Chapter twenty-eight - Ode to Angsteria!
The League were loitering in the cold warehouse, each member contemplating whether or not to run away, betray the League or just dissolve the organisation as a whole. The air was quiet and cold with hints of unmotivation, some members like Dabi were on the verge of losing their edge and urge to kill. That wasn't good at all.
"Right," suddenly said Dabi, jumping up agilly from his seat. "That's it. I'm starting to lose the will to live and do anything in this hellhole. I'm out." he looked around at everyone to see their reactions. Compress' was stoic, Toga wore a bored look and Kurogiri was just looking after Tomura, awaiting an order. Tezobi just rolled her eyes at the scarred man. Tomura's face irradiated with annoyance and he shot an evil glare Dabi's way.
"Now, now, Handy. Don't get mad at me when I know that you want to leave this place just as much as I do, so, are you coming or not 'cuz I sure as hell ain't staying here." said Dabi. He saw nobody move and proceeded to leave until Tomura's phone rang.
"Hm.." hummed Toga in curiosity. All heads spontaneously turned to face Tomura to see where the sound came from. Tezobi glanced his way as well, he knew phone calls were like an urban legend with Tomura.
"Shigaraki. Your phone." said Kurogiri cautiously. "Rarely anybody calls you, for clear reasons. You're the leader of the League and nobody is a traitor here, so whom is it that dares to call you?" Dabi was half way out of the door but when he heard this commotion he decided to go back.
"Change of plans, folks. I'm interested again." Dabi said whilst walking towards the rest of the group. Spinner grunted in irritance.
"This place isn't some social club that lets you come and go as you please when you get bored, Dabi. If information is leaked by a person, the person is tortured then killed. I bet you wouldn't wanna be tortured and killed, would you?" commented Tezobi, with a side-eye. Tomura was getting visibly angrier so Toga told Dabi and Tezobi to stop bickering, once they stopped their arguing Tomura answered the call.
"It's on speaker." said Tomura in a husky voice.
"Tomura Shigaraki, have I got news for you!" said the voice in a chilling way. The members glanced at each other in confusion but Kurogiri knew all to well who was speaking. Tezobi's eyes widened and she stood up straight.
"Tragedy." she thought.
"Tragedy!" shouted Kurogiri fiercely. Compress just shook his head in disappointment, for he too knew who Tragedy was. Tomura stilled himself and thought of where he had heard that name before.
"Tragedy, Tragedy, Tragedy...I've heard it somewhere, I know I have.." thought Tomura. He dug through his memories then he gasped in dismay and anger.
"Tragedy..Tragedy..you bastard, what the hell do you want? Why do you have my number?" growled in animosity. That slightly frightened the League members as they hadn't heard Tomura use such an angry tone of voice before. What could have gotten him so worked up? Nobody had heard Tragedy's voice before so they were all confused as to why only a few of their allies knew about him.
"Shigaraki, one question at a time, calm yourself." chuckled Tragedy calmly. "I did not call you to extort goods from you, nor have I come to threaten you. I've simply come to bring you news. A gospel, if your will." Everyone listened attentively.
"Get to the point." said Tomura abruptly.
"Long story short, Shigaraki, I broke into Tartarus and massacred everyone there. Including your beloved All for One."
It took a few seconds for what Tragedy said to register into everyone's minds, and even longer for them to fathom what he had just said. The first to react was Dabi. He chuckled darkly and then laughed in hysteria while clapping. It took a few minutes for him to calm down enough to speak again.
"Ha...Look, buddy, I don't know who you are or if this is some joke but...you got a good laugh out of me so congrats." said Dabi as he inhaled. Tomura was fuming at that point.
"Sensei..died..? Huh? I don't get it..already?" murmured Tezobi incoherently with a dopey look in her eyes.
"You have no right to even speak of Sensei, you twisted bastard." spat Tomura in disgust. His face was contorted in rage and his red eyes were flames from hell. Toga blushed in passion while Magne and Spinner flinched in surprise.
"Shigaraki…" said Kurogiri in despair. All for One's death, huh. Kurogiri knew it was possible. He knew that Tragedy was the leader of Hades and he knew of his quirk and he knew of the destruction, death, peril, horror and pain he caused to the masses. He knew it was quite possible. It was only a possibility but that possibility was somehow set in stone in Kurogiri's mind. He fell to his knees in sadness.
"All for One, to depart from this world after all you've done..I'm proud to have called you my master and sensei. Sad." thought Kurogiri.
Compress aided Kurogiri and the League members were quite honestly terrified to see Kurogiri of all people in such a vulnerable state. Tezobi just turned her back to face the other way and she just held her head in her hands.
"Kurogiri, oi...why are you on your knees..?" said Tomura with a crazy, shaking voice. "You don't honestly believe this shit, do you Kurogiri? Right, Kurogiri?" With the way Tomura was speaking, it didn't sound like a question, it sounded like a desperate cry for hope. Kurogiri said nothing but looked to the floor in shame.
"What the...guys.." muttered Dabi, observing the negative atmosphere. The phone then chuckled softly.
"Well, I am the leader of Hades, after all. Are you doubting my wrath and hostility?"
The moment those words left the phone, everyone present in the room went cadaverous. Toga covered her mouth with her hand and the drop of her knife clanked on the floor soundily. Magne crushed the rock beneath her in fear while Spinner screamed briefly in shock. Tezobi just bit her tongue with an unreadable expression. Dabi's cigarette fell from his lips as his eyes widened at sudden realisation.
"Shit...You're..Tragedy.." mumbled Dabi.
"Ah...That's it, it's a wrap for me. I'm dead now. I insulted the leader of Hades, so I'm basically dead. Then I annoyed Tomura, leader of the League of Villains, so I'm dead. To top it off, All for One is dead, so...I'm basically dead too! Life's fucking great." thought Dabi, shaking his head and scoffing then sat in the corner to light another cigarette.
"Indeed, I am Tragedy. From the sound of things, my name was acquainted to the ears of you people...good. I only called to tell you that I am now the prince of darkness, king of the underworld. All for One is dead. His quirks were nothing. All it took was the charm of a cheap knife. He isn't coming back. If you want to see your old man's dead body, I'll send you photos." explained Tragedy seriously. "It's the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one."
"You've got to kidding. You jest, surely?" whispered Kurogiri finally. Tomura said nothing but he felt like he was suffocating, like the hands of truth and despair had grabbed onto his neck and was squeezing dear life out of him. Tezobi thought about Izuku and if he knew about it and she hoped that he wouldn't know about it because that would be bad for him.
"Who am I kidding, he has that damned Make Believe quirk, poor brat probably already knows about it. Tch." she thought.
"Jest, I do not. But the old man was struggling to live anyway, holding onto whatever life he had within him. Truly pathetic." casually said Tragedy, which infuriated Dabi, Magne and Compress. "Well, he was still human at the end of the day. Anyway, I have said what I needed to say and I shall be off…" Then suddenly the way Tragedy spoke became cold and commanding. Almost as if he was daring someone to retort.
"Respect me, League of Villains. For the sake of that dull livelihood of yours." and with that Tragedy cut the line and the call ended. The atmosphere was so truly sickening and dripping with bitter hopelessness and sour desolation, it would twist and turn anybody's insides. Nobody said or did anything for around 20 minutes before Tomura spoke again.
"I'm a damn leader..I need to act like one. I won't be stepped over by that fucking bastard." thought Tomura.
"Kurogiri, we are going outside. Take us to a new bar or something. We need plans to avenge Sensei. Not only that, but the crazy bastard had the audacity to act like he was more powerful than me. Take us away, Kurogiri." ordered Tomura. Kurogiri weakly got up and opened a portal for everyone to get into. Tezobi walked in lazily but Compress was the last person to get in and he inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"It is a sad thing. Really, a sad thing." he said before he stepped into the closing portal.
Indeed, it was a sad thing.
Izuku was writing down analytic notes on class 1-A out of boredom and because he needed to do something, anything. After speaking to All MIght and Iida, he felt slightly clearer, better or something. He was still dirtied and the dirt that infested itself in his soul would never be cleansed, he knew that, but he felt a little more...good. Though that feeling was very short-lived as right after he spoke to them he felt a huge weight of anticipation and decease crash on top of his very being out of nowhere. Like a meteor had pounded itself onto a deserted town for nothing. He was irritated by that but he just shook his head in indifference because he was used to the good things in his life being killed early, so why would now be any different? That heavy, gloomy feeling weighed on his body and mind so much that he had to punch himself to lighten it just a bit.
"Someone died..someone of great importance has died and I have to be the one to feel the heavy impact, that's just unfair and fucked up. I wonder who died, though. Wait - could it possibly be-" Izuku's thoughts were cut off when he got a knock on his door. He got up from his chair to answer the door and knew it would be Naomasa.
Izuku opened the door and dully tilted his head to the side as if to ask 'what on earth do you want now?'. Naomasa just smiled sheepishly and scratched his neck.
"You got a letter, Midoriya. It was kind of on short notice, I haven't opened it so I don't know what it is. Though," said Naomasa seriously. "You don't have any direct ancestors that are alive or in Japan at all, so that means that this letter was sent from a stranger. I...I'm kind of worried. I would like to watch you open it, Midoriya. You are a known villain and you've killed before, what if someone holds a grudge? It could be anything. So, please let me watch you open it."
"Don't push your luck, Detective." said Izuku coldly, taking the letter and slamming the door. Naomasa stood at the door in upset and shock for a few seconds then sighed and left in worry. Izuku rubbed his temples and sat on his bed. He didn't for the life of him know why he would receive a letter when he was not known personally by anyone. He contradicted himself in his head and thought of whether or not to open the envelope. It could serve as good entertainment, though.
"I haven't got anything to lose." thought Izuku. It was true, he didn't. So, he offhandedly opened the envelope and saw it was written in the blackest ink he ever saw. The letter read:
"To, Faceless.
I am aware of your true identity, but we will keep the formalities for confidential reasons. This is Tragedy, from Hades and I've got interesting news for you. But, before that, I do hope you enjoyed your time at Hades before. Did you enjoy the ribbons of blood painted on the walls in that barbaric fashion? Did you enjoy killing in the most indecent of ways? Did you enjoy gazing at Tezobi in a pleading, pitiful way? Did you? Did you? Enough of that, I wrote to you to tell you that I killed All for One. So, I now rule the underworld and the respect I deserve will be duly given. I wager that you feel a heavy weight on you, do you not? Well, don't fret, for the whole of Japan shall know soon. Not right away, but soon. The League know already, nobody else.
Don't go about reciting my doings to your hero saviours just yet, it's a surprise. We don't spoil surprises, do we, Faceless?
-Tragedy."
Once Izuku had finished reading the letter, he felt his hands go numb and his feet go cold, a very uncomfortable feeling, though not a feeling of pain or sorrow. His legs felt cold and unsafe, like Tragedy himself had grabbed them. His head felt heavy and clouded with terror, however it was not a terror of fear but a terror of entropy. Izuku was confused and quite annoyed. Why was he being told this? To make the weight of death stronger and more profound?
"That sadistic bastard. What the fuck does he want me to do about it..?" thought Izuku. All for One was dead and was not coming back, and it was none of his business. Did Izuku ask to be rescued back when he tried to commit suicide? Nay. Did he want to meet Tragedy in the first place, let alone remember Hades? Nay. So, why him? All his hopeless questions of contemplation always led back to that. Did it have to be Izuku, or could it have been somebody else? Izuku kept asking all this rhetorical questions to himself, clouding his head even further. He hated that, so he stopped thinking all together. He did some stretching exercises before changing into black joggers and a black t-shirt with the old black sneakers Naomasa gave him on his first day. His arms, that had scars and bruises to spare, were wrapped in white linen bandages. He went downstairs to the gym, as he needed to vent out his frustration and confusion somewhere else that wasn't on his own body. He stepped down the stairs and saw the living room was empty and the rooms were quiet, which meant that the students were probably in the gym.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the gym, though. The provisional license exams are coming up. They'll be scared of me, though." thought Izuku shrugging. He walked into the gym that was so full of laughter, joy and youth that the windows seemed to sing in wonder and delight! Teachers like Aizawa, Midnight and All Might were present to supervise the students as they trained and to make sure everything was kept well and good. Izuku, though he was still at the door, could hear Bakugou's explosions and friendly screeches. It was truly a shrill noise.
Izuku then walked nonchalantly through the gym, much to the students shock and horror as they hadn't heard him come in. Aizawa eyed him in surprise because he himself had not expected Izuku to be out of the room at all. Midnight was bewitched once again and was very eager to see Izuku again. All Might felt happy to finally see Izuku out of the room and out in the open right after their talk. He just wanted to redeem himself for all he had done to Izuku in the past. The students of 1-A were so silent that one could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on Izuku as he finally reached a masquerade of practice dummies.
"Midoriya, why are you here?" asked Aizawa, he didn't mean it maliciously but was curious. Izuku said nothing, for if he spoke he would sound like the devil incarnate. The overload of crap that Tragedy had served him was all too much so he would refrain from speech until he finished fighting.
"I still don't trust him, but he's our teacher so I have to respect him, hm..." commented Sero to Mina.
"I'm neutral. Why judge a person from their past actions? It's kinda mean, if you ask me. But yeah, I understand what you mean." she replied. They stopped conversing to go back to their own training, as did the rest of the class. The teachers stayed on guard. Then Izuku began. He sharply remembered the shit he went through just recently. He remembered how when he was with the League, he got beat and beat and beat and beat every fucking day for training. It hurt him emotionally and Izuku felt weak because of that. Just at that thought, he completely obliterated the first dummy in front of him. He then submerged himself deep into the negativity that was shoved in his face and he remembered the time he spent at Hades. That damned Colosseum and the dreadful people that participated in the slaughtering and the dreadful people that called themself an 'audience' and the hopeless gaze he gave Tezobi to somehow magically plead his way out of Hades and the callous, sadistic gaze that Tragedy gave him while he was sitting on his throne of corpses. He enjoyed his suffering. Izuku then easily broke five of the dummies in front of him, unable to hear the cries of worry and fear that were emitted from class 1-A. Izuku remembered all that was written on the letter and how All for One was dead...all was lost without him at the centre of destruction. Izuku should be sad about All for One's death, because he was the one who saved Izuku, right? Izuku should be bawling his eyes out in a mournful way, so why was Izuku so revved up in pure white fury? Why was he destroying all the dummies in his sight? Why did he think of All for One's face on those dummies while they were being destroyed? How come he was overcome with bloodlust?
"Shit, shit shit! I should be thanking fucking Tragedy for killing him! He's the reason I'm alive today! He tipped the scales of life and death..such an annoying interference." thought Izuku. He just destroyed and destroyed, like it was an addicting game. It was simply a miraculous sight. But it was also a devastating one. A perilous one. A terrific one. So much so, that some of the students were on the verge of tears and some were getting into fighting stances. Bakugou was not going to admit it aloud but he was very intimidated by Izuku at that moment because his very aura was terrifying. Bakugou wondered what on earth happened to Izuku. How did the pure boy become a villain? Why? How did he get so...strong? Ugh. He hated being scared of Izuku.
"What on earth has gotten into Midoriya? He just came out of his room on short notice and came to the gym and started destroying everything in sight..something's happened and it probably isn't good. Well, whatever it is, it's scaring my students." thought Aizawa. He calmly walked up to Izuku and attempted capture Izuku in his bindings, which failed as Izuku swiftly backflipped away from the bindings. That caused students to gasp, they had never seen Aizawa fail to capture somebody before.
"Mr. Midoriya…" mumbled Iida under his breath. Iida could see how distressed Izuku was, but he didn't know the reason for it. Iida wanted to be his friend, so badly. It almost hurt. Izuku needed love. Some students thought Izuku and Aizawa would fight but Izuku wasn't going to do such a thing, for the fight would be over before it even started. He was in such a state that he would kill Aizawa. He didn't want that, it would mean more prison time.
"Midoriya, you need to stop-" Aizawa's words were no more as Izuku just walked towards the door in a tranquil way with everyone watching him. Izuku stopped at the frame of the door with his back facing everyone else and his hands in his pockets.
"To hell with your surprise, Tragedy." he thought.
Izuku then said, in an emotionless, dry tone before walking out,
"All for One is dead."
Long live the king.
Thanks for reading. Just a reminder, I upload when I feel like it, though I'm an anxious person so refrain from asking me to upload quicker. Leave a review and ask some questions about me if you feel like it. - Takahiro.