The night was deep and dark with the absence of the moon to shine it's comforting light onto the streets as something stirred in the blackness, unmoving in his patience as he waited and waited for the right moment, for the right prey to fall his way when he saw it. Short and pretty with fire red hair draped over her shoulders that was all wrapped in a tiny dress that left nothing to the imagination.
The perfect bait.
He smiled as the knife loosened in its sheath when he watched the man approach the woman from behind with a rope and a handkerchief soaking with liquid. He waited for the man to raise his arms to strike. He moved as silently as a ghost when he put his free hand around the mouth and drove his blade into the back, feeling every bit of resistance the steel met as it sliced into the criminal's body, puncturing organs and cutting arteries with that simple motion which drove the edge into flesh.
A groan left the dying man as he kicked out as his life left his body that the hand muffled completely, leaving the man as nothing but a sack of meat and blood while the girl continued to go on her way with not a thought about what happened a few meters from her as her ears missed the struggle.
He smiled as the woman kept walking without much fear, it meant he was doing good, just like the man. Taking his attention away from his first thought, he picked the body up and slid the knife into the mouth, opening it in a "U" shape that nearly detached the jaw as he cleaned the gore from the weapon and pulled out his sewing kit.
His eyes swelled as he considered what he was about to do. It was his favorite part when he watched the needle repair the face into a smile that showed how much he loved what that man did, how much he believed in what that man did and how he was able to protect the innocent.
Just like him.
His face hurt when he was done with the ritual from how much his facial muscles clenched in a static joy that remained as he leaned the corpse on the alley wall. He took one last look at his work, proud of what he had done. He couldn't wait to tell the others once he got back, but as he fled into the night he couldn't help but to think of what that man could be doing at this moment.
Izuku was sipping his second cup of tea with La Brava and Gentle as they reviewed how much their online popularity grew in the past day.
"Our viewer base increased by twenty percent last night because of that fight, but the reception to your speech wasn't overly positive Gentle. A lot of people insulted you, they didn't even see the point of what you were trying to do."
A chuckle left the master of petty crime as he set down his tea cup on the table while he struck a pose as best he could.
"Let them mock us all they want for one day they shall see the majesty of our work and if they do not then to hell with them, because our cause is a just and mighty one."
Izuku had to bite lip in order to keep from asking what was so noble about annoying minimum wage workers at knife point for attention when there are far worse things out in the world to stop. Instead he continued to sip on his brew, remaining as silent as wallpaper.
"But that aside, Basher you spoke about how you had fought against whatever that creature was before joining us, would you mind explaining?"
Izuku ceased drinking in that moment when his mind was brought back to how he lived for almost the past two years.
"...Yeah, basically that thing was a Nomu, some kind of mutated human that acts as shock troops for certain villains."
A seriousness came to Gentle's face as he pulled on his beard habitually to gather his thoughts.
"Hmm...would the League of Villains have anything to do with them? I recall reading a few stories about how a mutated monster had played a role in their attack on the USJ, supposedly the thing gave All Might quite the challenge."
Tea nearly spilled out of the teenage criminal's hand at the mention of that group when he flinched at their name.
"T...That's almost a guarantee unless they started lending them out. I fought one back at the USJ when I was still in school and it was more or less the same."
An eyebrow was raised at his reaction by the older man, but it was La Brava who spoke out first when she heard his answer.
"So what you're saying is that they sent that thing specifically to go after you?"
The question was barbed with an ever growing suspension as he seemed to shrink away from her.
"It's not outside the realms of possibility."
It was Gentle's turn to speak when he moved to refill both of their cups while watching the young man avoid looking at him in the eye.
"What reason would those hooligans have to bother you when you have turned away from heroics?"
The chair creaked as Izuku found himself stuck in that one moment where he managed to rip apart the man All Might feared with his bare hands. It wasn't until he blinked that he realised La Brava and Gentle were staring at him, concern clearly plastered on their faces.
"I'd rather not say."
The two continued to study the boy for what felt like forever to him when Gentle rose up from his seat with the teapot in his right hand.
"Very well Basher, it seems that we'll just have to plan for any encounter those savages throw our way, now how about a bit of Earl Grey while we conceive our next dastardly plot?"
A nod was all he received as the former hero began to relive moments of his hideous past and the things he'd done and how shockingly he enjoyed them, leaving the other criminals to wait as he retreated into himself.
Aizawa took in the smell of dried blood as he jumped off the roof of his perch and fell to the ground below. The air was thick with the stink of gore the closer he got to the body leaned up against the alley wall. A part of him hoped that this was just some random killing that he happened to stumble on during his patrol but he had learned that it was pointless here in the narrow, unseen parts of society.
He already knew what he'd see before the light from his flashlight hit the corpse. An ear to ear smile stitched into the face of the man and he knew that this was a criminal of some variety. Just like the other ones that had been popping up all over the country.
At first it was the odd slaying that were left in the nooks and crannies of cities, but lately the murder rate had exploded for a single demographic in the past year, criminals and all the killings had a similarity regardless of where or who committed them.
It was the symbol of a smile located somewhere on the body that was either branded, craved or stitched onto the victim's chest or face.
Normally he was as stoic as a human in his profession had any right to be, but everytime he saw that mark it made him cringe when he remembered how he failed the boy behind it, like he was now as he opened his communicator to report the mess.
Yet he noticed something on the corpse that made him pause. Kneeling as close as he dared to the crime scene, there he saw a tattoo on the man's neck.
Three interlock golden circles were inked on the right side that caused the hero to bite his lip in recognition of what group this man belonged to. This was not what he needed when there was only an hour left on his shift. Sighing as he filed the report, the underground hero made his way back to the roof tops to continue his search, but he knew deep down it was a waste of time.
They were already dead. Every single member of the Golden Chain was laying with blood seeping out of their lifeless corpses when he climbed through the window of their hideout. The police had enough data to make finding this place easy since most of the members were repeat felons who managed to get acquitted of anything heavier than a slap on the wrist, seems like karma finally caught up with the bastards, but this was way too extreme for any hero to be comfortable with.
Twenty bodies lined the floor that all had the same MO as the one in the alley with the exception of a number of them that had been seemingly killed with no external injuries while the rest had various slashes or stab wounds along the vital areas. Yet that all paled in comparison to what had to the "centerpiece" of this slaughter.
A man was tied to the walls with rope binding his wrists and feet that were contained within a massive, grinning spray painted maw that appeared to be about to consume the criminal. This was one of the few that had no external signs of injury but he was clearly dead due to the blood flooding his eyes.
Aizawa shook his head in disgust as he observed everything from the window he was hanging on to, how could someone so innocent as his problem child be the reason for this? It didn't matter at the moment to dwell on past mistakes when he had a job to do. Taking out his comlink again he radioed over to the local police to report his findings which once that was finished, led him to squat down and wait until the authorities arrived half an hour later.
The interaction between him and the unlucky officers who had to swap out with him was beyond average as even the rank and file of most major cities became numb to the sight of so much horror that the haunted look in their eyes didn't surprise him. It was always an unspoken question that slowly began to creep into the minds of anyone in the culture of professional crime or heroics as these types of attacks kept increasing "Am I next?" was the thing that gave some of the more ruthless and lazy types of heroes the motivation to either work harder or drop out of the job entirely. Even Eraserhead found himself wondering this at times where he found the bodies of people he knew, people he worked with, butchered like animals with that evil smile mocking their pain.
Granted, the murders were rare when anything other than a single victim was attacked and that was solved by working in groups most of the time, but sometimes it didn't.
He was simply happy to be like air and be known yet hardly recognized or noticed while he did his duty. After all he worked better alone anyway.
Throwing his uniform into his locker, Aizawa grumbled as he finished the written report of tonight's events, making sure to leave the papers on his desk for tomorrow when he was fully rested. He walked out of the office he shared with Present Mic, prepared to simply fall asleep once he returned home to his apartment.
He wouldn't get the chance.
The underground hero was standing in the brightly lit entrance to his complex, flipping through his key ring when he felt something cold and sharp touch the front of his throat.
"Easy there hero, I ain't here to slice ya, just to thank you for finding our work. It's difficult to make a point with so many others taking up the call, but you followed the scent like a bloodhound and made our night. I'm sure he'll be pleased, not that the media will broadcast anything since it's covering up the government's fuck ups like mad lately."
The voice was long with a high pitched voice that was masculine yet nasally and filled with a sadistic joy that increased when the edge dug a bit deeper into Aizawa's neck.
"I'm sure you're thinking "Why are you doing this?" or "What do you want with me?" Well, I'll give ya both answers. See, my companions and I have seen the light, we know that people like us are born to be footstools for the powerful, hell it was taught to us as soon as we could speak. We were raised to be victims of those evil sort of folks you heroes conveniently ignore whenever it gets too dangerous and we believed that was our lot in life, that our lives would be to suffer until we eat a bullet or overdose to escape. That all changed when he showed up."
The excitement in the man's voice grew when he continued to speak.
"It was so unreal, he was this short, little fella that walked into our neighbourhood one day with this couple of weirdos behind him. Normally, the bosses would have just killed them for having the balls to show up without paying the fee and they tried, but he didn't care. The second one of those fuckers took a step towards him, he shot them dead where they stood. I saw the whole thing and I couldn't believe it when the homes of the fucking Triads were burning in this blue flame that you could feel from meters away while this nutjob dragged the big boss out by his neck with his lizard buddy doing the same to the others. He started beating him with his hands until teeth started flying out of his mouth and right as he pulled out his gun, he looked up and saw me staring at him."
Aziawa flinched when the hand holding his hair tightened.
"He pointed at me and threw this knife on the ground and told me that this was my responsibility now and that I had to stand up for my neighbours. I killed the bastard who ruined my family's lives so I figured that he was right and lo and behold, quite a few others agreed with me. Which is why we've come to let you know about a mess we made down in Nanporo since you're one of the better heroes. Now get to it Eraserhead, time's a-ticking."
The edge was taken off the crime fighter's neck, but when he turned around to face his assailants he found nothing except his own shadow in the buzzing light of the lamps.
Izuku wished he had brought his revolver with him, unfortunately he didn't think to take it when he went to get groceries. That was a mistake he was paying for as the five assholes surrounding him pushed him against a wall.
"Well, lookie here boys, some runt thinks he can just walk on our street without paying."
A punch landed into his stomach that had the teen grimacing from the pain. He snarled at the man, feeling his quirk surge at his anger when he recoiled from his mind showing him what to do. Murder wasn't an option if he wanted to stay with Gentle's group and as much as he hated to admit it, they were his only choice at the moment. His mace was still in his hoodie pocket and these guys would just beat him the moment he made a move. He needed to-
"Seems like you fellas lost your way."
The voice cut in from behind the semi circle that formed around the boy, causing the group to turn to the newcomer.
"Who the fuck are you, his brother?"
The largest of the five said to the stranger. He wasn't wrong about the resemblance between the two as the man had dark green hair that looked almost identical to Izuku, along with a scar that crossed the bridge of his nose but that was where it ended as his brown eyes met the teen's, showing a clear difference in both age and height with the man being senior in both.
"In a manner of speaking."
A knife was suddenly pulled from the man's trench coat as he grabbed the nearest person by the hair and put the edge to his neck.
"Which means you should really know that this ain't worth the trouble."
The four remaining criminals froze at the sight of the knife, unable to know what to do when a punch from behind sent one of them falling to the ground in an unconscious heap as the boy landed expertly placed hits that knocked out the unsuspecting fools with an assault of unenhanced blows.
"Damn kid, you really know how to throw down."
The stranger said as he slammed the pommel of his knife into the last thug's head, sending him to join his friends in their soon to be pain once they woke up.
"Thanks, I've just had lots of practice."
Izuku said as he moved to gather his still salvageable goods from the pavement.
"I'll say, never seen somebody move so fast without a quirk. Let me ask, are you a supporter too?"
The teen raised an eyebrow at the question while eyeing the knife in the man's fist. He didn't need to respond however since the answer was already in this person's mind if how disappointed he looked was any clue.
"Well, that's too bad, we could use a guy like you. Tell ya what, I'm gonna leave you this and when you hear the call just drop a line and you'll be in, alright?"
A piece of paper was in the extended hand of this apparent vigilante that Izuku reluctantly took as he slowly shuffled to the exit of the alleyway he was forced into. As he was about to leave, the man spoke again.
"Hey, don't forget to keep on smiling, ok?"
Izuku nodded in hopes of ending this encounter, but to his amazement the man vanished right in front of him when the light of the setting sun cast a shadow into the space as if he never existed. looking down at the paper in his palm Izuku read it, it was a phone number with a single line of text above it.
"Follow the Smile Man and you'll find us."
A chill went down his spine when he read that. What the hell did he stumble across? Shaking his mind off those ideas which only made him more paranoid, Izuku was about to make his way back home when his fingers gripped the paper, unable to let go as something told him to hang on to it.
Taking the paper into his own pocket, the boy went back to his small apartment where his team was waiting for him, but all the while he wondered what that meant as he set into his daily routine, and more importantly, why it gave him a sinking feeling in his chest.
