Izuku POV
"So how are you?" Uraraka asked, not looking at him as she walked from the house. Her chestnut hair swished across her shoulders in her hurried movement.
Izuku's lips turned down in a frown. Had she not seen Eri and her family leaving the house? From what he'd heard she had been on the rescue mission with them. Apparently, she hadn't been as close with Eri after the mission concluded but that didn't mean she didn't still care for Eri. Was she upset they hadn't invited her? Was he reading too deeply into this?
He'd sensed something off with her from the moment he'd opened the door and she'd asked if she could talk to him about something. She hadn't even wanted to say hi to Shouta and Uraraka was the most friendly person he knew.
Izuku hesitated. "I'm...alright. How are you?"
"Good."
They were at the end of the drive now, hidden from the sight of the house by the tree Izuku had crashed into when he'd first used one-for-all. The quirk was in much better control now but Shouta still gave him shit every time they passed by the tree- in the most loving way possible.
Izuku didn't know what possessed him to say what he did next. Maybe it was the newfound maturity he felt after meeting someone from his past. Maybe it was the confidence of having Eraserhead as his father. Maybe it was the realization that no matter what he did he'd always have more of a clue than Todoroki. But for whatever reason, the next words that left his mouth were, "No you're not."
His friend's shoulders stiffened for a moment before she turned to him. "What do you mean?" Her eyes were wide-curious- but still off.
"What's going on with you? You're acting weird."
"Oh," she laughed, her voice rising an octave. "Sorry I didn't realize I was. I just wanted to talk to you."
"Is this about Todoroki?" Izuku asked, recalling their last private conversation. He didn't think it had been that big of a deal or at the very least would pretend it wasn't that big of a deal. He didn't even know why he was pretending but the more he learned the more he didn't know.
Her big brown eyes blinked and the innocence of her expression began to fade. "You don't like him, do you?" She asked. He'd never heard her sound like that before. "I'm much cuter."
She couldn't be serious right now. Was she actually jealous of a nonexistent relationship? Izuku's eyes narrowed. He watched her movements carefully, the way her shoulders rose and fell, the twitch of her lips. He'd been around her long enough to know it wasn't normal. It was like she wasn't completely comfortable in her own body.
His stomach dropped immediately as a second realization fell over him. It took everything in him to not let his expression shift.
She turned her back to him when it became clear he wasn't going to answer her question. "You're right Izuku. I'm not doing well."
Izuku tensed, switching his stance.
He didn't know much of anything about the League of Villains until he became a hero student he didn't have access to any regulated information. But he'd been snooping one night after Shouta's ridiculously early bedtime and had found information on a member of a villain organization that could shapeshift or take the appearance of someone. There had been some kind of stipulation to this power- a sort of checks and balances type deal. But he couldn't remember what that stipulation was and it was a bit hard to search his memory while standing behind a potential villain.
This was ridiculous. What idiot had come up with the plan to hide any and all useful information from him?
"What do you want?" Izuku asked, voice somehow steady despite the building panic.
"Haven't I made it obvious?" She practically purred. Her outline began to shimmer and shift and holy shit her clothes were melting off?! Wait not just her clothes- all of her.
Izuku watched in stunned silence as her shoulder-length blonde hair suddenly rebuilt itself into two blonde space buns. His first instinct was to look away at her abrupt lack of clothing but he couldn't exactly close his eyes in the midst of an attack.
There was still one object she seemed to be in possession of, a shiny little knife conveniently at hand.
oh hell no.
Izuku lunged forward, attempting to steal the weapon from her.
She shifted her stance, balancing all her weight on one leg as she pivoted just in time to miss his advance.
He barely had time to adjust before she was on the move, grabbing the back of his shirt and yanking him toward her; which any under circumstance would be been really impressive but was now just a pain the ass.
Izuku threw an elbow back into her stomach, forcing her to ease her grip enough for him to wiggle free. He should really use his quirk right now but there was still a fear of it flying out of control. Even if she was a villain he didn't want to seriously injure her.
Was Shouta too far away to hear him if he screamed?
Izuku huffed and jumped out of the way as she tried to attack again, this time with the knife aimed right at him. Frustration was starting to build up. Could the universe not cut him a single break? It had been one disaster after another and he was getting sick and tired of it.
"Listen I was having a really good day before-" he dodged another attack. Her face was turning red from the constant attempted attacks. Thankfully training with Shouta had taught him to be quick on his feet. "Before you decided to drop in. So just do me a favor and chill out for two seconds."
She did stop then, golden eyes pleading. "Why are you being so mean? Do you not love me anymore?"
Either she was full of it or Shouta had been hiding a hell of a lot more from him than he first thought.
"No, I don't."
The answer caught her off guard enough where he could move forward again, this time feigning a slip up as he went for a very easily dodged hit. As expected, she caught his arm and wrenched it behind his back.
He grinned.
Sometimes deja vu wasn't a bitch.
Using the same technique on her Todoroki had used on him, he spun her around, pinning her back to his front as he grabbed both her arms in one hand. "And no offense but blondes aren't really my type," he couldn't help but add. With his other arm, he snatched up the knife and threw it a good distance away from the both of them.
"Anything else you want to say before I call the police and tell them I caught a member of the league?" he asked politely. He couldn't wait to tell Shouta he'd taken down his first villain!
"Tell them you missed a couple," She sniffed.
"What?"
A hand landed on his shoulder.
He screamed.
---
The next events happened in a blur.
There was a weird whoosh of air and he fell through what felt like a sound vacuum. Well, he wasn't really sure if he was falling or walking or what but one way or another he suddenly found himself standing in the grossest room he'd ever seen and that was saying something because he'd seen Shouta's cabinet's pre-Izuku era.
The room wasn't well lit- a single light hanging from the ceiling- casting shadows across the cement floor. He could hardly make out the other faces in the room. Although it was hard to miss the space buns that had followed him in here, she at least had a robe on now.
He blinked, trying to orient himself.
Why was everyone just staring at him?
This was the weirdest kidnapping he'd ever been part of.
"Hi?"
"Get the cuffs," one of the men said. His face was hidden, his hood pulled low, and what appeared to be a hand on his face blocking Izuku's view. Izuku hoped to God it wasn't an actual hand for sanity's sake.
He took a step back, bumping into an outrageously tall person who looked more mist than human.
Mist dude was suddenly holding a pair of cuffs that looked suspiciously like the quirk canceling ones Shouta used and was suspiciously close.
That confidence he was just talking about? Yeah that was gone now.
"Guys I swear I didn't eat the last cookie. This is probably just a big misunderstanding," Izuku reasoned, stumbling away and holding his hands up in a pleading gesture. "I mean I can literally get you guys cookie. Do you know Lunch Rush? I mean you wouldn't b-because you're villains but at the end of the day aren't we all a little bit awful so I mean-" Izuku's eyes widened as their's narrowed. "Not saying you guys are awful! You know I can agree to stop talking at any time if you just let me go."
"Please shut up," hand man groaned, pushing off the wall and grabbing Izuku's shoulders to keep him still.
A shot of stone-cold fear went through his veins. This couldn't be happening. This whole time- the one thing they'd worked so hard to avoid was actually happening. And he didn't even remember why he had to be scared of them, just that he needed to be.
Izuku flinched back, trying in vain to pull away from him.
He didn't know what all their quirks were. There was no way to plan out what kind of defense he needed or it was even smart to try and defend himself. Could one of them read his thoughts?
"Why can't we just kill him?" a voice from one of the shadows complained. An outline of someone tall with spiky hair came into view.
That had Izuku beginning to jump away again just to be pulled right back, this time with Mr.Misty helping. And the cuffs- the quirk canceling cuffs-
and Izuku was beginning to realize he was an idiot.
He also had a quirk.
Activating his quirk, he threw emo-hand-extraordinaire off of him, wincing slightly as his body left a dent in one of the metal walls. He tried to go for his accomplice next but the dude was suddenly gone. Izuku whirled around, eyes frantically searching for the next attacker.
"Everyone s-stay back!" He warned. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Don't be upset Izu," blondie pouted.
Izu? What the hell was an Izu? Please let her be an actual villain and not some weird ex-girlfriend. He scanned the room for an exit but every doorway was blocked off by one of the stupid villains and he'd long since learned to not pick fights with people he knew nothing about.
Shadowy dude stepped into the light. Izuku could now make out the scarring on parts of his face and neck. He held out one arm with his palm facing the ceiling. He looked ridiculous just standing there like that until a blue flame suddenly erupted.
It reminded Izuku of the first time he'd seen a quirk in action. He gasped. "You- you can hold fire."
Whatever threat the man was about to use died immediately. It seemed Izuku wasn't the only one caught by surprise.
"I...I have a tracker implanted," Izuku lied. "The police will be here any minute. If you let me go now I saw nothing."
Croaky laughter filled the room, too off to sound remotely genuine. It made the hairs on Izuku's arm rise. The raspy voice hand lover droaned on and on to the point Izuku was beginning to think laughter had been invited purely for the point of being condensing.
Izuku's hands tightened into fists at his side, he let his quirk spark to life again, rushing over his skin like a current. He took a step forward; praying he looked intimidating and all that jazz. "This is my final offer," he warned, keeping his voice low.
Whispering began to break out from behind him.
"Do you not know who you're talking to?" the villain asked. Taken aback didn't seem the right description. He was more...amused. Like Izuku's reactions were merely a game to him. He scratched his neck- the skin attached red and raw.
Izuku couldn't stop from cringing.
"Tomura-" the man of mist warned.
The man in question took a step closer to him, straightening to his full height. "Silence," he commanded, holding out a hand to the other. His attention turned back to Izuku. "You've stayed out of the media recently. Did you know people were beginning to think you no longer wanted to be a hero? Some even speculated you wanted to be," Izuku could see the corners of his lips turn up in a slight smile, "one of the bad guys."
Izuku stayed silent. His heart jumped into his throat.
He was getting a little too close to the truth.
The villain- Tomura? took another step closer. "From what I can recall of your speech last year, you want, wanted, to be the number one hero. You're smart enough to realize getting on the top ten is a popularity contest. You have to be photographed, have to be seen."
Izuku took a step back.
"So you either aren't as smart as I first thought or your goals have changed."
"Tomura," misty repeated. Even in the monotone drawl he still seemed annoyed. The murmuring of the others quieted as the man whispered something to Tomura. His eyes light up as the other spoke.
After what felt like an eternity Tomura turned back to him.
"Tell me Midoriya," he grinned. "Do you know who I am?"