Izuku and his 'friends' entered an arcade. They were Akatani, Todoroki, and Iida. They walked there after the press conference about the Incident in Hosu. They saw him there and invited him. He didn't have an excuse not to go so he agreed. He figured it was a great opportunity to see why they acted so friendly all of a sudden.
The arcade had several games he didn't recognize. They seemed simplistic, with only one button on most of them. A lot of them were covered in bright lights, and Izuku found his eyes burning lightly from them.
"What are we doing here? This is very unprofessional for students of a prestigious school," said Iida. "Us being here could damage our school's reputation."
"Oh my god. Get over yourself." Akatani looked at Iida. "If U.A. cared about its reputation they wouldn't be getting us nearly killed every other week."
"It's not like we can be recognized, we're not in uniform," Todoroki chimed in. "We're normal teens right now."
"Most normal teens aren't in suits." Akatani straightened his tie. He had a dark purple suit. They were all in suits, and Izuku was in his reporter outfit. "We could have done this another day. Do you get how expensive this was? I bought it because this wouldn't be the last time I need a suit. Now I'm in so much debt with my parents."
"I already had mine. I go to a lot of formal dinners." Todoroki's suit was a deep red, with a black undershirt and tie. "Why are you in debt?"
"My family isn't rich. We could barely afford our cheap apartment. They said I could either pay for it or go naked."
"I got a suit when I applied to U.A. I anticipated needing one so I requested my parents for the funds. They provided them to me when I got my acceptance letter." Iida's suit was entirely blue, it had no wrinkles or creases.
"Thanks for that. It helps to know I'm the only one who wasn't prepared for today," Akatani said sarcastically. "Next thing you'll tell me is Midoriya got his outfit in middle school."
Izuku bought his reporter clothes in a discount clothing store. He got the cheapest pieces and they still cost nearly ten thousand yen. His first several articles went to pay for it. "I got lucky, the trenchcoat was on sale." Akatani laughed at that, he didn't get it.
They made their way to a smaller area. It had multiple items in bins, hanging on walls, and behind plastic under a counter. "What is this," asked Izuku.
"It's a prize area. This arcade is like the ones in America. The games are all about getting tickets to exchange them for things here." He took out a small card. "They're all stored on these."
"What are we here for?"
"That." Todoroki pointed at an item next to the wall. It was a statue of Endeavor, it reached Izuku's knees in height. It had a sticker that said, 'only found here,' on the box. "It costs six hundred thousand tickets. I've been trying to get it for a long time. I've spent hundreds of thousands of yen trying to get it. We only need fifty thousand more."
"Why did you bring me here?" Izuku wanted to go home.
"Yeah," said Iida. "We need to study for the upcoming final exams."
"Those aren't for weeks. We can hold off for a few days." Akatani walked beside Todoroki. "He brought me here after we were released from the hospital. He told me all about why he wanted the statue. I thought it was funny so I agreed to help. I started holding onto the card because he didn't want to be seen with it."
"But why wouldn't he? Everybody goes to arcades."
"He doesn't want people to know he goes here. Look, it doesn't matter," said Akatani. "We just need to play a few games and we'll have the best Endeavor statue ever. Do we need an explanation of everything?"
"Yes." Izuku needed to know why Todoroki of all people was trying to get a statue of his dad.
"You'll get one eventually. How's that?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't see any reason to participate." Iida pushed up his glasses and left.
"How about you?"
Izuku thought about it, he didn't feel like going home. "Alright, I'll help."
They played a few games after that. They tried going for the ones with the biggest jackpot. Akatani focused on the carnival games, Izuku did the precision games, and Todoroki did the strength games. They avoided games based on luck, they were rigged anyway. When they were done, they got every jackpot they were aiming for.
They were sitting at a table. Izuku was scrolling through articles on his phone, there were some mentions of the girl, but they were few and far between, and they didn't get much interest. "How many tickets do we have?" He tapped on an article from his news site, it was about the girl's family. He skimmed it. There was no new information in it, the Endeavor article is coming out soon. It was great timing for when he kills the girl, it should be ignored because of the Endeavor scandals.
"590,762. We need one more jackpot," Todoroki responded. Izuku put his phone away. He almost forgot where he was.
"But none of the games have any more jackpots." Akatani made sure of that, he looked at every machine twice. "Unless we do the spinner or wheel games."
"No, we only have enough points for a few more games. We can't rely on luck."
"Why don't we buy more points," asked Akatani.
"I have no money." Izuku was left without any after he had to pay for his ticket to the Sports Festival. He's only written one article since then and it hasn't been published yet.
"Me too," said Todoroki. "I used all of my allowance on points."
"Then what are we gonna do?"
"I have one last idea." Todoroki took out multiple cards and put them on the table. Izuku picked them up.
Gang Orca, Hawks, Ryuko, and Gang Orca. "These are the top heroes in Japan." He recognized them immediately. He saw Fat Gum. "Where's All Might?" Last he checked, Fat Gum wasn't anywhere near the top ten.
"Turn them over."
Izuku did and was met with the foot of All Might. He turned over another card and got the other foot. Two more showed the rest of his legs. This continued until his entire body was finished. The last card they had made half of his head. They were missing the Endeavor card. "What's this?"
"This is the final prize of the Top Ten Hero Coin Pusher. If you assemble All Might the payout is ten thousand tickets."
"Then why didn't we start with that?" Izuku hadn't heard of it, it must've been obscure.
Todoroki stood. "Come on, I'll show it to you." He walked away. Izuku and Akatani followed. He brought them to the game area, then around a set of machines to a place with more people. The other areas of the arcade had one or two people, but this one had upwards of fifty people all crowded around one machine. It was bright yellow, with an image of All Might on it. "This is the only machine of this game in the world. I don't know why, but this arcade is the only one with it. The line is so long all the time, I barely got the cards I do have."
"Any ideas other than getting in line and hoping for the best?" Izuku didn't know why, but he wanted to help beat the game.
"No, but it's better than the other games." They walked over and got in line. A half-hour passed before they could scan their card.
The machine was unlike anything Izuku had ever seen. There was a pachinko board over a platform that pushed marbles over the edge. The platform had two layers, with the top layer being the one that pushed the marbles. Each scan of the card allowed twenty balls to be launched into the board. The platform had no Endeavor cards. The only way to get it is for a marble to get collected in a small section of a board and win a spinner mini-game. The button has to be pressed again and it must land on Endeavor. It's the smallest part of the spinner and hasn't been landed on once the entire time Izuku's group was there.
Izuku played because the spinner needed precision. He pushed the button twenty times and waited. The marbles fell, a few lights flashed, and one got to the spot with the spinner. It was a screen that made up the area behind the pachinko board. It spun around and around, Izuku kept a close eye and pushed the button. It stopped on Best Jeanist, less than an inch from Endeavor.
The crowd around them groaned. Akatani said, "Come on, you have four more balls, you can do it." A common award of the collectors is an extra ball, he got lucky this time around. He pushed the button four more times.
He got the spinner again, this time Izuku planned. He was sure he got the timing perfect, this means it's either rigged or there's a delay. So this time, he stopped the spinner right before he thought it should stop. It was on Endeavor, the card came out and the crowd cheered. He backed up and someone else went in to play. They could only scan one time before letting someone else take over.
"That was great, Midoriya." Akatani high-fived him, and Izuku took it without a second thought. "Now we just need to hope we get it next time."
Wait a minute, Izuku high-fived Akatani? He touched him in a friendly manner. Were they becoming friends? He hadn't realized it until that moment. He was getting too close to him, he had to get away. But he still wanted to beat the game, he needed to know why Todoroki wanted the statue. He couldn't ask directly because any normal kid would want a statue of their dad. Would they? It's not like Izuku knew because his dad left him. But still, he couldn't let it slip that he knew more than he let on.
Only ten minutes passed before it was Izuku's turn next. The Endeavor card was on the verge of falling and the guy playing was extremely invested. His face was touching the glass of the machine and he was putting in balls one at a time, tracking them the entire time they went through the pachinko machine and dropped onto the platform below.
His last ball came and fell right to the platform. This caused three marbles to fall off the top platform, pushing the card further out. A marble fell from under the card, mostly over the edge. It didn't fall over. The guy pressed himself harder into the machine. "What? What the hell!" He swung at it, but his arm was caught by the security guard, who was the same size as the machine.
"No bumping the games." The worker dragged the angry man out.
"I should've won! It's not fair! It's not fair!" Izuku rolled his eyes at that, it was never fair.
He got to the game, swiped his card, and put out all his marbles at once. He got the card easily. The cheers drowned out all the sounds of the arcade. They congratulated his group as they left.
They got the statue and left, it was so big that Todoroki and Akatani had to hold the box together. They walked down the street, making their way to Akatani's apartment to drop it off. "Why aren't we taking this to Todoroki's house? He's the one who spent all his cash trying to get it." Izuku had more questions than answers now.
"All will be revealed." Akatani was still being vague. "But trust me. It'll be a riot." The guy was smiling the entire walk. Izuku didn't hate seeing that. What was going on?
"Why can't we do it right now?"
"Well, that's because." Akatani turned to Todoroki. "Why do we have to wait?"
"I never said we should. I wanted to do it immediately," Todoroki said blankly.
"Do what?" The guys holding the statue turned around. They didn't answer. "Can I get a single answer?"
Izuku, Akatani, and Todoroki made their way out to the countryside. It took nearly an hour by train, the sun was almost setting when they made it to a field without grass. It was large, with nothing to see on the horizon. He didn't know why they were there, he merely followed as they walked the long distance.
They set the box down and took out the statue. They put it in the field. It was Endeavor with his arms crossed. It had an effigy of fire making up a beard and on his back. It was impeccably made. It was better than all of the All Might merch Izuku had.
"What are we doing," asked Izuku. "I need to get home soon. I have things to do tomorrow." It's been a few days since he woke up, and the TV guy's plan should start soon. Going to prison would be inconvenient. He couldn't let a loose end like the girl get off scot-free.
"Tell me about it." Akatani made a small hole in the ground and pulled out a shovel. "I thought I would be training today, but nope. I'm playing games in an arcade. Can't say I hate it, though." He started using the shovel to dig further. Soon, he pulled out a duffel bag. He took a camera out and started setting it up. Todoroki went into the bag and took out a gas canister.
"Why did you bury those things here?"
"I put the bag here a few weeks ago," said Todoroki. He poured the gas onto the statue. "I guess I'm a little paranoid. I don't want anybody to trace what I'm doing back to me. It's not exactly legal. My dad would also be pissed."
"When isn't he?" Akatani finished the camera setup. "Are we doing this or what?"
"Let's do it." Todoroki lit his thumb on fire and put the flame on the statue. It lit up in a second, like the wick of a candle. He backed up from the heat and turned on the camera.
The statue burned, but nothing else happened to it. Scorch marks didn't show and its form didn't change. The statue was completely fine.
"Is something supposed to happen," asked Izuku.
"Damnit, the statue is fireproof." Todoroki showed emotion for the first time that day. It was an annoyed grimace. "I should've expected this. Of course, they'll make it that way."
"I guess that was a bust. Can I go home now?"
"He always does this. It doesn't matter what I do, he's never affected. He just stands there in that stupid pose!" Todoroki paced for a minute. Smoke came off his left side and his left foot was freezing the ground.
"Hey, man," said Akatani. "You need to calm down. Your quirk is going out of control." Izuku just watched, he was interested in what could happen.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Todoroki sent a wave of fire at the statue. It sent Akatani and Izuku onto their backs. It was so hot it was like he was next to the sun. The fire stopped, and they stood up.
The statue was gone, all that remained were feet and ankles, they were on fire. A scorched path was behind it where the blast of fire laid waste. It was insane. This guy refused to use his fire? He was so strong!
"Oh, shit." Akatani went and turned off the camera. "This is bad. The video has your voice. It also shows you using your quirk. We can't use it."
"What the hell was that?" Izuku was beyond shocked. This was the power of the other side of Todoroki.
Todoroki's left sleeve was burned away, he was breathing heavily. "I don't know. I've hated my dad for a long time. I thought burning him with his power could help. I got the most realistic statue of him I could find and." Todoroki gestured to the mess he made. "It got out of hand. I shouldn't have done this. I'm sorry for getting you all involved."
"Hey, don't apologize for having feelings." Akatani walked up to Todoroki. "And you're our friend, you didn't bother us in the slightest. You should look at the bright side of this." He walked to the burning feet and tapped them. He reeled away, clutching his hand. "You finally used your fire. This is amazing."
"No, it's not. I lost control, someone could've gotten hurt." Todoroki looked at the burning remains of the statue. "And it still didn't work. I feel nothing, I need some time to think." He walked away. "Do what you want with the video. I don't care anymore."
Izuku walked to the burned ground, he couldn't see where it ended. This could be bad if the land was privately owned. He didn't know how many laws they broke with that one move. He had to plan carefully.
"Hey, Midoriya," Akatani called out. He put all the supplies in the bag and put it on his shoulder.
"Yeah?" Izuku walked to him.
Akatani looked up, he seemed conflicted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I need you to answer honestly. Are you the Quirkless Killer?"
"What are you talking about?" Was he joking, he had to be.
"I wasn't meant to tell anybody, but I fought Stain with the Quirkless Killer."
"You fought Stain!" Izuku feigned surprise. He had to because Snipe took the credit for killing Stain. Everybody just seemed to ignore how Snipe was nowhere near the Hosu Incident. They also covered up Izuku's presence at Hosu. He could only assume it was to avoid people sympathizing with him. 'Oh, he helped the future heroes. Guess he isn't so bad.' Things like that.
"Yeah, and the Quirkless Killer fought with us. He had a fighting style just like yours." Akatani slouched and clutched his fists. "I need you to tell me I was wrong."
"I am not the Quirkless Killer."
Akatani let out a massive breath. He relaxed, putting on a soft smile. "Thank you. You don't want to know how happy I am to hear it."
Izuku had to ask another question. Any other person would. "Why would you team up with a villain?"
"He wanted to kill Stain. Stain wanted to kill Iida. Our goals were the same. I would've gotten him arrested if he didn't get away." Akatani's mood didn't shift, he was still as jovial as ever.
"I don't want to ruin the mood. But why did you choose now to ask me that question?" They were in the middle of nowhere. The worst possible place to be with a killer.
"I just figured it didn't matter since you could kill me anywhere. I'm usually alone." Izuku didn't know that. He wasn't stalking the guy. Maybe he should've done more research on him.
Izuku looked around. He had no idea what to talk about. He lightly kicked the ground. He glanced at the destroyed statue. "What are you gonna do with the video?"
"I don't know. I'll hold onto it but I don't think I could upload it." Izuku figured it was because of the law. Slander was illegal in Japan no matter how justified it was.
"It's late. I have to get home."
"Cool, see you soon." They walked back to the train together. "This is a little awkward."
Izuku was walking through his neighborhood alone. The path he used was narrow, and the buildings were tall. He should be home soon.
He was stressed, and Akatani suspected him. Sure, he said he didn't anymore but that feeling definitely stayed. It was only a matter of time before it led to him going to the police. That suspicion alone could be enough to question or even arrest him. His life was in danger and it was all because of Akatani. If only he could kill him.
That was why he was stressed! He couldn't do the one thing he wanted to do for weeks. Yeah, that was it. No, it's not. Who was that? You're lying, you could kill him at any time. You just don't want to. "Who are you," Izuku asked the air around him. He didn't hear it again.
Was it true that Izuku didn't want to kill Akatani? He realized it just then, Akatani was his only friend. Other than Kaachan, of course. The only one he related to in all the people he's hung out with. Kirishima, Mineta, and Jiro were as much friends to him as Kanako Suzume. Training with Akatani was the only time he felt alive without taking another man's life, it was the only time he felt like a person.
He needed to rethink his priorities. He just had to go home and relax for two seconds. He turned a corner just a short while away from his apartment.
Someone bumped into him, stabbing him in the gut. "Stainy was mine." It was a girl. She stabbed him again, and again. He lost count as he fell to the floor, he could taste so much of his blood. "Good luck on your mission. Izu-kun." Izuku got a glimpse of her as she left. She had a school uniform and blonde hair.
Izuku fished into his pocket, he got his phone out. He needed to stop the upload of the article. It could destroy his relationship with Akatani.
The first thing he saw was a text from his editor, 'Your article is going up tomorrow." He tried the thumbprint, but it didn't work. He tried the password on his phone. He put in '2', and it left a blood print. The password was All Might's birth year. He tried to put a '3' but it didn't work. He tried again and again but it only covered his screen in blood.
He yelled out as he threw his phone away. He rolled onto his stomach. He pulled himself across the floor. He didn't know where he was going. He needed to feel like he had a chance.
Why was this happening to him? He had so many other plans. Nobody would notice him if he disappeared. He wanted to be remembered. He stopped a few feet from where he started. He couldn't move his arms anymore. Izuku's vision faded. It was so cold.
