Before Izuku stopped attending school:

Katsuki had been a witness to Izuku's physical improvement, noticing his increase in mass as time went on. Katsuki was pissed of course, thinking a runt like him didn't stand a chance at succeeding in the UA exams even if he did get some muscle.

He confronted Izuku once and only once, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pinning him to a wall at the back of the school. He warned Izuku, and threatened him, saying he couldn't succeed at the UA entrance exam and how he'd die the first day.

Though, Izuku did something Katsuki never figured would happen, the meek boy clutched onto his wrist, making Katsuki let go. He moved Katsuki aside and pushed himself off the wall, staring straight at the blonde boy with conviction.

"Kacchan... I know you don't want me to try the hero exams... But you don't matter right now. I want to at least try, and if I die along that path then so be it. If you want to stop me then be my guest..."

Izuku said firmly, Katsuki gritted his teeth as his blood started boiling from the frustration. Reflexively his hands opened up, heating themselves in preperation to use his quirk. Though, as Izuku began walking away, the heat went away, unlike the other wave of emotions that welled up within him.

He felt inferior, that someone weaker than him talked back. He wanted to fight and prove dominance, but he could not possibly live with himself if he lost in a fight with him. That is why he held back, because deep down he was terrified.

After Izuku stopped attending school:

Katsuki, like many other's at school started noticing that Izuku started not showing up to school. This was uncharacteristic of Izuku as he used to attend every single day, unless he was super sick.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, still no sign of the boy. The idea of Izuku just being sick started to falter, as more tragic possibilities came to mind.

The time that Izuku was gone did give Katsuki some mental rest briefly, he hated seeing that optimistic look in his eyes, and hated it even more when he was reminded of the day Izuku talked back to him. He could actually focus for once.

Though even Katsuki fell into the wonder and curiosity as to where Izuku went. While his absense was nice for his own mentality, the question still remained in his head. It didin't help since his friend group wouldn't shut up about him.

"Hey, wonder where that idiot Izuku went. Probably dropped out cause reality caught up to him!"

One boy joked.

"Hah, maybe he actually killed himself like you told him to Katsuki!"

Another would joke.

Katsuki would always say some throw away comment like "I don't care!" or "As long as he doesn't show his face here, I could care less!" As darker theories started bubbling as to Izuku's sudden disappearance, more evidence of said theories started to form.

The first main one was the missing posters plastered all over the city. That meant nobody knew where Izuku went, including his own mother.

As curiosity caught up to Katsuki, he decided to ask his mom about Izuku. Mitsuki and Izuku's mom were pretty close so there was no way she didn't know about Izuku.

"Oh... You see... Inko died lately... And her son went missing. It was reported to be a breaking and entering, and theorized to be gang related because of all the graffiti left in the house..."

Mitsuki stated, her voice softened, her tone was quiet and somber, quite unlike the rambunctious old hag, who yelled at Katsuki at every opportunity usually.

Katsuki couldn't believe what he had heard. If Izuku truly had nowhere to stay, wouldn't he have appeared here at Katsuki's residence?

He wouldn't be too welcoming himself, but his mother, who had a lot more empathy would definitely take him in at the disapproval of Katsuki. Even an idiot like Izuku knew that.

Where could he have gone if he wasn't here? Maybe a homeless center? There was just no way Izuku left and lived this long without a roof over his head. Katsuki was right about this assumption, though only for a few months...

As he (begrudgingly) and his mother searched different homeless centers in hopes of finding something out about Izuku, the two came across one with some information worthy of note.

"Izuku Midoriya... Left last night..."

One of the workers said, the worker looked distraught and worried, he cared about people's lives... That's why he took this job, so that homeless people could get back on their feet and find success in life. Though none of them have out right left without warning or reason...

The worker informed Katsuki and his mother about Izuku's mental state, saying that he was quiet and kept to himself. He rarely interacted with other people unless he had to. He always muttered to himself which creeped most people out, making them afraid of him.

"That just sounds like typical Deku! The nerd never shuts up..."

Katsuki blurted out, receiving a quick smack to the back of his head from his mother in response.

"Mm... Was he ever... Sad though? He had this look in his eyes like he had nothing to lose, like he had no hope... It made me feel horrible for the kid knowing about his situation.."

The worker said, looking down at the ground.

"He also... looked tired, like he hadn't gotten a second of sleep. And he rarely ate food... He was just barely getting by... Mentally and physically..."

The worker then said, looking back up at Mitsuki.

"I know this sounds selfish but I care about him! I hope that if you do find him, that you come back and tell me... It makes me sick knowing people like him are in such pain... And for what...?"

The worker proposed. Mitsuki flashed an assuring smile, nodding.

"If we do, we will..."

Mitsuki said before her and Katsuki drove home.

After Izuku had killed the entire gang single handedly, word about a mysterious man in all black with a katana spread across his city. Because of his dark wear, he was called "Black Death" by the various gangs nearby.

In hopes to not be outshined by the living legend, the gangs all unintentionally banded together in hopes to kill Black Death. Though this task was pretty difficult in itself... Despite having so many targets on his head, the gang killer was nowhere to be seen...

Izuku lived his life somewhat on the edge, he had to beware the cops, heroes, and other criminals who had caught wind of Izuku's actions.

This lifestyle wasn't great, Izuku wasn't anywhere near a position of power, everybody was after his head. Because he had to live in the shadows all the time, luxuries like fast food were unattainable unless he wanted footage of him being spread online.

Even Izuku would admit, this wasn't what he hoped living a selfish life would be like. Izuku only prayed that this was merely a transition for a greater life. One where he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, however he wanted.

If he had to sacrifice some freedom to get to that point then so be it. As long as he wasn't this world's slave, he could care less. Weeks of being on the run had passed, and Izuku's life was getting closer and closer to the edge, as his body lacked nutrience and he was dehydrated as all hell.

His body had already absorbed all his fat, and had started absorbing his muscle, resulting in Izuku being physically weaker than usual. In simpler terms, he was a mere husk. A shadow of his former, healthier self.

He had slowly began losing hope that his life would change, that he could live a truly selfish existence. As he treaded through the dim alleys, drained of everything, he stumbled upon an opportunity.

"I finally found you... Mr. Black Death..."

Spoke a hooded man, his voice even more raspy and coarse sounding than Izuku's. The man pulled out a phone, supposedly calling someone.

Before Izuku could react, his body was plunged into a pool of darkness. As he fell unconsious, unable to resist, he began questioning if he was alive, or if his body finally gave out and he passed away.

Minutes later, Izuku opened his eyes, his vision was blurry for a few seconds, though as he began regaining his vision the idea of him being in heaven wisped away, as the dim lights of a bar flickered above his body.

Izuku sat up, pinching his arm to further confirm his existence, as well as to confirm he was not dreaming.

"It appears you are awake at last, Black Death..."

Spoke a deep voice from the left. Izuku stared at the source of the voice, seeing a well suited man, who's very skin seemed to be made of dark smoke. He was behind the bar counter and another unfamilar man sat on a stool in front of the counter.

The other man had shaggy light blue hair and all black attire, similar to Izuku but not quite. He had one hand to his neck and a cup of coffee in the other. His back was slightly slouched over as he paid no mind to Izuku.

Because of the danger Izuku felt from being in an unfamiliar place, he began to panic, thinking he had been kidnapped by some criminals that wanted to kill him off. These definitely weren't heroes either...

Izuku reached for a throwing knife but his heart skipped a beat as nothing was there. He scrambled to pull the sword on his back out instead, nothing was there. Shit, his weapons were confiscated...

It didn't take much longer for Izuku to realize that his baklava was also missing, revealing his dirty and worn out looking face and his head of dark green hair.

"Do not panic Black Death... We do not intend to hurt you. In fact, we only removed your headwear to give you some food since we noticed you were severely underweight... We did confiscate your weapons in case you would try and attack us... that was merely for our own safety."

The well dressed man spoke, his tone was polite and respectful. It put Izuku somewhat at ease, seeing as they didn't want to put him through any immediate harm. Though he still had his guard up and didn't fully trust either of the captors...

"I must thank you, but I don't know anything about either of you or why you brought me here."

Izuku said, refusing to give out his identity.

"My name is Kurogiri. This here is Tomura Shigaraki. We are looking for new villain recruits to expand our league of villains. Plus, did you truly think that living like you were was doing any favors?"

The man named Kurogiri explained. Izuku sighed and stood up.

"Look... I don't want to join you guys unless it benefits me in return. I don't want to be working under anyone who doesn't pay me back... I thank you for saving my life but I'm fine. Now where is my stuff and where is the exit?"

Izuku stated, his attention was dragged away from Kurogiri and towards a small monitor that had just turned on. The words "audio only" were plastered on the screen.

"I can't help but chime in, mister Black Death..."

A voice over the monitor spoke, his tone seemed calm and respectful much like Kurogiri, but with an added side of caution, like he was watching what he had to say for some reason.

"But you say you have nothing to gain... Yet what is it that you want to gain exactly? I'm sure, whatever it is we could give you..."

The voice proposed.

"I'm still wondering about that myself... I want money... Power... Freedom... I don't want to be held back by anyone. If that means living a violent life then so be it... That beats a life of peaceful slavery after all."

Izuku said, staring at the screen as if it were a real person.

"I can give you all of those things... Black Death... As long as you agree to join the league..."

The man then proposed, though Izuku remained skeptical and unsure, so he shot back with a question of his own, as well as a proposal.

"How do I know that this league even has the means to satiate my wants? All I know is that this feels like a big ol' scam to take advantage of my fame as Black Death... If you're genuine about your claim of giving me what I want, in return for my loyalty, then give me what I want first."

The voice chuckled do himself out of amusement. The sound of clapping could briefly be heard.

"I like you Black Death... You will be promoted to second in command, of course I as the founder will be first... That means you have all the power you want, as long as it is passed by me. For working with us, you will be provided a reliable living quarters where you can stay safe, as well as the money to do all you can think of. Aside from missions I personally put you on, you will live a worry free life. If you end up not liking this, you can always leave, no strings attatched."

The man said, telling Izuku of all the benefits he would be getting. Izuku let out another sigh. God damn this guy was stubborn... He decided to begrudgingly play along, despite the rising suspicion he had towards the man.

"Alright fine. I'll join your league of villains. Though you better not be lying about letting me leave. Or you will pay... Just like that gang did..."

Izuku said, his words dripping with venom. It was more of a bluff than anything in all honesty. Izuku had no clue as to this league's numbers, nor the power they actually had, unlike the aforementioned gang.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Kurogiri teleported to the door, opening it, revealing a snazzy looking man dressed in a purple suit. A cigar hung losely from his mouth as a smug smirk was plastered across his face.

"I was called here correct? Something about someone needing a place to stay? I'm your guy... I'm actually the dude who owns this bar you're in right now, nice to meet you. I'm Giran."

The man spoke, Izuku nodded, a bit stunned by how punctual he was. Did he have super speed or was he always there, waiting for Izuku to say yes?

"Your funds have already been covered for, so count yourself lucky. Just head to this address riiighhhtt here on this paper... This key right here is for the door to your new apartment."

Giran then said, giving Izuku the key and paper before giving a quick salute, then leaving the area with great haste.

Izuku looked down at the key and address, admittedly impressed by how immediate his gain actually was... It was almost too good to be true...

"Well I guess I'll be taking my leave then... Oh- You guys have no way to communicate with me! I kinda don't have a phone since it would track my location..."

Izuku said, looking at Kurogiri and Shigaraki, then the screen.

"Sorry, forgot to give you this. Your brand new phone!"

Giran spoke out from behind Izuku as the door had been left open, he tossed the phone the boy's way, then disappearing once more.

"O-oh... Nevermind, problem solved."

Izuku said before turning towards the exit once more, ready to leave.

"Oh! I forgot.. Where is my stuff? I don't want my face to be out in the open y'know..."

Izuku then said with a nervous chuckle. Kurogiri nodded in approval as to Izuku's request, teleporting away to God knows where, then teleporting back with his stuff in hand, giving it to the boy.

Izuku took it and immediately placed his baklava over his head, then putting his weapons in their rightful areas. As he was sure he had everything, he began heading for the door, but he was stopped by a voice from behind him, the same coarse hissing tone he heard from when he initially got rescued.

"You... You bastard!"

It was Shigaraki. He barked out in an unexplainable anger, the hand on his neck began to furiously scratch his skin, so much so to where it began to bleed. Kurogiri noticed this and seemingly knew what Shigaraki was going to do.

The blue haired man, fueled by his own rage stood up, grabbing his stool, flinging it Izuku's way. Izuku grabbed his big combat knife, anticipating he was going to have to cut it in half.

Though before he could react, the integrity of the wood itself shattered into dust, which came careening at Izuku with immense speed, taking the form of many sharp dark oak blades eager to pierce Izuku's skin.

A big dark mass interrupted the storm of wooden shards though before it could tear Izuku to shreds, seemingly redirecting them to a wall away from the conflict.

Izuku had yet to let his guard down though, despite the attack being intercepted he had a feeling Shigaraki wouldn't let up that easily. His premonition was correct, as an open palm appeared before Izuku's face, attempting to grab it.

Izuku sidestepped the attack though, seeing what his grip did to the chair, it was safe to say his quirk had to be activated upon contact using his hands. His safest bet if he wanted to survive would be to dodge those hands.

Shigaraki only continued swiping at Izuku, the boy continued to dodge, not daring to get too close. He did not want to hurt Shigaraki, after all nothing would be gained from doing such.

Kurogiri continued trying to intercept the fight that had broken out, though to little effect as his portals were merely dodged by Shigaraki, meaning most of his attacks weren't being intercepted.

Shigaraki grabbed ahold of his coffee cup, doing what he had done before with the chair, Kurogiri tried putting down a portal in advance, but the formerly overhand throw turned underhand, as the shattered glass was sent flying under the portal, slashing at Izuku's ankles.

"Tomura. Enough."

The man over the screen spoke with enough firmness to make the whole room freeze and stop what they were doing, including the aggressive Shigaraki.

"B-but... Master!"

Shigaraki spoke out, like a pitiful child hoping for sympathy from his mother after doing something he shouldn't.

"Enough."

He said once more. That was all that had to be said in order to deesculate the fight. Shigaraki bawled his fists, staring at the new recruit, who was still oblivious as to the reason behind Shigaraki's tantrum.

Kurogiri sighed as the fight was settled. After the whole thing was said and done, Izuku limped out of the building, his ankles being bandaged and the glass being carefully removed from his skin.

He made way to his new home, his baklava resting comfortably over the confines of his face as his identity remained hidden to the public.

He arrived at the apartment complex. It was surprisingly nice looking despite it's supposed affiliation with a villain organization. Was this property owned by Giran? Did he buy it? Either way, he was satisfied with his living quarters for the time being.

As long as he wouldn't get caught, he could honestly care less as to the places integrity but seeing it in fairly good shape impressed Izuku. The boy eagerly walked into his apartment, looking at the interior.

Things were pretty neat. There was furniture already in place and even a TV to boot. Izuku also found a decently sized bathroom with a shower, his own bedroom where he could rest, a closet in said room, as well as a pretty big kitchen, no food present though.

Izuku decided to take a shower, the feeling of warm water gracing his skin only being a faint memory prior to now. He got out about an hour later, a towel wrapped tightly around his waste, it was hard to keep on with how skinny he had became...

The boy ventured into his room and checked the dresser, to his surprise clothes were already provided.

He got dressed in black jeans and a white tee shirt, he then dropped down onto his bed, not even bothering to put his covers on as he quickly fell asleep.

Tomura stared at the screen, he was at a loss for words.

"Tomura... You do understand that I was lying, right? He will never have that kind of power over the league in a million years. I would never give my fullest trust to him. I'm simply buttering him up, making him see me, and the league as trustworthy. You will always be my successor Tomura..."

The man over the screen spoke. Hoping to relieve some stress from Tomura as he let his true plans be known.

"Talent like him are rare. I've rarely heard of a villain killing almost thirty people in one night... Other than myself of course... If we nurture that strength and give him some guidance, he can become a powerful asset to the league. We just need him to stay in the delusion that he is truly free...Think of it like a moth drawn to a flame. It just can't resist that opportunity."

The man then said. Tomura sighed, begrudgingly nodding and pushing back the hate he had for Izuku in the moment, knowing that he will always be his master's number one priority and successor...

Author's note: Well there is chapter 4 for ya! Hope you enjoyed it. Not as much action as the previous chapters, just a set up for things to come and conflicts to follow.

If you have any thoughts about this fic, I'm always welcome to hear what you have in mind, such as opinions and theories about the story!

Well that's all for now! Till next time!