Awareness returned in stages as Izuku fought against the invisible claws of a nightmare. He felt sweaty and anxious but his eyes stayed firmly closed. Would they open to his bare room in his parents house, a dirty alley, or Shigaraki's apartment? He didn't want to find out just yet in case it was the former.
After a few minutes he finally took stock of his surroundings. First, he was on something soft and he was warm. That thankfully disproved one aspect of the irrational fear. Second, he could smell coffee. Hisashi hated coffee, so it was unlikely that he was at the Midoriya residence. Finally, Izuku registered the voices talking in another room, both sounded male.
At last he opened his eyes. Tomura's room was just as messy as the previous night, but two stacks of clean clothes now sat at the foot of the bed. The bed that Izuku was laying in. Tomura's bed. The realization sent him scrambling to his feet. Hopefully the villain wasn't upset!
Shuffling out into the hallway, Izuku stopped in the bathroom before following the scents and sounds to the kitchen. Kurogiri was in the process of setting the table for breakfast. The greenette's notebook was open by Tomura's elbow and the two seemed to be discussing his work on Death Arms.
They both glanced up at him, the pale man with a pleased grin. "If you're done with this, Kurogiri can take it to Sensei."
Izuku sat down with a shy smile. "O-oh, i-it's just what I found last night. B-but if you t-think it's good enough…"
"It's more than good enough, Izuku-san. It takes even professional analysts days or weeks to summarize what you've done in mere hours." The shadowy man placed food in front of him and motioned for him to eat. It seemed to be a full English breakfast today, with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausages, and biscuits. Way too much for Izuku to eat at once, but it smelled delicious.
"While Kurogiri talks to Sensei, we'll be scoping out a new place. We need underlings if we're going to act on any plans, that means more space." Tomura explained in between bites of his own food. "That's what we were doing when you found us. Sensei gave us a budget but left the location up to us."
Nodding, Izuku focused on eating while contemplating the topic. After he'd been kicked out of the house he'd wandered around Musutafu and some parts of Tokyo. He had a good idea of which districts a villain group might be ignored in, going by how a fourteen year old sleeping in shop doorways was treated.
Musutafu has too many big hero agencies, so does Hosu. But not far from Hosu is Kamino Ward, where I've had heroes kick me for sleeping on the sidewalks and almost got mugged multiple times. There are plenty of abandoned buildings that might be for sale...
"We'll check out Kamino, then." The pale man sounded amused.
Izuku flushed in embarrassment and shoved a biscuit into his mouth to quell his own muttering. Some part of him felt warm and fuzzy that Tomura actually paid attention and took his ideas seriously. But he knew it was a creepy habit that he needed to break. Most people found it off putting.
A short while later Kurogiri left with Izuku's notes in hand. Once the greenette and Tomura were done eating they donned coats, paper face masks, and shoes before heading out as well. The apartment turned out to be above a pawn shop in the Musutafu slums. The nearest train was an easy fifteen minute walk.
They sat side by side in companionable silence for the hour-long ride to the station closest to Kamino Ward. Once there they wandered around, keeping an eye out for promising hideout locations. It was oddly relaxing and a little fun chatting with Tomura about buildings or street art that caught their interest. The pale man even insisted on buying Izuku some food from a street vendor after a couple hours of walking.
Eventually they found themselves in a run-down warehouse district. There were a few bars and clubs but it was mostly off the beaten path, with light foot traffic and a vaguely menacing vibe. Izuku found himself walking closer to Tomura after receiving unsettling looks from some of the people loitering around.
"We'll need to work on your fighting ability, shrimp." The pale man chuckled upon noticing. He seemed to fit in well with the atmosphere.
They were about to move on when something caught his eye down a narrow side street. A battered neon sign stuck out from a storefront that looked boarded up. It was a two story building that seemed decently sized.
He tugged Tomura's jacket lightly to get his attention. "H-how about down there?"
The man followed his gaze and made a thoughtful noise. "Sure." He changed direction to investigate the closed down bar. A messy, handwritten, 'for sale' sign was nailed to the main door. A second doorway was barred off, blocking a stairway that went to the second floor - probably apartments. The two exchanged a look.
"I-it wouldn't be odd for people to come and go at all hours from a bar…" Izuku offered tentatively.
Tomura brought out his phone to note down the contact information and address. "You're right. It would be a good idea. And might bring in extra cash." He tapped away on the phone for a minute before a warp gate opened beside them.
"Let's head home. Kurogiri will handle the rest."
The portal dropped them off in the living room. Kurogiri was waiting for them, eyes crinkled in what appeared to be a pleased expression. "The Master greatly appreciated your work, Izuku-san. He would like you to continue, at your leisure." He turned his attention to Tomura. "I received the information you sent. I will secure the property as swiftly as possible."
The next few days followed a lazy pattern for Izuku. Wake up, eat breakfast, analyze heroes, eat lunch, analyze heroes, eat dinner, analyze heroes or watch Tomura play games, and fall asleep wherever he happened to be at the time. More often than not he woke up in Tomura's bed. He was too embarrassed and nervous to mention it since the man had yet to bring it up.
The two villains made for easy companions. Tomura often lost his temper but, true to his word, he never took it out on Izuku. They sometimes talked about inane topics while the pale man gamed. Through their discussions he learned that Tomura liked dogs, shojo manga (though Izuku already saw those in his room), and sweets. He never would have expected that, but Tomura did threaten to decay him if he told anyone. The man didn't seem to be joking.
Kurogiri kept to himself. He seemed to mostly enjoy reading or cleaning when he wasn't fussing over Izuku and Tomura or running errands. He occasionally helped the shadowy man cook despite protests that he should rest. It was nice, and the greenette was becoming more comfortable around them as time passed.
Things changed about two weeks into living with them. Kurogiri informed them one morning that the purchase of the pub building was finalized. They now owned the bar and the above apartments. He dropped a bunch of boxes into the living room and put them to work packing and moving the boxes through a portal.
The gate took them to a new apartment. It was just as run down as the last one, but clean and with a little bit more space. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a counter rather than in its own room. The counter had bar stools set up and Kurogiri told them to leave the table when they started shuffling furniture over.
Tomura complained the entire time. Once or twice Izuku saw him decaying stuff he didn't want to carry. Kurogiri eventually caught wind of it too and scolded him. All in all it was an eventful and exhausting day. It was made worth it when they stepped through the portal for the final time to find takeout waiting for them.
They were halfway through the meal when Kurogiri stiffened. "The Master summons me. Without another word he disappeared through a gate. Tomura didn't seem concerned by it so Izuku shrugged it off. They finished eating and cleaned up before beginning to sort out the boxes.
Izuku was helping Tomura set up his computer when a portal opened in the doorway of the room. Kurogiri stepped out, eyes squinted seriously and shoulders tense. "The Master wishes to test Izuku-san's loyalty."
The greenette didn't know what that meant, but didn't like the sound of it. Tomura looked confused as well. "Why?" It seemed rhetorical since he didn't give Kurogiri time to answer. "The shrimp's given us information on a dozen heroes and he hasn't even been with us for a month."
"I wish I had answers. I have been instructed to bring him. Alone."