It was hard to move about the city since it was still believed that he had been killed in the police department fire several weeks ago. There had been unconfirmed rumors and reports of sightings of a person that matched his description in the Naruhata Ward but the rumors were just that - unconfirmed.
And now, Izuku Midoriya would like for it to not stay that way.
His ultimate goal was simple - to take down All For One and the League Of Villains. However, he wasn't going to get his hands dirty, but the heroes on the other hand would take his bait and become his useful pawns in his game of chess.
Still, Izuku had his own following of sorts within the League. He knew that Toga would follow him to the ends of the Earth, and that Kurogiri thought him competent and shrewd, qualities that he admired in a person. The other two League members that Izuku had an affinity for were Dabi and Twice, and where they stood with him wasn't known for sure.
So, before Tomura sent them off on a mission that Izuku thought of to be a foolish endeavor at best, the Quirkless boy decided to pull Kuogiri aside and speak with him.
And by aside, their meeting location was outside the League headquarters and inside of an abandoned and dilapidated warehouse just a few blocks away.
"Thank you for agreeing to speak with me," Izuku said to him earnestly.
"I figured that it was important since you insisted that we should speak in private," Kurogiri said.
That's what Izuku liked about Kurogiri the most. He was extremely reasonable and even charitable when it came to his allies. His fierce loyalty was an asset that Izuku had to have for himself - his talents would be squandered due to Tomura's temperamental nature.
"It is important, and I ask you to keep what I say between us and the parties involved," Izuku said.
"You have my word," Kurogiri assured him.
"I do not think that Bakugou would join the League in a million years. He was obsessed with becoming the number one hero, and it is safe to say that he still is," Izuku explained.
"Correct me if I am wrong but, was it not too long ago that you wanted to be a hero? Who is to say that Bakugou would not join our cause like you did?" Kurogiri asked him.
Izuku's expression darkened.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about as well," Izuku began to say. "You know what All For One did to me, don't you?"
Kurogiri stiffened his posture ever so slightly. "I do," He answered.
"So you and Toga knew this whole time. Does anyone else in the League know?" Izuku asked him.
Kurogiri's golden glowing eyes widened in a rare show of disbelief. "I was not aware that Toga had any knowledge of All For One's project."
Izuku gave Kurogiri a devious smile.
"She didn't. She thought that he simply wanted to go out of his way to recruit me. But you just told me that he had a project in place," Izuku said.
It took a moment for Kurogiri to process what Izuku had done, but once realization dawned on him the villain couldn't help but be impressed by the Quirkless boy's shrewdness. The fact that he found out that All For One had been the orchestrator of his recent misfortunes was impressive enough, but to then use the information he had to not only deduce that Kurogiri knew, but to also consider the fact that there was another part to All For One's plan beyond his recruitment showed his intelligence.
Astonished by Izuku's brilliance, all Kurogiri could do was clap his hands together in order to give Izuku a round of applause.
"Bravo, Izuku, bravo. You are every bit the man that All For One said that you would be," Kurogiri began.
"However, now I must make a request to you, and ask that what I tell you is to stay between us, and us alone," Kurogiri said.
Izuku gave Kurogiri a nod.
"I was originally tasked by All For One to oversee Tomura's development so that he could one day replace All For One and take over the League. However, once you were recruited, All For One approached me and gave me a new set of orders; I was instructed to treat you 'with the same amount of reverence' as I treat Tomura. He thinks very highly of you and I believe that he knew that the day would come when you would approach me."
"So you're saying that All For One wanted me to discover the truth?" Izuku asked.
"No," Kurogiri corrected him. "All For One expected you to discover the truth."
Izuku could not help but laugh heartily. His laughter echoed within the abandoned warehouse as he tried to regain control of himself. It was hard for him to because it was all just too perfect.
"Oh, that's a good one. That's rich, I'm almost in tears," Izuku wiped his eyes. "And here I thought that All For One favored Tomura over me. I'm glad to know how highly he thinks of me. I am, in fact, truly honored."
Kurogiri did not respond to Izuku's musings.
"Anyways, I have a plan in place that I need your help with." Izuku said.
"I am listening," Kurogiri responded.
"Like I said before, Tomura's mission is bound to fail. The difference between Bakugou and I is that Bakugou wasn't pushed into a corner with no way out like I was. He's too prideful to take the route that I did to begin with because he has a very powerful Quirk to fall back on. But even if we assume that Bakugou might join us, Tomura's plan could still result in the destruction of the entire League," Izuku explained.
"How do you figure that?" Kurogiri asked him.
"It would be different if Tomura wanted to capture an actual hero, but to go out of his way to capture a U.A. student, a well known U.A. student at that, in the middle of his training course would only succeed in turning our hideout into a warzone. Dozens of heroes would be at our doorstep, including All Might," Izuku explained to him.
"If All Might shows up then All For One will defeat him once and for all," Kurogiri began to say. "With All Might's defeat and death at the hands of All For One, it would only serve to severely weaken the morale of all of the pro heroes and citizens and in turn galvanize villains everywhere."
Do you honestly believe that? Is what Izuku wanted to ask, however, he decided to hold his tongue. There was a possibility that All For One could defeat and kill All Might, but Izuku questioned his ability to do so. If All For One really possessed the strength for such a feat, then he would have done so when they both fought all those years ago. He did succeed in mortally wounding All Might, but in the end the injuries that All For One sustained while battling him were severe enough to leave him virtually crippled.
Izuku's money was on All Might.
Perhaps that was the fanboy in him speaking, or perhaps he was just being realistic. Regardless, he couldn't openly tell Kurogiri that he doubted All For One's ability to defeat All Might, and by extension that he wanted All Might to win so that he could ultimately usurp the League and become its new head. He would have liked to, but if what Kurogiri said was true, then that meant that he would only follow Izuku after he secured his position, not before.
"Well, allow me to set the table for All Might's demise," Izuku began to say with a sinister smile.
"I need you to warp me to the front entrance of the Kyoto police headquarters."
I feel like I have been apologizing for delays every time now, but now I must again apologize for the delay. I have been through some major life changes.
The first one is that I mentioned before how I wanted to focus more on myself and less on relationships. Well my girlfriend is now pregnant with our child. I am happy, anxious, and overwhelmed all at once. Still, we have gotten a ton of support from both of our families so it has eased our burdens. We have moved in together within the past month and are settling in.
Secondly, the death of my idol Kobe Bryant has severely impacted my life. He was like a second father to me, and for those who may not know, Kobe Bryant was an American basketball player that recently retired from the NBA (National Basketball Association) that is not only a legend on the court, but off the court his work ethic and interviews where he preaches hard work, dedication, and motivation inspired me in many ways. The suddenness of it I think is what really threw me off and I am still having a hard time processing it.
Lastly, I have decided that I would like to make writing stories a part of my life as well as my income, so I have been flirting with an idea of creating a blog where I can post all of my stories and my funding would come exclusively through paetron. Then later down the road I would release original, full-length novels. I obviously don't have the fanbase to support this idea yet, but I believe that it is very doable and in the long term I am sure that it could pay off, but in order for it to do so I have to be more consistent, which I shall try my best to be.
Anyways, sorry for the excuses. I will try my best to do better. Please Rate and Review and stay tuned for the next chapter. Thank you so, so much for those who have continued to read and support me in spite of my hiatuses. I know some chapters I write are more eventful than others, but I hope that my last arc has earned your trust with my build-ups.