Zuki's warning of Yokohama and his brief research of He who takes had understandably left an overthinker like Izuku rattled the next morning and his mom picked up on it when he called during breakfast "I'm fine, mom. Just a really bad dream last night." He skittishly told her, which was only a half-truth instead of a full-on lie since he did have a vivid nightmare of 'He who takes' and what he might do to someone quirkless.
He told her of the stupid dream knowing that hiding it would only make him more suspicious, he let her coo and reassure him as best she could from behind a screen, the words despite his mom's best attempts rang hollow in his mind when compared to his knowledge of what was and wasn't possible with quirks.
Izuku previously held excitement had melted to lukewarm anxiety and he wasn't able to enjoy the ferry ride like he had hoped he could, the existential dread of the possibility of He who takes being real hung overhead despite any attempts he made to force it away, Izuku was able to mask his troubling thoughts when he taught children of an orphanage in one of the districts.
But in Kouchi's red-light districts he had met another quirkless person, a woman in her fifties, that gave him more ominous warnings about more cities he should avoid, she had been generous enough after he gave her some money to mark on a map where he couldn't go before, she left to catch a train.
Izuku's return to the Shizuoka prefecture the next day was relieving and somber, he happily embraced his mom when he made it home since she had taken a lighter shift to welcome him in person, Izuku was much more comfortable doing his coursework back in his own home with his mom to talk to as he did, desperately avoiding any mention of the topic of He who takes.
He talked with her about things he'd need for his next trip to Niigata and Hokkaido, stuff to leave behind that he hadn't needed, and talking about what they should do that Sunday before he left to visit the districts in his local area, and she went to work. Since he was much closer to Niigata and had visited once before Izuku found himself welcomed in the five districts he visited that day, talking with them and he met a few other quirkless people.
They were just passing through but speaking with them had helped him learn more about places he shouldn't go to for different reasons, people that wouldn't hesitate to oust him as a two-toes at best, places to avoid like the plague, and places where they as quirkless just weren't welcome.
Izuku knew of some places from the woman that they didn't know to avoid and quickly shared with them using the map, he had also marked the areas they said to stay away from, he made sure to thank them for their help, but they brushed it off saying two-toes just stuck together as Zuki had said.
When he finished the lessons for that day, he contemplated asking around for more information about He who takes when his phone dinged, checking it he saw a text from Yuri-San and began to type up a reply to him, Yuri-San had been infrequently texting him since they talked over dinner that one time.
It usually started out about Yukiko-Chan or his daughter Anya-San and often he found himself drifting off to some kind of tangent about something he was learning, Yuri-San didn't seem to be angry when he went off on a rant and he even chipped in sometimes, Yuri-San surprisingly knew a lot about how quirks changed over the years.
But since Izuku was back in the area Yuri-San wanted to know if they could meet up for a bit, Izuku could see the time on his phone and he had maybe two hours before he had to be home and he texted as such, he was surprised when he got a location that was really close by but that didn't stop him from heading to where the location was to meet with Yuri-San.
Izuku didn't expect a big fancy restaurant like the last time since the location was only just outside the district but that being said he also wasn't thinking that he be headed to a nightclub either, he almost wanted to text Yuri-San to double-check like he did at the restaurant, he searched up the address separately to make sure it was the same place.
Unsurprisingly he was in the right place and for a moment Izuku questioned not if he could go into a nightclub but if he wanted to, he hadn't heard anything particularly bad them that made them worse than the red-light districts, but Izuku was unsure he wanted to be around drunk people as they could be unpredictable and there would likely be an entrance fee.
After a moment of thought, he decided to bite the bullet and moved to get in line but was stopped by a man in a suit "Мидория?" He asked "U-uh, yes... D-do you need s-something?" Izuku questioned back, a bit unnerved the man knew his name "Юрий ждет тебя внутри. Давай, парень." The man told him as he grabbed Izuku's arm and dragged him to the front of the line, the only reason Izuku reframed from protesting was that he was ninety percent sure the man was taking him to Yuri-San.
As he expected they were given some dark looks as they basically cut to the front and the bouncer was giving them both an unimpressed look "Back of the line." The bouncer gruffly said, and the man sighed.
"Это особый гость босса. Он велел мне привести его, как только он приедет сюда." The man responded presumably explaining something, at least that's what Izuku put together from the words he did know.
The bouncer groaned pinching the bridge of his nose but stepped aside to let them pass, Izuku felt a bit bad for cutting the line especially since he caught some of what the people were grumbling about them, he couldn't linger on the thought though as upon entering the soft music he could hear from outside got much louder and was almost blinded by the flashing lights.
Inside the building was kind of what he expected from pre-quirk media, a bar across one wall, mostly dark inside other than colored flashing lights, a second level he couldn't see much of past the railing, a dancefloor full of people, and music. The club was certainly not anything like any place he had ever been to before, he didn't know what song was currently playing but he couldn't say he disliked it, a tug on his arm brought his attention back to the man as he began to lead him again.
Izuku silently followed the man to a stairwell to the second level, the upper level was a touch calmer but he still closely trailed behind the man to not get lost because he doubted he could find Yuri-San on his own even with how distinct Yuri-San looked, only about a minute after they got to upper level the man brought him to a table that was more isolated and Izuku was quite relieved to finally see Yuri-San.
Yuri-San gave him a soft smile "Привет, Мидория. Я рад, что ты решил встретиться со мной, присаживайся." Yuri-San greeted as warmly as a stoic person could as he motioned Izuku to come closer "I hope Valentine has been good to you Мидория." He added patting the spot next to him "H-he's great," Izuku said assuming Yuri-San meant the man that led him here "Благодарю." He quickly told 'Valentine' before moving to sit near Yuri-San.
Valentine just nodded in turn "Do you want anything Мидория?" Yuri-San inquired but Izuku shook his head "N-no thanks Yuri-San, I'm good." He told him, Yuri-San nodded dismissing Valentine with a wave of the hand, now "alone" with Yuri-San Izuku admittedly felt himself relax somewhat.
"Мидория?" Yuri-San called and the greenette didn't need to turn to know the man was concerned but seeing it did relieve him to some degree.
"Has something happened Мидория? You seem... Tense." Yuri-San asked apparently noticing Izuku's change in demeanor, his shoulders slumped "Is it t-that obvious?" He replied slightly defeated and wondering if his mom also knew he wasn't all there "No, I simply have a good grasp on body language but that is hardly the point. What has been troubling you?" Yuri-San answered.
Izuku hesitated as he pondered whether or not he should really confide in the man, Yuri-San was in a morally gray area between acquaintance and friend, it had been nearly a decade since he made a friend, but he was pretty sure they weren't made that fast.
Deciding that even if they weren't that close, he had nothing to lose Izuku turned to Yuri-San "I, met someone in Kumamoto that... told me something." He explained fiddling with his sleeve "Oh, what did they tell you?" Yuri-San inquired head tilted and Izuku rubbed his neck "Well... He told me that I shouldn't go anywhere near Yokohama, unless I wanted to 'disappear'." Izuku elaborated and Yuri-San's eyes narrowed.
"Ah, was he threatening you?" Yuri-San questioned and Izuku quickly brought his hands up and waved them "N-no, no! H-he was just trying t-to warn me about something!" He corrected and Yuri-San raised an eyebrow a bit "Warn you about what exactly Мидория?" He prodded, Izuku hesitated again because he thought of what to say.
*Should I just say it was about He who takes? Would that seem silly to him? Being scared of the possibility that an old fairy tale was real? Would Yuri-San even know about He who takes? Well, he probably does but probably not by the same name. What was the Russian version of He who takes again? Would I sound like some conspiracy theorist if I told him about MLA's story of All For One-*
Izuku was ripped from his thoughts by a sudden drop in the room temperature to something that could only be considered frigid, turning to Yuri-San he saw frost had built upon not only on the plastic cup Yuri-San held but everywhere his body was physically touching, Yuri-San's face was also the most expressive he's ever seen, and the emotion wasn't a positive one.
"Мидория... Where did you hear that name?" Yuri-San questioned his entire body as tense as his voice, Izuku must have been mumbling but that wasn't his biggest worry because apparently, Yuri-San did know of 'He who takes' and the threat became even more real since Yuri-San's demeanor became so rigid.
"Y-you mean A-all For One?" Izuku asked for clarification and the temperature drop swiftly got worst "Where did you hear that name?" Yuri-San coldly repeated and Izuku's gut twisted "I-I found it online. I w-was trying t-to look into He who takes after I-I was warned a-about him." Izuku answered body shivering from the cold, Yuri-San sharply inhaled, and he ran a hand through his hair then let out a large thick cloud of condensation.
"Мидория, I need you to listen to me very carefully." Yuri-San sternly told him, Izuku swallowed the massive lump in his throat and nodded "Мидория, I think we both know who I am and what I do, yes?" He stated and Izuku reluctantly nodded, the greenette had tried looking into Yuri-San after their second meeting because someone that rich and powerful had to have some kind of media presence, right?
And Izuku did find Yuri-San, he found article upon article of how the Russian government had tried for decades to tie Yuri-San to the biggest Russian mafia organization in recorded history, of countless lawsuits against Yuri-San where he had been acquitted due to a lack of evidence or witnesses being discredited, hell he even found a thread on a conspiracy theory board about Yuri-San being a part of the first generation of heroes in Russia was why no one could convict him.
"Y-yeah." Izuku timidly admitted briefly wondering if it was a bad thing to be acquainted with the man or if he was a bad person since Izuku was fairly sure that Yuri-San was absolutely the head of some criminal organization "Well when someone like... me has been around for as long as I have, you learn things most don't... Including when to keep your mouth shut and your nose out of it." He informed him moving closer to Izuku.
"I'll tell you everything I know about All For One but Мидория, you need to swear to me that not one word of what I say to you will ever leave this table." Yuri-San offered and Izuku's heart dropped to his stomach, not at the ultimatum but the fact that Yuri-San was taking this seriously meant that there was something for Izuku to actually be afraid of and his overing wasn't blowing this out of proportion.
"I-I swear." Izuku whispered, Yuri-San sighed condensation again falling from his mouth in a thick cloud, and he reined in the chill he had unintentionally made, as Yuri-San went on to explain just who All For One was Izuku couldn't say he felt any better by the end of their talk.
Then again who would feel great about learning someone who's been around for nearly three centuries with a massive grudge against them solely for being born quirkless and that he had any number of powerful quirks at his disposal? Oh, and he just so happens to be a criminal mastermind with ties to just about every major criminal organization in Japan.
At least he could have this existential crisis in the safety and comfort of his own bed when he got home.
Мидория?
Midoriya?
Юрий ждет тебя внутри. Давай, парень.
Yuri is waiting for you inside. Come on boy.
Это особый гость босса. Он велел мне привести его, как только он приедет сюда.
This is the boss's special guest. He told me to bring him as soon as he gets here.
Привет, Мидория. Я рад, что ты решил встретиться со мной, присаживайся.
Hello, Midoriya. I'm glad you decided to meet me, come sit with me.
Благодарю.
Thank you.