Chapter 21: A New Prospect

Chapter Text

Flipping through his students' applications for internships, Aizawa couldn't help but hold back a disappointed sigh. Some of them made smart choices, most didn't. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the unwise decisions were made solely on the fact that they were the highest ranked hero that they got an offer from. Aizawa leaned back in his chair, sliding down it, groaning at his students' irrationality.

The door slid open, Yamada was speaking animatedly with Kayama, both holding their own stacks of papers to grade. Aizawa groaned again, lamenting the lounge's absence of quiet that he so loves.

Yamada was quick to pick up on his mood, "Oh come on, Shota! Lighten up! Your two best friends are here to make your day amazing!"

"My day was already amazing, now you're just bringing it down," Aizawa grumbled.

Kayama gasped in faked pain, bringing a hand to cover her heart, "Shota, how could you say that? You looooove hanging with your friends."

"Whatcha workin' on anyway?" Yamada asked. Picking up the papers on his desk, he began to leaf through them, standing over his right shoulder, "Internship applications? All you gotta do is say yes or no. Doesn't take that long to do."

"I know that. I was just about finished with them."

"So why are you being so grumpy?" Kayama asked from over his other shoulder, "You hate doing any kind of paperwork."

"Because my students are making illogical decisions based off desire and popularity and not with their futures in mind." Aizawa motioned at Yamada, asking for the papers back. "Here, let's start off with the most obvious ones. Minoru Mineta applied for Mount Lady. Momo Yaoyorozu applied for Uwabami. Katsuki Bakugo applied for Best Jeanist. I could go on, but I'm hoping you get the picture."

Yamada and Kayama nodded along, in clear agreement. Kayama grabbed the papers out of Aizawa's hands and looked through them herself, "But you've approved of every single one of them? Couldn't you just deny and pick heroes for them?"

"Just because I can doesn't mean I will." Aizawa agreed, "I told my class that who they pick is their choice, and if they want any help, they need to ask for it. Not one of my students came to me, and thanks to the rat's excessive supervision, I know for a fact that outside of asking each other who they're going with, none of them asked for a second opinion. If they go on their internship and they find it was less than satisfactory, it'll be an important lesson to think ahead."

Kayama was still going through the papers, having separated them into two piles of "good pick" and "bad pick". She was on the second to last sheet before she froze, "And you're not going to do anything about little Tenya's?"

Noticing the change in her tone, Yamada looked over as well to see what shook her. He winced when he saw the hero's city of operations, "Sho… You can't seriously be thinking about letting the little listener go to Hosu of all places."

Aizawa looked at his friends faces, seeing multiple emotions flit across, but the ones that remained were fear and worry. When he didn't respond, Kayama brought a hand to her mouth, stifling the cry that nearly came out.

"Shota, I know you have a reputation to maintain, but this… Allowing Tenya to go to Hosu, that's… What will Tensei say when he inevitably finds out?" It was a low blow, and everyone knew it. Kayama stared at Aizawa, waiting his answer, "Well?"

"Nem, Zashi, I know what you're thinking, but this is honestly the best-case scenario." He gave a tired sigh, Aizawa could see that Yamada was working himself up to loudly refute but he continued talking, "I know that this is a terrible situation, and I'm a shitty person for letting it go through, but it's better than the alternative. You've seen how Tenya is.

"He's grieving, but he's stuck in the anger phase. It wouldn't matter who he talks to, not even if it came from Tensei himself, he won't listen. So I'm going to give him a nudge in the right direction."

"By pointing him at a serial killer and the person responsible for his brother's early retirement. Great idea, Shota," Kayama replied flatly.

"I never said it was a good idea, it's just better than-"

"Better than the alternative, right?" Yamada cut him off. "What is this 'alternative' you keep talking about?"

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him, not happy that he was being ganged up on, but he could see why, "The alternative, Hizashi, is forcing him to go to another hero somewhere far away, only for us to lose him too."

His friends' tirade was cut short. The wind in their sails suddenly stopped. They felt like the rug was swept out from under them. Kayama looked on with worried eyes, "What do you mean by that?"

"Tenya isn't good at processing his feelings, not like I'm any better, but that's beside the point. He lacks any sense of flexibility, and when things don't go the way they're expected, he's left floundering. If I were to deny his request, in his current mental state, he would rationalize it's because I know the reason why and I don't trust him to do the right thing. He wouldn't lash out, he would go about his internship dutifully, because a person of authority instructed him to. However, he'd compartmentalize as well as he could, leaving the anger he's feeling to grow unattended.

"In the back of his mind, he wouldn't trust his mentor, another person in authority fully, to do the right thing because he felt betrayed by me. Eventually, everything would boil over, and one day, I'd say the third day of the internship, when his hero mentor does their daily meeting or whatever and Tenya doesn't show up, the hero will find an empty room."

"You're not suggesting…" Kayama trailed off, not wanting to say it.

Aizawa didn't want to say it either, but nodded, "Letting Tenya go to Hosu ensures that we will most likely know where he'll be at all times. I've already sent word ahead to Manual and briefed him on Tenya's situation and cautioned that he might go AWOL. If or when he does, Manual will at least have an idea on where he might be and will alert us immediately."

His friends only looked slightly relieved, but still wary at how insensitively Aizawa was responding to their current dilemma. Noticing their discomfort, Aizawa attempted to placate them, his voice growing a little softer, "Out of everyone here, you two should know that I take the lives of my students seriously. If I didn't believe in Tenya, I wouldn't have let him get this far. I know he has the potential to be a great hero, even without his familial ties. All he needs is the chance to broaden his horizons."

Yamada and Kayama shared a look, both still terribly uncomfortable with the decision. Aizawa saw Yamada take a grounding breath and turned to face him, his gaze hardening, "If things fall apart, you're the one breaking the news to Tensei."

The discussion effectively ended, they split off to their respective desks, letting the room fall into a tense silence. Aizawa sighed as he rubbed at his temples. At this point, all he'd like to do now is take a nap. He moved to drop his head onto the desktop, but his attention was pulled to his computer monitor as it pinged. A notification bubble in the bottom right corner.

Curious, he clicked on it. A news article popped up, the headline stating that a rash of blue fires were showing up throughout Hosu. The article itself didn't give anything worthwhile, but the comment section did. A few of the comments speculated that someone else was trying their luck committing crimes while the city was under siege by a serial killer. It was a decent idea, but Aizawa didn't think it was anything that desperate. He scrolled back to the top, now reading it with a finer-toothed comb. He made note of the locations given, and the statements left by the first responders. The fires seemed random, but he saw a pattern clear as day.

The fires all originated from back alleys, the prime location for Stain's kills.

Aizawa felt his blood run cold, worry painting his features. Is Stain no longer working alone?

"Again," Kagero demanded as he stood over Mustard's prone form.

Mustard was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue athletic shorts, most likely his school's PE uniform, his shirt drenched in sweat. Kagero was wearing a navy long lined t-shirt with loose black joggers, still looking fresh. Mustard laid on his back on the matted floor, his chest heaving with exertion. Kagero had dragged Mustard to the training room somewhere below the bar, saying that Mustard needs to know how to take care of himself.

Mustard groaned as he peeled himself off the floor, grabbing the knife that fell out of his hand. He stood on tired legs, bringing his hands up to a meager fighting position. He breathed heavily but didn't stand down.

Kagero appraised Mustard's form, "Go."

Mustard hesitated a little before running forward. He brought his knife hand up and went for a slash that Kagero easily dodged.

"Keep going."

Mustard responded by performing a back handed swing, hoping to catch Kagero on the way. When that didn't work, Mustard ran forward, his knife arm brought up again for an overhead slash. Kagero caught the arm easily, but Mustard used his left arm to punch him in his exposed torso.

"Good."

Swinging his arm down and around to the right, Mustard broke out of Kagero's hold. Mustard pushed away from Kagero to gain a little distance before thrusting the knife forward. Mustard didn't get close as Kagero simply brought his leg up and kicked him away. Mustard tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. He stayed down this time, too spent to try to pick himself back up.

Kagero walked over to Mustard, his hands in his pockets, "That was a good move, but you made a mistake. Any guesses?"

Mustard groaned in response. Kagero chuckled, "You're fighting against someone bigger than you and has more reach. You want to win a fight? Stay close to tangle them up, not push them away and give them the chance to use the distance against you." Kagero reached down and picked up Mustard be the scruff of his shirt, placing him back on his feet, "And your swings are way too big and slow. You're in a knife fight; you attack quickly and precisely. The longer you stay extended, the greater the chance your opponent will catch and disarm you."

Mustard skulked over to the bench where his water bottle was and plopped himself down. The bench was on the far side of the room, opposite the door. Mustard took a large gulp before responding, "We've been at this for hours, I think I deserve a little slack. Besides, I thought you're supposed to learn how to fight without weapons beforehand."

Kagero nodded, "Usually that's the case, but if you haven't noticed yet, I don't exactly follow a normal flow of learning." Mustard shivered, the first night in the warehouse came rushing in his mind before disappearing again. "If you learn how to properly wield a knife in combination with your quirk, you could become a more accurate definition of cloak-and-dagger. You also seem to be decently competent with the knife anyway, so it all works out."

Mustard tried not to preen at Kagero's praise, even as an off-hand remark. Instead, he caught sight of Toga entering the training room, silently stalking towards them. Kagero was still talking to Mustard, but he wasn't hearing anything, too entranced by Toga. He saw her draw a knife before she made eye contact with him. She brought a finger to her mouth, silently telling him to stay quiet.

"Mustard." Kagero's voice cut him out of his musing, his tone indicating he'd been trying to get his attention for a little while already. He chanced a quick peak behind Kagero, but found that Toga was gone, "Do you want to start up again?"

Mustard squeaked, shaking his head vigorously, "Nope! No sir, I think I've learned my lesson. More practice fighting, got it."

Kagero narrowed his eyes before suddenly turning around. He intercepted Toga's attack, trapping her knife arm with his left and elbow striking her in the face. He pulled her down a little, clasping his hands behind her neck as he dragged her forward to the ground. He kneeled on her, keeping her arm extended and pinned between his legs. Kagero disarmed her and pinned her arm behind her back.

Time seemed to catch up to Mustard as he watched Kagero's flawless takedown. He blinked and Toga was on the ground, lightly squirming beneath Kagero's weight.

"Got to try harder than that, Toga," Kagero chided. He got off, helping her to her feet. Toga pouted as she reached for her knife, but he swept it away.

"No fair, Shi-kun!" she complained. She aimed a finger at Mustard, "He gave me away! Even after I shushed him."

Mustard gawked at being thrown under the bus. He pointed to himself, "What was I supposed to think was going to happen? Who sneaks in and tries attacking their boss like it's some sort of game?"

"Me!" Toga exclaimed, clearly annoyed that she was unsuccessful.

"That's enough, both of you," Kagero interrupted, "Mustard, Toga's right. You did give her away. While I'm glad that you're able to pick up sudden movement, you need to work on splitting your focus. It was obvious you were distracted when you weren't replying to me, so I knew something was up."

Mustard deflated a little at being scolded, but Kagero kept going, turning it into a teaching moment, "Think of it like this: You're cornered by a hero with nowhere else to go and you've already called for backup. You don't know how far out they are, but you know they're coming, so now you're stuck and your only option is to stall. You keep the hero distracted and you eventually see your backup. They motion they're going to go for a sneak attack.

"You get the message but your eyes widen in surprise, your breathing changes, your speech speeds up, your tone becomes too relaxed – any and all of these are indicators that something's going to happen that the hero isn't aware of. The hero picks up on these cues, and now they're taking down your backup. You screwed up and now both of you are getting locked away."

Mustard stayed quiet as he thought about the scenario Kagero laid out for him, seeing the point he was making, "I think I get it. I'll be sure to work on that. I don't want anybody else paying for my mistakes."

"And you," Kagero turned to Toga, giving her an unimpressed look, "When I said you can practice your stealth techniques on me, I didn't mean you could attack with intent to maim."

Hearing the disappointment in his voice, Toga looked down at her feet and scuffed her shoes, "I just wanted to make you bleed a little… It wasn't going to be a big cut, just a small one."

"Why?"

She paused before relenting, "Because I love blood. I love the color, I love the smell, I love the taste, I love the way it looks on people, especially on those I love. Giran said that we could do what we wanted if we joined up, so why aren't you letting me?" Her voice grew hard, glaring at Kagero, "Are you going to reject me like everyone else?"

Kagero said nothing, contemplating her words. The growing silence was grating on Toga, who grew fed up with it. She growled and jumped at him again, "I knew it was too good to be true! I thought you were different!"

Mustard vaulted over the bench, hoping to put a little distance between him and the other two. Toga threw Mustard's water bottle at Kagero, who dodged it. When he brought his attention back towards Toga, she was gone. He looked to Mustard who looked just as confused. Kagero whirled around, checking behind him before being knocked to the ground, her knife clattering away.

Somehow Toga got to him from above.

Toga scrambled and grabbed the knife, settling into a stance while Kagero got back up. Now wielding the blade, she lunged again, the knife swinging in a wide arc. Kagero could've easily dodged it, but he didn't. The blade was aiming right for his throat, but he redirected it just enough so that it slashed down his chest. At the sight of the blood, Toga dropped the knife and tackled Kagero again, her pupils dilating as she went to lap up the blood as it started to flow. Instead of falling back over, Kagero caught her in a hug.

"I'm sorry," Kagero apologized. "I'm not mad at you, and I won't turn against you, I promise." He turned his head to look at Mustard, who was shocked at the brief fight, "You either. I won't abandon any of you, cause if I did that, well that would make me just like the heroes wouldn't it?"

Toga gasped, her temporary frenzied stated having abated now that she drank blood. When Kagero's words registered, she pushed away in embarrassment, "Sorry." She apologized quietly and walked away.

Kagero watched her leave, sighing as he realized he should probably stitch himself up before long. "We're done for today, Mustard. Go ahead and relax."

Mustard nodded and hurried out. Kurogiri materialized next to him, silently scrutinizing Kagero's state.

"Kagero Shigaraki, you may want to clean yourself up," Kurogiri advised, "Giran is upstairs, he brought along another potential new member for you."

Kagero hummed, "Fine. I'll be up in ten."

Kurogiri nodded and disappeared again. Kagero poked at his chest to see how deep it was, trailing his finger over the cut on his shirt, "This was one of my favorites too."

Upstairs in the bar, Giran sat at his usual stool nursing a dirty martini, his signature cigarette resting on the ashtray. Next to him sat a man wearing a white Henley shirt under a black jacket, what stood out was the brown paper bag over his head. He too was smoking a cigarette, bringing his hand under the bag so he could take a drag.

"Where is he at? I hope he stays away from me," the masked man asked, immediately contradicting himself.

Giran chuckled at his companion's nervousness, "Not to worry, Jin. The young master will be with us soon enough." He looked to Kurogiri and quirked an eyebrow, "Right? He's been gone longer than usual."

"That is correct," Kurogiri responded, "Kagero Shigaraki had some personal issues to tend to beforehand, I apologize for the delay."

"So long as you're alright with me drinking you dry, I've got no problems with waiting," Giran waved off.

"Can I get a soda, then? Give me the hardest shit you've got!"

Despite being featureless, Giran could see the perplexed expression he was getting from Kurogiri, "I'll explain when the young master gets here. For now, just get him a cola."

"Thank you. I'm not a damn baby!"

Eventually, the inner door opened revealing Kagero. He was wearing a black tank top, bandages peeking out from underneath, a light blue jacket over top. He took a second to look over the room, "Someone's a little shy, it seems."

Giran turned to look at Kagero, "Shigaraki! Good to see you!" he threw an arm over the masked man's shoulders, "This here is Jin Bubaigawara, he's a real earnest guy that I know you'll find a real help."

"That so?"

Bubaigawara got off his stool and stood in front of Kagero, seemingly staring him down from behind his mask, "Call me Jin, I'm in your care. I will only be addressed as Bubaigawara-sama you lowly peasant!"

Kurogiri bristled at his ward being talked down on. Kagero saw his eyes narrow to yellow slits, no doubt deciding the worst destination he knows so he could drop Jin into it. Kagero glared at him, giving him a silent warning. Kurogiri relaxed only slightly, still eyeing him with disdain.

"Split personality?" Kagero guessed, "First one's the actual response. Second one is a contradiction or inner thoughts?"

Giran gave a lazy clap, "I'd expect nothing less. You're right on all three points. Jin here's been a little down on his luck, been turned away from every job he's ever had."

"I just want to find people that'll trust me so I can trust them. Fuck everyone, I'm a lone wolf."

Kagero nodded in sympathy, "And your quirk?"

"Oh, I can make doubles of anything, living or not." He demonstrated by grabbing the cola bottle he'd been drinking out of in his right hand. In his left, a mass of mud shot out from his hand and a perfect copy of the bottle minus the liquid inside was created. "The durability of the copy is about half, so when it reaches that point it just turns into mud again."

Kagero's eyes were sparkling, the fact that Jin didn't contradict himself wasn't lost on him. He was brimming with questions and fought hard to restrain himself, "Oooh, yes. I will absolutely take you in. I'm excited to see what more you can bring to the table. What's the deal with the bag, though?"

"Gotta cover myself up so I don't split apart," Jin replied, "I'm all good, can't and won't split."

Kagero hummed, "We'll address that later. Giran, thank you very much. We're about halfway done with the new recruits now. I expect the rest to be just as good."

Giran scoffed, "You wound me with your lack of confidence, young master." A small portal opened above the bar top, dropping a small bag of cash. Giran smirked, "Always a pleasure, Shigaraki."

As Giran walked out the door, Jin stayed standing in front of Kagero. The bar fell quiet as Kagero was thinking about the possibilities that just opened up with the newest addition.

Jin chuckled nervously, "So, what's the word, boss? I don't work for anyone."