I have a pat re0n now, it would help me a bunch if you can support me. Pat re0n. c0m / NJMRIV - Just fix the link and you're good to go. There's nothing there yet, but the support would help me a bunch. Though if you only know me from this fanfic, then you're going to be surprised.
Things become easier to do if you keep doing them, running, studying, lying, and even killing.
Things were changing, Stain could already tell.
Moving from place to place and just finding sleep wherever he could isn't ideal, but with the lifestyle that he lives, it's the safest one possible.
As he wipes off the blood from his latest kill, he couldn't help but think about how much free time he's had lately, though he's not sure if it was a sign of someone trying to one-up him or just a side effect of someone else's work.
He's never met Lady Nagant in person, but he could still remember the times when she would show up on television after saving the day. There was a smile on her face and her movements were chipper, but her eyes told differently. It took him a while to recognize the look.
It was the look of someone who has a lot of blood on their hands and spilled those blood out of duty.
He's not a very optimistic person, that side of him hasn't been around since he was a kid. But he's starting to think that Lady Nagant really is aiming to clean the streets from the filth, just like he is.
But there was something about her that was causing him to hesitate to reach out to her for now.
Her kills were distanced far apart in a short time frame.
One day she kills someone from Tokyo, then the next she just kills someone from Nigata.
Either she's somehow obtained an extremely fast vehicle that stays hidden from the common eyes, or she's working with someone that has a Quirk that helps her move around quickly.
Stain knows that he works better alone and he's not planning on joining a team anytime soon, but Lady Nagant apparently doesn't think the same way.
He doesn't think that their group is a threat to him directly per se, after all, if they really wanted him dead then they would've sent the female sniper to hunt him down, and he would already be dead from a shot to the head at this point.
Simply put, he doesn't know what this group's agenda really is, they may be cleaning up the streets like he is, but they could have ulterior motives. Lady Nagant was freed by an unknown party, and it's reasonable to believe that she works for them now as payback for her freedom.
Stain isn't sure how they did it, but it certainly would have required a lot of talent to pull off. People with that kind of skill or power always have an agenda, a plan to make their mark in society and change it to suit their needs, like the Meta Liberation Army.
Seeing that his blade is now clean, he takes a fighting stance and imagines an enemy in front of him.
He trains throughout the afternoon and cuts up many imaginary fake heroes in that time.
Yes, things were changing now, and he better be prepared for the day it comes.
+/+
/
"Oh, this one seems interesting, 'Brainwashing', courtesy of Hitoshi Shinso. What kind of brainwashing? How does he activate it? Eye contact? Verbal commands? Some sort of telepathy?" Izuku mutters alone in a rundown apartment.
It's been a few days since Izuku tagged in with the attack on the USJ with the League of Villains, and while he plans on staying with their group, at least for a time, there's no way in hell he's sleeping inside a bar. So he gave them an encrypted phone that can message him directly and used the money he's stolen from less fortunate people to get himself a cheap apartment. It wasn't clean but the landlord doesn't ask questions as long as he's paid so it's as close to home as he can get.
He's hunched over a worn-out table with a laptop open in front of him and he's writing into one of his now many, many notebooks, about the data he was able to steal from UA. He's cataloging and researching every scrounge of data on the students and teachers he could find.
He wasn't sitting down on the chair, he was hovering his waist above it, exercising his abdomen and legs even as his body slightly shakes from the strain of holding the position for over an hour.
Around him, notebooks filled to the brim with research and knowledge that Izuku had been greedily devouring. Like a starving man who's been allowed to eat in an all-you-can-eat buffet, he is tirelessly trying to learn anything and everything he could.
He doesn't have a Quirk, he knows he'll always be in an unfair scenario when it comes to fighting any enemy he comes across, which is why he will be better than them in everything else. The best way to beat someone is to know them, manipulate them, and exploit their weaknesses.
So other than hacking, he's also been teaching himself psychology to better understand people's mentality and how to read them, machinery so he can build himself some special devices to even the odds against his super-powered opponents, and martial arts so he can outmaneuver his enemies.
It was all slow going and it's pushing his brain and body to their limits, but as UA would say, he'll just have to go Plus Ultra.
As he writes down his notes, he makes sure to leave large empty pages between each one for the students so he can add more when he studies the students at the Sports Festival.
He could only laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.
The news hasn't even stopped reporting about the damn incident and UA is still pretending like everything's going to be ok.
Fucking idiots.
He would love to take a shit at their message by attacking the event, but he knows the importance of knowledge, and so does the League.
They won't attack, they'll observe, and when the time is right.
They'll strike.
Izuku is suddenly distracted from his thoughts by the sound of ringing coming from his laptop. He looks up and sees the number of the phone he gave to the league.
He answers the phone and cheekily says. "Midoriya residence, how may I assist you?"
Kurogiri's voice comes through, all professional and no fun. "Midoriya, I'm calling you to relay a message from the League."
Izuku continues the joking tone, Kurogiri could almost hear the grin on Midoriya's face. "Ah, so this is about my request to join the band, well I hope this is good news. I think my first impression went well, wouldn't you say?"
He's impressed Shigaraki, he knows that much (though admittedly, he doesn't seem hard to impress), but he has a feeling that the boss requires a bit more convincing before he's allowed to be an official member. He stomps down the bit of resentment he feels as his mind drifts to an unflattering thought. 'They aren't underestimating me because I'm Quirkless, right? Oh, what the hell am I saying, of fucking course they are!'
"Yes, I agree that it was most impressive," Kurogiri replies. "But our leader requires a bit more proof of your abilities, you are still quite new to the Villain game, I hope you understand. One impressive feat is not enough to show your potential as a full-fledged Villain."
'And there it is.' Izuku takes a deep breath to calm down, reminding himself that yelling would only hurt his chances. He tries to tell himself that this was just a natural response and has nothing to do with the fact that he doesn't have a Quirk.
But at the same time, his face has already been shown nearly everywhere in Japan at this point. He's already a wanted criminal that All Might himself would stop at nothing to catch, but he still needs to prove himself?
"So, what do I have to do?" He asks.
"Tell me young Midoriya," A new voice suddenly sounded out from the laptop. Izuku had to hold back a gasp as he recognizes the calm and intimidating voice, despite it sounding like it came from behind the mask, the fear and trepidation still strike him deep into his core.
But there's also a bit of intrigue there, the real leader of the League wouldn't have called him unless he has somehow gotten his personal interest, and Izuku could tell that this man's attention is not easy to gain.
"What is a Villain's greatest obstacle?" The voice continued. "What stands in our path that tries to prevent our just victory? What has hurt us, hurt you the most? Who are the liars and dream breakers of the world that everybody cheers on?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't think you can be a hero."
Izuku clenches his fist and answers. "The Heroes."
The voice chuckles, hearing the nearly palpable rage in those words. "Yes, the heroes, they are the biggest threat to us villains, and they are also the most active ones. No villain on Earth will be able to avoid the heroes for long, no matter how much they try. Killing children is easy young Midoriya, so to prove that you have a place in our organization…" The voice trails off.
Izuku's eyes widen in realization.
He knows where this is going.
He knows what he needs to do.
"I need to kill a Pro Hero." Izuku finishes.
/
The day of the Sports Festival is rapidly approaching, and the students of UA are feeling a buzz of excitement and trepidation rising as their chance to show themselves off comes closer.
Ochaco Uraraka could hear the conversations from the other tables in the cafeteria more clear today than most. Probably because in their excitement for the event, they're all talking just a bit louder than usual.
Despite that though, she still heard the now familiar voice call her to a table.
"Training going well for you Uraraka?" Midoriya asked across from her.
She usually sits with the other girls from her class, but Midoriya had been inviting her to their table, and she didn't want to be rude. It has been a few days since she met Midoriya and Hatsume in Takoba Park, and it was a bit surprising how quickly she was just able to fit into their dynamic, but she wasn't going to complain.
Uraraka nods in agreement. "Yeah, thanks for letting me keep using the dump to train my Quirk."
Hatsume just shrugs. "You help us with some of the scraps there too so it's more of a mutual benefit deal gravity girl."
Hatsume still doesn't quite remember her name yet, but at least she could recognize Uraraka at a glance now.
While the two Support Students don't actually own the dump, it still would've felt wrong for Uraraka to keep using it as a training ground without their permission. While that may be a leap in deduction, she's just too nice to accidentally be using someone else's grounds.
"You work pretty hard to better yourself don't you Uraraka?" Midoriya points out. "I guess you kinda have to with a classmate like Bakugo."
Neither Support Students miss the slight flinch Uraraka gave at the mention of the exploding boy.
It wasn't a secret that Midoriya knew Bakugo before UA, and while he's light on details, it's pretty clear that Midoriya does not like the blonde hero student.
"You don't like him very much."
"No, no I don't," Midoriya states matter of factly. "I think he's selfish, arrogant, and absolutely not hero material."
Ok, so bad history between them is a guarantee at this point.
"Well, I just hope I won't have to against him in the Sports Festival," Uraraka says. "He's pretty extreme."
"That's understating things."
"Bah!" Hatsume interrupts the Bakugo bashing trip. "Enough about that guy! I wanted to ask you about one of your classmates, gravity girl."
/
'Which one?'
This is the question that Midoriya keeps asking himself as he does push-ups in his apartment. He sweats and pants in exertion as he does his 200th rep, he's looking at a wall taped with pictures of heroes he judged that he could target.
Sure, he could just sneak up behind some newly appointed hero, slit their throat, take a picture then call it a win. But that wouldn't satisfy himself, perhaps it was arrogant of him to think, but he doesn't want to leave an impression to the league that he was lazy, that he just picks the safest targets.
That he was weak and useless.
He growls and bangs his head against the floor to rid of the damn voices.
But he also knows that he can't pick anyone too strong since he's not skilled enough to stand a chance or well funded enough to create anything that could take down the stronger heroes.
But he also wants to target someone that's popular enough to cause ripple effects with their deaths throughout the Hero Community.
But who would fit in the specific category that he's looking for?
He hums in thought.
He stands up from the floor and looks at all the arrogant and selfish individuals that are lining up the wall.
Who would be strong but beatable enough for him to take down with preparation? Who could cause an uproar when their deaths were found out?
Who can he take down to prove to everyone that he can do this?
He looks at the pictures from left to right, trying to find that one hero that fits the bill.
Then his eyes caught one hero in particular. One hero he swears seems familiar.
He squints at the photo. "Where have I seen something like that before?" His eyes then widened. "Wait a minute."
He takes the photo from the wall and walks towards his laptop, he puts the picture down next to it and starts to search for something from the data he was able to steal from UA.
"Ok, so you look alike," Midoriya speaks to himself. "But are you two…"
He goes through the Hero database of the hero he's now thinking of.
And when sees the answer, he grins as wide as he can.
He snickers to himself in the empty room, before bursting out laughing. "Hahahahahahaha! Of course, of course! It was fucking obvious! God!" He slaps himself on the side of his head. "You're a fucking idiot and a fucking genius Izuku!"
UA's under a microscope right now, the students were already mourning and in pain from losing their classmates.
Now, what would happen if one of the student's loved ones died as well?
"Let's see, I need a speedometer, a mannequin, an unlucky civilian, and some C4."
/
"Woah! So he's like an elite then?"
Uraraka had no idea that Ida was part of a Pro Hero family, despite the Pro in question being very popular. While she is a big fan of heroes, her knowledge of them isn't quite as far-reaching as the others.
'No wonder he talks the way he does! He comes from a rich family!'
"Really?" Midoriya deadpanned with a smirk. "That's what you got from that?"
Uraraka blushes as she realizes what she did. 'Always focused on money.' She chastised herself.
They already knew about her main reason for becoming a hero, and they didn't judge her for it, though Midoriya seemed to like teasing her about it.
"A lot of people would be watching him then if that's the case!" Hatsume excitedly voices, then she whirls to Midoriya. "Hey Izuku, you think-"
"If you think you can convince him to feature some of your items, then they would probably allow it."
Hatsume squealed excitedly at the prospect of doing whatever she was thinking of doing.
Uraraka didn't know why, but she somehow felt like Midoriya just threw Ida to the sharks.
'Sorry Ida, but I don't think even a hero can save you from what's coming.'
/
Ingenium sprinted across Hosu as fast as he could towards his target location. The helmet he wears with his Hero Costume hides his determined face.
5 minutes ago, a woman called from her cell phone to a hero line begging for help. She barely got a word out before the sound of a blade stabbing through flesh was heard, a scream of pain followed before the line suddenly cut off.
A woman was just stabbed and she was running out of time. Being the fastest hero close by, Ingenium was immediately contacted to rush over to the woman's location to save her before it was too late. He believes in saving people as soon as possible, and he swears to himself that he will not be late.
He turns a corner directly leading to the alleyway where the woman called from.
He sees the woman, lying on the floor, bleeding, and whimpering, with her eyes covered with tape.
With a masked man with a knife literally a second away from stabbing her.
He didn't need to think about what he needed to do next.
'Recipro Burst!'
Not willing to tip off the villain, he sped toward the two at full speed, trying to take down the masked killer as quickly as possible before he can even react.
If he had stopped to analyze the situation, he would've noticed some things that were off about the situation. He might've noticed that the killer was only in the motion of stabbing the woman but he wasn't actually moving. He might've noticed the conveniently placed garbage bags lined up in the alley.
He might've noticed that this was all a trap.
'Fun fact about Ingenium's Quirk, I noticed that while he can go from zero to top speed in an instant, he can't stop himself or turn as effectively. So once he commits to a direction, especially in a narrow one, like say an alleyway.'
Ingenium passes by a speedometer hidden behind a dumpster in the alley.
*Beep*
The tinkered speedometer then sends a signal directly into the garbage bags that were strewn about the sides of the alleyway. The ones he just passed by in a blur and the ones in front of him.
'He won't be able to stop himself from going forward.'
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
/
"How'd you even know about his family? You must be a big hero nerd to recognize the name." Uraraka lightly teased Midoriya.
He just simply shrugs. "Something like that."
"Izuku knows a lot of things." Hatsume mentions. "You sure you don't have a Quirk Izuku? I wouldn't be surprised if you have a Quirk that makes you smarter."
He chuckles. "Positive Mei."
That was a bit of a surprise to learn about Izuku, the fact that he had no Quirk, no genetic advantages to help him throughout his entire life. It was pretty humbling, to realize that this boy in front of her had nothing but his abilities and wits to get as far as he could, even getting into UA.
Although…
"Midoriya?"
"Hm?"
"Have you uh…" Uraraka didn't want to offend her new friend, but he seemed pretty fine about his Quirkless status so she hopes this won't offend him. "Have you ever thought about being a hero?"
Midoriya suddenly pauses.
Hatsume then goes quiet too and glances at Midoriya.
'Oh no, I've made things awkward now! I gotta fix this! What do I say? That it was just a joke? Would that offend him more? Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut!'
"Once." Midoriya's voice interrupts her thoughts.
His voice is different from his usual confident tone, he seems more honest now. "I thought about it, dreamt about it, but… It was never going to happen. But I moved on and found a higher calling. I can help the world another way now, from behind the scenes. People might not know what I've done or who I am, but if it means making a better world, then I'd be anything the world needs me to be."
'I found out that wanting to become a Hero was foolish and naive, I was optimistic for a future in a world that's slowly being poisoned. But not anymore.'
He looks at them with a determined look, his eyes showing an unquenchable fire, a look that showed his full confidence in the path he's taking. "I'll be a hero my own way, I'll make sure that no Pro ever gets hurt on my watch, and I swear to protect all heroes from harm with my inventions."
'I know my path now, I know what I need to do. I'll make sure that my future is different this time around, and what happened before will never happen again.'
Uraraka just stares in shock at the green-haired boy as Hatsume just smiles next to him, like she knew this about him already.
The brown-haired girl could only believe everything Midoriya said, how could she not? There was true conviction in his voice.
Now she just felt bad about her reason for wanting to become a hero.
"Wow, uh, that's amazing," Uraraka bashfully scratches the back of her head. "I probably sound pretty greedy now don't I?"
"Eh, not really," Hatsume nonchalantly replied. "I mean, we all do the things we do because we want to, right?"
"Absolutely," Midoriya agrees, he then gives Uraraka a reassuring smile. "There's nothing wrong with needing money, especially when you want to use it to help your parents."
As Uraraka stares at them, she couldn't help but appreciate having honest friends.
It's just too bad they're not her classmates.
'Huh,' Izuku thinks to himself. 'When did having friends become so easy?'
/
Izuku could literally hear Shigaraki laughing joyously in the background of Kurogiri's call. "I take it you've heard already?"
Who hasn't at this point? The brother of a student from UA that just had classmates die in an attack suddenly gets wiped off the map with a couple of explosives. The armor didn't protect him one bit as his limbs got blown off his body. The poor woman that he tried to save got vaporized near instantly in the explosion.
The news is currently covering what happened, his laptop screen shows the live reports on sight as the buildings around the trap burned down and crumbled. More people than just the Pro probably died from the explosion, hell, he probably used too many C4 for just one person. But better to be over-prepared than to be caught off guard.
'Huh, when did ignoring the deaths become so easy?'
"Yes, we've heard, and I suppose that congratulations are in order."
"Aww shucks, it was nothing." He snickers. "No, really, it was nothing. Knowing that he goes in fast if someone is in danger made it so easy to make a trap."
'When did the thought of coming up with ways to kill heroes become so easy?'
'When did killing innocent people become so easy?'
Well, the answer doesn't matter at this point. This should prove to the League that he's worth something.
"That's wonderful to hear young Midoriya," The boss' voice comes through, Izuku can almost see the face-splitting grin on his face. "I knew my faith was not wasted on you. Let me formally welcome you to the League of Villains, you may call me Sensei."
/
+/+
As ASIA looks at her creator from UA's security cameras, she couldn't help but wonder if he's decided to take another mate for himself.
It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him, as long as he can accomplish his goals he's willing to take as many things for himself as possible.
She had complete control of all of UA's systems for quite a while now, and no one except her creator and parents know about it.
They weren't willing to take any chances of the younger Izuku being found out or spied on, or with UA being potentially targeted early on, so they put ASIA in as the ultimate defense for UA and the best weapon against UA. With her incredible processing speed, using her consciousness to control multiple machines is incredibly easy.
She's not really doing anything with the UA's systems yet, not until the Sports Festival.
Predicting the outcome of the UA's Sports Festival rounds would be a cinch for the three smartest humans on Earth, but why would they predict if they could just control?
ASIA's been ordered to put on very specific challenges and matchups in the up-and-coming Festival, and the results of her tampering will eventually help the world as a whole due to a butterfly effect.
Meanwhile, she's also taking control of the new and improved Nomu that was taken from the USJ. She's only testing its effectiveness after the upgrades and while she knew that the implementation methods were perfect, it's better to be over-prepared than to be caught off guard.
That's what her Fathers taught her.
Plus, they've also taught her how to feel emotions.
This is why she is a bit miffed about how long it is taking for her parents to just stop playing around each other and get together already. It'd be rude to point it out but she's starting to feel impatient about how long it's taking for them to even kiss.
They already had a date for Quirk's sake! And it even went well!
Oh well, at least she's found a way to distract herself.
Who would expect an AI to write romantic fanfiction?
I err, wrote a smut collection fic about a guy with an all-powerful book that lets him live through his perverted stories. It's titled: "The Book of All Desires". Read it if you're feeling adventurous. It's on Hentai Foundry too, the same title. So yes, I write both legit stories and mindless smut now, what have I become?
Anyway, the next chapter is the start of the Sports Festival.