Sorry for the 1-week delay. I've been very busy recently so I didn't have much time to write. Here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for it.
I will start answering questions from reviews at the start of each chapter.
Toshinori walked into his office and locked the door behind him as quickly as he could.
Sighing in relief, he quickly let his body deflate and sat down at his desk.
His hero training exercise that day had been extremely stressful. He had made sure to make the exercise much safer than the disaster that had been his first class, but the Aizawa's glare on his back caused him to constantly stutter and lose focus.
Toshinori stretched his arms outward and checked the time. He needed to speak to his successor about the upcoming festival, but he wouldn't be available until the end of the day.
Deciding to get some work done before he had to meet Izuku, Toshinori pulled up his email.
He flipped through them one at a time in disinterest. It was all the usual things he was used to. Fan emails, media interview offers, death threats, and the occasional piece of spam.
As he was beginning to doze off from boredom, he suddenly heard a vaguely familiar ringtone from his phone going off.
Toshinori picked it up to check the caller ID, and he felt his heart skip a beat.
His estranged sidekick, Nighteye, was calling him. He hadn't talked to him in years, ever since their falling out over his refusal to pass on One for All until he was ready.
He hesitated for a second before pressing answer.
"Hello, Toshinori." Nighteye's voice stoically rang through the phone.
Toshinori paused for a second out of discomfort.
"Hello, Nighteye."
The two sat in silence for a moment.
"...has Nezu talked to you about my suggestion for your successor?"
Toshinori blinked in confusion.
Why would he be asking about another successor when he already ha-
Toshinori's eye widened in realization.
"Yes, he did, but-"
"Good, then I think we can both agree that Mirio would make a great successor."
Toshinori felt a bit of frustration rise up in him.
"He would, but-"
"I'm glad we're in agreement, I'll call him later and schedule an appointment for him to meet with you to collect One for All."
Toshinori forced himself to stay calm.
"That won't be necessary, Nighteye. You see-"
"Oh, so you wish to go meet him yours-"
"NIGHTEYE! LET ME FINISH!"
Nighteye went silent at Toshinori's outburst.
Toshinori took a deep breath to calm himself.
"That won't be necessary, because I've already picked out a successor and transferred One for All to him."
Nighteye was silent for a few moments.
"Tell him to give it to Mirio then."
Toshinori was starting to remember why he had refused to consult Nighteye when he was looking for a successor.
"No, I won't. Young Midoriya is a fantastic successor and he has worked incredibly hard to receive One for All."
He could practically feel Nighteye's ire through the phone.
"Mirio is an incredibly powerful candidate for One for All, and I doubt this "Midoriya" you chose is as powerful or as heroic as him."
Toshinori felt himself heat up in rage at Nighteye's implications.
"He might not be as skilled or as powerful as young Mirio yet, but he's only a first year, so he can work his way up there eventually. I would also argue that Midoriya's drive for heroics rivals and possibly even surpasses that of Mirio."
Toshinori heard Nighteye growl in frustration.
"You are making a mistake. Imagine how invincibly powerful Mirio could be with One for All. He would be an even better Symbol of Peace than some old man on his deathbed."
They both fell silent.
"I-" Nighteye began.
"Shut up, Nighteye."
Nighteye stopped talking.
"I don't what made you so bitter and entitled, but young Midoriya is my successor and you need to accept that. Goodbye."
Toshinori promptly hung up the phone before Nighteye had a chance to speak.
Toshinori felt the familiar pang in his side and winced in pain.
He knew he was dying. He had known it for a very long time. That didn't mean he felt any better about it.
He sighed in exasperation and glanced at the time. He still had several hours until he needed to talk to Izuku.
He set an alarm on his phone and laid his head down on his desk.
He didn't have the energy to check any more emails.
Toshinori closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Nighteye slammed his head into his desk out of frustration.
Dammit! He had done it again!
Ever since he was young, he had been very…...controlling. He didn't like it when things didn't go the way he planned for them to, and he tended to snap at people who ignored his suggestions. No one was immune from his ire when he was mad, and he always attacked someone's low points.
Still, he felt disgusted with himself for snapping at his idol so viciously.
He heard knocking from his door.
"Sir Nighteye, are you all right?"
Nighteye took a moment to calm his temper.
"It's fine Centipeder, I just got a little angry."
He waited for Centipeder's footsteps to fade into the distance before he pulled out his laptop and wrote a note reminding him to ask for this "Midoriya" following the Sports Festival. He had been a first-year based on what All Might said, so he could probably watch him through a recording of the event.
He wanted to learn more about him now, but he couldn't approach him without a good reason to. It would be very odd for a pro like him to suddenly approach a first-year UA student out of the blue.
Nighteye suddenly froze.
But it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for an upperclassmen to show interest in a lowerclassmen.
Nighteye pulled out his phone and dialed Mirio's number.
"Sir?"
Nighteye smiled.
"Hello, Mirio. There's someone I want you to keep an eye on."
Izuku glanced over at Uraraka for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
She looked awful. Her skin was pale white, prominent bags were under her eyes, and it looked like a particularly strong wind could blow her over.
Over the past couple weeks, he had tried to follow his dad's advice of giving her some space, but it got progressively harder and harder to follow it. Every day it seemed like she looked worse and worse.
Izuku noticed Uraraka laying her head down on her desk and finally decided to talk to her.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, he tapped Uraraka on the shoulder, causing her to jolt awake.
"W-what?!"
She turned to him in confusion.
"O-oh, it's just you Izuku. What do you need?"
"...can you come with me for a minute?"
Uraraka looked at him strangely for a second before getting up and stretching.
"Sure, let's go."
The two of them left the classroom and walked into the hallway just outside the boy's bathroom.
Uraraka turned to Izuku.
"What do you need?"
Izuku twiddled with his thumbs while considering his response.
"I'll get straight to the point. Uraraka, are you ok?"
Uraraka froze up for a second before nervously chuckling.
"W-what kind of question is that? Of course, I'm ok."
Izuku looked at her incredulously.
"Uraraka, look at yourself. You look like you're about to collapse from just standing here. You are obviously not ok."
Uraraka flinched.
"No, I swear that I'm fine. I just…..didn't get enough sleep last night."
Izuku groaned in frustration.
"I could believe that if this was a one-time thing, but you've been looking progressively worse and worse over the past week. Please, just tell me what's wrong. In fact, it doesn't even have to be me! Just talk to Aizawa or one of the other teachers if it's something you don't want to talk to me about."
Uraraka averted eye contact.
"I'm fine, Izuku."
Before Izuku could stop her, she quickly turned around and walked away.
Izuku stood there for a minute, before sighing and walking away.
He needed to tell Aizawa about this.
Izuku sat in a chair across from Melissa as she put the finishing touches on his gauntlets.
"And then Aizawa told me that he would do nothing to help! He's under the opinion that hero needs to handle their mental issues on their own!"
Melissa nodded absentmindedly.
"Uh huh."
Izuku threw his hand up in the air.
"Why am I the only one who sees that she needs help?! She literally has trouble walking from class to class!"
Melissa checked one of the screws on the side of the gauntlet.
"Uh huh."
Izuku looked at her in annoyance.
"All Might just declared himself god emperor."
Melissa fumbled with the gauntlet's fingers to make sure they would stay attached.
"Uh huh."
Izuku sighed and snapped his fingers in front of her face, regaining her attention.
"Look can we just talk about this for a minute."
Melissa set the gauntlet down.
"There's nothing really to talk about, Izuku. From what you've said so far, Uraraka won't talk about it."
Izuku scowled.
"Yes, that's the problem."
Melissa shook her head.
"You're missing the point of what I'm saying. You can't force Uraraka to talk about her problems, and she clearly doesn't want to. Trying to force it out of her will make her want to talk even less."
Izuku frowned dejectedly.
"Then what can I do."
Melissa smiled.
"Just try to be there for your friend. She may be uncomfortable when you try to force an answer out of her, but maybe if she gets more comfortable around you she'll be willing to talk. You could also try and get someone else to handle it. Aizawa may have refused, but maybe you could call her parents and ask them to talk to her."
Izuku closed his eyes in contemplation.
"Are you sure? It feels wrong to just do nothing."
Melissa grimaced.
"That right there is also kind of a problem."
Izuku looked up in confusion.
"Huh?"
Melissa pointed at him.
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself to fix other people's problems when you seem to be collapsing under your own."
Izuku opened his mouth to interrupt, but Melissa cut him off.
"All Might asked me recently to keep an eye on you. He told me that your temper seems a lot shorter and that you seem to be having a much harder time controlling your emotions recently. He specifically mentioned an incident where you shoved an asshole general studies student who didn't know what he was talking about. You clearly have issues of your own to work through."
Izuku slammed his hand on the table.
"Well maybe I do have my own issue, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to help others."
Melissa sighed in exasperation.
"Nobody is telling you to stop helping people altogether, but you're putting way too much pressure on yourself. In the past month alone, you were nearly killed by your childhood friend, you were beaten and nearly kidnapped by a villain leader, you put it upon yourself to try and bring a lonely kid out of their shell, and you're currently trying to help a friend who clearly doesn't want to be helped."
Melissa took a second to breathe.
"Half of that is a massive load for anyone to deal with, but you seem to keep piling more things on top of it. All of this is without even mentioning training and schoolwork."
Melissa looked Izuku in the eye.
"My point is that you're stretching yourself to thin. People have cracked under less pressure. You need to try and pace yourself, or you may not be able to solve any of these problems."
Izuku put his head down.
"It's hard for me to see someone with a problem and just ignore it. I like to help people, and it hurts me to see them in pain. I feel useless if I just stand off to the side and do nothing."
Melissa got up and walked around the table to Izuku, before patting him on the back with a smile.
"Don't do nothing, just try to take it a bit slower. Solve one problem and then move to the next instead of trying to handle all of them at once."
Izuku looked up towards her.
"Thanks, Melissa."
Melissa smiled.
"It's no problem. Now can we please test out the gauntlets."
Izuku blushed in embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."
Katsuki stared in silence at his lunch.
"I DON'T OWE YOU SHIT! I HATE YOU!"
Those last words from Deku kept ringing through his head. The thing Katsuki couldn't figure out was why.
He had always viewed Deku as nothing more than a shitty villain for him to defeat, a stepping stone on his route to victory. Katsuki had never cared about him and he had played to Deku's fears to try and force a fight between them. Deku didn't matter. That's what he had always thought.
If all of that was true, then why did Deku's statement hurt so badly?
"Katsuki?"
Katsuki turned his head towards Kirishima, who was looking at him in concern.
"Yes?"
Kirishima hesitated.
"Are you ok? You've been zoning in and out a lot recently."
Katsuki considered telling him nothing was wrong but ultimately decided against it.
"Kirishima, am I a bad person?"
Kirishima stared back at him in surprise for a second.
"I don't think anyone is a truly bad person, but I do think you really need to work on and improve your attitude. Why are you asking me this?"
Katsuki sat in thought for a second.
"Lately, I feel like I've been questioning if what I'm doing is right more and more. I used to believe that everything I did was 100% justified no matter what, but with how angry and bitter Izuku is at me, I'm starting to question just what I'm doing wrong."
Much to his surprise, Kirishima casually threw an arm around him.
"It's ok to question what you're doing, in fact, it's one of the manliest things you can do, but don't be too hard on yourself. Focus less on the mistakes you've made in the past and just try to be better in the future."
Katsuki smiled at his friend.
"Thanks."
Katsuki then pushed him off the bench.
"Now never wrap your arm around me again."
Izuku was walking out of school with his friends when All Might suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Hello, young Midoriya! Would you mind coming with me for a minute?!"
Izuku could tell that All Might was straining to maintain his form and quickly waved to his friends.
"Go on, I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Izuku quickly followed All Might back to his office. The instant they entered, All Might deflated back to his frail form.
"Thank you for being quick about that, any longer and I would've deflated on the spot." All Might mumbled in relief.
All Might walked over to his desk and sat down, before motioning for Izuku to sit across from him.
"Young Midoriya, do you know why I called you here today?"
Izuku looked at him in confusion.
"Uh, no. You never told me why."
All Might smiled at him.
"Well, there's something I need to talk to you ab-."
All Might suddenly started coughing blood and held out his hand. Izuku grabbed a nearby handkerchief and handed it to him.
All Might grimaced down at the blood covered handkerchief and set it aside.
"Sorry about that. My body has been acting up more and more recently."
All Might turned back to Izuku and forced a smile.
"But enough of that, let's get to why I called you here today."
All Might looked distinctly more uncomfortable.
"First off, for the safety of yourself, the medical team, and your fellow competitors; you will have to compete with your gloves on during the Sports Festival.
Izuku nodded.
"I understand the reasoning, but could I wear Melissa's gauntlets instead?"
All Might looked moderately surprised.
"Has she finished them already? Well, I doubt Nezu will have a problem with it, so go ahead and wear them."
All Might took a second to breathe
"Either way, do you know how important this festival is?"
Izuku cocked his head in confusion.
"I know it's important, but it's just like any other school festival, isn't it?"
All Might shook his head.
"Not really. This festival is one of the biggest events in Japan, and more importantly, it's your debut as a hero student to the world. This is at least as important as your first debut as a hero."
All Might pointed towards Izuku dramatically.
"You, Izuku Midoriya, are my successor. You need to get out there and show everyone just how strong you are. Look the world in the eye, and say "I am here"."
Izuku looked down at his glove-covered hand.
A chance to show the world just who he was? It was a scary thought.
But, All Might had done so much for him. He couldn't let him down when he needed him most.
Izuku looked back up at All Might with a determined grin.
"I refuse to let you down, sir."
All Might chuckled.
"I'm sure you won't, young Midoriya. Now go home and get some rest, you're going to need it."
Izuku was walking out the school door when he suddenly felt a presence behind him.
He turned around quickly to see a tall, muscular man behind him. Using his momentum, he threw a strong roundhouse kick towards the man.
Much to his surprise, his kick went right through the man, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground.
"Whoa there, are you all right?" The stranger said.
Izuku turned back towards the man and observed him.
Upon closer inspection, what he had mistaken for a tall, muscular man was actually a tall, muscular teenager. He had blond hair, the top part of which is arranged into a cowlick. He was wearing the typical U.A. uniform and he seemed genuinely concerned about his condition.
Izuku stared at his biceps.
"Your biceps look bigger than my head."
The teen stared at him in confusion.
"What?"
Izuku realized that he had said that out loud and blushed in embarrassment.
"F-forget what I just said."
Izuku got up and dusted himself off.
"Sorry for trying to kick you there, I just panicked."
The tall teen laughed.
"Don't worry about it."
The teen stuck out his hand.
"My name's Togata Mirio, it's nice to meet you."
Izuku smiled up at the teen.
"My name is Midoriya Izuku, it's nice to meet you as well. If you don't mind me asking, why were you sneaking up on me?"
Mirio chuckled in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that, I should've been less sudden about coming up to you. Some people were talking about you, and I came to check you out."
Izuku blushed heavily and looked down.
"Have I already earned that bad of a reputation?"
Mirio seemed to find that funny and patted him hard on the back.
"That's hilarious. You're quite a bit shorter than what people claimed, but you're the badass who fought one on one with the villain leader at USJ right?"
Izuku grimaced and looked away.
"Unfortunately."
Mirio's smile fell and he bowed suddenly to him.
"I'm sorry if I upset you, please accept my apology."
Izuku looked mystified at Mirio.
Was he really just this nice?
"I-it's fine, just try not to bring it up again."
Mirio nodded.
"Alright, although I just want to let you know that surviving that long against a villain like that is immensely impressive."
Izuku felt his face heat up even more.
"T-thanks."
Mirio smirked at him before walking around him.
"Well, I have to go home now. It was nice to meet you Izuku."
Izuku held his hand out to Mirio.
"It was nice to meet you as well."
Mirio moved to leave, before pausing and turning to him.
"By the way, if you ever want to spar, just let me know. I'll show you a few pointers."
Izuku stared at Mirio's biceps again.
"Will you show me how you got your biceps to the size of watermelons?"
Mirio blinked in confusion.
"What?"
Izuku covered his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment.
"Nothing."
Mirio shrugged and walked away.
Izuku waited for his steps to completely fade away before he uncovered his face.
That was mortifying.
Izuku opened his phone to check the time and felt his heart stop.
Mom and dad were going to kill him.
Hisashi played solitaire on his phone as he waited for Inko to stop chewing out Izuku.
Personally, he was rather upset at Izuku for getting home so late, but he knew that being chewed out by Inko was punishment enough.
He checked the time to see how long he had been waiting and was both amused and horrified to find that it had been over 2 hours already.
Why hadn't he interfered already?
"AND IF YOU EVER GET HOME THIS LATE AGAIN, I'LL FUCKING RIP YOU TO PIECES MOLECULE BY MOLECULE, MAKING SURE TO BE AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE YOU FEEL MAXIMUM PAIN."
Oh yeah, that's why.
As he began to contemplate what other game he could play on his phone, Izuku finally wandered into the living room and collapse on the sofa next to him.
He patted his son on the head.
"Do you promise not to get home so late again?"
Izuku groaned in exhaustion.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Hisashi stared at his son for a minute in hesitation.
"Izuku."
Izuku looked up with tired eyes.
"Please just let me sleep."
Hisashi sighed.
"Look I need to talk to you about something."
Izuku drearily sat up and looked him in the eye.
"What?"
Hisashi took a deep breath.
"I've been hesitating to tell you this for a while. You know that Shoto kid you've been trying to help?"
Izuku cocked his head in confusion.
"Yeah?"
Hisashi averted his gaze.
"Do you think that maybe you could just, I don't know, avoid him?"
Izuku stared for a second.
"Why?"
Hisashi twiddled with his thumbs.
"It's just, I knew his father. Every time you describe Shoto, he sounds exactly like him and, to put it frankly, his father was a tremendous douchebag."
Izuku was fully awake at this point.
"And what does that have to do with Shoto?"
Hisashi continued to avoid eye contact.
"If Shoto is anything like his father, I don't want you to be anywhere near him. His father and I were close, but in the end, our…...friendship went down in flames. I don't want you to get hurt like I did."
Izuku smiled and patted his father on the back.
"Dad, you're beginning to sound as paranoid as mom. Shoto is off-putting, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy. Don't judge him based off his father."
Hisashi tried to interrupt, but Izuku got up and stretched before he could finish.
"I'm going to bed dad. I love you."
Hisashi watched as Izuku walked away.
"I love you too, Izuku." Hisashi mumbled. "That's why I want you to stay away from him."
Shoto was surprised to see his father sitting on the couch when he entered the living room. Unfortunately, before he could slip away, his father saw him and waved for him to come sit next to him.
Stiffly, Shoto forced himself to sit down next to his father.
What did he want? This was rather suspicious and out of character for him.
Now that he thought about it, his father had acted weird and suspicious for the past week or so. He seemed far less angry than usual, seeming more sad than anything else. His father had avoided extra training and Shoto had even seen him coming out of Touya's room, a place that he usually avoided like the plague.
"Shoto."
His father's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, father."
His father sat quietly for a moment.
"You know that boy named Izuku in your class?"
Shoto froze up.
Why was he talking to him about this? Was he upset that there was someone trying to be friendly with him? Did he just want to isolate him even more?
"Yes."
His father tried to look him in the eye, but Shoto avoided his gaze.
"I want you to crush and humiliate him in this upcoming Sports Festival."
Shoto felt a wave of confusion go through him.
"...why?"
His father turned his head back to the television.
"Back in the day, when I was a student myself, I knew his father. He was a great man and perhaps one of the best fighters I had ever met. I want you to prove that my progeny is better than his own."
Shoto felt cold rage swell in him.
That's all he cared about, wasn't it. His little eugenics experiment proving that he was the strongest. It almost made him want to lose the Sports Festival on purpose out of spite. Almost.
"I'll beat Izuku, but I'll do it on my own volition not because you told me to."
His father shrugged.
"I don't care, as long as you beat him I'll be happy."
Shoto felt ice crystals form on his body. He was angry beyond measure. He hated his father and he wanted to make him hurt.
Suddenly, he found his father's hand directly in front of his face. The heat coming from it would've been intense for anyone other than him.
"Go ahead, try it. Your mother certainly tried to kill me several times and she obviously hasn't succeeded once. You're nowhere near as strong or as competent as she was."
Shoto forced the ice crystals off his body and turned away from his father.
His father got up and stretched.
"I'm going to sleep. You have another free day to do whatever you want. Don't disappoint me in the Sports Festival like your weakling of a brother."
His father left the room.
Shoto tried to keep his composure, but soon started to break down on the couch.
Why? Why did no one care enough to save him from his father? Why did Touya have to die and fracture their family even more? Why was it so hard for him to connect with people?
Shoto curled into a ball and continued sobbing.
He was miserable, unloved, and completely alone.
Tensei Iida groaned as he sat up on a couch.
Where was he?
He turned to his left to see his best friend, Koichi(1), and his girlfriend, Kazuho(1), sleeping on the couch across the table from him.
Oh yeah, he had come over to watch some baseball with Koichi. The game had lasted longer than expected and had ended so late that Koichi had invited him to stay the night.
Koichi and Kazuho were nice and seemingly ordinary people. Little did most people know, they were the vigilantes, Crawler and Popstep. Not that many heroes particularly cared.
The two of them had been rather helpful during many operations to several heroes. They had helped Eraserhead, Midnight, Captain Celebrity, and even himself on many occasions. They tended to be great backup who went out of their way to evacuate civilians and distract powerful villains, making most heroes very reluctant to take them in. Hell, he knew for a fact that many heroes knew their identities and just didn't care enough to bring them in.
Koichi suddenly yawned and sat up, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Koichi turned to him and cocked his head in confusion.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to still be here Tensei."
Tensei shrugged.
"Why wouldn't I still be here?"
Koichi picked his phone up and looked at the time.
"Weren't you supposed to start your patrols today around nine?"
Tensei groaned.
"Yes, unfortunately. I should get dressed and get going. I still don't get what that has to do with me being gone already."
Koichi turned his phone towards him.
"It's currently ten."
Tensei stared at the phone for about a minute.
Koichi cleared his throat.
"Uh, Tensei?"
Tensei grabbed his shoes and quickly put them on.
"Shit! I'm so late!"
Tensei ran to the door and stopped for just a moment.
"Hey, are we still up for watching the Sports Festival tomorrow after work?"
Koichi grinned and threw him a thumbs up.
"Of course. Stay safe out there!"
Tensei grinned knowingly.
"You too, Crawler."
Hisashi got out his phone and checked his location on top of the rooftop.
He was in the right place.
He quickly got out his sensors and examined them for damage and wear, painstakingly checking to make sure each one worked as intended.
Satisfied with his inspection, Hisashi dropped into the alleyway below him.
He moved around it quickly and dropped sensors all around it.
Once he finished lining the alley in sensors, he got back on top of the building and jumped to the one across from him. Luckily, very few people were out today due to the Sports Festival, so he went largely unnoticed.
He repeated this process multiple more times before finally returning to the rooftop he had begun on.
His sensors for Stain were all set, so now he just needed to do one last gear check.
Hisashi unsheathed his sword and took a good look at it.
The handle was in perfect condition, the blade was sharpened to an acceptable degree, and it felt just as light as usual.
Satisfied, he resheathed his blade and checked every place he had hidden knives around his body.
Everything appeared to be in order.
He looked down at one of his pockets and checked his most important item.
He opened his pocket and got out a syringe containing a light-colored substance. The syringe had one word along the side of it.
Trigger.
The material of the syringe was designed to be as durable as possible, so agents like him would avoid crushing it by accident during a fight.
It was the ultimate secret weapon of any agent in his organization, and without it, there were multiple times where he would've died.
He carefully put the syringe back in his pocket, not willing to take any chances.
He gazed out over the vast expanse of buildings before him.
Now, all he had to do was wait.
Shigaraki woke up to the sound of his alarm ringing incessantly.
Groaning as he sat up, he slammed his fist down hard onto the off button and looked at the time.
The clock read 10:32.
Shigaraki gazed at the clock in confusion.
Why would he set it for such an early time? He usually didn't get up until later.
He grabbed his phone off his nightstand and checked the date.
Oh yeah, today was the Sports Festival.
Forcing himself out of bed, Shigaraki walked over to his dresser and started changing into a fresh change of clothes.
There were three main reasons he wanted to watch the Sports Festival.
The first was that it would give him a nice preview of people he may be fighting in the future. If he learned about their quirks now, he could plan contingencies against them late.
Next, there was the fact that it made a great bonding activity for him and his new teammates. Being closer to his teammates would mean that they would be more likely to listen to him and watch his back. He was also kind of lonely, so that was an added benefit.
Finally, he kind of wanted to see Izuku again, even if it was just through a screen. He missed his chats with him a considerable amount and it would be nice to look at him again.
Shigaraki finished changing into his casual outfit and walked into the main room of the bar.
Shigaraki was pleasantly surprised to see that his fellow villains were already up and about. Toga was eating some kind of blood-covered pasty, Twice was talking excitedly to an uncaring Dabi, and Kurogiri was watching Toga to make sure she didn't stab someone for the third time this week.
All four of them turned their heads to him as he clapped to gain their attention.
"Hello my fellow villains, how are you doing today?"
Toga excitedly started waving her arms in the air.
"I'm doing great Shigi!"
Shigaraki winced at the nickname and turned to look at Dabi.
Dabi grunted and nodded in acknowledgment.
Twice waved at him and Shigaraki waved politely in response.
Kurogiri ignored the question and walked back into the kitchen to make more food.
Shigaraki had to admit that his team wasn't the most…...functional group, but they certainly had potential. He would refine these three, and the many more villains to come, into an organization more dangerous than any seen before. A true League of Villains.
Shigaraki cleared his throat.
"Today, I thought it would be best if we watched the Sports Festival together as a group. This is our chance to observe the future generation of heroes. Do I have any objections?"
Toga started excitedly talking about how many victims she could find through the festival, Twice fell off his chair and started rolling around on the ground, and Dabi barely even acknowledged that anything had happened.
A bottle of Vodka suddenly came out of a portal next to him. Shigaraki stared at the bottle for a second before grabbing it, taking a swig, and handing it back to Kurogiri.
He had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.
Izuku stared at the box Melissa had given him this morning.
"Now Izuku," Melissa began. "Please remember to be careful with these. I only have one pair done and if you break them you're out of luck."
Izuku nodded.
"Ok. Is there any limit to how much power I can use with these on?"
Melissa pulled out a piece of paper and scanned down the page.
"Based on my tests, you should only be able to punch to a maximum of 10% of your power without breaking them. The more durable material I wanted to use won't be available for another month or two."
"I don't think that'll be much of a problem."
Melissa chuckled.
"Yeah, 5% is probably more than enough to do well."
Izuku took a look at the blueprint in Melissa's hands.
"So how do I work them?"
Melissa handed him a pill.
"Eat this."
Izuku stared at it for a second.
"I have the oddest sense of deja vu right now."
Izuku took the pill and swallowed it.
"So what was that?"
Melissa pointed to a small design in the corner of the blueprint.
"Nanobots that will connect to your nerves. They'll allow you to cover and uncover your ring and pointer fingers with a single thought."
Izuku stared at her.
"Is that even legal?"
Melissa shrugged.
"Do you want the damn gauntlets or not?"
One discussion over the legal and ethical applications of nanobots later, he left to get ready for the sports festival.
Izuku opened the box and admired the craftsmanship of the gauntlets.
They were fingerless rather smooth in appearance, lacking many of the rough edges he expected, and were colored black.
He attached them onto his hands to find that they were a perfect fit.
Now he just had to figure out how to make them cover act-.
Metal shot out of the gauntlet covering his ring and pointer fingers.
Oh. That was convenient.
After messing around with gauntlets for a few seconds to check if they were working, Izuku turned to face the rest of his class.
To his surprise, Shoto stood in front of him with an impassive face.
Izuku and Shoto gazed awkwardly at each other for a second.
Izuku rubbed his head nervously.
"Uh, Shoto?"
Shoto continued to glare in a detached manner.
"Objectively speaking, I believe that I'm stronger than you."
Izuku blinked in confusion.
"Sure? I'm confused about where this is coming from."
Shoto continued without acknowledging Izuku's statement.
"I don't know why, but a lot of people have their eyes on you. I'm not going to pry, but I just wanted to let you know that I will beat you."
Kirishima suddenly tried to intervene.
"Hey man, we're about to go out there. Do you really want to start picking a fight now?"
Shoto ignored Kirishima and looked Izuku dead in the eye.
"I'm not here to make friends."
Izuku felt frustration rise up in him but quickly snuffed it out.
Dammit. He had thought that he was making progress with Shoto.
"I don't know why you feel the need to tell me this. Objectively speaking, you're much stronger than me currently. In a fair fight, I'd probably lose."
Izuku maintained his gaze with Shoto.
"But I want to be a hero. A hero who saves someone else no matter what. If I want to be that hero, I have to prove myself here and now. That's why I'll win today, no matter what it takes!"
The two stood there for what felt like hours until the announcer finally called for everyone to come into the arena.
Shoto broke their staring match and started walking with everyone to the stadium, with Izuku following soon afterward.
Upon arriving in the stadium, Izuku felt himself grow a bit numb at the expansive amount of people surrounding him.
It was nerve-racking to say the absolute least.
Izuku heard yelling from in front of him and felt a bit of surprise at Midnight of all heroes being the referee for the first years. Though he supposed it made sense since she was one of the U.A. heroes best equipped for taking down unruly students.
"The one representing the first year students will be Midoriya Izuku!"
Izuku felt his heart skip a beat.
"Wait, what?"
Iida, who was standing next to him, looked at him curiously.
"Did you not know? It is tradition for the top scorer on the entrance exam to give a speech."
Izuku started panicking.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?!"
Iida tapped his chin in thought.
"I believe All Might was supposed to tell you."
Izuku was silent for a second.
"Son of a bitch."
All Might stared down at his successor standing on the podium below.
"I really need to start writing things down."
Izuku looked around nervously over the vast expanse of people looking at him.
He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for this.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of unnatural calm come over him. The calm cleared his head for a moment, and Izuku could finally think up a speech.
Izuku took a deep breath.
"Hello everyone, as you all know, my name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm one of the hero students at UA high. I'm supposed to stand up here right now and give a speech about the wonders of heroism and how great society is right now, but that would be a lie."
Izuku took a second to consider his next words.
"People face injustices every day in our society and never get help. They're left out to dry for one reason or another and are quickly forgotten."
Izuku glanced down at his hands.
"Sometimes it's for having a quirk that is seemingly villainous and unheroic. Sometimes it's due to having a quirk that's deemed useless. Sometimes it's because someone is born without a quirk. These injustices occur every day and no one bothers to fix them."
Izuku clenched his fist.
"But we can change that. We can work together to make this world a better place then it is now. We can save every person who cries out for help. We can help every child who cries out for someone to save him. We can look out at the world and yell "I am here"."
There was dead silence for a few moments.
Izuku started sweating nervously.
Shit! I didn't think it was that bad.
Suddenly, clapping started rising up from all around him. His classmates hooted and hollered happily. Everyone was cheering at his speech.
Throughout all the cheering, there was only one thought that crossed Izuku's mind.
What was that sudden wave of unnatural calm?
Shigaraki stared at the screen in shock.
We can help every child who cries out for someone to save him.
He felt warmth flow through him.
Where was someone like this on that day he was left all alone? Why didn't someone like Izuku come to rescue him?
Izuku seemed so bright, so cheery. He was so perfect for the role of a hero. It almost made him want to leave Izuku alone, to see if he could make a difference with his naive ideals.
But in the end, he was brainwashed like everyone else. You couldn't fix hero society, you had to tear it down and obliterate it until nothing was left. Anything less, and nothing would change.
He turned to his fellow comrades to gauge their reaction.
All three were staring at the television with looks of shock.
Toga shook it off first.
"Does anyone else think that kid looks like Shigi?"
Dabi sighed in relief.
"Thank god, I thought I was the only one thinking that."
Twice nodded.
"Yeah, he looks nothing like Shigaraki."
Twice winced after he said that and put on his mask.
Shigaraki considered comforting Twice but got distracted when Toga started drooling heavily.
"I can't decide which is more attractive. The tall, hunky Shigi or the small, cute Shigi. Why can't I be them both at the same time!"
Shigaraki felt a twinge of rage.
"Touch him and I'll turn you into dust."
Dabi and Toga glanced at him as Twice kept mumbling under his mask.
"Do you know him, boss?" Dabi questioned.
Shigaraki glared at intimidatingly as he could at the two of them.
"I do. If either of you hurt him without my permission, you will die. Do you understand?"
Then two of them nodded fearfully and averted their gazes.
Shigaraki turned back to look at the screen.
Izuku's speech was great, but in the end, his speech was just words.
One day, he would make Izuku understand. This world was broken, but they could fix it.
Enji glared down at the child of his former friend.
It was uncanny how similar he and his father were. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought he was listening to a speech made by a young Hisashi.
Hisashi's spawn was nevertheless quite intriguing in his own right.
He was much smaller than his father was at his age, but his attitude seemed much more serious and firm than his father. It was fascinating, to say the least.
He took a mental note to ask for the child to intern with him if he did well in the tournament, but in the end, it didn't really matter.
His son was almost surely the superior combatant and would win this tournament.
In the end, the child was nothing more but an obstacle for Shoto to overcome.
Overhaul ignored his fellow members as he stared at the name on the screen.
Midoriya Izuku.
It had been a long time, but he still remembered the name of his inspector from back when they first met.
The chance of someone just happening to have his name were slim, but he would pay attention to the child as he progressed through the tournament.
Overhaul let a rare smirk spread across his face.
He may have just found the bargaining chip he needed to get Dragon off of his back.
All for One listened to the speech made by his rivals successor.
For a moment he sat in silence contemplating what he had just heard.
He was not expecting for All Might to choose someone like this as his successor.
He cracked a smile.
"What an interesting vessel for your quirk, little brother."
(1) Crawler and Popstep are from the My Hero Academia Illegals manga.
Griffith did everything wrong.