A bar in Hosu City.

Tomura Shigaraki sits at the bar staring at two pictures. The first is of Izuku Midoriya after winning the Obstacle Race, the second is of Kyoreki Raijin during his semi-final match against Bakugo.

"Are you curious, Tomura Shigaraki?" Kurogiri asks. "About these boys? Izuku Midoriya, and Kyoreki Raijin." The door to the establishment opens, as it does, Kurogiri turns to greet the person entering, while Shigaraki remains unmoving.

"Shigaraki. Your League of Villains has been the talk of the town for the last several days." A man speaks as he enters the bar. "Word on the streets is you're about to start something big."

"And?" Shigaraki decays the two pictures immediately, turning to the man. "Who did you bring?"

The man lets out a chuckle, before taking a drag from his cigarette, he turns out of the room and takes a few steps out for a moment before returning with three people. Kizoku glances at the pair with him. He sighs and crosses his arms remaining at the back of the group.

"So it's really you, huh? I've seen you in pictures." Kizoku glances at the boy to his side covered in burn marks, smelling of rotting flesh as the boy speaks. "But I gotta say, you're way grosser in person."

"Wow, it's the weird hand guy!" The girl says excitedly pumping her fists up and down looking to Shigaraki. "You're friends with my hero, Stain, right? Cool!" She does a cute pose and smiles widely for Shigaraki. "Let me join the league! I wanna be in your group.

"Do either of you know your manners? You need to introduce yourself. It's my pleasure to meet you, League of Villains. I'm Kizoku Ishigami, but... you might know me as Metalingus."

The girl looks to Kinzoku in awe. "You're Metalingus?! I'm a big fan!"

"Yeah, thanks, kid."

"Kurogiri, get rid of these two." Shigaraki points at the two who have yet to introduce themselves. "I can already tell they're exactly the kind of trash I hate. A brat and a guy with no manners."

"Now, now. Tomura Shigaraki. They came all this way, the least we can do is head them out. Give them a chance." Kurogiri calms his master down, before turning back to the trio. "Besides, this broker is respected in the underworld. They're bound to be valuable assets."

Giren takes a drag of his cigarette blowing the smoke out of the room. "Like 'em or not, you still owe me a finder's fee. In cash." He walks forward stepping between the other two individuals he brought. Kizoku however sits at the bar, ordering a bottle of water and placing some yen on the counter. "I suppose I could introduce the three of 'em before I go. This one looks like an adorable high school girl, right? She's actually the suspect in a series of deaths where the victims all bled out. So far, her name and face have been kept out of the media."

"Toga, here. Himeko Toga! Life is too hard. I just wanna make it easier to live in this dumb world. I wanna be Mr. Stainy! I wanna kill Mr. Stainy. C'mon, handy-man, please let me join your League of Villains!"

"You gotta be kidding me." Kizoku & Shigaraki say in almost unison. "Is she crazy?" Shigaraki asks Giren.

"Well, she can hold a conversation. For the most part, at least. C'mon, she could be useful. And this guy- Hasn't committed any flashy crimes. But he's taken Stain's ideology to heart."

"I don't like this." The man says frowning, glancing at Toga. "Is your group really dedicated to the Hero Killer's mission? I can't imagine you are if you're gonna let this little psycho join you." Toga giggles in response.

"Oh grow up." Kizoku interrupts.

"She may be a psycho, but at least she knows how to introduce herself to people. Don't just stare. What's your name?" Shigaraki asks.

"Right now I'm goin' by Dabi."

"No." Shigaraki points a finger at Dabi. "I want to know your real name."

"I'll tell you when you need to know it. In any case, my new purpose is to carry out the Hero Killer's will." Dabi responds, bluntly, but honestly.

"That wasn't what I asked you, patchwork." Shigaraki grumbles, most of his face hidden behind a hand covering it. His messy blue hair frazzled more than usual. "Jeez, why is everyone so hung up on Stain? He's all I ever hear about. Every damn day." "No don't do it." Kurogiri warns. Kizoku feeling the tension escalating, draws a knife and places it against the palm of his hand. "It's really pissing me off! You two are done!" Shigaraki reaches out for Dabi & Toga, the two prepare to strike back, but just as Kurogiri manages to block Dabi and Shigaraki by using his portal to aim their hands away from each other, Kizoku cuts his hand, and a net of rusty barbed wire forms in a blink of an eye around all of the villains in the room.

"Please calm yourself, Tomura Shigaraki. If your desire is to be realized, the. We must increase our numbers." Kurogiri tries to reason with his liege. "Now that we're in the spotlight, our chance is at hand. I advise you to be more accepting." Kurogiri's face extends outward to Shigaraki's ear, as Kizoku produces more and more barbed wire, his hand continuing to bleed.

"I'm out of here!" Shigaraki walks out of the room leaving everyone behind him.

"Where are you off to?" Giren asks.

"Shut up." Shigaraki growls out angrily slamming the door behind him.

Giren rubs the back of his neck glancing back. "I try to make it a point not to complain about a client, but he's too young. And far too immature."

"Really thought he was gonna kill us for a sec!" Toga says with a smile.

"Yeah, about that fight. Anyone got a first aid kit? Kinda need to cover this cut before I lose too much blood. I'll also clean the rust off the floor." Kizoku says to Kurogiri as the barbed wire he made from before starts to sag collapsing into a pile of rusted dust.

"Yes, we have first aid here." Kurogiri assures. "Thank you." "Let me drink your blood!" Toga cheers, trying to grab Kizoku's arm. "No, you freakin' psycho." Kizoku recoils clutching his hand to his chest.

Chapter 17: Paranoia

Raijin sits back as he looks at the two students who know for a fact they failed, Denji Kaminari, and Mina Ashido.

"E-Everyone..." Ashido speaks up, almost in tears. "I'm looking forward to hearing all your stories of how fun camp was."

Midoriya panics trying to comfort her. "Maybe they'll end up letting you go! There might be a last-minute twist or somethin'."

"Midoriya, don't get their hopes up." Raijin calls out, as Sero nods in agreement standing with Midoriya.

"He's right. By saying it out loud you're just jinxing them."

"They said whoever failed the exams would have to skip training camp and live in summer school hell. We didn't pass the practicals, so we're doomed. Don't you get it Midoriya?!" Kaminari shouts pointing his fingers at the green-haired student, poking both of Midoriya's eyes. "Or did All Might knock all the brains outta you?"

"Ease up, Kaminari." Sero says trying to be heard over Midoriya's screaming. "I'm not sure I'll get to go either. Our team only passed thanks to Mineta."

"Yeah, same here with Bokasu." Kirishima says standing next to Sero.

"At least bring us back lots of camp souvenirs, please?!" Kaminari shouts.

The door to the class slams open with Aizawa entering his voice already raised. "Once the bell rings you should be in your seats." Everyone standing scrambles to their seats. Raijin was already seated the entire time, but shrugs anyway, he stands and then sits back down, almost mocking the others. "Morning. Unfortunately, there are a few of you who didn't pass your final exams. So, when it comes to the training camp in the woods... Everyone is going!"

The two failures silently cheer. "We really get to go to camp?" Kaminari asks. "Seriously?" Mina follows.

"Yeah." Aizawa replies bluntly. "The good news is no one bombed the written exam. Four failed the practical badly. One team, of course, and then Sero and Kirishima failed as well."

"Aw! Crap, I knew it." Sero facepalms. Kirishima looks down at his desk his fists tightening. "Mineta made it to the gate, but I didn't do near enough to pass."

"Allow me to explain." Aizawa scans the room. "For the practical battles, the teachers made sure to leave a way for the students to win. Otherwise, you never would have stood a chance. We were interested in observing how you each worked together and approached the task at hand."

"But didn't you promise that the teachers wouldn't be holding back?" Bokasu asks.

"That was just to get you on edge. Besides, the training camp will focus on building your strength. Those who failed will need those lessons the most. We were never going to separate you. That was just a logical deception we used."

"So you lied to them again?" Raijin asks with a chuckle. "Oh, this shit gets funnier every time they fall for it."

"What do you mean "They?!"" Ashido and Kaminari shout.

"As in, he has obvious tells for when he lies. I noticed this weeks ago." Raijin shrugs and leans back with a yawn.

"I didn't lie about everything, Raijin. Failure is failure. We've prepared extra lessons for the four of you. Frankly, they'll be far tougher than what you'd face at summer school."

Raijin loses interest in anything and everything after that, he does overhear the girls talking about using the pool over the weekend, but he doesn't bother with it much. After classes end, Raijin grabs his bag and attempts to walk out unbothered but gets grabbed by Bokasu who makes him join the others as they plan to go to the mall the following day to shop for supplies while they're away from school.

"I'd rather shoot myself than shop with y'all." Raijin says bluntly.

"You're going with us." Bokasu grins leaning on his fellow red-headed classmate.

"Why do you hate me, fellow redhead?"

"Nah fool, you need to spend time with the rest of the class, and this'll help break your shell."

"I don't want to break my shell. My shell is warm and soft. This world is cold and hard."

Bokasu glances down at Raijin, confused. "Did you just use internet slang?"

"I used what is referred to by the young people as a meme."Raijin jokes, before he brushes Bokasu off him and walks out of the classroom by himself, he joins Yui as they make their way to their respective homes.

The following day, Raijin sighs as he stands at the front of his class, wearing aviator sunglasses, a Green Day, American Idiot T-Shirt, and black jeans, with white sneakers. He has his earbuds on and tries to ignore the many, many fangirls swooning over him, trying to flirt with him, a few try to steal a selfie with him. As everyone starts to split apart, Raijin and Bokasu get stuck with Midoriya and Uraraka. Raijin looks down at his phone and presses shuffle on his Spotify, it plays [Yandere by Projekt Melody, Batsu] and tries to leave the mall, but is stopped by Bokasu grabbing his shirt by the nape.

"Yeah, I know you're trying to leave, fool."

"What are you, Killer Bee from Naruto." Raijin stares at Bokasu dumbfounded.

"If I was, I'd be saying fool ya fool."

"Oh, it's someone from U.A., nice." The three hear a person speak up as they walk up to Midoriya in particular. "I want an autograph." The person wraps an arm around Midoriya, who panics. Bokasu looks at the man quizzically, but Raijin was faster on the draw, he raises a hand at the man, a few electrical sparks buzzing around him. "You were the one who got beat to hell at the sports festival, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Midoriya, get away from him." Raijin speaks up, making eye contact with the man.

"And aren't you and he, two of the students who ran into the Hero Killer in the Hosh Incident, too? You two are practically famous."

"You sure do know a lot." Midoriya says awkwardly.

"What can I say? I'm just a big fan of you two. I can't believe I'm running into you two again. It makes me think that it might not be a coincidence. No, no. This feels like it's destiny."

"Surely, you don't believe in bullshit like that, do you, Tomura Shigaraki?" Raijin asks, Midoriya tries to move but before he can, Shigaraki wraps a hand around Midoriya's throat, leaving a single finger from making contact, it's a threat.

"Oh right. From your point of view, we haven't met since the attack on U.A. Why don't we spend some time catching up?" Shigaraki glances between the three heroes. All of them glance at someone else's eyes. "Izuku Midoriya, Kyoreki Raijin. Act natural, don't make a scene. I'm just an old friend who ran into you at the mall." Shigaraki guides the three teens to a bench, Raijin and Bokasu remain standing in front of Shigaraki and Midoriya. "Calm down and wipe that look off your face. I think we should have a conversation is all. A friendly chat. Oh, and of course if you run away or try to fight me in any way... Well, it'll be fast."

Raijin hums, as a red spark of electricity flashes over his face. "Yes, indeed it will. My hand through your chest of course. In an instant. Besides, I know what you're thinking. You think that any one of these people could use their quirks and start a massacre whenever they wanted. And yet, here everyone is smiling. They believe laws protect them. But that's because they believe everyone has the same morals... but, then there's you and me. They believe nothing bad could ever happen to them. However, if you attempted, let's be fair, someone would be stupid enough to try and fight back. So what'll it be Shigaraki, keep going and test your luck? Or quit while you're still ahead, and or alive."

Shigaraki hums. "You know, you think more like a villain than I thought you would."

Raijin shakes his head, ignoring Bokasu and Midoriya staring at him. "No, I just simply have a darker mind after years of not wanting to be a hero. Now, let's talk."

"When it comes down to it, I hate basically everything. But the hero killer pisses me off the most right now."

Bokasu crosses his arms, rolling his eyes. "Is it because he's become a media darling for having firm morals and convictions, whereas you go on a whim? Besides, I thought he was one of yours?"

"Not technically, but that's what the media made it look like. And that's what my problem is. It's like suddenly everyone is obsessed with that stupid Hero Killer. The attack on UA, the Nomus I released on Hosu. He upstaged all of it. No ones even giving me a second thought. Why is that? Despite what he claims to believe, all he really did was try to get rid of whatever things he didn't like. What do you think the difference is between us? Midoriya?"

Midoriya's gaze turns from Raijin to Shigaraki. "What's the difference? I don't understand you. Your goals and your villains... I don't agree with anything you do. I don't agree with the Hero Killer either. But I can understand him. At least, sort of. Because the Hero Killer and I have something in common. We're inspired by All Might. Just like Raijin has something in common with him as well."

"Yeah, we did, but we decided to go about it in different ways." Raijin glares at Shigaraki.

"That night, he even saved us from the flying Nomu. He's a maniac, but he doesn't destroy things just because it sounds fun. And when things were looking bad for him, he didn't abandon his mission as you did. Even if the way he acted was wrong, he held true to his beliefs. That's the difference."

Shigaraki smiles. "Ah...That's like a weight off my chest. I see it now... All the dots connected. Why he makes me so angry, why you both irritate me so much- -everything makes sense. It's him. The problem is All Might. Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's the most rational explanation. I didn't see it, even though it was right in front of me the whole time. What was I worrying about so much? It's simple. He's why these morons are able to smile thoughtlessly! They feel so safe because that garbage pro is smiling thoughtlessly, too, as if there's no one in the whole world he can't save. Oh, I'm glad we had this chat. I feel better. I can't thank you enough, Midoriya. I don't need to change my ways after all. Whoops, don't struggle-!" Raijin kicks Shigaraki in the knee causing him to lurch forward as his grip loosens on Midoriya's neck. "Gr... What was that for?"

"You were squeezing his neck too hard. He couldn't say he's welcome for helping you through your issues."

"Uh, Deku? Is that a friend? No, that can't be right. Uh, hey let go of him." The group all glance back to find Uraraka staring at Shigaraki, he swiftly lets go and apologizes before trying to scamper off as Raijin watches him, but before he can follow him he's grabbed by Bokasu. "No, don't go. He probably wants you to chase after him."

"I know. That's why I was going to leave my position on at all times."

Midoriya coughs a few times before glancing upwards. "Don't."

"Shigaraki, hold on a moment." Raijin calls out before Shigaraki can fully leave. He stops before glancing at The redhead. "Do you know who killed LiveWire?"

Shigaraki shrugs. "Nope."

"I have a question, too. What is All for One after?" Midoriya asks.

"Who knows, really? But here's a little word of advice, friends. Be careful. The next time we meet, I'll likely have to kill you."

Raijin sneers, raising his chin a bit. "You can certainly try."

Uraraka reported the incident and the shopping mall was temporarily closed. The heroes and police conducted a massive sweep of the area. However, they were unable to find Shigaraki. Later that day Midoriya, Bokasu, and Raijin were taken to the police station. They were questioned about what he wanted and released not long later, but Raijin had several thoughts running as he made my way home.

(Who is All for One? Why does everyone that's a villain dislike All Might? Where will I stand when the time comes? Against All Might? Or against those who killed my Mother?)

Raijin laid in bed that night, however, as he tried to sleep his eyes snapped open. "Shit. I forgot to work on the writing prompt I was given before the internships." He would not sleep that night.

Chapter End.