Izuku POV
"Take this!"
I deliver a quick jab followed by a low kick. My opponent dodges, leaping over my head and landing behind me.
"You fell for it, fool! Thunder cross split attack!"
The opposing Hero delivers a blow straight to my chest. My health reaches zero. Game over. I drop my controller into my lap and groan.
"Momo, I admit it. You are the superior Hero Fighter player. When did you get so good at this game? We only started playing a week ago!"
Momo raises her teacup to her lips, blatantly trying to hide her smile.
"It appears that my superiority has led to some controversy."
She's acting far too smug. There's some kind of trick involved. But what?
"Let me guess, you bought a console and practiced against one of your classmates for a week straight?"
Her cheeks turn crimson.
"Well, not quite. A few of my classmates were playing Hero Fighters during lunch breaks, so I decided to ask if I could play with them. I studied their moves and did my best to replicate and improve on everything they were doing. I've had a lot of practice in the past week."
Of course. She's a workaholic with a fixation on learning everything imaginable. Why wouldn't she dedicate herself to perfecting every damn video game we play? I have half the mind to activate Hyper Reflexes and challenge her again. Unfortunately, doing so would immediately blow my cover. My revenge will have to wait for another day.
"Well, how about we forget about fighting games for now and play some Buildcraft. I believe I figured out how to solve the issue with our 16bit redstone computer project. The logic processor has some flawed architecture that I want to redesign."
Her eyes light up.
"Ah, you figured that out as well! I spent some time on it last night and designed a solution, although it may be inferior to what you came up with. I had no frame of reference so I had to engineer everything on the fly. The memory calls are a bit slow and the new address decoder is a bit… well, you'll see."
Wait, she actually got it working? In a single night? While her knowledge of computers is far greater than mine, I was still not expecting her to come up with a solution so quickly! It's easy to forget just how brilliant she truly is.
There's only one person I've heard of with a similar level of intellectual aptitude. The most infamous name in the Hero scene, Nezu. His plots and schemes are the stuff of legend. I can only imagine the nightmares that would be created if Momo teamed up with him.
Wait, that is an excellent idea. Well, a horrifying idea. But an idea nonetheless.
"Momo, the UA internships are coming up soon, correct? Have you already accepted an internship with a particular Hero?"
She pauses. I can see the gears in her head turning.
"I've spent hours thinking about it, but I just can't make a decision. I think I need an outside perspective on my options."
She goes over to her desk and pulls out a few sheets of paper. She crosses the room and hands them to me. The list contains many names, but she's highlighted the few who stand out.
"I was going to choose Fatgum so that he can help me with the eating part of my quirk, but I'm considering Nighteye as I hear that he is a detective. What do you think?"
Both are good options, but neither holds a candle to who I am thinking of.
"Momo, have you considered asking Nezu for an internship?"
She blinks.
"What? No, that is absolutely absurd. He would never agree to something like that. Even if he wanted to, the rules are that we have to accept an internship from the list of Heroes provided. We can only intern with one of our instructors if we get no other offers."
Somehow, I suspect that she is underestimating just how far Nezu is willing to bend the rules. He's been known to rewrite rules to suit him, why would he stop here? If he's half as smart as people say he is, he'll leap at the opportunity if she comes knocking on his door.
"I think you should ask him. You never know, he might just accept. In the worst-case scenario, he will simply deny your request. You have nothing to lose."
She bites her lip. She's hesitant to give me an answer.
"I… I'll ask my instructor if Nezu has ever accepted an intern before. If he says yes then I'll give it a shot."
I can't wait to see how the world reacts to a new Heroic mastermind. The villain scene has been boring for years, a little excitement will make things far more interesting. I lost interest in outplaying the Hero Commission's little think tank years ago.
Nezu is good, of course, but he is far too rigid in the way he thinks. He doesn't truly understand humans and can't plan around them properly. His understanding of macroeconomics and combat strategy is second to none, but everything falls apart when he is forced to dabble in politics.
Momo, on the other hand, is an heiress by blood. She lives and breathes the kind of social manipulation that Nezu wishes he could replicate. The influence of a Yaoyorozu heiress might even be the lynchpin he needs to finally fight back against the Commission.
I try my best not to smile. The world is going to be very exciting once she graduates.
"Perfect, then it is guaranteed. I can't wait to hear about your adventures."
She lets out an annoyed groan.
"No, it is very much not guaranteed! He's the principal, there's no way he's going to say yes! Also, why are you acting like you know Nezu so well anyway?"
Oh crap, I said too much. I'm cut off from the conversation by my phone ringing. It's Hitoshi, thank god.
"One second Momo, I am receiving a phone call."
I walk out into the hallway of the Yaoyorozu mansion and activate Sound Bubble for good measure. I tap accept and place the phone to my ear.
"Hello-"
"Izuku, where are you? Did you get captured? Do I need to send out Eva to save you? I don't know if the government will be very happy if I have to get her to blow up the Yaoyorozu mansion."
Does he really think that I'm at risk of being captured? In the worst-case scenario I can always activate my melee loadout and muscle my way through anything. Then again, I'm in proximity to Momo. If anyone can figure out a way to contain an All For One user, It's her.
I look down at my phone. It's 13:00, I was meant to be home over an hour ago! I must have gotten distracted while playing.
"My apologies Hitoshi, I lost track of time. Has something gone wrong?"
He snorts.
"Nah, I was just messing with you. The recruits just finished up their orientation. I think Mr Compress is trying to convince the others to play poker right now. No need to rush, I'll see you there."
I hang up the call and swiftly return to Momo's living room.
"Sorry Momo, but it has come to my attention that I must get going."
She gives me a nod.
"Will you be online later? I still want to show you my design, I'm very curious to see if your solution was similar to my own."
I pack my things into my bag and double-check to make sure I haven't left anything behind. It would be annoying if I left my water bottle behind again.
"Of course, I will be on once I'm finished up with my work. I'll send you a message."'
I wave her goodbye.
Izuku POV, twenty minutes later
I duck into an alley. Once I'm certain there's no one around, I quickly call my faithful companion.
"Kurogiri, portal to your current position."
I wait a moment for him to figure out the coordinates. I step through the swirling black portal, finding myself in one of the recreational rooms.
"Ooh, nice shot!"
The new members of my team are playing pool, alongside Hitoshi and Aki. They all seem to be having a good time.
"Hello everyone, sorry for being late. I am Azazel, although you may refer to me as Izuku."
The blonde girl, Himiko Toga, gasps. Hitoshi has to catch her hand to stop her from spilling her drink. She doesn't seem very used to holding a wineglass.
"Oh my gosh, you are SO pretty! I love the hairstyle, it's so cute and handsome! Aki totally wasn't lying, you are soooo precious!"
Dabi lets out a laugh while an unmasked Mr Compress snorts. Aki gives me a double thumbs up. I try my hardest not to blush.
"I… see. It is nice to meet you as well."
Mr Compress steps forward and shakes my hand.
"Greetings Azazel, I am Mr Compress, although you may call me Atsuhiro. I must say that your team has made for delightful company. Hitoshi has proven to be a most excellent partner in all matters of trickery."
Oh lord, now there are two of them. I can barely handle a single Hitoshi, let alone a second mischief-maker. I can only hope they keep their little pranks to themselves.
"Well met, Atsuhiro. I hope this is the beginning of many great things."
The final recruit, Dabi, raises a hand in my direction. He's handsome in a sort of… gothic way. Very much an alternative look, but one he pulls off rather well.
"Sup, name's Dabi. Nice to meet you bossman. Care to join in our little game of pool?"
Ah, why not? It will be a good team bonding activity.
"Of course, I'll join in on the next round."
I spend the next hour playing pool with my new teammates. Atsuhiro manages to win every game with little effort. At one point he manages to pickpocket Himiko's glass directly from her hand without her noticing. How that is even possible is beyond me.
Izuku POV, five hours later
I find Dabi sitting alone in the living room. Perfect, I've been meaning to ask him some questions.
"Dabi, would you mind demonstrating your quirk to me? I'm interested in seeing what you can do."
He raises an index finger and produces a tiny blue flame. It produces little illumination, but I can feel the heat from multiple metres away. He snuffs it out with a flick of the hand.
"Anything more would be too dangerous to show you indoors. I would be happy to show off if you have somewhere to do it."
I resist the urge to show my excitement on my face. Seeing new quirks is always so interesting! I pull out my cell phone and dial a familiar number.
"Kurogiri, could you open a portal to an abandoned quarry? I would like to test Dabi's quirk somewhere nice and remote."
"As you wish, Master Izuku."
A portal forms in the middle of the living room. Dabi lets out a whistle.
"Damn, sure is useful to have a guy who can warp you around everywhere."
Oh, he has no idea. Without Kurogiri our entire operation would fall apart in a month flat. Global range teleportation makes logistics a thing of the past. Unfortunately, teleportation quirks are extraordinarily rare, if not borderline unheard of. I can't recall if Father had any in his arsenal.
"Indeed, Kurogiri is a lynchpin in our operations. Feel free to ask him for help when you need it, he has a great many skills. Now, shall we?"
The two of us step through the portal. It's cold, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. We're standing in a massive marble quarry covered in moss and fauna. There's a large lake in the middle of the quarry pit. Dabi looks up and hums.
"Huh, it's still daytime. The sun is pretty high… I'm guessing we're somewhere in Europe."
He moves over and kicks at a few stones.
"White marble. Maybe we're in Greece? Italy? It's hard to tell, I can't recognise the flora."
He has remarkable deductive skills. This would be an excellent test if I had any idea where we are.
"We'll have to ask Kurogiri after. Now, feel free to demonstrate your quirk however you wish. I am interested in seeing what he can do."
He turns toward the cliff face. The white stone looms overhead.
"This is all marble, so there's a lot of magnesium and other shit in the rock. My quirk tends to vapourise everything it touches, and certain minerals like to explode when they get too hot. I'm predicting that the entire cliff face will burst if I cook it for more than a few seconds. Don't stand too close."
I move as far back as I can and subtly activate a few durability quirks just to be safe. Dabi raises a palm and points it toward the rocky surface. An intense jet of blue flame fires out at startling speeds. There's a roaring sound as the rock is melted down like an ice cube in a frying pan.
There's a sharp series of pops and cracks as the marble is superheated into a mix of gases and plasma. The air heats up as torrents of lava flow down the bank and reach into the lake below. A cloud of steam is produced as the molten rock meets the water.
Dabi deactivates his quirk.
A volume the size of a small building has been hollowed out from the cliffside. You could park a half dozen buses in there. It's a level of firepower easily on par with my Emerald Flame, perhaps more.
"Wow. I must admit, I am impressed."
He rolls his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, I'm sure. Do I live up to your expectations?"
He seems mature, and his quirk is excellent. He has a lot of potential.
"Absolutely. Now let us get back, I'm freezing and the locals will not be happy with us destroying their… whatever it is you do with an abandoned quarry."
I call in another portal and the two of us step through into the living area. Dabi stretches his arms overhead.
"Man, I'm kinda hungry. So bossman, what kinda food do you make?"
I regard the taller man curiously.
"What do you mean by 'make' exactly?"
He looks at me as if I'm crazy.
"You know, cook?"
Ah. Cooking. I blush.
"I… do not know how to cook. Kurogiri is a trained chef, he has been cooking for me since I was a child."
Dabi walks over into the kitchen and starts poking at the appliances. He opens up the fridge and does a quick inspection of what's inside.
"Damn, you've got some high-quality ingredients in here. A lot of filet mignon. Actually, how about I teach you how to make a steak?"
I hesitate for a moment but ultimately decide to see where this is going.
"I wouldn't mind learning."
He grabs two steaks from the fridge and a bag of potatoes from the pantry, alongside an assortment of spices.
"Alright, cooking a steak is the easiest thing ever. The only hard part is not overcooking it. Luckily for you, I'm something of an expert when it comes to cooking. Both people and food."
I wince.
"Please do not talk about burning humans while we are making food. It ruins my appetite."
Dabi lets out a decidedly not normal laugh.
"Ah don't worry about it. You'll get used to my sense of humour soon enough."
He spends the next five minutes teaching me how to cut potatoes into straight fries. It's a relatively simple process. After cutting the fries, he has me put them in a pot of water to blanch on the stove.
"Perfect, now we just need to wait a few minutes for it to soften. On an unrelated note, how did you even build this base? It looks like something a king would live in, must have cost a pretty penny."
Honestly, I do not know myself. Father had this base long before I was born, at least according to Kurogiri.
"My Father was a villain of… somewhat notable acclaim. This base and many of our other facilities used to belong to him. I have more or less inherited what's left of his legacy after his death."
He raises an eyebrow. He must have noticed that I avoided stating Father's true name or providing any real details.
"Hrrrm, I can sense that there's a story there. Sounds like something I should know about."
He ends his sentence with a questioning tone.
"It is a story I intend to tell you someday, but unfortunately I cannot give you all of the details just yet. Rest assured that I will tell you once you are ready."
Thankfully, he doesn't seem too offended.
"Fair enough, I have secrets of my own. I don't expect you to share everything from day one. However, I do expect you to tell me everything once I prove myself. I'm not intending to stay at the bottom of the totem pole forever."
Pragmatic and motivated. Both are good traits to have in an employee. I like him more by the minute.
"Of course, I would never hide anything from you unless I deemed it to be absolutely necessary. Trust goes both ways, I assure you that I am not hiding anything that will negatively affect you. There is simply… more history to my operations than one would see at first blush."
He eyes me with an unreadable expression. After a long moment of silence, he turns back to the stove.
"Well, let's get the oil on. The steaks won't take long to sear so we need to get the fries cooking beforehand."
He explains to me the process of deep frying and I do my best to follow along. Pouring the fries into the searing hot oil is oddly terrifying, especially when you consider that I have Tough Skin activated. The next step is preparing the meat. It's a simple process, all he has me do is apply salt and pepper to both sides of each steak.
After that Dabi sets down a cast iron skillet and turns the induction cooker to maximum temperature. After giving it a few minutes he gestures to me.
"Pour some avocado oil in there and get the meat on it. Avocado oil has the highest smoke point of any oil and it has a very mild flavour. I don't like waiting so let's just cook both at the same time."
I gingerly grab a bottle of oil and pour some out. Then, I use the tongs to place the first steak on the skillet. I flinch as it begins to hiss. I repeat the action with the second and lay them side by side.
"Perfect, now we just have to let them cook. We'll flip it over in about four minutes, then we'll take it off once it's at a nice medium rare."
There's a comfortable silence. I give a nod to Dabi.
"Do you have any other questions for me? You were asking about the base earlier."
He gestures to my hands.
"How does your quirk work exactly? Does it have something to do with sapping energy? All I know is that it disintegrates stuff."
I grab an apple from the fridge and hold it over the sink. I activate Decay at its lowest level, slowly turning the fruit into a fine grey ash.
"The exact scientific principles behind Decay's mechanics are not entirely explainable, but as far as I am aware it creates a chain reaction that weakens molecular bonds. Affected matter loses cohesion and crumbles into dust. I typically use the air to force the chain reaction to propagate up to about thirty centimetres past my fingertips."
He seems impressed. He flips the steaks over, before turning back to me.
"Seems like one hell of an offense. How good is it defensively?"
I grab another apple from the fridge and hand it to him.
"Throw it at me as fast as you can."
He rears his arm back and lobs the fruit at me at full speed. I snap a hand out and activate Decay. The apple's molecular structure is denatured, converting into a cloud of dust that slowly falls to the floor.
"Decay saps molecular movement energy from affected matter, so I can eliminate most of the kinetic energy from a projectile before it reaches me. Punches are equally useless against me. Well, unless my opponent is extremely durable, then they can endure or outright ignore the effects of my Decay. I wouldn't be able to block blows from All might."
He scratches at his chin, deep in thought.
"What about say, a fire quirk? Could your Decay do anything to the flames?"
I can't help but smile.
"Simple. I can use Decay to destroy the air, creating a boundary layer of vacuum that will stop the heat from passing through to me."
He scoffs.
"Well that would stop heat from conducting, but fire transmits plenty of its energy as electromagnetic radiation created via thermal motion. You would still get cooked if the fire is hot enough. Uh, hypothetically speaking of course."
I let out a snort at his last comment. He has an excellent grasp of thermodynamics. Unsurprising, considering his quirk. Understanding the properties of heat is integral to his success.
"Don't worry, I am not offended by any means. My quirk does not affect Aki's barriers either. I am of no delusion that I am invincible."
"But our enemies don't know that, do they? All they see is you wave your hand and then all of their attacks turn to ash."
I give him a wink.
"Exactly. Rumours of my quirk having no limits has gone a long way in forming my reputation. What they don't know won't hurt them. Or rather, will hurt them. A lot."
He lets out a hum, before leaning over and poking at the meat. He seems to approve of its status.
"Perfect, now It's time to plate these things and get ready to eat. Take the fries out and drain the oil out of them. Here, I'll show you how."
He shows me how to scoop out the fries and settle them over some paper towels so that the oil drips out. He also grabs the steaks with a pair of tongs and deposits one on each plate. Once the fries have drained he puts a big scoop on each plate. The two of us move over to the dining room table with our meals. I make sure to grab a nice red wine along the way.
"Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu."
Mhhhhhm. A perfect medium rare. Delicious. Dabi gives me a grin.
"So bossman, are you enjoying your first hand-cooked meal?"
It's not as good as Kurogiri's, but it's not bad.
"It's great, that was an enjoyable experience. I wouldn't mind learning a few more things from you."
The two of us dig into our meals. After a short silence, Dabi speaks up.
"Speaking of learning, I have a big question. I understand that we're a villain group, but what is our long-term strategy exactly? What is your goal for this organisation?"
An excellent question. I'm glad that he's curious about such things. Most villains wouldn't think past their next paycheck.
"Well, my goal is to monopolise the villain industry. I want to drive all of our major competitors out of business, ideally through lethal means. Smaller groups will either directly work for us, or pay us a levy. Anyone who stops paying their tribute will find their assets burning and their people dead. I want to ensure that no villain can operate within Japan without our explicit permission."
He seems suitably impressed by my grandiose declaration.
"So, we're going to kick out all the major villain groups. What about the Heroes? Do you want to 'drive them out of business' as well?"
Now, time to explain the basic theory behind my strategy. It's heavily inspired by what Father (mostly unintentionally) did to build his empire. When quirks first came to be, Father originally intended to rule Japan as a dictator. He ended up losing those dreams after discovering just how much effort is required to rule a nation. It's far too much work, for far too little reward.
Thankfully for him, allowing Hero society to prosper created a situation where he could rule from the shadows. By controlling the underworld he controlled the pockets of every corrupt politician in the country. He could influence others to do whatever he wanted, all without lifting a finger.
Father understood very well that destroying Hero society would do nothing more than create lawless anarchy. He preferred a gentle touch, allowing Japan to remain prosperous under his watchful eye. Before the days of All might, Father served as Japan's protector. Not out of any altruistic sense, but rather to protect his personal playground. I recall him saying "No one else is allowed to destroy my Japan." more than once.
Hero society only became a problem once One For All became too strong to be controlled. But by the point that became an issue, it was too late to do anything about it. Creating One For All will forever remain Father's greatest mistake.
"Heroes are crucial to our plans. Without Heroes, criminal services lose value. It's not typically public knowledge, but many drug cartels lobby politicians to ensure that illicit drugs remain illegal and heavily prosecuted. This allows them to drive up the black market value to extreme levels, as people will pay whatever price is presented when they have no alternative vendor. Illegal services are inherently unregulated, allowing villains to control and manipulate the market however they want."
He taps a finger against the table, deep in thought.
"But wouldn't it be best for these cartels to just get rid of the Heroes entirely? That way they can sell to everyone. Sure there would be more competition, but they could do whatever they want. Isn't the goal of all villains to destroy society?"
Ah, he's fallen into the black-and-white understanding that most people have. The Hero Commission has carefully pushed the idea that all villains want anarchy. They want to ensure that the public does not feel sympathy for criminals. The truth is far more nuanced than their totalitarian black-and-white view allows.
"It's better to have a 5% market saturation with a 10,000% markup, than a 90% market saturation with a 10% markup. It's supply and demand. Without Heroes to drive down the supply of competent villains, such individuals become a dime a dozen. Why pay a hardened professional when any ordinary idiot can do it? I'll give you a modern example."
I clear my throat. He leans in, clearly interested.
"Let's imagine a CEO that wishes to have equipment stolen from a rival company. In modern society, that is an expensive endeavour. He will have to pay a broker to hire a villain group, and both of those parties will need to be sworn to secrecy. The villains need to be skilled enough to pull off the heist, and they need to be able to fight off Heroes if required. That is a very specific set of skills."
He leans back in his chair and hums. It's an oversimplification on my part, but I hope it gets the point across.
"So, if the CEO wants to keep things secret, he has to pay everyone along the way to keep their mouths shut. He has to do everything he can to avoid anything getting traced back to him."
I smile. He's already getting it.
"Exactly! Now, let's imagine a society without Heroes. One where there is no social taboo or legal repercussions against crime and corruption. The CEO could just pay ordinary mercenaries to do the work for a fraction of the cost! Without Heroes capturing amateur villains before they can gain skill, you would see far more high-level villains throughout Japan. Everything becomes easier."
He grins. I can tell something just clicked.
"And Heroes capture villains all the time, keeping the supply of villains low. The demand doesn't change, but suppliers have to work ten times harder just to stay afloat. We're making things harder for ourselves because we know it will affect other villain groups more. Is there a word for that?"
Ah, predatory business practices. My favourite topic. Momo has taught me more about them than any textbook ever could. For a Hero, that girl has one hell of a mean streak the moment you put money on the line. Describing her as being "anti-competitive" would be like describing an atomic bomb as being bad for your health.
"In the business world we refer to it as 'regulatory capture'. As an example, the Yaoyorozu corporation is known to push for government regulation and support laws that introduce arbitrary requirements to the industry. They know that they can eat losses that their competitors can't. A race to the bottom is usually won by whoever has the most market share. In the same vein, losing a warehouse of illegal firearms means nothing to us, but to a small Yakuza group it means the end of their operations."
Dabi takes a sip of his wine glasses before replying.
"Well, what about corrupt Heroes? The ones that do the opposite of what a Hero should. The ones who take money from criminals, rob civilians, and all sorts of other fucked up shit. Do we need them as well?"
His tone darkens. He clearly holds a lot of hatred toward corrupt Heroes. Not that I blame him, I am very much of the same opinion.
"No. False Heroes are terrible for business. They do the exact opposite of what we want. They muddy the water and allow low-end villains to slip through the gaps, and they lower overall faith in the system. We want the Heroes to be an insurmountable obstacle, a symbol of morality. If the people lose faith in their Heroes, then it's all going to come crashing down."
Dabi seems pleased by my response.
"Alright, I'm happy with that. I hate hypocrites who dress up as Heroes, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to live in a society ruled by villains. We need the government to make the roads work and all that. That's what taxes are for, I think. That or lining politician pockets."
He already understands so much.
.
.
.
Author note:
Fluffy chapter, I hope you guys like it! I'm trying to write some nice one-on-one moments with our new recruits. This is Dabi's introduction and I hope it strengthens his characterisation. Tell me if you liked the fluffy parts and I'll do more for the other two recruits. I've already got some ideas.
Random note, I came up with Izuku's strategy based on stuff I've learned from my own industry. Working in an industry that is easily monopolised is a unique kind of hell. God, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Oh yeah, also I had to cut a bunch of stuff around Izuku/Momo's redstone computer once I realised that it was reaching ultra nerdy territory and literally no one would care. I'm trying to "show don't tell" my smart characters, which can be a bit hard to do convincingly. Dabi has like 600 words on his wiki describing his keen intellect but I have no idea how much he knows about physics.
I refuse to do the classic author thing of saying "Character X has a billion IQ and wins 43839434 chess games at the same time", or giving them perfect analysis to an extent that defies all logic and makes them omniscient. In a solid quarter of the villain AU's I read, Midoriya figures out that All might is losing power based on literally no information at all! Most authors write him figuring it out off screen and just make it a given! Obviously, he was canonically active for less total time during the day (but he patrolled the same time, just spending less of it in his Hero form) but I would love to see a fic where our villain protagonist assumes he's started a family or something.
Also, I've noticed that this fic has very few reviews on this particular site and it's probably because I don't post as many author notes here (since its a bit clunky) so leave a review! I love reading reviews and it gives me motivation to write more.