Godslaughter
Embers, II

Somewhere in the slums of the city…

The room he was sitting in was dimly lit. Understandable if one considered the only light source to be the single, flickering, dull bulb that hung from a wire above. It barely even managed to illuminate the simple, round wooden table beneath it.

It was at this simple table Izuku sat, and had been sitting for the past ten minutes. Mr. Fun, or so he was known, had called him here to discuss… his future. Whatever he may have meant by that, be it good or bad, it had Izuku on edge.

The man had done nothing but aid him in the years Izuku had known him, although the teenager was aware of the mutual benefit in doing so. Nevertheless, it was still Mr. Fun who had introduced him to the arena, who had inspired his crusade against villainy.

To 'tie up loose ends' with Izuku now would make next to no sense.

Yet even still, the minor could not take any chances. The mysterious individual before him was dangerous, so dangerous in fact, that Izuku couldn't even begin to fathom the depths of that danger.

He blinked in irritation as the bulb swayed over in his direction, flashing him in the eyes unpleasantly. Most of the light was shining on him and him only, probably by design, he thought to himself dryly. In addition to displaying him in full visibility, it had the eerie effect of only illuminating Mr. Fun's white gloved hands, that were interlaced with each other and motionless as they rested on the table. An arm's reach away from those hands, a small spinning top was rotating in the dead centre of the table.

Despite his situation, the teenager couldn't help but let his mind wonder as the little toy spun, knowing full well from previous meetings that the enigmatic game's master would not speak until it had stopped spinning. Just one of Mr. Fun's many oddities.

His mind drew him back to earlier this day, just after school.

From what he had done to Katsuki, he expected the teen to come at him in a murderous rampage. It was almost guaranteed from the way the insufferable bully acted, that not a soul had managed, or dared to humiliate him in such a manner or scale that Izuku had.

He had been ready to put the other boy in the hospital.

He had planned how to go about it too.

Katsuki was stronger than him, perhaps not physically, but his quirk was undoubtedly amazing. A single powerful blast from his palms would tip the scales, and the longer the fight went on the stronger the other boy would get as his perspiration worked more and more in his favour. Quirkless, Izuku knew he would not be able to contend for long, despite his experience and skill.

Which was why he would have gutted him in one fell swoop.

That right hook…. That damned right hook would have had Katsuki Bakugo signing his own hospital admission, Izuku would never have had to worry about the idiot abusing his gifts like a villain again…

But, that's not what happened. That's not at all what had happened.

Katsuki had simply handed him his bag, filled with his schoolbooks, and stared at him. Moreover, Izuku stared back, his façade no longer masking who he was. He stood and resolutely glowered at the other boy with bloodstained eyes.

Then, the notoriously aggressive Katsuki Bakugo, the boy who would flare up and spit bloody murder at the slightest provocation just… left. He turned on his heel, and without a word, left. Izuku had been floored.

That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. That wasn't part of his plan. That shouldn't have happened. That-

"Ahem."

The unfocused, emerald eyes snapped back into crystal clarity as he glanced up; and cursed under his breath as he hurriedly sat up straight.

The spinning top had fallen over…

"My apologies, Mr. Fun."

The hands unlocked from each other and spread, making a soothing gesture. "Not to worry, dear boy. Reminiscing, were you?" The man quizzed politely in his smooth, almost jazzy voice.

Izuku instinctively began to shake his head-

'WHAM!'

The teenager froze, his heart thumping a mile a minute as he shifted his gaze to stare at the wicked looking carnival knife that had been slammed in the space between his index and middle fingers. Slowly, as if his hand had been caught in a landmine, he withdrew it from the table, his thankfully intact fingers sliding away from the knife.

Mentally, he was berating himself for the slip up. He had forgotten about the man's quirk…

Unbidden, his mind dragged up a near useless mental dossier on the individual.

Alias: Mr. Fun
Name: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Quirk: Lie Detector, is instinctively able to sense any lie, be it verbal or otherwise.
Status: Active Villain. Ringleader of the underground gladiatorial games, confirmed slaver and black market transporter.
Fighting Style: Unknown

Izuku snorted internally. He was tempted to add 'Extremely fast' to Mr. Fun's fighting style.

His humour quickly evaporated as his eyes caught the way the knife was vibrating from where it was stuck in the wood. He could have died. In that split moment in time, if Mr. Fun had decided to cut his throat instead, that would have been the end of Izuku Midoriya…

There was the shifting of fabric as Mr. Fun leant forwards in his seat, and Izuku watched a hideously long chin peek out into the light, the skin painted white in the likeness of a clown's makeup. "Lying isn't what I consider fun, little one." He growled, his tone dripping with lethal poison. Izuku even swore he caught a flash of fangs like curved needles in the light as the bulb swung.

More than just a little unnerved, Izuku bowed his head in apology. Not quite trusting his voice to speak.

The pale flesh retreated back into the shadows, and Mr. Fun's voice resumed its pleasant, cordial pitch. "Now then, what are we going to do about you in the next few years hmm, buddy-boy?" He asked jauntily.

Izuku opened his mouth to reply, before pausing as the other man's gloved hands flourished expertly; producing a small saucer bearing a slice of birthday cake and an accompanying cup of tea out of seemingly nowhere. He blinked in abject surprise as it was settled down in front of him. The hands clapped excitedly and pointed to the treats.

Not daring to slight the man, again, Izuku complied quickly as he picked up the small fork and took a bite of the cake.

It could have been poisoned. It could have been rancid. It could have been a great many a thing…

Yet he couldn't mask his surprise at the utter bliss he experienced the moment the fluffy sponge cake melted like cotton candy in his mouth.

"That's quite nice…" he murmured, completely genuine. Mama would be furious if this ever found its way into the local baking contest...

"Oh, you flatterer!" Mr. Fun preened. "I baked it myself, you know? Just finished the icing this morning!"

Izuku glanced up, smirking his crooked smile. He dared not show his fabricated grin to a man who utterly loathed all things fake and fraudulent. "My mother would kill to get a recipe of this." He alluded, knowing full well the man adored small talk.

Unbidden, a piece of paper was dangling in front of his face held by two gloved fingers; the recipe for the white cake was written upon it in goofy, looping strokes of the pen.

Izuku blinked, before gingerly taking the recipe; and tensing nervously as the hand reached over to pat his head fondly. "I- um, thank you."

"The gratitude is all mine! Remind your dear mother that the secret is in fattiness of the milk!" The air suddenly grew a little colder, and Mr. Fun glanced at the watch on his wrist that didn't exist. "Oh alas, I really should learn to control myself hmm? Look at the time slipping away as we have all this fun! Shall you answer my ickle question, so that we may get back on track, my little buttercup?"

Izuku nodded slowly, "Of course, sir. However, could you please explain what you may mean? I had thought nothing to really change in the coming years." He delivered as cordially as he could, careful to keep his tone neutral.

Mr. Fun chuckled softly. "But are you not signing up for the Hero course at U.A next year, little one?"

Izuku froze. How did he know that? What else does he know about me? Does he know who I am? The potential answers to the questions chilled him to his core.

Another chuckle, this one even lower in register. "To think, a quirkless boy becoming a hero, after butchering so many…"

"V-villains-"

If he could see Mr. Fun's face, he was sure a condescending look was being thrown at him. "Hmph, of course, they are just villains; aren't they?" Izuku could almost picture the grin now. "Not people, not fathers, nor mothers, not someone's son or daughter… just villains."

Taking a moment to settle himself, Izuku glared into the darkness where he supposed Mr. Fun's head was. "They lose that privilege, that 'scapegoat', the moment they take to the lifestyle of a criminal." He stated.

Mr. Fun, in response just laughed. The pitch seemed to distort and warble, as if someone was playing with the dials on an audio mixer. The gloved hands began clapping sportingly, before finally, he began settling down. "Ohoh! Good grief, what a powerful answer! What FUN!" The mysterious man interlaced his hands once again. "Young one; you have brought me great joy over the years; all those moments of such pristine entertainment in my humble arena…" He seemed to trail off, as if recalling the moments fondly. "I know why you're here, of course, I know for what purpose you kill."

Izuku felt the muscles in his back tighten in anxiousness.

"Tragic, that you were born powerless, yet still had the resolve to get up and chase your dreams of putting down villains in any way you could, even if society won't agree with the methods…" The atmosphere grew grave. "The grit that takes is, admirable."

Izuku could feel the control of the situation slipping out of his hands. The ball was in Mr. Fun's court now. "If you know, then why am I still alive?" He asked, his voice quiet.

One of the hands tightened into a fist, before inching towards Izuku's face. Gritting his teeth, the teenager prepared himself. He couldn't fight back, there was no way in hell he would win against whatever this monster was, but he might be able to make it to the doo-

-A single finger extended, to point directly at him.

"Because it's fun to keep you around, of course!" The finger retracted, and thumb popped up good-naturedly. "You also make me quite a bit of money, hehe."

Izuku blinked again.

The hand waved dismissively. "Oh I couldn't care less about how many little gremlins you off in the name of heroism." he muttered disparagingly. The hand slammed down on the table with a sudden 'THUD!' jolting Izuku slightly. "Just as long as you remember your favourite old chapperoo who propped you up on his generous shoulders from day one, we'll be just fine." There was a pause. "Won't we?"

Izuku swallowed thickly, before letting out a shaky breath. The amount of years shaved off his life just from this once 'conversation' would most likely result in his early grave. "Do what I want, but don't mess with you or your business… I got it."

A hand shot forwards, extending courteously. "That you do, buddy-old-pal o' mine!"

Tentatively, Izuku reached out to shake the man's hand.

Mr. Fun's grip tightened, and Izuku could have sworn he felt the tips of claws as sharp as needles feathering his skin through the gloves.

"Oh, and little Izuku?..."

So he does know who I am…

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't forget to have fun…"

The painful pressure on Izuku's hand released as Mr. Fun reeled his hands back in.

Nodding, the teenager stood from the chair; eager to leave the terrifying figure's presence. "Of course, sir."

He turned on his heel, and as quickly as he could without coming across as impolite; fled the establishment.

Fuck.

FUCK.

He knows who I am…

Fuck.

Izuku shook his head slowly, watching as all the strings in his head lead to only a single solution.

Mr. Fun knew who he was.

Mr. Fun had to go.

…how the hell was he going to manage that?

FUCK!

On the way home…

His mind was alight with flames.

If Mr. Fun was to be trusted, then his plans for the future could plod along as they were.

If, he was to be trusted. If he wasn't, then Izuku figured that he would be dead before he even made it to U.A.

How would they do it? He wondered? Would it be messy? Alternatively, would they try for subtlety and disable the carbon monoxide alarms in his apartment? Perhaps they might-

Whatever the next macabre thought his brain was concocting was lost as a scream registered in his ears.

"HELP!"

Before his brain had even managed to register the word in its entirety, the paved sidewalk beneath him cracked as he moved.

Sprinting down through the alleyway to his immediate left, he vaulted over a large dumpster in a single bound and rounded the corner into a dirty sub-alleyway, grimacing as he came across a ghastly picture.

A woman, middle-aged was cowering in fear as her blouse was ripped from her torso. A heavily overweight female aggressor was outright shrieking with laughter as she attempted to tear the victim's clothing away. A large male in an oversized jacket was standing to the side, watching anxiously.

His eyes met Izuku's, just as the teenager rounded the corner.

Snarling, he stepped forwards. "Not exactly the greatest place to go for a stroll kid. Fuck off- huh?" he recoiled slightly in surprise as the shorter male suddenly exploded into a sprint, the loose newspapers that had littered the ground by his feet had been kicked up, floating listlessly in the air as Izuku shifted gears. Shit, he's fast!

Flicking out a large folding knife, the thug brought it to bear as he snorted deeply, retching slightly before hocking a steaming, hissing glob of ooze at the onrushing teenager.

Reaching out, Izuku snatched the lid from a metal trashcan as he sprinted past, rotating it forwards ahead of him like a makeshift shield. The substance, a form of corrosive that may have been the man's quirk, smashed into the metal. It burbled hideously as it slawed off the front, actually managing to take some of the metal with it.

Closing the distance, and just now spotting the knife in the male's hand; Izuku reached out with his 'shield', seeking to meet the blade with its surface.

The sharpened knife carved through the tin like butter, however, that was exactly what Izuku was hoping for. With the blade wedged fully into the trashcan lid, the teenager twisted; forcing the other man to let go lest his wrist twist along with it.

A quick heel-stomp to the inside of the knee forced the larger man down as he grunted, tears welling up in his eyes from the sharp pain. Izuku ducked the wild haymaker swung in his direction as he yanked the confiscated blade out from the lid and with a single quick motion, cleft a gruesome line across the thug's throat with his own weapon.

Rotating the now bloody blade in his hand with a flourish, he held it up by the point and let it fly, making sure to flick down with the index finger as he loosed to counter the rotation on the throw.

The female criminal, hearing the commotion had just begun to turn around, before with a wet, sickening 'squelch!' her companion's flip-knife slotted into her left eye socket like a missing piece to a puzzle, popping the ocular orb itself and spearing deep into her frontal lobe.

Her large mass dropped, folding in on itself like a puppet with its strings cut.

Letting loose the breath he had been holding, Izuku removed his bloodstained jacket and tried his best to shake the gore from it before approaching the dazed victim. He held it out, averting his eyes from her exposed form nervously.

"Are you okay, miss?"

Her attempt at a reply was made incoherent by her stuttering, before she finally managed a somewhat coherent sentence. "Y-your just a… schoolboy?"

Izuku only shrugged in reply, finally glancing up as he felt the jacket leave his grasp. She had wrapped it around her protectively, her eyes flicking from him to the two corpses behind him in the alleyway. Stepping in front and obscuring her view of the bodies, Izuku attempted his gentlest smile. "I uhh, I didn't know how much time I had to get to you…" He began, frowning as the fluent excuse he had been concocting vanished from his mind.

He watched as she stood, stepping forwards to place a hand on his shoulder. Her face was contorted in wistful sadness. Does she pity me? His thoughts were confirmed as she pulled him into a tight hug, sobbing as she assured him it wasn't his fault, that it was an accident.

He blinked.

Well of course it was his fault… he had been the blessed knife that carved away the cancer. He couldn't say that, though. Oh well, pity's good, I can work with that.

He opened his mouth, speaking into her chest in a muffled, almost perfectly broken voice. "T-they're gonna expel me from school, miss… they're gonna throw me jail aren't they?"

The hug tightened almost painfully, "NO! No I won't tell them, I won't say what happened!" Her shriek was almost frantic. She pulled away, cupping his face in her hands. "You're a- you're my hero, no matter what you did! Do you under-" He voice trailed away, her eyes wrenching away from his to stare behind him in… abject horror.

Izuku's ears pricked, and for a split second in time; he could have sworn he'd seen death leering at him in the reflection of the woman's wet eyes. His muscles coiled up in challenge as he shoved the woman harshly, sending her sprawling across the floor and saving her life a second time as a luridly, hot, sticky and disgusting mass of slime and ooze descended on his form like a parasite.

He heard a thrumming, predatory chuckle invade his ears as the ooze began to mould over his form, attempting to cover him in its entirety. Stunned, and beginning to panic; Izuku thrashed around, trying desperately to escape the his wretched confines.

"RUN!" was all he managed to scream to the woman before his face was completely overrun by the ooze.

"Aren't you the brave lil' hero?" A mocking voice hissed into his ears. "You're pretty strong for a kid, murdering my two favourite lackeys like that… I think imma just take your body for a spin as payback!" The creature punctuated its statement by shooting a tendril of the ooze into Izuku's mouth, forcing open his lips and spearing down his throat pervasively.

The teenager attempted a scream, however all that came out was a hideous urge to vomit as he combat the need for oxygen. This… thing was smothering him, depriving him of air. It was likely how it killed, given the lack of rigidity in its fluidic limbs.

Drowned by ooze… what a way to go, he thought hopelessly to himself.

Regardless, he struggled; and he fought.

Memories unbidden began to flash through his mind, dreams, nightmares… bodies at his feet, with himself leering down at them. He almost audibly growled at the number. It wasn't enough! His work was so unfinished, there was so much scum that needed to be burnt from society; so much wrongness in the world that would go unchecked, all because he wasn't strong enough here.

He fought harder.

Yet in the end, it matter for nought.

His strength was but human, his mind had exhausted all possible outcomes, his durability was not that of the giants that ruled the world with their quirks…

He was just Izuku Midoriya, the quirkless boy.

Was this the difference between criminals, the ones he had slain in the arena, and true villains? No knife could kill this creature of festering ooze, he couldn't fight this thing, he couldn't shoot it, he couldn't do anything…

Darkness began to taint the edges of his vision.

"Bloody hell, kid. How much you got left in that tank of yours?" Izuku felt his ribs creak as the villain squeezed even tighter. If he could sigh, he would. This had to be the longest, most unpleasant death in history-

'BOOM!'

Air… he could feel it rushing across his face- wait, he could feel his face?

He glanced down, finding his body free of its festering confines. Looking to his right, his eyes widened upon finding the sludge monster scattered across the alleyway like an oil spill; chunks of it was scattered everywhere.

"It's fine now."

Izuku's spine stiffened as a pressure as dense as the sun levelled the place like a heatwave, and almost as if his neck was now made of steel, he forcefully dragged his gaze to the left.

"Because I am here!"

His pulse quickened, and the strength that he had wasted fighting against the ooze returned full force as he turned to face the titan of humanity that had suddenly appeared before him.

With a musculature carved from the stone of Olympus, a grin as wide as the equator of the earth, and a presence that dared the gods themselves to invoke his wrath; All Might, the Number 1 Superhero of Japan… gave him a thumbs up.

Izuku found his eyes riveted to the man, before both he and All Might glanced down at the two corpses by his feet.

Izuku blinked. "Shit."

The grin remained strong, but its triumphant candor dimmed into something scrutinising. "Is this your doing?"

Once upon a time, Izuku would have passed out here and now upon seeing the man in person, let alone hearing that voice to top all voices directed AT him. However, he was weathered now, more experienced, he had tasted blood and witnessed tradegy-

'Thud.'

He passed out.

The following morning…

Near viridescent green eyes opened slowly. Throwing the covers off from his form, Izuku stood, taking in the time of day as he glanced to his alarm clock. '4:00 am'

Almost robotically, he pulled his towel from the hanger and made his way to the bathroom, his mind already alight as the gears within cranked his reverie along.

The previous day had been… surprising, to say the least. From start to finish, it had been nothing but one ordeal after the next, one event, followed by another, and another.

Somehow, through it all, he had come out on top. He had come out so far on top that he had trouble pulling his damned head from the clouds.

After awakening from his embarrassing faint in front of All Might, he had just barely managed to explain his actions to the man, relaying that he had no choice.

He had gotten quite the scolding for that, being told that there was always a choice; before being commended for his heroic call to action.

Izuku had to repress his scoff in that moment. Of course he had a choice, and of course he made the right one.

Shrugging his clothing off and into the hamper by the sink, Izuku stepped into the shower; inhaling deeply as the freezing cold water splashed over his body. He swore to hell that he still felt the ooze wriggling around on his skin, sometimes.

He shrugged the disturbing thought off, forcing his mind to mull over the events that happened after that incident.

He didn't know what had possessed him to sprint after Bakugo when that sludge villain that had escaped All Might attacked; just earlier that day he had been fully prepared to cripple the other boy…

It was the stupidest, most illogical thing he had ever done in his life. So much of his skill rested in analysis, in picking his fights, in identifying the weak points in his opponent and capitalising with brutal efficiency. He had already known that the creature outclassed him in every way possible…

Yet, it didn't stop him from acting, and in doing so, Izuku managed to inspire the inspiration of mankind himself into action.

Stepping from the bathroom, he pulled his hoodie over his head as he snuck by his mother's room and out of the apartment into the cool, early morning breeze.

And now… he was the declared successor to All Might.

Somehow, in some way, the declining Symbol of Peace had seen something in him; something worthy of possessing the quirk to top all quirks, One for All.

Taking a turn on a street that lead south, towards the beach, Izuku frowned. Would that change, he thought to himself, if he knew about the blood on my hands? His features twisted into a scowl. If he knew how much more there was going to be?

He should have probably told him.

Although eventually, he found himself shaking his head. Izuku was a man of logic, of efficiency; the ends justified the means, no matter how despicable.

If he was going to carve a chaotic swath of destruction through villainy, then he would need One for All to do it.

Yet still… his mind flashed him a still image of All Might's grin, his form now skeletal and emaciated, yet the trust in his eyes and the resolve in his smile burning strong.

He sighed lowly. Yet still, lying to his very idol sucked.

"Young Midoriya."

Caught off-guard slightly, Izuku glanced up to find that he had already made it to the beach. Leaning over the railing that looked out to the canal, and currently regarding him quietly was All Might in his skeletal form.

Coming to a stop, Izuku bowed. "All Might." He greeted politely. Straightening, he joined the man as he was beckoned over. "Forgive me for my doubts, but are you sure about this?" At All Might's quizzical glance, he shrugged. "You said you could pass on All for One, not duplicate it… what happens to you if you give it to me?"

He didn't miss the little spurt of blood that squeezed out the side of All Might's lip as the man hurriedly laughed and looked away in an awful attempt at being subtle.

All Might, for his part cursed to himself. Shit, little Midoriya is as smart as a whip.

"I'm always sure." He affirmed with a grin, "Don't you worry about that, we have little time to get you into shape for U.A." He clapped the boy on the shoulder, and pointed out to the mess of a beach. "My power will break your body into pieces if you're not ready to handle it, we need a solid foundation to start upon, shorty."

Izuku withheld his roll of the eyes at the nickname. He may be short, but the lower centre of gravity was worth it damn it!

"And so, we shall eviscerate two avian creatures with the single fell stroke of a thrown stone!" The world's greatest superhero placed his hands on his hips, satisfied with himself.

Izuku simply stared at the man. "That's not how the saying goes-"

"Shut it, you damned Zygote!" All Might turned to him with his grin. "You first task: is to clean this beach!"

Blinking, Izuku glanced out over the 'beach', which was more like a shore filled with scrapheap. There was likely tons of junk littering the place. Sighing, the teenager shrugged and pulled out his phone.

"Whatchya doin?" All Might asked, brow raised.

Izuku shrugged again, "Ordering some excavation equipment- hey!" He let out a startled yelp as the now muscular form of All Might snatched his phone from his grasp.

He shook his finger, a giant sausage of pure muscle that could have fed an entire family for a week. "No cheating." His form blurred, and Izuku was recoiled slightly as a wave of air buffeted him in the face. "Get to work, you slacker!" Turning, the teenager found his new 'mentor' shouting at him from atop a car in the middle of the beach. The man had seemingly teleported a hundred feet in an instant, and now he was absently scrolling through Izuku's phone, chuckling to himself.

Eye twitching, Izuku vaulted over the railing and dropped down onto the beach. He was just lucky he had decided to bring a burner phone this morning.

Shrugging off his outer layer, he let it fall by the wall as he set off to find All Might.

His eyes couldn't help but take in the monstrous amount of scrap and junk all around him, piled up in small mountains. This is going to take forever…

All Might, for his part perked a brow as he watched the kid shrug off his clothing. What the hell was with all those scars? The other brow rose in tandem with the first as Izuku hauled up a battered looking refrigerator with a deadlifting form that wasn't all that terrible.

Maybe the kid wasn't so much of a wet noodle as he initially thought…

Then again, All Might's brows lowered into a narrowed frown as he remembered the two criminals the boy had killed, perhaps that was to be expected.

Author's notes: If you have any questions, feel free to leave them as a review.

I'll be attempting to release a published chapter every Friday morning. I finished this one a little earlier, so enjoy.