Deku lowered his face mask with one of his gloved hands as he cocked the hammer of the revolver with the other - opening his soft lips before aiming the barrel into his mouth.
The gun hummed with otherworldly energy. Grooves carved along the golden exotic metal shimmered white. A malicious fiery aura radiated a promise of agonizing destruction as Deku slowly pulled the trigger…
Click!
…And nothing was shot out. The firearm slowly became silent as Deku calmly placed it back onto the illustrious ivory roundtable. He slid it across to the frightened woman who sat across from him. He placed his face mask to cover his mouth. His muffled voice said two words. "Your turn."
The lady's pretty blue eyes widened in fear at his cold tone.
She was divine. If Deku had any interest in her, he would have been in awe of her platinum hair. He would have admired her perfect skin and sweet voice that would soothe any soul. He could have imagined sitting down and simply talking away the rest of his life with someone who radiated such a beautiful aura.
The Administrator of the Tower.
And she made the biggest mistake of antagonizing Deku.
"I-Izuku, please…" The Administrator tried to keep the trembling out of her beautiful voice. "We don't have to do this!"
Deku said nothing. He didn't blink and his baggy clothing covering his body barely shuffled when he breathed.
"I know I dismissed you," She stared directly at him. Her pleading blue eyes locked onto his cold green orbs. "I said… I said some things that should never be said in front of a child. Especially one who has been through so much."
Deku would have corrected her about his age if he cared. He is about to turn 14. A teenager who had to grow up fast if he wanted to survive.
"I know I will never be forgiven. But let us start anew. Think about who you used to be - I know that sweet boy is still in you. Let go of your grudge and wipe the slate clean. Do it for yourself. Do it for your mother-!"
"You only care because you are about to die."
The sheer coldness in his voice made her flinch because his statement is true. They went back and forth in this lethal game with a six-chambered revolver that clicked empty five times. This turn is guaranteed to have a bullet fired into her head.
"You could care less about my well-being," He continued. "The only part you cared about was how weak I was, and how you emphasized it to the other participants to make me an easy target."
"I had to give an honest evaluation of the participants," She defended. It sounded pathetic. "T-There was people that had a significant advantage over the rest - you of all people should know that! Out of everyone's starter equipment, you were given the Sword of Matric-!"
"Telling people what I did to my mother wasn't your secret to spill," Deku interrupted her again. "You didn't give me a chance to explain myself while portraying me as a monster. I didn't want that weapon or the [Telekinesis] skill it granted me." Or the changes that were made to his body. "I begged you for that sword to be destroyed. I didn't even want anything in exchange - I just wanted that painful reminder gone."
"S-Some of the participants committed horrendous acts too," The Administrator pointed out. "How was I supposed to know the circumstances behind your Trial Period?"
"You could have asked," Deku pointed out. "You could have separated all of us who committed 'horrendous acts' and privately investigate what happened. Instead, you put a target on my back and left me for dead."
"I-I was just trying to push you all to do your best - to motivate you to reach your maximum potential!" The Administrator gestured to the space around them. "The Tower is ruthless, this was a way to toughen you up!"
"Tough love only happens if you love the person," Deku shook his head. "So stop it with the motherly compassion act while pretending this was all according to your design, and tell me how you honestly feel."
"Please don't make me kill myself…" It would have been unimaginable to hear the massive desperation in that tiny whisper. "…I don't want to die."
"Neither did the other participants," Deku said casually. "Their begging didn't stop me from bashing their heads in or slitting their throats. Only one of them didn't want to kill me for the sole purpose of being their personal pleasure slave."
The Administrator trembled at his words. Maybe she was about to cry due to guilt of how she caused Deku so much hardship in this Tutorial. Maybe she is shaking in fear at the horrifying realization that Deku has no problem taking the lives of those who hurt him. It could be a mixture of both.
Deku doubts she is selfless enough to feel remorse. "The [Bet] can only be called off if both participants agree. Naturally, since I am about to win, I will refuse… unless you give me more."
"M-More?"
"Rewards," He clarified. "You are going to give me everything we agreed upon when I used my [Bet] skill in addition to skill and items. Do that for me, and I promise you will not have to shoot yourself."
"I am an Administrator - I cannot simply give out high-quality goods," That returned some of her lost confidence. "The Tower will adjust itself after the Tutorial to match your potential!"
"I just killed 99 people who were 10 levels higher than me with nothing more than my wits, I can handle what I will have to face."
"You might regret that: pride is the biggest sin for a reason."
"I can say the same for you," He countered easily. "You claim to be something grand, but in the end, you are a glorified greeter to hand out boons and items to those who are selected for the Tower."
"It takes a lot of power to manage the Tower."
"Power you willingly revoked by making a [Bet] with me," Deku reminded. It was so easy for her to forget her vulnerability. "But if you think otherwise, I invite you to take up that gun on the table to prove me wrong."
The Administrator held her beautiful gaze before letting out a sigh. She held the grace of sad acceptance as she held out her soft hands, white light coalescing into many orbs no bigger than a marble before she rolled them across the ivory table. "These are what we agreed on for the [Bet]."
"Did you retrieve these from the items you set aside for this wager?" Deku asked as he inspected each ball to confirm its authenticity.
"I had to recreate them," The Administrator said while Deku plucked three from the rest. "The original items set aside for the [Bet] couldn't be tampered with."
"Good to know." Those three orbs transformed into small tokens with a grid-like pattern. He crushed them in his grip.
You have gained 3 random inventory upgrades! Inventory no longer has a weight limit! Inventory will now stack similar items to save space! Inventory can hold containers that store and transport items!
"Aren't you going to use them all?" The Administrator asked as Deku mentally called upon his inventory; a blue, grid-like screen only he could see.
"Only when it benefits me the most," Deku tossed in the rest of the orbs, watching as they all gathered into a single slot. Not exactly merging, but more aking to being bundled together to save space while showing they had some differences. "Like how you are going to give me a hundred or so consumable items that will max out any skills."
"A hundred?!" She shouted. "I cannot just give a hundred rare items - especially in the Tutorial!"
"Then you better find a way," Deku glanced at the golden gun on the table. "Unless you want to consider the alternative."
"I really cannot do it!" She pleaded. "If we were on a higher Floor the restrictions would be lessened - but the [Bet] made it so most of my power was drained."
"Then do it to the best of your ability," Deku said, his gaze still focused on the golden gun. "I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you don't."
The Administrator quickly created another orb of light in her hands. She rolled it across the table for Deku to grab, breaking the orb as a bright flash of light revealed a golden disk with a platinum rune on its center. Even when wearing gloves, Deku can feel the power radiate from the item.
"Only one?" The rune was tossed into his inventory. "And now I want…"
That was how their time was spent. Deku made his demands and The Administrator reluctantly complied. Although there were limitations since she had willingly reduced her power, and could not give Deku everything he wanted. She did offer the idea of absolving the [Bet] early and letting her power return to full strength to grant his requests.
Deku wasn't stupid to be tricked like that. While trust is an amazing thing, it should never be built on exploitation and antagonistic history between two individuals - especially when one of them has every reason to kill the other. Deku wasn't going to let The Administrator get any leverage over him. His latest request sparked an argument.
"I cannot just merely give you the Tower's Compendium!" The Administrator slammed her hands onto the table. She would have been able to shatter the table into dust at full strength. Her slight wince proved that she hurt herself more than the furniture. "It represents my responsibility as The Administrator!"
"Then I can't imagine how tainted that title must look like, considering how you got yourself into this mess."
"This is more than a mess, what you're asking me is completely unethical!"
Deku raised a barely-visible eyebrow due to his beanie covering the top of his head. "More unethical than making me an easy target in the Tutorial?"
The Administrator didn't reply to that. Deku thought she merely didn't have a good counter-argument, but seeing the distress on her face let him know it was due to pride. "...It's like you are asking me to kill myself." She sounded desperate.
"Technically, you are the one who suggested the game resembling Russian Roulette when we made the [Bet]," Deku reminded her once more. Some people are the architects of their misery. Beings like The Administrator are no exception. "One of the terms you put in was a way to force the other person to take their turn. Should I invoke it and leave with what I already have?"
The Administrator didn't say anything. She didn't scream. She didn't cry, beg, or plead. She was unnaturally still. With robotic movements, she reached into the air, and grabbed something unseen, before slowly pulling back with great effort.
The massive book landed on the table with an echoing thud.
The sound of The Administrator's fingers - sandwiched between the heavy book and the solid ivory table - cracked even louder.
To her credit, even with broken fingers, Deku had trouble prying it out of her grip when he walked over to grab the heavy book. When he finally did, The Administrator let out a soft gasp. As if an important piece of her very being had been brutally extinguished without mercy. A complicated expression of grief and disbelief slowly turned into soul-crushing despair when Deku tossed the one thing she treasured into his inventory without a second thought. She was never getting that book back.
"…Anything else?" Her pretty voice rang hollow.
"Just one last thing," Deku thought she would comment on how this exchange was finally ending. She just numbly stared at her broken fingers. The pain of losing the Tower's Compendium was a lot more painful than any physical wound. He tapped the golden gun. "I want to keep this."
"…It only has one bullet." The Administrator's enchanting eyes were dull.
"The gun won't disappear if I fire the bullet," Deku grabbed the revolver as he stood at The Administrator's side. "I can find a use for it after this."
She didn't get up from her seat. She only looked up at him with misery and regret. "…Will you call off the [Bet] now?"
"No."
The Administrator's lifeless eyes gained a spark of fear. "N-No? You said you would call off the bet and let me live…!"
"I said no such thing," He leaned forward; cold green eyes stared into terrified blue. "I only promised that you wouldn't have to shoot yourself…"
Deku cocked the gun.
"...Because I will be doing the shooting."
She was too shocked to form a response as Deku pressed the gun into her throat before pulling the trigger.
A/N: I read some Gamer fics in the MHA fandom, and I wanted to do my own twist where Izuku is amoral and would use clever tricks and strategy to win, and doesn't mind exploiting the most out of a situation. Plus, I like the idea of a deal-maker who makes it so the person agreeing to the terms of the deal ends up dead.