Toji frowned as he watched Izuku walk away; a turmoil of emotions stirred within him. Is he hiding things from Izuku? No, never.
'But you have, haven't you? Never been entirely truthful about your reasons and actions.'
Some things are best kept hidden; he doesn't need to know the horrible things he's doing.
'But he's so easy to read. He wants to ask so many things but seems too afraid to ask.'
Why? Why would he be afraid? He shouldn't be.
'But he is afraid that you might push him away like you did before.'
He promised Inko that he wouldn't do it again.
'Yet, here you are, breaking that promise. Like before, when she was on the brink of death. You never are true to your words.'
He gritted his teeth, grinding them hard enough that Toji could feel it in his gums. His nails dug into his palms, and he held a stoic face. He was seething in anger as he stared at Izuku's back, watching him go back inside the school.
He quickly turned back as he stormed away from the building. He didn't need him; he was only holding himself back.
'Must you always lie to yourself? You know that's not true. You need him.'
He didn't, just like before. He didn't need anyone, and it only burdened him.
'Was your wife a burden then? Your child? The one YOU named? Megumi?'
A low growl left his throat from the voice; such useless things now.
'Lies. You always lie.'
Toji was standing in front of a dingy pub. The Scent of piss and other unsightly smells filled his nostrils. He ignored it as he knocked three times and muttered a passcode. Old needles were scattered across the floor, with used condoms and beer cans/bottles broken and dented. After several agonizing minutes, Toji was allowed entrance.
He glared at the bouncer, one with a fish head. He sighed as he walked to the bar. He was glad no one questioned his age. Then again, not many have a similar physique for fifteen-year-olds. Combining the age of Toji's new life and his old one, he had the ambiance of someone in his late 30s. Better to say it looked like he had his shit together than some adults. A man around maybe his 60s, with grey silver hair slicked back. Wearing a white suit with black dress pants and shoes. He was always seen wearing sunglasses.
"Ah, Toji. You've been coming less and less this past year to the Stray Sheep. Love issues, I assume?"
The question made him snort, and he rolled his eyes at the question.
"Wrong, Boss. More like family issues, I fought with my little brother. He was spouting nonsence, saying I'm hiding shit from him. Fucking entitled brat."
"I mean, you techinally are hiding things from him, are you not?"
"I'm entitled to have some privacy."
"Yes, yes you are. But you are too overprotective of your sibling. You hide things from him, leaving him in the dark when he is qualified to know."
"Fuck! It's for his good! I've done so much for the little shrimp. Can't he at least not ask and just do what I say?"
"When you have a job, do you just jump in?"
"Of fucking course not. I try to milk out as much info as I can. I'm not an idiot."
"Then how is he not entitled to at least get some information then? Do you two not work together?"
"First of all, fuck you. I do give the shrimp info."
"Is it a decent amount to quell his curiosity?"
"The fuck? Just the bare minimum, he doesn't need to know all the details."
"While I mainly give romance advice. I believe this one, I shall impart, will suit well for your situation. Relationships are built with trust and honesty. One made with lies and deceit will bear thorns and hatred the longer you let this grow. Destroying any little bit of trust left with one another."
Toji frowned as he scoffed at the nonsense. He quickly got up from his seat and left.
"Tell that idiot Giran, to meet me here later in two days. He better have a good job for me."
The bartender sighed and nodded as he watched the bulky teen walk off.
Toji stood at an abandoned fashion clothing facility. His steps echo as he holds his sword in one hand. His eyes wandered around, shattered glass on the floor with tattered rolls of textile, dirtied and ripped past salvaging. Along with many mannequins on the floor, some broken and detachable limbs were thrown across the building's floor.
There was supposed to be a cursed spirit here. It was unsure of what type, as it used puppets to fight. Hiding and fighting with their intelligence and tactics. For once, it would be a fun battle for him. The more steps he took, the more he heard the slight twan and pull of strings as if an instrument was being adjusted.
Then he heard it again, the tug of strings. Many mannequins stood up at odd angles but were all the same, controlled like puppets. A wide grin spread on him as he stood, readying for the apparent battle. He launches forward, pushing his feet against the floor hard enough to cause the tiles to crack. The puppets rushed towards him swiftly, the sound of more strings tugging and creating multiple tunes of different pitches.
The scene was almost beautiful, with Toji dancing and dodging the attacks. With his own swiftness and ease, he sliced down the mannequins with his sword, only for such spells to go in vain. With every slash and cut he made, the puppets would attach just as quickly. The longer and longer, each parry, each slash and cut. This battle didn't seem to be near an end. As fun as this was, his patience began to wane. Finding it irritating, he didn't want to fight goons. He wished for the entree, not the appetizers.
Just as he was ready to bring this building down to the ground to find the stupid cursed spirit. Something glimmered in the light, a thin string. He grinned. 'Ah, this was the item they used for the puppets.' He watched with ease as he dodged the attacks, not fighting back. His eyes focused clearly on the limbs and what parts he could assume. He jumped as one aimed at his legs, slicing the air above the puppet. As he watched, it stiffened up and clattered on the floor.
His grin appeared as he extended his leg to meet the floor, lunging himself again. It seemed like he'd miss his attacks, but his objective was to cut down the strings, one after another. Until three were left. He cackled as he spoke loudly, and his voice echoed.
"Oi! Come out and fight me one on one! Stop being a little bitch and stop using your little puppets!"
Then, there was a soft giggle, sounding feminine. A woman appeared, seeming to be floating in the air. Of course, if one had keen eyes, one would notice the thin strands she used to place her weight on to create such an illusion. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"How rude! You ruin my perfect hair! Do you realize how hard it is to find good quality hair!?" She screeched out in frustration, her glare directed at Toji. Her features contorted into a more stern and vengeful manner.
Then, once again. The battle resumed; then again, it had more of a resemblance to a game of cat and mouse. She would dodge and use her strings to hold him back. They halt his movements for a few seconds. He tugs on them harder, causing them to dig into his skin, causing blood to seep out, allowing minor shifts for him to cut down the hair strands from hindering him even more. His clothes tattered more and more. His injuries would become dire the longer he fought in this stalemate. Spitting out the worm, he forced his arm down its mouth as he took out his handgun. Six consecutive gunshots, four to the torso and two to the Liver. It was enough to halt her attacks as she clutched her wounds and stumbled back several steps. In which he quickly dashed towards her. Swinging his sword at her neck. In a clean cut, her head rolled down as the body collapsed onto the floor. A few spurts of blood spurted out before her body came to a stiff halt.
Unlike most cursed spirits, her body didn't turn to dust like it should have after being killed. Toji rubbed his tongue against the bottom of his incisors, and his expression turned to a harsh scowl.
"That fucking idiot..."
He cursed under his breath as he had the cursed spirit worm ingest the corpse of the human.
'How amusing...You thought you'd get away from a life of murder. You never did, then again... You never saw the cursed spirits as humans. How ironic you've killed a human once again. It won't be long again when you kill more and more humans. Your fate is unchanging, no matter how much you try. You are stained with blood and always will be.'
Toji barged into the Stray Sheep, trekking towards one person: Giran. He curled his hand and launched his fist to the man's face. A satisfying crunch was heard. He was sure he had broken his nose. A wide maniac grin spread across his face. He watched the older man whimper and clutch his bleeding nose as he howled in pain.
"I thought we made an agreement, Giran. No humans, why the fuck didn't you use your stupid connections you boast about so much, to check if it was a human or not?"
He hissed as he grabbed Giran by the neck, specifically, the carotid artery near the jawline. Causing a sensation of asphyxiation. Giran gasped for air as he struggled to respond.
"W-What are you talking about?... Was it not a curse?"
Toji let go and pushed Giran back onto the booth table, causing him to cough and wheeze for more air. He rubbed his neck as he glared at the teen. Toji clicked his tongue in annoyance as he sat down.
"Nope, as human as you and me. But I will say the bitch knew how to put up a good fight." As he mentioned, Toji's body was covered in bandages from his wrists to his neck and past his waist.
"Fucking hell, she got you good huh?"
"More than I'd like to admit. I'll be charging you extra too."
"What the fuck? No way, I'm not agreeing to that."
"Then you can handle disposing of the body if you want to be a cheap ass."
"You brought the corpse?!"
"Duh, you think I'm gonna leave a body behind? Hell no, why do you think I said cursed spirits only? pay me extra, one for the disposing of the body and two for your fuck up that inconvenienced me."
"Shit... How much?"
"Twice the amount that I was promised."
"... half"
"Three times then."
"Are you trying to sponge me out?!"
"Who's fault is this for me charging extra?"
"I'll give you a 75 percent extra of your usual fee."
"Five times, or the next job. I'm bringing your ass to handle them yourself alone. Let's see how long you last before being killed if you can even see them before they see you."
"This is why I despise you, fuck it fine. Only because most people don't know how to handle them like you do or even last long enough for one job."
As Giran wired the agreed amount, he mumbled obscenities about 'damn stupid young'ins.' Toji grinned as he confirmed the wire transfer and left the bar.
He was walking in the early morning on the streets. Grabbing his phone to lift it up to see the screen and checking the time 6:35 AM, he had 25 minutes left before arriving at the location at the allotted time. It differed from his usual missions, something the info broker told him to attend and either reject the offer or not. Saying it was a recruitment meeting had irked him, especially with the vague information. Yet, the older man swore that was all they provided for him to know. There, he stood in front of another almost seemingly abandoned bar.
It's ironic how most convoluted places were always set up in such dingy places. Then again, it was apparent these were obvious humans rather than cursed spirits. He wondered still...there should be a few weak spirits. Yet, within a few years, he has lived in this alternative world. He had yet to see many low-rank ones. The middle-rank spirits were more sparingly.
Even more cumbersome, it hasn't been much, which did raise his suspicions. There weren't many records of humans disappearing; if there were, it's been hidden well. This made Toji wonder how many Grade 1 and Special Grades are out. This should be a cause for concern, considering this alternative universe didn't have any sorcerers of that high of a caliber to handle such things. He'll deal with that later.
Ironic; The Sorcerer Killer is a pseudo-sorcerer now. Then again, he gained things he didn't have in his past life. Shitty parents, the same. But he can't deny it. When he's with the Midoriya's, it... makes him feel weird. He'd never experienced this unsettling feeling before, or well.. one he hadn't felt in forever. Happiness? Is this what he should call it? He feels happy and safe around them. It leaves a weird feeling when he thinks about it that way. Yet, he doubts he deserves such a thing. To have a happy family that cares for him, biological or not.
He can't help but draw a line to avoid getting so close to them. He's scared he might ruin it. Fate was never nice to him, nor did it spare those few he cherished. That his horrible life in the past will follow him and make them leave him, or worse yet...
He cliched his tongue in annoyance at his thoughts, shaking his head. There was no time for him to think of such things right now. he knocked on the door, waiting several minutes before being let inside. As he entered, he saw a few other people, villains by the looks of it. There stood at the bar a man made of mist. He wore a suit and spoke eloquently.
"Welcome, I know you all here have come in the invitations of the bequest of one of our members. Our plan is to infiltrate the UA. One of the first-year hero classes is going to a separate building away from the school. We shall be there and attack them. Leave a... good scare to the students if you like to think of it in such a way. So far we have around fifty people joining us. Of course if some aren't willing to do some free work, we are more than happy to pay for your services."
Hearing the plan made Toji scowl. The man was leaving out details. Perhaps he explained some of the plans but left out potential details crucial to only those joining. He let out a low chuckle and crossed his arms as he walked over to him. "Your name?"
"you may address me as Kurogiri, you are?"
"Toji Fushiguro, I'll join this little plan of yours; I've been itching to fight a few of those pro-hero teachers."
He gave a large grin. Soon, one after another, more and more joined. Let's just hope he didn't regret this.
Toji looked around after being dropped into a landslide-prone area. Toji lets out a heavy sigh while adjusting his mask. Even small things like his clothes and smell can make people think he's someone else. If people look like animals, he'd rather be safe and not fuck it up.
All of a sudden, he heard a loud noise and saw dust flying from where the main team was. He realized that he should postpone his next meeting with the teachers and students. His main concern is how to keep himself hidden while still protecting them. Toji sees the purple portals and looks around, noticing a few students from 1-A. He pulled out a blunt weapon and looked at the villains that stood next to him. They would lose consciousness for a few hours, but they wouldn't die.
He slowly made his way out from the landslide disaster area when he heard Pochi's loud. fuck, Izuku.
'Run, run, run. Who knows maybe you'll witness your cherished little brother's death.'
That wouldn't happen. He'll do everything to prevent it. Toji didn't want to lose anyone else.
As he reached the center of the USJ. There he saw whatever the fuck that thing was as it punched Pochi and Izuku away from each other. Aizawa is on the floor of a crater of sorts. Then, Shigaraki aims to kill Izuku.
He felt his blood run cold. No, no, no. NO. His feet dug into the concrete as he lunged at the two, a loud boom of his sudden increased speed. Pulling out his sword as he sliced off Shigaraki's hand, hearing the blood-curdling scream from the man. Watching him writhing and rolling around the floor as one hand is left as a stump as blood spurts out.
"You fucker! How dare you! I-I'll KILL. YOU." he shrikes out in agony and furry.
A dry laugh escapes from Toji. "Sure. Go ahead man-baby, see if you can. I'll leave you without both hands, then let's see how you'll kill me."