him out for it.

Toga turned to the other villain without her smile ever wavering. "Please, Gerry," she scolded, "I promise that I'll be fine. Besides, like he said, it'd be too cruel for the bugs."

The other villain adopted an incredulous look on his face. "You'd use my real name?! And in front of our captive? You wound me, dear Toga!"

"I'm not calling you "Monsieur Bombastic," Monsieur Bombastic," Toga responded. "It's too long. Gerry's fine."

"But still…"

"So, he's awake?" came another unknown voice. This time, the words came out slow and heavy. They sounded a bit muffled, with a sort of gurgling sound breaching through the speech.

"Just how many of these guys are there?"

A hulking metal suit came clobbering forward, the heavy metallic clang of its footsteps echoing throughout the room. If Izuku were to place its looks, he'd say that the suit reminded him of those old diving suits used for early ocean exploration. The suit composed of thick boots and gauntlets, as well as a paned-glass window.

It was through the glass that a form slowly appeared, emerging from the helmet's depths. It was a slurry of runny sludge and muck, with two empty holes for eye sockets and a gaping maw of a mouth.

That sludge guy, then. But with a suit this time. Is there a reason for that? He wasn't wearing one during the attack. Maybe he can't turn off his quirk? Sorta like a mutation one like the Sludge Villain from before? Are they related? Maybe then the—"

"Hey!" hissed the sludge man. "Quit it with that stuttering. You don't want me covering your mouth too, do you?"

Izuku blinked. It took him a second to put two and two together. "You're the one that put this green stuff on me?" The question came out in an excited tone, and Izuku's eyes shone with genuine curiosity like they always did when encountering a new quirk.

The sludge man laughed. "You've got that right, buster! My body has plenty of uses, you know. Crowd control, capture, annoyance. I'm sure by now that you've already noticed the stench surrounding the building. None of your pesky critters are getting anywhere near the hideout."

"You should be careful with what you tell the kid, Caustic." The words originated from the villain from earlier, the one with the scarred face.

Several other individuals came into the room behind him, resulting in the total number of people in the room to a total of ten if including himself. 

The varied individuals immediately found their place in the room, some grouping up while others sat alone.

There were a few that Izuku recognized, like the man in the skin tight bodysuit. There was Harrow: the cloaked lady who made those ethereal limbs. There was also the misty guy from U.S.J. — Kurogiri if Izuku wasn't mistaken — and Mr. Compress.

There was a newcomer as well, a boy with a gas mask and a gun holster at his waist.

Once everyone settled down, Caustic scoffed and turned towards the seated Dabi. "And what say do you have, fire boy? You ain't the boss."

"Dabi's right, Caustic. You shouldn't be divulging secrets like that unless we have secured young Midoriya's allegiance." 

Caustic relented upon the reverberated words, and scurried further towards the back of the room, ending up near Compress.

The man who had spoken up entered the room. Upon first glance, he was fairly plain looking with his black suit. However, that was only if you didn't take into account his mask. 

The equipment was a navy blue, with various pipes sticking out of it from around the bulky collar. The piece of metal covered the man's face entirely, creating a rather imposing look.

Looking behind the man, Izuku saw Shigaraki. 

 —"/;Ah, tHeRe 

yoU aRe). —"

Like before, various hands covered the entirety of Shigaraki's body. However, unlike the last time Izuku had seen him, there was something just a bit off. 

It was the murderous glare that tipped Izuku off. Shigaraki flexed his fingers on his left; the sleek black hand and its shiny exterior glistened in the dim light of the room. Various joints dotted its surface along the fingers, ensuring that the prosthetic moved and acted like a normal hand.

And unlike before, he was much more repressed and less outspoken. In fact, it was almost as if he trailed behind the suited man in front of him.

Is he the mastermind, then?

The hulking man found a seat further back in the room, searing himself in a boot. "You first, Tomura," he said. "Just remember that we still need him."

"Thank you, sensei," Shigaraki responded.

"Definitely the leader."

Shigaraki strode up to Izuku, with the nearby Toga and Gerry making way for their leader. 

Shigaraki's face flared with repressed anger aimed right for Izuku, and Izuku could only guess one reason why.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Shigaraki scowled. "You did this! You did this to me!" The black hand waved in Izuku's face, the faint scent of paint, oil, and metal crawling into his nostrils.

"You were supposed to be a minor character! A nuisance! Not some sort of hidden mini boss!"

Izuku saw the sloopy punch coming long before it slammed into his face, but there was little he could do strapped down like he was.

"Those hornets of yours ravaged my hand! And those spiders and beetles chewed it right off!"

"I… I wasn't aware—" the second punch interrupted Izuku before he could finish.

Shigaraki rose his prosthetic hand, holding it right in front of Izuku's face. One of the prosthetic's fingers, the index one, popped right open at the tip. A small, jagged blade showed itself upon its reveal. 

And then the thumb popped off, a small flame bursting from its confines. A vengeful glare took control of Shigaraki's face, his teeth bared like a savage dog.

"How do you think it would feel if I—"

"Tomura. That's enough."

The hand villain hesitantly froze, his face twitching in anticipation, but ultimately dropped his hand. 

"Yes, Sensei. Apologies." 

And just like that, Shigaraki's hand closed off, with him retreating somewhere out of Izuku's vision.

Next to come was the suited masked man, the one Shigaraki referred to as "Sensei." The individual slowly stood up from his seat and strode up to Izuku, taking Shigaraki's place.

"Greetings, Izuku Midoriya," his voice echoed, repressed from the muffling barrier of his mask. "My name is All For One."

His head then tilted towards where Shigaraki had gone. "My apologies for letting my protégé being so rough with you. But he needed an avenue to vent. Surely, you understand? Considering what your bugs ended up doing?"

Izuku didn't respond, still trying to gauge how badly his face had been messed up.

"He still has a ways to go," All For One continued, "but he's developing quite nicely, I believe."

"Wh-what do you want?" Izuku finally asked.

"Right to the point, I see," All For One chuckled. "Well, Midoriya, it's quite simple, really: I've come with a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" Izuku repeated.

"Indeed. I would like to offer you a place in our ranks. I believe that you have what it takes to be one of us. Of course, I assure you that we would treat you with the utmost care."

 "You… you want me to become a villain?"

"That's one way to say it, I suppose," All For One admitted. "But I promise you that it's not all that."

All For One began to pace, moving back and forth across Izuku's vision.

"I've been keeping track of your extracurricular activities, you know."

"You mean… you know about my martial arts practice," Izuku stated shakily.

"No, no. Of course not. I meant your time out as a vigilante. Your patrol schedules, your capabilities. The fact that the vigilante Snitch and the young boy Izuku Midoriya are one in the same."

Izuku swallowed upon reflex.

"You were within my sights since your first day of action. Not only had you taken out a hideout of the local yakuza, but you did so without an inkling of a clue that it was your doing. Suffice to say, I was impressed with your handiwork."

"I looked into you immediately, of course. Sent informants and spies to track you down. I didn't take long for one to track you back to your apartment."

"I—"

"Don't worry. Your mother will not be harmed. Tonight, this talk is between you and me."

Izuku took a deep breath. He nodded for All For One to continue.

"As I was saying, it wasn't long to find out who you were at the time. Izuku Midoriya, son of Hisashi and Inko Midoriya, student of Aldera Junior High, and boy with broken dreams, born quirkless and outcast. Imagine my surprise when I found that part out," he chuckled. 

"I kept watch of you from then on. I didn't really care for you dismantling the yakuza. They're mere pawns to me at this point."

"No, I was much more interested in your own growth. It's not often that you find a mere middle schooler rising to the status of such an elusive vigilante."

"But then, why would you want me?" Izuku questioned. "You said it yourself, I'm a vigilante. Why would I just suddenly turn villain?"

"I digress," All For One responded. "Miss Toga over there helped finely with detailing a first hand encounter with you. You were a bit rough with the young lady, but nowhere near to the extent that you've shown before."

"Wh— What do you mean?"

"The first instance was the Sludge Villain. Were you aware that your hornets went after the villain's eyes?"

"Of course!" Izuku admitted with little time thought. "They were his only vulnerable spot."

"And were you aware that you caused irreparable damage to his eyes?"

That gave Izuku a pause. "I… I what?"

"His eyes had to be surgically removed. He ended up looking a lot like own resident Caustic here."

"I— I didn't—"

"The second notable instance was U.S.J. Twenty one heavily injured villains. Two fatally wounded, and two dead upon arrival of the paramedics."

"I— No. How could I?"

"Your bugs, Midoriya," All For One simply stated.

Bite, sting… kill. The realization came rushing back full force.

"You… you mean that's why it seemed as if everyone was walking on eggshells around me back then?"

It was All For One's turn to take pause. "Quite the order of priorities for you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Nevermind. Just expressing my inner thoughts. Let's get back to topic, Midoriya. In fact, let's talk about my Nomu."

"The bird-like guy with the regeneration quirk?"

"That's the one. Long story short, it died as well. Your bugs' venom got to his regeneration. Sure, part of that was the police force's fault. But the fact of the matter is, you provided the means for its demise."

"You're quite the vindictive one, Midoriya. Driven and ruthless, even if you don't realize it yet. That's what I like about you. You persevere, and you don't let others' ridicule get to you."

All For One stopped in place, turning to face Izuku with his nonexistent eyes. "That's why I believe that you can find a place here. We don't judge based upon your quirk's nature, and our aim is to stop such vile practices as such."

"And how do you plan on doing that, exactly?" Izuku asked. "By taking over Japan? By killing All Might? Is that why you have Stain running around killing heroes? To soften up your opposition?"

"No," All For One bellowed. "By making sure society bends down and understands what it is like to be at the bottom, that is how we act. Only then can things change. Surely, you find merit in my claims?"

It was then that Izuku's bugs picked up on movement outside. It wasn't much, just a few people entering his sphere of influence. However, what caught Izuku's attention were the people's body armor and badges. 

"So, what do you say? Open to the idea of joining the League of Villains?"

Izuku brought his attention back to his captors. He just needed to buy time. One way to do that would be to accept All For One's offer, of course. To stall until the police barged in and raided the place, taking the villains off guard. But then again...

"No."

"Hmm?" All For One hummed.

"No, I won't join the League. There's a line that I don't want to cross out when I'm on patrol. A villainous lifestyle would break that. Besides, I'm training to become a hero. Eventually, I can give up in my vigilante pursuits and go full time as a hero."

"I… see…" All For One trailed off, his words thick with resignation. "Your attitude and will is not so dissimilar to All Might's. I can find respect with that," he chuckled. "But that doesn't mean that your out of the woodwork yet."

"It's a shame, really." All For One inched closer, raising his hand up to in front of Izuku's face. "I can hear the conviction in your words. I can sense how strongly you feel about becoming a hero. There's little I can do to persuade you otherwise, it seems.."

The hand inched closer. "You would've fit in quite wonderfully with us. A place where you could truly express yourself without worry. You could have really thrived here with us."

Hold up! Hold up! I really should have said yes! I don't know what this guy's quirk is! What if I die with a touch?! Is he like Shigaraki?!

"Don't tell me you don't like the conflict?"

"What! Are you crazy? Your h—"

Izuku closed his eyes to brace for his inevitable fate. He felt the massive, calloused hand meet his face, wrapping around its entirety.

Izuku waited for whatever All For One was going to do, anything, something. And...

Nothing. The hand was removed from Izuku's face. Was that it?

"Just as I thought," All For One announced. "Intriguing. You're just like the others. You're one of those anomalies that I can't influence."

Suddenly, the hand was back on Izuku's face; Izuku froze immediately upon the hand's contact."

"No matter," All For One said. "Let's try crippling you quirk usage instead. You're much too dangerous to allo—"

[Query].

All For One stumbled back, falling to the ground as his hand disconnected from Izuku's face.

Izuku, on the other hand, flinched upon hearing the thoughts enter his head. There were so many words and ideas, compacted within a mere five letters. The onset of another headache was encroaching in.

"Oh fuck no! I'm killing that thing before it gets any stronger than it already is!

[Negative].

"What do you mea—"

Izuku groaned. He really didn't need the voices in his head talking anymore than they already were.

And then he suddenly felt the pressure of hands around his neck, suffocating him. He couldn't see what was around his neck, but he could see across the room.

Harrow was staring straight at him, her eyes basked n a cold fury. Her ethereal arms had likely sprouted from the board Izuku was shackled against, and were now slowly tightening by the second.

"That's enough, Ruka. I'm fine," All For One said, getting up from the ground with the help of two other ethereal limbs.

"But Sensei—" The first words Izuku had heard from her, and they were soft and caring, quite unlike the intimidating aura and appearance she displayed.

"It was my fault, Ruka. Don't take out my mistakes on young Midoriya, here."

Izuku felt the pressure of the hands disappear from his neck, and he could finally breathe again.

"Sorry, Sensei. I'll be more careful next time," Harrow apologized.

"Of course. Just remember not to be so hasty with your actions. You'd be surprised with the opportunities you can find if you take the time to think."

Shigaraki came bounding into the room then, eyes darting back and forth among everyone present. "What happened, sensei?" he asked All For One.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Tomura. But come sit down here with us, will you? We're almost done here."

All For One then turned back to Izuku, wiping himself off of dust as he did so.

Outside, Izuku noticed an increased police presence, along with a couple pro heroes, hiding amidst the alleyways and roads a single block away. 

"That was a first," All For One said. "You're turning out to be much more interesting than I anticipated." His hand rose again. "I'd like to take another peek, if you don't mind. I promise that I'll be more careful."

All For One took a step forward, but before could continue, he stopped in place. His head tilted sideways, and a low, contemplative hum emanated from his mask.

"It seems that we may have a problem at one of our storage facilities," All For One informed. "Tomura, hold Midoiya here until I get back. I trust that he'll be safe with you." All For One stepped away, moving towards the room's exit.

"Wait!" Izuku yelled. All Might is outside. If anyone can take down the League's leader, it's him!

"No time. However, I do hope that we can continue this conversation at a later date, Midoriya," All For One laughed. 

The leader of the League of Villains turned his head towards the bar. "Kurogiri, if you please." 

And with that, he was gone in an black mist, disappearing to whatever his destination was.

Shigaraki was suddenly before Izuku's immediate vision, eyes in a calculating stare.

"You heard sensei," Shigaraki said. "Dabi, Caustic. Make sure he doesn't escape. I'll be back in my room."

"Ha! Of course, boss man," Caustic roared." The little pipsqueak doesn't look like much. Besides, if worse comes to worse," he let out a small chuckle, "I could take him."

And then came the few, short knocks on the door that led to the outside.

"Hello! Kamino Pizza Delivery!"

Notes:

And that's that, I suppose. Stayed tuned for next time! For then, we have some reunions and fighting!