Chapter 96 - 24-25

Chapter Twenty Four: Goodbye, Peaceful Days

On a cliff overlooking the campsite of the U.A students about a mile away, a group of four people stopped to observe the area. Three of them looked like they were little more than teenagers or young adults. The other was a hulking beast of a man, wearing a cloak and a mask over his face.

Himiko was still pouting over her costume design. She was wearing a mask that covered her nose and mouth and a scarf-like cloth around her neck, which was adorned with a design like the bared teeth of a vampire. On her back was a machine that resembled a scuba tank of sorts, but it was attached to a tube with a syringe. "Ugh…this is soooo not cute at all!"

"Don't complain," said a boy who was even shorter than she was- Mustard, or so he was known as a villain. He had a gas mask like something out of Star Wars covering his face, right down to the muffled voice. The only thing giving away his age was the black school uniform he wore. "These were made by an underground designer. How they look is of no concern as long as they serve their purpose and function."

"This is me caring!" Himiko retorted. "It's not hard to make something look cute!"

"Who cares, just let me at them already," Muscular growled behind his mask. "I wanna smash something! I'm too pumped to wait!"

"Shut up, you psychopaths," Dabi glanced at them over his shoulder. He didn't have any new equipment from the underground designer; then again, he didn't really care about that. "It's not time to engage them yet. Not until the entire vanguard is here."

They didn't have long to wait before a portal- courtesy of Kurogiri- opened up. Through it came six more individuals, each of them menacing in their own way.

"Sorry we're late~" Apologized a woman with large lips and a distinctly male appearance. She wore casual clothing; a plain white shirt, a jacket, and jeans, but hefted a long, thick metallic rod over one shoulder. This villain was called Magne.

Moonfish was also with them, his teeth chattering relentlessly. "Job…job…"

Spinner was another male, though one covered in green, reptilian scales with a lizard-like face and claws. His garb was almost identical to Stain's and had been inspired by the design, numerous blades included. He tightened a cloth mask behind his head that exposed his eyes and then smoothed his purple hair back with a grin, ready for action.

Next was an individual in a black and gray full bodysuit, hiding any distinguishing features. Red and blue bands were wound around their wrists and a gray "T" crossed their upper torso in a vertical line from the abdomen.

Behind him was another masked individual wearing a fancy orange overcoat and a black top hat with a feather, along with what looked like the performing cane of a magician. Last in line was a Noumu- one with blue skin, a purple and red helmet covering its eyes, and a steel piece in its mouth to stop it from closing completely.

Dabi's eyes narrowed. "Where's the commander?"

"He'll be here shortly," Kurogiri assured as he started to close the portal. "It's taking his body some time to adjust."

"Do we really need a big shot like him for this?" Muscular scoffed. "It's just a bunch of kids!"

"Those kids have already shown all the weak posers the League of Villains brought into USJ that they're a cut above the rest," Dabi reminded him. "If we're gonna do this, we need a team of people who know what they're doing. Ordinary grunts will just make the job riskier."

"But still…Heat Viper?" Himiko twirled her syringe around casually. "Where's the fun in dropping a bomb like that on them? They'll all die before I can get anyone!"

"You know what the plan is. We're not here to nuke 'em," Dabi said, his lips curling up in a slight grin. "We're just here to teach them and the hero society that their peaceful lives are over."

The third day of training was finally over and the students had just finished eating dinner (which, of course, was made by another duel courtesy of Izuku and Katsuki). Everyone was still really tired, but there was a fresh, excited energy to them now; the Pussycats had set up a fun little event for them.

"Good job out there, you guys!" Pixie-Bob praised them, her tail swishing behind her. "For all your hard work today we've set up…an inter-class test of courage!"

"It's a simple route," Tora explained. "It's basically a big loop through the forest that should take you about fifteen minutes to get through. In the middle of the route, Ragdoll will be at a table that has cards with your names written on it. Take them back with you as proof that you made it that far! Class B will be the first ones doing the "scaring" part, okay? Class A will go through their test in pairs and then we'll flip-flop and give Class B a chance to wet their pants!"

"The scaring group isn't allowed to touch anyone, but you can use your Quirks to scare them however you want. The winner will be determined by the class with the most creativity and by how many people pissed themselves!"

Most of the class looked pumped up, though Katsuki didn't look like he gave a damn and Shoto was as expressionless as ever. However, before they got started, Aizawa walked over with a sigh.

"Before we begin, and it pains me to say this," he didn't looked that pained at all as he said quite bluntly. "The remedial bunch are having a review lesson with me starting right now."

"NOOO!" Mina screamed and tried to escape, but Aizawa encased her, Rikido, Eijirou, Hanta, and Denki in his capture tape before dragging them away. "Please! I'm sorry! Let us play just a little!"

"Nope, it sucks to be you," Aizawa muttered, glancing at the other two members of his remedial group. "Katsuki, Shoto, you come, too. Don't make me drag all of you."

"Whatever," Katsuki muttered, uncaring about either event. Shoto merely nodded and followed him.

"I guess I'm with you guys?" Hitoshi approached the Class A members with his usual expression, although Izuku couldn't decide if he was bored or just so exhausted he couldn't make another face. Hitoshi was being put through the wringer of physical training as much as the remedial students and it was even more brutal for him since he still needed to catch up.

"Sure, that'll even things out," Mandalay agreed. She did a head count and nodded. "Okay, we've got fourteen students, so…seven pairs! The pairs will be decided by drawing lots!"

After drawing lots, the pairs were as such:

Fumikage and Mezo.

Hitoshi and Toru.

Kyoka and Tsuyu.

Izuku and Ochako.

Mashirao and Minoru.

Momo and Yuga.

Tenya and Koji.

"It's a good thing Hitoshi came along or we'd have had someone going in on their own!" Tenya exclaimed.

Hitoshi shot him an annoyed look. "What am I, some damn extra?"

"Yuga, would you mind switching with me?" Minoru pleaded, hoping to be partners with Momo. Thankfully, Yuga denied him.

"No switching!" Mandalay told them, stopping by the entrance to the trail with Pixie-Bob. "Now, let's get you all in there!"

Twelve minutes later, the forest was ripe with the screams of the Class A students. It was time for the fourth group to go in and have their…fun.

Pixie-Bob gestured to the next pair with a little grin. "Alright, time for our little green tea kitties to go for it! Try not to wet yourselves!"

With equally nervous gulps, Izuku and Ochako walked down the trail and into the forest. Neither of them were really fond of jump-scare stuff like this, but…well, what were they gonna do?

After about a minute of walking, Ochako thought she saw something in the darkness of the trees and yelped when she heard another scream up ahead. "Wah! This is scary! They're screaming so much!"

Izuku jumped when a second shriek followed the first. "Th-that's gotta be Kyoka or Tsuyu, r-right?"

"Probably," Ochako shivered and hugged her chest nervously. She glanced at Izuku and her eyes trailed down to his hand. "Um, Deku…d-do you mind if we uh…h-hold hands?"

"H-huh?" Izuku's head spun towards her so fast his neck almost cracked. A bright red blush swept over his face until his freckles almost glowed. It was a good thing it was nighttime- the darkness hid the crimson flush.

"I-I mean, it might make it easier," her voice was small and embarrassed. "And, y'know, we won't get separated in the dark…"

He gulped and made a short, quick nod. The two of them hesitantly reached out, almost jumping when their fingers brushed, but managed to interlock their fingers tightly together. Both of their faces grew hot; they were tense, not at all relaxed and playful like they'd been the night before. Remembering that only made their blushes hotter.

An odd scent was suddenly carried down the breeze, causing Izuku to stop in his tracks. He frowned and sniffed the air, making Ochako pause. "What is it?"

"…does it smell like something is burning to you?"

She blinked and inhaled through her nose, wincing a bit at the sharp sting. "Yeah, a little. Maybe someone used their Quirk up ahead."

Izuku didn't move to keep walking. His frown deepened. "No…No one up ahead has a Quirk that can burn things…The only person in the forest right now that can use fire is…me…"

He stiffened and squeezed Ochako's hand tighter. His eyes glanced around at the trees and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Something isn't right."

Ochako suddenly caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced after it, freezing when she saw a hand flit past a tree. It was just a glimpse, but she could see the skin at the wrist was dark and wrinkled.

She leaned closer to Izuku and whispered under her breath. "There's someone watching us. On your left…"

Izuku spotted the movement and tensed as a figure stepped out onto the trail with a lazy kind of sigh. His face blanched at the sight.

This wasn't one of the students.

Dabi had his hands shoved in his pockets as he smirked at the pair of frightened teens. "Well, damn…And here I thought I was sneaking around pretty good. You've got good eyes, little lady."

Izuku gulped and let Ochako's hand go- he'd only hurt her if he ignited his body to fight. "Who are you?"

"Well…I guess I'm your chauffeur, or something like that," Dabi remarked with a shrug. His lips curved into a smile. "Your dad said it's time to come home."

Izuku felt a shock of horror go through him. Dabi lifted his hand, blue flames licking at his skin.

"Ochako!" Izuku yanked her behind him and flared up in an instant, holding his hands up to intercept the blast of fire and stop it from surging past him. He transmuted the flames in a matter of seconds and lunged through them at Dabi, activating his Overdrive mode.

Dabi couldn't react in time and was slammed into the ground by a vicious punch from Izuku, who pinned him and shoved the villain's face into the dirt. Izuku jammed his knee between the young man's shoulder blades, pinning one arm to the ground with his hand and taking a fistful of Dabi's hair with the other.

"Wow, it really had no effect, huh?" Dabi smirked over his shoulder. "You're just like your old man, after all."

"Shut up," Izuku growled, plasma arcing off his body as he glared at the villain. "Answer my questions. How many of you are there? What are you here for?"

"Didn't I already tell you? We're here for you," Dabi snorted.

"What else?!"

"Why would I say anything else?"

"Because of this!" Izuku raised the temperature of the plasma until it was scorching Dabi's skin, making the villain groan in pain. "Talk!"

"Should you be trying to make me talk, I wonder?"

Izuku glanced to the side and realized that Dabi still had a free hand- and was taking aim at Ochako, who had started to approach them. At that distance, a full-on blast would mortally injure her.

He reacted on pure instinct and the temperature of his plasma spiked as he shoved down on Dabi's skull. To Izuku shock, what should have been flesh and bone gave way with a loud splatter, and Dabi's body suddenly liquified all at once. He staggered off of the goop and stumbled away from it as his Overdrive cloak dissipated.

Ochako looked horrified. "D-Deku, what-"

"-it was some kind of clone," he cut her off, thoughts racing at a mile a minute. "Which means there's definitely at least two villains out here. We have to go back and tell-"

"Everyone!" They both jumped as Mandalay's voice rang in their heads, making use of her telepathy. "Two members of the League of Villains have invaded the area! It's possible there are still more of them around! Those students who are capable, retreat to the lodge immediately! Don't engage them in combat!"

Izuku bit his lip and turned to head back towards the starting area. "Let's go, we should warn the Pros about these other villains-"

"Deku, wait!" Ochako grabbed his arm as she realized something. "Kota! Kota's probably still at his secret base!"

The teenager blanched. She was right, Kota definitely hadn't been anywhere near the lodge since dinnertime…

"I'll go get him, you go back-"

"I'm going with you!"

"…okay," Izuku let out a shaky breath and took her hand, racing into the forest in the direction of Kota's base. She squeezed his hand as they ran, fully aware that somewhere out there…

Izuku's father might be lying in wait.

A short distance away, the villain in the black and gray bodysuit was standing on the branch of a tree beside Dabi's real body. He perked up as he felt the clone he'd made disappear. "Dabi! Your clone already died! Why are you so weak?"

"…damn, that's annoying," Dabi muttered with a grimace. "I really am weak, huh?"

"Huh? No you're not! You're strong, man! It's just that we were dealing with your perfect counter this time, you know?!"

"Well, the whole purpose was to figure out where Izuku's position was, so it's technically a success," Dabi shook his head and refocused. "Clone me again, Twice. We're going after those guys in the lodge next, as planned."

"You got it! I'll make as many weaklings as you need! Oh, what about that Noumu they gave you?"

Dabi shrugged. "I set it loose already. It's probably killed one or two people by now."

Hitoshi hefted the unconscious body of Kosei, one of the Class B students, on his back as he and Toru slipped through the woods towards the lodge. Just behind him, Toru was still coughing from a mysterious gas that they only just now realized must have been from a villain. It had been the cause of the burning scent in the air, but they'd managed to put some distance between them and the gas- although Kosei had been caught in it long enough to fall unconscious.

Toru finally managed to stop coughing. "Ugh…H-Hitoshi, what about the others behind us?"

"We'll have to leave them to Ragdoll," he replied uneasily. "There's nothing you or I can do about the gas…If I found the villain creating it, I might be able to make him stop, but…He's probably hiding in the center of that huge-ass cloud…"

Toru suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Look!"

Hitoshi froze as he spotted a figure kneeling in the middle of the trail, head cocked down to stare at something on the ground. As his eyes studied the person, he felt the blood drain from his face- by their knees was a severed arm.

"Who was ahead of us, again?" He whispered.

"F-Fumikage and Mezo…" She breathed out in horror.

Moonfish almost seemed to be in a trance as he keened at the blood-soaked limb. "It's so pretty…so beautiful…No, I have work…Mustn't be distracted…but it's so…ahh…"

He slowly pushed himself to his feet and sighed. "Such perfect flesh…no, I cannot be captivated any longer…I have work…"

His head cocked towards the teenagers with a sudden jerk, exposed teeth chattering wildly. "Work."

Hitoshi grinned nervously. "Feel like chatting with me, you sick fuck?"

At the lodge, things were not okay.

Aizawa had left the building to help the other Pros, leaving Vlad in charge of defending the remedial students and the others as they arrived. But just a minute after Aizawa took off, Mina spotted a shadow just outside the door of the makeshift classroom. "Guys!"

An eruption of blue flames exploded through the door, stopped only by a quick wall of ice made by Shoto. Dabi's second clone held his hand up for another shot, but Katsuki (who had been standing along the wall near the door) lunged and held his hands close together. "Stun Grenade!"

The swift, bright explosion made the clone squint and recoil, giving Katsuki a chance to grab him by the throat and slam him into the wall.

Katsuki snarled at Dabi, explosions popping off in his free hand. "You fucker…Tell me what you're after and maybe you'll get to keep your head!"

"Katsuki Bakugo, isn't it?" Dabi grinned at him. "What perfect timing. You know, if you hurry, you might be able to go find your buddy Izuku before Viper does."

Katsuki let out a roar and destroyed the clone with a violent explosion before bolting for the exit of the building. Vlad broke through the ice wall and yelled down the hall after him. "Katsuki, come back!"

The explosive teen ignored him and disappeared. Vlad grit his teeth in frustration. "Shit!"

"I can go get him," Shoto offered as he melted the ice. Vlad hesitated, but nodded reluctantly. He couldn't abandon the rest of the students and Shoto was probably one of the strongest people at the camp.

"Don't engage the villains, just get him back here. By force if you have to."

Shoto nodded and ran after Katsuki.

Kota was shaking in terror as he stared at the massive cloud of gas roiling over the forest beneath him. He could hear Mandalay calling for him with her telepathy, but her Quirk wasn't the kind where she could hear responses. All she could do was call and pray Kota heard her.

"Kota, you heard all that, right?! Please, get back to the lodge! I'm so sorry, I don't know where you go off to all the time! These villains are keeping us too busy to come find you, so please run back to the lodge!"

He made to run for the woods, but stopped dead with a shocked cry. Blocking his path was the huge, cloaked figure of Muscular, still donning his mask.

"Well, what do we have here?" Muscular chuckled as he stared the small child down. "I come around looking for a nice spot to scout the fight out and what do I find? A face not listed in the archives we checked out…"

"Never mind that though, you've got a good hat there, kid! Trade me for this lame-ass mask, okay? I don't know if it's because I'm getting hazed by the boss or whatever, but they're making me wear this damn thing and I hate it!"

Kota spun around and tried to flee in the opposite direction, but Muscular chucked his mask off and leapt after him. The hulking villain hit the rock face of the cliff and dove in front of Kota, blocking his path.

"Sorry about this, but I'm still pretty annoyed," Muscular grinned sadistically as the hood of his cloak was brushed off his head from the rapid movement. His left arm became enveloped in writhing muscle fibers as he clenched his fist. "So imma kill you now and jack that sweet hat you've got!"

Kota stared at the deep scar over the left side of Muscular's face and the artificial eye. Horror shot through his body as he realized who he was staring at. He'd seen a news report the other day on this guy since they were talking about Heat Viper…

The villain who killed the Water Horse duo had a simple, but powerful Augmentation-type Quirk that gave him incredible physical strength. Before killing the Water Horses, they managed to weaken him enough to be captured by leaving a deep wound in his left eye. And during the raid that freed the convicts Heat Viper and Moonfish…he also escaped confinement.

"Mom…Dad…!" Kota cried in terror. Muscular swung his huge fist at the boy, intent on crushing him into a pulp.

A blur of motion suddenly swept between them and then Ochako was scooping Kota up as Izuku rushed them out of Muscular's attack range. The villain's fist crashed into the stone where Kota had been as he stared after them with surprise.

Izuku skidded to a stop, supporting Ochako as she took a moment to cancel her Quirk's effect on herself. She'd basically de-weighted herself and grabbed onto Izuku when he leapt for Kota, making it easier for both of them to reach the boy in time.

Muscular scowled as he recognized Izuku. "Oh, great, it's you."

Izuku pushed Ochako and Kota behind him and flared up, his face twisting into a glare as he started using Overdrive. "Ochako, keep Kota safe while I see what this guy is about. If I can figure his Quirk out, I can plan an escape."

"Deku, I don't know…" Ochako said uneasily as she looked at Muscular. "This guy is way different from the villain before…"

"Before? What, you little punks already made one of us kick the bucket?" Muscular's scowl became a sneer. "Well, it'd be a shame if I didn't get to see how you managed that…I might have orders not to kill you, Izuku…but there ain't nobody who said I couldn't smack you around and kill this bitch and that kid!"

Izuku clenched his hands like claws and snarled. "The hell you will! Kota, just wait there with Ochako! We'll save you!"

"Save him, huh?" Muscular crouched and grinned maniacally. "I'd like to see you try. Since you're being a bad kid and resisting capture…lemme see you bleed!"

Muscular lunged at him with surprising speed for someone so large, almost pulverizing Izuku with a huge swing. Izuku barely managed to avoid the punch by retreating to the rock face and had to jump away immediately when a second punch destroyed the stone behind him just a moment before.

Izuku was now in a position behind Muscular and leapt above him, plasma sparking off his arms. Muscular spun around and lifted his arm to block, more muscle fibers swelling around the limb to make it denser. The strike Izuku delivered did little more than singe the thick shield, allowing the villain to simply swat him away.

"The hell is that?!" Muscular cackled. "I thought you had your dad's Quirk! You've got some decent speed, but you might as well have hit me with a firecracker!"

Izuku rolled and regained his balance, skidding to a stop as he glared at Muscular. His Quirk lets him augment those muscle fibers to boost his strength and speed, but it's a pretty solid defense, too…I can't just beat at them, he'll shrug off anything I throw at 5%. And there's no fire around for me to take advantage of. Dammit, I should've tried to keep the fire that other villain used!

His eyes narrowed, mind calculating what his options were. Those fibers…they're most densely concentrated around his arms and shoulders. Hitting those isn't going to get me anywhere. Actually, trying to hit him at any point on his body with lots of muscle in general is probably useless. That covers a lot of weak spots since he's a pretty buff guy, but even so…

Izuku's gaze locked on the scar where Muscular's left eye used to be. Even if your body is that strong…your head is still a big weak point. 

"I'm already getting a high off of this," Muscular grinned, rolling his arm a few times like he was warming up. "Seeing you struggle around, powerless…It's making me excited!"

"H-hey!"

Izuku froze as Kota suddenly cried out, regaining Muscular's attention. The boy was still clinging onto Ochako, but he was looking at Muscular with a mix of terror and anger on his face as tears slipped down his cheeks. "Water Horse…My mom and dad…did you torment them too when you killed them?!"

Muscular stared at the child in surprise. "Wait, seriously? You're those heroes' kid? Damn…this must be fate or something…"

His face became sadistic again. "Water Horse…that damn hubby-wife duo that took my eye out and got me locked up for a while! Yeah, you bet your ass I put them through hell, kid! I don't have any grudge towards them for my eye or prison sentence…I just wanted to kill and they wanted to stop me. What happened was just because our paths intersected and I was stronger!"

He lunged at Ochako and Kota, muscle fibers swelling around his arms. "Your pathetic mom and dad died in vain! Let me send you after them!"

"No you don't!" Izuku bolted after him and leapt into the air.

Muscular spun back around with a grin, having anticipated Izuku's attempt to stop him. "You ain't getting the jump on me, kid!"

Izuku thrust his hand forward, managing to get it caught between some of the muscle fibers to keep Muscular from avoiding his next attack. The villain saw that move and grinned wildly as his left arm clenched to strike back. "You caught me, now what?! Gonna clock me with another weak-ass punch?!"

But Muscular froze as he took in Izuku's face. The teenager's expression was one of deadly certainty and the villain realized something about his power had changed.

Izuku didn't have the luxury to be careful and he knew it. He didn't have the luxury to worry about whether this attack would end up killing the villain- this was life and death. Plasma surged around his right arm in massive bolts as he charged up a shot at 100% and went for Muscular's head. The villain's left arm flew up in an attempt to block instead of attack.

"100% Detroit Smash!"

The impact was devastating, blasting Muscular into the rock face with a shockwave of energy that threw Ochako and Kota off the cliff, but the girl managed to make them float with her Quirk and prevent them from falling to their deaths. Izuku rolled away from the huge crater he'd created and swore- his right arm was broken, but more importantly, Muscular had managed to block the headshot with his arm.

He didn't know if that had been enough to knock Muscular unconscious, but Izuku didn't care- they had their opening and Ochako was already floating. He scrambled to his feet and leapt off the cliff after her, letting his Overdrive cloak dissipate as he reached for her hand. "Ochako!"

"I've got you!" She clapped his hand and got her Quirk activated on him, causing Izuku to float as well. He used the momentum of his jump to push them further away from the cliff and towards the lodge in the distance.

Kota stared at his broken right arm with fright. "Y-your arm-!"

"I'll be fine," Izuku gasped, glancing over his shoulder towards the cliff. "More importantly is he-"

"LOOK OUT!" Ochako screamed.

Muscular was already in the air, having launched himself off the cliff with the muscle fibers enhancing his legs. He was bleeding and definitely hurt, but he still had that sadistic grin on his face and seemed even more excited than before. "Starting off with a little jab, huh?! That wasn't half bad, Izuku!"

Izuku spun and hurled Ochako and Kota further away through the air towards the lodge, twisting again to intercept Muscular as the villain crashed into him.

He managed to grab Muscular's arm when the villain punched at him, but the impact still cracked several of his ribs and had him choking up blood. For a moment, Izuku was stunned as they flew through the air, but Muscular still had gravity working against him, so they began to fall towards the starting point of the Pussycat's test of courage route. Below them, Izuku could see the Pussycats and a few students facing off with two or three more villains.

Muscular laughed and wound up his other arm as blood flew from Izuku's mouth. "Yes! BLOOD! I want blood! Bleed more for me, Izuku!"

"Screw you!" Izuku snarled, swinging his body over Muscular's arm and flaring up again. Now above and behind the villain, he charged up another shot at 100% in his finger and flicked down, shooting Muscular towards the ground below. The blast of wind made him fly higher up, launching him after Ochako and Kota.

Ochako reached out and grabbed his unbroken arm as he flew by, the momentum of which pulled her and Kota along. "Deku!"

"Throw me at him just like this!" Izuku shouted, not letting his eyes leave Muscular's form as the villain prepared to land amongst the battle below them. "I have to take him out!"

"Okay!" Ochako threw him down after Muscular like a human missile and Izuku further propelled himself by using Overdrive and spinning, building up momentum to close the distance as fast as he could. His eyes locked onto the back of Muscular's skull.

I'm not gonna miss that goddamn head of yours this time!

Muscular crashed into the ground between the Pussycats and the other villains, cushioning his fall with his muscle fibers, but making an impact heavy enough to leave a crater beneath him. He was dazed by the crash, and in the time it took him to recover and start to stand up, Izuku delivered a vicious finishing punch.

"100% Hulkbuster Smaaaaash!"

It was a clean shot- and dealt catastrophic damage.

Muscular was absolutely pulverized into the dirt and sent skidding through the terrain with such force that his body was actually buried headfirst up to his waist. He didn't lose momentum for nearly thirty feet, even with his bulky form dragging through the earth around him. When he finally stopped, his legs flopped over and went limp.

Izuku had been launched upward again from the wind pressure, but at such an angle that he was flying towards the heroes and not the villains.

"Deku!"

Katsuki was suddenly there, launching himself into the air with his explosions to intercept Izuku as he flew. Izuku crashed into him, but Katsuki managed to get a hold of him and his weight let them fall back to the earth around the Pussycats.

Pixie-Bob stared at him in shock. "Where the hell did you even come from?!"

"Sorry!" Izuku winced as he touched down- he still had no gravity because of Ochako's Quirk, but she couldn't release when she and Kota were still floating above the battle. "Things got a little messy, but Kota's safe!"

Well, safe was a relative term since Kota was technically a hundred or so feet in the air, but that was better than being down here at the moment. As long as the villains didn't notice them up there…

"And your arms are fucked up!" Katsuki hissed, spinning towards Shoto. They had just reached the Pussycats when Muscular fell out of the sky and Izuku pulverized him. "Make some ice!"

Shoto didn't argue- he could tell that Izuku needed some kind of treatment. In addition to his arms being broken, his skin was burnt from the hyper-charged plasma he generated at 100%. While he did his best to relieve some of the pain Izuku was going through, Katsuki twisted his head to yell at Mandalay.

"Mandalay! We ran into Eraser Head on our way out here! He said to tell you to broadcast a message to the other students out here!"

"What is it?" She asked, pacing from side to side as she studied the villains across from them.

The villains recovered from their shock relatively quickly, though they were a little more way now that the number of enemies had doubled.

Magne whistled as she studied the trail of ruin all the way up to Muscular's immobile body- or what she could see of it. "Wheeeeew! That kid really fucked him up! Is he even alive after that?"

"That kid…he's the one we have to capture, Magne," Spinner said after studying Izuku. He brandished a huge weapon that consisted of many different blades all clumped together in the general shape of a big sword. "We gotta get through these heroes and get him!"

"I'd love to, but that kitty making the ground fly all over the place is an eyesore," Magne pouted with a lazy grin. Her eyes flitted up to the moon in an attempt to judge the time. "What to do, what to do…"

"Well, our backup should be here soon enough."

Hitoshi grit his teeth as he and Toru hid behind a tree from Moonfish- this guy was bad news in all the worse kinds of ways. Kosei was still unconscious, but they had bigger problems.

Moonfish was propped up several meters in the air on shapeshifting blades- his teeth, which could apparently extend and stretch quickly for some distance. Even now, he was using them to probe the forest for his prey, stabbing into bushes and trees in search of the teenagers.

"Meat…meat…" He chanted, his teeth chattering.

Toru was beside Hitoshi and after glancing past the tree at the villain, she whispered in fright. "We can't stay here."

"I know," Hitoshi glanced down the trail, but making a break for it the way they'd come wasn't an option. There was still a huge gas cloud there. "But we can't go back towards Ragdoll, either."

"Why isn't your Quirk working?" She asked. "He definitely responded to you!"

"I'm not sure," Hitoshi carefully looked around the tree to study Moonfish. "The way he's chanting, it's like…It's like he's in a trance or something…I don't think he's actually directly responding to me and that's why my Quirk isn't taking hold of him. If I could snap him out of whatever he's doing, I might have a shot at controlling him, but those blades are so fast he'll skewer me before I get a word in."

"So what, we just…we sit and wait for backup?"

Hitoshi bit his lip. "I don't think we have another choice."

"Everyone!" Mandalay's voice rang in their heads all of a sudden and they had to force down a flinch. "I have a message from Eraser Head for all of you! All of the students are hereby authorized for combat!"

That's fine and all, but we still can't do anything here!Hitoshi thought in annoyance. Dammit, of all the villains they could get stuck with, it was a long-range type who wasn't easy to brainwash. This was the worst!

A sudden rumbling sound made them freeze and Moonfish paused in his probing to turn further down the trail. His teeth chattered again and he shot more of the long blades into the dark of the forest, in search of the source, only to be smashed aside by a massive claw of darkness.

Trees were thrown aside as Fumikage emerged, overwhelmed by Dark Shadow. The normally obedient, shadowy monster had completely taken over Fumikage and was now monstrous in his size and power. His form now made the power he wielded at the Sports Festival look like a joke.

Moonfish was thrown like a toy doll and bounced along the ground before stopping face-down. His body trembled and his teeth elongated again, pushing himself back onto his feet. "Meat…my meat…Nonononono! I'm the one who gets to cut the meat! No one else!"

His tooth-blades shot at Dark Shadow and speared through the huge limb and part of the monster's face. But Dark Shadow's eyes only glared at him with with condescension. "You don't get to make demands, you insect!"

The next huge swing of shadowy claws shredded through Moonfish's straightjacket and hurled him through multiple trees, blowing a section of the forest apart with sheer power. Dark Shadow swiped again wildly, screeching in triumph as he watched the villain's body hit the ground far away. "Ahahahaha! More fun! I want more fun!"

Hitoshi blanched. Dark Shadow was rampaging and would probably attack anything he saw indiscriminately. But the creature was still capable of coherent speech and that meant he had a chance of calming it, even if it was risky.

He licked his lips and glanced at Toru, keeping his voice down. "Stay here."

Before she could say anything, he stood up and hurried onto the trail. Dark Shadow had turned around, looking away in search of more targets. "Hey! Dark Shadow!"

The huge monster spun towards Hitoshi, eyes gleaming at the nervous grin on the teenagers face. "Huh? You wanna fight me too?! Let's-?!"

Hitoshi's Quirk took effect instantly, but he could see that Dark Shadow was actively resisting it. He put all the effort he could into his words, trying to force his influence on the creature. "Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!"

Whether it was because Dark Shadow wasn't human or because he was just so goddamn strong, Hitoshi felt his head start to throb as he pushed his brainwashing onto the creature. He could feel a migraine coming on- holy shit, was this even working!?

But suddenly, the shadow beast began to shrink and Hitoshi saw Fumikage appear from inside of the darkness. The falcon-headed teen trembled as he regained control and forced Dark Shadow back into his body before he started panting for breath.

Hitoshi let out a long sigh of relief. "That was close."

Fumikage stumbled to his feet, still shaky. "Thank you…I'm sorry, I lost control. That villain slashed off one of Mezo's duplicate arms and it made me so angry I…"

"Is everything okay here?"

They glanced down the trail as Aizawa ran towards them, his eyes locking onto Fumikage in concern. "Mezo told me you snapped and started rampaging."

"I did," Fumikage nodded slowly. "Forgive me; I wasn't able to control Dark Shadow. It's only because Hitoshi was here that I was able to force him down…"

Aizawa flitted his gaze up to Hitoshi, who was rubbing the throbbing pain out of his head. Toru emerged from the trees with Kosei hanging off her shoulder, still unconscious. "Good job, Hitoshi. Now you three get Kosei to the lodge. There shouldn't be any more villains between here and there."

The Pro's vision suddenly flickered behind them and his eyes narrowed. "The gas cloud is dissipating."

Hitoshi looked over his shoulder and noticed that he was right- the massive cloud was starting to just fade away, turning into wisps as it scattered. "Maybe Ragdoll took out the villain making it…"

"Maybe," Aizawa didn't sound so sure, but he didn't have time to chat. "Get to the lodge. I'm going to find the others."

He ran off deeper into the forest while Hitoshi, Toru, and Fumikage carried the unconscious Kosei to safety.

Back with the Pussycats, Tora prepared himself for another clash with the two villains still up on their feet. "Katsuki, Shoto, you two get Izuku back to the lodge! Those injuries need treatment immediately!"

"We can keep these guys at bay," Pixie-Bob agreed, crouching to use her Quirk at the first hint of movement from the villains.

Magne smirked. "Is that so?"

"Everyone!" That was their magician ally, Compress, talking through a headpiece each of the villains wore. "I'm sorry to ruin your fun, but Kurogiri has requested we all gather to retrieve the target! Does anyone know where he might be?" 

"Yeah," Magne responded, a large smile forming on her face. "He's right over here."

"Splendid! We'll be there momentarily!"

The heroes and students froze as several black portals opened up out of thin air around Magne and Spinner. Stepping through them were the rest of the villain's team- Dabi, Himiko, Twice, and Compress.

"Hey, Dabi! Did you call Noumu back yet?" Twice asked as soon as they were all together.

"Oh, yeah," the young man replied. "Kurogiri is gonna warp him back to base. Well, it had some blood on it, so it probably managed to kill someone."

Mandalay tensed- the number of enemies had just tripled. "Dammit…"

"Do you still want us to run?" Shoto asked, not seeing how the Pussycats could defeat all six of these guys on their own. Even if Izuku was injured, between him, Katsuki, and Shoto, they had some serious firepower.

"I hate to say it, but I think our only chance of winning this is to have you kids with us," Pixie-Bob said, her eyes flitting from one villain to another. "With my Quirk and you three…we might be able to take them out at a distance."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, kitty, but you really shouldn't be worrying about us," Magne teased.

Another portal opened up behind them.

Out of it stepped a man in a black coat that hung off his shoulders, his exposed torso wrapped in bandages, and a pair of dark pants and black combat boots. The wind caressed a mess of curly green hair on his head, blowing it to the left side and making the buzz cut on the right side of his head more noticeable.

Sharp, dark green eyes locked onto the group of heroes and behind them, the students. At last, they settled on Izuku.

Mandalay blanched and immediately broadcast her telepathy. "Eraser! Eraser! We need you here now! Right now!"

"You took your time getting here," Spinner grumbled. "Aren't you supposed to be leading the team or something?"

"You might watch your mouth," Dabi warned the other villain. "He's well beyond any of the rest of us here."

Hisashi's lips curved into a small smirk. "Hello, Izuku."

Izuku could only stare back at the man with his eyes wide in terror. He'd never seen even a picture of his father before, but somehow…seeing him face-to-face was more frightening than anything he'd ever imagined.

Hisashi spared a moment to glance at Dabi. "Where's the rest of the team?"

"Well the gas disappeared, so I guess Mustard got taken out," he replied, then nodded his head towards the villains till half-buried in the ground. "Muscular got wasted too, it seems. I haven't seen Moonfish, but if he's not here, he probably got taken out, too."

"These U.A kids are better than I thought," Hisashi remarked as he studied the destruction resulting from Muscular's crash. "Well, they've been learning under All Might, so I suppose it shouldn't come as any surprise…?"

His attention focused on the trail of upturned dirt and initial crater made when Izuku pulverized Muscular. The angle…an aerial attack?

Hisashi lifted his gaze up and spotted Ochako and Kota floating overhead about fifty feet up or so. They'd been trying to remain inconspicuous until the villains were gone, but now they were trapped.

"This is why I'm the one in charge," he muttered, lifting his hand and aiming it at the floating children. The others villains followed his gaze, staring in surprise. "How is it none of you noticed them?"

Izuku felt horror shoot through him. No!

He charged 100% of his power into one of his toes and rocketed towards Hisashi, blurring into the line of villains in an instant. Hisashi's eyes shot back down as Izuku suddenly appeared in front of him, caught off-guard by his unexpected speed. He lifted his left arm to block the punch Izuku swung at him.

"Don't touch them!" Izuku screamed, 100% exploding from his arm.

Hisashi wasn't expecting the raw force with which Izuku punched him. The impact blew him off his feet and sent him flying into the forest, his body smashing through a number of trees until he disappeared into the darkness. The blast of wind that resulted from the overwhelming blow lifted the villains around Hisashi into the air and scattered them over the ground.

Izuku still didn't have any gravity seeing as Ochako hadn't yet released her Quirk, so the blowback made him fly to the Pussycats. Tora caught him and while the villains were stunned, Shoto launched himself up on a stream of ice and managed to catch Ochako and Kota as she released her Quirk. He slid them back to ground level on his ice and set the pair down.

Ochako looked ready to throw up after holding her Quirk for so long, but she managed to keep herself together and didn't let go of Kota.

Shoto glanced at Izuku as Tora helped the boy stand, but he was staggering without the zero-gravity effect of Ochako's Quirk to make him weightless. "Izuku, you really need to get back to the lodge! They're after you! And besides, both of your arms are broken!"

"Geez…" Spinner shook his head as he sat up. "That little brat's got a hell of a punch…"

"What'd you expect? He's Viper's kid, after all," Magne glanced back into the forest where Hisashi had been blown away. "I wonder if he survived that?"

Hisashi was in shock. His eyes were wide as he stared up at the night sky, lying on his back amidst the forest destroyed by his crash. The arm Izuku had punched him with throbbed with pain- he knew from experience he had a fracture or a break there, but that wasn't what bothered him.

He recognized that power. Even if he didn't recognize it visually, his body would have remembered that raw strength anywhere.

For a moment, he couldn't believe it.

Then both of his hands curled into fists and his teeth clenched, grinding against each other as fury hotter than the blood of a volcano roared through him.

"Taking me from them wasn't enough for you?" He breathed in rage, the veins in his neck bulging. Raw power bubbled up in his body as Hisashi let out a scream of unfettered hatred. "AALLL MIIIIIIGHT!"

Before anyone could move, emerald light exploded from the forest behind the villains.

A shockwave ripped through the air, making them stagger in an effort to keep their balance. The air was hot, suffocatingly so, as the light faded somewhat, but raging green flames were devouring the trees with hungry greed.

Even the villains stayed frozen as Hisashi stalked out of the blazing forest, his face set in a scowl and his eyes practically glowing. He was pissed and they all knew it.

"Izuku," Hisashi growled, his voice dangerous. "Come. Here. Now."

Izuku couldn't move. He had fallen onto the ground and was shaking with shock and no small amount of terror. Hisashi had just gotten right back up after taking a shot at 100% and he looked no worse for wear, save a bruise forming on his left arm.

That was All Might's power and he'd fucking taken it without batting an eye.

"Like hell you're taking him!" Katsuki snarled, bristling in a mixture of rage and utter fear. He would never admit to being afraid, but holy shit, this guy was fucking terrifying.

Dabi glanced at Hisashi warily. When someone with his kind of power got angry, it was usually a wise idea to stay the hell out of their way. "What do you want us to do?"

"Stay back," Hisashi ordered, his eyes becoming dark. "Or I'll kill you."

Pixie-Bob felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and she immediately slammed her paws into the ground, unleashing a massive wave of soil at the villain. As the wave began to crash down, she lost sight of him. Where'd he go?!

"Here, kitty, kitty."

Pixie-Bob's head was crushed into the ground, the initial blow alone making her lose consciousness in an instant. Hisashi stepped over her motionless body towards the remaining two Pussycats and the horrified students. None of them could tell if she was alive or not.

"You can give me my son willingly or I can take him by force," Hisashi thundered as he stalked towards them. "I don't care which."

He lifted his hand up and Izuku realized he was going to use his Quirk. "Look out!"

Izuku dove in front of them and intercepted a blast of emerald fire with his own, but to his shock, he couldn't transmute them. All he could do was stop them with the flames around his body.

Hisashi realized what was going on when his flames didn't just blast past Izuku and smite the rest of them. I wondered about this, but our flames really aren't compatible? They're just pushing against each other like oil and water. 

Well, whatever. He'd figure out the details of that phenomenon later.

Stopping the stream of fire, Hisashi darted forward and grabbed Izuku by the face, then slammed him into the ground. He didn't use the same force he had against Pixie-Bob, but the blow was still strong enough to knock the boy out cold.

"I'm sorry, Izuku," he murmured. "If possible, I really don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already are."

"Deku!" Ochako screamed.

"You asshole!" Katsuki charged him with Shoto and Tora trying to close in on three different sides. "Give him back!"

Hisashi lifted his hand and blasted Tora with an explosion of flame, sending the Pro hero flying with serious burns. Shoto made to attack the villain with his full-on glacial burst, but Hisashi blurred towards him and struck him in the gut before he could, cracking several ribs and knocking him away.

Katsuki reached for Hisashi's face, intent on getting as close as he could before unleashing the strongest explosion in his arsenal. Hisashi grabbed his wrist, flipped him over his shoulder, and slammed him into the ground by his feet. He planted a foot on Katsuki's arm, keeping his hand from twisting to aim an explosion at him.

"Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki, isn't it?" Hisashi queried as he glanced from one teen to another. "I saw the footage of your battles during the Sports Festival. You've both got some rather powerful Quirks. Killing you would be a waste."

"Fuck you!" Katsuki screamed, struggling to get free. "You're not taking him! I'll fucking kill you!"

"I'm sorry, but I can and I am taking my son with me," Hisashi said, kneeling down and pressing his boot a little harder into Katsuki's arm to keep him still. With a quick strike, he hit the teenager at the base of his skull and knocked him out instantly. "I'll admit though that you're one of the more troublesome students. Take a nap."

Letting Katsuki's limp form go, he stood back up and glanced at Mandalay, Ochako, and Kota. Ochako had started walking towards Hisashi and Izuku slowly, her face completely terrified and her body shaking.

"Please…" she gasped out, lips trembling. "No!"

Hisashi ignored her and knelt to lift up Izuku, cradling the bleeding and unconscious teenager close to his chest. Without a backwards glance, he walked over to the rest of the villains and through one of Kurogiri's portals. The gateway closed.

Ochako fell to her knees and screamed. "NOOOOOO!"

Chapter Twenty Five: Welcome to the League

"The Hero Community is still reeling in shock from the attack that took place on U.A's school training camp just three days ago," said a reporter on screen. Images were brought up of planes flying over a burning forest in the middle of the night, dropping hundreds of gallons of water to put out the wild emerald flames. "According to a report from Blood Hero: Vlad King who was on site, ambulances and firetrucks arrived on the scene fifteen minutes after the villains, who have been identified as part of the League of Villains, finished their raid and left the area. Of the forty-one students, fifteen lost consciousness and were in a critical state because of a gas attack. Twelve had injuries, ranging from minor to severe, and thirteen were uninjured. One of the students, Izuku Midoriya, was kidnapped."

"In addition, of the six Pro Heroes who were present at the time, Pixie-Bob of the Pussycats suffered a critical head injury and is currently being kept in a medical coma. Another of the Pussycats, Ragdoll, left a heavy blood trail, but has yet to be found."

"Of the villains, two were immediately apprehended and arrested, but a third villain found at the scene known by his villain alias Muscular, was dead on arrival. U.A is now being targeted by the public with severe criticisms for the attack and kidnapping-"

Kurogiri turned the TV off and set the remote down on the bar. He looked towards Tomura, who had been uncharacteristically silent.

"Were these results to your satisfaction?" Kurogiri asked quietly.

Tomura tapped his fingers against the bar for a few moments. "We achieved our goal. U.A and the hero society are getting all the blame. Even if we hadn't succeeded in taking Izuku, the attack on its own fractured the public's trust in heroes."

"…but?" Kurogiri prompted.

"…It's not enough," Tomura said at last. "Taking Izuku, who has already been targeting by part of the public, is fine and all. But to really shatter the heroes, he needs to be one of us. I want him to be seen with the League of Villains as one of our own."

"You want a demonstration."

Tomura smiled in a ghastly way. "Whether he intended to or not…just the fact that he killed Muscular means he's got that same, murderous instinct his dad has. It would be so easy to make a display of that if he were seen with us…but Teacher won't let me see him yet."

"He experienced severe injuries during the capture," Kurogiri reminded him, reaching over to clean a glass out of habit. "Teacher and the Doctor saw fit to keep him with them until he's recovered somewhat. You mustn't rush things, Tomura. We've achieved something important."

"I'm aware," Tomura replied, more relaxed than Kurogiri was expected. "I want to see All Might's face when he sees Izuku standing with us…but Teacher and Viper are right about something. I need to be a little more patient. Before, I was playing this game like an RPG, but I should be playing like a Sim. I need to manage the pawns I have available at any given time and slowly crumble the foundation that those high up are standing on."

"If you look at it as a game of Chess where I'm the "player", then Izuku is a "King" right now. A piece I need to keep safe at all costs. But if he joins us willingly…he'll turn into the "Queen" and be the most powerful piece on the board."

A small chuckle escaped Tomura's lips. "Well, like father like son, after all…"

A heartbeat monitor beeped consistently in the room, which was otherwise quiet. The lights were dim, but still bright enough to see easily.

Unmoving from his spot where he leaned against he wall, Hisashi studied Izuku's face as the teenager slept on the medical bed. He was hooked up to an IV and had a oxygen mask over his face. Both of his arms and his torso were wrapped in bandages after the Doctor's surgery in an attempt to fix the extensive damage.

He'd flitted in and out of consciousness for a few hours after they'd brought him here, but after the Doctor gave him a sedative, he'd stayed in a fitful rest for the last three days or so.

The sound of footsteps making their way down the hall made Hisashi pause and he turned his head as the newcomer entered the room. All for One.

"Still unconscious, I see," the man remarked quietly.

Hisashi nodded as his eyes returned to Izuku. "Your sure he didn't suffer brain damage?"

"You didn't strike him hard enough to cause brain damage," All for One replied, moving over to the other side of the room to stand by Izuku's bedside. "Oddly enough, it's fortunate your muscles have shrunken from misuse these last sixteen years. You got carried away in your rage- had you struck him with the same power you had back then, he'd have died."

"I underestimated how much my body had weakened," Hisashi agreed. "I was aiming to kill Pixie-Bob and Tora, but they both survived despite my enhancement."

"Well, Pixie-Bob might still die, but you didn't do much more than scorch Tora. Your body is still not back at its peak efficiency, even with the enhancements."

All for One chuckled after a moment. "It's rather ironic, is it not? You, I, and All Might have all grown weaker over these past years."

Hisashi's eyes darkened. "I want him dead."

"In time," All for One assured him.

"That's not soon enough for me," the younger of the two villains scowled, half-glaring at Izuku. "I can't believe he passed One for All to him. There's no way to remove it?"

"Unfortunately, no. Not at this time. But we might yet make use of it once he learns how to control it."

"I don't want him to have that cursed power."

"Peace, Hisashi," All for One reached down to brush back some of the hair covering Izuku's eyes with disconcerting delicacy. "That power is only a "curse" as long as the wielder is against us. On our side…it will bring him no harm to possess it."

"Now, go and inform Tomura that he and the rest of the League will be meeting Izuku shortly. Tomorrow, after I've had time to run more tests."

Hisashi looked at him pointedly, but didn't argue. "In other words, you're about to do another one of your experiments."

"Not the kind you're thinking of- not yet," All for One murmured. His fingers brushed the soft skin of Izuku's face. "But he does have something I need."

"That was some Quirk back there-"

"You can be a hero-"

"I'm cursed! I'll hurt you!"

"Izu! You're home!"

"This is about your life, not ours-"

"I love you too, sweetie-"

"I'm not scared of you-"

"Like hell you're taking him!"

"It would've been bad luck if you tripped-"

"Deku?"

Izuku's eyes flew open with a sharp breath. He squeezed his eyes shut almost immediately as he felt his head pounding. Resisting the urge to vomit, he waited for what might have been minutes or hours until the pain faded away to tolerable levels before he made any attempt at moving.

He opened his eyes again more slowly this time, blinking tiredly around him. Nothing really looked familiar. The room was dark and his mind was sluggish. He felt weak and feverish; his skin was coated in a thin sheen of sweat.

He shivered in the cold air- he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Izuku slowly shifted his body so his legs were hanging off the bed, pushing the sheets aside. He was barefoot, but his lower half was covered by a pair of loose, dark pants.

What happened? He wondered, rubbing his face with his hand.

He heard footsteps and looked up towards the doorway to find, to his surprise, a girl about his age or maybe a little older in a high school uniform skipping into the room. She stopped dead upon seeing him and jumped up and down with a squeal. "You're awake! You're awake! Yaaaay!"

She bounced over to him, startling Izuku with her energy and sudden appearance. "I'm Himiko! It's nice to meet you, Izu! Do you mind if I call you Izu?"

"Wh-wha-?" Izuku managed, flustered and confused as she stood right in front of him.

She placed her hands on either side of his legs and leaned forward, causing Izuku to lean back on his elbows to put some distance between them. But his body was still weak and so he ended up just flopping on his back.

Himiko climbed onto the bed and practically straddled him so she could look at his face in more detail. Izuku reddened hotly. "Wh-who- wh-what are you-"

He lifted his hands to try and move her off of him- politely, if he could manage it- but Himiko grabbed his wrists and pinned them beside his head. It was easy for her, seeing as he was still so weak.

Her face leaned close to him and Izuku got a much closer view of her big, yellow eyes and slitted pupils than he would have been comfortable with. Her cheeks seemed to blossom as she studied his own, intense blush. "Mmm…you're cute when you blush~ All the blood rushes to your face and your freckles stand out more."

"Wh-who are you?!" He managed, feeling hotter by the seconds. She was so close to him and he could feel his confused, teenage body reacting involuntarily and in the most uncomfortable way possible and she was straddling his lap oh fuck what the hell was happening here?!

"I'm Himiko, remember?" She giggled, tilting her head in a cat-like way. "I just told you. I'm Himiko Toga. Oh, you never answered my questioned! Can I call you Izu? It's easier and cuter than Izuku, I think."

"I-s-sure, just- c-could you get off of m-me?" He asked weakly.

"Hm?" Himiko blinked at him and suddenly realized their position. "Oh! Izu, you naughty boy! Get your dirty thoughts out of the gutter!"

"N-n-no! Th-that's- I-I-I'm not d-doing it on purpose!" He yelped in embarrassment.

"Really? Seems like your body likes it, though," she grinned, flashing her sharp canine teeth. Himiko leaned closer to him until she was practically lying on top of him and her voice breathed softly in his ear. "I thought it was love at first sight for me when they brought you here, all covered in blood…it was sooo hot…"

Izuku felt a cold chill rush up his spine. "What?"

"Himiko, that's enough."

Himiko sat bolt upright and spun her head towards the door. Izuku followed her gaze and his eyes grew wide with fright.

Hisashi was leaning against the doorway, one eyebrow raised as he studied the two teenagers. He had replaced his open jacket with a simple dark, long-sleeve shirt, but he still wore dark pants and a pair of boots.

Himiko slapped her hands to her cheeks. "Ahh! Izu, your dad caught us! I'm so embarrassed!"

"And yet you're still sitting on him like that," Hisashi pointed out. Himiko stuck her tongue out at him and he shook his head. "Bring some water, Himiko. He's probably dehydrated."

"Kay!" Himiko spun back around to Izuku and leaned forward before he could react. Her teeth nipped at his neck right at his pulse point, not hard enough to draw blood, but it made Izuku flush with heat and yelp.

She pulled back and licked her lips as she dismounted Izuku and skipped away. "I'll be back, Izu!"

Himiko left the room and Hisashi's eyes followed her for a moment before looking back to Izuku. The teenager gulped and stared at Hisashi as his mind caught up and reminded him why he was here in the first place.

Hisashi didn't move to approach him at first. "Before I say anything else, this should go without saying, but don't try to leave. You've been unconscious for three days. Your body sustained a lot of damage and it took several surgeries to prevent you from having any permanent disabilities in your arms."

"No thanks to you," Izuku retorted.

"No, you can thank All Might for that."

The teenager froze. Hisashi snorted. "I know what it's like to be hit with One for All- I don't think I'd ever be able to forget it. You can deny it all you want, but I already know All Might passed his power onto you, Izuku."

"S-so?" Izuku glared at him. "It's not his fault I can't control it yet, I just-"

"It's completely his fault because he had no right to give you that Quirk," Hisashi snapped. "Don't try and use your inexperience as a way to avoid placing the blame on him."

"It's not-"

"Enough," he cut the teenager off. "Arguing about this right now is meaningless. You're stressed, tired, dehydrated, and weak. Bottom line is, you're not leaving here and that's final."

Izuku scowled. "So you're…what, keeping me prisoner?"

"No, I'm grounding you until you prove yourself trustworthy."

The scowl deepened. "You don't get to just act like my dad after all this time! You don't get to attack our training camp and hurt my friends, then kidnap me and act like everything is okay! I don't give a damn what you say! The only reason I'm in the mess is because of you!"

"Hey~!"

Himiko bounced back into the room with a pout on her face and a water bottle in one hand. She poked Hisashi's arm with the cold bottle. "Don't be mean to Izu!"

Hisashi ignored her as she skipped to Izuku and offered him the water bottle, which he accepted reluctantly. His eyes flitted to Himiko and he realized that if she was with Hisashi, it meant she was probably a villain as well.

It clicked in his mind a moment later; yeah, she had been one of the villains who appeared just before Hisashi showed up at the camp. She'd been wearing a mask and some kind of gear back then, but she'd definitely been there.

He took a drink after pausing to sniff the water suspiciously. Hisashi rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why would we poison you after going to all that effort to get you here in the first place?"

"I don't know," Izuku retorted, trying to ignore Himiko as she sat down next to him. "I'm still trying to figure out what you want with me. You'd have to be insane to think I'd join you guys."

"Your place is with us, now."

"My place is with my mother. With my sister."

Hisashi froze at that. "Your what?"

Izuku stilled and he realized he'd let that slip. "I…I mean Eri…She's not really my sister, but…She might as well be after everything that's happened."

"…but that doesn't matter," he went on, casting a glare at Hisashi. "You're not going to keep me here forever. Eventually, All Might and the other heroes are gonna find you or I'll get away. How long do you think you can hold me here, Hisashi?"

Hisashi's eyes narrowed. "I guess we'll find out."

"Nooo~ I want you to stay, Izu!" Himiko whined and hugged his arm close to her chest, making him blush and try to pull away from her.

"Kn-knock it off!"

The older man turned away and grunted. "Himiko, get a shirt for him out of one of those drawers and introduce him to the others. I need to talk to Tomura's teacher."

Izuku locked onto that and glared after him, trying to ignore the way Himiko was still hugging his arm. "Is that All for One?"

Hisashi paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Why?"

"What does he want with me? Is he trying to take One for All?"

"Didn't All Might tell you? One for All can't be forcibly stolen. I'm not sure exactly what he wants from you, but whatever the case may be, he's already taken something from you."

Izuku blanched. "What?! What did he take?!"

"It doesn't matter right now. It's for some experiment of his. He didn't touch your Quirks, if that's what you're worried about."

Hisashi left then and Himiko seemed to realize that Izuku wasn't going to be quite as fun for her after a few moments. Pouting, she walked over to a cabinet by the bed and opened it, turning her back on Izuku.

The next thing she knew, there was a hand wrapping around her throat from behind and another one grabbing her by the waist to pull her tightly against Izuku's torso. Himiko gasped, but Izuku tightened the grip on her throat.

"Don't scream," he warned her quietly. "Don't struggle. Not a sound out of you or I'll use my Quirk to burn you up. Place your hands against that cabinet and don't move them from there."

Himiko's lips curved into a smile and she did as he asked. Izuku waited a few seconds, carefully trying to decide if she might pull something. When he was satisfied that she would listen, he spoke again. "How many of you are there?"

"Hmm…" She hummed thoughtfully as though she weren't being held hostage. "Counting me, nine. Well, your dad comes and goes, but since he's here, I'll count him too~"

"Where is this place?"

"I dunno, I never bothered finding out what the address was. I just followed Tomura's broker friend here because he said they were with Mr. Stain. It's in the city, I guess?"

Izuku couldn't tell if she was lying or not. "What did All for One take from me?"

"All for what?"

"The Teacher. Tomura's Teacher."

"Ohhh, the TV guy! I don't know, actually. Your dad took you somewhere after we got back from the training camp and we didn't see you for a few days. He brought you back like, four hours ago, but you were asleep then. I guess that's where Tomura's Teacher is, wherever that might be."

Dammit, he wasn't learning anything from her!

"What happened to the training camp? How many people were hurt?"

"I dunno the numbers, exactly," Himiko hummed, tilting her head to think about it. "A lot? Hmmm…no one on the hero side died, I think. I didn't actually do much, either. I became friends with Tsu-Tsu and Kyoka, though! They were cute!"

"But no one was killed?"

"I mean, you killed Mr. Muscles, but that's it."

Izuku froze. "What?"

Himiko seemed surprised. "What, you didn't know? You totally killed him- like WHAM! I mean, all the blood ended up in the dirt, so it was kind of lame, but it's the effort that counts!"

Izuku felt horror rush through him. He…he'd killedsomeone? Even if it was a villain, he…

In his shock, his grip loosened.

Himiko spun around and tackled him to the floor in an instant, faster than Izuku could react. She sat on his stomach and pinned his hands above his head, her catlike eyes gleaming playfully.

"That was naughty of you Izu, trying to take me hostage like that," she teased. "If you just wanna gimme a hug because you like me, I don't mind…but here's a little tip, okay? Don't ever let your guard down around me~"

Izuku's face flushed again, this time from almost having the wind knocked out of him. Himiko didn't look like it, but she was surprisingly strong for an average high school girl.

Her eyes studied the crimson blossoming just under his skin and her tongue flickered out to wet her lips. "You're so cute like this. You're gonna drive me crazy, Izu."

She leaned down and nipped him again, just as she had before on his pulse point. Again, she didn't draw blood, but seemed to enjoy the way his blood rushed under his skin. She pulled back a bit and smirked at the little bruise forming there.

Himiko let him up and bounced to her feet, turning back to the cabinet and pulling out a simple white shirt which she then tossed to him on her way out the door. "Hurry up, Izu! Everyone wants to meet you!"

Izuku caught the shirt and sat up with a groan. His head was pounding again, but he didn't have time to just sit here. He had to find a way to get away from the League of Villains. He took a few deep breaths as he put the shirt on and tried to calm down. They wanted him alive- that was the whole reason they'd taken him, after all.

If they really wanted his cooperation, they weren't going to kill or torture him. They would have to play nice in order to try and sway him over to their side. Izuku could use that to his advantage. Until All Might and the other heroes found him or he managed to escape…

He was on his own.

The bar was quiet, but not as relaxed as it had been before Himiko bounced in with Izuku behind her. As soon as he walked in, he took a seat in the far corner of the bar and didn't say a word to any of the villains.

It came as a surprise to some of them- Hisashi had come out of the room and informed them that Izuku was agitated not five minutes prior to them arriving, before Kurogiri warped him away to see Tomura's Teacher. And since they knew about Himiko's rather…energetic personality, they'd expected him to be a little rattled at least upon seeing them all.

The way he was sitting in his seat almost lazily, taking his time studying everything in the room was making some of them uneasy, but they hid it well. A few of the villains also took the chance to study him in turn, seeing as he didn't seem to be in the mood for talking. He wasn't giving much away, though.

Himiko didn't seem to mind; she had hopped over to the other side of the bar and was leaning close to Izuku, chattering aimlessly to him. Occasionally, he responded, but it was a pretty one-sided conversation.

After about thirty minutes of Izuku more or less ignoring them, Spinner let his impatience get the better of him.

"Hey," the reptilian man said as he approached Izuku from the front, getting the teenager's attention. "The name's Spinner. You're the kid Stain deemed worthy of the name "hero" after all, aren't you? I'd like it if you could tell me about him. How about we have a talk?"

Izuku watched as Spinner stopped about two meters away from him. He remained silent for a few seconds.

His left hand rose up from the bar.

That little movement was enough to get the attention of the rest of the bar, but what set the villains on edge was when he curled his middle finger against his thumb, like he was about to flick it. Plasma charged up around his finger.

Dabi's eyes widened. Is he actually serious?!

All of the villains tensed immediately. Himiko's smile twisted with a hint of something crazy as one of her hands reached for the knife inside her sleeve. Dabi's fingers twitched with blue fire and Kurogiri's gaseous body shifted in case he had to intercept an attack. Magne's grip tightened on her metal rod and Spinner hesitated before reaching for one of his blades. Twice's eyes just widened and Tomura watched Izuku warily, while Compress merely cocked his head.

Izuku's gaze flitted about the bar for a few seconds, his finger still aimed at Spinner. But then the charge of plasma disappeared and he set his elbow against the bar again, propping his chin on his palm to look at Himiko. "Is there anything to eat here?"

Himiko's smile became a little less psychotic and more genuine. "Yep! Whaddya want?"

"What do you have?"

Spinner grinned a little nervously as he let go of his weapon. "Smart move, kid. Seems you know your position well."

Izuku ignored him, seemingly listening to what Himiko was offering for food.

Smart move? Magne stared at Izuku warily. Spinner, you idiot. He was never going to fire that shot. As soon as he lifted his hand, he was looking around to see how we would react. He's not stupid enough to think he can take us all on- he was probing for weaknesses! 

You're the one who doesn't understand his position. He knows that we aren't going to harm him unless we have to. As long as he doesn't do anything rash, he's got the freedom to sit there and study us all he wants. He's been looking around the bar like that ever since he got here, looking for exits or weak points. 

Magne felt a bead of sweat form on the side of her head. This fucking kid…He's too smart to do something reckless when he doesn't know all of our Quirks. I'll bet he was trying to see if we'd use them when he pulled that stunt. Even worse, he's not just intelligent, he's powerful. He killed that Muscular guy in a battle of brute strength. If he gets a shot off with that power of his, it'll probably destroy the bar and alert everyone in the area. Our cover will be blown in an instant. 

Izuku took a sip of water from his water bottle as Himiko asked Kurogiri for more details on what they had to eat. His eyes lifted to study the wall behind the bar, but there was nothing casual about how intently he was looking. Magne's brow wrinkled stressfully as she glanced at Dabi, who nodded slightly. He understood what Izuku was doing as well.

If our information is correct, he knows about the Quirks of Tomura, Kurogiri, Dabi, Viper, and maybe Twice. He didn't get to see my, Spinner, or Compress's Quirks, but there's no way of knowing if Himiko told him about hers or not. She's getting too chatty with him. If nothing else, he's probably at least realized that Himiko and Spinner are close-range types. That means the only ones he has no information about at all are Compress and myself. 

This is dangerous…It's like trying to keep a bomb from going off. He probably isn't going to rush anything, either. He's going to take his time…and all the while it's going to make us edgy. Why the hell did they bring him back here!? They should've kept him with Tomura's Teacher, wherever he is! At least restrain him somehow!

But Magne knew there wouldn't be any restraining him. Izuku hadn't taken that shot- he hadn't done anything wrong, per se. Handcuffing him or locking him up would only antagonize him further and make it more difficult to turn him into a willing recruit.

He was figuring out their game with their every reaction and it was eerie how he just…started playing it. Izuku let his eyes move around the bar again and he locked on Magne, meeting her gaze steadily. The green orbs were sharp as he inspected her like a bird of prey, in a way that made her suppress a shiver before he moved on. He was more like his father than any of them had anticipated.

Was killing Muscular just a fluke, or is he actually that kind of dangerous person? 

"Hey~" Himiko poked Izuku's shoulder with her finger. "Izu, are you still listening to me?"

"Yeah, why?" He responded without looking at her. It had gotten late and a few of the other villains had turned in. Where they'd gone…he wasn't exactly sure since he hadn't left the bar more than once to use the bathroom, but he figured they'd be around somewhere. Kurogiri was still behind the bar itself, polishing a glass. Tomura was making a pyramid out of cards at the chair furthest away from him- Izuku was tempted to blow at them in an attempt to make them fall over.

"I've been talking forever but you hardly say anything back!" Himiko pouted. "Have you just been ignoring me?"

"I haven't been ignoring you," he replied as he studied the door on the opposite side of the room. He wondered if he could bust that thing down with 5% of his power…

"Really? Then answer these questions!" Himiko demanded as her cheek puffed up. "How old am I?"

"Sixteen."

She blinked. "You remember?"

"I told you I was listening, didn't I?"

"…what's my favorite type of guy?"

"Ones that are covered in blood."

"Wow, right again! What's my favorite kind of story?"

"Love stories."

Himiko stared at him in surprise. "I totally thought you were tuning me out!"

Izuku gave her a sideways look. "Why would I tune you out?"

The teenage girl just looked back, her eyes somewhat brighter than before as her head tilted to the side a little.

"If you guys are going to keep talking, can you take it elsewhere?" Tomura grunted. "I'm getting tired."

Himiko pouted at him and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. C'mon, Izu."

She hopped over the bar (much to Kurogiri's chagrin) and made to go back towards the room Izuku had been in when he arrived. Himiko took Izuku's wrist and he didn't fight it- instead letting her pull him away.

Kurogiri watched them go warily. "…He's too agreeable."

"I know," Tomura agreed as he carefully balanced another card on his pyramid. "I was planning on trying to convince him to join us, but I didn't think he'd pull that stunt earlier. It caught me by surprise."

"He's going to be a problem without Hisashi or your Teacher to watch him."

"…I…think we should ask Teacher about what to do," Tomura said, surprising Kurogiri. "I don't like how calm he is about this. He's not behaving at all how I thought he would. I'm sure he's planning something. I need more information so I know how to manage him. Would you mind asking him to come here?"

Kurogiri nodded. This was the kind of development Teacher had been hoping for in Tomura- the ability to admit he didn't know the answer to something and ask for help.

He reached for the phone.

Himiko tugged Izuku back to what he guessed was "his" room now and turned to smile at him. "Mind if I stay and talk more?"

"I don't mind," Izuku replied. Admittedly listening to Himiko talk was…trying. Sometimes it was normal high school girl chatter (which he knew nothing about and didn't know how to respond to most of the time) and sometimes it was about something gruesome like murder (which he didn't want to know anything about and didn't respond at all).

But he let her talk. She had more or less attached herself to him ever since he woke up and throughout the day…he'd noticed she didn't bother talking to anyone else except maybe that Twice guy a couple of times, though she almost immediately returned to talk to Izuku. Whether she was trying to get a rise out of him or actually was interested in him, he didn't know, but…for some reason, he didn't try to make her stop talking.

He didn't understand why he hadn't stopped her yet. Whenever she talked, rather gleefully, about murdering someone, it sent horrific shivers up his spine. She'd mentioned going on a date with some guy that ended with her bleeding him dry. It was freaky as all hell and he wanted her to shut the fuck up every time she started another story like that, of which there had been several.

It made him uncomfortable and though he knew he couldn't force her to stop, (as that might have provoked the villains, and he didn't have enough intel to fight them yet) he hadn't even said something like politely trying to change the subject. He'd let her ramble about her fixation on bleeding guys until she was satisfied.

Izuku shook the thought from his head and made to remove his shirt. As soon as it was over his head, a hand slapped over his throat from behind and another hugged his torso. Himiko's body pressed against his back and he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end as she breathed into his ear.

"I told you never to let your guard down around me, Izu~"

"And if I flare up?" He retorted, unwilling to let her get away with scaring him. "Even if you try and flick out that knife in your jacket, you could still burn to death."

"Oh, you saw my knife? Nice eye," she giggled, letting her hand leave his throat. It trailed down his chest as he tossed his shirt aside and lowered his arms- Izuku didn't like the way she was touching him, but his mind was focusing on analysis right now. Where were her limits? What habits did she have? What could he use against her if he had to fight her?

He turned his head to glare at her and she stared back, still smiling lazily.

Himiko was also testing his limits and both of their bodies were tense. The teenage girl might have been crazy at times, but she wasn't stupid. She could tell Izuku was looking for an escape route in the bar- that was something she did whenever she was going to murder someone. If she didn't have a getaway plan, then it was too risky to pull off.

He'd been trying to find their weak points, so she went looking for his. This was the easiest way to unsettle a male- catch them off guard and take them out of control. If Izuku was going to give up a weakness to her, this was the quickest way to go about it.

Her fingers trailed from his collarbone down past his sternum. They hovered above Izuku's stomach for a few seconds before slowly dragging down along his abs. The muscles clenched under her touch.

She passed his naval and reached the edge of his pants. Most guys by now at least said something, though Himiko had only used this particular method once or twice. Now even she was starting to feel a bit out of her depth.

Her thumb teased the edge of the clothing, sliding under it just a tad between his pants and underwear. Himiko shifted her thumb again to touch the skin at his hips and her eyes flit down-

Izuku had her wrists in his hands in an instant and he yanked her arms away from him before spinning around, grabbing her shoulder, and then shoving her face-first into the bed. He kept her arm pinned behind her back and twisted it until she winced.

"Oww, Izu!"

He tried to let out a long breath to calm himself as quietly as he could despite his racing heart and blazing cheeks. She'd really, really pushed his comfort zone there, but he'd won that little trade- he'd gotten a weakness out of her. As crazy as she was, Himiko apparently still experienced the same uncertainty with…mature matters like other teenagers their age.

He didn't think that was a weakness he'd actually be able to exploit, but at least he knew a bit more about her personality now.

"Let me gooo!" She whined.

"Where's the knife?"

"In my undies."

"You're lying," he snapped, twisting her arm further. "Where is it?"

"Owowow…ugh, fine! It's in my sleeve. The arm you're twisting, by the wrist."

Izuku carefully pulled her sleeve back and extracted the switchblade, which he pocketed. He glared at her for another moment. "Any others?"

"Who do I look like, Spinner?" She complained.

There was no point in interrogating her further, so he let her go and stepped back as she straightened and turned to pout at him. Izuku took the knife out of his pocket and held it up to show her. "You get this back when you leave my room."

No point in trying to steal it or keep it from her, he thought to himself in annoyance. If he stole a knife, she'd tell the others and he'd have to give it up. He also seriously doubted it was the only knife in the bar- she probably had another one stashed somewhere. This was a temporary disarmament to make her think he felt more secure without the weapon on her.

"That was mean, Izu," she winced as she stretched her arm to the side.

"Don't try and sneak up on me, then."

"I was just giving you a hug," she muttered.

Bullshit, he thought, but mentally sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to do this.

"If you want to give me a hug, just ask," he told her, his cheeks reddening with legitimate embarrassment. Did he want to hug her? No. Did he want her trust? Yes.

It'd make it easier for him to escape if she was relaxed around him.

Himiko smiled playfully. "Aww, that's sweet of you!"

Izuku just grunted and walked over to the bed to sit on the mattress, careful to keep the knife on the side opposite Himiko. She plopped herself down next to him and leaned against his shoulder, her voice becoming teasing again.

"Here we are again, all alone in your room…your dad isn't here to catch us, you know~" She whispered into his ear, giggling slightly.

Izuku was calling her bluff. He knew where her limits stood now and that at this point, she was just trying to get a rise out of him.

"I thought I wasn't your type," he goaded her, watching the girl out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you say you liked guys who were covered in blood?"

"Yeah, you were waaaay hotter when your arms were all busted up," she admitted cheerily. "You're still cute, though. You'd be cuter if you were bleeding a bit. Maybe I should bite you again!"

He was about to deny her, but did a mental pause before he opened his mouth.

…what if he let her?

If he gave her that kind of control, that kind of trust…how would she respond? He'd already figured out from her reaction earlier that she was, in some ways, still a teenager mentally. Could he use that as a way to gain her trust? Or…even convince her to help him escape?

Just today, he'd figured out that no matter how he went about it, escaping the League of Villains right now was impossible. He couldn't make some haphazard attempt at escape or they'd stop him with ridiculous ease. He also had no idea where he was, except that it was in a city of some kind.

There was no way of knowing if and when the heroes would find this location. Wherever it was, it was well hidden, and Kurogiri's warping meant he could send the villains anywhere at a moment's notice. At the end of the day, it was just Izuku against nine, powerful villains- and possibly even All for One.

He had no outside ears or eyes. No information except what he was told.

If he gained Himiko's trust- and with absolute certainty, at that- could she be his way out? On his own, the task was going to be insanely difficult, but if he had her on his side…

Izuku knew, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it, that he didn't have the luxury of being picky here. This was a matter of survival. He had to take any and every chance he was given- even if that meant getting closer to the villains than he would have ever liked to.

"Okay, why don't you?"

Himiko laughed. "Nice joke, Izu."

"No, really."

She paused and twisted her head to blink at him owlishly. "You…want me to make you bleed?"

"I mean, not a lot," he scratched the back of his head nervously. He couldn't believe he was doing this. Maybe being around the villains was making him insane, too. "Just…maybe if you bit me again? If you want, I mean."

Himiko stared at him. "You're serious."

"It's only if you want to," he muttered, embarrassed. Even if it was for a really fucked up reason, he was still telling a girl it was okay to…to bite him. He couldn't fake how much it freaked him out.

"…why? No one's ever…willingly let me do that."

"W-well, you said you like blood, but…Maybe it'd be easier if you just make me bleed a little instead of killing people?"

"…you're kind of weird."

Izuku wanted to face-palm. Great, even the psychotic, murder-happy girl thought he was weird. Talk about a new low.

He froze as Himiko suddenly moved and straddled his lap, just as she had at the start of the day. She stared down at him, the smile on her face gone and her eyes uncharacteristically serious. "You're not trying to make fun of me?"

"I'm trying to help you," he responded quietly.

She was still a killer. There was no escaping that fact. But if he could convince her to help him escape, maybe he could…help her somehow. Have her sent somewhere to help whatever mental problems she had instead of a jail cell. That was what his hero side told him, anyway.

Himiko considered it for a few seconds before nodding slowly. "Then…I'll do it. Just a little, right?"

Izuku swallowed, his adams apple bobbing up and down. His throat felt dry and he turned his head to the side a little, exposing his throat to her. "Just a little…"

She licked her lips and leaned down near his pulse point. Izuku cringed, fighting off tears as he felt her sharp canines pierce his skin and warm blood rolled down his neck. His arms wrapped around her and squeezed in an attempt to steady himself- to keep himself from reacting badly. One of Himiko's hands gripped his hair as she lapped at his blood with her tongue and shifted to bite him again.

Manipulation.

Outside the room, All for One stood against the wall and smiled to himself darkly. He'd heard Izuku's conversation with Himiko- knew what the teenage boy was going for. He approved. He approved completely.

When one is placed in a situation where survival is on the line, one must adapt accordingly, he thought to himself. Now that you're with the League of Villains, Izuku, you've surely realized…if help does not come, you must escape on your own. Your options are limited. You have no one to rely on but yourself. In a position where you are so alone, you must have the iron will to manipulate others to your benefit. 

The mind of someone as young as you is so easily subject to change. Even if you escape, will you be the same person you were before? The longer this goes on, the more your perception will adapt to suit that of a villain. It will become easier for you to throw away things like morality when you have no other choice. You've already expressed your capability in doing so by killing Muscular, whether it was on purpose or by accident. That seed has been planted, and now this decision you've made to manipulate Himiko will let it sprout.

Without realizing it, Izuku, you've already taken your first steps to become a villain.