A/N: I couldn't just leave this die, could I? I finally got some time to write some of the story I have mapped out, and I leaped at the chance. I love this premise and the plan I have for the road ahead, and the only issue has been finding time with Incident Zero doing so well- I'm determined to not be beaten and get this story out there, too.
Enjoy!
(***)
There were numerous things which had, over the last couple of days, completely confused me. Beyond the wider struggle towards acceptance as I infrequently had an existential crisis about the fact I had ended up in a completely new world, in the body of an anime villain and right at the start of his journey into darkness, there were numerous things about the world which set me off. Case in point? I couldn't wrap my head around just how muscle memory survived so well, even when a entire new person's consciousness had dropped into a person's head as a replacement.
It wasn't like I had given the whole 'what would happen if I reincarnated into another world' question much thought before. Nor could I ever say that I'd considered asking myself 'what if I just suddenly became another person at any point', or 'what fictional character would you end up becoming', either. Those weren't the sort of questions I had tended to ask myself, and honestly if anyone ever did, I would have several questions of my own about how much free time that person had, or how bored they were. Reality bit for me, hard, when I became Tomura Shigaraki.
My guides, in the first instance, were fiction. That wasn't exactly the sort of solid guidance I could really rely on in any event, given the wild differences in creative choice that certain writers or directors would pick. In the few things I could remember where someone just suddenly became another person, I couldn't find a consistent view on how easy it would be to adapt- for every story with a protagonist taking shaky steps forward on unfamiliar feet like a newborn lamb, there were blockbuster films where the character in question could shrug off dimensional travel like it was nothing, and do superhuman things without a backwards glance.
My experience had fallen somewhere towards the latter end of that scale, truth be told. Tomura had bandy legs, probably a little skinnier than mine had been in real life, and surprisingly smaller feet than I was used to- besides the odd couple of stumbling moments in the beginning, which I had blamed loudly on the numerous drinks Kurogiri had prepared after my talk with All For One, I somehow managed to get used to it quite quickly.
What then followed surprised me, over the next couple of days. All For One had left me to my own devices, apparently making preparations behind the scenes and speaking to the Doctor about the Nomu. I couldn't wait for the day I met Kyudai Garaki, the man behind the Quirk Singularity, a dark vision of society which just couldn't be denied no matter where one stood on the spectrum of heroes and villains. On my own, unsupervised, and left to entertain myself in Kurogiri's comfortable bar, I got to work learning what I could do. I hadn't expected that to be... so much.
One of the back rooms had contained a functional gymnasium, or the best equivalent that Kurogiri could source; sets of weights which looked brand new, a fancy running machine which could turn itself into an incline, and even mats for sparring. I had gravitated there the morning after I had drunk myself to sleep, partly out of stress of becoming a whole new person and party as a celebration for surviving my first dealings with All For One, and... I had been surprised. I had climbed up onto the running machine expecting to fall short of my usual low targets and blew every expectation I had away.
Tomura's fitness levels, strength, endurance? They had all survived despite my mind taking up residence in his like some dimensional cuckoo. To use his own turn of phrase, his dexterity stat was off the charts; it was more than enough reminder that I was now in a superhuman society now. It shouldn't have surprised me, because even at the USJ in canon, Tomura had been fast enough to get the drop on Izuku and his class, and strong enough to withstand blasts of air pressure from All Might's smashes that blew everyone else away. It was just... to think Icould do that as well? That was the unreal part.
His gaming abilities had survived too, much to my surprise. I had tried not to laugh when Kurogiri had dug out two gaming gloves along with the controllers- apparently All For One's generosity didn't extend to Decaying expensive controllers in a fit of rage, as Tomura had done before- but when I picked up the device and started to mash buttons? I was pulling off combos I shouldn't even have known were in the fighting games I had never played, taking short-cuts on race tracks despite it being my first time taking on Kurogiri (my one playing companion, and a surprising fiend at the MMOs. Apparently Tomura had rubbed off enough on him to learn).
It was, to borrow a gaming metaphor which he would love, like someone hadn't bothered to reset his EXP or skill tree when I arrived in his head. And I loved it. I couldn't imagine how hard things would have been to have to start again from zero and re-learn how to control a powerful Quirk like Decay, but here I was able to use it on instinct. I hadn't tried fighting anyone yet, partly to avoid embarrassing myself and partly because my only opponent to spar would have been Kurogiri; fighting a warper in close combat wouldn't have taught me anything. But trying out Decay on a bar stool, on some inoffensive furniture in a storeroom? I could use it just fine.
... Muscle memory was weird.
I looked down at the pack of cards I was holding in my hand, shuffling them at the same time as I thought, and tried not to smirk as I saw how I was holding my pinky finger out as if drinking fine tea. Even when I wasn't concentrating, I had grown accustomed to making sure Decay wasn't going to accidentally be activated. "Kurogiri?"
The spectre looked back at me from behind the bar, where he had been quietly perusing the selection of expensive imported spirits and moving a few bottles further up for better access. "Master Tomura?"
That one had been surprisingly easy to get used to hearing. Kurogiri's role, as I remembered it, had always been to prioritise Tomura's safety and look after him, raising him with valuable lessons and facing his petulance head on. Clearly the man had grown attached to the role and his young charge. That was the only explanation I had for why such a powerful being was content to call me Master, or indeed why one of All For One's most trusted lieutenants was so surprisingly good at video games when I invited him to pick up a controller and join me. I had learned very quickly that challenging Kurogiri at this world's latest version of Mario Kart was the real suicide mission, and not the attack on the USJ.
Still, winning him over had been one of my priorities since landing in his protégé's life entirely by accident. I had always thought that he had been remarkably under-appreciated in canon, for someone with such an incredible Quirk and sharp mind, although that wasn't really my reason. It was more to do with his proximity to the most dangerous man in the world, and how he could expose me to All For One as a fraud if I exposed myself. I needed a good relationship with the man of smoke if I was to continue to survive, so here I was.
Not like it was hard. He mixed a good drink and was good company for cards; he barely needed to do anything else.
I came to, shook myself, and looked up at him with an eye roll. "Didn't you say he would be here soon? What is he, stuck in a load screen?"
"Hm." Kurogiri made a little noise which I had realised was his way of laughing to himself, and his face flickered. It had been strange at first, seeing in the flesh a fully alive version of a 2D animated character with such a distinctive and non-human look, and it amazed me when I looked at him how he simultaneously looked real, and like the familiar drawn character at once. Even despite his unique look and being completely different to anything I had seen in my previous life, it was surprisingly easy to read emotion on a face like Kurogiri's; there was a look of mirth in those wide yellow eyes. "I believe he always prefers to refer to it as fashionably late."
I suspect 'he' did. If he was who I was thinking of, anyway.
As soon as All For One had approved the attack on the USJ, he had returned to consider the final arrangements with Nomu, and whoever his outside source in UA was; frankly, only someone as terrifyingly evil as All For One could make the word 'consider' sound like a death sentence. I had been surprised exactly how willing he had been to leave a substantial part of the planning to me, because even if I was his supposed heir, I was completely unknown before USJ and not a renowned strategist (not counting Tomura's eye for detail when it came for gaming tactics). It was not only a vote of confidence in Tomura's abilities at this stage, and his plan for attacking at the heart of UA, but also a boon for my own abilities to keep as close to canon as possible, and not end up out of my depth or breaking the established timeline.
That was before I recognised just how much Kurogiri was stepping in to help with the preparation. Tomura was a bit of a shut-in, true to form, and spent most of his days either training, watching the news or playing a game of some form rather than socialise. All as expected for All For One and his personal grooming of a successor, of course, but it meant that when I remembered the key components of USJ, I was glad to have Kurogiri on side. There was no way I would have even known where to begin to look to recruit a bunch of cannon fodder to our ranks, like Tomura had in canon from all the one-note villains stomped by Eraserhead, and yet Kurogiri took it all in stride.
He apparently knew a guy. Someone we could rely on to bolster our ranks and bring in the villain equivalent of cheap labour to throw into the USJ. And, looking back on canon and who had helped so much in building the League's ranks and profiles, who was known for bringing in the strays of the world and giving them a purpose, I think I knew the guy too. Even if he didn't know me yet.
God I was excited to see him in the flesh. If he was involved at this stage, it would be hard not to have a fan crisis. The smooth criminal himself.
I sniffed, and looked down at the cards, picking at the frayed edge of an ace. It wouldn't do to geek out about someone I supposedly didn't know in this world. "Late or not, I hope he's a useful NPC. Sometimes the party recruit system doesn't exactly give you much good stuff."
"He'll get us what we need," Kurogiri said, reassuringly, one ghostly hand pulling an empty gin bottle down to clear a space. "As long as we have sufficient resources to occupy All Might, the ones who come with us into the USJ are expendable. It doesn't matter if they're inferior, or if we lose a few."
It was cold, and logical, and calculating. It made complete sense and it was the plan I wanted to go for too. It just... felt weird to me to hear Kurogiri talk about them so callously. Tomura's thing in future was building a League where people felt a sense of belonging, so it was hard to see the early days of him and Kurogiri being so far away from that. "I still want ones who can do the job. There's enough trash-tier mobs out there that I could drag off the streets-"
"Ah, but then I wouldn't be gettin' paid. And you wouldn't be gettin' the results yer after, right?"
Bingo. That charming old voice, so coarse and yet so louche, and the wafting smell of cigarette smoke to precede his arrival? The first real ally besides Kurogiri that I needed to make in this world. Of course he had to behind recruitment on this scale.
I turned, taking him in, the gold tooth shining with the light from the bar, the rough stubble around his chin from a few nights of not shaving, the crisp edges to his lilac blazer (clearly he cared enough to get his jacket washed and pressed, even if he looked a little haggard elsewhere) and the slick smile on his face. He was majestic, as much as I could ever have hoped, but to him I was a complete stranger, and so I didn't greet him with the affection of an old friend but the practiced sneer I had honed in the cracked mirror. "Big talk for a side character. Kurogiri. Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Of course," Kurogiri intoned, head bowing slightly. "Tomura Shigaraki, may I introduce you to the broker? The most reliable of the ones I and the Master have enlisted over the years. It is a pleasure to see you again... Giran."
Giran nodded his head, and I inwardly jumped for joy when I saw the twinkle in his eyes, the twinkle that refused to disappear even after my rude greeting. "Eh come on, we're among friends here, aren't we? The name's Kagero Okuta, kid. If yer half as good a customer as yer ol' man, we're gonna get on just fine."
He looked over to the bar, and to his credit he didn't flinch at the sight of Father. I hadn't quite gotten used to wearing it on my face yet, even if the smell of formaldehyde didn't bother like I thought it would, so while All For One And Kurogiri generally insisted I wore it around people, I was taking the chance to let my face (and nostrils) rest. "I'd offer to shake but... doesn't seem like ya need a hand."
I snorted at the bad joke, genuinely, and put the cards down. "It's safer you don't." At the raising of his eyebrows, I realised what I had said, and huffed to myself. "I'm not threatening you. Trust me. Kurogiri, what does my Quirk do?"
"Decay. Fingertip activated. All five fingers require it to work." The explanation was so practiced from my companion, who seemed to shoot an amused look at Giran. "I suspect you would like to keep your arms."
"I'm actually kinda attached to them." Giran pulled up a stool behind me, as Kurogiri set a glass of something amber and sweet-smelling down on the wood in front of both of us. That was a new one, one I hadn't tried before. Kurogiri clearly had a favourite. "So. Tomura. You don't mind if I call you Tomura, do ya?"
"Depends. If you don't deliver the goods, I might mind." Okay, I was being a dick now, but in my defence Tomura was a dick in his early days. I wanted to befriend this charming old rogue, the rascal of the underworld, and go for drinks with him, but I had an image to uphold for oh so many reasons. "You've been able to get all the recruitment ready?"
"Just about. There's a couple of things I wanted to check with you, though. Buyer confidence, and all that. After being told about your plans, it's best to be sure-"
"How much has Kurogiri told you?" I shot a look at the spectre, to try to see if Giran would feel uncomfortable that he may have learned too much.
"Enough. Enough to get a few people interested." Giran took a sip of the drink, smacked his lips, and turned to look at me- I noticed for the first time that he wasn't wearing his ridiculous cheap glasses. Needless to say in true Giran fashion, he hadn't been intimidated by me in the slightest. "Going into UA is bold. No villain has tried that and succeeded since the rat took control."
"Nezu is a smart creature," Kurogiri acknowledged, wiping absent-mindedly at part of his bar; it was amazing how one man could treat a room as if it were his child. "One that slipped through the cracks, to the shame of many. His security measures are fortress-like-"
"But no fortress is invincible. I've played enough swarm the tower levels to beat even the principal at UA." I jerked a thumb at Kurogiri. "Besides, none of the villains before had him pulling the strings. Best party assist in the country."
He preened at the attention, and I inwardly laughed; the more I complimented him to bring him on side, the better. "I will gladly show them what we can do."
"I'll say." Giran's mouth twitched in a little smirk. "You were smart to ask for a electrical Quirk too. Found you someone you can use to disrupt the security systems, easy enough."
"How about the rest of them?" I took a sip of the spirit, coughed, and tried not to break my own composure as it felt like Endeavor himself had stuck a finger into my throat. How the hell did Giran drink that without flinching? "No morons, I hope."
"You're bound to get some. You're attackin' UA High, after all. Any villain startin' out on their path wants a bite at that cherry, if it helps them climb to get ranked." Giran took a pull of the cigarette he had been holding, and stubbed it out in the ashtray Kurogiri had hastily found. "That's all some of them want."
I could understand that. Most common thugs and one-time criminals didn't get a ranking in this Japan, mostly because the police and heroes were so good at stamping out career criminals. The majority didn't last long enough to get ranked, like Giran had managed, so there would be some desperate idiots in the mix at USJ who just wanted to grab a headline in case it got them the notoriety they craved. "Fine. Just give me some decent people to point them in the right direction first."
"I wouldn't leave fine customers like yerselves high and dry! Trust me. You'll get some good ones in there too."
"Huh. Good." I considered trying to nudge the cup of liquid fire away from myself before giving up, and looked him in the eyes. "Now, about the ones who we need outside the USJ-"
"Before that..." Giran interrupted, and I felt myself panic slightly at the unknown territory. "I've got a real good one interested, if you wanna try him. He'd come to the USJ with you and almost act as a lieutenant, in a way. He wants to get back at UA anyway but... he's got enough in him he'd be of some use for some time."
... Huh. That was new. And alarming. "A lieutenant?" I turned to Kurogiri. "Someone we might actually want to permanently add to the party?"
"So it would seem." Kurogiri put down his cloth. "Giran, to whom are you referring?"
"You'd know him, trust me. You don't commit crimes like his and go unnoticed. Not when everything's on fire." Giran's smirk was lethal. "I don't know why he's so interested in going after UA, but if you want him... ever fancied an introduction to the Blueflame?"
Blueflame... Oh hell no. Surely not? Giran was offering me Dabi? Touya Todoroki himself? For the USJ attack?
... My mind wandered, images of a maniacal gleam in the eyes of a wild sociopath as flames burned blue around him. Of a young man with patchwork skin, hair dye running down his cheeks, as he actually danced in the face of his abusive father and brought his world crashing down. The reveal that Dabi was Touya, the long lost son of Endeavor, had been a brutal revelation and the last big reveal I felt before I found myself in a new world. The idea of now having him at the USJ... the carnage it would cause would be insane.
I just couldn't risk it. He wasn't at USJ in canon, and for the sake of everyone involved it was probably for the best- Shoto Todoroki would have been hunted down and numerous others could have succumbed to his flames if he had been. I couldn't allow myself to end up in a situation where I had taken such a step, thrown the established timeline aside and ripped up continuity for the sake of something cool. I'd be on my own, and that didn't bear thinking about. Not in this state, with All For One looming so menacingly in the background.
Now it was how to explain that to Giran without breaking the fourth wall, or revealing Dabi's secret to Giran of all people. He probably already knew, knowing the smooth bastard that he was, but I wasn't about to find out that he didn't.
"Yeah... not this time." I took another sip of that drink, which was not a smart move on my part. "He's not what we need for this level."
"Is that so?" Giran asked, looking cocky. "He's more powerful than all of the others, and yet you don't want him involved? Seems a lil counterintuitive to turn down someone who might actually hold up more than a few seconds against All Might..."
I nodded, noting that the broker didn't seem to be fazed by the notion that we were using the USJ to try to get at the Symbol of Peace. "If you're worried how we're gonna defeat the final boss, don't be. I'm not stupid enough to walk into his lair without a strategy-"
"No, no. You seem smart, I'll give ya that much." Giran's eyes seemed to glimmer with amusement as he looked at me, eyes dwelling for a second on my skinny arms. "Just not exactly... big. I'm not a gambling man-"
"Bullshit."
"But I wouldn't even think about bettin' on you to take All Might in a fight. Ya don't look the type." Giran leaned forward, clearly fishing for information, and I could smell the cigarette smoke like a stale aura around him. "Unless there's somethin' yer not telling me."
"Oh, I'm not the one who gets to claim the kill on All Might. That's all covered." I wasn't about to reveal Nomu's existence just yet, but I wanted to say enough to hook the older man. He thrived on knowing things which others didn't, so withholding information like this from him? That had to be a surefire way of keeping him coming back. "Nah. Kurogiri told you, I want strong brawlers to sap some of All Might's stamina on the way, but when we're in there it needs to play out within my plan."
"And he wouldn't be?"
Kurogiri chose the moment to wade in, thankfully agreeing with my bullshit plan to not disturb canon. "Forgive me, but since Master Tomura appreciates a gaming analogy, perhaps this one will summarise our position well enough. What you're offering us is a good playing piece, but we're playing a different game. He would be strong, but to properly use him we would have to rework our entire plan. One which we believe is specially designed to counter All Might."
"Exactly." I nodded, grateful that Kurogiri had made that sound convincing. "Changing everything last minute to accommodate the Blueflame? The Americans would call that throwing a Hail Mary. I don't wanna risk what we've worked on for that."
"... Hmm. A surprisingly fair point." Giran knocked back the rest of his drink, and it was clear that was a sign he didn't want to push the matter anymore. "I suppose he may be overkill."
"For this level? He's too broken. That said..." There was no harm in planting the seed, right? Making sure that canon steadied its course? "If you wanna send him our way after we're done at USJ... we can talk about recruiting him permanently then."
"See, that there? That shows me you're new to this, and just a little bold." Giran held up two fingers, both bearing cheap gold rings. "One, it's bold of you to assume he'd want to come back to you and talk shop after you turn him down for this-"
"Trust me." I grinned, despite everything. "When he sees what we do, he'll be running to join our party."
"Oh-ho! I was going to say two, it's bold that you assume you'll be successful." Giran laughed. "All Might isn't exactly small fry. Even if you're gonna wear him down, it'll take something special to win-"
"I told you, that's in hand." My eyes flitted to Father, ever so briefly, before going back to Giran. "You do your job in making sure All Might has some decent tanks to get through before he arrives at UA, and he'll be in just the right condition."
"Yer in luck on that front. Got you some decent distractions lined up. A really tricky gang of thieves who just love a good hostage, and a decent brawler making a name on the streets with a C Rank."
"A C Rank?" Kurogiri asked, clearly as intrigued as I was. I couldn't remember exactly all of the background villains involved with the whole USJ saga at each stage, and I certainly couldn't recall who among the rogues gallery was already at C Rank. That was a decent caliber of villain, given that Kurogiri counted (rather unjustly in my view) as B Rank. "Who did you convince to join?"
"Most of the established ones don't want to take on All Might, but this one? He saw the chance to fight some Pros and get All Might's attention as his moment of glory." Giran's gold tooth sparkled in the bar's dusky lighting as he smirked. "Habit Headgear. I think he sees his chance at glory and getting the promotion to B Rank, pers'nally."
Oh. Him. The giant pink muscly dude with the hood of muscle on his back. If I remember correctly, he got decimated by a single Smash, but then it was hard to find many villains who wouldn't. He had managed to hold off Kamui Woods and Mount Lady for long enough in canon to cause a scene, so... there was no harm in sticking to the tried and true approach. "... Heh. If he wants to take his chance and help us out, then good for him."
"A reasonable distraction, in the face of it." Kurogiri nodded. "Bring him with the others to meet. We can explain the plan to all when we have timings finalised."
"You don't have a date set?" Giran flicked a finger at his empty glass obnoxiously, and Kurogiri appeared to wince at the little noise from the glass as it tipped over. "It's a bit harder to corral people for ya when yer being spontaneous about when to launch an attack-"
"It's not spontaneous." It had taken a lot to get used to Tomura's dry voice instead of my own, but the slight hiss whenever I got mildly annoyed was perfect, I had to say. "Every good party has tanks, dps, healers, mages. We just happen to have a scout as well."
"We're waiting on the Master's intelligence network to confirm our best timing, for everything to be in place," Kurogiri explained, with the infinite patience I had admired in canon and admired here. "Once we have that certainty, we will need to move quickly. I apologise for giving you short notice, Giran, but I trust that you can adapt to this, and understand the need for reliable information to act on."
"Covert ops, huh?" Once again, the broker surprised me by reading perfectly between the lines and guessing the truth from such a vague explanation. Behind that arrogant smile lay a razor-sharp mind, a mind that missed nothing. "Your master managed to get someone into UA, after all. Now that's a story to hear over a drink, at some point after this."
"If we get through, you can hear it." With someone like him, I knew I could dangle the carrot of secrets and get a reaction. "Only if we succeed."
"Oh I hope you do. I'd quite like to have customers come back more than once." Giran's eyes twinkled, before he bowed his head to me and slid off the bar stool. "Well, as much I'd stay for a cozy chat, I think I have work to do to earn my paycheck. Speakin' of which..."
"Of course." Kurogiri smoothly slid an envelope - how old fashioned - onto the bar, which disappeared into Giran's jacket pocket before I could even register that he had reached out for it. "We will be in touch."
"I'm countin' on it. Say, do you mind givin' me a lift back? It seems a waste to fork out for a taxi-"
I was about to open my mouth and protest at him making such a brazen request, but the speed at which a Warp Gate formed behind Giran courtesy of Kurogiri nearly made me fall off the bar stool. I hadn't expected Kurogiri to actually comply, and as Giran gave a grateful bow and disappeared through the other side to places unknown, I turned to my companion. "Should you really be doing that for him?"
"Perhaps not..." Kurogiri shrugged, before adjusting his tie. "Then again, he has been a reliable asset for the Master and the Doctor in procuring subjects for the Nomu. We owe him a great deal."
Huh. I didn't think about how Garaki had ever gotten his test subjects. I assumed that he and Kurogiri had just ambushed suitable candidates off the streets, although when I thought about that properly that seemed ridiculous. "Well, we're gonna owe him even more money now."
"All worth it, in the end." Kurogiri paused, and looked at me; it was amazing how he could look right through me while looking me in the eyes. "We should talk to him about that Blueflame, Dabi. After everything is over. He may be a worthwhile recruit."
I looked away, trying not to smirk to myself at how easy this was turning out. I didn't even need to convince Kurogiri and he was helping me keep to the established status quo. "Sure. Every good party needs someone who can start a fire, right?"
"Oh, my dear Tomura. Even without your new ally, you could still set this whole system ablaze."
I don't know what intimidated me most about the whole thing. Whether it was the fact that his voice could inspire dread even in the most generous of compliments, or whether it was the fact that the TV had laid completely quiet on the table top without any input, before suddenly turning on without warning so he could chime in, I didn't know. I could have sworn he hadn't been present the entire time I had been speaking to Giran and Kurogiri, because I hadn't felt the shivers running down my spine or a black pit opening up in my stomach. Now he was here, somehow aware of exactly who we were talking about, and I was reminded just how terrifying the man who ultimately decided my fate in this world was. "... Sensei."
"The recruits are mostly ready, Master." I don't know how Kurogiri wasn't flattened by the suffocating evil of the aura emanating from the 'SOUND ONLY' display on the television. Years of practice, probably. "We have sufficient obstacles before All Might reaches the school to exhaust his power. He won't be in peak condition by the time we strike, and when Nomu enters the fray, the Symbol of Peace will be hopeless in the face of him."
I admired the overwhelming blind faith in Garaki's creation. It could put in the work, I knew that much, but against All Might? Even with the damage it would do him, All Might would defeat Nomu, and my existence would be undisturbed. "Shame we're disrupting their communications system. A fight like that needs good boss music."
"The art of good theatre is not lost on you yet, apprentice of mine," All For One remarked, with an amused tone not unlike the tone of a father whose child finally admitted he had good taste in music. "I bring good news, for both of you. Your efforts with the broker won't be delayed for too long."
"You made contact with the scout?" I leaned forward, interested. "We can meet them soon?"
"Indeed. The first year curriculum appears to be running smoothly, for now. Their first classes are running smoothly, and the media seem to be even more interested in UA now that somebody leaked All Might's presence as a teacher to the press. A number of them plan on attending tomorrow to gather gossip from the students." There was a noise not unlike a laugh. "It would be folly to expect to gain anything from a school as tight-lipped as UA, but they will try."
"So they're our distraction?" I asked aloud, while marvelling at how quickly canon had arrived and how quickly they had progressed. If this was what I was thinking, I had literally been whiling away my time with Kurogiri and Giran while Izuku and company had carried out their Combat Training. Tomorrow would therefore be the day... Tomura dusted his way past the security. My curtain call. "I use them to get in... tomorrow?"
"During their lunch period, yes." All For One confirmed my suspicions, a cheery tone in his voice. "One simple distraction before Kurogiri warps the two of you to meet my asset, and gain the class list and timetables. Then we confirm the timing with the broker, assemble your troops, and watch the despair on All Might's face as his precious students lie trampled and broken beneath your feet. Sounds perfect, does it not?"
This was really it. Notwithstanding the internal confusion I was feeling about the prospect of meeting a UA traitor, someone I literally didn't know a damn thing about from canon beyond the crackpot theories I had read online, I was about to make my debut. I was about to commit down the path of evil, break into UA and set in motion a plan which would cripple All Might and bring the name Tomura Shigaraki into Japan's collective consciousness, to live in infamy forevermore.
I should have been terrified of the moral consequences of my actions, of the harm I was about to cause. Instead...
I turned to Kurogiri, heart pumping and adrenaline treacherously flooding my body, with a grin on my face. "You ready, Giri?"
"Hmm." Kurogiri loomed tall, and his predatorial yellow eyes sharpened with murderous intent. "I'll be right by your side, Master Tomura."
"Good." I looked at the screen, somehow not cowed by the aura coming from it, and clenched a fist that was somehow shaking with excitement at the thought of everything kicking off. "Let's fucking go, Sensei."
... When had I started to look forward to what came next?
(***)
A/N: I told you MC wouldn't be a classic 'turn evil character to righteous good Hero' insert, didn't I? MC isn't brave enough to risk their life exposing their true nature to All For One, and goes along with making canon happen as the easy way out to keep to familiar ground. If it's a little fun along the way... who can blame them?
Also yes, Giran. Tomura in canon is a loner in the beginning, sheltered by All For One and raised by him with Kurogiri; he wouldn't have the connections to form a small army like he had at USJ. All For One might well have, but given the state he is in at this stage in canon, I don't think he would have actively put out feelers to recruit. I much prefer the idea of having Giran turn up to allow MC!Tomura to make those connections, to flesh out League characters we all love, and give some context for the sleazy rogue who otherwise just turns up in their bar down the line without introduction. Hope that makes sense.
Anyway, I'm posting this with a view to get around to replying to reviews on Incident Zero and my new Konosuba fic, God's Blessing on this Hero-Killer Wannabe, tomorrow and Friday- if you haven't checked out God's Blessing, it's a Spinner and Toga isekai, and that should be all you need to know to convince you to try it! And then Incident Zero new chapter on Saturday, woo!
If you enjoyed this, as ever, please feel free to follow and favourite, and I would love a review if you'd feel so kind. Feel free to check my other works out too!
Ya boy, out.