Izuku did his best to try and keep a stoic expression but he could tell that next to Ryoto he almost looked harmless in comparison.
Over the months that he's been a member of Paragon he's grown and filled out his build significantly. He's grown a few inches and is currently at 5'10 with muscles that would make the old him look like a stickman, but he still retained many of his, as his mother would call, cutesy features. His face still had some baby fat, his green eyes were as big and friendly looking as ever, and his curly hair remained as a bush of dark green that would make Mrs Kiruka call him adorable.
It looks like he's always just going to be the cinnamon roll of the group.
But then there's Ryoto. He was over half a foot taller than him with his short and curly white hair complimented the suit he wore, his face was like a painting, a serene smile graced his lips that would be enough to somehow both make a person either shake with fear, or cause them to unconsciously lean in closer to him. He was the face of both charisma and intimidation. Even as they walked through the poorest and most crime infested areas of Hosu the criminals around them almost seemed to make a way for them. He was like the king of the villains.
Why was he needed again? Oh right, it's because Ryoto wanted someone capable to be there with him when they meet with some possible partners in the criminal underworld. Something about the Yakuza and forming an alliance with them. Izuku was honestly surprised when he heard that they were even still kicking, crime families mostly died out after the rise of both Quirks and villains, but this particular Yakuza group however, is apparently creating something called a Quirk Destroying Bullet. As for what it does... well it's in the name really.
A bullet that can destroy a person's Quirk factor. Something like that could shake the very foundations of superhuman society, once he heard that he could instantly understand why Ryoto would want to get involved with something like that.
Personally he's disgusted by the idea of such a weapon, Quirks were not the problem, the people who wield them are, yes he concedes that if everyone was Quirkless then he wouldn't have suffered at the hands of people like Bakugo, but Quirks are the next step in human evolution, and evolution doesn't work in reverse.
Yet Ryoto wants to stick his fingers into this particular pie.
Izuku's eyes turned to the stoic white haired man who walked besides him. Why would Ryoto want to get involved in a project like this? His opinion can't differ too greatly from Izuku's own so why would he go through the trouble of personally meeting the Hassaikai himself? What does he gain from this?
Ryoto took notice of his side-glance and met his emerald eyes with his own blood red ones and spoke as though he'd just read Izuku's mind." I'm not here for the Quirk Destroying Bullets if that's what you're wondering Izuku, quite the opposite actually, I'm here to nip this little operation of theirs in the bud."
They continued to talk as they walked into the dark alleys of Hosu, Ryoto had a devious glint in his eyes as they approached one particular warehouse with their steps being the only thing that cut through the silence that was brought by night." What I'm really after is to dismantle this little book club, their true goal is to completely erase Quirks from society and go back to before the era of Quirks, such backwards ideals should be cut down before they take root."
Izuku frowned at that." But if you disagree with them then why not just take them out by force? Wouldn't that be far simpler?"
Hearing his words Ryoto chuckled lightly, much to his confusion. However, his eyes seemed to sharpen as he answered Izuku seriously." Maybe that would be more straightforward, but it's be best if we dealt with these two-bit thugs quietly, it's not like they can't give me something of value in the grand scheme of things. Remember this well Izuku, sometimes to get what you want you need to work with people who contradict your morals, if you can't do that then you might not be able to achieve your goals."
Izuku stared at the ground and thought on those words for a moment. Come to think of it isn't he doing the same thing? he can't say that he agrees with everything that Ryoto does behind the scenes, blackmail, illegal activity, and the destruction of a lot of property, but Izuku can't deny that a lot of that is a necessary evil if the organisation wants to further its own agenda, but could he really do the same thing? Could he do what needs to be done for the sake of his end goal?
"Izuku, if someone asks my name is Ryu."
Looking up he saw that his leader has changed his appearance with the use of a Quirk that disguises the user by creating a field of illusions around them to change their appearance, his irises were no longer the same pools of red which Izuku had grown used to, instead they were an onyx grey that seemed far more endearing and less intense than the bloody crimson that his eyes seemed to always hold, his hair was now deep black in contrast to the snowy white his natural colour held, and finally his facial features seemed to be far more similar to the façade he held as Izuku's neighbour.
After the disguise was in place they continued their night-time stroll through the dark corners of a city, that just a few years earlier was partly ruined by the fight between his leader and All Might, until they reached a steel door with a small window near it's roof.
Once they got the front of said door they stood in front of it and remained still for a few moments before it opened and a pair of eyes took a glance at them and asked." What are you little shits doing here?"
Izuku then knew at that moment that he couldn't look like he was someone that would be easily pushed around. If he just lets these guys trample all over him then that would reflect badly on the others in their organisation. He needs to put on a tough face for them.
In response to the rude greeting Ryoto openly snorted at the man behind the door and responded." We're here on behalf of our leader Ryoto, he's interested in your bosses bullets and wants to form an alliance, so he sent us, I suggest that you open that door before we tear it open." He casually spoke toward the guard who seemed to narrow his eyes slightly before closing the window. After a few seconds the door was opened to reveal a light blue haired man who's hair resembled a clock.
The man had an emotionless face as he spoke with a rude tone." Follow me, Overhaul will hear you out, but make it quick, he's been busy with perfecting his product. The man has more important things to do than hear out a few lazy idealists."
Izuku glanced nervously at Ryoto. In the criminal world disrespect was a dangerous thing, if you allow yourself the be disrespected by another villain then you're instantly lower in their eyes, but if they decide to do something about it then you could find yourself in a world of hurt. Hopefully his leader didn't act out in anger.
It's not that Ryoto is a particularly angry person... most of the time. But, with his power and its drawbacks he can sometimes let irritation show, or even lash out at others. The more Quirks he holds the more unstable he becomes, Izuku wonders how that could affect him negatively in all honesty.
But, much to Izuku's surprise Ryoto seemed to take his words in stride and merely responded." Of course, but you should also note that our leader has much better things to do than fuck around with a few dying out Yakuza gangsta's, it's the reason he sent us and didn't pay a visit himself, your boss is the one that's not important enough. It's old Kai who should be grateful that he's even getting our time of day."
At those words the clock man seemed to send a cold glare Ryoto's way which would have made the old him shiver." Watch what you say, you might just regret it. You shouldn't forget that you're on our turf now. That big mouth will get you killed."
At the threat Ryoto didn't so much as bat an eye, he raised an eyebrow." Really? I don't feel like I'm in too much danger. How about we get a move on, yeah? Don't want to keep your boss waiting right?"
The escort sent one final glare Izuku's leaders way before he turned his back and began to walk through the hall at a leisurely pace, but with the way his fists were clenched Izuku could tell that he was pissed off.
Izuku stared at Ryoto with a frown for a moment. He had never really spoken in such a manner to... well anyone, he was almost always polite and patient with other people, even criminals, but the way he downright insulted that clock man was so out of character for him. Just why would he do that?
Ryoto whispered to him in a serious tone that gave Izuku the impression that he should take what he says next as an order." If you see a little girl with a horn make sure that you grab her and come to me."
Izuku wasn't given any time to be weirded out by the Quirk stealer's words as he walked forward with a cold expression on his face.
A horned girl? Just what the hell does he mean by that?
Overhaul did his best not to gasp out in frustration at the lack of progress on the Quirk Destroyers. For whatever reason, no matter how hard he tried he never seemed to be able to make the effects last, the change is always temporary when he needs it to be permanent.
He's poured everything into these bullets, his hopes, his ambitions, and he even put his father into a coma to see this through.
Just the thought of the old man was enough to make Overhaul feel a small jab of guilt in his chest, but it isn't his fault, the man just wouldn't listen, he was always going off about morality and 'sticking with the old ways', it was nonsense like that which was causing the Yakuza to die out. As much as he hates to admit it those critics aren't wrong about the state that their crime family is in, if he didn't step in then the Shie Hassaikai might have died a long time ago.
It was always so frustrating to see all of his plans be rejected by his old man, he'd get the same speech about not becoming a monster over and over again, it was positively pitiful. He just had to lie down and take a nap, that's what he's doing right now.
When he wakes up the Yakuza will once again be on top of the criminal underworld, and then they'll rule Japan together. In a world without Quirks.
Overhaul frowned at the thought of those ugly little abominations. Whilst he was doing this all for his father he couldn't deny that he had another motivation for doing what he's doing. He despises Quirks, something about them just rubs him the wrong way, and like any disease they must be purged. And everything that they represent.
Honestly this society is infested by people who think that they can be something bigger just because of their powers, their Quirks, but that way of thinking is pitiful and antiquated. With this weapon he'll be able to return this society back to how it's meant to be, something completely natural. Something pure.
Then there's Eri, his cure for the world, it's truly a pity that she's only six years old, if he takes too much blood from her at once then she'll bite the dust. If that happened then all of his plans would be ruined, so as much as it pains him to say, he can't take too much of her blood at once. Her frail little body wouldn't be able to handle it.
The little girl has gotten very restless lately, maybe it'd be best if he took her out for a walk to catch a breath of fresh air. He's not a monster afterall.
Suddenly the door of his lab was opened and Nemoto stepped inside of his lab and spoke with his usual polite tone when addressing him." Master, two men are here to speak with you, they say that Ryoto Saito was the one who sent them."
Overhaul found his hands freezing at the mention of the name and his skin became littered with goosebumps.
As a boy he grew up with the Yakuza he knew all about Japan's 'Demon Lord', a man with a Quirk that steals Quirks, such an ability bordered on the line between humans and gods, if someone with such an ability truly did exist then Overhaul wouldn't be surprised if they really did bring Japan under their rule. Still though, that's what he assumed those myths were, just myths.
Well it turns out that even legends can hold some truth.
Seeing an idealist fool spouting nonsense about equality on television wasn't what truly scared Overhaul, what scared him was the amount of damage that a person with that power could really do, because if any of the bedtime stories he'd heard about Japan's overlord were true then... well he didn't even want to think about what that would mean for him if he actually caught Ryoto Saito's eye.
But he did. And he didn't really have the option of denying such a man when he took interest in his Quirk Destroyers- Overhaul didn't even want to think about how he even knew about them to begin with- given what he can do, so instead of digging himself deeper in this rabbit hole he just accepted his offer.
That was two months ago, why would he wait that long just to come and visit Overhaul? How did he even find their base in Hosu?
Kai had so many question that he needed to answer, so he asked his loyal servant." Is he actually here himself?"
Nemoto was slightly surprised by the caution in his bosses voice but he just answered his boss's question; he hated it when people went into too much detail afterall." No, he just sent two goons to talk with you. Should I tell them to beat it or-"
Overhaul immediately cut him off." No, I'll speak with them myself, come with me and don't let your guard down. They could have multiple Quirks."
Truth be told Overhaul was a little bit anxious about meeting the two members of the Quirk stealer's group. Even if they were just two people they could easily have more than one Quirk, they'll be dangerous.
What Ryoto pulled at Kamino and Hosu showed that he was no fool, he definitely knew about Overhaul's Quirk, and the bullets somehow, so why send just two people? He can kill a person with just a touch, he's exceptionally deadly when it comes purely to lethality, is he just underestimating him, or is two people really all he needs?
Kai sincerely hopes that it's the first one.
Eri rocked herself back and forth on her bed as she did nothing but think about how much it hurt that morning when Overhaul did the bloody thing. She screams and begs him, but he never stops. He just cuts and makes her bleed everyday.
She had long since grown used to the harsh treatment which she received, be it the rags they called clothes, the bland instant noodles that they call food, or the pain which came at the hands of Chisaki. She just wanted it all to stop.
She touched her horn and rubbed it to calm herself down. Whenever she rubbed her horn she always felt a large sense of relief for some reason, she hated her power- it was the reason that she was cursed- but she allowed herself to enjoy the comfort that the act caused to help stop her crying.
'CREAK'
Eri flinched away at the sound of the door opening slightly to the point where a little bit of light leaked into her dark sleeping quarters.
She reached her hand out, but hesitated to actually get up and attempt to leave. What was the point? This was her life, wasn't it? She was doomed to live like this for the rest of her life, to feel hurt by Overhaul and to cry herself to sleep every-
'Eri, come to me.'
Eri was startled by the sound of a voice and she looked around to try and find who talked to her. But, she found nothing.
'You need to come to me Eri, just a little bit further and you'll be safe.'
Eri heard that voice again and found the strength to get onto her own two feet as she walked over to the door and peaked her head out, she found nothing but an empty hallway.
Eri had long since given up on trying to escape, it felt like an exercise in futility to try and get away from the endless nightmare which she called her life. But, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel hope from a strange source. Maybe she didn't have to stay.
With extreme hesitance she placed her bare foot down on the cold stone, which she had grown used to, outside of her door and once again meekly raised her head to check for the bad men. She didn't find any.
She didn't know where to run to, but... she had a feeling that she should go this way. She should go this way right?
She slowly started to trudge down and through the strange hallway, one foot after the other, one by one, in an attempt to look for freedom.
Freedom that she'd find eventually.
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So yeah, Overhaul, as you've probably guessed, is going to get fucked up. Ryoto is doing this so that the Quirk destroying bullets don't get completed to begin with, since what they do is directly opposite of his ideology. Plus Overhaul in general is a dick with a useful Quirk.
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