Midoriya took advantage of the man's inattentiveness to kick him in the stomach and push him back. He straightened up into a sitting position, staring at both men in turn. Shigaraki's presence was not unpredictable, but rather inconvenient as he didn't foreseen the arrival of the other villain. Of course, Shigaraki alone wasn't enough for the young vampire captive, Fate had to add another hindrance in Midoriya's search of serenity when it 'gifted' him with the blue-eyed stranger.

"Yo."

"Dabi," Shigaraki said without any warmth in his voice. "Get out."

"You're kidding. I just got back and you're already dismissing me."

"I don't care. Step away from the brat."

"The brat has a name," Izuku retorted but went unnoticed by the other two as they resumed their silent fight. Dabi's eyes narrowed, looking at Midoriya before staring back at Shigaraki.

"Didn't know he was yours," he lied. Of course, he knew Shigaraki wouldn't let anyone chained up like that in their hideout without a reason. He just didn't think Tomura would go that far with one of his unfortunate victims.

"He is."

"Am not!" The teen yelped but was ignored again.

Dabi's face looked disbelieving for a second, as he tried to process what his leader just said. He'd thought the boy was a mere prisoner brought here because of the rather eccentric quirk he possessed. They used to do that under the control of All For One. Kidnap people, extract their power, use them for the purposes of the League. Sometimes use them in other ways too… It rarely happened though.

"Isn't he just a toy?"

"He's my pet."

Dabi gave up. Sighing, he pretended to pout and his eyes shifted to the teenager on the couch. "Not fair… I want a piece of him too."

"Don't come near me," Izuku growled, hiding the cold shiver that ran down his spine. This time Dabi gave the teen a devilish smirk with a voluntarily lick on the lips, emphasizing his smugly expression.

"It is too late for that, you know."

Before Izuku had time to lash out at him in anger, Shigaraki was on Dabi throat, literally one finger away from disintegrating the young man. He has seen the blood stains on Izuku's shirt collar when he appeared in the bar, as well as the swollen lips that were not as red and moist before Shigaraki left.

That alone was extremely suggestive about what has with no doubt occurred here, but the mischievous innuendo of his subordinate was more than insightful. Dabi didn't even bat his eyes, simply looking back at the crimson orb shining furiously with a wicked smirk on his lips. He raised his arms, palms facing the other as a surrender.

"Who gave you permission to touch him?" Shigaraki hissed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. He's so enticing I thought he got me hypnotized for a sec." He knew he made a mistake when he saw Shigaraki get ready to murder him. He quickly tried to make up for it. "Okay, sorry- Sorry! But a part of this is your fault too. Leaving him unguarded like this… You should put your name on him, or someone else might try to take him away."

An expression of outrage crossed Izuku's face as Shigaraki apparently seemed to consider the suggestion. The leader of the League went to answer when a shadow suddenly materialized in Shigaraki's back. Much to Izuku's relief, Kurogiri appeared behind the blue haired villain, unknowingly ready to stop whatever fight the two men were on the verge of initiating. The misty villain immediately took notice of the other man and greeted him without worrying about the heavy pressure between Dabi and Shigaraki.

"Welcome back, Dabi. I assume your mission went well?"

Still held by the throat, Dabi replied as if everything was normal.

"Yo Kurogiri! Sorry, the recruitment didn't go as planned, I had to kill half of the candidates for their cheek."

"Dabi…" Kurogiri sighed.

"I promise it won't screw up the plan. They were weak and pathetic, trust me when I say they wouldn't do any good in the League. Burning them to ashes was the best thing to do."

"Sensei decides who are worthy to join us or not."

"I make things easier for him, really," he shrugged. If the slaughter talk from Dabi seemed to be a basic routine for the three adults, Izuku for his part immediately got on his feet, eyes glowing with fury. How dare they discard lives so easily?! They had no right to judge who are worth to exist or not!

Shigaraki saw him and smirked.

"Don't look at us like that brat. You just make me want to tease you even more."

Izuku wanted to retort so badly but chose to keep his mouth shut. Talking would simply fuel their satisfaction and he wasn't in the mood to entertain them. Trying to make them come back to their senses was a lost cause. And being the only hero -or future hero- chained up in the midst of three apathetic villains wasn't giving him any credit, except for being taken for an idiot.

Speaking of satisfaction, Midoriya slowly felt the need to use the bathroom. It was a miracle he had not had any needs since all this time in captivity, but his luck was running out. The question was: how to convince them to temporarily free him? He wouldn't be going too far. He wouldn't have the strength to run anyway so, maybe they will let him without making too much fuss.

"Hey," he mumbled, "I want to go to the bathroom."

...That was more of a command than a request but well, tiredness and emotional outbursts were not supposed to make you friendly, were they? The three of them looked at Izuku for a second. The boy was almost disappointed by the lack of anger Shigaraki previously had towards Dabi whereas he was about to end his life not even one minute ago.

"The brat wants to pee."

"I ain't deaf," Shigaraki shot back.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"…"

While they were observing him as though Izuku asked a glass of acid when he just requested to use the bathroom, the teen's vital needs became a pressing matter of time. His body suddenly realized it was subjected to the necessary cycle to which every human being was since their birth.

"By all means, take your time," Midoriya growled when neither of them moved to free him.

"I can show him the way to—"

"You. Stay here," Shigaraki ordered with a dangerous glint in the eyes.

"Come on, I won't do anything. Or, well… maybe just…"

"Just what."

The grin Dabi displayed said it all. For once Izuku was quite relieved Shigaraki was not going to let him in the hands of the twisted murdering maniac. "Get out and find Toga. Sensei summoned everyone for tonight."

"I just got back!" Dabi complained. "And I don't even have my Quirk now because of the brat-"

"I don't care. This is your mess so deal with it and do as I say before I transform your useless body into dust pile."

"Fine, fine! You win. I'm leaving, happy now?" Dabi sighed, raising his arms in front of him in surrender. He began to walk to the exit, but stopped in front of the door and looked over his shoulder to catch Izuku's attention. "See ya, little pet. Let's have more fun next time."

"Go to hell."

Dabi's laugh was cut off when the door closed on the villain's back. Silence fell like lead in the bar. Kurogiri took his usual place behind the counter and brought out a bottle of alcohol. Shigaraki came closer to Midoriya. The teen tensed and tried to step back against the wall but the villain pulled Izuku to him and unleashed the chain with a small clink.

"Come with me. But don't get any funny ideas or you'll severely regret it. Come on Pet, hurry up." He pulled him again on his feet and began to drag him across the room.

"I can walk by myself!"

Shigaraki just shrugged and led him towards a half-hidden stairs behind the curtain at the back of the room. It was the same one from where Izuku saw the man show up this morning. Was there some kind of flats upstairs? He thought the League would have a creepy underground basement to keep their prisoners to torture or kill them, not that kind of 'cozy' place.

They arrived in a dark hallway made of old floorboard. Four doors were facing each other across the corridor and Izuku had no trouble guessing they were the League's bedrooms.

One door stood at the end of the hallway. He was pushed in unceremoniously and Izuku found himself in a large bathroom where toilets and bathtub were regrouped in the same place. The room was clearly used and messy, with several bottles of shampoo dispatched everywhere on the ground, suggesting no cleaning had been made in there for ages.

"Here, do your little business and be quick," Shigaraki pushed him toward the toilet bowl.

Steadying himself, Izuku began to unzip the fly of his pants, before he stopped. The presence behind him was still here, Shigaraki hadn't left the room. Midoriya looked irritably at the man who was standing against the door frame, arms crossed and his gaze was staring at him behind the -supposed- artificial hand on his face.

Midoriya frowned. "Turn away."

The blue-haired villain didn't move an inch.

"Hey!"

"If you don't do it now you won't use the bathroom until tomorrow morning."

Midoriya blinked.

Gritting his teeth in a silent rebellion, he swallowed his pride and did what he had to do. One minute later, he was barely done when Shigaraki went to grab his chain again to led the teen back downstairs. Midoriya didn't want to miss his chance.

"W-Wait! I want to take a shower!"

"What for? You won't be going anywhere anyway."

"I stink of sweat and b-blood! And me not going outside doesn't mean I don't want to have proper hygiene!"

The blue haired villain swore under his breath and stopped dead in his tracks. He spun to look at Midoriya, the anger from earlier resurfacing in his crimson eyes. Izuku stood his ground against such a show of intimidation from the man and forced himself to not flinch.

"Fine."

Relief surged in Midoriya's body as the adult appeared to change his mind. Maybe the smell was stronger than he thought. Or maybe this Shigabastard has suddenly realized how much he smelled when the boy had mentioned it. Either way, Izuku will be able to relax in a hot, comforting bath even if he had to do this in hostile territory full of psychotic bad guys. He was pushed for the third time in five minutes back into the bathroom.

"You have five minutes."

"You're joking. Five minutes won't be enough to clean up the upper part."

"Five minutes or nothing."

Izuku inhaled.

OK. Time to deal. He was used to trade items and services with the few of his friends at the orphanage. It was their way to pass the time and manage to survive when crisis was too tough for them. Given that that fucker was similar to a spoiled brat, the negotiations had a slight chance to work in Midoriya's favor.

"What's wrong with you? Are you afraid that I'll be able to escape if you lock me in the bathroom?!" he challenged.

"You're a sneaky little fox. Who knows what trick you have up your sleeve..."

The green-haired boy sighed dramatically. "This is really unnecessary. Come on. I'm not going anywhere, give me thirty minutes."

"… Ten."

"Thirty minutes in exchange of…" He gulped discretely, "-my full cooperation for the next experiment."

A long pause fell over the place as Izuku's proposition was still suspended mid-air between the two. Then he heard a laugh from the man. He looked up to see the villain sneer at him. Shigaraki went to grab a handful of his hair.

"Your full cooperation? Oh, Pet~ You say that like you had a choice in the matter…"

"Tch. Just give me thirty minutes! You don't want a Pet that smells like a zombie fart, do you?"

He regretted that line as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Crap. He sounded so childish right now. The memories of his innumerable negotiations with the kids made him act as one. Blushing, he mentally tried to rephrase his words when Shigaraki unexpectedly answered him.

"...Zombies don't exist."

The simpleness of his response could have make the whole world stumble. And Izuku could have just done that if this answer didn't provoke a sudden glint in his mind. His eyes widened.

"That's where you're wrong!" Izuku suddenly retorted, his face strangely beaming as he went on, "I made plenty of research after watching a horror movie involving zombies. I read somewhere that some quirks have the same properties as a living dead! They feed of dead organic materials to strengthen their power. But this case is pretty rare and far too creepy to have any interest in it. It's apparently not very useful in heroic battles so… well. It's like your story about vampires, except that zombies are not really zombies but their power is related to the ingestion of corpses and—"

Shigaraki felt the heavy headache rapidly rising in his skull as the teen went on and on with his encyclopedic knowledge he was blathering non-stop for the past minute.

"Shut up! I got it alright." He spoke before Izuku could talk about his many, many theories he wrote down in a dozens of notebooks he left at the orphanage.

"Thirty minutes, no more."

Shigaraki shoved the teen in the bathroom. "Kurogiri will come get you clothes when you're done."

He then slammed the door behind him, leaving Izuku with an incredulous expression facing the exit. After realizing the fact that the thirty minutes had been granted to him, Izuku came out of his shock and wasted no time to turn on the water and, checking twice that the door was properly locked and no one malicious was waiting behind- (*coughDabiandShigaraki*cough*) -quickly undressed to enter the bathtub.

Hot, soothing water engulfed the muscles of his legs and Izuku didn't hesitate to stretch his body so that warmth could swathe as much skin as possible. Izuku couldn't stop his long moan of pleasure when the invisible weight of his countless shocks and anxiety almost immediately wore off.

The past events have been very stressful and now was just the perfect moment to clear his mind and think. He leaned his head on the bathtub ledge and closed his eyes.

He still had his Quirk active. But after biting Dabi his energy has once again faltered even though it wasn't the same exhaustion than last time. He couldn't run like this. There wasn't even a window in the room, making it impossible for the teen to try and jump off to escape.

He had no way to contact the outside. He couldn't go back to the orphanage without leaving the bar, the only exit being the front door. Unless the bedrooms he spotted in the corridor had windows in there, but he didn't doubt the doors were locked to go and test his hypothesis. No, it would take time but for the only solution he could think about for now was wait for an opportunity. Surely the villains would drop their guard, be it for one minute or even a second. One second is all it could take if Izuku was well prepared.

They weren't planning to kill him for the time being, he could turn it at his advantage to prepare his future escape.

He softly exhaled. His thought drifted to Bakugou. He couldn't keep himself from imagining the blond boy watching him from afar with his icy stare despising him with fierce revulsion. He could almost hear his voice, telling him how low he fell, how weak he turned into, how useless he became in the eyes of the world.

'You, a hero? Look at you, all chained and submissive like a fucking dog.'

"I know…" Midoriya whispered. He was slowly falling asleep. His consciousness was leaving his body while the teen kept thinking about his life outside these walls.

Did they notice his absence from school today? Did his teachers contacted the orphanage and knew he was missing since yesterday? Was U.A. aware of the situation? It happened just after the exams of the academy after all, surely they wouldn't tolerate the abduction of one of their students. Even if said student was not one of them yet.

Yes, Izuku had a great confidence in his capabilities. He knew the fact he was quirkless prevented his dream of becoming a hero, but like All Might has said to him eight months ago he could still save people without necessarily be on the field. Although his so called Quirk had to show up just after he took the exams for the general courses…

Suddenly Izuku couldn't think more, as his mind sank into the dreamless slumber to which he slowly succumbed.

Eyelids sluggishly fluttered open. Someone was calling him. Lights assaulted his retinas and he groaned while trying to keep his eyes open. He shifted in the water, finally noticing the lukewarmness engulfing his whole body. He grimaced a little and focused anew on the voice still calling his name.

"Midoriya."

He jolted awake when his nose came face to face with Kurogiri's dark fog. "Wha-"

"You're awake at last." The man calmly said.

The teen grabbed the ledge of the bathtub.

"W-What are you doing here?!" He remembered having locked the door behind him before slipping in the bath! Huh. Wait… "How long did I sleep?"

"It's been forty-eight minutes. I've been calling you for five."

"Shit." Shigaraki gave him no more than thirty minutes. Was he waiting for him downstairs to carry out his threats from earlier? Yet, Kurogiri's presence wasn't suggesting any of that. And nobody has come to get him after the time was up. What was the bastard thinking?

"I brought you fresh clothes, yours are being kept for the next washing day."

The emerald eyed teen frowned when he saw the pile of clothes. He didn't think about it earlier but had they gone to the store to buy them for him? Had they even picked the right measurements?

"Worry not," Kurogiri said, reading the teen's thoughts like an open book, "Magne's got quite the eye for things like this. She could provide guidance regarding your size, everything has been taken care of."

He couldn't believe it. His pride was taking blows over blows each time he had to interact with one of the villains. Not only was he held captive by the worst kind of human beings, but he was also perfectly dressed by them without him having any say in the matter. Like a doll.

He glared at Kurogiri but nodded nonetheless. An awkward hush descended on the room. The man didn't move when Izuku got out of the bath, and stayed unmoving when he began to dry himself with the fresh towel that Kurogiri brought alongside his clothes.

"Can you leave?" He asked.

"Do not mind me. I am merely supervising you until you're done dressing."

Izuku bitterly replied, "That's nice, but I would like a bit of privacy if you please."

"That, I can't allow. However I advise you to hurry, or we are both going to suffer the killing mood of Tomura and I don't think you'd want to wait to see what I'm talking about."

Right. He was already very late. One point to him. But it didn't mean Midoriya was alright with the impenetrable gaze of the man looking straight at his naked form. Gritting his teeth, Izuku released a loud growl before putting the towel away and with a red blush spreading over his face, quickly put the new clothes one by one at light speed. He knew it was nothing Kurogiri has never seen before but he felt like his pride was slowly breaking down as time was going on in their "care."

He took a glimpse over the mirror and resisted the urge to winced. His uniform was gone. Instead he wore a plain black shirt whose collar was very widened, leaving the skin uncovered from the neck to the shoulders. He had a light blue hooded jacket over it, this one a bit taller than his size as it was slightly falling off his shoulders.

The bottom section was simply dressed with dark gray shorts ending just above the knees. He looked like a normal civilian. A clean, normal boy with no bruises, no rags... zero signs of his current situation proving that he was held captive by dangerous folks. Nobody would think he was kidnapped and treated like a pet if they were to take the slightest glance at him.

"I thought your colleague was supposed to pick the right size?" Midoriya finally spoke, wearily shaking the sleeves-ends of the jacket that his hands couldn't reach.

"She did. Apparently, long sleeves are the new trend nowadays."

"Uh.."

"Come," Kurogiri ordered and exited the bathroom thankfully not dragging the emerald-eyed boy by the chain. Midoriya sighed and followed him through the corridor.

A long, bored and tired sigh escaped her lips as she leaned over the counter. Her legs crossed under the fabric of her skirt. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the voices around the bar.

Oh how she missed the good days when she didn't have to care about school or people. When she was free to go wherever she desired, and killed whoever and whenever she wished. Classes were boring. Her comrades were boring, and if it wasn't for the fact All For One had ordered her to lay low for the time being, she would go hunt strong men and take samples of their beautiful blood to add them to her collection.

She took a glance to her left where Dabi was silently playing with his glass, slowly spinning the liquid inside while his eyes remained focused on the small whirlwind of alcohol. He was like this since she got back. Calm, serious, and a strange smirk rising his bicolor lips.

"You look weird."

"Mmm?" he barely reacted, keeping his focus on the glass.

"What got you so excited now? I'm curious."

His smirk grew wider. Blue eyes met hers and Toga noticed the burning glint of hidden madness behind those magnificent icy orbs. So beautiful. A shame that eyes didn't appeal to her as much as blood.

"You'll see."

"Dabi…" Toga pouted, frowning. "Tell me~" If he was allowed to have fun, so was she. It wasn't fair that Toga had to suspend her hunt when she got word that All For One summoned the entire League. Well, only the most important members.

"It would ruin the fun."

"Jin!" she called and her eyes reached behind her to find a man in a black and gray bodysuit sprawled over the floor imitating a creepy starfish. White sockets turned towards the teenage girl.

She didn't even comment on his posture –she was long used to his unstable behavior that she found quite funny most of the time– and went on, "Do you know if something happened recently? Dabi won't tell me anything and only keeps smiling like a deranged jerk."

"Mean." The deranged jerk in question said.

"Mm? I don't know, I just got back like everyone here so I haven't got a clue. Ha! Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you!" The two personalities reunited in one answered successively.

"Tch. Nevermind. Where is Muscular and Moonfish? We're not complete."

"Moonfish won't join us tonight. Muscular is on his way," a new voice said from the front door. Everyone present turned to the silhouette of Shigaraki. The latter removed the hood covering his head, for once devoid of white gloved hands usually all over the face. The other villains hold an excited breath for some, a tense one for others.

He explained: "A gang named the Black Buffoons will come visit us tonight. They contacted us to make some sort of a deal. I normally would tell them to get lost but Sensei want to know if their Quirks can be useful to us. So we're gonna hear them out and decide if we let them in the loop for futures operations."

"I think I heard that name before… Black Buffoons," A man hidden behind a mask and wearing a classy hat said. Shigaraki glanced over him, "It appears they began to catch the eyes of the authorities for months now. Their methods are based on illusions and acrobatics, so stay on guard."

"Such a befitting name," Spinner sneered.

"Perhaps Black Clowns would be more fitting," Toga added, looking bored. She didn't like gang meetings. It rarely went peacefully, most of the time both parties ending up at each other's throat and the meeting place usually turning into a bloodbath.

Don't get her wrong, she liked blood. Just not the blood of weak and disgusting rats calling themselves special.

"Do you think they will make a show? I would like to see their skills! I don't care about those scums, let's meet them and slash their bodies!"

"Calm down Twice, it's gonna be a business talk. If you want a show you can always buy tickets to the new circus installed downtown." Dabi retorted in a mocked tone.

"You seem well informed… I didn't know you were interested in circuses too," Toga imitated his expression and a smile appeared on her lips. It was small revenge for not telling her his little secrets. Toga raised her head in laughter when she saw Dabi's eyes narrowing in annoyance.

He was going to retort but a movement from behind the curtains made him stop. Dabi's head almost snapped when his eyes suddenly focused on the two shadows coming out of the staircases. Toga followed his line of sight and came to face a strange tableau that had Mr. Compress, Twice and herself frozen in shock.

Kurogiri was accompanied by an unknown little boy who had the strangest and brightest green eyes she ever saw. They seemed to grew wider when he realized the presence of people in the room. His pale skin highlighted the color of these beautiful irises that went straight to Shigaraki in irritation, then Dabi in suspicion, and finally to everyone else with a well hidden apprehension in his stare. He gulped, and the small bulge sliding down his throat didn't went unnoticed by Toga.

Warmth spread over her cheeks. She was certain they became a little pink at the sight right in front of her.

Cute.

"Izu-chan! Finally!" Magne exclaimed in joy. She ran to the boy to trap him in a deadly embrace. "So handsome! Oh my, I knew they would fit you so perfectly!"

Midoriya choked. "H-Hey! Let me go- Can't… b-breath…!"

"And the precious boy returns," Dabi hummed darkly, his lips raised in a dangerous enjoyment.

"You took your time Pet," Shigaraki growled. "I hope you're prepared to face punishment."

"Excuse me?!" Izuku yelled in outrage. He'd succeeded in escaping Magne's powerful hug and was ready to duck in case she tried to repeat her affectionate attack. "You're in no right to lash out at me for being past the given time. You should've woken me up!"

"Who do you think I am, your babysitter?" He stepped closer while Midoriya moved backwards, far from relaxed.

"Don't come near me."

Of course, Shigaraki ignored his warning and came even closer to catch Izuku's hood and pull the boy against him. Midoriya hissed but remained frozen when he caught a glimpse of Tomura's face. It was the first time he saw it without one of those weird hands he usually wore all day. His skin around his eyes and mouth was dry and wrinkled, few rashes could be spotted in some areas of the face like he'd scratched the skin till it bled.

Midoriya was rudely turned so that he was facing the other people in the bar. They were watching their interaction, totally speechless. Finally out of her daze, Toga grabbed Dabi by the sleeve without shifting her gaze from the green haired boy.

"Who is he?"

"This," Dabi smirked, "is the League's new attraction fetched yesterday by Shigaraki himself. Isn't he delectable?"

She watched as Izuku tried to bit Shigaraki's hand when the leader went to ruffle the dark green tuft of hair. It was like observing a little kitty trying to threaten a scary big lion with its tiny paws.

"He is…" she agreed in awe.

"Release me!" Midoriya yelled as Shigaraki had caught the end of the chain, ready to clip it on Izuku's collar again. "No no no!"

He almost succeeded in kicking the blue-haired villain in the guts, but got caught in Magne's arms before he could run to the staircases behind. "Don't struggle Izu-chan~"

"Don't call me that!"

"Hold him tight," Shigaraki instructed and proceed to connect the chain to the metallic collar despite Midoriya's protests. A small beep resonated, Izuku sensing something in him vanish. Rattling noises resonated through the room each time the chain links touched the floor. It was the same annoying noise he started to despise since he woke up with this thing around his neck.

"Don't touch me- Oï–"

"Everyone, I present you the new Pet of the League, Midoriya Izuku. He's gonna stay with us for an indefinite period, so be nice and don't kill him. I can't guarantee he will be nice to you though."

"Like hell I will stay here indefinitely!"

"A new member…?" Mr. Compress wondered with a frown behind his mask. "He doesn't look very enthused about it."

"He's not a member," Shigaraki explained. "More like a mascot. Or a kitten. So, Pet here is a little special, he's got vampire genes in his veins making him one of them. He also has a cancellation Quirk that takes effect when he drinks the target's blood. Be careful, he bits. Hard," he added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh wow... Aren't vampires extremely rare? Incredible! So lame, he doesn't look very strong anyway."

"That is… interesting," Mr. Compress mused, staring intensely at Midoriya who realized he was being the center of attention of eight pairs of eyes.

He went to sit on his usual couch and curled up on himself in hope they would quickly find him too boring to observe. Unfortunately for him, it did the opposite. Dabi sat down right next to him, blocking the only way of escape. Revulsed, Midoriya push himself against the wall to put as much distance as possible between them.

He didn't want to repeat the embarrassing scene from earlier in front of everybody here… Something told him Dabi wouldn't even mind.

"What do you want," he spat at the charred-skin man.

"So mean, Izu-chan. I missed you for an hour you know."

"The feeling isn't mutual so back off," he groaned. "And it's Midoriya for you. Only heroes and my friends can call me by my first name."

"You won't hear it very often then-"

"Shut up. I'm going to get out of here one day and when I do I'll be sure to put all of you in prison so that you will be forced to reflect on your crimes.

A wave of silence fell upon the place, every pair of eyes on Izuku, before bursts of laughter suddenly exploded throughout the bar. The boy resisted the urge to blush, although it might be too late for that. Of course they wouldn't take him seriously. Still laughing, Toga joined Dabi on the opposite couch. She gave Midoriya all of her sharp attention and smiled.

"Ne ne~ Midoriya-kun! Is it true you're a vampire? Like the ones we find in supernatural movies and books?"

He glanced over her, hesitating.

"...I-"

"Can you teleport? Fly? Turn into a bat? Can you bond with someone by establishing a master-servant relationship?"

She felt her heart beating wildly when she saw the violent flush sprinkle Midoriya's cheekbones. In which kind of books did she find all those embarrassing theories? Even he didn't know enough of his new abilities to give a whole thesis about it, let alone filling a sole page of one of his notebooks! Feeling all eyes focusing on his tense form, Izuku stammered.

"I… I'm normal. I don't feel any different from before, excluding my strength that seems to have slightly increased. That, and my stamina somehow."

"Mmm~"

Her gaze truly made him feel uncomfortable. Oh god, how many creeps was he gonna attract like this?! Dabi and Shigaraki were enough to deal with damn it!

"You're scaring him Toga. Let him breath for a second."

"Look who's talking," Midoriya sent him a dark glare. He was welcomed with a smirk.

"Are you referring to me scarring you or…"

The teen choked, unable to prevent his cheeks from turning crimson red anew. He hissed, "Shut. Up."

"I didn't say anything~"

"Leave me alone. Have you not some dangerous, criminal business to do rather than harassing me?! Besides, I don't even know you so stop talking to me like we were acquaintances."

"I'm hurt, kitten."

"Ki-?! What…?"

"Well, you don't want me to call you Izu-chan."

"Kitten is no better!"

"But it suits you so well," Toga intruded herself into the conversation. "Have you ever think about cat-ears?"

"W-Wha- Are you crazy?!"

"So, kitten then."

"You won't call me that."

"Or what, kitten?"

"I'll kill you."

"Hard to do so when you're chained like a dog. Oh…" A sudden spark flashed through his turquoise irises. "What about doggy–"

That was it. Midoriya moved his legs to kick him in the ribs. It was a perfect hit and Dabi winced at the impact, although his smirk didn't waver even when Midoriya started to hit him again. "You're lucky I can't use my Quirk or you'd be in a sorry state right now."

"Scary~"

"Soooo cute. Midoriya-kun, can I take a sample of your blood?"

He wasn't going to answer that. Finally after minutes of verbal fight with the two villains who would not leave him alone, the others stopped focusing on Izuku and started talking with each other. The green-haired teen attempted to ignore Dabi's disgusting taunts but to no avail as the man stayed glued to his side, allowing no escape for Midoriya while Dabi seemed to have challenged himself to piss him off as much as possible.

It continued until Izuku's stomach made an embarrassing growling noise that caught the whole room's attention. Kurogiri was first to react and turned towards Shigaraki with an unreadable expression behind his humanoid fog.

"Tomura, when is the last time the boy ate?"

"Huh? Don't know, he hasn't touched the biscuits this morning. I thought he wasn't hungry."

"...You're impossible," Kurogiri stated and opened one of the cupboards behind the bar. "Have you ever taken care of an animal before? They need extreme attention at all times. Food, bath, cuddles. Even more than that."

Somewhere in the bar, a 'I'm not a fucking pet' could be heard.

Kurogiri bent under the counter to reach a small fridge. He grabbed the necessary ingredients and began to cut them on a wooden board provided for that purpose. "You should be prepared next time you decide to pick another stray up. Thankfully the next one will be less difficult to handle than this one."

"Here." He approached the table where Izuku, Toga and Dabi were sitting at and hand over a plate on which were two triangular sandwiches presented to him. The gurgling of his stomach made even more noise at the sight of food. "I can make more if this is not enough."

"…" Midoriya didn't know what to say. He'd thought they were ready to starve him just for fun but here he was, in front of two perfect sandwiches prepared with care by one of the culprits of his abduction.

He didn't thank Kurogiri. He just seized the sandwiches and stuffed them in his mouth before his stomach unleashed another round of loud rumbles. As he was eating, Izuku did his best not to pay attention to the two pair of eyes watching him closely, or the weight around his neck that he hadn't missed at all during the short hour of freedom he had been allowed to spend.

Hours went by and another guy made his appearance. All Izuku registered was his enormous size, muscles as big as tree trunks, a large scar going across the left side of his face and his left eye replaced with a prosthetic one. Midoriya's urge to analyze his Quirk had been like an electric shock. Damn, if only he had a notebook at his disposal... He should have taken his new one with him, even if it was just to take his entrance exam for U.A.

When it was finally time, Shigaraki stood up from the bar stool. "Kurogiri," he called and the foggy man opened a large portal in the middle of the room.

"What's happening?" Izuku asked.

"We're going to the meeting place," Mr. Compress answered.

"You're not meeting them here?"

Dabi scoffed. "And give away our hiding place? We don't know yet if we can trust them."

Izuku was surprised when Shigaraki came to him to detached the chain from the wall and grabbed it like a dog leash. "I… I'm coming with you?!"

"Of course, who knows what you would be scheming behind our back. I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Stop manhandling me!" he yelled when Shigaraki dragged him by the line of the metallic links. The man pretended not to hear the teen and threw him through the dark portal, soon followed by Toga and Twice. The gate disappeared behind Shigaraki, and the bar sank into a sudden quiet.

They arrived in a disused factory empty of any furniture except for two large couches facing each other around a coffee table, and some pipes hanging up in the ceiling. A little cloud of dust made Midoriya cough when he found himself sprawled over the floor. He was then forcefully pushed towards one of the settees while everyone else, barring Shigaraki who sat next to Midoriya, positioned themselves around them.

They remained silent for a long minute until Mr. Compress, whose absence Midoriya hadn't noticed, made an appearance at the entrance. Five shadows followed behind him in the middle of the room. Izuku immediately guessed they were the ones the League was waiting for.

Dressed in all black, each of the newcomers were wearing clown masks on their faces, making them impossible to identify. Mr. Compress could've easily pose as one of them if it wasn't for his colored attires, distinguishing him from the others. They all had different hair colours although they all had Afro hairstyle.

Pink, green, red, blue and white.

The leader of the gang (the red one) took a sit on the vacant settee. He eyed Midoriya for a second, surely wondering why a boy his age was doing here, held on a fucking leash next to Shigaraki Tomura, but chose to ignore it. "Hello."

"Let's not beat around the bush," Shigaraki promptly began, "We heard your group had an interesting deal to propose so we have arranged this meeting to hear it about and decide if you're worth our time or not."

"Fine by me." Midoriya was surprised by the masculine tone the ninja-like guy sounded. They were not very tall and seemed even more thinner than himself, he was mostly expecting a high voice coming from the weird villain.

"Heroes are slowly growing in numbers, as you may already know. The underworld becomes compromised by the threats they represent. We need to unite against them, make alliances and outnumber these pathetic excuse of heroes before we're doomed. And why not teach them a little lesson while we're at it?" The Afro-clown-ninja sneered behind his mask.

Gritting his teeth, Izuku made his best not to jump off the couch and stand up for the people the man just belittled. Instead, he lowered his head and closed his fists trying to control the anger burning through his veins.

He knew he shouldn't have come.

"I propose we join our forces."

"Why would I allow you to unite with my League?"

Izuku could imagine them smiling.

"We may not be very powerful compared to you, but our territory is as big as yours. We have our ways to took down emerging heroes. We could even rob major banks with a little help."

"I don't need a territory, nor do I need money."

"But you need manpower. Competent manpower. We can offer you that."

Shigaraki seemed to reflect on it for a moment. He cocked his head on the side. "Let's suppose I accept your offer… who would be in charge?"

"Ah," the villain said and this time Midoriya was sure he was smiling underneath the mask. "Neither of us would order the other around. We would simply be working separately, we just have to indirectly help each other when necessary."

"How can I be sure you won't turn against us next time we meet? I can't work with someone without being alerted on what they're doing in my back."

"Do you want to be in charge?"

Izuku felt the tug on the chain tighten in Shigaraki's hand.

"I want your allegiance."

"What?" The one with Afro blue hair said in disbelief. Their leader made a small hand gesture to stop him from interrupting. Shigaraki went on. "I heard about you, Black Buffoons. You're not very popular around here, some of us think you're just a bunch of eccentric clowns playing with the small fries among the heroes. From where I can see it, you can't really prove them wrong."

"You little—"

"Enough," the Afro red-haired guy cut another of his subordinates off. Contrary to them, he didn't appear angry.

"I want your allegiance, but not because I don't trust you motives. I can tell there's a real difference of power between us. That kind of thing is not reliable in alliances, especially not in battles where the weak are bound to loose no matter what. You won't be strong enough to operate by our sides, hence my term to allow an alliance between both our parties so that I can have you where needed."

"You sure underestimate us a lot," the other simply said.

Midoriya heard Toga giggle in his back.

"We don't need to underestimate you. We can tell you're weak."

"Please, allow us to show you our abilities before simply dismissing us."

Without waiting for a reply, all five of them were on the move. They jolted in somersaults, leaning on the walls to eject themselves across the room in light-speed. Midoriya watched with awe as they were really close to graze him in their trajectories. Fierce breezes brushed against his skin every time one of them came within only two millimeters of him.

The green one found himself in the ceiling, head upside down and legs wrapped around a pipe dangerously unsteady. He took out two knives before letting his body be pulled down by the gravity, falling straight towards Shigaraki. Midoriya gasped in shock when he realized what was happening. Was he really going to–!?

However, just before he could reach Shigaraki and before Spinner could slash the Buffoon with his special blades the man disappeared in the human whirlwind created by his accomplices, only to materialized behind Spinner's back without any warning.

"Ha?!" His body went rigid and the reptile found himself unable to move when a blade appeared on his throat.

"What are you doing Shū-chan!" Magne shot out in disbielif.

"You shouldn't drop your guard so easily," a voice rose behind the transgender villain and Magne felt the tip of a knife right behind her neck. She had not even had the time to draw her weapon.

Midoriya couldn't believe his eyes. Spinner and Magne had been had so easily it couldn't be true. He knew their strength, or rather Magne's. And she sure was not the kind of person to be caught off guards like this. Something was wrong.

His doubts greatly increased when it was Mr. Compress and Twice's turn to be immobilized and neither of them seemed to find it really compromising.

"Woah, woah- where had you come from?! You wanna fight, you bastard?"

His focus returned to the last Buffoon whose speed hadn't diminished since all this time. Midoriya frowned. They were all super fast and agile, and their moves all the same for each of them… How could five people have the same characteristics sounding like they were sharing the same Quirk?

Finally, the red-haired Afro villain with the Pierrot mask came to a halt in front of Tomura, menacing the man with a long katana that Midoriya didn't know he was hiding. Everything had been really fast. But the strangest fact was that Shigaraki didn't even move an inch during the entire performance. He had simply stared in total silence and that was what got Izuku on alert.

"So," the villain said, "Still don't want to give us any chance?"

"Boring."

Uh Oh. Midoriya had heard this word before.

"… Excuse me?" the leader of the Black Buffoons asked, and Izuku sensed the slight harshness in his voice.

"It's as I thought you would be ever since I first saw you: not worth my time."

Even without the displaying of his face the man seemed literally confused. "I have your men in my control."

A raw, mocking laugh came out of Shigaraki's throat. The same one he had when Midoriya was trying to rebel against him. Purely sarcastic. Wicked. It was a moment when Shigaraki knew he was in control.

"They didn't even use their Quirks. As well as you didn't even use yours."

Izuku's looked utterly flabbergasted. They had not used their Quirks…? Then how-

"What are you talking about," the opposite leader seemed to frown and his tone had become more threatening.

"It's not that difficult to see through your little tricks. In fact, I have two theories," Shigaraki kept smirking, "Either you all are actually quirkless and somehow managed to make it look like you're powerful in a certain manner, or…"

His smirk widened and the ninja-like Afro villains held a breath. That's when Midoriya noticed the black leather-boots they were all wearing at their feet. He could see the iron-like soles from where small hazes of steam were faintly visible.

Boosters…?

"Or your Quirks are worth shit, and you still manage to cover for it with your pathetic show of acrobatics. I don't need useless bunch of chimps in my ranks. So, no thank you, I will do without your offer and all of you can fuck off. Kurogiri, let's go."

He tugged Midoriya's chain to make the teen follow him but was abruptly stopped when a sudden breeze made its way past him, reaching Midoriya at light-speed. The teen barely had time to gasp- One second later, he was five meters away from Shigaraki and pressed against the Afro-villain chest while a blade made its way on his throat. The cutting edge drew a small line of blood running down his neck.

What. The. Fuck.

"HEY!" he tried to struggle but the threatening katana quickly prevented him from making big movements. "Release me you idiot! I have no part in this stupid quarrel!"

"You're very full of yourself, huh? Think you can go and look down on us without any repercussions?"

Crimson eyes instantly glowered in fierce, burning threat. He silently stared at them from where he was standing, head cocked to the side, nails starting to scratch his face.

Scratch scratch scratch.

"Give him back."

"Come and get him" he said at the same time Izuku spat, "Shut up!" The villain pressed the dagger harder on the boy's neck. Midoriya winced, but made his best to remain positively in control.

Scratch scratch scratch scratch.

"Never mind the deal. We're going to teach you a lesson, starting with your men!"

That sentence gave some sort of signal as the double entrance door of the factory opened with a bang, more of the all-black guys invading the place in no time. This bastard had his little army waiting outside since the beginning…

Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch-

"Go!"

All of them plunged towards the League at once.

Scratch—

Shigaraki stopped.

"Magne, Dabi, Spinner, Atsuhiro, Muscular, Twice, Toga…" His gaze sparked like a brazing fire. It was the first time Midoriya had been truly afraid of the man since the day he first met him.

"Kill them all."

It was pure chaos.

A raging battle field. Midoriya has never seen anything like that in his whole life. Screams and blood were spreading all over the place, merging together to create a real horror scene. Midoriya saw Dabi wrap his enemies in his destructive blue flames that devastated his whole fighting area. Magne used her Quirk to remotely attract one of them and then smashed their skull with her huge weapon she'd carried with her since they arrived there.

Red spattered under her magnet, covering the floor in a viscous puddle of blood. Izuku's stomach twisted.

Spinner switched his swords and knives every time he took down Black Buffoons members. He slashed them with such accurate aim, leaving all of his opponents with wide open gashes over their bodies. Toga's knives were thrown in dozen of directions when she wasn't fighting in close combat with a perfect agility that left Izuku's mouth gaping in incredulity.

"I too can do acrobatics!" she giggled before stabbing an enemy in the neck. "Blood, so much blood… aaah~ Beautiful..."

The others were no less cruel with their opponents, making Midoriya feel like throwing up as more of the Buffons were progressively taken down. He cringed when he felt the blade on his throat crave deeper. The man was holding him tightly with an arm around his torso, forcing the teen to stay unmoving. Not far from them, Shigaraki had murder in his eyes.

Izuku didn't want to have any part of this. He didn't ask for this, and the villain better had to release him before Midoriya acted on impulse. "Hey!" he called over his shoulder, "Let me go, I'm not one of Shigaraki's men."

The other's eyes narrowed. "Well, he seems to think differently."

As if to prove it, Shigaraki stepped forward while disintegrating enemies who were trying to attack him from everywhere around him. One touch of his hands was enough to keep them at bay as he made his way in their direction. However, another wave of men in black brusquely surged towards the League's leader, giving the other enemy more time to work things out.

"You don't need me! Just get me out of here! And you better do the same 'cause they're going to wipe you out entirely."

"Shut up brat. You're not going anywhere as long as I have an advantage over him."

"You have no advantage over him! Haven't you realized they're just toying with you?! Run while you still can before it's too late!"

"I told you to shut the fuck up!"

The knife drew more blood from the wound and Midoriya let a small cry of pain. That idiot! Izuku didn't have a choice. He may have been temporarily quirkless, but he still have his vampire abilities. Eyes closed, he tuned out the violent battle going on around him as much as he could and tried to feel the uncanny strength he was looking for.

He fought back as soon as he sensed it. Taking the villain by surprise, his elbow hit him in the guts and Izuku managed to free himself from the man, but alas, not without ducking in time to avoid the sword. It cut him in the upper arm, leaving a nasty slashing bleed profusely.

Midoriya gazed over the battle field that has become of the abandoned factory. The door was at the other end of the room, raging fights occurring in the middle. He could take advantage of the fight to make a run towards the exit. His heart was beating madly. He felt like his organ was going to pass through his rib cage as seconds went by.

He heard a diabolical laughter a little further. He couldn't say if it was Toga or Dabi. Or maybe Twice. He didn't know. He didn't want to know either. Getting out right now was all Izuku wished for.

Shigaraki was busy killing dozen of enemies. Dabi was out of sight, as well as Toga. Muscular wasn't paying him any attention. He saw Kurogiri back up for Mr. Compress, unaware of Izuku's intent. Midoriya knew it was now or never. He dodged a flying man and readied himself to dash towards the exit.

Now!

"You're not going anywhere!" a voice called behind the teen. A punch landed in his temple before he could react. He heard a clattering sound behind, making his mind ringing in alarm as he realized too late what would happen next. He was pulled backwards and didn't have time to struggle as the chain was suddenly wrapped around his throat.

He coughed, instantly fighting for breath. "W-What are you-" His legs kicked the man desperately, trying to get himself out of the villain's reach. "What... do you- want from... me?!" It was hard speaking like this.

"You're his favorite, are you not?"

"…." he blinked. "His... w-what?"

"His favorite."

"Whose?"

"Shigaraki Tomura."

Then it dawned on him what this guy was saying. Meninges suddenly activating, a look of outrage came across the boy's face and he almost choked -he did- as his cheeks burned with shame and anger. "I-I… You're w...wrong!"

In one last effort, he slammed his head onto the man's face. The impact made a painful noise that certainly didn't come from Izuku. He gasped for air as soon as he was released, cursing Shigaraki for dragging him in his mess with this fucking chain hanging on to him. He hoped the man didn't die, that way he could murder him once everything is settled.

A fist collided with his nose. He rolled over the floor to avoid another blow. Jumping on his feet, he faced the red-haired Afro guy with a glare. The other glared back, lower lip covered in blood.

"Whatever, I'm going to make him pay by taking care of you first."

He was too fast. One second he was standing four feet away from him and the next, he was already on Izuku, ready to knock him down. Thanks to the miraculous reflexes flowing through his vampire genes, Izuku managed to avoid the deadly dagger that aimed for his neck. He ducked again. The more he fought with the man, the more he could feel his body buzzing with a sudden energy, the same one he had the first time he'd discovered his nature.

He'd give anything to combine it with his Quirk. Although apparently cancelling the guy's Quirk, whatever it was, wouldn't make any difference.

This thought triggered a sudden anger within Midoriya's veins as he saw himself being deprived from his power again because of his weakness. Shigaraki thought he could control Izuku and make him become his obedient little dog by putting a collar on him?

Over his dead body.

Green irises turned into a fury red and watched the villain's widened eyes for a moment. Then, he attacked. Relaying on his raging strength, he threw himself on the man who activated his leather boots to dodge. Only, Midoriya was faster this time. Anticipating the movement he shifted to the left and hit him hard in the face.

He didn't give him any time to recover as he aimed at him again. And again. And again. Izuku would later admit his fighting style at this moment was totally mediocre. Before this whole kidnapping case, the teen had never hit someone even to defend himself. He always was the one being beaten and picked on every day of his life since he was diagnosed as quirkless.

But now… now felt like a new sensation. Like freedom. All those years of abuse caused by his comrades were burning in his mind, feeding his endless frustration with which he was taking out on the man. He didn't pay attention to the large cuts he was getting from the poor attempt of the villain trying to fight back to no avail.

The scent of blood began to fill his senses, and despite having no Quirk to make use of the circumstances, Midoriya couldn't ignore the hint of adrenaline coursing through his body, slowly making him aware of the sweet, tempting scent of hemoglobin engulfing the whole factory at the present time.

His hits became harder, his breath quicker. He stepped away, only to throw himself at the villain again without even trying to dodge his katana. Blood spattered everywhere around them two. Another hit made red spurt stain the floor already coated in blood. His mind was buzzing. He could feel his heart beating in his ears. All he could hear was his harsh breathing and his own voice craving for blood. Just a taste. One last sip for the day…

"Midoriya-kun."

As soon as his name reached his ears, it was like the whole world started moving again all around him. He blinked. His vision slowly returned to reality as he began to feel all the blood dripping from his wounds.

Oh.

He found himself grabbing the now completely unconscious man by the collar, ready to dive into his throat and suck him dry. His breath got stuck in his throat.

… Oh.

Meanwhile, Toga had totally stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a bleeding Izuku looking at her like he was going to slaughter her. His eyes so bright flashed a crimson harmfulness, his hair were not wearing the dark green color which she was fascinated by, bur were now stained in red covering half of his head. She saw shock and horror filled his vision when Izuku finally regained his senses as he let go of the man, moving backwards on his shaky legs.

Butterflies went crazy inside her lower belly. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to explode. So much red, so much fierceness, so much anger in those magnificent orbs…

I want him…

I want him so bad.

Midoriya regain some balance after jolting out of his shock and bolted for the double door. He ran by the remaining villains sprawled on the ground, shut down the empathetic part of his mind trying to wish they were not corpses and finally reached the outside.

Fresh air immediately hit his face, comforting cold clashing against delirious warmth and Izuku noticed for the first time that his body was on fire.

It was dark. The surroundings displayed no sign of familiar details. He kept running and paid no mind to the wheezing coming out of his lungs. The clattering of the chain against the concrete echoed in the night like a lethal melody calling for Death.

He ran for what seemed like an eternity. He was already far from the old factory but he knew he had to keep going. Toga saw him leave, it won't be long before the others hear of his absence.

He saw the city lights. Midoriya was emerging from the deserted zone. Buzzing noise came from behind the first row of houses. Cars, music, shops, people. He was going to be safe. He was going home. Just a little more steps and—

"Izu-kun~"

No.

No no no no. Fuck no. He had to reach the neighborhood quickly. They couldn't catch him now. He was not going back.

His muscles were in pain, as well as his sides and lungs that were silently begging him to stop. He couldn't. Footsteps echoed right behind his, sounding like skipping. His body went frigid.

"Where are you going? You shouldn't leave without saying goodbye. So rude Izu-kun~"

"HELP!" he yelled, hoping that someone, anybody, would hear him. But it was just them two. "PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"I'm here!" She said joyfully.

"Screw you!"

She giggled again. All of sudden, Midoriya felt a weight crashing in his back that made him loose his balance. He fell painfully on the ground, his limbs finally giving in the exhaustion he had desperately tried to cast aside until now. His body rolled over the pavement until Izuku found himself facing the dark sky.

Unfocused eyes gazed at the infinite dark blue looming over the world. He lost himself in his contemplation, wishing for the huge celestial ocean would engulf him completely body and soul, that he could escape from this hell and forget everything else. That he could just... close his eyes and disappear.

Soon, blond hair filled his vision as Toga materialized on top of him, not at all minding the awkward position they were in.

No, please. Oh no…

"Fuck…" he groaned, his voice cracking. His sight became a blur while he was catching his breath, refilling his lungs with cold air in which he felt like he was choking.

"Fuck!" Midoriya put an arm over his face, concealing the lukewarm tears in the corner of his eyes.

Toga gently removed the arm to take a look at the wet, shining emeralds pair dully staring at her. "Izu-kun, you're beautiful."

"Leave me alone."

She just smiled and kissed him chastely on the lips. He did nothing to get her off his shivering body. He couldn't move anyway, and he could already hear the rest of the League coming in their direction. He wanted to sleep. And scream. And cry. And hit something. And scream again. Then sleep.

How many people have died tonight? He didn't even succeed to run away like he had hoped to do. He had miserably failed at everything. He felt numb. Useless. He knew there would be other opportunities to try and escape but the failure of this day still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Let's go home." Toga murmured while hugging him on the ground, her face buried in his neck sniffing the smell of blood where he was previously cut.

Sensing the last streak of resistance within him vanish, Izuku closed his eyes and let himself be lulled into nothingness.