Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia

Izuku arrived back at the bar only to see Dabi and Toga exiting. Dabi wore the same emotionless expression, but Toga was jumping up and down with excitement. They nearly bumped into Izuku.

"Well, we've officially joined," Dabi announced. "That Shigaraki is surprising. A world without All Might huh, at least he's got some sort of creed."

"I'm looking forward to working with you," Toga said enthusiastically. "I hope I can try some of your blood sometimes also."

Okay, Toga was starting to scare him. Dabi looked annoyed by this.

"I know, she's crazy. But I'm sure you'll get used to her eventually," he assured Izuku. "And so will I probably."

Toga just giggled at this. So far Izuku was liking Dabi, so far. Nothing more was spoken between them. The duo then moved off down the alley until they disappeared from his view.

Izuku walked into the bar and was surprised at what he saw. Razor was there drinking some wine while Tomura lounged around on the couch and Kurogiri managed the bar. Feeling he had been patient long enough Izuku spoke up.

"Okay people, time for answers," he announced attracting everyone's attention. "Razor and Tomura, you both owe me answers as part of our deals. You both owe me the truth about your pasts. Kurogiri I made no such deal with you but I would still like to know about why and how you joined the League if that's okay."

Everyone just stared at Izuku.

Tomura looked irritated.

Razor looked amused.

Kurogiri looked surprised and slightly uncomfortable.

"Demanding something from me. You've finally grown a pair of balls Izuku I'm so proud of you," Razor told him.

"They were always there. I just didn't know it," he replied.

Razor started laughing. Izuku had transformed into a different person from the one she met a year ago. He had even learned how to make proper comebacks.

"Oh alright, I suppose you've earned them. Tomura you fucking bastard you'd better own up also," she said.

"I will. You don't have to tell me bitch," he snarled.

"Kurogiri do you want to tell Izuku?" Razor asked.

The black mist villain's only response was silence as he stared down into the counter.

Immediately, Izuku realized that this must be a painful subject for him.

"Um Kurogiri," Izuku started. "You really don't have to do this if you don't want to. I was just curious that's all."

"No, it's alright. I want to tell you. You'll probably find out someday anyway," he admitted. "I'd like to go last though if that's alright."

Izuku nodded.

"Okay then ladies first," Izuku said while looking at Razor.

"There's a lady in the room," Tomura joked. "Really where?"

Razor glared at Tomura.

"You know Izuku you're right it should be ladies first," she said. "So go on Tomura you're up first it seems."

This time it was Tomura who glared. Izuku and Kurogiri were both wondering if they would be able to get through this without insulting each other.

Though in all fairness, a verbal battle between them would be preferable to a physical one.

"Razor please go first," Izuku politely requested.

Still glaring at Tomura Razor relented and turned to Izuku. It was then that she started telling him about her past.

Flashback

Her name was Razor, at least that's what she had been told. She did not have a real name since she did not have parents. She was abandoned by them, or so she had been told, either way, it didn't matter. Not where she was. It was a place that would have been known as Hell at the start, but over time it became her home.

Razor was the name given to her when she was four when she manifested her quirk.

That was how it worked for all the children adopted by the organisation. It was called BUTLER. Where they even came up with such a stupid name she did not know or care. However, it was kind of appropriate. Hired servants doing their employers bidding, that's what they were.

BUTLER was a mercenary organisation that took on any job, be it an assassination, protection of someone or something, acquiring information, you name it. Whatever it was they would always take it on (well not always depending on whether the available people would accept it or not). They took jobs from anyone, hero, villain, or some other individual. It didn't really matter as long as they were paid.

Most who were recruited were orphans, those who had been abandoned and forsaken, or those who were runaways. She happened to fit into the abandoned category.

Each child was usually given a name based on their quirk. When taken in they were cared for, educated, and trained (in the same hellish manner she taught Izuku, though with less swearing). They were also taught to mainly rely on themselves, something she excelled most in.

That wasn't to say you couldn't be friends with anyone because it was allowed. Though she preferred to be on her own most of the time (even back then there were few who she could actually stand), even she had managed to make two friends whom she genuinely liked and respected. They didn't keep in contact most of the time though.

An odd thing about BUTLER was that it allowed people to willingly leave it and live a normal life. It was even allowed that you be able to live a normal life while still working for the organisation, something which she found stupid since it was quite dangerous.

Razor had never understood why it was allowed but she never questioned it either.

One friend of hers lived the first life while the other lived the second. She had always lived the usual though, it had been the only she had ever known, also she didn't really fit in with society because of her personality.

She took on all sorts of jobs which were mainly centred around combat, something she really enjoyed. Along with her missions, she encountered many individuals, including Stain and All Might, whom she came to befriend or despise.

She had spilt blood, saved lives, tortured, and defended all because she was ordered to. The only thing she had not done was take the life of a child. She acknowledged she was a bitch but not that big of one. That was one line even she would never cross, one of her few morals.

There was no time limit for how long she worked for her clients. Whenever they declared the mission was completed, she would return to BUTLER. Other times were when the employer was arrested or killed.

That was her story. This was her life. It was all she had.

Flashback end

No one said anything. Izuku however was especially surprised.

'Razor is a mercenary,' he realised.

Thinking back to the day before he fought Bakugo he remembered what she had said to Sensei.

"Your organisation, your plans, not mine. Do I need to remind you of my place here?"

It made sense now. Razor was not actually part of the League. She was just a hired gun. That meant she wouldn't always be here, something which upset him. Despite her personality he genuinely liked her. Razor had completely changed him. When he was a weak scared kid, she helped him get back up and made him stronger. When the time for her to leave would come he was going to miss her.

Having known her story beforehand, Kurogiri refrained from commenting.

Tomura didn't comment either. However, like Izuku, he was surprised.

He never would have expected Razor to live that sort of life, although he didn't think it was pleasant either. With skills and personality like hers, it was bound to be rough.

Still, he wouldn't miss her when Sensei was finished with her services, quite the contrary.

Razor did not know why but she felt happy that she had told Izuku her story. Though she hadn't told him everything, just a general idea.

She didn't want to speak about her friends while they were being watched. She did not want to risk one of them, or their family becoming targets.

"Ok, Shigaraki it's your turn," Izuku informed him.

Tomura turned to face Izuku. He then began talking about his past.

Flashback

Long before he was Tomura Shigaraki, before he was Sensei's protégé, he was someone else. He was Tenko Shimura. Or at least that's what he'd been told.

In truth, he didn't remember much about his life before the League. He had flashes, none of which were pleasant, but that was it.

He remembered walking through the streets alone, injured, bleeding, broken. He walked by people who took brief notice of him before turning away and moving on. They could tell he had been in trouble, that he had been hurt, and what did they do?

Nothing!

Nothing at all!

They walked on like nothing had happened.

They didn't help him.

Whatever his problem was, whatever danger he had been in, they didn't care. Why should they? They believed a hero would come and save him as they did with everyone else.

They were wrong!

A hero never came to help him. No one did. Except for him.

Tired and exhausted from walking around aimlessly for so long, Tenko collapsed in an abandoned ally.

"Why do I continue walking?" Tenko said tiredly to no one in particular. "What's the point? Where am I even moving towards?"

He did not know why he walked. He could not remember. He was an empty shell of whatever he once was. He did not feel any desire nor care, only emptiness.

"Perhaps it's because you have a reason to continue pressing forward," came a voice from the shadows.

Tenko looked up and saw a figure walking towards him. It was a man. Tall, young, well-built, with short blonde hair, light coloured eyes, accompanied by a tuxedo.

The man was smiling. His smile wasn't cruel, but it wasn't kind either.

"Who are you?" Tenko asked without thinking.

"A friend," the man answered. "At least I'd like to be."

Tenko wasn't sure what to make of him. He didn't seem like a good person, but he was the first person in a long time who didn't turn away and ignore him.

"I've been watching you for some time now," the man informed him. Tenko wasn't sure how to react. Surprise, anger, he didn't know. He was empty. "It is an unfortunate fate that has befallen you, Tenko Shimura."

"Tenko Shimura," he softly repeated. "Is that my name?"

The man stared back at him, this time wearing an expression of surprise. Did the boy really not remember?

"I'm sorry," Tenko apologized. "I don't remember much about my life, even my own name. I should be bothered but instead, I feel nothing. Why is that? why do I feel empty inside? And why did I end up like this?"

Tenko stared at his hands, for some unknown reason feeling revulsion. He could not remember, but he knew it was important.

"I've walked for so long," he admitted. "And those people."

The man started moving towards him again. He hadn't been lying about watching the boy. He'd seen what he'd done, why he did it, and how and why people treated him the way they did.

"Nobody came to save you, did they?" the man asked catching Tenko's attention.

"It must have been so painful Tenko Shimura."

It was.

"It must have been so scary."

It was.

"It must have been so lonely."

It was.

"That's why you ran searching for a helping hand," the man continued as he stretched his own hand out towards the boy. "It must have been so horrible."

Tenko stared at him unable to comprehend. Was he actually offering to?

"Surely a hero will… Just leave it to the heroes to… Everyone used excuses like that to ignore you, didn't they?"

They did. They all did.

Tenko didn't understand why but the man's words resonated with him, and he began crying. The man was close enough now and seeing the tears in Tenko's eyes he pulled the youth into an embrace.

"Who in the world could do something like this to you?"

Who? He didn't know, but it felt like he should.

"It's fine now. You have me now."

That embrace, that comfort he hadn't realized he'd been desperately craving. Of all the things in his memory, that hug, Sensei's embrace, that was what he remembered most. Why? Because it made him feel something that he hadn't in a very long time.

Hope.

Sometime later

After that, AFO took him in; one could even say he adopted him which wasn't entirely inaccurate. AFO gave him a room of his own and told Tenko he would be his 'Sensei', though the boy was curious as to what he would be taught.

"Doctor," AFO called.

Tenko hadn't noticed him before but there was another man in the room. He was a short-statured man who was bald and possessed a large moustache. In addition, he wore goggles.

That wasn't what caught his attention. What caught his attention was what was on the table in front of the doctor.

It was a series of mutilated hands.

"These are your family members' remains," the Doctor informed him.

'W-What?' Tenko thought disbelievingly.

Surely, he heard him wrong.

The remains of his family!

That meant they were dead!

"You suddenly developed a previously unheard-of quirk," the Doctor continued before dropping the bombshell. "And killed your family with those hands of yours."

Tenko felt a sharp pain in his head. A large wave of nausea began to come over him and he felt the urge to throw up. He had a flash of a dog, then some ashy remains. The more he thought about it the more his head hurt, and he started pulling on his face. Vomit started coming up in his throat.

"Do you remember?"

There was a flash of decayed bodies. A flash of a girl with black hair in pigtails. And a flash of a man with a horrified expression that sent chills down his spine.

In the end, he couldn't hold it in anymore and vomited.

What remained in his mind were fragments of his past, and an unexplained surge of anger that overwhelmed his urge to vomit.

He didn't really understand it. He wasn't even sure he wanted to understand it. Yet at that moment he felt the incredible urge to be near those hands as he started crawling towards them with a broken, mortified expression on his face.

When he reached them, he clutched them for dear life, all while Sensei and the Doctor just watched.

"Shall I fix him?" the Doctor offered.

"No," AFO declined, his attention never wavering from Tenko. "Even if your memories never return, your 'feelings' will remain embedded in your heart. I can't take away your feelings, your anger. But I can teach you where to direct those feelings."

He didn't understand why but he believed him. Tenko believed this man. He believed he could help him, save him when no one else could.

After this incident, he began his long road as AFO's successor. Shedding the name Tenko Shimura and becoming Tomura Shigaraki.

Flashback end

Tomura just stared at the ground. He hadn't told anyone about this in so long. Everyone had gone silent with each having different thoughts on the matter.

Razor, despite how much she hated this brat, actually felt sorry for him.

Kurogiri who had heard this story before looked away sadly.

Izuku was beyond shocked.

He never would have imagined Tomura had gone through something like that.

To be left broken like he was, only for Sensei to come in and save him at the last minute.

It was more than that though.

The fact that those people, those civilians just left him to fend for himself while assuming a hero would come and save him made Izuku realize for the first time how fragile society truly was. They had to be if they depended on heroes to that degree.

Still, he sympathised with Tomura, in more ways than one.

"People think quirks are so great. But they aren't. That's why I hated you starting off. I wish I was still quirkless. It would've been better than what I have," Tomura exclaimed. "I'm surprised Sensei didn't even offer you one."

"Oh, he did. However, I said no. Wanting a quirk was me wanting to be accepted by society, which will never happen," Izuku replied.

Still though he was surprised as to why Tomura had hated him. He'd never heard of someone wishing to be quirkless before.

It appeared Tomura believed the world of quirks was a very dangerous place.

"Sensei doesn't favour me you know," Izuku stated. "He likes the work I do but that's it. Other than that, there's nothing else, so you don't need to feel threatened by my presence."

Tomura glanced at him with an unreadable expression. He then sighed.

"Whatever," he said. "Anyway, it's Kurogiri's turn."

All eyes were now on Kurogiri who was somewhat nervous. Aside from Razor and All for One, no one knew about his past or about Laura. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

"My rise to villainy is somewhat similar to Izuku's. The only difference is that it involves a quirkless person in my life who went through what he did. Her name was Laura, my younger sister."

Flashback

Kuro Shisa used to be his name.

He lived with his sister Laura who was four years younger than him.

Their parents passed away when he was fifteen, leaving him to raise his sister all on his own. It wasn't entirely difficult. The money their parents left them enabled them to both go to school. His part-time job paid remarkably well also, so they could afford to pay rent.

Back then his body wasn't completely covered by black mist. That was optional for him. He could turn his body into dark mist at will. It was because of this that his sister gave him the nickname Kurogiri, which was the kanji for black mist. Like his sister, he had red hair and green eyes. He was also tall and muscular (a perk of doing his job).

Laura was such a sweet girl. She was always good to others and always looked out for the well-being of others rather than her own. She had this dream of being a singer too. She didn't even care that she was quirkless.

Kuro loved her deeply. When he was with her, he felt like his life had a purpose, a reason to live.

Things were happy between them, or so he thought.

When Laura was in high school, she changed. He didn't notice it at first but after a while, he could tell something was wrong.

She wasn't socialising as much as she used to. Most days when she came home, she would head over to her room and stay there until dinner. Usually when they talked it was about school and work.

When the topic of her friends came up Laura always said that they were busy with study like she was. She was always smiling during these conversations, so he never questioned her.

He should have.

As the years went on Kuro noticed certain changes in his sister, most notably physical ones. When she came back from school some days Kuro could see faint outlines of bruises on her wrists and occasionally from her neck. She covered them both up, but he still noticed them.

Whenever questioned about its Laura would make up some excuse about how she fell or hit into something when she wasn't looking. Though he knew otherwise.

He concluded that she was being bullied at school and confronted her about it. Laura denied it, but she was a poor liar, so he saw right through her. When she realised this, she pleaded that nothing was wrong and everything that happened to her was just an accident. Not wanting to upset her he did nothing.

It was the biggest mistake of his life, one that would forever haunt him.

Then came a day when she returned home more exhausted than usual. Her eyes, they had the look of a dead person.

That did it. Kuro couldn't take this anymore, so he was going to go to her school tomorrow and speak with the principal and teachers about this.

Laura suddenly announced she was going out for a walk despite that it was late. She told him she had her keys so she would let herself back in, he could go to bed. She then said something that he would never forget even if he tried.

She hugged him tightly and said, "Thanks for everything Kuro. Thanks for being my big brother. Thanks for always being there for me. I really love you for it."

He was slightly taken back by this. However, he returned the hug and told her he loved her also. It was then she went for a walk.

That was the last moment they shared with each other.

The following day when he noticed she wasn't at home he figured she must be at school. Of course, when he arrived at the school, he discovered that she hadn't been there all morning.

It was then he remembered what she said to him last night, the way she said it, and the state she had been in. Fearing the worst, he called the police only to discover they were about to call him.

Approximately an hour before he called, Laura's body had been found in a local river. She had drowned.

The moment Kuro heard that he froze, he couldn't breathe. The nausea he felt at that exact moment was overwhelming, so much that he collapsed.

When he woke up, he was in the hospital. There were two police officers outside talking. Apparently, he had been asleep for a total day. What's more, they were talking about Laura.

"Have the school been questioned yet?"

"Yes but no one is saying anything, or rather they're denying it. Despite what Ms Shisa's diary says no one is confirming anything."

They stopped talking when a man came up to the room and entered. He wore a black coat and hat. He possessed blonde hair, chocolate brown eyes and was quite tall.

"Hello, Mr Shisa. My name is Reo Yagami, Detective Yagami," the man informed him. "I know this is sudden but I'm here to ask you a couple of questions about your sister's passing."

Passing. What a polite way of putting it.

"You mean her suicide," Kuro retorted. "You don't have to sugar-coat it. I realised when I heard, the way she acted last night was enough proof."

The detective frowned.

"And just what do you think made her fall to that point?" he asked.

And so, he explained to the detective about Laura's behaviour and her injuries. When he finished the detective was silent. Kuro knew from the way he was acting that he knew something he didn't and so he demanded answers.

Detective Yagami, feeling the man had a right to know what happened to his sister decided to tell him.

Laura had been bullied at school. The primary reason, she was quirkless.

It wasn't a major issue at first, but after a while, it got worse. From what the police got from her diary (they had to search the apartment for evidence) she was mainly tormented by a girl called Nen Riki.

In her own words, the girl used her telekinesis to trip her up, steal from her, shove her around and abuse her in a variety of other ways. She also called her a variety of names such as quirkless bitch, and some far worse ones.

It wasn't long before others joined in, and things got worse.

Her friends stopped talking to her as well, apparently, Nen (whose father was a lawyer) had threatened them to stay away from her or else their parents would lose their jobs.

Nen always made fun of Laura's dreams saying she would never be anything more than what she already was, the girl even bragged about how she was going to be a hero admired by everyone more famous, and rich than any other.

To put it simply, she was a self-absorbed bitch. The only reason she hadn't been arrested was because her father defended her, and no one was willing to speak against her (mostly out of fear).

The detective didn't tell him everything, but he told him enough. There were certain details that he left out for specific reasons.

Kuro shook with rage. He was angry at the school and Laura's friends for what they had done to her. He was angry at that girl for making her life hellish for no real reason other than the fact that she was quirkless.

But most of all, he was angry at himself for doing nothing. If he had looked into the matter, if he had been a proper big brother then she would still be alive.

He thanked the detective for his information and said it made him feel more understanding of why his sister died.

When the detective exited the room, he began to sob hysterically. He apologised to Laura for failing as her big brother and not protecting her when he should have.

It was at that moment he made a silent dark promise to himself.

To get revenge.

This was achieved a couple of weeks later. It wasn't hard for Kuro to get details about the girl, he had gone to one of Laura's friends who (out of guilt for not helping Laura) gave him information about Nen and a picture of what she looked like. Then using his quirk (people at the time thought it was transporting something as far as his mist could go at the time) he stalked her to learn everything about her daily routine.

Eventually, he decided that he'd waited long enough.

When she was alone, he struck. First, he sliced off her hands with a large knife to render her quirk useless.

She was caught totally surprised by the assault. She started screaming in agony and then for help. She tried to run but Kuro wouldn't let her. He used his quirk to get in front of her and stab her repeatedly.

As she coughed up blood she pleaded for mercy.

He coldly refused and informed her why she was about to die, much to her surprise. He then icily told her that no threat she used, or even her quirk would save her, she was going to die, and nothing could change that, much to her horror.

Furious at what was happening Nen began gloating at how she tormented Laura. She referred to her as a quirkless whore and admitted to advising her on drowning herself.

Enraged, Kurogiri stabbed her in the neck to silence her.

Watching her die satisfied him in ways he couldn't describe.

After this, he went into hiding, or rather he disappeared from the world. He didn't want to be part of a society that didn't have Laura.

Sometime later, he met Sensei and joined the League. His villain's name became the cute nickname his sister gave him.

While to others, it was just a name that matched his quirk but to him, it had a deep meaning.

Flashback end

Everyone (barring Razor) was shocked.

Tomura remembered how Kurogiri reacted to quirkless people before, now it made sense. He felt an odd amount of sympathy for the man.

Izuku felt a deep sadness and sympathy for Kurogiri. He was also disturbed at how similar Laura's situation had been to his.

'If I had actually died, my mom, would she have, to Bakugo?' he thought horrified. 'No, she wouldn't, she would never.'

Izuku didn't want to think that his mother was capable of such action. He wouldn't have been alive to know it, but he couldn't bear the thought.

He had been so selfish, he never even considered what might happen if he had committed suicide.

"Well, that's all of us. Are you satisfied Izuku?" Razor asked.

Izuku nodded in response, feeling somewhat closer to them now that he knew their stories.

Tomura and Razor started to leave but he called out to them.

"Thanks for telling me. I'm quite grateful. You too Kurogiri," he informed them.

They all turned to look at him.

"We aren't good Izuku, but we aren't totally evil either," Razor told him.

"We all have something that defines us for who we are, much like heroes," Tomura added.

It was Kurogiri's message that affected him the most.

"There's something you should know Izuku. Good and Evil, they aren't born they are made," he explained.

It was then that they all took off. Izuku returned to his apartment overwhelmed from the day he had just had. He collapsed on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? What did you think of the characters? Kurogiri's backstory I made up. Kurogiri's quote is also borrowed from Once Upon A Time because I believed it fit in perfectly here, it's also something I believe. When I came up with this story, I wanted to show a more human side to the villains rather than just simply being evil. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Please review.