The World over Izuku.
The world before
The calm before the storm, A brief glimpse into the events which led Izuku to the path he treads. We see the in-between of the world as Izuku begins to accept his new identity. His influence and impact will only grow with time as he discovers the price of power and all that comes with it.
Izuku sat silently in the dark of his room, his finger rapping softly against the flat of his desk. The low light from the lamp barely illuminated the surface leaving the rest of the room dark and casting shadows over his face. The shadows were the only trait they shared now. with everything else conflicting with his childhood hero.
Surrounding him, a shrine to said hero were the many depictions of All Might. Their once confident and encouraging gaze now turned harsh and judgmental. The gravity of his recent actions settled, another weight on his shoulders. He had been struggling to control his violent urges after his fight with Bakugou and with his confirmed power came new sadistic tendencies. All his life he had wanted to be a hero but Holy diver made him feared, avoided for his quirk like a monster like he was something that was not even human. Even his own mother seemed afraid, she barely spoke a word to him, acted as if she were walking on eggshells and spent most of her days out at work or with Auntie Mitzuki. When she was home she would lock herself in her room, only leaving for necessities.
Izuku pondered, the last FULL conversation he remembered them having was after the sludge villain attack. Izuku had been reading on the couch while the news played on tv. "Izuku, where were you today?" Izuku huffed, shutting his notebook and leaning his head back. She had finally opened her door and left her room. Two sets of emeralds met for the first time in months and for a second Izuku thought he had used the world. "I was with friends," Inko's gaze fell as she shifted in place. Izuku began scrutinizing her expression when he heard a blurb from the television. "Witnesses claimed the villain was defeated in an instant, leaving the hostage 'Bakugou Katsuki' unharmed" Izuku turned his head to the screen to see the evening news report, a recap from earlier. "The villain was holding the kid one minute, then the next… splat! in the blink of an eye!" When Izuku turned back his mother was gone, and her door closed once more.
"Tch," Then there was his recent lack of… training. Izuku had taken to hunting villains. It was the main reason he had become so proficient at stopping time and commanding Holy Diver. Unlike a typical street fight, Izuku meet no resistance to quirk usage. He could fight without holding back and properly gauge his strength. Izuku hadn't killed anyone during his hunts even when he felt the urge, Holy Divers frustration was palpable. Holy Diver followed his commands and always listened to him but the more he ignored Holy Divers urges the more they became his own. To sate his bloodlust Izuku would fight more and more.
until recently when heroes took notice.
Izuku hadn't really cared about the drop in crime, he would just circulate to another area and hunt there. He didn't bat an eye when random no name heroes began taking credit for the defeat of the villains and villain gangs. Then his bloodlust increased, and many of the villains were brutalized. A rookie hero accidentally killed a villain and was blasted by the media. Because he had taken credit for some of Izuku's more savage beatings he was nearly forced into resignation. His first mistake was lying, stealing credit for petty greed. His second mistake came next when he revealed his existence.
To escape the media's ire, the fool concocted a story of how he had heroically intervened in a brutal street fight but was too late to save him. There were already rumors of his existence before this but now he couldn't even walk down the streets without seeing a patrol of wanna be heroes looking for their shot at the elusive villain hunter. Along with leaving less opening, the upstarts started thinning the villains out. With fewer and fewer villains and little to no opportunities to fight, Izuku could no longer sate Holy Divers' lust for battle. He noticed that even he started to become restless and irritable. That was when everything changed.
That was when he hunted his first hero.
It had been a particularly stressful time back then. After a month straight without any prey Izuku was at his wits end. Three times he had nearly gotten into a good fight but was forced to bail when a hero interrupted. Both times the hero detained the villain leaving Izuku feeling even more frustrated and unsatisfied. By the final week Izuku was a ball of tension and nerves, it was only a matter of time until he blew. The fourth time he fought a villain he had tracked down a trigger dealer's connection back to a group called the Shie Hassaikai.
"Well, since you've been a loyal customer…eeeh I guess I can spot you this time," The dealer said, pocketing the little cash he received and with a sneer as long boney fingers held the small vial. This is an investment, bring a few of your friends with you next time and spread the word.
The pathetic wretch before him practically lunged at the substance, while disheveled the man looked like a typical office drone. The man reached as high as he could but found it was always out of reach. He wore a manic look with crazed bloodshot eyes. The dealer laughed, the power trigger gave was addictive but this was just sad. Some people lived sad and shitty lives and looked for something, anything to change it. This man was a loser, with a useless quirk and small dick. This gave him a short temper and a huge inferiority complex. The man hated him but would lick the shit from his heel if it meant getting a little extra boost. He gave it a week…tops before the bastard blew his bosses brains out, maybe tonight if he had a bad trip.
"Well well well ~ , what do we have here?" came a soft honeyed voice smooth as silk and oh so erotic. The two men whipped their heads around looking for the source. "I wonder… what will you do in the face… of fear," the last part held malice which sent chills down their spines. Golden eyes pierce their very souls as fear sunk in. The dealer was shocked as this was supposed to be a secluded area, a secluded back alley in a seedy neighborhood, even the heroes looked the other way. Not to mention he was a known dealer for Shie Hassaikai… who the hell would be stupid enough to interrupt one of Overhaul's deals?
"Fuck this shit," screamed the man as he hopped up to snatch the vial from his hands. The dealer reeled as the man doped up, not wishing to be caught in the cross fires. He personally wouldn't be caught dead using this shit. It was still being tested and didn't even last long. The high was shit, the boost was mediocre, and if the boss ever caught him using the merchandise rather than selling it… plus the American shit was sooooo much better. He had a vial in his breast pocket right now. If he needed it.
"I'll show you for looking down on meeeeeee!" The crazy bastard was out of his goddamn mind. He puckered his lips and fired randomly. The dealer covered his head as the bastard began firing into the shadows. Normally the mans projectile spit was weaker than a fucking water gun, but with trigger it was essentially a rapid fire water cutter. The man spat repeatedly, laughing in between short bursts as projectiles riddled the walls with holes. When the dust settled anyone who had been around were either shot to hell or blasted to pieces. The only reason the mad bastard stopped was because the trigger began wearing off. Their blasts were less focused and began sputtering and spattering, spraying their vile spit all over the place. The spray became so bad the dealer was forced to turn away to protect his eyes and other facial orifices. The wet splashes became worse by the second, growing in volume and annoying the shit out of him. The dealer was content to soldier through and make him suffer to get his next fix, that was until a large splash coated his face. The dealer opened his eyes and turned to yell… but the man was missing. The spit stung his eyes, painting his vision an irritated red. He reached to whip, seeing a lump on the ground. The dealer looked down to find the fucker knocked out and his own hand coated in blood. "Fuck," The dealer shouted stumbling for his breast pocket.
"Looking for this?" came the voice as a hand emerged from the shadows. A hand covered in golden armor. The vial shattered in their palm as the clear liquid dripped through their fingers along with any of the dealer's hopes of winning. Still, he wouldn't go down without a fight. "Take this, HAAAAAA!" His arm shot out, quick as a bullet. The arm extended nearly two meters in a fraction of a second. Their fist connected with something hard, normally when he hit something it broke thanks to the force and the brass knuckles… "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The dealer kneeled as tears flooded their vision. He began to feel reach for his arm… but there wasn't one. Or rather it wasn't attached instead it was being handed to him by the armored hand. The dealer stumbled backwards, dragging themself from the shadows, wide eyed in terror. The dealer only stopped when he bumped into something. They looked up only to find a pair of piercing golden eyes.
"It's useless, my Quirk is superior to all others," He laughed as an armored monster emerged from the dark. Burning red eyes locked onto the dealer. The dealer whimpered as it moved closer, looming over him like death itself.
Izuku relished the victory as relief and euphoria flooded his system. He was so enamored with the euphoric feeling of bliss his mind slipped and he began contemplating killing him. The dealer was notorious around the area, selling to anyone and everyone who asked regardless of age. Holy Diver cocked back his fist ready to mail the bastard's jaw across japan. "Stop!" came a shout from behind interrupting him mid swing. A hero stood in the mouth of the alley, Izuku wasn't sure whether they were in the yakuzas pocket or not… and he didn't care. Izuku had been blue balled and cock blocked too many times by now. Now that he was finally able to itch that scratch… he would not be denied again. Izuku was seeing red by this point unable to restrain Holy divers unspeakable rage. The dealer had long since passed out leaving the hero as the only target.
"You know, I've been experiencing changes and these strange urges ever since my quirks awakening…" Izuku lifted his hand and began listing them off on his fingers, his back still turned. "fits of rage, an increased muscle mass, an uncontrollable compulsion to pose in the most ludicrous way imaginable." The hero cocked his eyebrow until he noticed the strange gravity defying way the young man was bent, like his spine was rubber. " But of the many many changes I have gone through while maturing my quirk, I found the most alarming to be my lust for combat, my blood boils to fight and test the limits of my power." His finger closed into a clenched fist. Holy Diver eyed the hero with a steely gaze. He looked strong, with a large muscular build. The look on his face was that of fear and rage. "You scum, you two seem to take pleasure from harming people? Is this a game to you?" The hero crashed his fists together sending sparks flying. "I am the hero Death Arms! And I-"
"Will stop your reign of terror, end your tyranny, bring you to justice, blah blah blah," Izuku listed just a few of the many heroic monologs he's heard before mocking them with a hand puppet. Normally He would have just left before the hero could get a good look at him…not today. "Don't you have anything original?" Izuku turned slightly, aiming a piercing golden eye which froze Death Arm's in place. All Izuku could think of was ripping him apart, Holy divers desire to fight him was overwhelming his senses. He was too far gone. Izuku needed to fight, needed to test his limits… he needed… to kill him.
"RAAAAAHH!" Death arms swung at Izuku in a wide arc. His massive fist barreling towards an unseemly body. The punch collided with the pavement, shattering it to pieces, much to the hero's relief and confusion. "Not very heroic, If i hadn't moved him your fist would have pulverized this poor man," Izuku said with a sadistic gleam. Death's arms hesitated but swung again, His arm was stopped however by the Izuku. Death arms was floored that such a scrawny boy had stopped his attack, this allowed Izuku to connect a savage hook to his jaw which left his vision swimming. Death arms began seeing things as what appeared to be a second villain emerged out of thin air and began plumbing him. Death arms blocked the flurry of blows, rapid shouts accompanied each one. "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" The sound of cracking and squelching rang through the air as Death arms mighty muscles were pounded into paste. The gear he wore around his wrist had long since crumbled from the Muda barrage and his arms were in a sorry state.
"It seems your arms match your name, I highly doubt you can so much as lift a finger much less attack with them. Death arms scowled at this, he wouldn't allow himself to be beaten like this.
BAM! ~Squelch~
Izuku recoiled in agony, his face red and swollen from an attack which should never have struck him. It seems the hero was able to move his arms after all. Death arms struck the unsuspecting boy and Holy diver, sending both quirk and user flying into the adjacent wall. Death arms kneeled, panting and sweating as pain jolted through his arms. His vision blurred and his body became heavy. His arms were now effectively dead weight, that bastard's armor was nothing to sneeze at, what little hand bones which remained unbroken were now shattered from the impact. Then there was that weird anomaly, he had hit the kid… so why did the big guy go flying with him? Little did he know that Holy Diver was not entirely his own being, he was a quirk, Izuku's quirk. A being entirely one with the boy. Actually even Izuku didn't know this, he had never taken damage before.
"...That *spit* was a good hit," Izuku held a bloodied tooth in his hands clutching it tightly as his hand trembled. A manic smirk spread across his bruised face. His eyes burned with renewed vigor and even Holy Diver was grinning. The two stepped forward, appearing in front of the hero instantaneously. Death arms reeled back but was caught by an armored hand. Despite the smirk there was only malice in his gaze, death arms saw only hate brewing in the villains eyes. "Your quirk isn't flashy, it's simple and boring NOT SPECIAL AT ALL!" Their grip tightened, almost crushing their throat completely. The battle was over but at what cost, before Izuku was a vigilante…now Izuku was officially a villain. Izuku's eyes faded to green and Holy Diver released him. Izuku began to breathe rapidly, practically hyperventilating. He had to think of something, anything, if the heroes found out it was him…That was when he heard gurgled breathing. Relief washed over him and he finally hatched a plan. Holy Diver smeared the blood on a nearby wall, a message to the heroes that would hopefully throw them off his scent. Rather than looking for a villain hunting vigilante they would search for a mad criminal. Three letters were written on the wall in desperate haste. Three letters which changed his life forever.
Here he was now, with a final choice to make. Izuku had followed death arms story and found the hero was alive but comatosed. If he died then Izuku would forever be a villain. If he survived he would tell everyone and the result would be the same. Izuku was truly damned if he did and damned if he didn't. There were only two options, cover up his mistake and live a lie…or turn himself in. Of course he could wait or run but those options weren't his style. No, no he would face this one way or the other. He would either accept it fully or hide it fervently. No matter what though he would take matters into his own hands. If he accepted his fate it was a simple phone call away. If he hid it, if the hero died or… he could sneak into the hospital, he still had a week till the U.A entrance exam.
What was he supposed to do now?
Bakugou sat in stunned silence. His mothers words slowly registered as they began to seep in. To say he was shocked was an understatement, Izuku Midoriya had been killed by falling debris in a villain attack. The room was silent, neither he nor his parents made a single sound or move. The silence seemed to drag on forever as the words seeped into his mind. Izuku had died...Izuku had died...Izuku. Had. DIED?! Bakugou leaped from his spot, ripping the door open and nearly off its hinges. Bakugou raced into the night ignoring the echoed voices calling out behind him. Drawing his phone, he dialed the one number he thought he'd never use again. He called Izuku.
He called him four times, running full speed the entire time. He didn't care how his lungs burned, or how every breath was ragged and ached. He ran and ran until his legs burned from over exertion. It was on the fourth call when he made it to his destination. It was the Midoriya house, the lights were off and after his knocking went unanswered for half an hour straight he knew it was true.
His final moments were spent with his mother, The villain destroyed and collapsed multiple buildings. There were dozens of recordings showing a green haired boy…Izuku, pushing Auntie Inko out from under a collapsing building. Miraculously a few officers escaped the falling rubble but Izuku and the villain didn't. The news calls it a miracle but he knew the truth, he remembered Izuku's weird power. The one person that he acknowledged surpassed him in strength… had died during a wannabe villain attack. Not even fighting either, Izuku was killed by a bunch of oversized rocks. It wasn't impossible but with his quirk it was infuriatingly stupid and unacceptable!
For the first time in years, Bakugou felt the urge to challenge Izuku, and show Izuku how much he improved. But he couldn't. He would never be able to challenge him to a rematch...never be able to settle the score, never be able to move out from under his shadow...because Izuku Midoriya...died a hero.
What was he going to do now?
Izuku sat alone in the rubble of what was a building. It seemed he was careless and allowed himself to be followed. Izuku had thankfully noticed his mother before he started his hunt and confronted her after it was clear she wouldn't leave.
"How long have you been following me?" he asked, seemingly teleporting behind her. Inko yelped in shock as she spun around with her purse. He stood still and allowed the bag to slam into his face, snapping his head back and sprawling him out on the floor. 'Either she was hitting the gym or she must have packed bricks in that bag' he thought, rubbing his chin while his mother calmed herself. The two made their way to a local café where they had a long chat. His mother suddenly confessed she felt guilty. "Izuku, I'm sorry for not supporting him before," she apologized " I'm sorry for not assuring you that your quirk wasn't villainous, there's no such thing as a villainous quirk, just villainous people." It was then that she placed a document on the table. She informed him that she had picked up an application for UA. "If you set your mind to it, I know you could change the world Izuku," She slid the paper over towards him, her information already filled. All he had to do was sign. Izuku faltered, he had already made his choice… but here he was being offered a second chance. Was this a sign?
Izuku reached for the paper gently as if it might wither away or decay into dust. He began formulating plans for how to approach this new path opened up to him. For a minute, The world became bright…
THEN THAT MOMENT ENDED
"YOU!" came a cry before a thunderous BOOM rang through the air. Izuku couldn't stop time quickly enough, so instead he shielded his mother from the blast using himself and Holy Diver. The building began to rattle and collapse as fires raged around them. Izuku looked up to see a familiar sight. A goon looking shit with a bird head and a flame quirk.
"I've been looking for you Bastard! We got a score to settle!" Izuku stood just as a hero leaped into the fray. "Cease at once villain, you must be mistaken for we have never Me-" Before he could finish his lame ass speech the bird brain had blasted him through the wall. Those who could leave booked it out of the new exit, the few who stayed behind were unconscious.
"I've been watching you, I intended to follow you all the way home but then I saw yer lil mommy and knew I couldn't pass this up," Izuku's eyes changed as Holy Diver was summoned. He was about to engage when his mother groaned from the heat. The gold faded from his eyes as Izuku realized that the building was still burning around them and would soon collapse, killing them if he didn't get the hell out.
"Muda!" cried Holy diver as he launched a massive chunk of rubble towards his assailant. The rubble was quickly caught by fire threads which wrapped around it and crushed the molten chunk. When the goon looked around Izuku had disappeared making him madder and his flames burn even brighter. Out from his pocket came a glass vial, He simply doped himself and rushed off in search of his prey. He would hunt the villain hunter.
Izuku exited the building as time resumed, all around him a crowd had formed with phones out and hero's present. "Great," He said, knowing full well that this meant he couldn't use holy diver, lest he reveal his secret to the city as well as every villain he's hunted. A series of massive booms as fire engulfed the whole block. In thick smoke and flames. Izuku could only think of one thing which could make a goon this powerful.
Izuku grimaced, "of course he had trigger."
From their hands flaming kanji flew at him, Izuku was barely able to dodge and duck with his mother on his back. If the crowd hadn't been here he could use Holy Diver to defend himself. For a second he almost summoned him anyways, until more heroes showed up. Looks of hate and distance flashed in his mind as he remembered the last times he used Holy Diver recklessly. He remembered the doctor, the woman he hurt, and even bakugou. Izuku's life had changed drastically and most people hadn't even seen his quirk. Holy Diver was the epitome of everything Izuku wanted. Holy Diver was the strength and power society required you to have to be a hero. Yet from the very first moments since he awoke it, Izuku has been ostracized and become more of an outcast than if he were quirkless. Izuku was becoming a villain.
Izuku turned, taking a burning death Kanji to the back. His lungs already stung and his head was spinning from the smoke, now he had burns to contest with. Thankfully he had summoned Holy Divers back just in time to take the blow. It was his quirks heavy armor which lessened the damage and minimized the burns.
"Why aren't you fighting back?! Come on, summon your quirk and fight me already." Izuku the two stood in a standoff the building toppled. Acting fast, Izuku tossed his mother away before using the world to retrieve the others. Izuku made his way to his original spot, just as time resumed.
The building fell, collapsed atop them, leading to now. The goon had been crushed in the rubble and was dead when he found him. Izuku could have saved him but the threat to himself and his mother made him hesitant. As he sat there he could hear the hero's digging through the rubble, looking for anyone trapped. He didn't care. Izuku sat staring at the sheet in his hands. His U.A form was dirty and slightly burned.
As the hero's dug closer and closer, Izuku barely had time to think. This really was his last chance.
Izuku smirked, him a hero?...Never. No, He was too far gone for that life. And with that his path was clear. And… on second thought, he would be going to the entrance exam. Izuku stood from the rubble tearing the application in half.
Just not as Izuku.
The letter finally arrived and as expected he passed, his parents congratulated him but it felt hollow. He had worked hard for this, he trained and studied as hard as he could for months to get to this point. Here he was, the first and likely only person from Aldara junior high to ever be accepted into U.A, he even made the top spot...so why couldn't he enjoy it? It felt wrong, it felt empty like something was missing. It was too easy. He only trained so hard because he was expecting a greater challenge, an insurmountable obstacle to keep this from him. As if on cue he felt as if a shadowy figure loomed over him, he began to sweat as a chill ran down his spin. He felt a cold and icy feeling in his chest, his body went numb a shadow stood in the once empty room...it had burning red eyes, solid looking armor and radiated an almost visible aura.
( ゴゴゴゴ ) He felt a stinging sensation form in his cheek it soon became a harsh burning like he had just been punched. He wasn't sure how long he had held his breath until he had to force himself to breath. That monster of a quirk was pure evil, all the nerve he might have felt melted away at the memory of its glare. The sound of its fist shattering concrete to dust made his chest hurt. "I'm glad it's gone." came a whisper. It took him a moment to realize it was him, he was glad...glad that he was gone.
Bakugou walked through the halls of U.A looking for his classroom, when he found it he had to ignore his previous intention of commenting on the door nor the extras that littered the room. None of them look as strong as him. Bakugou sat down feeling a sense of ease, he placed his feet on the table allowing him to lean back fully. He stayed like this for about a minute before someone interrupted his peace. One of his classmates was rambling while moving like a damned robot. The robot ranted on, demanding he put his feet down. Bakugou felt his eyes twitch as the talk went on. After what felt like forever, four eyes finally walked away and Bakugou was left alone to stew in his thoughts until a homeless looking fucker came in claiming to be their teacher. They ended up skipping orientation for a practical exam which was fine by him, he got the top score but again it felt hollow. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder 'how would Izuku do?' 'Could Izuku do better?' 'Was this enough to beat him?' These thoughts drove him mad as he felt his frustration boil. Would he ever be free of that bastard, was it just his fate to live in that bastard's shadow for the rest of his life? All his life he had been praised for having a strong quirk, told by everyone that he would be an amazing hero. The opinion of all those pathetic weaklings meant nothing to him though, only one person had ever earned his fear and respect. Izuku was the first and only person to beat him, Izuku just had greater potential, honestly back then he was jealous, he had originally thought Izuku had a better chance at becoming a hero. Then he changed, shortly after their fight Izuku was shunned and ostracized by their peers. He wasn't surprised when Izuku started acting out nor was he fazed when no one wanted to challenge him. Izuku became darker with time, more aggressive and…unstable. Izuku was always a mumbler but it seemed to be worse, progressively growing louder until mumbling turned to shouting. He also got into the habit of sitting or standing in ways which were…slightly suggestive if not entirely inappropriate. The worst change was that Izuku no longer seemed the same, the bright potential Izuku once had began to fade before his eyes. Bakugou wasn't sure how to feel back then, but now that he's gone…
"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!"
The sun began to slowly creep beneath the horizon, most already left for home by now. Most except for a certain ash blonde who's been here since class ended.
"Hey man are you doing all right?" Bakugou turned to see one of his classmates, a red spikey haired guy whose name he couldn't remember. Bakugou decided to ignore him even as shitty hair came closer.
"DIE!" ( BOOM ) He launched another vicious assault on the training robots. He had this space for another ten minutes or so and he wouldn't waste it talking. His hands smoked and cracked with miniature explosions. He ignored the sore ache as he unleashed another explosion, ripping apart a three pointer like tissue paper.
"Take it easy bro," Kirishima said. Bakugou ignored him and continued to annihilate the training bots. At first Kirishima was impressed at how manly he was, training for hours every day. Though he was reserved and often resorted to shouting, Kirishima admired his dedication and wanted to befriend the volatile blonde. When he arrived in the training room he had originally planned to wait for Bakugou to finish. When the sun set and the blonde still hadn't called it quits Kishima's awe turned to concern. Even from here he could smell the burns from his hands, it was nothing recovery girl couldn't fix, then he kept going and now he wasn't so sure it could be healed so easily…if she was still here to begin with.
"DIIIE!" Bakugou finished another wave of robots. The scattered remains rained all around him. It wasn't enough. If Izuku were here he could destroy twice as much in half the time. His timing was shit, Izuku and that thing were in perfect sync chaining attacks with that teleportation ability. Growling in fury he waited for another wave to be released. But it never came.
"I think that's enough, go home problem child,"
Bakugou turned to face the voice, red eyes, meeting a pair of tired dry ones. Shota Aizawa deactivated the drones staring at his latest problem child. Kirishima had gotten him in a hurry and to his surprise he could see why. The look on his face was not one of improvement, it looked less like training and more like… coping. As his teacher and a pro hero this was something Aizawa couldn't ignore.
"I still have this room for another three minutes, plenty of time to destroy this weak fodder." The look in his eyes was manic, almost murderous with the level of animosity behind them. Shota sighed to himself, muttering something not quite audible.
"True, but as your homeroom teacher and a member of the UA staff, I am authorized to grant or withhold certain privileges in regards to campus activities." Bakugou looked ready to explode as the burning in his hands spread through his arm. He had overused his quirk which proved detrimental, any results he may have received from this were gone. Forfeited to over , recovery girl was still here due to an incident with Toshinori.
"You have two choices, come with me to the nurse's office or stay here and tell me why you seem intent to train until your arms fall off," Bakugou looked between his arms and Aizawa. It took him about a minute to decide a kiss was the quickest option.
"Something is definitely wrong," thought Aizawa as he escorted the problem child to the nurse.
As they walked by, Toshinori Yagi sat staring at a file.
Both the documents and the headline were labeled simply and effectively. "DIO." All Might sat in his office chair in silence, pondering the events so far as his finger tapped against his desk. Between the gate incident and Dio's message and death arms, U.A was in a tight spot and he became far more hesitant to leave the school. Nezu had praised his dedication to teaching but in truth it was because he felt something was off. First there was the brutal defeat of pro hero Death arms by a new villain identified as Dio, then on top of that Dio struck again in the school during an exam. Now he seemed to have just vanished without a trace, as if he never existed. That was what boiled his blood, it was like Dio was taunting them. Until now there hadn't been any incidents since Death Arms. 'Why give us these messages?' he thought. That was the question plaguing his mind as he leaned back into his chair. That's when it hit him. It was a declaration. No one had seen who Dio was or how he destroyed the robots. Dio was showing them that he could have killed each of the applicants just as easily. It was a more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. A villain attack directly aimed at U.A, the same year he became a teacher. It could only mean one thing.
"It's a challenge." … perhaps even the birth of a new symbol of evil.
"Wrrryyyyyy," sighed Izuku. His face felt hot from his new mask and as he leaned against a wall the grimy brick felt especially dirty. He had just wrapped up his training exercises as he found himself growing bored of fighting. Instead he idly flipped through the news apps on his personal phone. The news showed an article which had interviews with students and staff talking about a mysterious anomaly, with the simple headline...DIO.
"You there," came a voice. Izuku prepared for battle ignoring the knocked out fools on the 's eyes met with a strange smokey figure, they wore nice clothes, a steel neck brace and had bright glowing eyes. In his opinion, they looked like they came straight out a bar.
What Izuku hadn't realized was, he had. Izuku had been able to hunt unusually well in this area. A pleasant surprise after the Death arms incident. Since then hero patrols and local security had increased rapidly. In just a few days Izuku found he couldn't take more than a few steps before he caught sight of a hero. That wasn't even counting the undercover cops he would see. He learned to spot them at a glance after a close call. He didn't leave his calling card that time. It was a good thing too, after that stunt the police upped their patrols too. This area was one of the few safe havens left. There were little to no hero patrols and the few police patrols which passed were nearly forgettable.
"So, are these your friends?" asked Izuku, his eyes shone gold as he prepared for battle. He didn't know why but from his short time hunting, he noticed the crime rate in these streets was exceptionally higher than average yet when he checked online every site said otherwise. Dio had chalked it up to standard negligence and possible corruption.
The real reason was the strange bar about a block down and the newly forming organization within. Kurogiri stood in front of the boy. He and the league had been hearing murmurs in the underworld about a villain hunter. And that he had been migrating from city to city. If the rumors were to be believed even the hero killer was looking for him. At first he had simply assumed the boy to be an average vigilante and not the famous villain hunter. But after watching him teleport from one spot to another effortlessly dispatching the thugs and the recruiter he had hired, there was no doubt. In almost every account of the Villain hunter he was described as a young boy with green hair and golden eyes who could teleport. There were other rumors, like he was as strong as all might or that he could command monsters, that he sometimes fought with a partner. Another reason Kurogiri didn't recall any mention of a mask.
The news declared Izuku had died in a villain attack, meaning he couldn't be seen now without arousing suspicions. After the building collapsed he left and went into hiding. Holy Diver brought him everything he needed to survive and the world allowed him to move undetected. He made his home in a run down building where he hid until he could come up with a plan. He had decimated small time thugs and villains, beaten multiple pro heroes with Death Arms being his greatest challenge, and infiltrated U.A's exam. Now what, what was all this for, if he wasn't a hero then what was he? He clearly wasn't a villain, at least not yet. In the back of his mind he still blamed himself for that pyro goon's death. Izuku found he couldn't look himself in the mirror most days, so he got a mask. A curious thing he found in a market, it was plastic which was textured to appear like carved stone. The mask had narrow eyes and a plush lipped smirk, fangs protruding from the sides of the mouth. It was the kind of thing people avoided. In a second Izuku was wearing it as he walked down the street. It was the birth of something new. The official birth of his villain persona, the birth if Dio
The two stood in a stand-off, neither moved as they examined each other. Dio smirked as he figured the odds were even. He hadn't manifested Holy Diver and he only needed to be fast enough to time stop.
Kurogiri held similar thoughts, he had been watching him and seen them essentially teleport and thus figured he knew his quirk while his own was still concealed.
Dio's blood boiled for a fight, Kurogiri couldn't allow the villain hunter to discover the league.
A fight was inevitable.
Dio lashed out on instinct, jumping using Holy Diver's legs planning to strike the shiny neck brace. It was the most armored point on his body meaning it must be a weak point. He didn't know how long they had been watching. Assuming the worst, they saw him use the world. This meant they probably thought he had a speed or teleportation quirk. His best bet was a frontal assault.
Kurogiri recoiled in shock as his brain went into overdrive.
He had prepared himself for an attack from all sides, when he was watching, Kurogiri noted they were surprisingly strong. The sight of their victims' bruises and broken bones were evidence of this. Then there was his speed, he had cleared half the distance between them in an instant.
They would probably teleport and attack from behind. Worst case scenario he would be aiming for his neck brace.
However maybe his quirk wasn't actually teleportation.
A portal appeared just as Dio jumped. In an instant Dio was a few inches from colliding with the wall. Dio was a fraction of a second from smashing face first into brick as the portal began to close. With no other option.
Dio counters with the world.
Curious of the portal's properties. Dio slammed an armored fist through the brick pulling a pipe from the wall. Free of the portal, Dio dash behind the warp villain.
"Time will resume."
The pipe was cut and Kurogiri was immediately aware of Dio's absence. He opened a portal behind himself, forcing Dio's fist to collide into another brick wall. Kurogiri grimaced as the brick and mortar crumbled like styrofoam. Snatching a piece, Dio crushed a chunk to dust, pulling his arm free. Kurogiri was stunned as a portion of the wall collapsed. Allowing Dio to backpedal away as a thick miasma enveloped Kurogiri and chased him. Dio examined the black mist and tossed the dust at the villain, earning a confused glare.
"Tell me villain hunter, what exactly brings you here?" Kurogiri asked. He needs to be careful as to what he says, he needs more information before deciding what to do with him. If he knows too much then he dies, if not then he may hand him over to . Kurogiri slowly began to close the distance between them.
"Get this through your head and remember, I am Dio," Izuku said, fully committing to his new identity. "As for what I want to know, tell me what you think you'll feel in the face of fear."
The two traded attacks with Kurogiri reluctantly using his portals offensively. Usually he would only use them for transportation or defense but for the famous DIO who had breached U.A and interrupted the hero exam. He was willing to make an exception.
Dio was more than impressed by Kurogiri, he was in a different league from the no named thugs he was used to fighting. The villain's quirk usage and mastery constantly keeps him on his toes, using if for both defense and offense. Izuku jumped to dodge a portal which opened behind him, kicking off a wall and landing opposite of the villain. He grew excited as he began to analyze and review the villain's quirk. Warp quirks were a rarity after all, and in a normal circumstance he would be furiously writing every detail in a notebook. Who would have thought to weaponize such an incredible quirk.
First blood went to Dio, however, as he slammed an armored fist into the side of Kurogiri's neck brace The sheer force of the blow rattled his bones and shook him to his very core. It had taken Dio a while to discern its location, but after throwing dust and stones into the villain's miasma he heard a subtle yet telling clink of stone against metal.
Kurogiri was launched into a wall, creating huge spider web cracks in the surface. The wind was knocked from his lungs and his vision swam from the pain. When he finally got his Bearings he reviewed what he knew of his opponents quirk. He wasn't sure why but he felt something was off about their quirk. At first glance it appeared to be teleportation yet something about it didn't track. There was something odd about that attack. Then there was the sheer power of the punch itself. Their attack was comparable to any strength quirk he'd seen barring All Might.
He hated to use these but he had no choice.
Izuku watched as two portals opened and figures stepped out. The first was a huge muscular figure with dark grayish black skin, their upper body had scars but the most abnormal feature was their lack of a face. They only had a lower jaw, leaving their brain exposed. The second was smaller in size and mass with light green skin, multiple eyes and a much less exposed brain. They both wore only pants with the only armor being on the gray ones knees. Izuku scowled as now the scales were tipping to Kurogiri's favor. He had numbers as well as a versatile quirk. He needed to remove these guys fast before they could overwhelm him.
"Kill him," He would have to give the doctor a corpse, hopefully Ujiko could still work with that.
Izuku couldn't help the smile, he was excited, oh how he was excited. These things, these monsters were unlike anything he had ever seen. They looked strong and Holy Diver craved combat. If he didn't fight them now he knew he'd go insane from his quirks overwhelming bloodlust. More than that. Golden eyes shimmered with glee, he wanted to test his limits too.
The gray one came in swinging, towering over Dio's smaller frame. The attack was so swift that he barely registered the green one move until they were right on top of him. Dio ducked each attack with lightning precision only to be slammed to the floor with a THUD! The sound was deafening and the force left his ears ringing. Dio found himself buried within an impression in the concrete. When he looked to investigate he found the missed punches had entered portals to attack from his blind spots. "Damn it, that bastard!" Dio thought as his eyes flared with anger. The Nomu's wasted no time in attacking him while he was down. Using the world, he escaped the brunt of their blows which pulverized the ground.
"Graaa!" The green Nomu screamed as it fell to its knees. "What the matter with y-" Kurogiri noticed the Nomu was missing an arm. The gray one was next as it fell to the ground screaming. Its leg was twisted three-sixty at the knee cap. Muscle tissue was twisted with bones popping from the mangled limb. None of the injuries he saw terrified him as much as Dio's absence. His quirk was definitely not teleportation of that he was sure. Even though his head was still swimming he was orientated enough to know injuries don't just appear out of thin air. It had to be speed, terrifying inhuman levels of speed. Kurogiri looked around terrified as the Nomu's picked themselves off the ground in search of their attacker.
"Muda!" Out of nowhere Kurogiri felt a massive weight slam down on top of him, he just barely managed to escape being crushed getting a look at the offending weight. " A ROAD ROLLER!" Kurogiri felt himself having an aneurysm, where did he even find one? Dio smirked as he stood atop the destroyed construction machine, literally looking down on the villain trio. "I gave you three far too much credit, I thought this would be a challenge," He smirked much to the ire of the warp villain. The two nomu's stalked closer before making a mad dash towards him. His lungs ached and blood seeped from his back and into his clothes. The offending garment pressed against the bruises, leaving a burning sensation on the swollen skin. Yet still he stood tall in the face of monsters. Ignoring the cracking and popping in his spine, Dio posed dramatically and awaited their advance.
"Oh, you're approaching me instead of running away," The malevolent mirth in his voice sent a chill down Kurogiri's spine. The nomu's had closed the distance in seconds as they lunged with full force.
"Then by all means, come as close as you like!" Shouted Dio, the nomu's a mere inch away. "THE WORLD!" He yelled. Before they could react, Kurogiri watched in horror as his bodyguards fell to the floor, still alive yet utterly ripped apart and mangled. "He's more of a monster than the nomu's!" Kurogiri spotted Dio. It was a split second decision but a new portal allowed a yellowish blur to slam into Dio at full force.
Dio gasped in confusion as they were tackled from behind and slammed into the floor cracking his mask from the force. Blood pooled in his mask clouding his vision. As he began counting his teeth, he realized that a new creature had been brought to fight. But the warp villain wasn't done, He opened portals all around them allowing the winged Nomu to fly through and attack from all sides. Dio had managed to dodge the first few dives but knew he was in trouble, his vision was blurry and red and his body was racked with searing pain. At this rate he would have to show his hand and summon Holy diver just to defend himself. His body became numb and his vision grew even hazier, he needed to give The world a break before even thinking of using it again.
"Even with the nomu's speed and warping they can still dodge." As if to punctuate this Dio deflected the Nomu with a punch, flinging them through a portal. With that they began disassembling the Nomu, tossing them through portals, ripping a piece off each time. By the End even the fastest of the nomu's was left squealing and gurgling on the floor as a pile of useless flesh.
"Is that it or do you have more monsters to send?" Dio asked, even with his mask Kurogiri could tell he was smirking. In that moment he was tempted to summon the last Nomu, but knew that it was meant to kill All Might. If he warped it here then it would surely anger his masters. Even if he did, he wasn't even sure it would obey his command. Leaving him alone again with this monster.
Dio walked forward, passing the piles of meat which were once the nomu's, groaning and thrashed in vain attempts to lash out at him. It was impressive they were still alive. But he was more impressed at how close he was to manifesting Holy Diver.
"What are you? You're no hero and even the most brutal vigilantes never go this far." Kurogiri moved back, preparing for any attacks which may come. Dio walked slowly towards the warp villain, much like a lion stalked his prey. From one fight alone Kurogiri had already developed fear.
And He trembled.
"I told you, I am Dio," He stopped less than two meters from Kurogiri, neither moved or made a sound. It was a truce, an armistice, a brief pause in the fight which would decide what happened next. Dio waited eagerly for Kurogiri to make a move, Kurogiri saw this as a challenge. Like Dio was daring him to make the first move. He thought about it, he desperately wanted to beat him and present his master with this monstrous quirk he had. He thought of every way he might attack, but always came out defeated. It was only now that he noticed the man was merely a boy yet in the end the villain didn't have the strength nor the courage to battle him any longer. In the face of fear he felt something new.
He felt Hope.
"And why would I join your group?" Asked dio as he stood tall over the fallen villain. Kurogiri had deactivated his quirk and bowed, wishing to talk rather than fight. "We, The League of Villains, wish to cleanse the world of All Might and change the world," Kurogiri knew he couldn't beat him, so instead he switched tactics. He would recruit him. "We plan to gather and recruit as many villains as possible."
"And you think I am interested, you still haven't answered my question. Why? would I. Want. to Join? Kurogiri racked his brain thinking of anything he could use to convince them to join. What would this monster of a boy want and what could they say to persuade him. If they were a villain then why did they spare their victims. Death Arms and even his Nomu's were brutally massacred yet were left alive. Why? What was his motive? What was his goal? What could he possibly want that they could give him. Though he hadn't said it, Kurogiri knew Dio was also the villain hunter. More people he spared, then it hit him.
"To spread fear," he said. Catching Dio's attention. "You could have killed me and my Nomu's, you could have killed those thugs around us, I'm certain that Dio and the Villain hunter are one in the same, meaning you're responsible for the brutal assault on Death Arms and aren't a vigilante," the two stared, measuring each other's reactions. After a second, Kurogiri continued. "This means you could have only one goal."
"And what is that?"
"You wish to change the world, using fear as a weapon." And... for a second, he saw his mother again. "If you set your mind to it, I know you could change the world Izuku," another door opened, and a new path revealed itself.
Dio's eyes reverted to green leaving Izuku to face the battered villain. Holy Diver was finally and fully satisfied, despite the pain, a faint smile formed on his face and his eyes became kind and gentle again. struggled to keep his body from shaking, he stood proud and victorious. Though he would need to visit an underground doctor after this fight, which was a first.
Izuku turned and began walking away, stopping at the mouth of the alley he turned towards the villain, emerald green met bright yellow as he asked a single question.
"Where?"
Bakugou sat in his room staring at his wall. Bright red eyes practically boring holes into it.
He hadn't slept well since that day, haunted by visions of a golden figure and a pair of amber eyes.
It had been like this, ever since that day. He didn't know why. Why? Why did he feel such a gnawing in his gut? He had done it, He made his dream a reality, their dream. Ever since they were all they had both agreed to be heroes. Yet only he had the fortitude to make it. While Izuku wasted his talent on acts of violence and petty crimes, he had trained diligently to increase his quirks proficiency and power. He studied til dawn and worked himself to the bone every day.
"He trained too, "came a dark whisper as the memories of golden armor replayed in his head. Though you can't prove it, you know as well as I do that he was the one who beat that sludge villain. It was a terrifying thought, one which he often denied. So what if he mentioned golden eyes, so what if he saw them too. Lots of people had golden eyes, maybe he was mistaken. They could have been yellow, amber or just a figment of his imagination. And even if he had been there, even if he had beaten the villain so what? What did it matter? "Out of everyone, I alone made it into U.A high!' He countered, mentally screaming at the contradiction. He seethe in place when he remembered the day he learned Izuku had applied as well. He had dreamed of being the first student to enter from that shit stain of a school 'That bastard, he lets everyone hear he's going to U.A then doesn't even show up at the exam!'
'But he was there,' came the same voice. 'He's always there.' Suddenly he spotted a tuft of green and a flash of gold. He didn't look, he had to force himself not to look, he wasn't there. "It's just an illusion, a trick from my mind," He thought as the colors faded and he was left sitting alone once more. His chiseled muscles relaxed after a few heaving breaths, he had honed himself for years in preparation. He stroked his chin as he sat, diving deeper and deeper in thought. His thumb ghosted over a faint scar as he glared at the scorched dumbbell embedded in his wall. His parents had left to visit Auntie Inko in the hospital, leaving him alone to train with only his thoughts as company.
He had just finished his a hundred and fifty reps when a voice leached into his mind and whispered "Izuku could do better," The outcome was explosive and the handles still radiated red, smoking slightly. "Is that really how a hero acts? Izuku wasn't this quick tempered," He remembered how much pushing it had taken to make him snap. Even after their fight he didn't remember him ever using his quirk to fight again.
"You're just a second rate replacement compared to him, you couldn't even see him move as a child, and he had only grown stronger since then." Said the voice increasing the ashen blondes volatile temper. "WELL HE'S DEAD SO THERE!" he shouted, silencing his mind as he fully realized his predicament. "He's dead, and I'll never know if I was good enough to surpass him," He sat there in the dark as silence filled the void. He wanted, more than anything, to be strong. He wanted to be as strong as all might, stronger than All Might. It was his opinion that a hero was useless without the strength to act, and he had been so sure he was the strongest. He had been certain that Izuku was a quickless nothing, a worthless Deku that he hadn't realized his weakness.
He had learned the hard way.
His face burned and his blood boiled from the humiliation, he scratched his chin numbly as he remembered the months he spent wearing casts, drinking meals through a straw and dreaming of the day he would pay his old friend back. Yet that day never came, and now would never matter how far he came the voices never ceased. He would never be satisfied, could never fully convince himself he had reached his goal.
His shoulders slumped at the thought, how could he ever reach his goals when a wall stood between him and his dream. He had been born with a quirk which put others to shame, he was destined for greatness from the minute he awakened his quirk. He had thought the whole world would revolve around him...he was wrong. Even as kids. Izuku was always ahead of him, always planning ahead, always studying hero's, he had a brightness that he couldn't compare to.
He had been glad, no, ecstatic, when he developed his quirk first. In a way he felt better knowing he had acquired his quirk before him. It wasn't much but I'm some small way it proved he could beat the nerd and his ambitions. Then Izuku awakened his quirk, and in a moment of weakness he allowed a dark thought to seep through.
"Why couldn't he be quirkless?"
"Well well well, what do we have here? Same a soft sensual voice. Since accepting the offer from the league Izuku had spent his time preparing, watching the league from a distance to find anything interesting. And as fate would have it he just learned something VERY interesting. Using Holy Diver and the world allowed him easy access to the bar, and thanks to the gift of technology he was able to plant a bug and retrieve it easily. He had originally planned to watch them live but saw the screen was on and thought better. Wouldn't want someone interrupting his fun. And what Joy Izuku felt as on the recording was none other than a blond boy from class 1-A.
"Aoyama" He chuckled as he watched the villains and the traitor talk. "From now on you're in my grasp," Now, who was this "Sensei?"
Bakugou sat as the bus shook and rocked, every bump shaking him from his thoughts as his classmates rattled off about their quirks and how "Fun" this exercise would be. Bakugou grit his teeth to keep from scoffing. It wasn't supposed to be fun, this was just training. While he would much rather focus on increasing his combat proficiency, this was just another way to prove his superiority. Izuku used to try and save people, but once he got his quirk he allowed himself to go down the path of petty crimes and vigilantism. He would not end up like that, he would be the Number one hero and excel in all forms of heroism.
Dude, you good? Asked Kirishima from the seat next to him. Bakugou followed his gaze to see his white knuckles, hands tightly clenching the fabric of his pant legs. Kirishima had spent the past few days attempting to befriend the ash blond boy with his inane comments on how "MANLY'' he was. This in a way reminded him of how Izuku was before. He was almost always smiling, followed him everywhere and seemed hell bent on being his friend. It felt like a second chance, a chance for him to do it right this time. Kirishima wasn't just his redo however as he found many differences between them. They both had heroes they looked up to but Kirishima was inspired by a guy named Crimson Riot, a hero Bakugou had never heard of till that day. He also had a code of chivalry and judged things based on how manly they were. It was like Izuku had returned…before he changed.
With this, it was as if a weight was removed from his shoulders. His unsettled grudge with Midoriya still bothered him of course. But strangely, he found himself relaxing more, he was able to sleep better and for longer too. He found himself a sparring partner and for once, actually enjoyed his training. His performance skyrocketed and he even found himself the center of a group who cheered him.
"A real man does waste his life holding a grudge, especially against a friend," he told him. Bakugou had threatened to blast him in the face for that one and would never admit he took it to heart. He and Izuku might not have been friends in the end but for both their sakes he would try and let go of the past. "...damned Izuku," Unfortunately this was MUCH harder said than done.
"None of your business shitty hair," He grumbled looking out the window. He felt a hand grip his shoulder, sparring a single glance towards the spiky red head. "We got this bro," He smiled, almost blinding him. Bakugou actually had to squint and restrain the urge to blast him with his howitzer. 'Being nice is a pain in the ass' he thought as the bus finally stopped at the USJ.
He left the bus and the redhead decided to focus solely on being the best, not just in 1-A but in all of U.A High. He would learn to save people to fulfill his dream and become the next symbol of peace. His journey to becoming the number one hero all started with the USJ.
Kurogiri quirk: ( Warp: DP:A, Speed: A, Range: A, Persistence: C, Precision: B, Potential: B ) covers his body in a thick black miasma which can be shifted and shaped to create portals of varying sizes.
This has been another chapter of The world over Izuku, I thank you all for gathering under the banner of Pride. Though it has been a long while, with your continued support I plan to continue this story and grow as a writer.