"I'm so glad that the illustrious Phoenix could grace us with his presence today."
Midoriya was sitting in his usual corner of the bar. He had received a call the night before saying that he needed to come in for something important. He tried to press for details, but Shigaraki refused to give him any. The fact that he was now being snarky just pissed Midoriya off.
"Can you even spell illustrious?"
Shigaraki scoffed as he tapped on the bar. "E-L-"
"Alright, that's enough, I don't need you to use all your brain power this early." Pulling out his lighter, Midoriya proceeded to repeatedly spark it. "So, are you going to tell me why I had to be here today?"
Shigaraki sent a glare towards Midoriya. After taking a deep breath his expression returned to normal. "After the Hosu City attack I did some thinking and I decided that we needed to increase our numbers again. The three of us isn't enough, we need more allies to work with."
"So you're going to gather as many criminals as you can again? That didn't work out so well last time."
Shigaraki let out a sigh as he stopped tapping the bar. "No, no, no, I learned my lesson from that. I'm thinking on a smaller scale this time, no more than ten people."
Midoriya raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Alright, why such a small number?"
"A smaller yet more powerful team would be easier to manage. Thanks to the misunderstanding with the Hero Killer, our name is bigger than ever. We're going to use his name to strengthen our numbers."
Midoriya was honestly impressed, he couldn't believe the same person who just a month ago who's most complex plan was to kill All Might by throwing countless bodies at him had come up with this.
"That... that will actually work."
Shigaraki laughed to himself as he happily tapped the bar again. "Don't be shitty, I am the leader here."
"... Of course, how could I ever forget that..."
Shigaraki's tapping increased as he grew slightly annoyed. "Anyways, I need you here to help select who we should let join."
Again Midoriya was surprised at what Shigaraki had said; however this time it was out of curiosity and not shock.
"Why do you care about my input? I've been extremely clear about the fact that I'm out of here once I get the information I need."
"Yes, you've been abundantly clear, but that doesn't change the fact that you're with us now. The more successful we are, the better your chances are of getting that information. Given your background you know talent when you see it, I need your discerning eye."
Midoriya stopped sparking his lighter as he stared down Shigaraki. "Interesting, you're planning for the future instead of here and now."
"Don't sound so surprised, I've always had lofty goals."
"Alright, alright. So when are they going to get here?"
Shigaraki gave Kurogiri a slight nod allowing him to give the details.
"Giren has gathered a group of people and they are all waiting in one of our warehouses. Whenever we're ready I'll open a portal and they will come on one at a time. After we've gone through everybody we'll make our decision and bring those chosen back to go into more details about our plans."
Midoriya gave a nod of approval. "Alright, let's get this over with then."
"Kurogiri, send them in."
"Of course sir."
With a quick nod a portal opened up on the other side of the room. After a few moments Giren walked through holding an unlit cigarette.
"Hey there kiddo, it's been awhile. Do you mind giving me a quick light?"
Midoriya snapped and a small flame ignited the tip of his cigarette. After taking a few puffs, Giren smiled before ducking his head through the portal. A few moments after he brought his head back a boy wearing a school uniform walked through the portal. He looked like he may have been a little older than Midoriya.
"This kid here goes by the name Mustard. He's still in high school, but he sought me out so I figured I'd give him a chance."
Shigaraki sent a glare at Giren before turning back to Mustard. "Why the hell did you come here? This isn't a place to joke around, you know."
"I'm tired of people looking down on me. I want to show the world that it doesn't matter where you come from or where you go, all that matters is how you use what you have."
Shigaraki raised an eye at Mustard. "Is that it?"
Mustard tensed up as he nervously scratched his neck. "I... uh... My quirk allows me to produce a gas that knocks people unconscious. Even though it's not physically a part of me I can detect where people are at based on its current."
Shigaraki shot a quick glance over to Midoriya who merely shrugged.
"That's enough, send the next one in Giren."
Giren laughed as he grabbed the kid by the collar and pulled him back. "You heard the man."
The next person to come through was a girl wearing a school uniform. She had a feral smile that could send a chill down your spin.
"Damn it Giren, did you only bring me high schoolers?"
"Hey, this girl may look like your typical high schooler, but she's actually the main suspect in multiple murder cases. In each of the cases the victims have been drained of all their blood."
Shigaraki looked back at the girl who was still smiling as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Is she insane?"
Giren scratched his cheek as he looked away. "I honestly don't kn-"
"Aww don't be like that mister." The girl interrupted him before he could finish. "I'm not crazy, there's just so many wonderful things in this world. There's Mr. Stainy, blood, people who are bleeding, blood, Mr. Phoenix, blood-"
"Alright, we get it you like blood. So why do you want to join us?"
The girl's eyes narrowed, changing her entire demeanor. The happy go lucky school girl was gone and the eyes of a predator locked onto Shigaraki. Tension filled the room as the two stared each other down, but just as quick as the tension filled the room it disappeared as she went back to smiling.
"Right, my name's Himiko Toga and I want to meet Mr. Stainy, I want to be Mr. Stainy, I want to kill Mr. Stainy. But he's in jail now so I can't do that at the moment."
"Right... is there anything else?"
"This world's too hard to live in. I want to make this world a place that's easy to live in and everyone can be themselves without worry."
"Alright, well, send the next one in."
Toga ignored Shigaraki and walked right over to Midoriya and sat on the table so she was right in front of him. Her eyes locked onto his.
"Hey Mr. Phoenix, is it true that you and Mr. Stainy worked together?"
Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, and you can drop the Mr., it's not necessary."
Toga smiled widely, fully exposing her pronounced canines. Her hand slowly reached for his mask. "You know Phoenix, you'd be a lot cuter all covered in blood. I could help with that."
Midoriya's mask flared causing her to withdraw her hand, while also smiling wider. "I could help with those disgusting eyes of yours."
Toga licked her lips as she put her foot on his leg. "Aww what's wrong Phoenix, are they too feline for you?"
Midoriya's eyes narrowed as he removed her foot from his leg. "No, I actually find that quite attractive, it's the color that's disgusting."
Toga stood up and walked back to the portal, but not before turning back to wave goodbye. "Get me the right blood and I can make them whatever color you want."
As Toga disappeared Midoriya scoffed. Seeing his reaction Giren could only laugh.
"Wow Kiddo, look at you playing hard to get."
"I'm not playing anything, I'm already spoken for."
"Mazel tov, I hope it all works out."
Shigaraki started to scratch his neck as he grumbled. "Enough, just send the next one already."
As if on cue the next person walked out. He was a tall man with her black hair and piercing blue eyes. His body was adorned with burns and piercings that seemed to hold his skin together. Giren could only smile before the man spoke up.
"The name's Dabi."
Shigaraki stopped scratching and looked at him dumbfounded. ".... And?"
The man sighed as he took a hand out of his trench coat, a deep blue flame appeared in his hand giving off an intense heat. Seeing the flame Midoriya sat up intrigued.
"My quirk is "Cremation" or "Blueflame" either one works. It's straightforward, I produce blue flames. Also fuck hero's."
Shigaraki narrowed his eyes on Dabi. "Interesting, but we already have a flame user in Phoenix. What could you possibly bring us that he can't?"
Dabi narrowed his eyes as well. "If I take Phoenix out of the picture then that means I'm a better flame user."
Shigaraki looked over at Midoriya, who gave him a quick nod. Taking a deep breath Shigaraki motioned towards Midoriya with his hand. "You're more than welcome to try."
Without hesitation Dabi hurled a fireball towards Midoriya. The man's calm expression twisted into one of joy. As the fireball illuminated the room a gentle snap could be heard and the fireball disappeared. Dabi's smile disappeared, but he didn't falter.
"Well ain't that something."
Midoriya leaned back into his chair. "Your flames are strong, it's just a shame you can only control them. You can try all you like, but you'll never beat me since I can control all flames."
Hearing Midoriya's words a sly smile spread across his face as he turned around to the portal. "Interesting, I'll keep that in mind for later."
The next person to come through the portal was a man in a mask with a top hat and cane. He carried himself with dignity.
"Good afternoon gentlemen, my names Mr. Compress and I was once a magician."
He opened up his palm to reveal a tiny blue marble. Shigaraki looked at the marble in confusion.
"What does it do?"
"Ah, an excellent question indeed. Phoenix, if you would be so kind, could you produce a small flame for me?"
Again Midoriya snapped as a small flame appeared in front of Mr. Compress. He reached out his hand to grab the flame and enclosed his hand around it. There was no reaction to him touching the flame which surprised Midoriya and Shigaraki. When he turned over his hand there was now a small blue marble in his hand. In one quick motion he tossed the marble in the air and it burst back into the flame Midoriya had created. As the flame slowly fell back to the ground Midoriya snapped, making the flame disappear.
"Thank you, you have been a wonderful assistant. As you can see I can contain anything I touch inside these marbles. I can release them anytime I choose and they weigh next to nothing. It's quite a handy quirk if I do say so myself, and I do say so."
Shigaraki nodded in approval. "Yeah, that could be quite handy. I think I've seen enough, so send the next one in."
Mr. Compress took off his hat as he bowed. "Of course, thank you for extending the chance to step onto the stage."
The next person to come through was someone that was in what looked like a full gimp suit. They had hooks that held their mouth wide open so that their teeth were on full display.
Shigaraki recoiled as he saw them come through the portal. "What the fuck is that Giren?"
Giren chuckled to himself as puffed his cigarette. "This guy here is a death row escapee. He goes by the name Moonfish and he can enlarge and reshape his teeth into blades."
Moonfish drooled as he stood motionless. "Flesh, need flesh. Delectable flesh. Sweet flesh."
Giren scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, he's also a cannibal."
Shigaraki slammed his hand on the bar. "Enough, send us the next one."
Giren let out a sigh as he took another puff. "You heard the man."
Moonfish lumbered his way into the portal as he continued to mumble about flesh. A few moments later the next person walked through. Shigaraki groaned as he saw them. A green gecko-like man carried a huge sword, while dressed like Stain.
"The name's Spinner, I came here to carry on Stains will."
Shigaraki rubbed his temples. "Alright, I got it. Is there any reason you came here besides the whole Stain thing?"
Spinner stopped to think for a moment. "I uh, I was bullied where I came from because of my quirk. Because of that I stayed inside all day playing video games. It wasn't until I saw the Stain video that I decided to take a stand."
"Uh-huh, well, I've heard enough. Send in the next one."
Spinner looked shocked as he walked back towards the portal with his head hanging. Not long after he disappeared the next recruit came through. They stood before Shigaraki full of confidence.
"The name's Big Sis Magne and my quirk is magnetism. I can magnetize people, men become south poles and women become north. Also my quirk doesn't work on myself."
Shigaraki raised his eyes in confusion. "Big Sis? Aren't you a guy?"
Magne laughed softly as she put a hand over her mouth. "Oh darling, I'm guessing you haven't met many people like me. Let's keep things simple for now, I am a woman. But if you ever want to learn more don't be shy, you can ask questions within reason."
Shigaraki looked at her, still confused. "I uh, alright..."
Magne's smile grew twisted. "That being said, I'm not some delicate flower. I'll gladly crush the skulls of those that don't respect who I am."
Midoriya cleared his throat to bring attention to him. "Sorry, but I have a question."
Magne's smile returned to normal as she turned to him. "Of course."
"You said your quirk doesn't work on you, correct?"
Magne nodded. "Yeah, that's right."
"Does it work on other people like you or does it not affect them?"
Magne stopped to think as she put her index finger to her chin. "You know, I've never used my quirk on my friends so I don't know." Magne's smile began to grow twisted again. "If you don't mind Phoenix, are you asking this out of curiosity or to try and belittle me?"
Midoriya shook his head. "It was mere curiosity, I'm fascinated by quirks."
Magne's smile returned to normal again. "Ah, well if that's all, I'll excuse myself."
Midoriya looked over at Shigaraki who still looked stunned. He sighed as he turned back to Magne. "I think that's all. Could you wait a few minutes before you send the next one in? I think he's gonna need a minute to recover."
Magne laughed as she walked towards the portal. "Of course, darling."
Once Magne passed through the portal, Giren let out an amused chuckle. The laugh received a quick side eye from Shigaraki.
"What's wrong Shigaraki? You think you'll be able to handle it?"
Shigaraki rubbed his temples as he tried to process everything. "I honestly don't know what I was expecting today, but somehow a fucking magician has impressed me the most."
Giren shrugged casually as made a note on his phone. "Well that's kind of their job, but hey you got two more left."
Shigaraki let out a deep sigh. "Are they somewhat normal?"
Giren bursted into laughter at his question for a few seconds before seeing the deadpan stare he was receiving. "Oh... you were serious."
Shigaraki sighed again as he adjusted the hand that adorned his face. "Jesus fucking Christ."
Once Shigaraki had composed himself, the next prospect came through the portal. A hulking man with blonde hair eyed everyone in the room as if he was sizing them up. His size alone would make a lesser man falter, but both Shigaraki and Midoriya had stared at death's face before so his intimidation attempt failed.
"If all you can do is glare at people and hope your size scares them, you better leave because that won't work here."
The man looked back at Shigaraki as he cracked a smile. "Oh trust me, I'm more than able to back up any look I give someone. The name's Muscular."
Midoriya raised an eye, he recognized the name from the news. "You killed the hero team Water Hose."
Muscular's smirk grew as he nodded. "That's right. They were pretty weak, but they did take one of my eyes before they died."
Shigaraki tapped the counter rhythmically as he looked Muscular up and down. "Do you hold a grudge against those hero's for taking your eye?"
Muscular shook his head as he clenched his fist. "Of course not, we were all just giving it our best effort. I never hold back because I want to live life to the extreme. If their best was taking my eye then I have no issue with that."
"Uh-huh, interesting. So, Muscular, what exactly is your quirk?"
Muscle fibers began to sprout and encase themselves around Muscular as he continued to smile. Before long his size had nearly doubled. "My quirk is Muscle Augmentation, it essentially is a power up that increases all my physical abilities."
Shigaraki stopped tapping the bar as he looked on amused. "Interesting, I can see where you got your name from."
Muscular shrugged as the muscle fibers retracted, bringing him back to his original size. "Creativity isn't my strong suit."
"Thankfully it doesn't have to be. That's all for now, send in the last one."
Muscular left back through the portal as Shigaraki had a sickening smile across his face. Midoriya looked over at him confused.
"See something you like?"
"Very much. He's the real deal."
Midoriya sighed as he crossed his arms. "If you say so."
Both Midoriya and Shigaraki watched the portal waiting to see the last person come through, but no one came. The two of them looked towards Giren for answers, but he calmly took a long drag of his cigarette.
"Give it a minute. This last guy is a bit of a basket case."
As if on a que a mass came flying out of the portal, tumbling into some tables and chairs knocking them over. The sudden and wild entrance set both Midoriya and Shigaraki on edge. On the ground, entangled in chairs and a table was a man in a black and gray bodysuit.
"What the hell was that for?" "Do it harder!"
Midoriya's eyes widened at the man's outburst. 'Oh, so he's crazy.'
Giren cleared his throat as he ashed his cigarette. "This is Jin Bubaigawara, he also goes by twice, due to reasons he had a split personality."
Twice quickly got up and composed himself. "It's nice to meet you, thanks for having me." "Fuck you."
Shigaraki groaned as he hung his head. "So, what can you do?"
"Oh, I can make copies of people. They sound and act just like the original and can even use their quirks. I can only make two copies at a time and they disappear if they take too much damage. Also I refuse to copy myself."
The room went quiet as everyone stared at Twice. Feeling all the looks he began to feel self conscious. "I... is everything alright?"
Shigaraki awkwardly scratched his neck. "Yeah... I was just waiting for an outburst."
Twice let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, that doesn't always happen." "Yes it does."
Shigaraki looked on unamused. "Alright, well I think I've seen enough. Head back in and we'll have an answer for everyone soon."
Twice quickly made his way back through the portal. Once he was through, Kurogiri dispersed his mist, cutting off their connection.
Giren smiled smugly as he took a seat. "So what do you think? Do any of them catch your eye?"
Shigaraki glared at Giren. "What do I think? I think you brought the first few people you saw and hoped they would work. I mean seriously you brought me two high schoolers, a magician, a gecko, another pyromaniac, a muscle head, a... an I don't know, and a fucking cannibal ."
"Look, you told me to bring some potential members, and that's what I did. I never said you'd like them all."
Shigaraki groaned as he turned to Midoriya. "Well Phoenix, should we take any of them?"
Midoriya thought for a moment. "That depends, what exactly do you have planned?"
"Will that really affect who you like?"
"It may."
"Fine. I'm sure you've heard, but the first years of UA are having a summer training camp. I want you to lead a team to stir up some trouble and kidnap a student."
Midoriya let out a sigh as he pulled out his lighter. "Why? What are you even trying to accomplish here?"
"It's simple Phoenix, between the USJ and Hosu City attack, people have begun to lose their faith in UA. With this attack we'll show the world that the pencecal of young heroes can't even protect their students. It will be the beginning of the end of this hero society we live in."
"So, where does taking a student play into all of this?"
Shigaraki smiled sickeningly as he removed the hand from his face. "We're going to convert that student to our side."
Midoriya stopped and stared at Shigaraki confused for a moment before we sparked his lighter. "Let me guess, you think taking a would be hero and turning them to a villain would be the greatest failure for a hero academy. This would cause everyone to lose faith in UA and more than likely the parents would pull all their kids and send them to other schools."
"Exactly, it's a domino effect. People lose trust in UA, the school shuts down. Now any pro that graduated from UA is looked down on as public opinion on them begins to sway. Those negative opinions then spread to every other hero academy, because if UA can't protect their students, what chances does a lesser known school have of preventing the same thing from happening?"
Midoriya stared into the flame of his lighter as he took everything in. "What happened to killing All Might?"
"That's still going to happen, but it will wait for now. Knowing him, if we destroy everything he built up he will run himself into the ground trying to fix it, then when he's beaten down and broken we'll strike."
Midoriya pulled the flame from the lighter into the palm of his hand. The flames gently danced as if they were giving their own opinion to this plan.
"You've surprised me and I don't know what to think. Sometimes you have great plans and sometimes they are idiotic. What happened?"
Shigaraki stared at the hand that usually covered his face. "Master said I was being immature and that I needed to show my worth."
"... He threatened to corrupt all the save files for your games, didn't he?"
"He truly is the master of all things evil."
Midoriya let out a deep sigh. "Alright, let's get back on track. So you want us to kidnap a kid, I'm guessing Aoyama. He would be perfect since he already works for us."
"No, we're gonna take Katsuki Bakugo."
Midoriya closed his fist, extinguishing the flame in his hand. "That won't work."
Shigaraki narrowed his eyes on Midoriya. "And why not? You saw how they had to chain him up at the sports festival. All that unbridled hatred and anger. We can use that and convince him that he'd never reach his full potential and that the heroes were holding him back."
Midoriya shook his head. "Trust me, it won't work. I grew up with him, he's an arrogant ass and stubborn to a fault. Once he sets his mind on something it doesn't change till he reaches that goal. He's had the drive to be the number one hero since before his quirk came in and that hasn't changed once. Have your source fact check me, I'm sure he'll agree with what I told you."
Shigaraki began to scratch his throat again, annoyed. "Dammit, dammit, dammit. That was the core of my plan. Will everything still work without that? Are there any other students that could work?"
Midoriya froze at Shigaraki's words. They brought back the memories and of conversations he had with Kendo before. A lump formed in his throat as he thought about what his next actions would cause.
"I... I have an idea. A replacement student."
Shigaraki's scratching came to a stop as he stared at Midoriya with anticipation. "Go on?"
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Midoriya continued. "From 1-B, Neito Monama. He thinks he's better than everyone else and constantly antagonizes the students in 1-A. You might not be able to convince him to join, but it will probably scare him out of wanting to be a hero. It's not as effective, but it gets the job done. He also has a quirk that lets him copy the quirks of the people he's recently touched. It's basically an inferior version of what All for One can do, but it still could be helpful."
Shigaraki stopped and thought about the proposition for a while before turning to the tv screen in the corner. "Master, can we have the mole verify this and then can we find more information on this kid?"
The screen stayed blank, but the familiar voice of All for One came through clearly. "Of course, I'll take care of it right away."
"Thank you." Shigaraki turned back to Midoriya as he put the hand back on his face. "Alright, Phoenix, you heard the plan, now make your decision."
"Can I use them as I see fit and make an example out of them?"
Shigaraki shrugged. "Do what you want, just know if you purposefully kill any of them you're paying me back for them."
"Fair enough, I'll take them all then?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I can see potential in all of them."
"Fine, but if this goes south it's on you. Also, don't kill Spinner, I want to talk video games with him."
"I'll do my best."
"Alright, Giren let them know they're hired. Unfortunately the briefing on the plan will have to wait a bit."
Giren smiled widely as he stood up. "Sounds good to me. So where should they go since the majority of them are wanted criminals?"
"Kurogiri can send them to a private residence we have for them." Shigaraki motioned towards Kurogiri. "Will you give them an idea of what's expected of them and how they should act?"
Kurogiri nodded. "Of course."
Giren pulled out another cigarette and placed it between his lips. He gave Midoriya a look and the small flame lit the cigarette. "Awesome, now let's talk about payment. Are we doing it all at once or installments?"
"All at once, but before that I want you to ask them about any equipment they may need and get those for them as well."
Giren puffed his cigarette with a smile. "Sure, as long as I get paid I don't care.
"Send the bill to the usual place, and make a copy for Phoenix too."
"Of course."
Kurogiri stood next to Giren as he opened up a portal. Giren quickly stepped through it and when the portal disappeared, Kurogiri was gone as well.
Shigaraki stood up as he started to head back to his room. "We have a lot riding on this mission so don't fuck it up alright."
Midoriya pulled out his lighter again and stared into the flames. "I won't."