Midoriya's footsteps echoed in the dimly lit room, on each side of him were vats filled with Nomu's. He stopped to look at them for a moment, these looked different from almost bird like monstrosities he had seen before. They had a sleekness to them, while they weren't as bulky, that didn't mean they seemed less deadly.

"I see my new creations have caught your eye, I like to call these High-End."

The Doctor walked out from the shadows and stood next to Midoriya. He placed his hand on the glass as he inspected the Nomu.

"Like the other Nomus they possess multiple quirks and will listen to the commands we give them; however, unlike the others these are capable of learning. I've done a few short tests and some have even been able to form basic sentences! God, I love science so much and the mysteries that it solves and creates."

Midoriya gave a quick glance at the Doctor before looking back to the Nomu. "Yeah, I'm guessing there must be a big drawback if I'm just now hearing about these."

The Doctor nodded. "Indeed, they take much longer to produce and their success rate is a mere 45%. The Nomu that fought against All Might takes half the time to produce and has a 65% success rate. If I had it my way I'd focus all my time on the High-Ends, but Shigaraki wanted quantity over quality."

Midoriya sighed as turned away from the vat. "All of this is interesting, but could we get to the matter at hand? Why did you call me here?"

"Patience Phoenix, patience. We'll get to that shortly."

The Doctor turned and started to walk further down the hall towards a single light in the distance.

"Japan has just turned the page of its story and realized that their favorite chapter has come to an end. All Might's time has come to an end and all that is left is his legacy. Now the country is waiting to see what happens in its next chapter. Will the heroes continue to thrive? Will those that live in the shadows take advantage of the uncertainty and cause fear and panic to spread?"

The Doctor smiled as the two of them approached the inner chamber. In the center of the room was a giant computer and the walls surrounding them were filled with test tubes and vials.

"Or will a known villain take control and reshape the path this world is taking?"

Midoriya shrugged as the Doctor took a seat in his chair. "Who knows? Maybe the next generation of heroes rises to the occasion inspired by All Might."

The Doctor laughed as he turned to face Midoriya. "Exactly Phoenix, so many questions need to be answered and all we can do is wait and see how things play out. Now I'm not a betting man, but if I was I'd say Shigaraki is going to rise to the occasion. All he'll have to do is prove himself worthy of my help."

Midoriya's eye twitched as he began to grow impatient. "Is that why you brought me here? Did you need me to pass along this message?"

The doctor shook his head. "No no no, that boy still has quite a bit of growing to do before he's ready for that. I brought you here for a different reason Phoenix. Do you remember the conversation you and All for One had before the fight. The one where you agreed to wait three days before he told you the information you needed?"

Midoriya's eyes rose as he looked at the Doctor with curiosity and hope. The Doctor noticed this and smiled as his fingers interlocked.

"Of course you do Phoenix. I'm certain that conversation has been eating away at you for quite awhile now, hasn't it?"

Midoriya took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Yeah, having something within reach, just to have it taken away would torment anyone."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Good, it should eat away at you. You deserve to have it eat away at you after everything you did."

Midoriya raised an eye in confusion and anger. "What are you talking about?! I did everything you guys asked for! I held up my end and was rewarded with nothing!"

"You're right, you did everything. Everything except notice a tracker on the Nomu after going to the training camp."

Midoriya withdrew as he feigned ignorance. "A tracker?"

The Doctor slammed his hand on his chair. "Yes, a tracker! How else do you think they found us so quickly? I noticed it that night after you left when I was checking the Nomu. I warned All for One, but he laughed. He accepted the rematch between him and All Might."

Midoriya's eyes narrowed in rage. "If he knew they were coming, why did he wait to tell me?

The Doctor sighed as placed his head on his hand. "The man is stubborn. You two made a deal and he will always hold up his end. Thankfully he plans ahead for every situation and decided to tell me the name of the person who killed your parents in case the worst were to happen."

Midoriya's eyes widened. The small embers of hope he had caught fire and sparked an inferno inside of him. He didn't have to give up, he could finish everything. His vengeance was within reach again.

"Why didn't you say so sooner, Doctor! Tell me who it was!"

The Doctor laughed at Midoriya's excitement. "No."

Midoriya's joy was replaced by anger as the flames of his mask raged. "Why not?! We had a deal!"

"No, you and All for One had a deal. I was merely a third party that happened to be involved from time to time out of necessity."

Midoriya took a step closer to the Doctor causing him to recoil in fear.

"Now wait a moment Phoenix, I know you're thinking about killing me right now, but that wouldn't solve anything. I'm the only other person that knows who killed your parents. Without me you won't be able to know, unless you think you can sneak in and out of Tartarus unnoticed."

Midoriya's flames began to calm down as he stopped his approach. The Doctor let out a sigh of relief seeing this.

"Now while I have no issue telling you who it is, I need you to do one thing first."

Midoriya grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms. "What is it?"

The Doctor turned away from Midoriya as he started up the computer. "While I didn't like the idea of it at first, recent developments have made it almost a necessity. I want you to help Shigaraki and the Shie Hassaikai to form a partnership."

Midoriya raised an eye. "Is that it?"

The Doctor scoffed at him. "You should be happy, that's all I asked after you accused me of being some kind of pervert. Luckily for you I'm an adult and can overlook the outlandish remarks of children. That's why I decided to wait a week before telling you about this."

Midoriya rolled his eyes. "How generous of you."

"You're welcome."

Midoriya sighed as he watched the Doctor type away at his computer. "So what happens if they can't come to an agreement? I can lead a horse to water, but I can't force it to drink."

The Doctor shrugged. "You're smart Phoenix, I'm sure you can figure it out. You are your fathers soon after all."

Midoriya looked around the room again. He recognized all the test tubes and vials. They all looked like the ones that housed the quirks that he was given.

"You may have to give up some of your research. You know Shigaraki would happily give it away to get what he wants."

The Doctor stopped typing as he sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, I don't think I have much of an option. That being said I would like to sit in on the discussions to make sure it's a fair trade."

"I'll talk with both Shigaraki and Kai about it and see what I can do. Now if that's everything can I get sent back?"

"Of course, Johnny, come here."

A small round Nomu, no bigger than the size of a soccer ball waddled out to Doctor before jumping into his lap.

"Good boy, please send Phoenix back to his place."

The Nomu made a strange sound before a gray goop began to engulf Midoriya. After a few moments he disappeared entirely leaving the Doctor and Johnny alone. The Doctor then laughed to himself as he rubbed Johnny's head.

"It truly is such a small world. What are the chances that a previous failed predecessor and the original user of Shigaraki's Decay are the person he's been looking for. You know I'm starting to think that All for One has a soft spot for orphans."

Midoriya took a deep breath as he stood in front of an abandoned factory. The cool night air caused the embers of his flames to dance as they fell to the Earth. He slowly opened up the door and was promptly met with a blade being pressed up against his neck. The welder of said blade was Toga, her feline eyes pierced his before quickly softening as she withdrew her blade.

"Oh it's you Phoenix! You should have told us you were coming, if you had I wouldn't have nearly killed you."

Midoriya shrugged as he walked past her. "You didn't kill me so it's fine. Where's Shigaraki at? I need to talk with him."

Toga twirled her knife between her fingers as she hummed to herself. "He's in the back room with Kurogiri. He looks really annoyed so I'd watch yourself if I was you."

Midoriya raised his hand thanking her as he walked deeper into the warehouse. Ever since All for One was taken out the League had been hiding out here trying to keep a low profile. Even though a few days had passed, the air still tasted stale.

In the back room Midoriya found Shigaraki impatiently tapping his hand on the table as he tried to wrack his brain for the next move the League would take. His eyes quickly darted to Midoriya as he took a seat across from him.

"What can I do for you Phoenix?"

Midoriya made his way through the labyrinth that was the underground of the Shie Hassaikai. Every turn brought him closer to his destination. Behind one of the doors was Kai sitting on a couch with Kurono standing behind him. His eyes narrowed on Midoriya as we took a seat across from him.

"You're late, Phoenix. You said we needed to talk about something?"

Midorya nodded as he extinguished his flames and took his mask off. "Yeah, you need to form a partnership with the League of Villains."

With Shigaraki

"You're crazy. Why would we scoot so low that we'd pair up with outdated gangsters?"

Midoriya smirked under his mask. "It's simple, you just lost your biggest source of information and honestly the piece that kept you safe. Right now you need all the allies you can get."

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that includes you as well, but I can't say you're wrong. What would we gain from this potential partnership?"

With Kai

"Plausible deniability. We can use the league as a cover to keep the heroes off of our trail for as long as possible. The world already knows they bioengineered creatures with multiple quirks. Them creating a drug that destroys a person's quirk wouldn't be totally out of the question."

Kai nodded as he interlocked his fingers. "Interesting, I like that, then we could come out with the cure and be painted as heroes out saving the actual heroes. But still I'll need more than just that since we'll be financially backing them for a while."

With Shigaraki

"He can have the Doctors research, I couldn't care less about that, but why should I lend him two of my people?"

"It's a sign of good faith and it won't be permanent. The Hassaikai has the most to lose with this partnership; besides, wouldn't having Toga and Twice out of the way while you get everything back to normal be helpful?"

Shigaraki looked over to Kurogiri who only nodded. "Fine, but I'll need more money since I'm renting them out."

With Kai

"Out of the question, why would I pay that much for two people that I didn't want in the first place? If it was Kurogri I could justify it."

Midoriya shook his head. "You're not seeing the big picture. Sure they're unpredictable, but you're not thinking about what comes with them… their quirks."

Kai raised an eye before leaving forward as he had been filled with curiosity. "Go on."

"Toga drinks blood and can turn into whoever's blood she drank. Twice on the other hand makes copies of people or himself."

Kai's eyes widened. "Oh that's very interesting. But what will you be doing during all of this Phoenix?"

With Shigaraki

"I'll be the go between, until mutual trust has been established. I have pull on both sides so it makes sense that I keep doing what I already do."

Shigaraki nodded. "Fine, but I expect you to let me know if that guy tries to pull a fast one on us. The last thing we need right now is to be stabbed in the back."

With Kai

"Of course. You know I'd never let anything bad happen, I am one of the eight bullets."

Kai nodded with approval. "It's good to see you finally accepting your role. I hope that means you've given up on that ridiculous dream of yours."

"Not entirely, but it's been put on the back burner since All for One got locked up."

"I see, speaking of leaders, I take it that they will be working directly under us and will be taking orders from me."

With Shigaraki

"No, it will be a mutually beneficial partnership. You'll support each other, while staying autonomous for the most part."

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes on Midoriya. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

With Kai

"So you're saying I may have to send some of my pieces out as well?"

Midoriya nodded. "It's not as bad as you think you could just send some recruits and tell them it's initiation or something like that. If they come back they may be useful, if not it's no loss. Plus it keeps us from having to clean up another stain off the walls."

Kurono nodded in agreement. "He's right, Overhaul, something like that could streamline the process."

Kai sighed as he raised his hand in defeat. "Fine, I can accept that. So when do I meet this Shigaraki? It sounds like we'll have to work out the finer details about what's to be expected."

With Shigaraki

"In three weeks. We'll have Giren set up an undisclosed spot until the day of the meeting. Having it be at a neutral location keeps both sides from trying to take advantage through intimidation."

Shigaraki sighed as he leaned into his seat. "Fine, the place better be big enough for all of us to fit comfortably."

"Only seven people will be there."

With Kai

"Out of the question, I'm bringing the Eight Bullets."

"No you're not. You're going there to negotiate a partnership, not play who's got the bigger one. It's going to be the three of us, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, the Doctor, and Giren. The less voices trying to control the conversation the better. Realistically Kurogiri and I are there to keep everyone civil and dissuade any potential outbreaks."

Kurono leaned over and spoke to Kai in a hushed tone. "It will be fine, the three of us will be able to handle ourselves in any situation. If anything it might be overkill."

Kai sighed as he accepted the terms. "So tell me, how should I deal with this Shigaraki? Is there anything I should avoid saying or doing?"

With Shigaraki

"He's a germaphobe, so make sure you're not wearing old and dusty clothes; besides that just don't be rude. I'm not saying suck up to him, just don't try and belittle him. It would also be a good idea to have put some thought into your next steps. If he's going to back you financially, he needs to know that you're worth the investment."

Shigaraki's hand twitched as he heard how he should act. "Seriously! This guy sounds like he's going to annoy me. Maybe I should turn him to dust so you can take over."

Kurogiri's purple mist wrapped around him as he spoke in a calm voice. "Calm yourself, there's no need to be hasty. This is a valuable opportunity, letting your pride get in the way would be a terrible mistake."

Shigaraki began to scratch at his neck. "Fine, I'll do what I can. Is there anything else I should know?"

With Kai

Midoriya leaned forward with a determined look. "Yeah he has a short fuse and isn't always the brightest, but don't underestimate him."

Kai gave him a confused look. "He's not the brightest, but I shouldn't underestimate him. When you put it like that he sounds easy to manipulate."

Midoriya shook his head. "At one point definitely, but he's been adapting and learning quickly. Just a few months ago his plans were impulsive and child-like, but now he's starting to think long term and about the consequences of messing up."

Kai tapped his fingers together as he reflected on everything. "Interesting, well I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he handles his new spotlight. Who knows, maybe this partnership will end with me acquiring a few new toys as well."

Midoriya shrugged. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Just please refrain from antagonizing each other. I really don't want to have to worry about getting someone to clean the floors and walls."

Kai laughed softly as he stood up and made his way to the door. "You have nothing to worry about Phoenix."

"I can't believe you got permission to come on campus to help me move in."

"I can't believe that the application was actually a hundred pages."

Kendo and Midoriya were walking through some of the courtyards of UA while making their way towards the dorms. Kendo had a suitcase and duffle bag, while Midoriya carried an oversized box filled with random things from Kendo's room.

Kendo laughed as she readjusted her strap. "You should be surprised that it wasn't more pages. The Principal is known for being more than a little eccentric."

Midoriya scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "You're telling me, you didn't have to sit in an interview with him, Eraserhead, and Midnight."

Kendo smiled as she looked over at him. "Hey, it could have been worse, at least you got a familiar face."

Midoriya let out a deep sigh. "I don't know if that's worse or better. She would make side comments that were distracting, but everyone else pretended if she had said nothing."

"Get over it Izuku, you did well enough to make it here, so let's count it as a win."

"Holy shit, I didn't expect to see you here Lover Boy!"

Both Midoriya and Kendo stopped to see Tokage running up to them with her usual sharktooth grin.

"I didn't think guests were allowed on campus?"

"There not, Izuku did the application process and was granted permission for today."

Tokage's eyes widened as she stared at Midoriya. "Well hot damn Lover Boy that's some dedication."

"I appreciate the compliment." Midoriya looked Tokage up and down realizing she didn't have any bags with her. "Hey, did you not bring anything with you?"

Tokage looked at him confused. "Everything was already shipped here a few days ago. I doubt many people brought more stuff today."

Midoriya looked over at Kendo who was whistling to herself. "I see, I think someone conveniently forgot to mention that to me."

Tokage looked at Kendo before turning back to Midoriya with a smirk. "I think Itsuka owes you a special thank you, if you know what I mean."

Kendo's face turned red as she readied her hand for her trademark chop. "Shut up Setsuna."

Tokage laughed at her reaction before getting closer to Midoriya. "Well if she doesn't want to thank you, I'd be more than happy to."

Midoriya raised an eye before turning away from her. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't feel like dying today."

Tokage leaned in closer to him. "Aww is someone shy."

Tokage immediately dropped to the ground limp after Kendo delivered a chop to her neck. "Down girl."

Midoriya looked at Tokage on the ground. "Should we really just leave her there?"

"No, I got her." Kendo proceeded to enlarge her hand before picking up her friend. "I really hoped today didn't start out this way."

"Honestly I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."

This time Kendo let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, you're right."

When they eventually reached their dorms the two were shocked to see just how big the building was. A six story building stood in front of them with the letters 1-B on the front.

"Did they seriously build these for every class at UA?"

"How much money does this school have?"

"Will we change dorms every year?"

Both Kendo and Midoriya looked to see Tokage staring at the building with her jaw dropped to the floor… literally.

"Setsuna, when did you wake up?"

Tokage's jaw floated back up and reattached to her. "Right after you picked me up, but this was comfy and warm."

"Seriously, I carried you all the way here."

Tokage smirked as Kendo set her down. "Just think of it as extra training. Now let's see what this baby looks like on the inside."

The three of them walked inside to find a giant common area. Couches, Tv, tables, and a full kitchen filled the entire first floor. There were already a few students hanging out in the common area talking about their summers and everything that had happened recently. After greeting each other Kendo, Midoriya, and Setsuna made their way upstairs to the rooms.

Floors three to six were the students' rooms and they were separated with guys on the west wing and girls in the east. Much to Kendo's annoyance and Tokage's joy, the two of them happened to be neighbors. Kendo could already picture the sleepless nights of Tokage annoying her.

They quickly set up their rooms since most of their things had already been shipped a few days earlier. All that was left was to organize and personalize their rooms. When they were happy enough they went downstairs to see the common area had filled up with the rest of her class and even her homeroom teacher. After a few minutes, he quieted down the students.

"Alright, it looks like everyone's here now. First off I'd like to welcome you all back here for your second semester at UA. I'd like to say it only gets easier, but that's not the truth."

The class began to mumble to each other about everything that had happened recently.

"That's enough. I know a lot has happened recently, but I promise that we are heading in the right direction, and we won't let anything like that happen to you student's again."

A slight sense of relief began to wash over the room before Vlad King cleared his throat. "That being said, Mr. Midoriya, I know you were granted permission to be here today, but would please step out for a moment. There's something I need to discuss with my class in private."

Midoriya nodded as he made his way outside. He could still hear the faint mumbling inside, but he couldn't make out what was being said. Having decided to give up on listening into their talk, he instead let a flame dance in the palm of his hand. This simple task always passed the time and brought a sense of comfort to him.

"That's quite a lovely flame, but I'm going to have to ask you to put it away. You may have been granted access, but that didn't include quirk usage."

The flame in his hand dispersed as he closed his fist. "Why am I not surprised to see you Ms. Midnight."

She raised an eye as she rested her hands on her waist. "What exactly are you inferring Mr. Midoriya?"

Midoriya laughed to himself as he shook his head. "Nothing at all. I just find it funny that we keep running into each other."

She smirked at his comment. "Think what you want, but I'm not here for you this time. I'm actually here to retrieve my colleague."

"Oh, he's talking with his class, he asked me to step out. I guess it must be something important."

Midnight nodded. "Yes, but I'm sure you'll hear about it right after he's gone."

Midoriya nodded in agreement before locking eyes with Midnight. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

Midnight smiled as she sat down next to him on the steps leading towards the dorm. "Of course, I did say I'd help you if you ever needed it."

Midoriya laughed to himself. "It's actually about that. Why did you offer that to me? I mean I'm not even a student at UA."

Midnight learned back on her hands as she stared into the sky. "I have a lot of different jobs, Midoriya. I'm a pro hero, a teacher, and a therapist, and all of them share one thing in common, helping those in a time of need. I don't know you as a person, but I know about everything you went through while growing up. I'm certain you have some things bottled up inside that need to come out, you can always come to me."

Midoriya looked over at her with conflicted feelings. "Does it have anything to do with what Itsuka told you about?"

Midnight looked over at him with a confused expression. "I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about. Kendo merely told me that you had a panic attack at the beach because your tattoo was exposed. She simply was asking about how she could help you if it ever happened again."

"I see."

Midoriya looked up to the sky with a blank expression, he knew she was lying. While Kendo never specifically said that she told Midnight about his involvement with the Yakuza, it was heavily implied. He figured Midnight wouldn't mention anything about that in such a public place, but he still felt the urge to try and see if she'd take the bait.

As the two of them sat in silence, the doors to the dorm opened causing both of them to turn around. Walking out was Vlad King with his usual neutral expression. "Ah, sorry to keep you waiting Midnight. Is it time for the meeting already?"

Midnight stood up and dusted herself off. "It's no problem at all, I was just enjoying a lovely conversation with Midoriya."

Vlad nodded as he made his way down the steps. "I see, well we should get going. Thank you for being so understanding earlier Midoriya, please enjoy the rest of your day here."

"Thank you sir, I will."

As the two teachers made their way back to the main building, another set of footsteps approached from behind. "So are you just gonna stay out here, or do you want to come back inside Izuku?"

Midoriya looked up to see an ocean of orange hair, with two pools of teal looking down at him. Kendo's smile was calming and brought him peace. He smiled back before shaking his head. "I think I should go ahead and head home."

Kendo's smile faded in an instant. "Why? You practically just go here? We still have a few hours left."

"I know, but it's your first night here. You should really spend the time catching up with your class. Besides I'm sure that talk probably dropped a few big bombs on you."

Kendo sighed as she nodded. "You're not wrong about that."

Midoriya laughed as he stood up and took her hand into his. "Come on, you can tell me all about it while you walk me back to the entrance."

"Fine." Kendo interlocked their fingers as they slowly walked toward the entrance. "So apparently we're gonna be spending the next couple of weeks training like crazy."

Midoriya looked over and saw her staring at the ground. "Oh, why's that?"

"Well our training camp was supposed to help us prepare for the Provisional Hero License Exam, but since it got cut short, we're making up time."

"Oh, well it sounds like I won't be able to see you for a while. When's the exam?"

Kendo let out a sigh. "The day before the next semester starts."

Midoriya stopped walking. "That's in two weeks."

"I know it's practically here already."

Midoriya nodded as he continued walking. Her big exam would be taking place the same week of his meeting with Kai and The League of Villains. He just hoped they wouldn't be on the same day.

"Is that all he talked about?"

Kendo shook her head. He could see her lip slightly tremble as she fought to hold back some tears.

"Is everything ok Itsuka?"

Kendo shook her head. "It's Monama, he won't be coming back. The whole kidnapping situation caused severe trauma, apparently he won't even leave his room now."

Midoriya swallowed the lump in his throat as he squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm so sorry Itsuka."

Kendo shook her head. "Thank you Izuku, but it will be ok. I'm sure he'll be back to his old self eventually. Our class is actually going to pay him a visit the day before the exams. We just hope he'll want to see us."

"I'm sure he will, I mean who wouldn't want to see you."

Kendo laughed as she wiped away a single tear that had managed to escape. "Thank you Izuku, I really needed that."

"It's why I'm here, Itsuka."

The two of them eventually reached the main entrance, they stood on the UA side of the entrance because when Midoriya crossed he wouldn't be able to enter again. The two shared a kiss and a hug before separating.

"Text me when you get home ok Izuku."

"I will."

"Good, I love you."

"I love you too."

With one final kiss Midoriya crossed the barrier and tossed his one day pass back to Kendo,

"Turn this into the Principal for me. I'd hate to give him a reason to ban me from campus.

Kendo nodded. "We'll see, I may not want you to come back again."

A/N:

Hey everyone, so I'm still alive and so is this story. A lot has been going on recently, but I will talk about that more when this story ends. I honestly don't know when I will have the next chapters done, but I just ask you to be patient until then. If not, I appreciate you making it this far. Well until then, I hope everyone stays safe and is enjoying life.