apathy

its not fucking bakudeku u piece of shit weebs

Izuku puts up no resistance as Tomura pulls him away from the crowd and towards an awaiting portal, nor does he hesitate to step into the vortex. Tomura doesn't even have to give him a little shove or anything. Izuku walks in on his own.

Tomura can feel his grin cracking the corners of his lips as he steps out of the portal. Izuku glances at the unadulterated glee on his face and scrunches his nose, but doesn't say a word. Instead, he goes back to looking around the bar, taking in everything with dead eyes.

His eyes.

Izuku's eyes during the Sports Festival had been nothingness. No emotions, positive or negative, had shown through. But now, after that fiasco of an exam, Izuku's eyes are different. Rather than just blank nothing, Izuku's eyes are black holes, devoid of any hope or trust in the world.

Desolate. 

Izuku's are the eyes of someone who has truly given up on the happy lies hero society spews. Tomura is elated.

He puts his hand back on Izuku's shoulder and guides him towards a couch Tomura uses to game. Izuku obediently follows his lead, sitting when Tomura does.

"I thought we could play a game or two." Tomura says conversationally, picking up an open laptop from the coffee table. "I already have a lobby up."

Izuku scans the game pulled up and in turn, retrieves his phone from his pocket. Tomura gets a glance of rapid, constant notifications springing onto Izuku's screen before he mutes whoever is messaging him to open the game. Tomura couldn't grin any wider if he wanted to.

They play two rounds in near silence, Izuku not responding to any accusations in-game and being voted off wrongfully both times, before Tomura casually reaches under a couch pillow and withdraws a file. Izuku glances at it through his hair when Tomura drops it on the coffee table.

"....Is my name on that." 

"Indeed it is, Izuku." Tomura confirms, reaching over and flipping the file open. A mugshot of Izuku, deadpan and tired, stares at them. "This is your police file, actually. Got it myself. You have some very impressive feats in here."

Izuku stares at his own face as he once again is voted off for being silent. Finally, he looks up and meets Tomura's eyes.

"What do you want, Tomura?" He asks. He sounds tired.

"I want to help you." Tomura responds eagerly. Izuku gives him a doubtful look. "Hero society is shit, we both agree on that. Look at the way they've taken advantage of you against your will—blackmailed you into joining their program, pitted you against the two people who have hurt you the most in an exam... Who knows what they'll make you suffer through next.

"I want to break this corrupt society to the ground. The only way to fix it, so that people like you and I aren't forsaken, is to rebuild it from the ground up. I know you can help me do that."

Izuku is silent for a moment, averting his gaze to his screen. Tomura waits. He can be patient—especially for Izuku. 

"....How do you plan on doing this?" Izuku asks, reluctantly, as a new round starts. Tomura fights the urge to laugh.

"We start by getting allies, of course. I've collected a few from Stain's fans..." Tomura can't help the way his voice changes to drip with hatred at the man's name—he knew he would have to listen to his new recruits repeat Stain's ideology, but it is very, very irritating all the same. Izuku raises an eyebrow at him without looking away from the game. "And from an informant. Then I was planning to get one or two from the hero class. You, of course—"

Izuku huffs a laugh.

"And perhaps the bird boy or that Bakugo asshole. He seems villainous enough, and—"

"You don't want to capture Bakugo." Izuku interrupts as he runs up to Tomura in-game and promptly snaps his neck. Tomura pulls his hands away from the keyboard so he doesn't dust it, shooting Izuku a dirty look. "He's obsessed with being a hero because he thinks heroes always win, and he won't be swayed. Tokoyami probably isn't a good choice either."

"What about your purple friend?" Tomura asks. "The one with the brainwash quirk."

"Absolutely not. Hitoshi's been called a villain his whole life, so he wants to prove everyone wrong. He won't convert easily."

"Not even if it was you who was asking?" Tomura presses. Izuku looks over at him for a moment, then his gaze slides back to the screen.

"I think he'd punch me for even suggesting it." He says, the sound of him killing another player emanating from his phone. "The ones you should aim for are the ones with more flexible goals. Uraraka or Todoroki, for example. I think Uraraka is shooting for the hero profession to make money for her parents. Look at their goals and find ones that can be bent to fit yours."

Tomura hums. Izuku's reasoning is sound as ever, not that he is surprised. He's heard Izuku break down enemy teams and their play styles with only a bit of trash talk and 30 seconds to work with. 

"My sensei wants to meet you." He says. Izuku hums inquisitively. "Sometime soon, but not today. I think he'll like you."

"Sure. I'll meet him sometime." Izuku agrees. Another sound effect plays from both of their speakers, announcing Izuku's win. "We can schedule it in the server or something."

"Perfect." Tomura agrees. "Would you like to stay for a bit before we drop you off near your apartment building? We still haven't finished our mansion, after all."

Izuku looks up at him again through his bangs and considers it. 

"Yeah." He says, "I guess we haven't."

Tomura's smile is a painful, delighted baring of teeth. 

"Great. Kurogiri, get us some drinks."

"Yes, Shigaraki Tomura."