Disclaimer: My Hero Academia and its characters are owned by Kōhei Horikoshi
Chapter 8: New faces and a talk with Shigaraki
It's been a week since Izuku's talk with Stain, and it seems a lot has happened since then. Shigaraki is really pissed tht Stain got more fame than him. Apparently he hoped with the Nomu attack that he could get more fame than him, but the complete opposite happened.
It seems Izuku found out how All For One worked. It had another gene with the Q gene that attracted other Q genes, and with it, the entire quirk genome. That's how he was able to steal quirks. If he wanted to transfer them to another person, then he would just deactivate the attraction gene and it would just go into the person he wanted it to go. He decided to call the gene Eros, the Greek god of attraction. Izuku thought it was a fitting name.
Of course, All For One only has a small amount of the Eros genes. Which is probably why he couldn't just grab every single quirk if he wanted too. Though, if Izuku could create a machine with enough Eros genes inside that it would be on a worldwide scale, then he could finish the Endgame.
Izuku also made theories about One For All. If All For One gave a quirk to his brother which created One For All, then it must have created a mutation of some sort. He also went into speculation on why All For One couldn't steal One For All. He theorized that the mutation of One For All is that it has multiple Q genes, but instead of them being separate they're stuck together. If the genes were separate, then All For One could easily just take it, but since they're all stuck together, and since Eros genes can only attract individual Q genes, then he can't get One For All.
Though, Izuku was sure if he could just break the Q gene's where they're individual, then he was sure he could collect One For All. He just had to figure out a way to do it.
Another thing he found out. Apparently quirks came from rats. So, the Quirk Creator put the Q genes in rats in the form of a virus, and the rats spread that virus across the human population. He didn't blame him, rats are one of the fastest disease spreaders, and if he wanted to spread the Q gene quickly and secretly, then rats are one of the best ways to do it.
Another thing Izuku learned was the Quirk Singularity. It was basically a theory that quirks will get so powerful that humanity can't contain them anymore. As if humanity was on a ticking time bomb. Heck, if it wasn't for quirks, we would have reached space travel by now. And kids' quirks are getting stronger and stronger by the generation, so it makes sense.
But Izuku thought differently. He thought that the Quirk Creator knew this, but thought quirks would help humanity evolve themselves so far that it wouldn't be a problem. He probably thought the more quirks evolved, the more humanity would too. A perfect balance of human and quirk evolution, one helping the other out simultaneously.
But unfortunately, it did the complete opposite. Humanity stunted its own growth and misused quirks. And now, it's on the path of it's own self-destruction. Just like a drug that's been misused. When Izuku learned of this theory, it just made him more determined to complete the Endgame. He would save society, whether they liked it or not.
Meanwhile at the U.A staff room, Toshironi was talking over the phone to Gran Torino. They were talking about the encounter Iida had with Stain and Arata. They were currently talking about what Arata said about his ideals.
"It seems this boy wants to get rid of quirks," Torino said in a gruff voice.
"Yes. Like this boy is purging society of a disease " Toshironi replied.
"This boy must be crazy if he thinks he can do that. I mean, get rid of every quirk, that's impossible" Gran Torino replied with a bit of amusement in his voice.
"I don't think it's that far-fetched. It's just this feeling I get, that he could really do this" Toshironi responded with a bit of worry.
"Well even if he could, there's only one man he would need to know on how to even get possibly close to doing this. The only person that can actually steal and pass on quirks" Gran Torino said in a dark voice.
"When I heard from Tsuchikage that Nomu had multiple quirks, I had a bad feeling," Toshironi said, shaking in both fear and anger.
"The man who killed my sword friend and your master, the previous One For All holder, Shimura, and opened that hole in your stomach…All For One must be starting to move again" Gran Torino replied.
"For him to have survived that injury, is a reality I don't want to believe" Toshironi responded with a dark voice.
"Toshironi, I'm sure that successor of yours would be able to help you defeat All For One once and for all" Gran Torino said, trying to put hope in the dark mood.
Izuku was sitting in the bar, drinking tea this time, wearing his casual villain clothes. He wasn't wearing his hood up or mask, since he was comfortable enough to let Shigaraki and Kurogiri see his face. He then saw Giran arrive with two people. One of them was a girl around his age wearing a simple school uniform. She wore high black boots, had spiky blonde hair in two buns at the side, and wore a crazed, psychotic smile on her face. Izuku had a feeling that she was psychotic.
The second person was a guy wearing a black jacket, a white t-shirt, some black pants and black shoes. He had spiky black hair, but the most striking feature was the burnt purple skin covering areas like his neck, jaw, and under his eyes.
"Kurogiri, get rid of these two. I can already tell they're exactly the kind of trash I hate. A brat and a guy with no manners" Shigaraki snarled.
"Now now Shigaraki. Give them a chance. What do you think of then, Arata?" Kurogiri asked Izuku.
"I think the high school girl is pretty cute, and the guy with burnt marks looks pretty cool," Izuku responded. The guy he called cool didn't show any facial expression, but the high school girl immediately started blushing and looking at him crazily. Izuku started to regret ever calling her cute.
"Besides, Giran is a respectable broker, they're bound to be valuable assets" Kurogiri followed.
"Like 'em or not, you still owe me a finders fee, in cash" Giran replied.
"I suppose I could introduce the two of them before I go," Giran started.
"This one looks like an adorable high school girl, right? She's actually the suspect in a series of deaths where the victims are all bled out. So far, her name and face have been kept out of the media" Giran said introducing the high school girl.
"Toga here, Himiko Toga! Life is too hard. I just want to make it easier to live in this dumb world. I wanna be Mister Stainy! I wanna kill Mister Stainy! C'mon handyman please let me join your League of Villains!" Toga said with a crazed smile.
"You gotta be kidding me, is she crazy?" Shigaraki asked. Izuku couldn't help but agree, she obviously had psychological problems.
"Well she can hold a conversation, for the most part at least. C'mon, she could be useful" Giran replied.
"And this guy, well, hasn't committed any flashy crimes, but he's taken Stalin's ideology to heart" Giran said, introducing the guy with burned skin.
"I don't like this. Is your group really dedicated to the Hero Killers mission? I can't imagine you are if you're going to let this little psycho join you" The guy said. Toga looked stunned at that statement.
"Grow up. She may be a psycho, but at least she knows how to introduce herself to people. Don't just stare, what's your name?" Shigaraki asked him.
"Right now I'm going by Dabi," Dabi replied.
"No, I want to know your real name," Shigaraki replied.
"I'll tell you when you need to know it. In any case, my new purpose is to carry out the Hero Killers will" Dabi responded.
"That wasn't what I asked you, patchwork" Shigaraki spat.
"Jeez, why is everyone so hung up on Stain? He's all I ever hear about" Shigaraki said as he stood up from his stool. Izuku could tell that he's really pissed off.
"No, don't do it-" Kurogiri started but Shigaraki interrupted him.
"Every damn day, i's really pissing me off. You two are done" Shigaraki said as he charged at Dabi and Toga with his hands held out ready to disintegrate them. Toga quickly reacted and put a knife out, and Izuku could see Dabi put his arm out with embers coming out..
Luckily Kurogiri put an end to the fighting by opening portals so all of their arms went out in opposite directions. "Please calm yourself Shigaraki. If your desire is to be realized then we must increase our numbers. Now that we're in the spotlight, our chance is at hand" Kurogiri told Shigaraki. He then moved his misty head towards Shigaraki's and started to whisper to him.
"I advise you to be more accepting. You must use them and the ideology Stain has left behind" Kugrogiri whispered in Shigaraki's ear. Shigaraki then put his hands out of the portals and started to walk away.
"I'm outta here" Shigaraki grunted.
"Where are you off too?" Giran asked.
"Shut up!" Shigaraki spat as he left the bar.
Before anyone could say anything else, Izuku got up and started to leave. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him," Izuku said as he followed Shigaraki out of the bar.
"Is he gonna be fine?" Giran asked Kurogiri.
"Yes, he will. Arata is very intelligent and whatever he's going to say Shigaraki will most likely take it to heart" Kurogiri responded. Toga was really interested in Izuku. Especially since he called her cute. Not only was he about her age but he also looked pretty cute himself, and so she started to have a crush on him. Dabi too was curious, there was something about him that was interesting. As if he was the most important person in that room, like the main character. Like he was destined for something great.
"Shall we get to you about recruitment at a later date? I believe whatever Arata will tell him it will improve him even farther. All Might and then the hero killer, he's been humbled twice very recently. I'm sure Arata will lead him to an answer, one that will satisfy both of you, as well as his own desires" Kurogiri finished.
As Izuku caught up to Shigaraki, he saw that he was wearing a black sweater with his hoodie on. When Izuku got a look at his face, he realized that this was his first time seeing Shigaraki without a hand covering his face. He could clearly see his red eyes and pale face, yet he also saw he had really chapped lips, as if he never put lipstick ever in his life.
Shigaraki only glanced at him once, and just kept walking towards the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. Izuku guessed that he knew that he was going to give him some advice, since Sensei did say to learn from him, and was just walking until they found a place to sit. They eventually found a comfortable place to sit at and started to talk.
"When it comes down to it, I hate basically everything" Shigaraki started bluntly.
"But the Hero Killer pisses me off the most right now. The problem is, it's like suddenly everyone's so obsessed with him. The attack on U.A, the Nomus I released on Hosu, he upstaged all of it. No one's even giving me a second thought, why is that? Despite what he claims to believe, all he ever really did was try to get rid of whatever things he didn't like. What do you say is the difference between us, Arata?" Shigaraki asked, looking at Izuku.
Izuku thought about it for a second, then came up with an answer. "You're right, you basically are the same, except for one small thing" Izuku started.
"What is it?" Shigaraki asked.
"The why" Izuku answered, looking Shigaraki in the eye.
"What the hell does that mean?" Shigaraki asked, confused.
"It's just what it sounds like, why someone does something. You see, the reason why Stain is more popular is because people know why he does what he does. He kills heroes, why, because he thinks they don't deserve to be heroes because they're only in it for the fame and money. But when people look at you, you hate All Might and attack heroes, but why? If they don't know your reason, your why, then you'll just come out as just some cliché villain that will be gone in a couple weeks, like just all of the other villains that were beaten by heroes" Izuku explained while looking straight into Shigaraki's eyes.
"But, if people know your reason and you hold onto your beliefs, then you'll be something different, something unique. If you have a reason, then people will start to notice you and your cause" Izuku finished.
Shigaraki was stunned, but he also felt relief. He finally knew why Strain was more popular than him. He finally knew why people didn't seem to care about him as much as they did Stain. He finally understood why he was doing this, the reason why. He could finally see his purpose.
"I get, I get it now. The problem is All Might and the hero society. I hate that society worships heroes as if they can do anything, save anyone. Especially All Might. I hate that people smile all the time without a care in the world, as if nothing could happen to them. They're so discontent with reality that they think heroes will do anything they need them to do, and people don't have to put any effort" Shigaraki rambled on with a crazed smile on his face.
Izuku too couldn't help but smile. Shigaraki was starting to grow and understand on what it meant to be a villain. And when he starts to grow, the League gets stronger and they get more opportunities. He also felt a bit of happiness that he helped Shigaraki out, like a small part inside him wanting to help people, even if it was hidden very deep within.
"Well Shigaraki, you think about that. I'm going to take a walk around the mall" Izuku responded as he started to walk away. As he was walking around, he noticed someone. He recognized this person as Ochako Uraraka, the girl who fought Bakugou. He didn't know why, but a part of him felt as if he should meet her. He decided to listen to this feeling and went up to introduce himself.
"Hey, I recognize you. You're the one who fought Bakugou, right? Ochako Uraraka was it?" Izuku asked her.
Ochako looked flustered. She obviously wasn't very used to this type of scenario. Getting fame from the sport's festival was not something she expected.
"Y-yeah, it was me. I'm surprised you remembered, it wasn't that great of a fight" Ochako said sadly.
"Well, you were great. I think anyone who stands up to Bakugou should get respected. He seems pretty aggressive and intimidating" Izuku replied, not wanting her to know that he knew Bakugou at a certain personal level.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. He is pretty intimidating. Well, what's your name?" Ochako asked.
"It's Izuku Midoriya" Izuku responded with a smile. It was scary how he could change personalities. He could go from menacing villain to nice teenager if he needed to.
So Izuku and Ochako talked for a while. Izuku asked about what it was like at U.A,. Since Izuku did have the dream of going to the top hero school, he was a bit curious. They just talked about normal stuff, until Izuku asked her about why she wanted to be a hero. He was curious, since he had a feeling that she wasn't going to be one of the greedy people.
"Why did you want to become a hero?" Izuku asked.
"Well, it seems a bit selfish, but it's because of money," Ochako answered, embarrassed. She knew it wasn't the most noble cause, especially when someone hears it for the first time.
Izuku frowned a bit on the inside. He wasn't expecting that answer. But he figured that there had to be more to that statement, especially since she just didn't seem like one of the greedy people just in it for money or fame.
"Well, you see, it's for my parents. They own a construction company, but they don't make a lot of money. So I just thought I could help them out by becoming a hero. And helping people is just a bonus" Ochako said, looking at her lap.
Izuku couldn't help but smile. He knew there was a reason why and he was correct. Becoming a hero to help your parents out financially is quite noble and heroic in a way.
"Well I think that's a great reason to become a hero" Izuku responded with a bright smile.
"Really!?" Ochako asked.
"Yeah. Well, I gotta go. It's been nice talking to you, Ochako" Izuku said as he started to leave the mall.
Ochako just stood there, with a smile on her face. She really enjoyed talking to him, he just seemed so bright and nice. She was completely oblivious at the fact that she just talked to a villain, and enjoyed his company.
Sorry that it's a bit short, but I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter.
Please Read and Review.