Kurogiri braced himself as he entered the warp gate, entering the place where All For One resided in. The scarred man greeted him with utmost contempt, his lips curling back, though he didn't say anything. Not yet at least. The warp gate villain bowed his head slightly, "Is there anything that you want to say to me, sir?"

He braced for the punishment. He braced for the unrelenting fury that the boss would unleash on him. He wasn't good at all at covering his tracks. He had lied.

All For One let the silence settle in momentarily, feigning security. His posture leaned forward, his gaze penetrating through Kurogiri's own, "I have a question for you, Kurogiri. A simple one."

"I can manage with a simple inquiry." Kurogiri said obediently.

All For One gripped the sides of his seat tightly, "When a dog is told by it's owner to not eat from the crump, how do you think it should react, Kurogiri? Should it...go against the word of it's owner? Bite the hand that feeds? Be an ingrate? Or should it simply obey?"

Kurogiri gulped, his mettle withering as he replied, "I believe that it should obey, sir, as the owner's mandate is undisputable."

"Good," All For One's expression contorted unpleasantly as he began again, "But, in contrast to your answer, my dearest Kurogiri, it seemed that the dog had gone against the word of it's owner and ate from the crump."

Kurogiri didn't answer.

"But not only that, the dog sought to conspire against it's owner. To lead the house ashtray, to damnation. The dog bid it's time, concealing it's true intention." All For One said again, the intensity in his voice increasing rapidly.

Kurogiri knew where this was going, but he kept his mouth shut.

"What punishment do you think," All For One's fingers delicately touched the side of the seat one by one, "Is fit for such unruly dogs?"

Kurogiri couldn't muster a word. He remained idle in his place, letting All For One to speak out of turn, "Perhaps... discipline?"

Kurogiri flinched. He couldn't ignore how low and dangerous All For One sounded, how he was inches away from turning the warp villain into a mincemeat.

"Behaviour correction?"

Kurogiri's feet twitched, his hip coming to a stop as it tried to turn around, his gaze trained on the door. His heartbeat rapidly increased as All For One continued.

"Or memory erasure." All For One's grin spread, his sadistic nature springing to life.

Kurogiri's hands trembled, his mind scrambling for ways to convince All For One to cease from what he was possibly going to do. No. No.

Please.

Please-!

...

Oboro watched in despair as the villains closed in, massacring every civilians that they see. Worst of all, they weren't even A-listers. They were just a couple of junkies from the bottom of the villain hierarchy. Still, they were dangerous. He didn't have the necessary means to beat them.

His eyes landed on the young, green haired toddler besides him, his eyes pleading for his protection. The wailing boy needed him, and Oboro wasn't going to let him die on his watch.

He whispered tenderly into the boy's ears, "Shhhh, it's okay."

Dammit. It wasn't okay. Not at all. His head peeked out from the table; he was met with the sight of the corpses littering the ground, blood soaking the floor. The villains shattered the glass that contained the jewelleries, tossing them into their duffle bags.

His best bet was to use his quirk, 'cloud', but he thought that it wouldn't be enough. Not with his lack of experience when it comes to maintaining it.

The green haired toddler began to weep, but Oboro quickly covered the hatchling's mouth with his hand, "Shhh, don't make a noise, okay? We're going to get out of here. I promise."

Before he could think of his next move..

An explosion followed.

...

Kurogiri returned to his reality, his head throbbing with an unrelenting sensation of pain. His knees gave out, as he collapsed into the floor, trying to repel the pain away, "D- d- don't make me forget..! P- Please!"

"And the dog decided to speak his fervent wishes." All For One spat out indignantly.

Kurogiri choked on his own words as he implored even further, "I- I still want to remember..! I- I still...I still...I still want to love him! M- m- my little...my little...br...bro...!" His head felt like it was about to erupt.

All For One feigned tenderness as he spoke again, "You still want to remember."

"I do!"

"And do you know of the terms for that fact to remain?" All For One inquired once more.

Kurogiri was about to answer, but All For One beat him to it, "Do not let things like this happen again. Am I to be understood?"

Kurogiri didn't answer. His mouth quivered, hesitating.

All For One pressed into the matter again as he clenched his fists, that same, unpleasant sensation reeling his head, "Do I make myself clear, Kurogiri?"

Kurogiri straightened himself, "Yes...sir.."

The insidious aura dispersed, as All For One dismissively waved him away, "You're free to go."

Kurogiri scurried his way out of the area, frantically waddling into the direction of the warp gate. He crash landed in front of a trashcan located at the center of an alleyway. A labored breath escaped the villain's nostrils, followed by a rapid, relentless heartbeat. His pupils dilated; his hands quivered violently. The alleyway was eerily silent. There were no sign of any soul that remained there, if there were any.

It was the perfect place. The villain settled down, the dry soil staining the fabric of his clothes with dust and debris. The wind howled, breezing to the south. It felt liberating, as opposed to the gloomy, dark, and encased space of All For One's residence, short-lived as it was.

Kurogiri didn't know what city this was, but that hardly mattered. The downcast villain slumped into the wall, resting his head against the hardened walls, dreary eyes trained to the sky.

...

Yagi's eyes snapped open as the train came to a stop. Turning to the left, the man that was sitting there was now gone.

Probably had left.

He whipped his head to the window, and saw the sign 'Hosu'.

Ah.

He could use a company right now, but Aizawa and Tsukauchi was sitting multiple seat rows across.

As if on cue, a man sporting an unorthodox clothing style sat besides him. He had quite the concerning appearance. An unkempt hair that flails wildly in the air, a shredded clothing that looked like it hadn't been washed for weeks, and of course, the most notable of them all was the fact that the man had no nose to go by, or so it seemed. He also had a backpack. An oddly large one, at that.

Yagi cleared his throat, trying to initiate a conversation to clear the awkward air around them, "Um, do you mind if I ask you something? Apologies if it's abrupt."

The man tilted his head, meeting Yagi's gaze, "I don't mind."

His tender voice didn't match his appearance at all, but Yagi knew better than to judge someone based on their exterior rather than the interiors, "I don't want to sound rude, but, have you been to the clothing shops lately?"

The vagrant-looking man clicked his tongue, betraying his tender-like demeanour, "I prefer to keep my living expenses reserved rather than wasting them on facetious things like fashion."

"Yeah, but, someone's gonna think you're up to no good if you wear something like this in public. Maybe buy something decent every once in a while? It's not that expensive, really. You could go and hunt for discounts if you're really that short on budget." Yagi suggested.

The man glared at Yagi, "And what would you know about fashion? You're not looking too hot yourself either, mister baggy shirt."

Yagi frowned, "I- I mean, that's a good point, but it's not like anyone's gonna look at me twice if I wear this."

"That's true," The man leaned comfortably into the seat, "But I still can't be bothered." He drawled.

Yagi gawked at him, contemplating whether or not he should say more on the matter, but he kept his mouth shut anyway.

But then, the man continued, "Where are you headed?"

That question seemed out of place, but Yagi answered anyway, "Yokohama."

"What a coincidence. So am I."

Yagi raised his brow, "Uh, you're not spying on me, aren't you?"

The man growled, "Why would I want to spy on a random, scrawny twerp like you?"

Yagi gulped, not knowing what to say to that. Then, after a moment of silence, he asked, "Haven't asked your name."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Trying to make a friend, I guess?"

The man cleared his throat, before replying, "Akaguro. That's all."

"Ah. My name is Yagi." Yagi offered a hand as a gesture of acknowledgement. Akaguro was hesitant to return the favour, though he inevitably did it. Yagi then continued, "Nice to meet you, Akaguro."

"Likewise." Akaguro pulled his hand away.

Yagi tried to say something else, "You sure about going to Yokohama, though? I heard that all kinds of nasty things originated from there. Like that green ghost thing from the news."

"The Emerald Ghost?" Yagi could've sworn that he saw the man grinning like a beast momentarily, though he brushed it off.

Akaguro shook his head, "It's gonna take more than a mere boogeyman to scare me."

"Still, it's dangerous."

"Not for me." Akaguro said, "I've faced worse."

Now that calls for concern. Yagi thought.

"I'm assuming you're not scared yourself either, right? Since you're diving head first into that shithole." Akaguro asked.

Yagi's pupils dilated as he said, "To be honest, what the news said about him gave me the creeps..a little."

Akaguro scoffed, dismissively waving him away, "Your cowardice is just as repugnant as your appearance."

Yagi's nose scrunched, "T- That's a bit..uncalled for."

Akaguro guffawed, much to the scrawny man's dismay, "You know, you sport his looks."

"Who's?" Yagi asked.

"All Might's."

Yagi's heart rapidly increased, covering his mouth as he coughed a hefty amount of blood into his palm.

Dammit. I thought I had it all covered. Is he figuring me out? Dammit. Oh shit. Oh sh-

"But who am I kidding? All Might is a walking mountain of muscle, befitting of someone who is to be called a symbol of peace. You look like you haven't eaten for five lifetimes. Not to mention that sickness that you just showed me." Akaguro deadpanned.

Anyone would've felt insulted by that remark alone, but Yagi was more concerned about his identity rather than his pride. He breathed a sigh of relief, slumping into the seat, "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Akaguro offered him a tissue, "Wipe that blood from your palm, idiot."

Yagi complied, wiping all the blood that he just coughed out, "Thanks."

Akaguro didn't reply as he tilted his head elsewhere. After a while, the train stopped. They had just arrived in Yokohama. Yagi, who was just staring at the window the whole time, turned around to speak to Akaguro once again.

To his surprise, the man was already gone, "Huh?"

"Stop wasting time and get your ass off the seat, Yagi." Drawled Aizawa, who was already standing besides the seat row with Tsukauchi.

...

Izuku braced himself as he stepped through the portal. Judging by how it looked, Izuku knew that gate wasn't made by Kurogiri, which added even more to his suspicion. But he chalked it up, knowing better than to let his thoughts drift away from the matter at hand.

"It's been a while since we last spoke, Midoriya." All For One was the first to speak, "Quite the reputation you've made for yourself out there. I'm surprised you didn't use your given name. Was it not to your liking?"

"I..It wasn't on purpose, sir. I..I simply acted by instinct." Izuku said, ignoring the pang inside of his chest when he uttered instinct of all things.

All For One smiled derisively as he tapped the sides of his chair with his fingers, "Instinct, you say?"

Izuku nodded, "I had no choice but to defend myself, but of course, if you want to punish me-"

"No, no, no, no," All For One chuckled, "Why would I want to punish you? As I said, you're making a progress. A splendid one, at that."

Izuku internally gagged. The thought of him being gradually turned into a mindless murder machine being considered as a 'progress' was jarring, though he made no further remark. He knew better than to do that.

Then, one thing came to his mind, "I- If you don't mind me asking..why isn't Kurogiri here?"

"Oh, that. He's out of commission. You could say that he's taking a rest for the time being. For now, Tomura will be your guide, and vice versa, since you both are learning." All For One said.

Izuku froze. Could it be that he's being...

No. It couldn't be. Kurogiri had said that he was good at covering his tracks.

With every passing moment, Izuku tried to muster enough courage to ask him the question, but the boy just couldn't bring himself to.

"Don't worry too much about him. I know you two have certain connections going on, but in time, you'll see him again." All For One stopped tapping his fingers, his lips curving downwardly. There was a hint of slight venom lacing onto the villain's tone.

Izuku then began, "Why did you call me here, sir?"

All For One replied, "A little bird came by and told me that some of our hero friends are on the lookout for you. They're currently on Yokohama. I'm sure you remember those 'two strange men' that visited you the last time you were in that hospital?"

Izuku's eyes widened. Were they here looking for him? If so..

Was there any chance that he could-

Then an image of his mother flashed in his mind. The boy couldn't do that. Not to her.

"If they suspect you, our plan to enroll you in UA under false pretenses will have to take a raincheck."

Izuku's heartbeat fluctuated to unimaginable levels. What other plans did All For One have for him? What did it entail? And where was Kurogiri?!

"Or maybe we could give you a disguise." All For One suggested, much to Izuku's relief.

"But the real reason why I called you here is to send you on another expedition. However, this time, I will be the one supervising you."

That last statement strengthened his suspicions about Kurogiri's predicament.

"It seems that Stain has taken an interest in taking you in under his wing, no doubt to mold you into a weapon of his own. That man is a persistent one," All For One bemused, "He even went through the trouble of forging a counterfeit ticket in order to get to this city."

"Y- you mean... he's.."

All For One finished for the boy, "In Yokohama, correct. I assume that you both have met no longer than a few hours ago?"

Izuku was quick to deny, however, All For One stopped him from doing so with a hand gesture, "Save it, Midoriya. I already knew what happened."

Huh-?

"And before you ask, Kurogiri is fine," All For One affirmed, his gaze sharpened as he continued, "No harm will befall him. Of that, I can assure you. But like your mother, this can be a perpetual deal under certain conditions."

Izuku's breathing came to a halt as All For One was about to list the conditions.

It's my fault.

"Do not stray further from the path I've carved for you. Is that understood? Even with outside interferences," All For One clenched the sides of his seat, almost ripping the wires connected to his skin, "Remember your purpose."

Izuku could feel the coldness from the villain's words, contrast to his usual tendency to feign politeness. Though he made no rebuttal. He simply bowed his head, "It won't happen again."

And it won't.

All For One sported a malicious grin as he spoke again, "Good. I don't want to waste anymore valuable assets either. Now go, I'm sure Stain is eager to meet his 'soon-to-be successor'."

Izuku nodded, as he walked past the warp gate, only to be greeted bitterly by none other than Shigaraki, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Expeditions." Izuku huffed.

Shigaraki's eyes twitched, "Yeah, like that explains anything at all."

"Didn't think you'd need one." Izuku replied.

"You little-"

"I was told to go on an 'expedition' of some sort to Hosu," Izuku interrupted, "I figured that it was just a ploy to get me to kill. Almost worked by the way."

Shigaraki raised his brow, "Like that even matters. You murdered a couple of rascals with those blades of yours a few days prior to that."

Izuku let out a hot breeze of air from his nostrils as he was headed straight to the door. However, Shigaraki intercepted his path, "Hold your horses, brat. You haven't told me about where you're going yet."

"Am I supposed to?" Izuku replied, grimacing.

"Even looking past our grievances, you answer to me, or have you forgotten about the fact that I'm the leader of this group?"

"Sure as hell doesn't seem like it," Izuku shot back a glare, "I've seen better."

Shigaraki's finger twitched, "Oh, you got an attitude now, do you?"

Both of them stared at each other, with neither speaking to the other. Shigaraki finally relented after a few minutes, moving to the side as he spoke, "Fine. Whatever. I don't give a fuck. I hope you die to whatever's waiting for you out there."

"That wouldn't be too bad either." Izuku retorted; he opened the door before slamming it.

...

Stain hopped from one roof into another. His job back in Hosu wasn't done yet, but the prospect of meeting that prodigy boy yet again...

It filled him with a glee of excitement. The way that boy carried himself, those vicious eyes, those blades, he was the worthy successor. He was sure of it. The boy just needed a bit of adjustments.

When he landed on top of a water tank, he could see the sun setting on the horizon, it's enticing, luminescent light dissipating. This was the Ghost's cue. The villain was sure of it. The headlines had said that the Ghost would come out at night. If that observation was accurate, Stain was sure that he'd find him somewhere. He just needed to look harder.

As Stain landed on another rooftop, he noticed a silhoutte extending from behind a wall. The villain took the incentive to investigate, and when he did...

He dodged an incoming attack from behind. The blade was then pulled into the direction of the perpretator, "Ah, the Ghost. I should've known that it was you."

The Ghost remained silent.

"When you approached me back in Hosu, I didn't think much of it. I never thought that you'd be an infamous villain of all things. You didn't look the part." Stain chuckled as he drew his sword.

The Ghost did likewise, gripping the blades as flames blazed out of it's surface.

"Before we fight, tell me, what do you know of heroes?" Stain asked.

The Ghost's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Does this have something to do with what you said about them? 'False heroes'?"

"Perceptive," Stain let the blade clash against the ground as he advanced forward, "But not perceptive enough to see the bigger picture."

The Ghost then replied, "What are you getting at?"

Stain's lips rinsed the dirt around his mouth, "I don't quite like the way you were ready to defend that imbecile. Do you even know the things that he did?"

The Ghost didn't utter a word.

Stain continued, "His carelessness had caused the affliction of many. His victims are innumerable. With the quirk to bind its victim to things that they dread the most permanently, that 'hero' had caused many people, villains and innocents alike, to suffer both physically and psychologically. Of course, the higher-ups, being the deceptive individuals they are, covered his unpardonable crimes in favour of their 'image'."

The Ghost didn't seem to consider the killer's words.

Stain twirled his blades around as he readied himself into a battle stance, "Fine then. Give it time. You'll see my point soon enough."

Without further delay, the Ghost lunged forward, swinging his blades to the front. Stain knew better than to intercept the blade's path with his own. The weapon barely brushed past him as he continued to run. The flames emitted by it scorched a part of his sleeves, though he made no effort to put the fire out.

Stain drew his other blade, as he swung the both of them simulteanously, aiming to overcome the Ghost with his speed, but it wasn't enough. The Ghost was faster than he was before.

He was more calm, more collected, relying more on his tact than his emotions.

What a peculiar change of pace.

Stain used his right foot to kick the Ghost's right shin, attempting to make him lose his balance. The Ghost almost tumbled on himself, but before he could recover, Stain attempted to impale him on the right side of his torso.

However, the Ghost quickly pivoted his right leg, twisting his hip backwards as the blade barely passed his chest.

The Ghost quickly grabbed the Hero Killer by his attacking arm; he dragged him across the dry floor like a doll. Stain found himself being rammed against the concrete repeatedly.

Stain swiftly broke out of the Ghost's grip, flipping backwards to gain some distance.

Dammit. He's grown aware of my ability to render my opponents immobile by licking their blood.

Stain had to act quick and neutralise the adversary. If not, he'd-

His train of thoughts were interrupted when a pair of chained blades were headed straight towards his neck. The Hero Killer quickly ducked under their trajectory, before sprinting towards the Ghost's direction, avoiding the chained blades by flipping forward.

Stain took note of the Ghost's vibrant rage, which was growing increasingly evident on his expression. His movements became even more erratic and fast.

Stain was having a hard time trying to maneuver himself through the onslaught. The chained blades were relentless. Even the flames radiating from it were tearing some of the fabrics of his clothes.

Once Stain got close enough, he charged forward, aiming to intercept the chains from propelling the blades. However, the Hero Killer wasn't swift enough to close the distance. A blade already made it's way through his rib, slicing it open.

He tumbled into the ground, clutching to the newly fresh wound.

Shit-!

He was kicked in the chin, sending him flying into the wall.

He wasn't going to make it. The Ghost was far too powerful. The Hero Killer breathed in and out heavily as he anticipated the blissful hold of the afterlife.

The Ghost stood in front of The Hero Killer, the blades in his hands as ferocious as ever. Then, without hesitation, he plunged the blade into the Hero Killer's nape.

Then, darkness enveloped his vision.