When the trio of league candidates first enter the bar, their initial impression of the barren brick walls is that the significantly spacious hideaway is just short of being a less than decorative basement dwelling. Muted colors of bottles on the shelves behind the bar counter match the unadorned lazy spin of the ceiling fan. The place itself seems just as disinteresting as its disinterested patrons. A man with faded blue hair sits with his back to Akatani, Dabi, and Himiko. The living purple mist behind the counter faces the group instead, the only one well dressed for the occasion.
Not even Giran, the intermediary middleman, bothers with a classy fashion sense. He opts to wear nothing more chic than a fluffy scarf and circular glasses. "I've got some kids here saying they're interested in your group. I assure you, these ones are more capable than the last bunch. Not like the other recruits.", he twists a toothpick in his mouth with his tongue as he speaks; however, the slight slurring of words is still decipherable.
Akatani and the others are expecting who they assume is the bartender to speak in response, but it's the blue haired man that Giran happened to be actually addressing. "And? Who are they?", he turns his head just enough for the trio to get a glimpse of his chapped lips grinding out his questions.
Giran grins, all teeth minus one in the middle on full display. He gestures towards the bunch with a mild flourish, as though he's presenting them. "I'll let them speak for themselves.", his eyes glint the same as his tinted glasses when he glances towards the group that he's brought.
Himiko, the most enthusiastic of the trio, is the first to jump at the opportunity of an introduction. "You're friends with Mister Stainy, right?! We've been looking for you!", she practically vibrates in place as her face tinges red in excitement.
The blue haired man does bother to spare a glance over his shoulder, but it's a rather dismissive look. He has red eyes crusted around the edges that flick over to Dabi instead. "You don't look like very much of a 'league'. You look rather gross, actually.", Dabi returns the critical gaze with one of his own squinted glares.
Hearing that must strike a nerve, because the man returns to his former state, no longer considering them worthy of a second glance. "Kurogiri. Warp them away.", he lazily waves a hand as though he's shooing away a fly. Akatani mentally notes the bartender's name and potential teleportation quirk before listening to the rest, "A brat, a guy with no manners, and a silent creep. I don't like any of them."
Himiko's earlier excitement diminishes a little, an expression of disappointment overcoming her as she cocks her head to the side, "Huh?"
The one named Kurogiri gives the girl somewhat of an apologetic glance before denying the blue haired man's request, "Come now, they've traveled all this way just to meet you. You may as well humor them with a chat." Kurogiri's gaze then shifts to Giran, "What's more, if they're being introduced by our influential broker friend here, we can be sure that they're at least competent fighters."
Giran shrugs, not elaborating on whether they are or aren't. Akatani doesn't know how acquainted Himiko and Dabi are with him for him to actually know, plus the broker had only met him personally very recently to definitely not know, but it's a response he can get behind during a sensitive negotiation. "Either way, I'll take my finder's fee now.", Giran holds out his hand with the expectation of receiving payment.
But Kurogiri isn't quite as accommodating a second time. He raises up his own hand, "Introductions first.", denying the request momentarily.
Giran begrudgingly retracts his hand and nods for the trio to share their names. "I'm Himiko Toga!", Akatani's girlfriend does the liberty of starting them off, "And this is Akatani!"
"I go by Dabi right now.", Dabi does his own introduction. Himiko and Akatani, knowing his real name, share a look with one another, but don't say anything out loud.
The blue haired man turns around, now giving them all his undivided attention. "No good. I want to know your real name.", but he singles out Dabi with a pointed finger specifically.
Before things can escalate, Akatani decides that it's finally time that he says something. He takes a step forward to direct everyone's attention to him before announcing, "I'm the Tokyo Ghoul." Everyone aside from Himiko shares an expression that crosses both shock and awe. But Akatani isn't finished. He looks around the small bar, still only counting two people present. "And you're the League Of Villains? Is this really all of you?", it's his turn to be unimpressed by what he sees.
The blue haired man seems skeptical, his critical gaze from earlier returning full swing. But he still humors Akatani, "Yes. I'm the leader." Now knowing that he's finally found the last of his targets and that they're of small numbers, with the leader right in front of him, he's already calculating how to kill them. The leader taps a finger on the bar counter as he demands from Akatani, "Prove you are who you say you are."
His sclera darkening, the ghoul obliges. A predatory instinct kicks in, back burning to unleash his equivalent of claws. He remembers Aizawa's bandages. Eri's guardian and his previously poor condition within the U.A medbay. Akatani plans to return the favor. The ghoul growls as he prepares to pounce, "Oh.. I intend to."
But as forthwith as his killing intent had expanded, it instantaneously evaporates. An equal force opposes his own, casting over him like the shadow of a bigger beast. Akatani's burning blood runs cold when he hears an amused chuckle coming from behind the bar counter. His eyes are drawn to the source of intimidation, spotting a miniature television that says 'Only Audio' in kanji as red as his shrunken pupils.
"No need.", the disembodied voice is deceptively soothing. Hidden in the tone, is that same dominant power Akatani had sensed. It's a deep and demanding boom, "I would like a private audience with our most prestigious guest, if you mind."
The League Of Villains leader doesn't seem so much like the actual leader anymore when he inquisitively stares at the small TV monitor, "Sensei.. ?"
The owner of the voice remains in charge, making it clear that was an order and not a request. "Take time to get acquainted with his friends, Tomura. You may learn a thing or two about companionship and allegiance.", they sound as though they're talking down to a child. The power dynamic and who reigns in superiority is more evident than ever. It'd be funny if it weren't so terrifying.
Akatani looks back at Himiko and Dabi, expecting the true leader to reveal themself. But he's suddenly struck by a wave of nausea, throwing him off balance. He can feel something climbing up his throat. He feels sick. It's reminiscent of when he vomits the unprocessed attempts at eating anything other than flesh. "Wait-", but what comes out of his mouth this time instead is a black goo as flexible and tangible as his Kagune. It wraps around his body, covering his face and concealing his vision.
And then, suddenly, the darkness transports him to a room just as pitch black. "What..", he fights the gag reflex of having something forcibly breach the walls of his throat but fails miserably. Momentarily, he wonders if that was Kurogiri's warping quirk. However, that thought is immediately overtaken by panicked voices when the presence he had felt earlier increases tenfold. His instincts scream at him. His mind yells just as vocally. But his body becomes paralyzed.
He's trapped in a state of petrification as the crushing pressure of sheer power makes itself known to him. The aura makes Akatani collapse to his knees, his whole body bending over as he fights back the urge to puke for real this time. He's being forced to bow to the mightier being. The submissive state is one that he knows well. He's seen his own prey do the same sometimes. To be on the receiving end for once, he can't help but shed tears.
He can hear the beeping of a heartbeat monitor. He's not sure if that's real or if it's apart of what he's currently imagining. The extreme emanation forces him to experience hallucinations of his own death as well. Torn and dismembered like he's left some of his own victims. Shredded and violated. Drowning in his own blood. Suffocating as he's choked by the tremendous pressure. Stabbed through his pounding heart, pierced and cut wide open. He feels as though he's falling from a great height. Then he lands in hell where he burns alive. Each assaulting image is a beating that makes his entire body tremble.
The voice returns, making Akatani shudder. He's pretty sure that voice belongs to the devil. "This is the first time you've felt inferior to another out of a naturally born instinct. Isn't it?", the tone is genuinely inquisitive rather than taunting. That only intensifies the effect of the feeling he's unable to endure. He feels like an ant that's being studied, played with, by a giant that could squash it at any moment it loses interest.
All Akatani can manage is a meek nod. His mind is too distraught to think of a verbal response. Though he'd doubtfully be capable of formulating any coherent speech if he were thinking clearly.
Akatani recluses at the close proximity of the voice, "You have no conception of how far up the food chain goes, boy." It sounds so close and yet so distant at the same time. "The most lethal of predators are good at concealing their bloodlust. You should take that advice into practice. I could easily sense your hostile intent towards Tomura.", Akatani recognizes the tone as the same that had been used with the so-called Tomura. He's being talked down to, perceived as an inferior child. In the presence of this being, he knows that to be true. "Have you nothing to say for yourself, boy?", Akatani's throat is too dry to say anything. Until, the same force that commands him to be docile demands that he, "Speak."
"I.. He's a threat..", Akatani's voice trembles more than his body as he admits to the desire of wanting Tomura dead. He knows he can be smited easily should the owner of the voice so deem it, and he's just given them a valid reason.
"To the child you've grown an attachment with.", the true leader of The League Of Villains shocks Akatani even more. He's shaken to his core that such an unstoppable force knows about his relationship to Eri as the reason for their being at odds. "Don't be so surprised. I'm capable of reading your thoughts like an open book. Through all the terror and desperation, it's easy to find the root of those emotions.", Akatani struggles to breathe as he takes in that information; his mind is capable of being invaded, his thoughts read, and quite possibly corrupted. He theorizes that the feeling he's perceiving from the mindreader's presence comes from that same source of power.. But part of him knows that a good margin is genuinely just the person's unmitigated existence. "Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to end Tomura's life. He is of importance to me.", he's reminded of that aura when it washes over him like a wave in an ever endless bottomless sea, "However, I see a potential in you that would be a shame to waste. You could prove useful to Tomura." Before he can sink to the bottom and drown, crushed by the pressure, he feels himself pulled back to the surface.
Akatani gasps for air as he greedily tries to inhale it all for himself. The force that had been weighing down on him has been significantly lifted, but his body still falls to the floor. He's beyond exhausted. "Wh- Who.. Who are you?", he tries to get a good look at who caused him such grief.
In the thick darkness, he can make out what looks like the equivalent of a throne. Several wires and cables are connected to it, an array of monitors much like the one from the bar also attached. And seated at its center, is a well dressed man. "I have many names. Most prominently, 'All For One', in account for my abundance of quirks and the unique ability to take more from others.", the promise of power from that introduction alone has Akatani quivering all over again. But when he sees the face belonging to that power, he's beyond horrified, "But you will call me.. Sensei."
The scarred flesh where eyes should be somehow stares into Akatani's soul more than actual eyes would be able to. "Y- You plan to take my quirk from me?", it suddenly makes sense to him how someone could be so limitlessly indomitable.
"Oh? What's this? A kindling of hope that I hear?", All For One tilts his head to the side as he outwardly notes Akatani's tone, "How interesting." Akatani imagines a life without his quirk. If it weren't for his uncontrollable impulses and his extreme urges, he would have been able to lead a regular life. His mother would still be alive. Maybe, just maybe, he would have been able to still get into U.A with Kacchan. "I can only view your thoughts so much. Would you be opposed to meeting a quirk specialist colleague of mine?", All For One's intrigue sends shivers down Akatani's spine and he begins to regret the desire to berid of his quirk. He can't imagine someone so evil increasing their strength with his quirk too.
"What do you want from me?", Akatani struggles to push himself upwards. It takes all he has, but he somehow manages to push off with his hands and just stay on his knees.
All For One watches the boy with sick pleasure, smiling softly as he enjoys the entertaining display. He speaks at a low decibel, almost assuredly, "Not your quirk. Though powerful, it wouldn't pale in comparison to my arsenal.", but conveys anything but a form of assurance. "I'm much more interested in your mind.", especially when he extends a hand. Akatani instinctively shies away from the near contact, all sorts of alarms and warnings going off in his head. Especially when he sees something crawling beneath the surface of the man's sleeve.
The length and size of All For One's fingers, a red-headed centipede twists itself around his hand and reaches towards Akatani. Acting on a survival reflex, his senses telling him it's no ordinary insect, the boy scurries back faster than the actual bug crawls. Akatani pants heavily, his unnatural pupils focused on the centipede that reaches just short of his face. Its preformal spines twiddle in an attempt at making contact.
If All For One is displeased, he doesn't show it. If anything, he finds the reaction humorous, letting out a low chuckle. He pulls his arm away, the centipede retreating back under his sleeve. "We'll both have to test our patience then.", he lifts the same hand he had used to prop his chin against his knuckles, "Another time."
Akatani swallows in between heavy breaths, unable to express anything but relief that he hadn't been subjected to whatever All For One literally had up his sleeve. Though he also can't help but be unsettled by the unspoken promise of 'another time'. He shakily lifts his head, daring to look at the man responsible for such an impending feeling of absolute damnation. The business attire is almost as casual as his sitting position, the lack of a tie and the few loose buttons at the top are nonchalant. Yet, the face that wears it all is just like the aura he emits. A horrifically sinister contortion of what a person's worst self can be, personified as a form of evil.
Even without sockets, Akatani can feel All For One's eyes on him. He's not sure how the man can see, but he knows that he must. He can't help but shake the feeling of being studied like he's bacteria under a microscope. "You will return to Tomura and agree to work with him. You will not harm him if you don't want the same to be done to the girls you're so fond of.", Akatani feels small in comparison to the potential menace of this particular predator.
He has no choice but to accept the true monster's conditions, now knowing his role in the criminal climate has drastically changed. The threat to Eri and Himiko is one that can be delivered on and he'd be unable to do anything about it. He's been caged again, this time by something far worse than the heroes. He remembers what All For One wished to be addressed as and answers, "Y- Yes, Sensei."
All For One's smile becomes even more wicked, if that's even possible. The Tokyo Ghoul is now his pet.