The blood seeped from the edge of the blades, it's thick substance tainting the ground. Izuku's gaze landed on the blade on his hand, staring at it longer than he should.

The sight of the carcass in front of him made him feel nauseous. The fact that the Hero Killer was an unhinged outlaw didn't exonerate him from the uneasiness in his chest. Stain laid there with his mouth agape, his hands limping through his crotch like an inanimate object. Izuku's hands trembles, backing away from the corpse, trying to clear the image of it away.

Izuku hadn't realised how long he had been walking backwards, hitting the water puddles as he did so. Then, without so much as a warning, his feet slipped through the ledge, which resulted in him falling several stories down from the building. As the boy's head crashed into the edge of a dumpster, he landed headfirst into the soiled floor..

'Oh no! A villain is here! Someone, help me! Hero! Where is a hero when I need them?!'

'Don't worry, mom! I AM HERE!'

Izuku choked on his breath, unable to stand up, or rather, he couldn't be bothered to. He wanted to stay here for all eternity..

'What do you know of heroes?' Stain had said.

Izuku clenched his fists, gripping the dirt below him. He was no hero. The idea of him being one was nothing more than a distant memory. A haughty dream that he had buried since long ago.

I've always been the weak link...

A drag in everyone's lives...

Why should I keep on living?

The tears blurred his vision; The teen ooked at the blades, contemplating whether or not he should drive the damned things into his own abdomen. It would've been just, the right thing to do. It wouldn't expunge the detestable crimes, but at the very least, people would be safer.

But before he could follow through, a warp gate engulfed him whole. Without even the chance to react, he was already placed in front of All For One.

The villain laughed, "My, my. I told you that I was going to do the supervising, did I?"

Izuku's voice came hoarse, "I- I wasn't trying to-"

"I understand." All For One said unexpectedly.

"You...understand?"

All For One let out a gentle breeze of air from his nostrils as he leaned forward slightly, "I don't advocate for your actions, but I understood the reasoning behind it. You've always said that you were the weak link among your relatives. Yet, I don't think that's true in the slightest."

Izuku grimaced, wiping the tears from his eyes as he did so. He didn't know what the villain was trying to say. What would he know about compassion, anyway?

"You," All For One pointed at him, affirming the boy's strength, "-are strong. You did what the other heroes have been struggling to do for the past few years. You did the unthinkable. You killed the Hero Killer. Is that not a testament to your unparalleled strength?"

Izuku exhaled, his mind grilling itself as he spoke, "Yes. That...'feat' is not something to be sneezed at. But the implication of that feat..."

"Oh, don't sully your thoughts with that. I've always said that it was a hindrance to your progress."

Izuku swallowed whatever remark he had, refraining himself from speaking against All For One's wishes.

"What are you trying to gain out of achieving that infantile dream of yours, anyway?" All For One asked, challenging the boy, "It'll do you no good. The travesty that is 'All Might' was never there to help you through your shortcomings. Neither were the other heroes. 'Hero' is just a label to give the people a makeshift sense of security, an outlet for the conceited to flaunt their finesse and oppress the ones that are beneath them. You've been there yourself, haven't you?"

Izuku tried to maintain his composure. He quickly went straight to the point, "I don't mean to impose, but you're terrible at this."

All For One's frown deepened as he said, "What?"

"Let's just get straight to the point, okay?" Izuku demanded, "I did what you didn't like. I get it. You're free to dish out whatever punishment you want at me. I can't be bothered to give a fuck."

"That's not the point of-"

"I know it's not the point," Izuku clenched his fists, "But that's hardly my concern. But droning on and on about my issues, it's irrational, even for you. Let's just get straight to the point, yeah? Is there anything else that I should do? Or should I return to my training?'

All For One stayed idle momentarily. He then leaned back against his chair, "Very well. For the past few days, I've been pulling a few strings in a faculty not far from here. I have a couple of contacts that can assist you to infiltrate UA."

"I'm assuming it's the Akuma Academy of Heroes faculty?" Izuku asked.

"Correct, you're quite keen on details, more than I give you credit for," All For One nodded, "They're going to put you in UA as a transfer student with another identity."

Izuku's muscles relaxed as he said, "That's...a good plan, but what about my appearance? The 'covert' thing is out of the window since, you know."

All For One then said, "On the contrary, nobody knows about how you look like exactly. The only things that stands out when it comes to your appearance is the chains on your wrist and the blades on your back, both of which can be accommodated easily."

Izuku sighed, "And what am I supposed to do while I'm there?"

All For One's breath intensified, before saying, "Learn and observe. You are not to engage in any sort of physical altercation while you're there."

"I know you have someone in mind," Izuku deduced, "Someone that I should look out for, and I might have a rough idea about who he is."

All For One sported a malevolent grin as he replied, "On that, you are correct. All Might has always been a thorn on my side, and you, Κράτος, you will be the piece that drives him out of the board."

Izuku winced at the name, though it didn't evoke him to deny or reject it. He had grown all too familiar with it. He conceded, "Alright, is..that all?"

"No," All For One's smile dropped as he said his next sentence, "There's one more thing."

Izuku tensed at the sheer threat in the villain's voice.

He continued, "The schemes, the deceit, you're gonna have to drop them."

Izuku's brow raised as he said, "What are you-"

"You know what I'm talking about," All For One's jaw clenched, "I know about everything that you both were planning to do behind the scenes. Put it to rest. Remember what's at stake."

Izuku's muscles began to tense. He didn't know what to say other than, "Yes, sir."

The only path to take, is through.

...

Yagi had a knack of staying up late whenever something occupied his mind. This was not an exception. The fact that the cafeteria was open 24 hours a day in this resort meant that he wouldn't go insane from being cooped up in his cramped room.

Granted, there was the television to keep him company, but he preferred the much more spacious area of the cafetaria. It gave him a sense of levity. He took a sip from the coffee, reading the newspaper in front of him.

A villain wielding two blades that emits fire...

He couldn't see Midoriya being associated with something like that. Additionally, a blade that emits fire? A support item of some kind? But, someone wouldn't have made a blade of all things as a support item. It's lethal, not an item befitting of any hero. At least, well, the legal ones. Wait, does that mean...

"I'm sure you're thinking the same thing as I do." A voice chimed in from behind.

Yagi spluttered the blood from his mouth, "T- Tsukauchi?! What are you doing here?!"

Tsukauchi shrugged, sitting across from Yagi's own seat, "Same as you. Couldn't sleep."

"O- Oh..." Yagi cleared his throat, before saying, "Y- you said that I was thinking the same thing as you do. Might want to elaborate."

"Blades that emit fire with a chain that allows for more freedom in mobility. A chaotic combination. I must say, the weapon is professionally made. Someone must've been supplying him with the materials to concoct such a weapon, or..."

Yagi then finished for him, "Someone else made it for him."

"Either of those things is a possibility. Three years ago, dozens of scientists and engineers working on I-Island were mysteriously abducted by an anonymous group of villains." Tsukauchi said.

"I was just thinking of that," Yagi rubbed his chin as he continued, "They were working on nano-particles that can interact with the quirk factor of an individual, and possibly enhance them."

Tsukauchi stared at Yagi like he had just said something astonishing, "Wait, what?"

"What?"

"Did you say that they were working on nano-particles that can interact with one's quirk?" Tsukauchi reiterated.

Yagi's breathing almost came to a halt as he realised what he had just said, "Oh...Shit, David's going to kill me.."

"Toshinori?"

"I was supposed to keep this a secret," Yagi's eyes sharpened as he continued, "Did you get reminded of something?"

"Izuku's quirk is...'Rage', right? Or at least something that has to do with the emotion.." Tsukauchi tapped his pencil against his notebook, "Rage, fire, rage, fire..."

He gripped the pen tighter as he scribbled on the notebook.

"Are you onto something, Naomasa?" Yagi asked.

"These blades might contain the 'nano-particles' that you speak of. I might be wrong, but the chances of Midoriya being the Emerald Ghost increased just now," Tsukauchi said; he finished writing in his notebook, "Which makes our visit less in vain."

"It'll be in vain if you both keep loitering around in the middle of the night." Came the dry voice of the long-haired hobo wearing pajamas standing in-between the seats.

Blood bursted out of Yagi's mouth as he recoiled in his seat, "A- A- Aizawa-san?!"

"Off with one less lung and you think you're tough enough to stay up this late," Aizawa glared with red eyes, "You're going to kill yourself one of these days."

"I- I was just-"

"He's right, Toshinori," Tsukauchi interjected, "We should get some sleep."

"L- Like you were any better!" Yagi protested.

Aizawa was about to speak, but then, something buzzed in his pockets. He gestured for them to stay silent, before pulling out his phone, answering the call.

"I suppose you have a good reason for calling me this late?" Aizawa's voice came out a bit hostile.

'My apologies, seeing as how you're still online at this time of the hour, I figured that maybe we should discuss this as soon as we can.'

That was shady. Aizawa replied, "Be conscise and don't waste my time."

'Very well.'

...

As they were done discussing, Aizawa hung up the call, his usually dry eyes turned sharp, "As it stands, I think I might need to leave sooner than I thought."

"What?" Yagi questioned, "What could be possibly more important than-"

"A student from Akuma Academy of Heroes is transferring to UA," Aizawa said, "You both can stay behind, but I'm needed there. I'll be taking my leave tomorrow."

Yagi then teased, "Not even a day and you're bailing out on us?"

"Duty calls," Aizawa drawled, "At least I don't bail out on my real job over a conspiracy theory."

Tsukauchi's voice had an edge to it when he said, "It's not a conspiracy theory. Midoriya Izuku could be the Emerald Ghost."

"Hm," Aizawa pondered for a bit, before heading back straight to his room without saying anything.

Tsukauchi groaned, "I can't ever get a read on that guy."

"Me neither." Yagi said in agreement.

"Let's just-" Tsukauchi interrupted himself when something caught his eye. The news headline.

'The Ghost strikes again? Infamous Hosu villain found dead on a rooftop!'

Tsukauchi was shocked initially by the information. He couldn't get a grip on the reason why the Hero Killer was all the way in Yokohama of all places. Wasn't his territory in Hosu?

"How did he even get here..?" Tsukauchi asked, seemingly to himself.

Yagi's blood ran cold as he read the news headline, "Naomasa, I- I think.."

Tsukauchi's eyes darted to Yagi, waiting for him to say his piece.

"I think I was with him. He was sitting right next to me, and..I think he was after the Ghost." Yagi concluded.