Chapter 11: Finishing the Preparations

Twenty minutes before nine hit, Giran walked through the door, his cigarette already lit. He sauntered up to the bar top to the seat he was at last time, Kurogiri passed him an ash tray as Giran ordered a drink. A glass of whiskey on the rocks was pushed forward, the round ice cube swirling in the liquid. Giran picked up the glass, nodding and toasting to both Kurogiri and the TV.

Taking a swig, he let out a pleasured sigh, "So where's the Young Master at? He wanted me to come by but didn't have the decency to greet me when I come in?"

"Kagero Shigaraki had to step out for a moment," Kurogiri narrowed his eyes, "He mentioned something about wanting to make sure something's ready. He should be back momentarily."

Giran let out an unamused grunt, returning to his cigarette and drink. Seeing as Kurogiri no longer wanted to engage in conversation, he took the quiet moment to appreciate the absolute normality of the bar. The shelves were stocked with a wide variety of spirits, most of them Giran couldn't even recognize. Licenses and certificates were displayed on one of the walls, and it had a cozy feel to it. Had someone accidentally stumbled onto it, aside from the misty bartender, they would assume it was any other dive bar.

A phone dinged from behind the bar, and wordlessly Kurogiri opened a portal. Kagero walked through, dressed in what looked like his villain outfit minus the knives sheathed on his legs, affixing his mask to his face before lightly dusting himself off. He glanced at Giran and then to the clock hanging on the wall opposite to the bar and shrugged.

"Thanks for making it out here," he greeted.

Giran puffed a few times on his cigarette before putting it out, "Think nothing of it, but even if you hadn't asked, I still would've come with them. It's only right I introduce them myself, and besides," he swirled his glass, watching the ice ball spin with the movement, "Figured if I got here early I could enjoy myself a bit."

"By all means," Kagero lazily swept his arm out, gesturing to the bar. "Kurogiri, it's nearly nine, why don't you bring them in."

Kurogiri bowed as he disappeared within the mist. Returning his attention to Giran, "So what can you tell me before they get here?"

"Well, only one of them has a real record, the other two are relatively green."

Kagero paused, his head quirked to the right, "Didn't I ask for seasoned criminals? If they're green, that means I'd have to babysit them."

"And here I thought you were smart," Giran retorted, downing the rest of his drink, "You also said you wouldn't mind if they have a code of sorts. If they're green, you can change them to whatever form or color you want."

Kagero's eyes crinkled as he smiled, his eyes taking on a dangerous glint. He was about to reply but was cut off by the swirling purple of Kurogiri's portal. He stopped mid-thought and stepped back, allowing for more room on the floor.

Three figures walked through the portal, with Kurogiri materializing at the back. The first and tallest of the trio had spiky black hair, piercing blue eyes, and horribly burned and purple skin, staples lined the borders between the healthy and burned skin holding them together. He wore a loose fitting shirt under a ratty black jacket, black chino highwater pants and shoes.

The second was a teenage girl with ash-blonde hair and twin messy buns. Her eyes were yellow and cat-like with excitement shimmering just beneath the surface. She wore a slightly oversized beige cardigan over what looked like a sailor suit uniform, with knee-length black socks and brown loafers.

The third looked even younger than the girl. He was dressed in a standard gakuran with teal gloves and white shoes, light brown tousled hair rested on his head. Under his arm he held a gas mask and green helmet that looked like they came from a military surplus store.

Kagero didn't move to talk with them, opting to study the new arrivals and get a clue of what he was dealing with. None of the three looked like they were going to speak either. The black-haired man was looking over the bottles on the shelves instead, and the girl looked more lost and confused the longer the silence dragged on. The boy was the only one among them that tried to appear professional, trying to match the stare he was receiving from Kagero.

Giran, while thoroughly enjoying the standoff, decided he needed to be the one to start the conversation. He stood up from his stool and hooked an arm around the black-haired man, who looked displeased by the contact.

"Guess I'll have to be the adult in this situation," he opened, "Shigaraki, may I present to you Himiko Toga, Dabi, and Mustard." The girl, Toga, perked up and waved animatedly. The black-haired and burnt man, Dabi, just barely nodded his head in acknowledgement while shoving Giran off his shoulders. The young boy, Mustard, readjusted his helmet and mask under his arm.

Giran stuck a thumb out, pointing to Toga, "Let's start with girlie over here-"

With initial introductions out of the way, whatever trepidation or nervousness that held Toga were gone, "I'm Himiko Toga! And you're the one Mr. Stainy was talking about!" she cut Giran off, her expression dropped to a serious glare. A knife appeared in her hand as she leveled it in front of her, "Is it true? Are you really working together?"

Kagero took the change in tone in stride, "My definition of working together may be different than yours. I can tell you had more to say, so just finish it up."

Toga held her glare for a second longer before her wide smile came back, the knife disappearing. Kagero didn't notice at first, but now that he's focusing on her, he sees defined canine teeth. Mild carnivore mutation?

"I wanna live in the world Mr. Stainy is trying to make. This world isn't fun, too many people are mean. Without the meanies in the world, I can finally feel at home!"

Kagero nodded and gestured to Dabi to start. Dabi looked Kagero over before starting, "What, you don't want to know her quirk? Don't think I didn't see you eyeing her."

"Impressive," Kagero's eyes darted to Dabi's, "You're sharper than you look. But no, I'm saving that question for the end. What's your piece?"

"I go by Dabi," he huffed, "As for my piece, I plan to carry on the Hero Killer's will long after he passes. If he doesn't want me, fine. I'll join you and help him from the sidelines." Dabi stared Kagero down, daring him to make a comment, "He may have pointed me towards you, but ultimately I follow his will. If there's one thing I want most out of this partnership, it's the death of Endeavor."

At that, Kagero was intrigued. He was used to hearing people spout about how they want to kill All Might and any other hero, but those were always weak shows of strength. Dabi though, Dabi meant what he said and truly believed he could do it.

Getting restless from having to wait, Mustard spoke up without his prompt, "I'm Mustard. My quirk lets me release a gas that puts people to sleep and-"

"I'm stopping you right there," Kagero cut him off, "Do you even know what this is? What's happening right now? This isn't the first day at school, kid."

Dabi rolled his eyes and Toga stifled a giggle, "Why are you here?"

Mustard paused, looking between the occupants of the bar, searching for a lifeline that wouldn't be thrown. He sighed, hunching his shoulders in defeat. Kagero felt his breath hitch, his vision flickering, overlapping Mustard and a shadow of an old memory.

"I'm bullied at school and I'm unwanted at home," Mustard confessed, "My parents, if you could even call them that, don't care what I do so long as the only reason I'm home is to sleep. At school I'm forced into a literal bubble because they don't want my quirk accidentally going haywire. The kids kick it around and cover the vents so I run out of air to breathe. I'm tired of being put down for something that I had no power in choosing."

Mustard looked up at Kagero, his eyes shining with determination, "I'm here because the heroes made my life turn to absolute shit. They preach about how 'anyone can be a hero', but what they're really saying is 'anyone with a cool and flashy quirk can be a hero'. Because my quirk isn't cool, it gives everyone the right to push me down, and I'm sick of it. I want to change how society looks at quirks."

Kagero was impressed. Not only are their goals aligned with his, but there was also enough wiggle room in their goals to fit his. He made eye contact with Giran, who just smirked.

Giran started a slow clap, "Well done everyone, I couldn't have said it better myself. Now Shigaraki, anything you have to say to these wonderful, upstanding citizens?"

"You all aren't half bad, but only one of you has a body count, and while that's not necessary, I need to know just how far you're willing to lose yourself, particularly you," Kagero pointed at Mustard, "You're just a kid. You're jaded and have a major chip on your shoulder, but you're way too young to seriously be considering this path."

"Are you actually a villain?" Dabi laughed, "What villain tries to make others reconsider their life's choices?"

"The kind of villain that isn't single minded." Kagero shot back, "Or an absolute scum of a person. I may be a villain, but that doesn't mean I don't have standards. Now Mustard, are you one-hundred percent certain that you want to continue down this path? It won't be easy and it will involve blood."

Mustard fiddled with his helmet and mask in thought. All the while this was going down, Toga sat herself down on one of the stools and was lazily spinning herself around, seemingly lost in her own world while she waited for whatever was happening next. Mustard finally came up with his answer.

"I'm sure. There's nothing at home for me, and no one I care about. I'm starting over, and if it means I'll have to kill someone to prove it, then I will."

Kagero studied him closely, Young, impressionable, willing to get his hands dirty. He moved on to Dabi, who noticed and matched the look, Arrogant, observant, clear motivation. Finally he looked at Toga, who was now sipping on a drink that Kurogiri must have given her, Outcast, carefree, already ingrained in the life.

Kagero reached up to his mask and retracted it, "Fine. Kurogiri, get Giran his payment for the lot." Hearing that, Giran gave a lazy bow in gratitude. "As for you three, welcome to the League. As a formal introduction, my name is Kagero Shigaraki, over there behind the bar is Kurogiri. Toga, Dabi, what're your quirks? And Dabi, Mustard, your names."

Having received his payment, Giran cut in quickly before they got started, "I'll take my leave, then. Shigaraki, I'll let you know if there are any more."

Again, now that the boring stuff was out of the way, Toga was back to her cheery self, "My quirk is called Transform! It lets me change into anybody I want so long as I drink their blood. The more blood I have, the longer the transformation holds." She pointed to her teeth, "My canines are sharp so that I can bite into people and drink their blood directly, but I don't like doing that unless they're cute!" She crossed her arms in an X.

That explains the teeth, but what was the source for the change?

Toga seemed done with her explanation and was looking towards Dabi with interest. He sighed and brought his hand up, conjuring a ball of blue fire. Kagero's eyes sparkled, That will pair perfectly. "That's my quirk. As for my name, I don't know you well enough to give it to you, so you're stuck with Dabi. I'm not budging on this."

Mustard shifted on his feet, "I'm not giving you my name either. If I'm starting anew, then I want to leave everything of my old life behind."

"Kurogiri, bring them to the warehouse," Kagero abruptly changed the topic. He addressed the group, "I want to get a feel for your skills, so we're going to have a little test."

That was all the warning they got before portals opened beneath them, swallowing them in the darkness.

Shimura grunted as he was slammed onto the mats once again. He immediately swept his legs around, catching his opponent off guard. Getting back on his feet, he jumped at the downed opponent. From there fight devolved into intense grappling. He made sure to always keep a finger up so he doesn't accidentally disintegrate his opponent, a weakness that was constantly exploited as his opponent kept grabbing the extended finger and wiggling out of a hold.

Shimura was able to secure the opponent's arm, seconds away from getting them into an arm bar before he felt a jolting pain in his right hand. He let go in shock, scrambling away.

"Shimura? You okay, man?" Kaminari questioned. "I swear you had me for good right then."

Shimura cradled his right hand, shaking it off lightly, "Yeah, I'm good. My hand just acted up."

"Is that normal? I thought you said Recovery Girl healed it for you," Kaminari asked as he stood back up. He grabbed a water bottle and handed it over.

"She did," Shimura nodded thanks, "Like, I can still use it and my quirk just fine, but my hand just randomly flares up in pain from time to time. I already asked her what's wrong, but she couldn't find anything."

"That's the hand that got crushed, right?" Shimura flinched at the memory, Kaminari immediately back tracked, "Right, right, sorry about that."

Shimura waved him off, instead busying himself with taking a long swig of the water.

"But hey! Thanks for agreeing to spar with me! I know I'm not the best fighter in the class, but if I can keep up with you, I know I can do well in the Sports Festival," Kaminari tried to lighten the mood.

Shimura smiled, happily taking the change in topic, "You and me both. But if I'm being honest, I think you'd do better than I will."

"What do you mean?" Kaminari frowned in confusion.

"I mean, your quirk is way more versatile than mine," Shimura explained, "You've got good offense and defense, while I'm only really good for offense and clearance." And killing… his mind added on.

Kaminari waved his hands in front of him, "What? No way man. I have basically no control over it, and a limited amount. Not to mention, if I go over that, I get all 'wheey-ie'," he emphasized as he acted out his "Whey State" as he jokingly called it.

Shimura hummed in agreement and gave a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, "But you can still touch people and have decent range. I have my gloves, but something tells me I won't be able to use them for the Festival, and the only way for me to use my quirk is if I'm in close contact. If I make it to the final round, I won't be able to fight properly."

"Okay, first. It's when you make it to the final round," Kaminari quickly reassured, holding up his fingers as he counted his points, "And B, you don't even need to fight to win a match. All you gotta do is grab their arm or something and boom! They're forced to surrender."

"I thought the whole point of the Sports Festival was to show off your quirk?"

"Oh yeah," Kaminari quickly conceded, "But when you make it to first place, I don't think people will care about your quirk since all they'll want is to work with the winner. Besides, there'll be what, three events total? I bet you could show them what you can do in the first two rounds."

Shimura's eyes widened in realization. He turned to Kaminari and gave a real smile, "I totally forgot about the first two events! Thanks, Kaminari!"

Kaminari flashed him a smile and gave him a thumbs up, "No problem, dude! Now come on, let's get cleaned up. I hear Bakugo's making dinner tonight, and I wanna hide all the super spicy spices before he gets started. He makes great food, but I swear he no longer has taste buds."

"You're just weak against spice." Kaminari stuck his tongue out and headed to the showers.

Shimura chuckled and shook his head, amused at his friend's antics. The Sports Festival is my chance to prove I can be a hero, I can't let this go to waste. He shook his head in determination. He was going to win the Festival, and when he did, he'd give a nice big middle finger to Kagero as he bit into his gold medal.

I am a hero, damn it.