Chapter ten: The book of new beginnings: The new recruits
I woke up from bed early. I wore my usual clothes and sluggishly made my way downstairs. I was used to it. During the first day, I was terrified. I always made sure to act professionally and not disrespect the members. But as time went on, I warmed up, and well, started acting casually. Life is strange.
Kurogiri handed me a bowl of soup and a glass of milk.
"Thanks," I said as I was digging into breakfast.
Kurogiri nodded.
The room was surprisingly warm. And it smelled burnt.
"Did you install an air conditioner?" I asked Kurogiri
Kurogiri points to the man next to me. I turned.
"Pretty insulting kid," a man with messy black hair and purple patches on his face said.
I fell from my seat.
"What are you doing here, kid?" he asked. "I thought this place was for villains."
"Don't worry, Dabi," Kurogiri spoke, "You see, young Midyoria is one of us."
"This kid?" Dabi asked dumb folded. "He looks like one of those U.A rejects."
"That's just insulting," I said, still lying on the ground.
Shigaraki afterward came downstairs.
"I take it that the brat met Dabi?" Shigaraki asked Kurogiri.
Kurogiri nodded.
"Yes, they have made acquaintance," Kurogiri confirmed.
"I don't know why you would let him join," Dabi said, meaning to insult me.
"The brat has his uses." Shigaraki convinced him. "Speaking of brats, where is the other one?"
"Here~" came in a girl with blonde hair.
She has two bushy ponytails, yellow eyes, and fangs in her teeth.
"Great two brats in our league," Shigaraki said, meaning to insult.
"Hmph." The blonde girl said.
After they made their introduction, Kurogiri proceeds to explain.
"Young Midoriya," Kurogiri said, "Meet the new recruits."
Kurogiri points to the man with black messy hair and purple patches on his face.
"Meet Dabi," Kurogiri introduces.
"What's up," Dabi said as he created blue flames with his hand.
Kurogiri afterward points to the bushy blonde.
"Meet young Toga," Kurogiri introduces her.
"Heya~," Toga introduces herself cheerfully. It was almost creepy. But yeah, I thought it was cute, for a psycho.
"Nice to meet you t-two," I stuttered a little bit.
"Nice to meet you as well," Toga said to me as she was shaking my hand. I blushed a little. Just a little.
"Sure," Dabi said, not sounding interested.
"Young Midyoria there are more," said Kurogiri. "However, I haven't got the slightest clue on their location."
"But I'll introduce them at a later point," Kurogiri assured.
Shigaraki then got to the point.
"I'm making them part of the vanguard action squad," Shigaraki said. "With a bigger army, All Might will die."
Shigaraki's childlike smile did leave an impression on the league.
"Yeah," Dabi said. "I do like your plan."
Toga wasn't interested in what Shigaraki said. I had to agree.
"For now," Shigaraki said, calming down. "Just settle in."
I was outside taking a stroll. I swear nobody cared if I had a black hoodie and glasses. I guess people didn't care. It was my day off, sort of. Shigaraki or Kurogiri usually would let me know if I'm not needed or something. I would usually stay around just in case but, well after everything, I decided to just chill out.
I sat down on a bench in the park. People casually enjoyed the soothing sun. I didn't blame them.
I was just eating the sandwich that I bought at another convenience store since…
"Izuku~" called Toga.
What was she doing here?
"Oh, hey, Toga," I responded politely. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," Toga said. "I just wanted to hang out with you."
I blushed a little.
"Why are you blushing?"
I coughed quickly after she asked.
"I'm not," I said. "Anyways what is your real reason?"
Toga pouted.
"Humph!" she sounded.
I looked at her one more time.
"Come, Toga, why?" I asked.
"Well, because you didn't introduce yourself," she explained. "And I want to know who you are."
I sighed.
"Well, I guess that's fair," I admitted. "What do you want to know?"
Toga's pout turned to a cheerful smile.
"Everything Midyoria~"
How did you know my name?" I asked confused and creeped out.
"Because Mr. Kurogiri called you that," she explained. "Right?"
"Yeah, I guess he did."
I was a little hesitant. I never felt comfortable telling anyone about my past. How I was bullied, denied, and worst of all, the fate of my mother. I was sharing my past with a stranger I just met. My reason was selfish. I just wanted to share my pain of what happened to me to another. And maybe find closure in all of this.
"Well," I said, "It all started when I was a kid."
Toga listened intently.
"I always looked up to heroes for their bravery and courage. Their quirks only brought that to light."
"Why did you become a villain?" Toga asked.
"I'll get there," I answered.
"However, the hero I looked up to was All Might."
Toga was surprised. But she kept her attention to me.
"When I was four, we went to the doctors."
I sighed.
"And well, the doctor said I was born quirkless."
Toga looked a little sad.
"And well my best friend, Ka-chan, and the other kids started bullying me for being powerless."
Tiny droplets of tears did form in my eyes.
"To make things worse, All Might, the person I looked up to, said I couldn't become a hero without a quirk."
I breathed to let out all my problems out.
"But I learned to accept the truth and move on. Plus, maybe I could do other noble things, like a police officer."
Toga did start to get mad.
"However," I said.
Tears really did start to come out a little bit.
"The worst part was that during the afternoon, my mother asked to get ingredients for Katsudon, my favorite meal."
Toga was confused.
"I agreed and headed my way towards the convenience store. I went to the alleyway as a shortcut. But during my walk I encountered…." I stopped.
I couldn't bear the guilt. However, I continued.
"Assailants," I finished.
"What happened?" Toga asked wanting to know the truth.
"Well I spied on them and well they caught me. The man had a melting quirk. He melted his gun. The guy pinned my head against the wall. I never felt this afraid in my life."
I stopped again to catch my breath.
"Not wanting to die, I looked for something and found a shard of glass."
Toga was interested at this point. Her eyes looked sympathetic. She usually looked psycho and murderous in the bar. But maybe like everyone, she has a softer side.
"I stabbed him in the chest and ran as fast as I could. I made it in the main streets of Japan."
The tears finally manifested.
"I wanted to call the police and report them…."
I couldn't bear it.
"But I thought the heroes would be there to stop them. I made my way to the convenience store and saw the news."
I think Toga could fit the pieces now, but I continued.
"A robbery was taking place at my apartment complex. When I realized that my mother was in there, I ran straight to the complex. The police tried to block me, but I overpowered them. I made it to the third floor, and well…. I saw my mother…"
I stopped. I couldn't say anything. But Toga was able to finish it.
"And the thief killed her right?" Toga sighed sadly.
I nodded in silence.
Toga processed for a second.
"Well if it helps," she said. "I have been through a lot as well."
"What have you been through?" I asked, wanting to change the topic.
"You see I've been obsessed with blood," she said. "I always sucked every blood I could get my hands on. Mainly because it looked cute on people and animals."
Blood? Could that have something to do with her quirk?
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well, people at school thought I was a freak. Even my own parents. They always tried to make me fit in."
Toga got sad for a moment.
"For a time, I did stop. I acted like everyone else." she sighed. "But I couldn't handle."
"I just, I just…."
I finished for her.
"You ran away."
"Yeah…"
I did feel bad for her. She might have been a psycho, but she didn't deserve this.
"I just want to create a society where I can live without prejudice."
"I want to live in a society where heroes are actually heroes," I said after that.
I laughed softly.
"We have different motivations," I said. "But in the end, we just want to change society."
Toga smiled widely.
"Yeah," she said, "exactly."
She pulled out her arms and did something unexpected.
"Umm.," I said blushing.
Toga was hugging me. I didn't know how to respond. Though I admit it feels comforting. Almost like my mother….
"Thanks."
I hugged her as well.
The hideout was filled with new villains. There a man with a coat and mask, a figure with a black suit, and a man with normal clothes and glasses.
"Welcome back young Midyoria and Toga," Kurogiri said welcomingly.
"So you're the kid that spoke to Stain." a lizard said. "What was he like?! Was he scary?! Can you shake my hand?!"
"U-uh…." was the only sound I could make.
"Hey, come on Spinner, leave the kid alone." said the man in a black suit who looked like a Deadpool rip-off.
Spinner backed away.
"Whatever."
"Hey, kid! Can I shake your hand!?"
"Hey!" spinner yelled at him.
"I wanted to shake his hand!"
"Enough!" Shigaraki ordered.
Shigaraki sighed angrily.
"Kurogiri," Shigaraki calmly asked him.
"Young Midyoria," Kurogiri locked eyes with me. "The new faces you are seeing is the vanguard action squad."
"The vanguard action squad?" I asked.
"An elite criminal organization we created within the league of villains."
"Mr. Compress, Dabi, young Toga, Twice, Spinner, and Magne are part of the organization," Kurogiri explained. "As for Mustard, Moonfish, and Muscular, I don't know where they are, but they'll appear during the mission."
Wait. What mission? Was I supposed to know?
"Mission?" I asked dumb folded.
"Yes, brat did I not tell you?"
"Not really…"
Kurogiri took over the conversation.
"Our mission is to raid the forest training camp?"
"What is the camp about?"
"The camp is where all of the students are training their quirks."
I see…" I said with curiosity.
"What's our objective?" I asked once again.
"Our objective," Shigaraki interrupted. "Is to kidnap a student from class 1-A called Katsuki Bakugo."
Ka-chan!? Never in my dreams, I would ever think about kidnapping or even my best friend for that matter.
The atmosphere felt serious.
"Very well then," I said.
"I'm also putting in the vanguard action squad. Also, Kurogiri and I will not appear. We are taking care of the aftermath. Understand?
"Y-yes," I said nodding.
"Good," Shigaraki said. "Dabi is in charge. I expect you to follow orders."
Shigaraki came closer. "Understand?"
"Y-yes," I said understanding.
Shigaraki smiled.
"I have another mission for you?" Shigaraki said after I understood.
End of Chapter
A/N: yeah, I think I'm doing the Training camp arc and hideout raid arc. But I'll try at an original arc. However only when I get good at storytelling. Because right now I'm not. But I don't want to follow the structure. The anime and manga already did it. But I'll do more planning.
