A/N: For those of you who love the Trigger-happy pun, blame Project Iceman, not me. Okay, maybe me a little.
As per usual, we go back to Izuku and co with the longest chapter to date, some unwanted guests, and some surprises. Enjoy!
(***)
Izuku took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and felt Air Force surge in his palms, before willing the pressure just to his index finger and thumb just as he had done the previous few strikes. With a cry, he opened his eyes to focus across from him, and flicked his index finger, launching a precise blast of air from his fingers which blew across the abandoned warehouse they trained in and hit its target of the mannequin opposite. One small precise and well-aimed blast from the tips of his fingers, a blast he could call on repeatedly and accurately without causing himself a headache from Quirk overuse- this was a big step forward for his abilities.
He turned to Setsuna, a proud and wicked grin on her face as her two detached arms boxed a mannequin away from him, and met her gaze with a firm nod. "I've got it."
"I can tell," his cousin replied with a smirk, raising an eyebrow. "Got a new name for that one?"
"No." Izuku smiled. "But I did work out your hero name."
"Oh ho? Is that so?" She met his gaze, challenging. "Come on then, lay it on me. This can't be worse than Tenko's guesses-"
"I wouldn't have been surprised if you did call yourself Hard-To-Kill-Reptile," Tenko muttered, as he sat against a discarded Fat Gum body pillow he had found among the hero merchandise and scrolled on his phone. "A shitty internet meme and copyright breach sounds exactly like the sort of thing you'd be proud of, you weirdo."
"Hey, that's no way to talk to a lady!"
"I don't see one present."
"How rude!" Setsuna pointed with a teasing look. "Himiko is right there, apologise!"
Tenko didn't look up from his phone to the subject of Setsuna's jibe. "Right, my bad. Sorry for associating you with this clown."
"Hey!"
Himiko for her part looked up from her position, sprawled on another faded body pillow with her nose buried in one of Izuku's Quirk notebooks, and flashed them a toothy grin. "No sweat! You're a grumpy ass to anyone except Izuku, I get it~"
As Setsuna laughed at him, Tenko growled, and drew the strings of the hood on his ratty hoodie tighter. "We need to have a talk about the party recruitment policy, Izu."
"I think it's perfect the way it is! And having Himiko here is way better than the sausage party it was before, right Zuzu?"
Izuku chuckled to himself and shook his head at the antics of his little crew. He didn't know how they'd ended up like this, but he didn't care. He wouldn't change it for the world.
It had been a few days since the giant villain drugged up on Trigger rampaged through Musutafu and laid waste to the area round Tatooin Station, and those days had gone by in a whirlwind. He wasn't a fanboy for all Heroes, not anymore, but Kamui Woods turning up on the doorstep to check in on him and Tenko a day after had made him squeal, and run to get a book for an autograph. Inko for her part had cried proud-mother tears about the fact a noble Pro Hero had kind things to say about her son, and they had gone some way to make up for the worry she had felt after she had spotted Izuku and the crew on a TV feed of the event. His day had not been fun, explaining himself after that.
Thanks to Tenko and Setsuna dropping him immediately in it with Inko, Izuku found he was explaining himself about Himiko Toga as well. With a motherly squeal and howls of laughter from his best friend and his cousin, Izuku ended up lectured at length about the do's and don'ts of having his first girlfriend, curling in on himself in embarrassment and wishing he had some means of escaping the tears of joy being wept by his mother. He had tried to explain to his mother that he had only fleetingly seen her, and that even though he had gotten her number, and texted her that night check she was safe, he didn't expect he'd see her again for a while.
Then Himiko Toga turned up on his way home from school with Tenko the day after, in a long beige cardigan and school uniform not unlike the ones the girls wore at his school, and he was a little lost for words.
He and Tenko hadn't been hard to track down, apparently; she recognised the school uniform from the neighbourhood and had timed her day to end up perfectly near the school. She had been loud and happy to greet him, and remembering her actions as they parted ways the day before, he had become an embarrassed mess to the delight of Tenko. But as much as his classmates gave their trio weird looks, he was glad he could see her again.
Not at all because she was pretty, or liked his Quirk notebooks, or had given him a kiss. That definitely didn't play into his decision.
Since then, she had inserted herself into their group like she had always belonged. She was completely chaotic, almost completely carefree, and entirely reckless, with a wicked smile and a complete lack of a filter, and he found himself enjoying every second she accompanied them at their training outside of school. Not that she participated; the one time she had shown reservation was when asked about her Quirk, as it appeared to be a sensitive subject, and the group had agreed not to pressure her into joining them. But she came along to hang out and share her appreciation for the content of his notebooks, laughed and joked like she was never going to leave, and supported all of them as they sent in their application forms to UA. The three musketeers had become four.
He was just about growing used to the teasing from Setsuna and Tenko, and the little looks that Himiko shot his way every now and then. He was probably guilty of the same, looking into her eyes a little longer than he should have done, but he was picking up on it from her too. At some point he needed to work up the courage and ask what was going on, when the blush crept onto her face as she spoke to him, but for now he was just happy she had been accepted by Tenko and Setsuna so quickly, and would enjoy her being part of their party.
This little group was where he felt happiest, after all.
How sweet.
He shook his head at that thought and focused back on Setsuna. "Your hero name was easy, after you told Tenko you wanted something cuter. It made me think about when we were little and used to play."
Setsuna's toothy smile grew wider. "Oh? And what did we say back then?"
"If I remember right..." he smiled at her. "You wanted to be called Lizardy."
"Hell yeah!" She cried, and her detached arm punched a fist to the air from behind her. "I knew you'd get it!"
"Lizardy, huh..." Tenko looked up at her with a smirk. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be." She floated her arm over behind him and slapped the back of his head. "Hey quit it!"
"So rude!" She pouted at him. "Not my fault it's not as cool as the name you picked. Way to go putting us on the spot after you led with something so badass..."
"I..." Tenko faltered and Izuku could have sworn he saw his friend's face flush a little. "It just felt right, y'know. Kind of a way to honour the past and include my family as part of my future."
"Well I look forward to teaming up with you in future..." She offered him a floating fist for a fist bump. "Tomura."
"Tomura and Lizardy, huh?" Himiko asked, stretching her arms out and yawning with a flash of fang. "Heroes for the future. You've gotta be better than what we have at the moment-"
"That's the plan," Setsuna replied, nodding to Izuku. "It's just like he said."
"The Heroes we have right now might be bad," Izuku continued, "but I don't want to give up on my dream because of that. I want to save people with a smile and give them hope, and so do these guys. We'll do whatever we can, to make things better."
"Y'know," Himiko replied, looking over at him with a curious face, "the guy who took me in after I lost my parents really hates the Heroes we have at the moment. And I get it, there's some I hate with everything I have."
"Same," Tenko said with a wave. "Sounds like we'd get along, he and I."
"Perhaps. But..." she trailed off, and focused on Izuku. "But you guys... if he met you guys he would like you, I'm sure! I mean, I do! And if you wanna change everything then I support that!"
"Heh, feeling's mutual, you're fun to have around!" Setsuna replied, sticking her tongue out at Himiko. "Even if you won't train with us-"
Himiko looked like she drew herself in a little. "I... Yeah. My Quirk isn't-"
"I know."
"Huh?" She looked over at Izuku after his soft interruption.
"You've said before, you don't feel comfortable about showing your Quirk around us, and that's okay." He reached out a hand to her, curled against the body pillow, to pull her up. "You don't have to be scared of anything around us-"
"Especially not him," Tenko said, jerking a thumb at Izuku. "He'll probably think your Quirk is the best thing he's ever seen and take notes."
Izuku ignored him. "So just don't feel pressure. Whatever you have, I'm sure it's amazing, but we aren't going to push you away if you don't wanna share. You've... become part of our group now. We'll have your back."
He watched the blood flush to her cheeks slightly and saw her eyes wobble a little, and prayed to any god he could that he didn't blush now too. "... Alright, another time." She took his hand to pull herself up, and held onto it as she stood up. "I'm just... not used to people being interested and too used to people running away because of it."
"Not us," Izuku vowed, and he squeezed her hand with his own. "Not ever. I promise."
Setsuna coughed awkwardly, as Himiko stared at him with those bright yellow eyes. "Anyway, cute moment aside and all, we still don't have a hero name for Zuzu over here."
Izuku let go of Himiko's hand, missing the look of disappointment on her face, and sagged a little as his cousin brought that up. "It's just so hard... none of them fit-"
"But you came up with loads when you were younger," Tenko said, waving his phone screen at Izuku with a photo on it. "Look at your notes. Small Might, All Might Junior, Mighty Boy, Mightdoriya-"
"Don't remind me," Izuku groaned, as Setsuna and Himiko chuckled. "What was I thinking?"
"All Might fanboy through and through," Setsuna said, as she walked over to stand by Himiko. "Mightdoriya was clever though-"
"I couldn't," Izuku interrupted, shaking his head in embarrassment. "I'm not fit to follow All Might, nobody is. I just don't know what to do that sets me apart from anyone-"
"What about Deku?"
The semi-oblivious way in which Himiko asked that question didn't stop him from freezing in his tracks. "W-What do you mean?"
"That blonde boy at Tatooin called you Deku, I thought that was a nickname you had? Couldn't you use that?"
Izuku shot Tenko, whose head had lifted from his phone, a look of worry. He hadn't seen Katsuki Bakugo since the attack, and their school had been ever so keen to hush up their students when word spread like wildfire that their resident firecracker had left the school. Nobody knew where he had gotten to. "U-Ummm..."
Tenko sighed, pocketed the phone and pulled himself onto his feet, turning to Himiko. "Bakugo was an asshole to Izuku at school. Kind of a bully. He-"
"He meant it like I was useless," Izuku said, hanging his head as Tenko gave the context. "He called me Deku to look down on me. It's what he used to make fun of me."
"Oh." Himiko faltered. "I'm... sorry, Izuku. I thought it was cool when I heard it."
"C-C-Cool?" His head shot up to look at her and he felt his cheeks start to betray him and go red. "Huhhhh?!"
"Y-Yeah." She smiled faintly at him. "It's sorta like Dekiru, isn't it? I kinda like that as a nickname."
"You do?"
"Yeah!" There was a little flush to her cheeks as she looked at him now. "That sounds like the Japanese for 'I can do it', right? That's a cool name for a hero. Plus I think it's kinda cute!"
"WAAAAGH-"
"You okay bud?" Tenko reached over to shake his shoulder as Izuku went bright red and began to steam, and found him unmoving. "Izu?"
"Paradigm shift, my whole world is upside down."
"... What the hell are you talking about?"
"I think you broke him," Setsuna said, nudging a giggling Himiko in the ribs with a now-attached elbow.
"Nah, but I'm about to break him right now." A deep voice cut through their chatter in the warehouse from behind them, and Izuku and crew whirled around, Izuku's face twisted in fear at the recognition. How had they found the warehouse? How had they found them?
Shark Head, the Yakuza from the fight he and Tenko had gotten into previously, stood with his muscly arms folded, flanked by a tattooed thug with a head like a caterpillar and a strange gangly man with long fingers and eyes like camera lenses. He sneered, glaring at the group in front of him. "Long time no see, kid."
Izuku opened his mouth to reply-
"FREEZEFRAME!"
In an instant, the lens-eyed man moved to bring his long fingers to his temples and moved into a position where he hunched his back and stared dead at Izuku and Tenko, his eyes flashing white like a camera. Immediately, Izuku found himself locked in place, completely unable to move any of his limbs or even move his mouth to speak. Tenko, who had been stood just to his right, also seemed to have been affected, as he couldn't hear him scrabbling to get away or even cursing the Yakuza out.
Shark Head chuckled, deep and with no humour to it, as his companion continued to hold his position staring at Izuku and Tenko. "Good work, dude. Glad I brought you along." He gestured to the two boys. "After the stunts you pulled last time I don't want you even getting a chance to move. Freezeframe here can lock you in place where you stand so long as he's looking at you. I don't want you getting off any blasts at all."
Cheap trick. What a frustrating Quirk.
Setsuna, stood besides a stunned Himiko, took a step forward and balled her fists in anger. "Who the hell are you guys? Yakuza? Why are you picking on school kids?"
"Do be quiet," Caterpillar hissed in a slimy voice, before pointing at Setsuna and shooting a torrent of silk at her from his fingertips, binding her legs together at the ankle as she stood. "We don't want interruptions. We made Watanabe stand guard outside the front door just for that reason."
"Aw, these two boys didn't tell you anything about us?" Shark Head snarled at the two boys. "I'm just teaching these two what happens when you mess with the Shie Hassaikai."
Izuku internally cursed. Crap! They're gonna tell Setsuna what Tenko and I did! How I stole that guy's Quirk!
"Messing with Yakuza? These two? You definitely got the wrong guys-"
Shark Head ignored Setsuna as she tore at the silk around her ankles to no avail. "Remember Toya Setsuno? The Boss killed him after you two freaks beat us before. He told us we'd get a reward if we brought you in for him to have a look at. Doesn't mean I can't beat the shit out of you first."
"Hey! Are you even listening-"
"You're not a threat to us," Caterpillar sneered, looking up and down at Setsuna. "You think you even matter to us, little girl? We're here for your delinquent friends, not you. Stay quiet or-"
"I really hate people like you."
Shark Head turned to look at Himiko, whose head was bowed to look at the floor. "The pretty one speaks? Why so angry, girl- oh fuck-"
"I really hate bullies." Himiko looked up, and if Izuku could have gasped he would have done. The look on her face as she narrowed her eyes, the darkness around them, the way in which she bared those fang-like canines at the Yakuza, was hateful. The aura of anger rolled off of her in waves and made Caterpillar and Shark Head take a step back, even as Freezeframe didn't budget from his job of immobilising the two boys. "I really hate people who wanna mess with my friends."
"S-Steady now-" Caterpillar hissed.
"I just wanna be happy in this world and be me." Himiko took a step forward and Caterpillar panicked, missing a shot of silk that was aimed at her feet. "I'm sick of people hurting others, I'm sick of people like you making the world worse."
Another step, and Shark Head took a step backwards. "These two wanna be Heroes. You know that? They wanna change the world and make it better. And you wanna hurt them because they stood up to you?" Her hand moved to brush her skirt, and Izuku took a sharp breath inwards as it came up holding a knife, serrated and mean. Since when had she been carrying one of those? "I won't let you."
After a moment of silence, Shark Head steadied himself and barked a laugh. "Really? You're just a skinny girl with a puny knife, and you think you can take us on? We're fucking YAKUZA!"
"Stand aside before we hurt you as well," Caterpillar hissed, drawing his own knife.
"You wanna hurt her? Get through me first, asshole." Izuku's eyes flickered to Setsuna, who had levitated her torso off of her tied legs into the air and was now glaring down at Caterpillar from on high. "Never underestimate me like that again."
"What the fu-"
"Surprised, huh?" Setsuna leered down at the thug. "Boo."
As soon as Setsuna said that, everything kicked off right before Izuku and Tenko. Caterpillar was the first to move from the pseudo-standoff and try to attack, firing a glob of his silk at Setsuna in the air, as his cousin activated Lizard Tail Splitter on her whole torso, and detached her head and arms to split around his attack. Shark Head fell back to put himself between Freezeframe and Himiko as she charged directly for him, low to the ground and clasping the knife in her right hand.
Caterpillar panicked and tried to throw the knife he was holding at Setsuna's head above him, but with the deft control over her Quirk as it was, she simply threw up a detached arm to catch it by the handle in mid-air in her left hand and float that hand into the rafters, far from his grasp. "Really? Bad move, Caterpie."
If Izuku could have laughed he would have done- she was learning from Tenko too much- but instead he had to watch in silence as Caterpillar raged. "Don't FUCKING call me that you little bitch!"
"Watch your surroundings, genius!"
Caterpillar fell foul of Setsuna's Quirk when he felt something slam into his side. Looking down in complete shock, he saw that while Setsuna's feet remained tied by the ankles on the floor in front of him, the rest of her legs had detached themselves and flew at him to kick him in the hip. The brief moment of shock diverted his attention away from the numerous pieces of her flying at him, and his attention snapped back just in time for a ferocious haymaker thrown by her detached right arm, sending him sprawling and unconscious on the floor.
Setsuna reformed herself again over her feet and used the knife she had acquired in her left to slash through the thick silk. "Himiko, are you-"
She didn't get to complete the sentence as Himiko launched herself at Shark Head, low to the ground and ducking under the punch he threw wildly at her. "HYAAAH!"
Shark Head, still keeping himself between Himiko and the thug currently locking Izuku and Tenko in place, growled at her as he dodged her jab, read a feint, rolled out of the way of the knife. "You're better at this than I thought, little girl!"
Himiko flicked the knife and scowled as it just missed Shark Head's shoulder, before he batted it out of her hand. "Someone who looks out for me made sure I could protect myself. I'm not gonna lose to scum like you."
"Oh, you think?" Shark Head reached inside his hoodie pocket, and Izuku realised with horror from his frozen position as he saw what the Yakuza was holding, the distinctive blue liquid held in a syringe. "I wasn't gonna use this unless the boys got out of hand, but you kinda deserve this."
Oh no.
"Trigger?" Himiko's eyes narrowed to slits. "So you're one of those, huh?"
"Nothin' but the finest, made in house by the Hassaikai!" Shark Head laughed, and advanced on Himiko and Setsuna as both girls took a wary step back. "You want to die so bad, then fine!"
Get up, Izuku.
"Teeth like this and those frail bones of yours? Neither you or the lizard bitch are surviving my jaws, and you don't have that cute knife anymore."
He's going to hurt your friends. Your crew.
"How about that? I'll eat you both in front of your boyfriends before I give them to the Boss?"
He thinks he's beating you. He thinks he's hurting the people you care about most. Don't give up. Don't let him win.
"You're gonna be delicious, you little rats!"
GET UP.
"HRRRRRRAGH!"
Unbridled fury swept through Izuku and that familiar black lightning crackled on his arms as he suddenly broke free of the imprisoning effects of Freezeframe's Quirk, to the horror of a blindsided Yakuza. Before he could blink his eyes and engage his Quirk again, Izuku cried out and pulsed out an air blast from both of his palms which laid everyone except Shark Head and Himiko onto the floor, Freezeframe cracking his head on the concrete as he went down and collapsing still in a heap.
As he sprinted forward towards Shark Head Izuku felt himself subconsciously rub the fingers of his right hand across Freezeframe's back as he ran past his unconscious form, black and red sparks dancing for just a second, before he shook himself and brought his right hand up and reached with his palm towards Shark Head. "MINE!"
The pull of the Quirk he had taken from the other Yakuza before tore the Trigger syringe from the grip of the brute before he could inject it, and Izuku didn't even waste a second to chuck it behind him. "Tenko!"
As he turned, he saw his friend had ripped one of his gloves off already and caught the syringe in that hand, Decay immediately seeing to the destruction of the abominable serum. "I've got it. I always hated status effects, but paralysis was the dirtiest."
Shark Head had reacted immediately, trying to lumber forward, but gasped as Himiko landed a swift one-two rabbit punch into his stomach, causing him to stagger and be clocked by a kick to the snout by Setsuna. "You damn kids-"
Enough.
Izuku splayed both hands out in front of him and blasted out Air Force at close range into the chest of the Yakuza, who was sent flying by the blast through a concrete pillar into the far wall of the warehouse. With a crunch, Shark Head's unconscious body slid down the wall and lay crumpled in a heap following Izuku's strongest attack. He wouldn't be troubling them anytime soon.
"Snatching victory from the Jaws of defeat, eh Zuzu?"
"You're so not cool, Setsuna." Izuku breathed out heavily, and then turned when he heard a snarl behind him. "Tenko..."
Tenko's ungloved hand was outstretched towards the unconscious brute, as he scratched his neck with the other hand and angrily glared at Shark Head's fallen form. "... You know, sometimes I really wish I didn't agree to become a Hero with you."
"I know." Izuku moved to stand himself between Tenko and their attacker. "But you agreed. And Heroes don't kill, Ten."
With a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl, Tenko re-gloved his hand and tore his eyes away. "Fine. Just don't be mad if I kick him while he's down."
"I'd say he deserved that at least," Himiko said darkly, as she moved to stand beside him and Setsuna moved to rub Tenko's shoulders. "You sure you can leave him?"
"I'm not gonna kill him! Being a Hero doesn't mean I kill villains, it just means I stop them."
"Even when he wanted to kill you?" Himiko asked, rubbing some life back into her knuckles after her punch. "After he wanted to eat your friends and let his boss torture you?"
"I'm not like him," Izuku replied, looking up so his green eyes met her fierce yellow. "There's always got to be another way."
For a moment her face was unreadable, before a faint smile crossed her face. "... Right answer, Izuku. You'll make a great hero yet."
"Hey, thank you." He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, you'd make a good one too?"
He wasn't ready for her to freeze or blush so vehemently. "W-What?"
"You and Setsuna kinda saved both of us back there," he said honestly. "We would have been gone without you, so... you're my hero too, y'know?"
She flashed her fanged smile at him, although she was struggling to make eye contact. "T-Thanks... I guess we're even for you saving me at the station now?"
"R-Right, yeah." Izuku smiled back. "I'm serious though. We want to be Heroes to change what it means to be one. You looked after us pretty well for someone who doesn't like Heroes. Maybe you could show them what they should be too?"
"I'll..." When she looked up at him, there was something in her eyes he couldn't quite read, something more than the smile on her face. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Izuku."
Tenko nudged Setsuna with an elbow. "Guess party assist came in useful huh?"
"Take me to the new dinosaur museum in Tandosha Prefecture and we'll call it even," Setsuna replied, leaning her head on his shoulder with a faint smile.
"Deal."
"Good boy."
"Although I've got one question for our newest party member..." Tenko looked at Himiko, stunned. "Why do you have a knife?"
"And where were you hiding it that whole time?"
"Why is that important you damn lizard?!"
Himiko, still blushing slightly, flipped up the edge of her skirt as if to show Izuku and co the holster she kept strapped to her thigh, but being teenage, in a split second Izuku's wandering eyes saw far more than they were probably supposed to see. "My guardian kinda taught me the value of self defence. Can't be too careful with all these bad guys around, so I keep one hidden and close. Just got worst case scenarios."
She flashed him her-
Get a grip, Izuku.
Right. His head was right for once. Izuku swallowed, fighting back the blush that had been threatening to break with the willpower of a god, and met Himiko's eyes as she put the knife away. "I-I see."
"You're not mad at me for having one?" She sounded genuinely curious.
"N-No. I mean... I probably should be, but... you've got to keep yourself safe, you know?" Izuku nodded at her reassuringly. "I mean it's basically like Heroes with support items right? You just keep that for self defence, and it did kinda help us so-"
"Before you start going on another mutter storm," Tenko interrupted, grabbing Izuku by the back of his shirt collar and yanking, "we need to get out of here. This place is compromised and we can't come back if the Yakuza know we hang around here."
"Yeah I agree. But how? They said they've got another Yakuza on guard duty at the entrance-"
"Silly Izu. This is our secret base." Tenko jerked a thumb towards himself in pride. "You think I'd set up a base without a secret exit or two? We'll just leave from one of those."
"For once, I am proud you play so many video games," Setsuna snarked.
Tenko ignored her. "Come on. We'll just have to come hang out at your place from now on and train in the back garden where we can. We're not that far out from the UA Entrance Exam, it's not gonna hurt us, and it's gonna be a lot safer now our secret base turned into a monster house."
"Right, we head home, make sure we're safe-"
"And then we stick away from here?"
"Exactly!"
"Am I... coming too?"
Setsuna reacted in shock at Himiko's question, looping an arm around her shoulder as Tenko began to walk off. "Hell yeah you are! You're part of this group too, right Izuku?"
"Yeah you are," he added, with a smile in her direction. "Mom will be really happy to meet you, I'm sure."
"How could she be unhappy? She gets to meet her future daughter-in-law-"
"SETSUNA!" Tenko lobbed a small lump of concrete at Izuku's head with unnerving accuracy. "Ow!"
"Are you coming or what? I don't wanna be here when the dentist's nightmare over there wakes up-"
"Alright, coming! Let's go!"
Red with embarrassment and still struggling to meet Himiko's eyes as she giggled at Setsuna's suggestion, Izuku took off after Tenko as they disappeared towards a secret exit. This was enough adrenaline for one day and enough of a close shave, and as much as he knew his mother would be unhappy with the idea that they had been attacked by Yakuza while training after school in their supposed secret base, he was just relieved he was getting home to her okay. All they had to do was avoid that guard and they'd be home free.
Reporting the attack to the Police would need to happen, as much as every instinct screamed at him to bury it and move on. Shark Head and his crew recognised him, and knew enough about them to have been able to track them down; there was a risk they could do it again, or bring stronger Yakuza in. He didn't want to involve the Police, because of what had happened back along with Setsuno, but his mother would scream murder if they didn't, and they wouldn't be safe unless somebody could keep an eye on them as well in case the Shie Hassaikai decided to move.
He just wanted to keep them safe.
No matter the cost.
It turned out he wouldn't have needed to worry about the guard outside one bit, or the Yakuza remaining inside that building. Fate has a funny way of playing games and rolling dice, and in this particular moment, Izuku's little group had been shown a number of sixes to get out without further incident. If they had stayed any longer, they would have heard the sounds of the scuffle outside, the dreadful silence that came in a moment. The awful sounds of their safety being secured for them.
It was a very good job they hadn't remained.
(***)
"... And they only left one guard outside?"
Shark Head awoke to the sound of an unknown voice and the sight of a warehouse ceiling far above him as he lay flat on his back. The sound of voices unknown to him set some subconscious alarm bell ringing in the back of his head, since he didn't know who they were; they sounded old and tired, and not like of his crew. The alarm bells were drowned out by the pain that washed over his limbs like oil in a pan.
Damn, those kids packed a punch.
"They were hardy enough to believe that was all that would be necessary." A new voice responded to the old man, rich and dark and ever so eloquent. "He put up a decent fight, but he was incapacitated in the end."
"Indeed, and I'm glad you spared him. Shock Absorption is a rare Quirk, and one I have been looking for for some time."
The alarm bells in Shark Head's brain grew louder as he tentatively splayed out and flexed his fingers. These people beat Watanabe? They spared him? What about the rest of the crew?
"For the project? For a new subject?"
"He might just be the key ingredient, after all this time." There was a tap on the floor, like the sound of a cane on hard concrete. "The others weren't worth keeping. Dispose of the bodies. We can not afford to draw attention."
The alarms grew shrill and reached a crescendo, overcoming the aches and pains inflicted on him. His crewmates had been killed!
Shark Head staggered upright with a lurch and balled his fists, flashing his teeth in the direction of the newcomers. "Okay what the hell do... you..."
The reason he trailed off was horrifying, and it took Shark Head a couple of dazed seconds to get his brain to catch up and process what was right in front of his eyes. Two people shouldn't have filled him with so much dread.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the eldritch abomination in a tailored suit, standing tall in the middle of the empty space. Shark Head had seen all kinds of strange mutations from people's Quirks- hell, he'd grown up with one after all- but the man before him appeared to made of black and purple fog, that danced and flickered as if a breeze was blowing through the warehouse. Two nightmarish yellow eyes blinked in the middle of a void of gas that made up the man's face, and Shark Head felt a feral chill run down his spine as he saw those eyes; these were not the eyes of man. These were the eyes of the predators of the dawn of time, the hunters of man, those who hid in dark caves and in the shadows of forests to isolate and take their prey. The eyes of a hunter.
The man stood beside him looked normal in comparison to his companion. Shark Head had been right to pick out the noise of a cane tapping on the floor; the man was old, and short, and hunched over as if suffering from years upon years of back pain. Completely bald, with a bushy white moustache that seemed to sprout from his upper lip and cover half his face like an overhanging branch, the strangest thing about the man appeared to be a chunky set of black goggles worn on his forehead. Shark Head guessed that the stained white coat meant he was looking at a doctor of sorts, but here? After this fight?
Shark Head realised how wrong the situation was when he briefly took note of his surroundings. Caterpillar was nowhere to be seen, and so had Freezeframe; weirdly, there was no blood or any other evidence that there had been a scuffle. His questions as to why were answered quickly when he saw Watanabe being zipped up into a bag by the mist creature; his friend's face was frozen, an oblivious thick-lipped smile on the face of his green-haired associate, and he was clearly out for the count. With a touch, a purple cloud of fog formed over the bag containing Watanabe, before it disappeared in front of his eyes to leave no trace of the fellow Yakuza. The shadow man could teleport, and that realisation alarmed Shark Head.
"What the fuck did you do?!"
The doctor flinched slightly at the sound of his voice trailing off, but composed himself quickly. "Ah, it appears you were right, Kurogiri. The most important one survived."
"Who..." Shark Head bunched his fists up. "Who the hell are you?"
"Forgive our ill manners," responded the monster in a tailored suit, as the doctor drew himself upright and adjusted his collar. "We simply wished to attend to the scene while we waited for you to rise."
"I don't normally show myself to anyone, you see," the doctor added, Shark Head whipping his snout around to look at the tiny man. "My job is much safer in the shadows, after all, but when I heard we might have a lead of interest to our cause, well, I simply had to accompany Kurogiri to the scene."
"A lead..." Shark Head shook his head. "What did you do to my friends? Where are you taking Watanabe?"
"Watanabe?" The old man clicked fingers so frail they could have snapped at the motion. "Oh, I see! By the fact you refer to him alone, I assume you mean your shock-absorbing friend in the bag. He will be of great use to my research. As for the others, well, they simply couldn't be left lying around."
"We prefer to keep out of any spotlight where possible." The shadow man billowed. "Nobody will ask questions if we dispose of their bodies."
"You..." Shark Head didn't know what to do. "You killed them?"
"It was a necessity."
"Then what the hell do you want with me?!"
"Good question." The doctor looked to his companion. "Kurogiri?"
The now-named monster Kurogiri fixed those vicious eyes on Shark Head. "You followed a young lieutenant in the Shie Hassaikai up until recently, correct? A young man named Toya Setsuno-"
"How did you-"
"Rumours spread fast in our world, and not many rumours would get our attention quite like this one." Kurogiri loomed. "Your leader disposed of Setsuno after he lost his Quirk. And you, being there on the day he lost it, tried to win back your favour by rounding up a team to track down the one responsible for Setsuno losing his Quirk."
"I d-don't know what you-"
"Please." The doctor waved a document at him, and Shark Head recognised the precise kanji of the Boss with dread. That was the Boss' autopsy report in this old man's hands! "Larceny seemed like a good Quirk, and suddenly he found himself without. When I heard a Quirk had vanished from a small-time Yakuza, I found myself intrigued as to why. I had Kurogiri track you down-"
"You did?" Shit, the smoke man had been there the whole time. Shark Head really was scared of these two now.
"Mmm. And how interested I was to hear from Kurogiri that you mentioned two boys taking his Quirk." The doctor slid the medical report back into his grubby coat. "I heard that you had tried to find the boys and punish them, so imagine my surprise when I hear that you've confronted them again, only for them to have escaped. We have another loose end now."
"So you can help us tie this loose end." The menace in that deep voice from Kurogiri gave him goosebumps. "What do you know of the boys?"
He didn't stand a chance against them. They would kill him before he got ten yards, and he'd never get the information back to Overhaul in one piece. Cowardice got the better of him. "All I know is they said they hung around here after s-school some days! They called themselves Zu and Ten I think, school kids, one older than the other! Zu has green hair, he's the thief- he had this air Quirk but he threw black lightning at Toya and his Quirk didn't work anymore! Ten's a blue haired freak, he just has these creepy hands that destroy shit! Please, I don't know any more-"
One tap of the old man's cane was enough to silence him. "Interesting. Not much to go on, Kurogiri."
"Enough to make enquiries." The horrible yellow eyes flickered in what Shark Head could only assume was a smile. "Thank you for your service."
Shark Head clenched and unclenched a sweaty fist, the nerves getting to him. "Can I-"
The mist flared. "Oh, no. You can't go."
"You know too much, see." The doctor shook his head. "And your uses are, frankly, over. It's a shame, really."
"We're tying up loose ends, as we said." Kurogiri fixed those terrible yellow eyes on Shark Head again. "You just happen to be one of them. So long."
Shark Head didn't know what hit him. His eyes widened for a second as purple fog writhed in the hands of the nightmarish Kurogiri, before it sprung across the gap in the air between them and completely enveloped him. Opening his mouth to scream just meant that the fog forced itself to fill his mouth, before with a whimper and a noise like the plink of a single raindrop on water, Shark Head vanished from sight, leaving the doctor and the shadow man alone in the warehouse.
The Doctor, Kyudai Garaki, sighed, and fiddled with his moustache a little. "He knew less than I hoped, but no matter. It's a decent steer, if a little cryptic."
"Patience has always been our virtue, Doctor," Kurogiri responded poetically, coiling the fog back into himself. "We can find the boys with a little time."
"Zu and Ten..." Garaki felt a small smile come to his face. "Did you feel it when he mentioned the lightning? And the Air Quirk?"
"Air Cannon?"
"Indeed. So nostalgic. A fond favourite of Master, in the hands of one yet to realise the true nature of his gift." Garaki shook himself. "Come on, old friend. Time to return home. We have a new subject for my tests, after all."
"How fortunate he fell into your lap by a happy coincidence." Kurogiri approached the Doctor, adjusting his cuffs. "He will make a perfect specimen."
"Fingers crossed that your optimism yields results." The Doctor looked up at Kurogiri as a misty hand was placed on his shoulder. "Where did you send them, anyway? The Yakuza we didn't need?"
"A few different parts of the Pacific Ocean," Kurogiri said, darkly. "Multiple exit points of a Warp Gate means no survival on arrival, and what does arrive can be disposed of by the fish. Oblivion is assured."
"Master taught you well! I commend your efficiency." Garaki adjusted his goggles to slide them over his eyes, as the fog danced around him and the dim corridors of an abandoned hospital became visible through the mist. "Let us return, Kurogiri."
"We have an army to build"
(***)
Izuku, Tenko and Setsuna. Aged: 14, 16, 14.
Himiko Toga. Aged: 14.
Kyudai Garaki and Kurogiri. Aged: ?
(***)
A/N: Kurogiri being a B Rank Villain in canon with powers like his saddens me. Given free reign and a bit of imagination on execution, he would be a force to be reckoned with. I'm trying to achieve that here, even just a little.
So here we go- we start working towards UA on the horizon, but with certain groups becoming more aware. Kurogiri and the Doctor are on a better track to finding the successor and the Yakuza have been set back, but Himiko is in Izuku's group now, and Stain grows closer. Many moves across the board and I'm loving every second of it. And hey, with UA on the board, hero names had to feature- I just couldn't separate Tenko from the name Tomura no matter how hard I tried.
You lot are insane for reviews, follows and favourites. At the time of uploading this, the twelfth chapter, we hit over 360 favourites and 450 followers. Those stats are nuts for someone used to getting maybe 5-10 maximum over the lifetime of my stories. 177 of you have left reviews too, which is just mindboggling. I feel out of my depth with expectation sometimes, but rest assured I cannot say these next few words enough- thank you for all of your support so far.
If you liked this chapter, you know the drill. I always love to get some favourites and follows, and I especially love reviews (as long as they aren't flames)- having a chat with some of you in the PMs about your review theories fills my week with a lot of fun. And hey, I made an AO3 now with the same name (YaBoyGuzma), so I'll start crossposting soon too!
Until next week, ya boy, out.
