Chapter 22: Midoriya Izuku XX

A/N: Back to Izuku, and with that the end of the USJ incident as well. Although you all know what to expect… the focus will actually be set onto different things. As for what… guess you all will just have to see.

"How fares the fight, Kurogiri?"

The smoke-swathed man turns his gaze to his left, eyeing his wayward charge as the boy emerges from a portal. "Well within estimated procedures, fortunately," Kurogiri responds. "Though I am sure that you already knew that, considering the nature of your quirk."

Izuku lets out a chuckle. "You wouldn't be wrong there. In fact, I noticed that all the students that you were able to send off did in fact go to the zones I asked you to send them to. I thank you for that; it'll go a long way to pushing along the class's survival through our attack."

"Your praise is unnecessary," Kurogiri says. "Especially when I must broach the fact that I was hapless enough to allow one of the students to escape to warn the rest of the faculty of our presence."

"I did hear that. It's nothing to worry about since it works in our favor though," Izuku muses, taking the information in stride. "Iida Tenya is his name. His rank as sixth in the entrance exam shows his skill; it makes sense considering his heritage and with him being the younger brother of one Iida Tensei — who just so happens to be the Turbo Hero Ingenium. Did you know that?"

"I must admit that I did not. Though, that is not surprising, considering the rather large gap that exists in regard to the amount of information you and I take the effort to analyze and memorize."

Izuku tilts his head towards Kurogiri. "Nothing that I couldn't help you with if you asked, you know."

A brief silence falls between the two before Kurogiri answers back. "That is, in truth, a falsity, young Whisper."

Izuku blinks, somewhat confused by Kurogiri's meaning. "What do you mean?"

Kurogiri suddenly points an arm outwards, straight towards where Tomura and the nomu are hovering over a downed Eraserhead. "The young master seems to once again be going specifically against your wishes. It would be best to stop him before he gets too carried away, no?"

"Hmm. I suppose that you're right. Thanks, Kurogiri." Izuku nods, and then jogs off without another word. He knows a dismissal when he sees one, and knows better to ask for specifics considering the likelihood that Sensei's secrets are involved. Doesn't mean that he won't keep the conversation in mind for later, however.

Izuku eventually reaches a gloating Tomura who's standing before the defeated form of Eraserhead. As he nears, he doesn't fail to notice the harsh glare being sent his way by the downed hero.

"Tomura," Izuku says, exasperation clear in his amalgamated voice.

Tomura stops mid-sentence, turning to face Izuku. "What do you want, brat? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Izuku sighs. "Didn't I say something about not killing Eraserhead?"

Tomura scoffs. "I didn't forget! He's alive and breathing right now, isn't he?"

Izuku looks down at the crumpled form of the underground hero. Eraserhead has several limbs bent at awkward angles, avulsions and lacerations running across his body, while bruises and punctures are scattered to and fro. Izuku wouldn't be surprised if the hero has several ruptured organs and bouts of internal bleeding slowly pushing him to his death.

"Sure doesn't look like it," Izuku counters. He takes a glance at the nomu holding Eraserhead down, standing guard like some twisted avatar of death. "Stand down. Let go of the target — gently."

The nomu complies, and soon Eraserhead is unrestricted by the creature's grip.

"Sure, ruin all the fun while you're at it." Tomura rolls his eyes. "Will it at least make you happy that I get what you meant about Eraserhead? He is actually pretty cool."

Izuku can't stop himself from putting on a satisfied smirk — not that Tomura can see it, anyways. "Just as I told you... Does that mean that you'll start believing me about Nezu?"

"Pffffft! Hahahaha!" Tomura almost rolls over laughing at the prospect.

Izuku sighs. "Guess that's a no, then." As Tomura continues with his breakdown, Izuku's eyes move off in the distance, his quirk having picked up on movement from the Flood Zone. The source originates from three of 1-A's students: Mineta Minoru, Asui Tsuyu, and Jirou Kyoka.

From what he's heard with his quirk, they escaped the wrecked ship at the center of the zone through a combination of Mineta's balls to entrap the villains, a controlled shockwave from Jirou creating a whirlpool to group their opponents together, and Asui carrying the trio off to safety.

All things considered, everything went according to plan. He knew that he could rely on the ingenuity of those able to surpass the strict stipulations one needs to attend Yuuei (especially with one being a fellow bearer of a sound-based quirk, and especially one so potent — even more so than his in certain ways), and he's glad that his faith wasn't misplaced.

"Don't even think about it, Tomura," Izuku abruptly calls out, hearing the way Tomura frantically turns his attention to the newcomers.

Tomura lets out a groan. "But—"

"All Might's coming, I know that for sure. You don't need to worry about all your entertainment being stripped away at the moment. The final battle has yet to be upon us, after all."

Izuku takes a moment to consider something. An unhappy Tomura is an unstable Tomura, and Izuku doesn't want that. So he decides to take a calculated risk. Let's hope I don't regret this.

"But if you really must flex those twitchy trigger fingers of yours… I suppose that you can go play with them. Just no killing."

Tomura's already walking off towards the three terrified students before Izuku's done speaking. "I don't need your fucking permission, you know! I'm only doing this because you can take my control from the nomu away if you want to with those damn bubbles of yours!"

"And it'd be best if you kept that in mind. Now shoo. I have my own business to attend to."

As Tomura walks off, Izuku looks over to the nomu. It's grotesque form is still standing in place where it last was, simply awaiting orders. So Izuku decides to give it some.

"Stand guard; don't let any students near this location. Do whatever it takes to ensure that this condition — which as of this moment is deemed condition one — is met, just so long as you do not deliver any mortal wounds. Battlefield command will default to Tomura after Alpha Target enters the scene, but condition one will still remain in effect."

The nomu shows no outward sign of comprehending the orders, but Izuku knows better. With that handled, he turns his gaze once more to Eraserhead, lying broken on the ground from the nomu's barrage and assault. He isn't at all surprised that the hero is glaring straight at him with unbridled fury.

Izuku takes the time to squat down to Eraserhead's level. He keeps his artificial voice light — yet still mixed — when he begins conversation with the man. "Please don't get the wrong impression here, Eraser. I mean, I know what this looks like; me stampeding in here alongside a plethora of villains proclaiming to bring about All Might's end. Don't get me wrong, I have a grudge against the so-called Symbol of Peace — but that doesn't mean that I want him dead, you know?"

Eraserhead doesn't offer a response. He merely continues to glare up at Izuku. Izuku's glad to share the silence, though the moment is broken as his senses pick up on a rapidly approaching figure.

"Ah. And the man of the hour arrives. Guess we'll have to see just how well he's able to hold up against the nomu, eh?"

The doors to the USJ burst open in a crash of metal and a cloud of smoke. Out from the mists appears none other than All Might, his signature frown missing from his face.

Tomura stops what he's doing and jerks his head towards the complex's entrance. Given that he's already taken down both Asui and Jirou, and Mineta had been down for the count since his ball barrage from earlier, he can focus all his time on his real target.

"FINALLY!" Tomura yells, throwing the unconscious form of Asui off to the side. "Nomu!"

The nomu towering before Eraserhead and Izuku speeds off, leaving the duo exposed. Izuku isn't in the slightest worried about such a factor, however, and simply continues his conversation with the captive underground hero.

"Crusty Hands over there," Izuku points to Tomura, "is a wildcard, sure. But I mostly understand his intentions and what makes him tick, by now. He'll listen to me — albeit begrudgingly — as long as it secures the means to prove himself to Sensei. And frankly, his control over the nomu plays a huge role in that. If it eases your worries, I'll tell you that he doesn't stand a chance in succeeding in his goal today — don't tell him that I said that, though."

Izuku chuckles, holding a conspiratory finger up to where his lips would be behind his mask. "Now, I'm sure that you're wondering about all sorts of things. And yes, monologuing is quite a forte of mine. So no, I'm not oblivious to the happenings around us."

Said happenings include All Might and the nomu having an all out brawl dangerously close to their location. Izuku is unperturbed by the whole thing, content to stay where he is despite the possibility that the fight threatens his safety.

"I'm not crazy, you know, even if my mental stability may be something to question. No. I have plans in mind. Plans bigger than Tomura's childish and foolish whims that I need to entertain if I want to keep myself on his good side. When you no doubt come around to interrogating all the mooks you'll capture by the end of the day, you'll find that I paid quite a small part in this whole operation. In fact, the only other thing I've done since coming here other than talk to you is talk to a certain individual from your class. I'm sure you know the one: blond, bad-tempered, quite a bit of a bastard?"

If the way Eraserhead stills for just a slight moment is indicative of anything, he knows exactly who Izuku's talking about. In turn, Eraserhead narrows his eyes, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "What did you do to my student, villain?"

Izuku smirks. "Nothing that he doesn't deserve ten-fold. If anything, I went easy on him today."

Izuku readily feels the ice cold anger emanating from the hero; it only causes Izuku to admire the man more. "Know that I don't do things unless I find them justified, Eraser. You might not agree with my philosophy, heck I don't expect a sheltered hero like you to at all, but know that I will only work within the confines of my ideology. I don't hurt those that don't deserve it. But barring that? I plan to do whatever it takes to ruffle up society from its core and reveal the harsh reality of our society to the masses."

Eraserhead growls. "You claim that you're not aligned with these villains. You claim that you desire the betterment of society. But from how I see it you're just a disturbed child, led astray from what it means to be a decent human being. Justice can't be served through violent bodily punishment; it can't be gained through violent and revolutionary means."

"Please. The underground hero is telling me to work within the system? That's quite hypocritical of you, Eraser. You know as well as I do that some things just can't be done within the rules of society — especially when it's those very rules that are the root of the problem. Not that you would understand that, though."

Izuku finally stands up. "People fall through the cracks, Eraser. Some people will never reach their dreams because of the harsh realities of the world. No matter how much we try, people like myself just can't compete with the bigoted expectations implanted in our minds since our youth. It's unfortunate that this is our reality — especially when the government does nothing to circumvent it, and especially when it only fuels all the tragedy and loss that we experience to this day. What happened to your friend Shirakumo is a glaring example of that."

Eraserhead's glare turns even sharper than before at the mention of Shirakumo. It takes the hero a moment to gather himself. "Why. Are. You. Even. Here?" He barely grits the words out through his teeth.

Izuku chuckles. "That's easy — to make a statement, of course. To Bakugou, to yourself, and to the world. I want people to know that the outcasts of society are still here, and that it's time that we all do something about our situation. That is all I wish to broadcast at this very moment. Nothing more, and nothing less."

Eraserhead takes that moment to activate his quirk, cutting Izuku off from his quirk.

"Hmph," Izuku's true voice bleeds through his mask. "Still fighting to the end, I see. I must implore you to stop, though. Using your quirk in your state won't do any good for you; you should save your energy for the trip to the hospital instead. I promise that I won't kill any of your students. Surely by now you can trust my word, hmm?"

A blast of air and dust rockets through the air, narrowly missing the spot where Izuku and Eraserhead are currently conversing. Izuku turns around to look at the source, admiring the battle between the Symbol of Peace and the vat-grown creature made to combat him.

He holds back a laugh as he spies Tomura's outraged look from the side, no doubt a result of the battle still going on despite the Doctor's and Sensei's assurances that All Might is weakened. Sensei's little quip that the nomu could take All Might in an arm-wrestling competition probably hasn't helped either.

Izuku takes the moment to contemplate the past hour. With the exception of a few cowering individuals, all around him he can hear the various students of class 1-A fighting to their fullest against the villain threat.

The students' fighting spirit is something fierce, and definitely not something Izuku would want to face unprepared. Still, seeing his plan — which involved having Kurogiri send the students to the zones where they'd have the least problems — going off without a hitch incites a relieved feeling to course through his bones.

Even Kaminari is keeping up his ruse in the landslide zone, acting as a supposed hostage to Tesla as the Yaoyorozu girl and the silent Kouda stand by helplessly, but not disheartened; still thinking up plans to get their 'friend' out of danger. It's everything Izuku had expected from Yuuei's batch of hero students.

Especially with what's about to happen right this instance.

Izuku doesn't flinch as a sudden gust of air — one much different than either the nomu's or All Might's — bursts up behind him. Nor does he shred an inch of worry as the wind carries off Eraserhead in a way uncharacteristically gentle of a violent windshear.

He had long predicted the move when he had heard Todoroki and his friend Inasa closing in on his position. Normally he'd be worried; a scenario involving two strong students converging onto his position while he has no certain backup at hand would spell his doom in most situations.

But when one of the opponents is somebody that he knows…

Izuku smirks to himself as he watches Inasa fly off back to the entrance of the USJ with the wounded Eraserhead in tow. No doubt the boy didn't want to leave Todoroki behind to fend for himself, but given the state of Eraserhead...

Played right into my hands.

Todoroki stands a decent distance away, looking at Izuku with confused, narrowed eyes. The hesitation in his mind is clear with his stance and unsteadiness, and Izuku doesn't blame the boy. If he was in Todoroki's shoes, the sight before him would scream everything 'villain.'

Izuku crosses his arms, showing off his intentions to avert the need for violence. Todoroki seems to understand, loosening up his stance somewhat, but doesn't let his guard down entirely.

"What are you doing here?" Todoroki asks, being the first to speak.

"I'm sending a message to the world, Todoroki. I don't need to explain to you why; you know all the details already, after all."

Todoroki grimaces. "But like this?"

Izuku tilts his head forward. "You remember what I told you last time we saw one other, don't you?"

Todoroki offers a slow nod.

"Good. Then you'll understand when at the end of the day, the only student you'll find has been injured is a certain explosion-inclined individual. I'm sure that you don't need further explaining as to who I mean."

Izuku sighs. "Don't act all surprised now, Todoroki. You've had speculations of my revolutionary-inclined mindset since the first week we first actually started talking to one another. You knew what you were getting into when you asked for my help; it's not my fault that your hatred for your father muddled your senses as to my nature."

"So you're doing all of this… to incite change?" Todoroki asks, skeptically. "So people don't experience the same things we have?"

"You've got it." Izuku nods. "Though, now that you've got that done, the question is… What do you plan on doing with this information?"

Todoroki huffs. "I… won't say anything. For now."

"Don't act as if you're making a deal with the devil," Izuku chides. "I'm not holding blackmail over you, nor vice versa. We're friends, sure, but I fully expect you to spill everything you know about me once I turn into some homicidal maniac who targets the innocents for shits and giggles."

Izuku calls out for Kurogiri with his quirk, and it isn't long after that a portal appears next to his position. As per the pre prescribed plan, this one is set to bring him back to the bar — his work is done here, after all. He doesn't need to stick around to watch Tomura's defeat.

"Keep that sense of justice ingrained in your mind, Todoroki. You don't need to head down the path that I'm on; I'm already traveling down it for both our sakes, after all."

Before he sets off for his departure, however, Izuku turns to Todoroki.

"As for your cover story as to why you simply talked to me rather than tried to beat me into submission… Just say that I tried to make you switch sides because of your father and all that. I'm sure that the teachers will be inclined to believe that."

Todoroki hums in thought. "And the reason that I let you get away?"

"Emotional and mental shock, of course."

Todoroki scoffs in amusement at the suggestion.

Izuku moves to step through the portal, but not before relaying one last message over to Todoroki.

"Do me a favor and keep an eye out for Ibara for me, would you?"

And with that, the vigilante-turned-villain Whisper vanishes from the battlefield of the USJ.

"Ah, Izuku. What a surprise. I suppose that you left Tomura to his own devices before the true climax came to fruition, then?"

Izuku blinks. He finds himself once again in the midst of Sensei's throne room, standing before the criminal mastermind of the underworld. This isn't exactly the destination he had in mind upon his departure from USJ — he had asked Kurogiri to send him back to the bar, after all. Though, given the likely chance that this encounter is entirely Sensei's doing, Izuku doesn't exactly hold any ill will towards Kurogiri. Sensei's orders to Kurogiri would have superseded his own, after all.

"I did," Izuku responds, taking upon a mask of level headedness. "I hope that my doing so isn't a problem?"

"Of course not." Sensei tilts his head in response. "And besides, I'm sure that you've come to the same conclusion as I have. We both know that you sticking around any longer would be a waste of time — and perhaps even risk unnecessary injury."

Sensei smiles, crossing one leg over the other. "Though, I suppose that I should ask: Was everything to your liking?"

Izuku simply nods. "It was."

Sensei hums. He knows better; the simple response Izuku gave has much more hidden behind it. "But…?"

Izuku takes a moment to compile his thoughts, not entirely surprised that Sensei had seen through him. "I was observing the battle before I left. By the rate of the things that were happening, I wouldn't be surprised if we've already lost the nomu to enemy hands."

Sensei scoffs. "And? The nomu are replaceable. Losing one is no loss — and it's not like the heroes would even try to attempt to recreate Kyudai's work. It'd be immoral, after all." He lets out a laugh after that last bit.

"I know that," Izuku says. "And that's precisely the point. The nomu are replaceable: that's the problem."

Sensei quirks an eyebrow. "Oh?" He leans forward. "And what of it then, Izuku?"

"The group needs members — actual members," Izuku proposes. "Not some artificially grown minions created in an underground lab. But people with their own personalities and aspirations. Just Tomura, Kurogiri, and I aren't enough — not if we actually want to make an impact. We need people to take the charge against society; people need to see other people like them working for change if they are to believe what we're fighting for — the public won't stand for a group of revolutionaries built entirely out of hideous, inhuman monsters."

"An interesting perspective on things," Sensei muses. "But are you forgetting the fact that you're growing one of those 'hideous, inhuman monsters' yourself? True, you're technically still in the planning stages, but all things considered..."

"That's besides the point."

Sensei laughs. "As I'm sure it is."

Izuku huffs. "Point being, we need people. Our attack on the USJ shows that. What good are we if all we have to rely on are near-useless mercenaries and unthinking minions that don't have what it takes to act when the situation calls for it? Every organization has it's people, and if we want to grow further than where we already are then we need to start recruiting."

"I suppose that your words do bring up a valid point," Sensei says nonchalantly. "But if that's how you really feel, what are you going to do about it, then? Are you asking me for help?"

Izuku shakes his head. He'd rather not be any further in debt with his mentor than he already is. "No," Izuku says. "In fact, I was planning on… asking Giran. As well as go off on my own for my own bout of recruiting."

Izuku would have to wait a few days for the info broker to be available, however. The man's currently out in Hokkaido dealing with some things; and Izuku thus couldn't corner Giran without interrupting some delicate operations of his at the same time.

"Glad that we have that settled," Sensei says, dismissing the issue. "Now then: as for the real reason I had Kurogiri bring you here." Sensei pulls a manilla folder seemingly out of nowhere.

Likely a use of some sort of hammerspace quirk, Izuku muses. He eyes the folder for a second, pondering upon its possible contents. Only a few things come to mind, but after a few moments of speculation he decides that there's one thing that it's most likely to be.

"Are those what I think they are?" Izuku asks.

Sensei nods. "I decided to do you a favor. Think of it as a... reward, for your hard work and willingness to branch out. That being said, you'll be glas to hear that my sources have finally poked through hard enough into the wretches of the populace. I've found another individual that fits the specifications for your little pet project."

With a gesture the folder disappears, and then it promptly reappears with a burst of smoke, levitating up and down right before Izuku. Disregarding the display of showmanship (and burying down his suspicion for such a blatant 'gift' for later), Izuku grabs at the folder and begins perusing through its contents.

"I must admit," Sensei calls out, "you have some rather interesting ideas in that head of yours. At the very least, definitely filled with things to stretch Kyudai's avenues in ways he hasn't much considered before, that's for sure."

Izuku nods to himself, closing up the folder as he does so. He makes a mental reminder to upload his newfound information to his laptop later. He then looks up to the man on the throne. "May I go now, Sensei?"

Most would confuse Izuku's request to be one of permission to leave. But Sensei isn't like most people. It's obvious through the context of the situation that Izuku is referring to the contents of the folder now tucked gently between his arms.

Sensei's marred face takes upon a full-sized grin. "So soon already?"

Izuku shrugs. "There's work to be done... And besides, I'd rather be gone before Tomura gets back and has his little tantrum."

"Smart of you." Sensei chuckles. "That being said, you wish to head out? Then if you really must, go right ahead, Izuku. Though I at the very least recommend some recuperation first."

"I'll consider it." Izuku inclines his head towards his mentor. "Mind calling Kurogiri for me?"

Sensei leans back on his throne. "You've turned rather lax around me, you know."

Izuku shrugs. "It's what you wanted for a long while now, right?"

"You're not wrong. Though most would think twice about acting so flippantly around me of all people. But you?" He laughs. "Till next time, Izuku."

Izuku eyes the gradually growing portal before him. Outwardly, his mask of indifference stands guard and unhindered. Mentally, he's preparing himself for what he plans to do next.

It'll be better to do this all in one day than risk waiting to act tomorrow. Work while the wound's still fresh, and before my conscience takes time to fully realize what I've done. Right. That.

Izuku takes a breath. He steps into the portal.

Hushed... Here I come.

A/N: USJ is complete, and Izuku doesn't even stay to watch the operation's completion. Just goes to show where his priorities lie, hmm? Anyone, next time we have some Izuku committing to some more… morally questionable actions. But hey, that's why you're all here, right?