The small television flickered to life. On the screen was the broadcasting of the U.A. sports festival; first years, Pro Heroes, and the far faces of the audience appeared on it. Though, there was only one thing the wispy man was searching for.
From the break in prior to the USJ incident, the League of Villains had acquired a list of all students' information, including Class 1-A's. Truly, the plan he outlined to Shigaraki was partly based on a hunch, but it was the best bet they had to getting rid of the problem before it became something bigger. Plus, if the second interdimensional was anything like Freecss, there was no doubt in his mind that U.A. wouldn't pass up the chance to take a young, memory-less powerhouse into their ranks. Brainwashing generations of people into their flawed ideology was what these heroes liked to do, after all... However, that wasn't for him to worry about. His number one priority was to protect Shigaraki, and, through this, he was going to do just that.
Kurogiri sighed to himself, the quiet sound filling the empty room. He had told Shigaraki to distract Freecss in order to prevent him from watching the sports festival in case his counterpart showed up on the screen. He didn't fully know how All For One's quirk worked, but he safely assumed that simply seeing the interdimensional would trigger at least something in the boy. Fortunately, it was quite easy for Shigaraki to distract him, as it was his birthday.
'Representing the students is Katsuki Bakugou from Class 1-A!' the TV buzzed, Midnight's voice loud and clear.
Examining the screen further, he tried to find the first years' faces in the crowd. On the bar, a list of students in 1-A was placed on top of it for reference. Since All For One used his quirk after the USJ attack, there must have been some sort of change between who was at the festival and who was on the paper. Yellow eyes scanning the television, he could just barely make out all 20 students in 1-A.
And, he noticed only 19 of them were familiar. The Mineta boy seemed to be missing, as well.
Instead, there stood a short, pale boy with white hair with his hands in his pockets. As soon as the gigantic board filled with students' names and scores filled the screen, he took note of an unfamiliar Killua Zoldyck who happened to be in 1-A. Kurogiri squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the screen. Was this truly the boy they must defeat?
Freecss and Zoldyck were brought here for a reason—strength. Shigaraki's "fight" with the child as well as the nomu trial proved that fact. So, if they were to ever get rid of the danger posing against Freecss's chances of staying with the League, the only way possible was to have him do the dirty work for them.
Kurogiri sighed, Shigaraki's and his conversation from the other day still lingering in the back of his mind...
"Eh? How are we supposed to do that? He'll take one look at them and instantly remember everything," he scoffed.
"You're right. But, you see, I've been talking things over with Sensei..."
The mention of his master grabbed his attention, red eyes widening through the hand-mask.
"However, for this to work," he continued, "you need to gather as much intel from him as you can."
He cocked his head. "Gather intel...?"
The only thing holding him back from clutching the noisy brat's face in his hand and slowly disintegrating it was the mere fact that he didn't want to waste Sensei's efforts in getting a powerhouse like this for him to use. Still, that didn't help with how badly he was getting on his nerves.
Because they told Gon he wasn't allowed to go outside to prevent Pro Heroes recognizing and going after him, the kid actually jumped up and happily screamed when he gifted him a mask that would hide his face.
"Ah, Shigaraki! This is even better than the gift you got me last time! Thank you!"
"Don't get your hopes up," he dryly countered, "you can only go outside if one of us is with you."
And... that was where the two of them were now. Out in the public, walking along the streets of Kamino Ward. The two of them together admittedly looked suspicious, what with Shigaraki's black hoodie pulled all the way over his head and Gon's hat and mask combination leaving nothing to see but his eyes. Fortunately, the odd vibe emanating from the pair caused people to steal a few glances at least and hastily step out of the way at most; nothing too bad.
Gon turned his head to the older boy and asked, "Do you know any fun spots here?"
Fun spots? Shigaraki internally groaned. He was here to gather information, not go on a play date with a newly turned 16 year old. But to do that, he had to play along, somewhat. Might as well go somewhere he'd actually quite enjoy...
Sucking in a breath, he answered, "Sure. You like arcades?"
A cheerful nod from the boy and they were both on their way.
The sun rose directly above their heads, shining down on the dark-clothed duo. Every so often, Shigaraki would check to see if any TV he walked by had the U.A. sports festival playing. He hadn't come across any, but made sure he stayed on his guard in case he needed to steer Gon away from it.
"You know," Gon started, "I kind of wish I was celebrating my birthday back home. Since I began going on adventures, I think I've only had, hm... one, with Aunt Mito."
"...Who even is that? Why do you mention her all the time?"
"Oh, she's kind of like my mom. She just takes care of me really well, and always took the time to read the letters I sent her."
Shigaraki squinted. "Letters about what? Your adventures?"
"Yeah." Gon's expression, though barely seen through his getup, lowered. "But... I really wish I remembered what I wrote in them. Is All Might really that powerful?"
"He's the number one hero," he mocked. "The Symbol of Peace. He's just a cheater."
"Hero..." Gon trailed off, raising a hand to his chin. "Hey, what exactly are heroes? Since we're the League of Villains, are we fighting against them?"
"Our goal is to kill All Might."
Shigaraki caught himself. Right now, it seemed more like Gon was the one gathering intel, not him. But before he could put the conversation back on track, Gon let out a loud whine, making him want to throw out all plans of keeping the brat around as a trump card.
"I don't get it."
"Eh?" he exclaimed. "Get what?"
"Why would the 'number one' hero injure me to the point where I lose my memories, and then try to arrest me after I stopped a bad guy? And why would villains take me in right after?"
Steam threatened to spew out of the boy's ears as he blankly stared ahead, scrunching his face. Shigaraki thought for a moment, then said, "Being a hero doesn't make you good."
The redness behind his mask slowly subsided. Gon whipped his head around to face the older boy, asking, "Then what makes someone good?"
Shigaraki gave a mumble of an answer, not actually meaning anything by it but to fill the space. They both walked in silence for about a minute until they reached the arcade. While Gon was bouncing around, amused by the squeaky revolving door, Shigaraki took in the familiar sound of 8-bit beeps resonating through the building and the flashy neon colors blasted on nearly every surface. It was quite nostalgic for him. Still, no matter how much he wanted to have some mindless fun and absolutely crush the brat in Street Fighter (winning fair and square, by the way,) he was technically on a mission.
"Hey," he said, pulling a wallet of one of his jacket's pockets. "It's your birthday. Pick what we're gonna play."
Scanning the area, Gon noticed a game where one guy was desperately trying to keep up with the music, his legs moving at a surprising speed.
Pointing to that one, he beamed at Shigaraki.
Dance Dance Revolution? he thought, nearly cracking a grin. The plan can wait a little longer. This brat's going down.
"I pledge that I'll be number one."
Disconcerted yells from both the student and spectator crowd erupted, forcing Killua to plug his ears. Huh, the guy's determined, he'll give him that. Considering the amount of strong competitors in the class, though, he found it hard to believe that the bold statement came from sheer cockiness... unless he was stupid.
The time came for the referee, AKA Pro Hero Midnight, to announce the first game.
"Obstacle race!" she said into the microphone, voice booming throughout the stadium.
As she continued to explain the rules, Killua didn't bother holding back a scoff. A race? He wouldn't be surprised if he was the fastest out of the entire student body. Four kilometres would be a piece of cake... But, how much did he actually care about the sports festival? Despite attending a hero school, he wasn't so interested in the prospect of actually becoming one; internships would be wasted on him.
Shuffling along the crowd, the students were led to a large corridor, Killua choosing to hang in the back end. The chattering voices died down once the countdown started, and the amicable atmosphere quickly turned into one of competitiveness.
Trying to ignore Present Mic's grating voice, he focused on the students around him. A handful were stretching out their muscles, others ready to take off at any moment. From what Kirishima told him in their training together, it seemed this was one of the most important events for the students, especially first years.
Tip-toeing and turning his head above the crowd, he tried to find the spiky redhead. His eyes caught him standing between Kaminari and Ashido, along with a sharp-toothed grin plastered on his face that meant business. He wondered how helpful their sparring sessions were going to be for the festival. Granted, he already was miles ahead of him concerning their skills, so only Kirishima was left to improve in combat.
But, no matter how easily Killua could knock him out from another simple chop, he kept on telling him that he "can't go easy on me!" and "this is for the both of us!" when, clearly, it wasn't. Still, their session did help him with at least one thing...
"START!"
The first thing he saw was the bunch of students all rushing through the corridor, squishing past each other in attempts to get ahead. The next was the giant wall of ice that appeared out of nowhere, freezing people in place and, unluckily, some beneath it. Present Mic announced this as Todoroki's doing, who he barely recognized as the kid with two-toned hair seated in the back of the class. Finally, at the current moment, people were either trying to pull their feet (or shoes) out of the ice trap, or were dashing ahead, attempting to catch up.
At the current moment, Killua stood still with a hand in his pocket, watching it all unfold before his eyes.
Present Mic's yells roared over the speakers, somehow gaining even more volume the longer his commentary went on. "Todoroki Shouto takes first place, easily gliding on his ice! But wait, Bakugou Katsuki is quickly gaining on him, his own explosions propelling him forward at incredible speeds! What a sight! The two are now neck and neck, fighting for the top spot! Who will win? Who will—huh?" he paused, adjusting his orange sunglasses. "Killua Zoldyck, the late addition to 1-A, is... just standing at the start, while everyone has already run past!"
In just a second, he'd been burdened with the audience's attention.
"C'mon, that wasn't manly at all!You totally could've dodged that!"
"Am I supposed to feel hurt from that?"
Kirishima picked up and drank from his water bottle, giving Killua a half-hearted stink eye. Screwing the cap back on, he said, "I just want to spar against your real skills, you know? It doesn't feel fair."
"This match-up isn't fair in the first place," he disputed. "If I did my 'very best,' you'd end up in the infirmary."
"That just means I need to get stronger!" he said, jumping up.
A groan escaped Killua's mouth. There had to be a connection between this guy's quirk and his brain, because there can't be any other explanation for him being this hard-headed.
It was about 4 PM on a Friday, and the pair had decided to train in the forest near U.A. to avoid disturbing the public. Unfortunately, because of the fact they were in a forest, the trees didn't leave much room for them to practice in a big enough space fitting of the arena. It was mostly alright, though. Kirishima's quirk naturally had them spar in a more close-quarters fashion.
"Kirishima," Killua sighed, "you can't get stronger if I just crush you at the start."
It was then the other boy's turn to let a low sigh escape his lips, responding with, "Yeah, I get it, I get it." His hand lifted to touch his own chin. "I guess that means sparring is out of the question, then..."
Cocking his head, Killua said, "Then what else are we supposed to do?"
"You could just teach me a move, maybe. Remember the time you fought Bakugou?"
"Yeah, but I can only do that 'cause I'm fast. You need to learn your own special 'moves.'" Taking a closer look at the tired redhead currently wiping the sweat off his forehead with his arm, he followed up with, "Let's take a break."
"I can keep going."
Killua raised an eyebrow. Shaking his head, he plopped down on the ground and responded, "Well, I can't."
"Dude," was all Kirishima had to say, but then chose to just take another drink of water and sit down next to him. "So," he said.
"So?"
He chuckled, saying, "I still can't believe you actually said yes to us training together."
Killua hummed. "It sounded fun."
"I guess it would be more fun if we were evenly matched, huh?"
He shrugged.
Kirishima briefly glanced at him, apprehensively going over the words in his head. "Can I ask you about your amnesia?"
"Shoot."
"Ah..." he said, slightly crinkling the water bottle in his hands. "Aizawa-sensei said that you didn't use a quirk fighting against Bakugou. I know you obviously can't remember, but do you have any idea why you're so freakishly good at fighting?"
He pondered the question with a tongue in his cheek. From his experiences during the past few days, he could easily assume that he'd had a rough life overall. Distaste towards his own last name (he noticed he unfortunately had the same problem as Asui when trying to get people to use his first name, as most people still didn't call her Tsu,) never having gone to a school, and being quirkless in a world that looked down upon exactly that? The framework for the big picture was there in his head, it was just the little details he was missing to fully complete it. Maybe fighting was the only way he got by, somehow; that was why he was so much better than the upcoming generation of heroes in his own classroom.
Was he about to tell Kirishima all of that, though?
...Nah.
"I think... I might've just been training hard since I was really little," he fibbed.
The boy sitting next to him nodded, sharp teeth showing as his jaw slightly dropped. "You trained a lot, then. It must've been really hard!"
"Well, I'm content with where I am now, at least. So that's good."
"Yeah, no kidding," he whistled. "I bet Bakugou's still pissed about it."
"When is he not?"
Chuckling, he answered, "Yeah, first impressions with him aren't super good. But... he's really cool once you get to know him. Super manly."
"I just don't get why he has it out for me," Killua sighed, resting his chin on his knees.
"Huh, you know, I've kind of noticed it, too. He's never really been this mad at another classmate, though. Usually saves it for Midoriya..."
Killua remembered the way Midoriya hurriedly warned him against Bakugou. Were they sworn enemies, or something? Although, that would be weird considering the way he called him Kacchan.
"Midoriya?" he questioned.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but he really hates it when he loses against him. Probably some unresolved beef between them, I guess. I try not to pry."
"Huh," he said. "So I can safely assume he'll be clawing for first place in the sports festival?"
"Yeah, but we all will be," Kirishima grinned, patting Killua on the back. "I'll do my best to beat you!"
"You don't need to," he said, waving him off. "I don't need the sponsorships as much as you guys. I'll be happy taking last place."
That brought a frown to Kirishima's face. "Then what was the point of training together? You wanted to have fun, right?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Well," Kirishima started, dusting his clothes off as he pushed up off the ground, "you can do the festival for fun, too. You should at least try!"
Compete for fun? Killua scratched the back of his head, watching as Kirishima put a hand out for him to grab.
"C'mon," he said. "Let's finish our training."
Nearly everyone in the audience's eyes were glued on him, waiting for him to make any sort of move. It wasn't going to last, Killua thought. They were going to easily switch back to the two front-runners at any moment, so he had to make his decision fast.
And his decision...
He took his hands out of his pockets, taking a second to stretch his limbs.
Kirishima was right. If he was participating in a competition, he might as well have fun with it.
Adrenaline rushing through his veins, he immediately launched off the ground, leaving behind a large puff of dust as he dashed towards the field of robot remains. There were barely any more stragglers at this section of the race; most were probably finishing up the stone pillars, already.
"...and as soon as he started, he finished traversing the Robo-Inferno! Wow! That's an incredible quirk!"
"It's not a quirk," Aizawa drawled, dry tone contrasting with Present Mic's upbeat commentary.
"Woah! Are you for real, Eraserhead?! What a show of strength!"
The seemingly spiritless of the pair simply sighed, turning his own attention to Killua in a totally non-biased way. A grimace formed across his features as he studied the white-haired boy basically leaping across the field, easily catching up to those near the front end. Recalling their time spent together so far, he wouldn't admit it to his face, but he worried about him. Even as they still managed to get on each others' nerves, it never lasted. So, he couldn't help but wonder how the hell this kid is this impossibly strong, even more so without a quirk. What kind of circumstances was he put under? This strength and facade of maturity paired with his absolutely unexpected entrance (and way of entrance) into U.A. High School raised a considerable amount of red flags, but, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what they were signaling.
Present Mic's commentary mainly highlighted whatever was happening at the front, occasionally talking about the "mysterious new kid in 1-A" who had just finished up the second portion of the race. It seemed he was having some trouble deciphering what his quirk was. All he was doing was regular actions, such as running and jumping, only at an irregularly powerful level. Turning off his mic, he turned to the aloof man sitting next to him.
"Hey," he started, "if leaping like a monkey on steroids isn't his quirk, then what is it?"
He shook his head. "His file was just updated. He's quirkless."
"Huh?!"
"He's your student, too. You didn't bother to check?"
"No! I like to see these kinds of things for myself," he said, crossing his arms. Lowering his voice (which usually called for celebration,) he continued, "I don't wanna bring down the mood, but what's the deal with this kid?"
"Gossiping about our students, are we?"
"Oh, really? You know what I mean, Shouta. We both know Nezu didn't enroll him solely because he's strong for his age."
"Yeah," he raised an eyebrow, "and Zoldyck knows that, too. We explicitly told him we needed to watch over him, and enrollment was the best option."
"I'm talking about the reason we need to watch over a 15 year old kid in the first place; not because he needs protection, but because we need it." Leaning back in his chair, he relaxed his hands behind his head. "I'm just saying. You've spent the most time around him, haven't you? Are you sure he's someone we can trust, even when, or if, he regains his memories?"
Aizawa blankly stared at him. "Don't worry about it. I trust the kid," he said, leaving out the "for now" his mind wanted to add on. Picking up the mic on the table, he shoved it in his face, earning a wide-eyed look from behind his orange sunglasses. "Just get back to your job, already."
Hizashi's enthusiastic personality didn't mean he wasn't ever suspicious of others, which, to Aizawa's annoyance, he was... a lot. For crying out loud, he was the first person to point out the possibility of a traitor in U.A.; no wonder he was always on his guard around the kid. Still, he couldn't say his suspicions were ever baseless. Especially with someone like Zoldyck.
But, to Aizawa, he couldn't ignore what stared him in the face whenever he caught a glance at the boy, or watched as his eyes occasionally darkened whenever they talked about simple, everyday things. He was a kid who went through too much, too soon, and that was apparent even with the amnesia. How could he be a hero if he didn't recognize that?
Finally, the minefield. As soon as Killua arrived, he noticed Midoriya flying through the sky on a piece of junk from one of the robots, Todoroki and Bakugou directly beneath him. Huh. He could take fourth.
While students sidestepped across the field, he zoomed past. Whatever explosions he left behind didn't affect him; he was already a good distance ahead of each mine he stepped on.
Slowing down behind the trio, he watched as his green-haired classmate ran past everyone else like his life depended on it.
He disappeared through the tunnel, and the crowd roared.
"MIDORIYA IZUKU'S MADE A HUGE SPLASH!"
"Gon," Shigaraki called, drumming his fingers on the arcade table.
"Hm?" the boy in question answered in a muffle, crepe still halfway in his mouth.
They'd spent the entire time at the arcade playing games and eating snacks, which was exactly what he was trying to avoid. The worst part? He was actually having fun with the brat. If he didn't start following the plan now, this was going absolutely nowhere.
"How did you get so strong?"
"Ah." Swallowing the last bite, he answered, "Whale Island is a good place for training your body. Its landscape is really diverse, and I just really like exploring."
"Is that where you learned Nen, too?"
Gon paused right before he took another bite. "Well... no," he said, putting the crepe back down in its little box. "I don't remember how I learned it. And I can't use it anymore, so it's pretty useless if I tell you anything about it now."
"I see," he murmured.
There was still one little thing itching at the back of his mind; something not so related to their plan, but of what confused him about Gon ever since he revealed their goal of killing a hero. Hell, it could be dragged all the way back to when they first met and fought against each other.
"Hey," he started. "Why do you trust us so much?"
His charismatic smile spread across his face. "You're the first people I woke up to in a place I didn't recognize. Why wouldn't I, especially after the reason you gave me for it?"
"Eh? That doesn't sound believable."
"Well, it is, to me." Gon once again reached for the crepe. "Why, are you lying to me?"
"No."
"Good, then."
Good. Shigaraki didn't understand the brat. "We're villains. You don't look like the type to bunch up with us."
"You've been nice to me so far, so why not?"
"Why not? Don't you care about morals, or whatever?"
"Of course I do, which is why I'm always honest," he said, which was at least somewhat valid. However, as he spoke again, something in his eyes changed, despite his smile never wavering. "So, if you haven't been honest with me... I don't have to show mercy."
Gon happily took another bite out of his strawberry-filled crepe.
I don't have to show mercy.
Shigaraki could barely hold himself back from laughing.
After his fit, he immediately went back to sticking with the plan. The itch in his mind had finally been scratched; this kid is just selfish to the bone.
"Ah, Gon, I actually have an offer for you. Think of it as another birthday gift."
"Another? Wow! What is it?"
This was definitely going to work on the brat.
Cracking a grin, Shigaraki asked, "How do you feel about getting a quirk?"
A/N: hello everyone! it's been a while, but we're back with another chapter! to be honest, half of the reason it took so long was because i was slightly overthinking things in my brainstorms (seriously, why did i think incorporating 10th dimensional theory would make this nothing more than convoluted?) but, after mulling it over, i've never been more sure on where i want this to go. along with that, i've created a cover for this story! i made a tumblr (arobits) if you wanted to see it in its full resolution. in other news (also the other reason why this took so long,) i graduated high school! college starts soon, so either future updates will come slow because i'll be working hard, or i'll be updating frequently because of how much i procrastinate lol. anyway, thank you all so much for sticking around! reading all your comments and reviews puts the biggest smile on my face :)
P.S. if you've read this before i updated every chapter, you may have noticed that i changed gon's and killua's ages at the start of the fic to 15. the ages in the hxh universe are super weird, so i decided it'd be better and easier to imagine if they were closer to the bnha kids' ages. hope you understand!
