AN: A lot of people are asking about this so I'm going to make an AN to address it. I'm not using the original Arcana like the Hunger in this story, just sticking to the main ones. I considered it but couldn't find people to fit all the extra ones and it felt like an all or nothing thing. I WAS going to use Shigaraki for the Hunger though when I considered it.

AN2: Sorry about delay in update. I've been having a bad case of writer's block. Also, I recently heard about how the moderator's abandoned this site so it's slowly dying because it's apparently not getting updated again. I'm going to start moving my fics over to Archive of our Own. Stuff will start getting posted there this weekend at the latest, same username, TheSilverboar. I'll post stuff there in increments till eventually everything is on that site moving forward. I only learned about the impending heat death of this site and forced out what I could from my rebellious muse. Next post (again, on Archive of our own) should have more stuff and be longer. Assuming my muse starts cooperating again.

A Fool's Bonds

Chapter 12

-Shigaraki-

Smirking, Shigaraki saw the darkly dressed teacher leap down the stairs, charging straight at the 'horde of villains'. "So predictable." He snickered, adrenaline pumping so much at finally getting to fight for the future master talked about that he couldn't even feel the itching. At his side, the Nomu loomed silently, the towering figure the pinnacle of raw power from the unspeaking Nomus, this one having some of the DNA of the infamous Gigantomachia.

"Firing squad, intercept." Shigaraki let his eyes flit about, feeling his quirk suppressed by the gaze of who could only be Eraserhead. With that irritating quirk of his there was no way the firing squad would be able to take him out. It would help to exhaust the vaunted 'hero' though, get him overconfident.

"My quirk aint workin!" the first of the firing squad, a goon with guns for fingers, started freaking out before the vampire looking nuiscance started throwing them around.

"Mutants, back them up." Shigaraki gave a lazy wave, feeling Kurogiri at his side, ready to warp over to the doors the second the teacher blinked.

"Well what do you know, there he goes." Shigaraki smirked as Kurogiri vanished, "I wonder if all the little kiddies and their precious professor will be enough XP to level him up." Turning back to watch Aizawa, Shigaraki let out a sigh at how long grinding through the mob of nameless goons was taking the man.

"Damned unskippable cutscenes." Shigarki sighed, before glancing over at the Giant class Nomu, "You're not much fun if you can't talk back. I'll have to ask Master for one that can banter." And preferably one that could actually help with the damned multiplayer. Kurogiri was a good cook but couldn't pull his weight in a game to save his life.

"Up and down, up and down." Shigaraki's blood was cooling as the boredom of watching a single 'Hero' mowing down wave after wave of level one nobodies, the itch returning as he began to scratch and claw at his neck, "Up and down goes the hair. Off and on go the quirks. Up…on!" rushing in, Shigaraki thrust his hand out at Aizawa as the man blinked, capture scarf sent towards Shigaraki only to crumble into dust under his touch. Unfortunately, that was all he was able to dust as the man leapt back, eyes glowing red once more and hair standing up.

"Huh, so you do live up to your hype." Shigaraki straightened, "Or your ability to fight does anyway. Tell me, little teacher, pretend Hero, have you said your prayers? Are you ready to die?"

"You talk to much." Aizawa scowled, the man lashing out with rapid strikes and thrown tools, only moving to strike directly when his eyes glowed red. "What do you think this, some sort of game?"

"Oh, that's exactly what this is!" Shigaraki laughed as he dodged another strike from the teacher, the man having to rapidly shift focus to take down another wave of grunts who'd tried to capitalize, "And you heroes know it! You play to the crowd!" Shigaraki stared making clawed strikes with even more speed and ferocity, "You choose who to help! Who to stop! Who to save! All based on what gives you the best reward!" Shigaraki managed to grab the scarf as more of it eroded away, leaving a pair of much shorter tools rather than one long one.

"You bastards pretend to be 'heroes'." Shigaraki scowled as Aizawa got lost in the wave of mobs once again, "But you're just mercenaries. No better than the villains you scorn. Lower than the desperate people you abandon. You call me a villain? No. I'm the God…damned…Hero." At his words, void gates opened all over the USJ, dropping the 'hero' students, the future fakes, to the wolves that awaited them.

-Izuku-

"Shiiiiiiit!" Izuku cursed as he saw the ground rapidly rising to meet him "Emperor!" he shouted out as the cerulean flames spread, transforming him into the much more durable Dracula as he landed with a boom.

"Hey Boss." Hearing the pained voice of Jiro, Izuku's head snapped over to see his purple haired friend clutching her leg, having apparently landed badly, "Come here often?"

"Fuck, Jiro!" Izuku hurried over to his friend looking for anything that could be used to help her leg.

"Tempting, but that might make Momo jealous." Jiro tried to snicker only to grimace in pain, her eyes wide and jittery. He guessed she was trying to handle her stress and panic by being teasing. Annoyingly he still felt his ears burn red despite the danger of the situation.

"Ass." Izuku blushed red even as he pulled out some medical supplies from his hero costume, finding that he could still access items that were on his base form while transformed, much like how his base form could access the tools of his transformed states.

"One of my better features, I kn-OW!" Jiro's quip turned into a pained yell as he put her leg in a splint, "You could have warned me asshole." She grumbled but swallowed the pain pills he offered.

"I'll keep that in mind." Izuku tried his best calming smile before frowning, ears perking up as he heard others approaching.

"Fool." Izuku scowled, switching to his most energy conservative form.

"Oho, little hero boy has some tricks, does he?" some cackling villains started crawling out of the woodwork. Some bursting from the ground, others climbing down the cliff face.

"I'm more interested in the punk girl." Another villain licked his lips hungrily as Jiro shuddered beside him. Said villain recoiled back with a hiss when Izuku drew his katana, leveling it at them.

"Back off." Izuku narrowed his eyes at the villains, standing between them and Jiro.

"Damnit Midoriya just run!" Jiro shouted, "I can hold them off for a bit, the others need you!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Izuku's eyes flit between the villains that were starting to look more and more confident.

"I can't run, Thirteen and the others need your help!" Jiro snapped as Izuku let loose a wave of cerulean flames, making sure they don't reach the villains. He needed to make them wary and reassure Jiro.

"Momo's still with the others!" Izuku gripped his blade, having seen his Empress confidant safely outside the swirling black miasma as it sucked him up, "She can help them better than I can right now." With her quirk she could adapt to any villains that tried to get up there, help hold a defensible position, and make things to help stabilize Thirteen. "I'm not leaving you!" roaring out in challenge, Izuku charged the villains, his animal companions separating from his armor to guard Jiro who could still use sonic blasts to defend herself. He charged into the fray, slashing with steel and lashing out with fist as he worked to debilitate the villains, having to be careful not to kill them. Humans without some sort of reinforcement quirk weren't nearly as durable as the Oni Momotaro was supposed to have been able to best with ease.

"The hell is he?!" one of the villains shouted in fear as Izuku took out the villain who'd implied they'd rape Jiro with a hard kick between the legs, sending the bastard flying into the cliff face. He was just starting to think he had this handled when he felt a lancing pain, just as his animal companions cried out before being swiftly silenced.

"Damn you lot suck." A new villain with a skull mask spoke up as Izuku looked over at him, seeing him holing Jiro by the hair, Izuku's animal companion's bodies dissolving into blue flames as they were, slowly, reappearing on his armor, "So kiddo, here's how this is gonna go." The villain casually shook Jiro around as his friend bit back a yell, her injured leg swinging, "You're going to stand there and let these idiots knock you around for a bit. Then I'm going to walk out of here with your useless little friend." The villain held up a hand filled with lightning "Unless you'd rather I just fry her here and now?"

"Damnit Izuku, RUN!" Jiro thrashed in the man's grip.

"I'm not leaving you!" Izuku gripped his sword, blood boiling, heartbeat pounding in his ears.

"That's cute." The electric villain scoffed, "You think this useless bitch can be a Hero?"

"I KNOW she's a Hero!" Izuku looked in Jiro's eyes, trying to convey the faith he had in his friend. He saw the rawness in her eyes, the fear, the intense emotion. But most importantly, he saw the self-doubt being replaced with fiery determination.

"No she's-" the villain stated to move his hand towards Jiro before she cut him off.

"I am!" Jiro jabbed her jacks into the bastard as she pumped him full of her heartbeat, the villain screaming in pain before the sonic attack became too much and he collapsed unconscious. Rushing forward, Izuku caught her, cerulean flames bursting forth as he touched her exposed forearm.

"I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. I shall become the storm incarnate, he who challenges the impossible. With the birth of the Strength Persona, you have obtained the power of might unmatched, that shall lead to the protection of mankind."

Power coursed through his veins as Izuku glared at the remaining wide-eyed villains, "Number Eight, STRENGTH!" and lo did thunder fill the USJ.