Chapter Text
Shigaraki Tomura hits the ground hard, blood pooling from his bullet wounds, nearly removed pinky finger, clawed chest and partially decayed face. But, he didn’t speak, he didn’t make a sound, he didn’t throw a tantrum, like Kurogiri had expected. Instead, he slowly sat up, and gently scratched some of the scabs off his neck.
“My my, what has happened to you, Tomura?” The doctor inquired snidely, clearly not caring for the boy’s injuries.
“A loss. All Might was in a… better state than expected.” The young man replied, getting to his feet, partially decaying the ground beneath him. “The other heroes showed up, and Nomu was sent packing. It wasn’t as strong as you promised, doctor.” Kurogiri slightly flinched from the blood lust, as did the doctor.
“But, I suppose that’s what we get for not getting enough information for this raid.” And in an instant, the blood lust is gone.
“My, Tomura, what has gotten you so thoughtful?” The demon lord asked his protege.
The young man looked up at the static screen from behind the hand covering his face. “A wild Deku appeared.” The demon lord made a hum of acknowledgement. “Doctor. My wounds?”
---
Kurogiri was cleaning a class absentmindedly when Tomura walked into the bar. “A drink, Kurogiri. Also, I want the TV on to watch the UA sports festival.”
He paused mid reach for his young lord’s favourite scotch, looking over to him. “Shigaraki?”
“The sports festival. I want more information on those who bested us.” The loyal warper did as he was told, bringing the blue haired man a drink, and turning the TV onto UA’s first year’s Sports Festival, having timed it perfectly with all the classes being introduced.
“Hello everyone.” The green haired boy, Midoriya Izuku, Deku , had walked onto the stage, and began talking, even pausing for the feedback, as if it were expected. “Today is a very important day for all of us. Today, we are all here to show the world that We Are Here. But what does that mean?”
Tomura watched with intrigue, swirling the ice in his drink as he listened.
“For some of us, it may be to show off our creations, like the Support Course, to gain interest from the support companies. For the Hero Course, it would be to demonstrate our strength and skills, to show why we are in our course. And for those of us in the General Course, it may be to demonstrate why they should be in the Hero Course.”
He tilted his head to the side, wondering aloud, “Why is he saying all of that?”
“But why am I saying all of this?” The young lord snorted. “Because I want everyone to watch carefully, and not just at the Hero Course. Everyone has something worth showing here today, because We Are Here.”
Kurogiri wouldn’t ever admit he too was deeply interested in watching. It was fascinating to watch these children move through a variety of challenges as they moved up a fabricated hill. He had to admit he was impressed by the green haired boy’s play to claim first place.
UA seemed to be really enjoying the usage of balls that year, as the next event was team dodgeball. “He’s moving faster than he was when he was fighting me.” Tomura commented as he watched Midoriya Izuku dodge and weave through the feel, electric green sparks arcing off of his body, until a rain of dodgeballs fell upon the stadium.
Tomura was very quiet as he watched, slowly sipping away at his alcoholic beverages, barely making any reactions.
The first match between Midoriya Izuku and Shinso Hitoshi from a non-hero course was short, but apparently it interested Shigaraki. The fight ended with a drop kick, the green haired boy shouting out “I HAVE.”, drawing the young lord’s attention.
“Kurogiri. If possible, I would like to know what they were saying to each other.” He said before taking a swig from his glass.
One may suspect that the man, having laser focused on his supposed antagonist, Deku, wouldn't pay attention to anyone else, but it was quite the opposite. He quietly muttered observations about each and every match he watched about both contenders, but he always remained quiet for Deku’s matches.
The fight against Endeavour's son, Todoroki Shouto, had an explosive start. Midoriya punching apart the ice was a display of power that neither of them were expecting. Nor were they expecting the match to end in a paper scissors rock, which Deku won.
The following match that Midoriya Izuku partook in was against a boy with exhaust pipes coming out of his pipes, Iida Tenya. Kurogiri didn’t know why, but that name was almost familiar. Deku defeated the other boy with creativity, using food items. “He’s getting tired. More so than everyone else.” Tomura observed.
The final match garnered no response from the young lord, despite it possibly being the most impressive showing from the young hero.
Tomura left the room wordlessly after the Sports Festival was over.
---
The League of Villains wasn’t really a league yet, Tomura realised. At the USJ Raid Event, he relied too heavily on low tier mobs with two SSS tier units. That was a mistake, as Deku demonstrated.
Sure, he had a lower number of units, and their quality was B-tier at best, but they worked together. And clearly, he was going to be building a closer circle of units. Tomura needed to do the same.
But he couldn’t just get NPCs. No, he needed other players, change the game from Raids to Team Battles. It was the only way he was going to be able to combat Deku and All Might. The question became, where was he going to find other players that had the same goals as his.
What were his goals? Sensei had always told him that it would be his right to destroy what he hates, but was that enough? He wanted to destroy society itself, destroy the heroes everyone relies too much on.
The Hero Killer did the same, didn’t he? Did he? Why did Stain kill heroes? Was it because they were fakes? Pathetic, clearly Stain just wanted to kill people. But, there was no denying he was a very strong unit, potentially another player.
But would Stain be against Tomura? The Hero Killer’s whole deal was killing fake heroes, whereas Tomura wanted to obliterate hero society in its entirety, as everything about heroes, the way the people idolised them, was something that he hated.
Killing All Might would be a big step in the direction of ridding the world of heroes. Could he convince Stain of his point of view? After all, by wiping out hero society, the fakes would not only be removed, but even potentially never come about again.
Yes, that is the best way to get Stain.
Now he just needed to get him.
---
Kurogiri watched as Shigaraki Tomura put the hand over his face, adjusting it slowly. It would be a lie if the warper said he wasn’t concerned about the drastic change of his young lord, he was quieter, more reserved, more thoughtful, less destructive. But most importantly, Shigaraki had become calm, and in all the years he had known him, Kurogiri had never seen him so calm.
The young lord took a deep breath as the warper opened the portal in front of the hero killer, who calmly walked in. “Ahhh, the hero killer, Stain. it's a pleasure to meet you.”
“And, who are you exactly?” The villain said boredly.
The Tomura from before the USJ would have most likely thrown a hissyfit, this one, however, remained calm. “Someone who wants to change this society. Would you like to join me for a drink?” The young lord gestured to the bar, and understandably, Stain was weary. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare ruin a good drink, and neither would Kurogiri.” He took a seat on one of the stools, facing the hero killer in a relaxed fashion.
The sword wielding man took his seat, which prompted Kurogiri to take up his secondary job as a bartender. “Whisky on the rocks, please.” The young lord requested.
Kurogiri turned to Stain, who shook his head, before facing the warper’s charge. “I came here expecting more from the man who attacked the prestigious UA.”
Shigaraki nodded. “I understand why. After all, a villain that is capable of something like that should be powerful, no? Yet, I wasn’t high enough level, and my party wasn’t strong enough to succeed in the raid. I seek to remedy both.” He took his glass from the warper, and took a sip.
“So, let me ask you a question, Hero Killer, why do you kill?” Stain’s eyes narrowed, clearly he was peeved by the question, at the suggestion that he was sought out by someone who didn’t know his rhetoric, and yet, he answered.
“I kill to rid this world of fake heroes, and those who use their gifts for petty mischief.” The man said cautiously. His posture seemed to relax as he leant against the bar, but his free hand was resting right above one of the plentiful knives that decorated him.
Tomura sipped at his whisky, letting out a thoughtful hum. “So I’ve heard, but what makes a hero fake? No, that’s not what’s important, not really.” The hero killer let out a low growl. “No… You’re just someone taking out the minions, while the spawner stands free to make more fakes.”
The villain looked at Stain. “Why focus only on the fakes? More will keep coming, and you’ll run out of energy eventually, Hero Killer.”
Stain didn’t speak, but Tomura saw his hand grip his knife. “You see, I like you. Your goal, it’s similar to mine.”
“Killing innocents does not-”
“Hero hopefuls, ready to turn into more false heroes by following All Might.” Stain finally threw his knife at Tomura, the sharp edge plunging into a purple vortex, finding its new home on the floor. “I think you should hear me out, Hero Killer.”
“Whether you like it or not, All Might is to blame for this age of fakes. People see him and think what they want. ‘Oh, he must make so much money!’ ‘We’re so safe with him around, he’ll never let us down.’ ‘Don’t worry, All Might will handle the big threats, we can just play hero.’” He said casually. “Isn’t that the kind of person you hate the most? The ones who are just playing pretend, letting All Might pick up the slack?”
“That’s hardly All Might’s fault.” Stain spat out, drawing his katana.
Tomura nodded. “Sure. It’s not like he went out of his way to reshape society the way it is. But, with All Might still around, these fakes will keep coming, and coming, and coming. Why? Because All Might will protect them; that’s what they think anyways. So they keep playing their shitty little popularity contest, and the people keep believing in the heroes, saying that they’ll make everything right.” The villain moved to his feet, staring down Stain.
“The heroes have made the people weak, ripe for the slaughter. The society that heroes, all heroes, have made, and kept pushing, leaves people behind to suffer, because a hero will surely save them!” He let out a little laugh. “That’s what they think. What do you think would happen without their precious All Might, Hero Killer? Will they rely on Endeavour?”
“They won’t. The people will see that he is the biggest faker of them all, soon enough.” Stain spat.
“You don’t have to agree to join with me now. Honestly, All Might is only an obstacle while he still has power. Once he doesn’t, then we can rid the whole world of fakes, by striking at the core.” The young demon lord explained. “Just think of how your mission could be completed in your lifetime, with proper allies.”
Stain took some time to think, before stowing away his katana. “You have conviction… I cannot say that our interests wholly align. Return me to Hosu, I still have a mission to complete there.”
Tomura nodded. “How about, as a show of good faith, I provide you with a distraction, to make your job easier?”
The two killers smiled at each other.
---
“Stain was captured, Young Master.” Kurogiri said as he returned to the bar.
His young lord nodded, closing his old handheld gaming system. “By who?”
“Your ‘player 2’ it seems.”
Shigaraki let out an annoyed groan. “Of course Deku did. He had to be in Hosu… Are you able to retrieve the Hero Killer at this time?”
“No. However, I took the liberty to find a time that we could successfully break him out.”
Shigaraki looked at him with curiosity. “You… Took the liberty… Unusual, but not unwelcome. Good job Kurogiri. Now, I would like to get in touch with Giran, tell him that we’re looking for players who want change, and to use Stain’s influence. Even if we can’t get him out, we can use his clout for our own mission.”
“Yes, my lord.” Kurogiri warped away, leaving Tomura alone in the bar.
“We’ll meet again soon, Deku… I hope you’ll give me another good match.”