The minimal reception (next to zero reviews and so on) of this fic here IS taking its toll on me, but... ehhh, I'm at like chapter 47 [written up to 52 or 53] on AO3, so I guess I gotta move my ass a little and start publishing it here again properly. So, here it comes.

(***)

House Divided Arc IV

Three days after Cloud finished warping the Creature Rejection Clan operatives into the restored parts of the Overlook, Midoriya made a decision. There was clear progress in rounding down the location of the QLF remnants, however they still weren't quite ready for a meeting.

They didn't have the time for this. Recruiting CRC before QLF already altered the original chronology of events. It really didn't matter to him THAT much. So he could as well alter it a bit further.

Thus, he decided to resurrect the Inhuman Supremacy Party. Or, to be exact, create it again. The few villain crews that were still carrying the name were a bad joke, not fit for what Midoriya had in mind. He needed to build the whole thing up from scratch.

So, he decided to visit a certain old acquaintance of his. One that would serve as a perfect warlord to organize ISP around. Not to mention one more potential SS-Rank material. Although she was… mostly interested in melee and lacked the pure mass destruction potential of people like Frostfire.

Whether she was going to be graded as S or SS-Rank probably depended on the number of Top Heroes she was going to butcher.

Few hours before the departure, Midoriya was in his office. Busy doing some paperwork - you might be a supervillain, but there'll always be some paperwork. Especially when you're simultaneously preparing ground for a first joint operation of the PLF, trying to get the organization equipped AND in the process of moving your office to the Overlook.

That's when Tsuyu entered his office. Wearing her standard set of civilian clothes, so a slightly greenish dress reaching all the way beneath her knees. What was a new thing was a dark green apron kept over it. It was decorated with a large (and rather adorably cartoonish) frog.

"Ribbit." She announced her presence. In her hands, a cup of tea. And some sweets. Handmade, it seemed. It's not like they can drop by a convenience store to buy them and the Overlook's kitchen staff was mostly focused on simplicity for now.

"Oh, thank you." Midoriya replies with a faint smile. He has to admit that if you exclude the whole 'it's only temporary until she finds the death that she is looking for' part, their recent relationship was rather comfortable. It was mostly sex, but judging from recent developments, things were changing on that front. "You look… cute."

"R-ribbit." She looks… happy at the compliment. It's nice. Midoriya is doing his best to make her as happy as possible, and it seems to be somewhat working. She puts the food and tea she brought on the desk next to him. Then she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Honestly, what else could Midoriya do in this sort of circumstances? He moves his swivel chair back a bit and pulls Tsuyu onto his lap. She clearly didn't expect that, at least judging from the surprised ribbit that she let out. But then she quickly adapts and wraps her hands around him. He reciprocates.

Yes. Now things are even better.

"So… what's up with the apron?" Midoriya decides to ask. It might ruin the mood a bit, depending on the answer, but… "And the cookies? Not that I complain, but…"

"Ochaco wasn't the only person who had a crush on you back in school." Tsuyu decides to be as blunt as ever. Midoriya actually finds himself staring at her for a few seconds (which isn't bad, her face is still somewhat cute in its distinctly alien way and the look is rather pleasant).

"Really?" Midoriya eventually manages to say. He isn't sure where it's going. And why it's connected to his earlier question.

"Ribbit." Tsuyu confirms it. "You were the only person that was facing a steeper wall than I was. You were an inspiration to me. I always regretted not leaving the school with you. Not confessing. I guess that I…" She seems to be a bit at a loss for words. Midoriya, at this point, realizes what it's about.

"... you want to see what you missed by staying at school." He says softly. Tsuyu nods, the look on her face rather solemn.

"Yes, ribbit." She says. "Having a family of my own. Making food for my husband. This sort of thing." So he was a husband now? Well, a surrogate at most. He wasn't against it. As stated already, their current living arrangement was rather pleasant.

Eri had a point when she kept insisting that he should find himself a girlfriend (or, even better, a wife). She wanted to have a mom, yes, but she also thought he needed someone like that in his life. Loneliness… hurts. Even if you have some friends and co-workers.

Tsuyu took care of her siblings for years. She loved children. By extension, she loved the very concept of a family. If the past Tsuyu had some sort of a dream for the future, it was being a hero… but also having a loving husband and some children to return to after work. That she would be a hero to as well.

What she had going on today was a sad excuse of that. And if they manage to recover Eri, for how long would her new 'mother' stay around? More like a parody, to be honest. Then again, their entire life could be described that way at this point.

"... well, after getting to taste your food, I'm all for it." Midoriya says, giving her a heartfelt smile. Her finger lands by her lip, but it's clearly not out of confusion. It seems to be her equivalent of blushing. Midoriya finds that adorable.

Maybe it's time to taste something more than just food? Yes. The apron alone would be enough to sell the idea to him. Their lips lock, and for a while, their villainous business is forgotten.

And so is the tea. Tsuyu is borderline passive aggressive over him wasting her hard work. She isn't serious about it, and he finds her irritation to be somewhat heartwarming as well. Then… Well, then comes the time to do business.

This time, there was no point in trying to organize a meeting. The people they were going to meet didn't care about things like that. The right course of action was to show up unannounced and kill enough of the locals to interest their boss.

The meeting group was going to be composed of Midoriya, Asui and Uraraka. The last one wearing her new villain outfit - the one that resembled what Entropy was wearing during the USJ attack. Black jumpsuit resembling Eraserhead's outfit, except with several pairs of disembodied hands holding various parts of her body. Including one on her face.

Asui, honestly, resembled Stain a bit. It was the same pragmatic combat outfit that he often sported. Same dark body armor. If he was right about the design, the heels of her boots had an extendable blade hidden inside. Which could make her kicks much more directly lethal.

Also some knives here and there. And a face mask, leaving her mouth exposed. Midoriya managed not to laugh when he saw (cartoon-like frog face, really?), but Uraraka did end up rolling on the floor in laughter and almost damaging some of the hands.

He is wearing what's going to be his official villain outfit for the duration of the Second Paranormal Liberation War. Black business suit, large fur collar and a red cape. It looks… kind of cheesy, to be frank.

Then again, so do most of the really good villain and hero outfits. It's the people wearing them that makes them into something special. In this case, the situation is particularly interesting. Because it's not Midoriya that adds meaning to the suit. It was Entropy.

What he was wearing was the official outfit of the Grand Commander of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Now that he had the League of Villains, Meta-Liberation Army and the Creature Rejection Clan in his corner, he truly felt worthy of wearing it in public.

People still recognized it. He knew that the inhabitants of this place were going to test them to see if it wasn't a bad joke. But after a few sufficiently nasty kills, they would realize that the visitors were serious.

The place in question used to be some small town, but after being decimated and deserted during the Paranormal Liberation War, the government ended up changing it into a de facto ghetto for the complex mutants and those too mutated otherwise to be tolerated in the society for as long as they showed up some serious behavioral problems.

Of course, the definition of 'behavioral problems' varied greatly.

It was even walled nowadays.

In Midoriya's opinion, 'ghetto' was a nicer term than a 'slow-working and self-governed death camp'. People were sent here to die, not to live. The place smelled of rot, urine and blood. Too many wild animals in too small of a space. They were getting aggressive and hungry stares ever since their arrival.

To Midoriya's surprise, they only had to kill three people before they finally managed to get close to the center. Uraraka looking like Hana Shimura probably contributed to the intimidation factor. Especially as she was responsible for all three kills. And those were… rather grizzly.

"Halt!" The gatekeeper stopped them before the entrance to what was once a swimming pool. Looked like a half-bear. It reminded Midoriya of Bearhead, former ISP's second in command. Except he was much less intimidating, if bigger. "What the fuck are you looking for here, outsiders?"

"We're visiting your little zoo." Midoriya replies. Asui and Uraraka are standing slightly behind him, but both are clearly ready to jump forward. While probably wondering why he was antagonizing the bear-man. "Step aside."

The locals respected strength. Uraraka already proved hers. Midoriya didn't care about how they were going to judge him on that field, but he decided that improving their opinion about his other companion might be useful.

"Chameleon." Midoriya says as the bear rages and lunges forward.

He is wide-open, really. The same problem as with most of the ISP thugs in the past. They just don't use their brain. As if giving in to your inner animal made you somehow stronger. As if confirming the Creature Rejection Clan's outlook on your kind was going to make your lives better.

Tsuyu lunges forward, bouncing off the nearest wall. Bear notices the attack with his peripheral vision, but doesn't react fast enough. She kicks him with the sole of her foot into the side of his neck.

There is a retractable blade there. It cuts through his throat. The blood gushes outward while the bear lets out a gurgling sound, the impact of the attack slamming him into a wall. On his face, the fury is replaced with horror. Tsuyu suddenly has a knife in her hands, but Midoriya claps his hands before she can lunge for another attack. .

"Congratulations, Chameleon." Tsuyu doesn't enjoy hearing her villain name. But here, it's a form of intimidation. The name is still remembered. And if she is working for him, his own intimidation level is also improving. "That was a nice kick. Took a page or two from Miruko, eh? The blade is a nice addition."

"Ribbit." She sounds vaguely smug about it. Tsuyu enjoys being complimented, for as long as she feels like she truly earned it. Midoriya enjoys complimenting her, for as long as it's not the cheap type of compliments.

The bear tries to stand up. Midoriya gets closer and without much fuss shoots him in the head with a gun.

"Anyone else have any dumb ideas?" Midoriya turns his back and shouts at the crowd. The answer he gets is silence. But the intimidated and respectful kind of it. That particular objective has been achieved.

That one kill was on the bear-man-that-was. Should have not attacked Lady Murder's guests.

(***)

They walk through the entrance to the pool, leaving the crowd behind. The place looks like some post-apocalyptic bandit stronghold. In all honesty, only the 'post-apocalyptic part' isn't correct.

"You still didn't tell us whom we're going to meet." Tsuyu decides to observe when there is no one close to them.

"I know who that is!" Uraraka sounds almost cheerful about this. She doesn't seem particularly fazed by having just killed several people. "Are you sure that this won't end badly, Izuku? She is a bit…" Now she actually looks like she is worried about it.

That's surprisingly autonomous of her. Still within the standard behavioral patterns, but pretty close to the edge of it. She's supposed to protect him, to a degree even from his own stupidity.

"The chances of this meeting ending in bloodshed are rather high." Midoriya decides to be honest. "Then again, I don't think that you can meet with the ISP crowd and avoid spilling blood entirely… no offense, Tsu."

"None taken, ribbit." She replies. "It's just the truth. Being offended by truth is stupid." This approach is probably one of the many reasons why he enjoys spending his time off-work with her.

(***)

The main hall of the swimming area has long been changed into something different. Most of the equipment was cleared, changing it into a large open hall. One that the undisputed ruler of this ghetto, Lady Murder, refitted into a throne room.

The throne itself is on a large elevation at one end of the hall. It's rather stylish. Especially the assortment of spikes decorated with helmets of Riot Police Unit's officers and heroes that she ended up killing while securing her present position.

There are some courtiers surrounding the throne, all of them rather tough cookies themselves. He recognizes some faces from the wanted posters. Seven A-Ranks, a handful B-Ranks. A wonderful skeleton for the new Inhuman Supremacy Party. If he manages to obtain them, that is.

"Midoriya." Lady Murder's eyes narrow. Tsuyu is no longer the only person in the room whose clothing reminds him of the Hero Killer. The sleeveless body armor, and the bandaged arms. The bladed bracers are a new addition. There is also a katana on her back. "I didn't expect to see you again."

Understandable. They haven't seen each other since she decided to go on a lone journey towards strength. Soon after Entropy's fall.

"Hello there, Rini." He smiles. The rabbit girl on the throne gives him a stare intensive enough to probably stop someone's heart if they weren't used to it. She doesn't look older than eighteen, but that's literally the last thing on anyone's mind right now. "It's been a while."

"This outfit." She gives his business suit a glance before returning her eyes to his face. "Uraraka cosplaying as Entropy. Did you finally get senile? So smart for so many years and what? Run out of your lifetime supply of good ideas before hitting your thirties, huh?"

"Not a word about Chameleon?" Midoriya decides to probe a bit before diving headfirst. For now, he is smiling wryly at the queen. That's about to bend her knees before an emperor, though she is yet to realize that.

"You want a word about her?" Lady Murder asks, staring him down before switching her attention to Asui. "Chameleon, your skills are wasted on him. Join me instead. I could use someone from the former ISP among my courtiers, and you have a reputation as…"

"...I'd rather suck Mastermind off, ribbit." Asui cuts in. The queen stares at her in silence for a few seconds. Someone didn't expect such an answer. Hell, even Midoriya didn't see it coming.

"...oof." Izuku decides to draw the attention to himself before Lady Murder decides to settle the issue with a fight. For as much Tsuyu is skillful, that's one fight that she can't win. "As for your earlier question to me, the answer is: 'not really'. I just grew tired of hiding. Of living in constant fear of heroes finding out about my little organization. And since I still had all the contacts and knowledge from the time when I was the man behind Entropy and Overhaul… I figured out that no heroes can find me if there are no heroes left. It's sound logic, no?"

"Yeah, absolutely insane." She chuckles, Asui's… bluntness is temporarily forgotten. "Does it run in your family or what?" It probably does, but it's not like it matters now. It's not like there ever was a time when it mattered.

They didn't meet each other for years. There was a time when they were as close to each other as he was with Aiko or Cloud. How much has changed? How much did she change when she slaughtered her way to the top of this ghetto? He'll have to find out.

"I have a dream, Rini." He says. Confidently, but without raising his voice. It's perfectly audible everywhere in the room. His gestures are scarce but impactful. All for One taught him well.

This is Hisashi Shigaraki's school of charisma, the one filled with enough bloodlust to make most people pause at your words when he wanted them to. He doesn't enjoy using it, but… an asset is an asset.

"Mountains of corpses in blood-splattered hero uniforms lying on the streets." He says, and he can feel the atmosphere in the room changing. Her courtiers are no longer looking at them with a mixture of condescension and ridicule in their eyes. There is fear and caution there now. "Police officers and government officials hanging off the lamp posts like Christmas decorations. The heads of the government members and parliamentarians impaled on the fence in front of the National Diet. The prime minister tortured to death in front of the cameras."

Their eyes following the very movement of his lips. The faces of people that realized that he truly means it. Their animal instincts shouting DANGER at them. Just as they should. Just as he intended them to.

"The victory that we were denied, Rini." He says, his raised hand clenching into a fist. The smile that blooms on his face is as reserved as its bloodcurdling. "The revenge that we all want. The justice that we deserve. Don't tell me that this dump is as far as your ambitions go. We can do so much more together."

"... so you finally decided to follow in his footsteps." Lady Murder (honestly, that nickname was horrible, even if very fitting for the ISP crowd) says after a few seconds of silence in the room. She is suddenly much more reserved. No longer even remotely as confrontational. And ready to be dodgy about the subject in order to recover from what just happened. "And you nailed the intimidation factor to a T."

He truly did. All for One's peculiar approach to charisma was a delight to learn. Stain only helped in that process.

"Tempting vision. You always had the most tempting ones. Do you have the means to follow up on them, though?" She says. He must have triggered her rabbit instincts. She always knew when to not pick a fight, even when nothing else suggested it.

She probably didn't have the occasion to feel that fear very often nowadays. She beat everyone in her little kingdom up. The heroes were happy keeping them contained.

Good question. Supremely good one. In fact he came here at least partially to obtain the means in question. And it's a bit too early to unleash the killing blow that's hiding in the pocket of his suit.

"I reformed the League of Villains." He announces. "With some new talents, most of them far surpassing their predecessors. I have found a proper usage for the Overlook. I have brought the Meta-Liberation Army and Creature Rejection Clan back into the fold." He continues, ignoring the flinches when the CRC was mentioned. "I found some very good logistical support for us. Now, I've come here to create a new Inhuman Supremacy Party."

"You…"

"You do not want to be left on the roadside when we're done with the plan, Rini." He sighs. As it's typical for him when he's having a very serious talk, it's a well staged sigh. "You do not want the new superpower of the underworld to have the CRC in its ranks, but not a single group dedicated to the complex mutants like you. Trust me."

She is thinking it over. Eventually, there is a decision.

"The answer is no." The fear is no longer there (and even when it was, she hid it well). The queen is back on her throne. And she fears no one. "You are scraping the bottom of the barrel. None of the organizations in question matter anymore. The government is too strong for whatever you're planning. Also… where's the Beast's heiress? Wouldn't she be a better choice?"

Ah yes, Suto. Rini knew about her from their common past.

"Probably watching cartoons with her children. Somewhere in the United States." He isn't even hiding that. "Also she absolutely hated him and everything that he stood for, so there is that."

Beast didn't even get to have a final fight to go down in history. No end worthy of a mutant warlord of his stature. Instead, his daughter and her secret lover murdered him in his sleep.

Should have agreed to the marriage, old man. And probably not be such a murderous rapist. So indiscriminate with his 'conquests' that his own daughter didn't want to wait to find out why exactly he was scaring all potential suitors away from her.

Thankfully All for One was no longer there when it happened. Midoriya managed to hide what happened from Entropy. So she didn't go on a rampage over her brother destroying one of her most valuable pawns.

"Aren't you looking forward to fighting some powerful enemies?" He decides to add, while Lady Murder seems to be digesting the answer. "To add the helmets of some top ranked heroes to the spikes surrounding your throne?"

"... looking for a good fight and wanting to commit suicide in the name of long-dead ideals isn't the same." Her glare grows much more hostile. "Get. Out."

"Fine, fine." He raises his hands in the universal gesture of defeat. He is going to have to use it, then. "I have a letter for you before we go, though."

He pulls it from his pocket, and throws it at her. All nicely wrapped up in a colorful, cartoon rabbit-themed envelope. She catches it.

"Feel free to give it a read." He turns his back. "Ladies, we're leaving." He can hear Rini unpacking the letter behind him. It shouldn't take long.

(***)

"So… a failure? Ribbit." Tsuyu decides to ask when they are walking back through the abandoned pool entrance area. Midoriya is setting the walking speed. He isn't in a hurry.

"I prefer the term 'delayed success'." He says. It should happen any minute now. "Do not engage, unless I tell you. If she kills me, drag my body back to the base as fast as possible. If you do that in fifteen minutes, they'll patch me up regardless of how damaged I am." Overhaul's quirk was useful even without Mastery.

"Weird." Tsuyu announces.

"You get used to it, Tsu-chan!" Uraraka announces with a bright smile. "I think I know what it's about. It's going to be… a bit crazy."

"How do you two even know her, ribbit?" Tsuyu asks. "She looks like someone merged Miruko with Stain, and then multiplied the results by Muscular." Multiplying the results bit is a bit melodramatic, but the rest is quite close to the point.

"... would you believe me if I said that I was sort of an older sibling of hers?" Midoriya asks. "Almost a replacement paternal figure?" Tsuyu stays silent for a few seconds before replying.

"I'm suddenly very scared of meeting Eri." She announces. Ouch. Midoriya felt it.

"What are you talking about? She is adorable!" Midoriya announces, ignoring Uraraka suddenly looking almost suspiciously neutral in the background. "Why do you think I'm so up to date with Disney movies? I barely had enough time to watch movies WITHOUT singing princesses with her around!"

Tsuyu ribbits with a slight confusion, as if she wasn't sure if he was joking or not. Oh, well. She'll find o…

The loud BAM of doors opening behind them. The gust of wind as Lady Murder flew beside them, bouncing off the wall (that cracked under the strain). The sound of her drawing her sword. And, finally a blink of pain in his neck.

His head didn't roll off. His heart stopped for a second, but then it continued beating strong. The lungs were still connected to his mouth and nose. Everything was as it should be. Well, if you excluded the lethally furious rabbit girl in front of him, her sword at his neck, some blood dripping off it.

"You son of a bitch." She glares at him with fury that he rarely got to witness. "What was that? What, the fuck, was that?!" Tsuyu has her hand on a knife, but she doesn't strike. Uraraka is ready to attack as well. But they are still following her orders.

"It has many names." Midoriya replies calmly. All for One trained fear in moments like these out of him. When you're quirkless, only being extremely level-headed and calm can save you. "My favorite is the 'Shinigami Record'. A list of people, heroes and villains, that were incarcerated in Tartarus… in secret. With the government faking their deaths for a variety of reasons."

The name was really fitting. They were already dead. The government could dispose of them at their leisure. After all, who would ask around about people dead for years. No one nowadays remembered the Death Note, unfortunately. It would make for an ever better name.

"How the fuck do you…" He isn't letting her finish. He knew that she would ask about it. Did she really think that he'd arrive at her kingdom without the undefeatable argument? That he would risk someone from her court blabbering to heroes that there is a new PLF brewing in exchange for some additional rations?

They were all going to join him in the Overlook. No other option was allowed. He could trust MLA or CRC to stay silent, but those people… way too chatty and disorganized.

"Only a handful of people in Japan know about it." He says. "Less than ten, if you do not count the wardens. But I have a really good source, you know? I know almost everything about our government. Their dirty secrets, their secret projects, their disaster protocols. Do you think that I would want to start a war without having the advantage of knowledge?" He loses to the government in every other field. This is all that he has.

Slowly he puts his finger on the sword… and pulls it away from his neck. Gently. She doesn't offer any resistance. Merely stares at him in shock and disbelief.

"You were born eight years ago, Number Sixteen." He says. He remembers it well. "The sole successful product of Doctor Garaki's Harbinger Program. Gene-engineered children of Top Heroes and Villains, the parents chosen accordingly to the potential synergy of their quirks and genetic material. Vat-grown to accelerated maturity. It took you a while to catch-up with common sense and normal education. Something that I helped you in. And then Entropy fell."

"You…" She tries to interject, but he isn't letting her.

"You always wanted to meet your biological parents." He continues, and her stare grows more frantic. "You saw so many people around you have what you were denied. Family. You always wondered if they would accept you. If they would respect you. If they were as strong as you are. But they died before you could do that, didn't they? Except… you just discovered that they're still alive."

He has her now. There is simply no other option. All that it took to break the queen was to take her away from her throne room. Rini was smart and cunning, but she was a barbarian warlord at heart. He was a court schemer. This simply wasn't her battlefield.

"So, Rini…" He leans forward. Somehow he is towering over her now, despite being of similar height. "... are you ready to sell me your soul in exchange for being able to meet Miruko and Stain?"

Hook, line and sinker.

(***)

The Inhuman Supremacy Party is back in the game, with a VERY scary High Warlord. Seeing Rini rampage around is going to be a delight, especially as its her PoV and you truly discover how much of a berserker she is.

Also

"What are you talking about? She is adorable!" Midoriya announces, ignoring Uraraka suddenly looking almost suspiciously neutral in the background.

Uh-huh. That's all I can say. Really looking forward to Eri the Demon Princess showing up. It's going to be another delight, ngl.