apathy

does izuku is midoriya?

Tomura digs his nails into his neck, scratching an ever present itch with fervor. With his other hand he grips the remote to the bar tv with four fingers, the plastic creaking dangerously as he glares at the festival playing out on the screen. Across from him at the bar, Kurogiri keeps an eye on his reactions while composing a report for Sensei.

Present Mic's voice blasts out of the speakers, announcing the winner of the second to last match of the sports festival. They flash pictures of the boy who had recklessly run up to them at the USJ, moving him on a small match map to show that he's moving on to fight the other finalist.

"Kurogiri," Tomura says, his voice deceitfully calm, "How many quirkless teens named Izuku do you think there are in Japan?"

"I would assume one, Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri answers. He knows of Tomura's video game friend, the only one he has in all honesty. He also knows that Sensei has done his research into the boy, and so he has never told Tomura against playing with him. If Sensei had issues with it, he would have raised the alarm months ago.

"Right." Tomura says, voice dripping with false cheer. He drops the remote and puts his hand on the bar, tilting his head to scratch at his neck with renewed vigor. He can tell that Kurogiri fights the urge to tell him off, most likely because he knows that if he aggravates Tomura any farther he won't have a bar counter anymore. "One Izuku, who has already put together that his buddy and the villain are the one and the same. And it looks like he's trying to become a hero, how... Disappointing."

"What do you propose we do?"

Tomura's fingers slow to a stop and he stares at the tv, where they're replaying clips from Izuku's last fight against that bastard Endeavor's son. There's a close up of Izuku's face, the only good one from the match because of all the steam, that has Tomura fixated on it each time they pull it up.

Izuku looks pretty dead inside, Tomura has to admit. Obviously he knows that Izuku is not a happy, well adjusted teen—you don't voice chat with someone for hours on end, multiple times a month, and not pick up things about a person. The Izuku he knows is a little livelier than the one he sees here, full of snarky quips and deadpan humor, most likely due to the anonymity of online friendships. But this Izuku, he is a doll. Emotions are being put on like a masks, and only the eyes show his true feelings.

Too bad they're swirling pools of nothing.

Here's what Tomura understands. At the basic level, without all the masks and such, Izuku is a kid who has been constantly beaten down by society for something that he cannot change. Tomura has never gotten Izuku to fully share any stories from his school days, but Izuku drops plenty of hints to the sort of treatment he got from his fellow students and even teachers. Even if he hadn't, it would be common sense to assume that the biased, corrupt system of heroic quirks would force a helpless, quirkless boy to become just as broken and uncaring as itself. Izuku's indifference is a coping mechanism.

What Izuku needs is a guarantee that he belongs somewhere in this world, that he is wanted by someone. He doesn't need Tomura turning on him, abandoning him, along with the rest of the world. He needs what Sensei was to Tomura all those years ago—a savior. Someone to pick him up at his lowest and show him that they can change this cruel world for the better. They just need to destroy it first.

He needs to bide his time here. Recruiting Izuku when he's getting all this praise from the festival won't do any good, he has to wait until the hero system inevitably lets Izuku down once again. And he'll have to talk to Sensei about his plan, but that won't be a problem. Izuku is resourceful, smart, and perfect for their league. Sensei will see that, Tomura is sure of it.

"Schedule a meeting with Sensei for me." Tomura snaps out of his thoughts, grabbing the remote again. The next match is starting soon, but Tomura doesn't need to watch any more of it. He switches the channel to a local news one, which is reporting on another Stain attack. "Tell him I need to discuss our plan with this asshole Stain and a potential new recruit."

"Of course, Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri agrees, because when does he not. He types something out on his computer, but Tomura isn't paying attention to him any more. He taps the remote against his chin, eyes glued to the screen, deep in thought yet again.

Stain was an annoying obstacle that needed removing. He had denied their invitation to the League, but his followers didn't know that. If he died, or was captured, those fanatics might come flooding to Tomura. And while it might be annoying for a while to hear nothing but Stain ideology, eventually all of that would either turn to his benefit or be forcefully snuffed out.

A few Nomus would do a good job of distracting the heroes while Kurogiri and Tomura dealt with Stain. It would have the added effect of trashing Hosu and getting them on the forefront of everyone's minds again too. And once Stain was out of the way and recruitment was up, then Tomura could refocus on Izuku.

A wicked smirk now on his face, Tomura throws the remote down again, sliding off the barstool he'd been perching on. Kurogiri watches from the corner of his yellow eye as Tomura meanders away from the bar towards the stairs.

"I'm going to my room." He announces without looking back. "Don't disturb me."

"Of course, Shigaraki Tomura."